Overview:
Author Shewanda Riley shares her experience of spring cleaning, which turned into a 9-hour task. She discovered she had a lot of paper and folders that she didn't need, and after throwing them away, she felt relieved and realized she had been living with clutter for a long time. Riley admits that she held onto things for sentimental reasons, but she also feared being unprepared for the future. She believes that throwing away what she didn't need now leaves room for God to give her what he wants her to have so she can do what he wants her to do.
“Hi! My name is Shewanda. And I’m a pack rat.” I felt like I should be saying these words as I continued on my number one priority, a few years ago, at the beginning of the month of March: Spring Cleaning. What I thought would take me a few hours ended up taking me almost 9 hours. With careful consideration, I went through the piles of paper and folders, sheets of paper I didn’t realize I had, and some I didn’t remember why I kept. In those cases, I threw them away. I figured if I hadn’t touched it in a year, I didn’t need it.
I even told myself before I started cleaning that I would not talk myself out of throwing stuff away (like I usually did). I started in my bedroom and even brought just a few garbage bags upstairs because I didn’t have as much there (or so I thought). One by one, the four bags were filled within minutes. One bag was so full that it nearly burst when I tried to pick it up. The crazy part was that it wasn’t anything terribly important that I was throwing away, just a few old notes, left over brochures from conferences, and other miscellaneous projects.
Even though I watched many talk shows with self-professed hoarders and pack rats, I never saw myself as one of “those” people. Sure, I like to hold onto stuff for sentimental reasons (like all of my report cards starting at kindergarten or my Girl Scout sash and beret). I just figured since I had good reasons for keeping these things, it didn’t matter how much it was.
But I had to admit one thing after I’d bagged all of the trash up and taken it outside: I felt so relieved without the clutter. I was amazed at how I’d allowed myself to get used to the clutter. Of course, I noticed it building over time, but I was always able to excuse it away.
Why did I hold onto those things that I said I needed, but didn’t ever use? And why was I afraid to throw them away? The more I thought about it, I had to admit my fear was that I didn’t want to be unprepared. Keeping those items gave me a false sense that I’d be ready…for what I wasn’t sure. John 15:2 says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Throwing away the clutter felt like I was being pruned. I now try to look at it this way: throwing away what I didn’t need now leaves room for God to give me what he wants me to have so I can do what he wants me to do.
Shewanda Riley is a Fort Worth, Texas-based author of “Love Hangover: Moving from Pain to Purpose After a Relationship Ends” and “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers for Writers.” Email her at preservedbypurpose@gmail.com or follow her on Instagram @shewandawrites.