On Managing your Domain

The beauty of being an adult and having our own space is that we are in charge of what comes in and goes out of our space. Although everything we have is a blessed gift from the Lord,

{ The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord. – Psalm 24:1 }

this doesn't mean that we just sit back and let the responsibility of our space and things manage themselves. We have been called to care for our domain. We have been called to steward what we've been given. 

{ Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest. – Proverbs 3:9 }

And I've found that the best way to do this is to make sure that I am FULLY aware of everything in my home.

{Sidenote: I'm sure this is easier in some seasons then others. I don't have kids that are old enough to really be coming and going with things that I don't know about. I'm sure this will change. So keep that in mind and recognize that your season may look at little different, BUT that isn't a reason why you can't still manage most of the spaces in your home. You are the one who teaches them how to steward their things properly, right?}

I keep control over our spaces by making sure that everything has a home. For example, scissors and tape and glue have a very specific resting place in our home. My daughter's hair ties and bows have a specific home, they aren't  just haphazardly in every drawer and space. Everything has a home and an organizational system (we'll get to that next week!), and my people (for the most part) know exactly where everything goes. To be honest, my kids are better at this then my husband, he's not wired to remember where everything goes (especially when I am constantly reassessing and moving things to new locations that make the most sense for each season), but they all do their best and make sure to ask if they don't already know.

We live fairly minimally in our home. We don't have multiples and we don't stockpile a lot. We do this by not shopping a lot (but that's a whole different conversation!).  For example, I don't believe in stockpiling a tissue box for each room of the house. It's rare that we all have runny noses at the same time, so we have one tissue box. It has a specific home in the laundry room closet, and we pull it out whenever someone needs it. There is no need to have 5 + open tissue boxes in our home - that just adds to the clutter.  Sure I buy things in bulk, like toilet paper, but for the most part, we are very discerning about how much of what item comes into our home. 

We keep lists of items we want or need and we are discerning about when it comes into our home. This helps our spending habits, but it also keeps clutter down. I don't just buy something when I want it. I add it to my list and marinade on it for a while. We make lists when we go shopping and we stick to the lists. If I see something I want, I'll add it to my list, I don't just impulse buy. Of course we aren't perfect at this, but we consistently work towards creating this habit. 

A good way to keep those wish lists and needs lists handy is by using your phone. I have a private Amazon list of items we can get on Amazon. I also use the notes section of my phone to keep a list of items I need to pick up the next time I'm at Target. We don't frequent Target or Costco. We grocery shop once a week, and maybe visit those other stores once every 6 weeks. We have switched over to a lot of online shopping (with free shipping options) in order to lessen how much we go into stores. This helps us from acquiring more things in our home! 

As you're decluttering your home, I want to encourage you to start making lists. Make lists of items that are broken and need to be replaced. Make lists of items you wish you had. Don't just buy those items, add them to a list. Keep good lists, marinade on what you really need versus just want, and be discerning when you buy new items for your home. 

Another item of note as you're coming off of your decluttering mission, is to find a local organization you believe in where you can donate your newly discarded items. Be discerning about who you give your donations to as some places are for-profit and not non-profit. I don't know about you, but I want to donate my items to a location that will resell my items for the good of others, not for the good of some corporation. 

If you are in the process of paying down debt and/or need to make some extra money, hosting a yard sale or open house sale is a good way to help discard some of your items and make a little bit of extra money towards your financial goals. Here are some tips for that. 

Being a discerning gatekeeper over your domain is super important to begin to cultivate that home culture you desire to have. You do not have to live as simply as I described that we choose to live, you need to find what works best for your family, but overall, my hope and desire for this series is that you will begin to think more clearly and intentionally about your home. My hope is that you will begin to think of it as a space that you can and should have control over. Your home doesn't have to feel chaotic, and truly taking the time to walk through these few easy steps can help you being to better manage your space and ultimately the culture of your home.

If you aren't already following along, I want to encourage you to hop over to Instagram and follow the journey there. I'll be sharing daily in my Instagram Stories about our home and even giving you glimpses into how we manage our home.