CLUTTER!

Phil
12 minutes ago
3 min read

"Clutter is a disorderly collection of items or a state of disorder.

It can refer to physical objects like a messy room or a cluttered desk,

but also to abstract things like a large amount of confusing information.

Causes often include

sentimental value,

lack of time,

fear of throwing something out that we might need later.

The effect of clutter can range from a cluttered living space

to a negative impact on mental and physical health."

I couldn't have put it better than AI!

Me being an only child, and Jan as good as an only child, the contents of our parents' homes had to be dispersed. Much of our parents' belongings became ours to use or to store; "white goods" no longer safe belonging to one of our Sons and some other effects of his. The boys' prams, pushchairs, and toys for which they had no further use, we discovered what lofts and garages are for!

When we decided to update our kitchen three years ago, the excellent chap who was going to do this for us asked if we could create some room in which he could work.

We didn't have room! Imagine how delighted we were to find an excellent storage place just four miles away from us near Ropley. and for three years furniture and other items were stored in this lock-up..... at a cost!

Because of family problems, plus my two knee replacements, our less-cluttered home had to survive without our "Ropley belongings". Whatever was stored in Ropley hadn't been missed. But it was the £195 a month storage charge that was the final motivation to sort this out once and for all. How do we go about getting rid of stuff of which we have been unable up until now? Excuses, valid excuses, such as sentimental value, "fear of throwing something out that we might need later,

and a lack of time or emotional energy to face this frighteningly vast task.

I think it was Facebook that Jan saw mention of “The Declutter Duo” just down the road in Alresford. In just a few hours they brought chaos into order, and thanks to the Declutter Duo we have more room at home, and a safe, uncluttered walkway through our garage.

God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Declutter Trio.

Christ, through His Church, has given us a special gift, Confession,

to help us De-clutter our lives.

Sacramental Confession offers us a personal encounter with Jesus Christ

through a priest who represents him,

who prays with you as a fellow sinner, not a judge,

to offer guidance, and enable you to hear the voice of Jesus

speaking to you, if truly sorry, words to address a cluttered spirit,

of forgiveness and absolution.

In the early Church, confession was public. Confession was made in the presence of the entire faith community. When this became impractical, it was the priest who “stood in” for the community, as its presiding officer and as its witness to the penitent’s repentance.

In the present day we do not confess “to” the priest; rather, we confess to God

“in the presence of” the priest who, as the prayer before Confession clearly states,

is God’s “witness” and who, having witnessed our confession of sins offers pastoral advice on how we can better our lives and overcome the very things we can confess. Just as one would not attempt to diagnose, much less cure, one’s own physical ailments, so too one should not attempt to diagnose, much less cure, one’s own spiritual ailments.