January Food Group: Decluttering Home & Streamlining Your Kitchen

Hello, friends!

The New Year is nearly upon us, and we're looking forward to starting fresh and encouraging each other along the way. For the first Food Group meeting of 2011, we're going to spend time sharing ideas on Decluttering Our Homes and Streamlining Our Kitchens. If you'd like to join in, event details are below.

{ Simplify }

Why declutter?

Why streamline?

Why pare down possessions?

Simplicity.
Gratefulness & Satisfaction.
Contentment.

Yes, it takes time to sort through the cupboards and bins and boxes. It takes time to make decisions on what could go and what should stay.

But how much time does it take to find something "missing" in the midst of messy drawers? Or to clean and put away fifteen dirty glasses when only four were ever actually used at the same time?

If I don't need it now and probably won't need it then...why not give it away and make space in my home for a deep breath and a simple view?

Personally, I often hold on to things out of worry. Worry that I'll not have enough when the time comes. Worry that if I let go of it now, I'll kick myself later. Worry that I might end up spending more resources to re-acquire possessions I've given away in haste.

Yet, we are called to make decisions out of trust and generosity and wisdom.

What I eat and drink and wear and store in my cupboards and closets? As it is written, "...do not worry about your life... Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

(In that vein, here's a song ~Birds of the Air~ by sweet-voiced Portland local, Annie Bethancourt.)

Valuing the possessions we do keep around, sharing the wealth of possessions that would otherwise go unused, and being mindful of the quality, source, and lifetime of new possessions we bring into our homes ~ these are the the bits of Food For Thought we plan to ponder.

You Are Welcome~

Wednesday, January 5th, 7:00-8:30pm
Bethany's Home
92nd & NE Burnside, Portland, Oregon
Please RSVP for Directions

Food Group: Join us the first Wednesday night of the month for ideas, resources, and camaraderie on the food front. As always, feel free to bring a friend, bring something to eat, bring a story about your food-life, or just bring yourself and enjoy the good company and conversation...

{ Pare Down }

To begin making progress one step at a time, see Emily's Decluttering Method.
To decide what to do with your extras, take a peek at The Story of Stuff and particularly watch the section on Disposal, then gather up everything that can be recycled and reused:

Bonus: If during the post-holiday lull you get a jump-start on your kitchen decluttering, please plan to bring your extra tools, utensils, and those perfectly-good-but-not-often-used cookbooks that you'll no longer be needing around your own home ~ we'll give the group an opportunity to swap (who knows? perhaps someone's really been needing that old egg timer of yours! no sense in purchasing if a friend has a spare), and then we'll package all of our extra items as a donation to My Father's House Family Shelter.

What have you been holding on to?
It's a New Year. Let's do this thing together...

~Bethany