Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Organized Simplicity


How can you really not like a book yet be motivated to do something that it suggests after reading it?

This is what happened after I read Organized Simplicity. Now, I do have to admit that I got this book as a freebie through amazon for my Kindle. It is possible that the actual book could be better because of graphics, typeset, or what have you.

But I think that you have to be living in a parallel universe to follow Oxenreider's ten day simplification plan. Yes, she has a plan for you to follow to simplify your entire home within ten days. Now, I think if you don't do anything else but this for ten days you might could do it. If you live in an apartment and don't have anything much in your home already you could easily manage. I think this is what has happened in Oxenreider's own situation.

Now, I did read in her blog about her book and how it came about. Because her blog was so popular, Oxenreider was approached by a publisher to do this book. She had to create the ten day plan while writing. But her situation was quite different from ours. She and her husband had decided that they wanted to live outside the United States for a couple of years while their children were small. They had to do a great deal of simplifying before leaving the country. So, Oxenreider had a perspective that most of us do not. She had already been forced to simplify and she most likely had not increased her belongings knowing that they would be moving back the States. In addition, both Oxenreider and her husband had online businesses which can be more conducive to spending lots of time cleaning out your closets.

Even after reading this book, I am still not sure how she was able to get her husband to agree to all the cleaning she was doing. Perhaps he is not a pack rat like someone in my own household. Ahem. Again, being forced to simplify could be part of the trick.

After reading this with a great deal of disbelief, I was actually motivated to simplify my own home. But not in ten days. Ten months is more my own speed. I have started with the basement and the goal of getting rid of or organizing one thing every day. Some weeks I do a lot in one day while other weeks I do one thing at a time. My goal is to see an improvement each month. Interestingly, my husband has really noticed and affirmed what I have been attempting. As a side note, helping clean up after a tornado hit near my home has also helped me to focus on what things I really want to keep.

That brings me to my faith connection: what is really important? Like many Americans, I have collected quite a bit of stuff in my lifetime. But, like everyone else, I am not going anywhere with it when I die. I believe in the resurrection of the body, not the resurrection of my Dickens Village, Christmas ornament collection or even my family scrapbooks. Why do I have so much stuff? I support a child through Compassion International. She has a bed and one or two sets of clothes. No toys, books, collections or beauty supplies. Who am I to collect all these belongings? Certainly, I never see Jesus owning anything but the clothes on his back. What is wrong with me as a believer with so much baggage?

I am not sure I can recommend this book but I don't want to not recommend this book. I think everyone of my readers could use some motivation to simplify. What do you think?

Happy reading (and simplifying)!

Amelia


2 comments:

  1. Amelia, such good words to ponder. Thanks for reminding us!
    Elaine Graves-Freeman

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  2. Yep - good points in that last paragraph!

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