5 Days to a More Peaceful Advent :: Clutter

Advent comes early this year.  Over the next week I’ll share approachable ways to meet the season with grace.  Day 1: Cutting Clutter

The bad news first: if your days are generally overfull, preparing for the Christmas season is not going to help.  This is a great time to practice saying no.  And really, the most important word in that sentence is practice.  But listen to the good news.  Living the church year with your family isn’t a test you take, it’s a path you walk.  Here are a few ways to clear a little space before the crush of parties and presents hits.

• Schedule–Try to scale back your everyday responsibilities.  Simple meals, simple routines, fewer outside obligations.  There are all kinds of good things that we want to add into our days, but rushing from place to place makes it nearly impossible to enjoy them.
• Place–This week is a great time to take a laundry basket from room to room and fill it up with things you don’t need anymore.  Our interests shift; our children grow and change.  It’s okay to let things go.  Put the bags in the back of the car to donate, and give thanks for such abundance.
• Clean–After you’ve cleared a bit of the physical clutter, you might consider spending a little time establishing a cleaning routine.  I really like getting an assignment each day from Apartment Therapy.  Clean Mama also has a simple weekly routine.  You will see marked progress in even 15 minutes a few times a week spent working on hot spots and high traffic areas.
• Expectations–There is no other holiday bound with such unrealistic expectations as Christmas.  Events to plan, gifts to buy, experiences to curate.  When we let go of some of the pressure to makes things perfect, we take the first steps to opening ourselves to the wonder of Advent.