May 16th - Useful or Beautiful

"Have nothing in your homes 

that you do not know to be useful 

and believe to be beautiful."

-William Morris 

"In England during the 1880s...
Morris urged Victorians to rid themselves of 
the ugly, the useless, and the uncomfortable 
in favor of simple and 'honest' furnishings."

We've already cleaned out our closets and our spice cabinets, 
now it's time for the rest of the house.

Sarah suggests this week doing a mediation with pen and paper. 
Go through each room in your home and keep in mind 
"simplicity, order, harmony, and beauty...

Really look at your surroundings...

Give thanks for your home exactly as it exists today.

Now begin the inquiry.

Ask each possession,

are you beautiful?

Useful?

Is it time for you to move on?

...sentimental?...

Use restraint.

Does it really tug at your heartstrings?

Would you mourn if it disappeared?

Be truthful...

Write all this information down.

Always allow yourself time to think on paper before you act.

The next step in the process is to make a commitment in writing, 
on your calendar to do one room a month...

If it's not beautiful, useful, or sentimental, it goes..."

Make two piles, one for the thrift store and one for "perfectly good objects of previous infatuations that no longer make your heart beat faster. 
This pile can be recycled as future gifts...

How can more good come into our lives if there is no room for it?...

Deciding to simplify our lives and bring order to our homes by sending on the objects we no longer love to new, happier incarnations with people who will genuinely appreciate them is the way to open ourselves up to receiving an abundance that will perfectly suit us."

Now if you haven't been doing this, 
I highly recommend using Sarah's plan of attack 
to get your home in order...

But I kind of do this all the time. 

I have a donate box in my garage, and when I find something that is not useful anymore or I don't like anymore it goes in the box. 

Anything broken that can not or should not be fixed immediately goes in the trash.

I have an ongoing donate bag of clothes for the kids. 

If I put something on them and it's too small, it immediately goes downstairs to the garage into the bag. When the bag is full I send it on its merry way to someone else who can get some good use out of them. 

Also, I like doing things all at once. 

Doing one room a month would drive me crazy. 

If you're like me, just spend a day. You probably already know what you don't want to keep, because every time you look at it it bothers you and you can't quite figure out why...

Anyways, happy clearing.  








***
Gratitude Journal
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1) A busy day. 

2) Good parks and good friends, both young and old.

3) Today is over.

4) My family.

5) Indy. There's something about a dog that will always bring a smile to your face.