Who knew a clean counter could make me so happy?

My house and life have become way too cluttered.

I have had a tough time de-cluttering both because I wanted to see action RIGHT AWAY. I didn’t want to wait.

Years ago I was introduced to the FlyLady way of doing things and was enamored. But, of course, just shining my sink wasn’t enough of a start for me… Oh no, I wanted all the change right away. And so I promptly failed.

I help people read the entire Bible in 90 Days day by day. The ones who jump in and aren’t satisfied to just do the daily reading and rest, but want to read extra or do extra study  are often the ones who burn out and do not finish. Knowing this,  you think I would embrace this approach of pacing myself in other areas of my life.

But I don’t. And I’m learning.

Tuesday I cleared my kitchen counters of clutter. Every paper went in its proper place. Every toy was redistributed properly. Every pen, hairclip, paperclip and everything else went right were it should have long ago.

I put away all the hand washables that were drying and marveled out the beautiful sink and counters.

And that afternoon, I announced to everyone in the house that the sink must remain that way and the counters must, too. “If you have time to use something that cannot go in the dishwasher, you must have time to wash it, dry it and return it to its place, too,” I said.

And you know what? Here we are on day two and my baby steps are working. I am filled with joy when I walk through the kitchen, instead of feelings of dread and failure. This is a beautiful beginning.