Target These Areas Next Time You Tidy
Growing up, these two areas of the home made me dread cleaning:
Cluttered surfaces, like windowsills that displayed decorative objects and past gifts
Closets, where I routinely stored things without regard for accessibility.
As an allergy sufferer, I always valued a clean home. I also became aware pretty early on how visual chaos caused me to feel overwhelmed and unfocused. Nonetheless, there was a time in my life where I did not know how to maintain orderliness in the home. I don’t think I’m unique in that! I recollect my childhood and remember the stress of feeling that, despite valuing a clean and tidy bedroom, I was unable to keep a clean and tidy bedroom. These are skills we have to learn- and that is ok!
As with so many other aspects of our lives, Christianity calls us to continuously improve and grow, looking for ways to orient our lives around Christ. Making the home a place of visual calm and reducing the time it takes to maintain it is an ongoing process where we apply new skills to the home and seek to free up space and time for Christ-centered living. Here are some of my tips for continuous growth in this area:
Every time you tidy up, identify areas that:
you dread to clean
take the most time to clean
never stay tidy for more than a day or two.
Pay attention to the process of cleaning these areas and any impediments to accessing not only the elements of the spaces that require maintenance, but also the tools to clean and tidy that these spaces require. For example, are objects in these spaces stored in such a way that accessing them always results in a mess? Are the objects themselves difficult to clean?
Once you have identified these “problem areas,” determine if the problem is with the type of storage utilized in this space, or if the space itself is limited. The former can require creativity and cleaning-friendly solutions, while the latter may suggest that it’s time to part with many of the items stored within, or use the space in a completely different way.
Let me know how your decluttering journey is going in the Catholic Minimalism community group on Facebook! Join now at https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicminimalismcommunity
Imagination: Your Most Underutilized Tool
I believe that one of the main reasons that so many lifestyle and organization goals are dropped or only work short-term is because of a lack of imagination.
Do you remember the role of imagination in your childhood?
You “played house,” and simply by visualizing the elements of the story, setting, and atmosphere, the gameplay vividly came together. You formed pictures in your mind of the toys you wished for and the friends you wanted to see. You also imagined what you wanted “to be” when you grew up. Imagination was possibly the most important tool for interacting with the present moment and planning for the future.
Invoking the tool of imagination in adulthood is like working an important muscle that’s been neglected. Applying this tool towards your lifestyle goals personalizes the journey towards a home that supports your goals. Imagination also opens up pathways to flexible solutions when the journey doesn’t go as planned!
The role of imagination steps in for me when I notice I’m running short on motivation. What does that look like in practice? I take a few minutes away from the tasks at hand to visualize myself living in the home and at the pace I desire. Almost like a mental Pinterest board, I allow images to drift into my consciousness that resonate with a sense of peace and fulfillment in the home: organic produce, a structured prayer life, an uncluttered closet filled with only clothes I love…
The next step is to dig deeper and ask yourself, “what do these images signify?” The image of “organic produce” that comes to mind is merely an aesthetically-pleasing tiered basket brimming with produce. Without asking this question- “what does this image signify”- I’d likely succumb to consumerism and purchase a tiered basket without considering how it would help me fulfill my vision. “What does it signify?” In this example, the answer for me is healthy eating, by way of an organized kitchen that makes it easier to prepare whole-food meals and visually keep stock of the produce I have on hand. The deeper meaning behind the image in my mind offers purpose, which feeds my motivation in pursuit of this goal. The goal, however, was realized through imagination- and if I continue to strengthen my imagination, it will serve me in the face of novel twists and turns along my home-making journey!
The takeaway here is that visualizing the home you want, the lifestyle you desire, and the type of person you strive to be is a thought process made invigorating and effective with use of the imagination. When you approach your home without imagination, your goals may not be fully realized, resulting in short-sighted, frenzied attempts at organization, structure, and cleaning. Let’s put imagination back in its place and find joy in the pursuit of our goals!
Join the interactive “Catholic Minimalism” Facebook Community at www.facebook.com/groups/catholicminimalismcommunity
Am I lazy?
From “Catholic Minimalism: Purposeful and Intentional Choice for the Home” (the community group on Facebook):
I don’t usually go for self-deprecating humor (surely God doesn’t like us disparaging His creation!) but in the past I have caught myself saying, ”I’m not really ‘a minimalist;” I’m just lazy.” What I have meant by that is that many of my attempts to declutter and minimize the introduction of physical things into my home are rooted in my dislike of frequent tidying, complicated dust-collecting surfaces, and the general maintenance that comes with owning things. Those reasons combined with living in a small space propelled my interest in seeing just how many things I can live without.
By engaging with minimalist content (you will hear me reference Josh Becker’s “Becoming Minimalist” in future articles, no doubt), I have taken on challenges that are certainly designed to save time in the future, but in the process of habit-changing and perspective-altering, I found myself working hard and even frustrated by the effort involved. In contrast with laziness, many of the strategies for managing one’s possessions require consistent motivation and effort before they become second-nature. For example, the minimalist challenge to “…immediately complete any task that can be accomplished in one minute or less” might be a hurdle at first despite the obvious long-term pay-off. Throwing some household object away because it requires too much maintenance doesn’t make you “lazy” either- particularly if the lack of the thing gives you time to focus on the more meaningful moments of life. In short, endeavoring to save time in the future requires effort in the present that is not consistent with laziness, but more so with hard work and a desire to challenge one’s habits.
