Laugh Lines

Saved by the Hips

I got this great new plan to become more organized. Maybe I have watched too many programs on television to help make better use of space. The first step they teach about organizing a home is to sort household goods. I took a good slow walk through my house and realized I am prepared for just about anything. I mentally put all my stuff in four basic categories.

Household goods I need to live here (I’m a missionary.)
clothes I wear and those that don’t fit anymore
books I use or might use
memorabilia that won’t fit in scrapbooks, albums, or collector cases

The next step was to sort and organize items in each of these categories.

Instead of leaving all those piles of stuff alone, home organizers say to buy large plastic tubs, clearly label them for the items not in use, then store them out of the way. That is why houses have attics. I got so excited about getting organized that I rushed out and bought plastic tubs and a good marking pen. How hard could this be?

The household goods for living seemed like an obvious place to start organizing. But how could I possibly thin down or even consider storing these items? After all, I had purchased or received these things knowing they were what I needed to survive. I took inventory and realized that they do not build kitchen cabinets that even come close to holding the number of kitchen gadgets needed. Linen closets are always way too small for the number of towels that need to fit in them. The space under the bathroom sink is obviously a joke if it is really meant to hold a woman’s toiletries! My small laundry room forces me to either buy the more expensive tiny-sized laundry products or purchase the mega boxes and climb over them as they fill up the remaining space. Obviously this organizing business was proving to be more difficult than I thought.

I don’t have enough time or space here to discuss my clothing issues. I wonder if clothes actually multiply in dark closets when we aren’t looking. We all know we have seasonal clothes, as well as the right clothes for the right events and the necessary shoes and accessories every woman is expected to possess. This was one area where I could do some serious sorting. I finally decided to shove the out-of-season items into labeled totes and lug them to the garage. Whew! One step in my organizational process was starting to take shape.

Another problem area is my piles of books because I love to read. I say I love to read but I also just love books. I own books for ministry to women, books that relate to teaching and I own books just for fun. Books have been written on just about everything and somehow I think having a book on a topic will help me be better prepared for any future opportunity. Even though I don’t really read all the books I own, it is a comfort to know that I could someday.

I decided I shouldn’t put all my books in the attic because it would be impossible to refer to one in the middle of the night without pulling the car out of the garage and pulling down the ladder for attic access. Besides, it seemed like a heavy risk to have them sitting up in the attic over my head.

My next decision was to put holiday items and other occasional items up in the attic. Have you ever heard that if you don’t need something for several years, you probably don’t really need it at all? Well, that thought is beyond me. For some reason, I just “know” that an item will be invaluable down the road. Besides, everything I have is connected with memories. I can’t understand how people can just toss out or give away things that have sentimental value. I can claim some reason to hang onto everything. Just the other day I needed some information from that third cousin’s 10-year-old wedding invitation!

I finally filled several large plastic tubs with an impressive collection of important, but not immediately needed goods. I pulled down the attic ladder in the garage and began to push each heavy tote over my head, rung by rung, to reach the attic storage area. Midway through, I suddenly heard a loud cracking sound and instantly found myself sliding straight out of the attic’s opening. With a heavy tote slamming on my head, I realized I was falling. Then, with a sudden unexpected jerk, I stopped. I paused to look at my new predicament. Several rungs of the ladder had broken away as I had plunged downward through the ladder’s structure. I was now wedged in the middle of the two side beams dangling helplessly in midair. I had just been rescued from crashing to the cement surface below. I was “saved by the hips.” Rather scraped and bruised, I developed a new appreciation for those extra pounds lodged there. Those pounds had come to my rescue.

Not only did the whole organizational exercise show me that those extra chocolates weren’t so bad on my hips after all, but I also realized that God doesn’t want us to collect everything we need for the future. He wants us to learn to be content with what we have and to trust Him with tomorrow. The sixth chapter of Matthew reminds us not to worry about things because our Heavenly Father knows our needs. And He doesn’t even have to remember which tote He put it in!