• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Ruth Everhart

Author, Pastor, Speaker

  • Home
  • About
  • All Books
    • The #MeToo Reckoning
      • #MeToo Course
      • Available in Korean
    • Ruined
      • An Unpublished Chapter to RUINED
    • Chasing the Divine in the Holy Land
  • #MeToo Course
  • Blog
  • Lent Devotional
  • Free Resources
    • Articles
    • Audio/Podcasts
    • Videos
  • Big Blue Adventures
  • Contact

Clutter Creep: Now you see it, Now you don’t!

June 7, 2013 By Ruth Everhart Leave a Comment

Refrigerator magnets. Overstuffed bookshelves. Piles of paper on the kitchen counter. To me, it’s all visual clutter, and I say: Get rid of it! I like clean surfaces.

A couple weeks ago we reorganized a section of our basement. After we cleared out some “stuff” we decided to get rid of the shelf unit that held the stuff. (But we kept the never-used glass punch bowl. Some stuff is just appealing.)

The shelf unit was cheaply made of white laminate–no value–but good enough to hold stuff. We decided to put the shelf out on the curb the next fine Saturday. Maybe someone would take it home and fill it up with their stuff.

Temporarily, we set the unit on the breezeway between our house and garage. Breezeway, indeed. That night some strong winds blew the unit over onto the cement slab and broke the top shelf. The lower shelves were still intact, but now the unit seemed entirely worthless. Which made me vaguely sad.

Not wanting to admit that the unit belonged in a landfill, we started putting things on the shelves as we went in and out of the house. A few building supplies. A stray cooler. Gardening items. See? It’s handy!

In the space of two weeks, I no longer saw the unit anymore, or thought of it as an invader. It was visual clutter, but it was MY visual clutter and therefore invisible to me. It held the residue of stuff I wasn’t ready to deal with yet. By which I don’t mean the gardening items, so much as a whiff of guilt about my consumption, and the way my life creates garbage.

What visual clutter have you stopped seeing, and why?

Uncluttering as a Spiritual Practice

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Ruth Everhart Author

Let’s connect on social media!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Subscribe for Occasional Updates

* indicates required


Contact
Loading

Find a Blog Topic Here

  • Church & Sexuality (26)
    • A Christian Feminist on Abortion (1)
    • Egalitarianism (4)
    • Healthy Boundaries (1)
    • LGBT & Christianity (2)
    • Marriage & Vocation (3)
    • Planned Parenthood (1)
    • Podcasts #MeToo (1)
    • Reviews #MeToo (1)
    • Sexual Abuse & Church (10)
  • Exploring Washington DC (3)
    • Embassy Tour 2022 (2)
    • Library of Congress (1)
  • Ministry Leadership (62)
    • Advent/Christmas (3)
    • Ascension/Pentecost (3)
    • Church Clutter (1)
    • Church Hospitality (6)
    • Churches & Money (2)
    • Handcrafted Communion Boxes (1)
    • Leading the Small Church (10)
    • Learning as an Air Bnb Host (4)
    • Lectionary Study (6)
    • Lent/Easter (7)
    • Liturgical Leadership (2)
    • Ordained as a Clergywoman (9)
    • Presbyterian Church (USA) (5)
    • Rock Creek Presbyterian Church (1)
    • Transforming Congregations (5)
  • My Family (45)
    • My Dad, Nicholas J. Huizenga (13)
    • My Sister's Kidney Donation (3)
    • Raising Our Daughters (18)
    • Why I Still Love My Husband (9)
  • My Writing (35)
    • Awards (4)
    • Korean Translation (1)
    • My Writing Journey (13)
    • Published in Christian Century (12)
    • Reviews of My Books (3)
    • Writing A Rape Memoir (2)
  • People I Learn From (38)
    • Abraham Lincoln (7)
    • Conversations with Strangers (15)
    • Gordon Lightfoot (2)
    • Harriet Tubman (1)
    • Lectures by Smart People (8)
    • Nelson Mandela (1)
    • U2 (4)
  • Pilgrimage to the Holy Land (65)
    • Be a Virtual Pilgrim (3)
    • Interfaith Issues (1)
    • Israel & Palestine (13)
    • Lent Devotional about pilgrimage (47)
  • Spiritual Reflection (50)
    • 2022 (1)
    • Aging (8)
    • Birds (1)
    • Bread (1)
    • Ending Gun Violence (5)
    • Finding Happiness (3)
    • Grief & Grieving (8)
    • Prayer (2)
    • Sabbath & Snow (4)
    • Silence at a Monastery (2)
    • Uncluttering as a Spiritual Practice (14)
  • Travel (30)
    • Belize (1)
    • Big Blue Adventures (1)
    • Chesapeake Bay (4)
    • Dominican Republic (1)
    • Michigan (3)
    • New Mexico Pilgrimage as a Family (1)
    • New York City (1)
    • Newfoundland (1)
    • Prince Edward Island PEI (8)
    • Shenandoah (2)
    • Washington DC (7)
  • Words & Writing (57)
    • Book Reviews (12)
    • Lyrics & Music (11)
    • Nourishing Creativity (4)
    • Writer with Kitty Cat (2)
    • Writers on Writing (6)
  • Working with Holidays in Church (11)
    • 9/11 September 11, 2001 (1)
    • All Saints Day (1)
    • Memorial Day (2)
    • Mothers Day (2)
    • New Years (4)
    • Valentines Day (1)

Footer

  • Home
  • About
  • All Books
    • The #MeToo Reckoning
      • #MeToo Course
      • Available in Korean
    • Ruined
      • An Unpublished Chapter to RUINED
    • Chasing the Divine in the Holy Land
  • #MeToo Course
  • Blog
  • Lent Devotional
  • Free Resources
    • Articles
    • Audio/Podcasts
    • Videos
  • Big Blue Adventures
  • Contact
Log in
Recent Blogposts:
  • PCUSA Ordination Exam on Judges 19
  • NYC Weekend: Celebrating a Milestone Birthday
  • Greetings to the Rock Creek Presbyterian Church (Tallula, IL) on their 200th Anniversary!
  • Lady Gaga in Concert, DC Aug 2022
  • Embassy Tour 2022 — European Union