Change is hard. But change is essential! Particularly as Christians, we know that radical transformation of many of our habits and drives is the route to salvation. We must be merciful with ourselves, as God is with us, in order to effectively continue on this journey of change- which precludes the voice inside that calls you “lazy”!
“…to live is to change. And to be perfect is to have changed often.” Bl. John Henry Newman
Why shop Catholic?
I’d like to speak to this topic in a series of blog posts because they are so many different angles from which to approach it!
The idea that we as Catholics should “shop Catholic,” even for secular goods, seems like a forgone conclusion. Afterall, it is “nice” to buy from a Catholic-owned shop. You and I probably feel slightly better whilst making a purchase from a Catholic- or even publicly Christian- seller than we do making another quasi-anonymous purchase at whichever chain retailer we’ve become accustomed to purchasing from.
The question as to why we should prefer or even have an obligation to shop Catholic required a bit of digging. I knew it must go beyond “because it is a nice thing to do” when I realized that I would happily buy a handmade scarf from a struggling widow, or a cold drink from a child’s lemonade stand. There are lots of purchases you could make in order to be nice and that would make you feel good. Patronizing businesses that share your faith, as a member of that faith, on the other hand, confers a lot more lasting value and forward direction than mere niceness.
Buying from Catholic shops means contributing to the greater Catholic community. Whether the vendor is from your parish or halfway across the world, your purchase supports a Catholic way of life for the individuals, religious communities, and families running these businesses. In a market that seems to favor deceptive generic convenience on a global scale, our Catholic identity is more at stake than ever. If our purchases reflect that Catholics across the world are the Body of Christ, on the other hand, we would realize that we can nourish that body by “shopping Catholic.”
Maybe this is our wake-up call to prioritize our spending in a way that nurtures our Church as the body of Christ- as opposed to watching little bits of our earnings disappear into disparate, faceless entities who actually want us to lose touch with our Catholic identity in favor of a disconnected secular one that spends without principle. Afterall, our money is frequently earned with time spent away from our families- how much more value does our time itself have if its wages are spent building up the Kingdom?
Catholic Minimalist takeaway: Our time is precious, and how we spend our money directly speaks to the value we hold for our time. Seeing ourselves as part of the Body of Christ calls for an attitude towards spending that speaks to our Catholic identity, which makes us more discerning shoppers, and can help us grow in fellowship with Catholics all around the world!
Worry is Useless
I. Reflection: What did Padre Pio say right after the often quoted line, “Pray, hope, and do not worry”?
He said “worry is useless”!
Many of you know that I am a psychotherapist in addition to a Catholic artist. Worry is present in almost every case I treat. People may even think it’s worry that drives them to pursue therapy in the first place, when most often, it’s hope!
When it comes to wellness, Catholics are so lucky. We are beyond fortunate to have the comforting words of the saints- as well as Scripture- that we know we can rely on and trust. When Padre Pio says, “Worry is useless,” he isn’t suggesting that our lives are devoid of suffering, but that prayer, unlike worry, is a hopeful, active response to pain or sadness. Recall Philippians 4:6-7:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Letting go of worry is no easy feat! But my advice is as follows: when you’re feeling consumed with a recurrent worry, ask yourself: “is worry helpful to me right now? Is it driving action? Is there something else I can do to bring me peace instead?”
II. Solutions: Letting go of worry is easier said than done, but here are a few changes one can make in the home that make worry much easier to deal with:
Predictable prayer routine
Established (and circumstantial) time limits on stressful discussions/venting
Purposeful designation of spaces around the house
Sacred music on during specific times of day
Interested in joining a community of Catholic declutterers, downsizers, and life-simplifiers? Join the discussion on Facebook:
Catholic Minimalism: Purposeful and Intentional Choices for the Home
https://facebook.com/groups/catholicminimalismcommunity
What is Catholic Minimalism?
Order is beautiful, which makes perfect sense because what is TRULY beautiful directs us to what is Divine.
Many of us Catholics strive to build “domestic churches,” giving our homes orderliness and beauty by decorating purposefully, spending prudently, and living intentionally.
One of the foundational principles supporting Little Botanical is my particular vision of “Catholic minimalism.” Afterall, what Little Botanical offers is the opportunity for Catholics give their homes “orderliness and beauty by decorating purposefully, spending prudently, and living intentionally”!
For some, “Catholic minimalism” might suggest a decorating style; for others, it’s a call to frugality, while many others apply the term to any exercise of prudence with regards to what comes into the home. My uniquely welcoming conceptualization of “Catholic minimalism” invites you to grow with us, no matter how you define “minimalist living” in your home; what unites us is a love of Christ and a desire to fulfill our vocations by inviting orderliness and simplicity into our lives!
Besides providing Little Botanical with a driving mission, Catholic Minimalism is also a chance to connect and learn as a community. I operate a Facebook community group dedicated to Catholic Minimalism as well as a corresponding Instagram. Join me on both platforms; let’s grow together!
Facebook community: facebook.com/groups/catholicminimalismcommunity
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catholic.minimalism
Love from,
Lea at Little Botanical
