Getting Rid of the Junk

It's a vicious cycle actually - we start one project and that leads to another and another and another. I remember how it happened almost 10 years ago... our house was very cold- so cold in fact, that I remember opening up DD's dresser drawer and discovering ice inside the drawer. The windows were frosted up all the time in the winter, there was ice on the walls in the bedrooms, and now there was ice on the clothes in the dresser.  So, we decided we needed to re-side the house. Before the new siding went on, the house needed to be insulated and wrapped.  Oh, and while we're at it, we may as well put new windows everywhere. And since we're doing that, why not put smaller windows in the bedrooms, garden doors instead of a big picture window in the living room?... before we knew it we were knocking down walls to make a more 'open concept' living area. Then, of couse, the walls needed painting, crown moulding needed to be put up, baseboards added, carpet removed, new flooring installed. We moved out of our house into Mom's house that winter so we could renovate the entire house.  And it all started because we were going to put new siding on!

I seem to have a knack for finding projects for My Sweetheart to do. Those projects always seem to have a domino effect.This coming project is no exception. I have always had an aversion to the marble facade on our fireplace. I made that very clear to My Sweetheart when we moved out to the farm 16 years ago. And this is the winter that the marble facade is coming off. The pretty oak mantle is coming down too! So, we had to find another mantle.  Fortunately My Sweetheart and I both like the rustic look and were able to find a super guy to fashion exactly what we wanted out of a log. Our new mantle is in the sewing room waiting to be installed.  But before the fireplace can be re-done, I needed to get the storage room cleaned out in order to have a space to put everything that needs to be removed from the shelves and cabinets around the fireplace.

Last night, while DS and DD were at youth group, My Sweetheart and I tackled the storage room. I detest storage rooms.  Well, I detest our storage room anyway.  It's ugly and cold and messy and was full of junk. Why do we hold on to stuff that nobody wants anyway? Broken dishes, old toys, worn out winter coats, bags of old soccer shoes, old scrappy towels, boxes, empty storage containers, containers full of Christmas decorations, baby cards, broken luggage...all of it stacked and thrown helter skelter. We had a very narrow path from the doorway of the storage room to the cold room.  And for the past year or so I knew that we needed to clean and purge. Last night was, finally, the time to do it.

I don't know how many bags of garbage we lugged out. I can't tell you how many boxes of 'stuff' or 'junk' was hauled out. But we got it done. Most of the junk is gone. When we have more time we will go through it thorougly. Now, though, there is room to put more stuff in our storage room while we work on the fireplace.

It feels good to get rid of junk. It feels 'cleaner', even 'free-er' downstairs in the storage room. I'm reminded of Scripture that admonishes me, and other Christ-followers, to get rid of garbage. Although in Ephesians 4:31, the 'garbage' that needs to be gotten rid of is the junk that prevents us from being the kind of people that would draw others to Christ.  Garbage in our lives like bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. When that garbage in our lives is rooted out and disposed of and exchanged for kindness and compassion and forgiveness, can you imagine the freedom?  And peace? 

My Sweetheart helped me clean out the junk from our storage room; the Holy Spirit helps to clean out the garbage in my soul. It's good to get rid of junk!