upgradeyourlife

Entries in Kathi Lipp (2)

Tuesday

Feb182014

The Things Challenge

When I saw a motivating article by Kathi Lipp about about cutting back on clutter in 2014, I knew I had to have her share an Upgrade Your Organization post.

“I feel like I’m drowning in stuff!”

Oh yeah … I’ve been there. And I know a lot of women who are going down for the third time, overtaken by their affluence—all their "stuff." But we can all simplify, pare down, make wiser purchases, get our things in order and, in the process, glorify God. It’s part of the “whatever” found in Colossians 3:17.

Kathi has some good advice to help us know what to keep and what to eliminate.

She continues …

"Drowning in stuff." This is a sentiment I hear over and over again when I talk to women about their homes. And there has been a lot of talking going on in my corner of the web since we launched the 2014 Things Challenge where we ask readers to get rid of 2014 things in 2014.

The challenge part? Not having too much stuff—it’s deciding what’s worth keeping and what’s worth living without.

“Clutter is postponed decision making,” says Barbara Hemphill of The Paper Tiger Institute.

Many people want to hang on to items that they no longer need or love, but never deal with the reasoning behind their choices.

If you fall into this large category, it might be because you have memories attached to that item or you think you might use it in the future.

When you are unsure of what to do, it feels easier to keep everything and avoid making a difficult decision that might save space or mental energy. You can end up with a whole room full of “Things I Might Need to Save.”

Want to avoid being continually buried in a pile of “But I might need it some day!”? Here are four tips to guide you in the decision making process:

1. If you love it and use it, KEEP IT.

This one is easy. If you have sweet memories that you enjoy thinking about when you use the object and you actually use it, this is an item that you will want to save.

That pasta maker that you have used once since you got married? (And even then, you got mad the whole time because the noodles turned into mush?) You get rid of it, which brings us to the second tip:

2. If you don’t love it and don’t use it, TRASH IT.

Although this seems to be the easiest category to deal with, it is sometimes that hardest. Let’s talk about the potholder your aunt gave you. You never use it, and you don’t want to, but you feel guilty giving it away? Ask yourself if it makes your space a happier place to be. If not, you can just let it go.

3. If you don’t love it, but use it, WAIT.

Ask yourself, why you are still using it? Is it something that you are just using until you get something that you like better? Maybe the one you would like is one that is too expensive right now. Have a goal in mind to replace it, and when you do, give this one away!

4. If you don’t use it, but love it, GRAB A FRIEND TO HELP.

It helps to have someone to process why you love something and if it is something that you will really love down the line. Memories can be strong reasons to save things, but if you do not even have the space to display them properly, you are not honoring the memories because the items get smashed, trashed and put aside.

These tips will help to get rid of your things you do not want, but save the ones that really make you happy.

What are some creative ways you use to display things you love?

Kathi Lipp is the author of eight books including The Husband Project, The Get Yourself Organized Project, and Praying God’s Word for Your Life, and she speaks at conferences across the US. Find out more at kathilipp.com.

Praise for Hubby: 'You da' Man!'

Dawn Wilson

I met Kathi Lipp on the road at a women’s event. She is funny and smart. In her book, The Husband Project, she encourages women to share “great gossip” about their husbands. Others might call that “bragging on hubby” or becoming hubby’s cheerleader.

“As cliché as it may sound, our husbands want to be our heroes,” Kathi says. “More than they want to know that we love them, they want to know that we respect them. They need to know that they’re never the butt of our jokes, that they’re the go-to-guy in every story we tell.”

More from Kathi:

Make an opportunity today to spread some great gossip about your man. It doesn’t matter if it’s one of your friends or one of his; let that somebody know how blessed you are to be married to your guy.

Some key phrases you may want to put on index cards to help you remember:

“I feel so lucky to have a man who knows how to do his own laundry.”
“You know when I knew that my husband really loved me? When he could remember my order at Starbucks.”
“I just love the way he is with our kids.”
“He makes the best lasagna on the planet.”

Steering the Ship

A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it (James 3: 3-4 The Message). That’s what great gossip is all about.

As wives, we are often the ship’s captain, while our husbands are that huge ship. Words spoken in encouragement and love can go a long way to building our men up. But the opposite is true as well. There is nothing that can determine the direction of our husband’s day quicker than the words that are spoken to him in the morning.

Sometimes as wives, we forget the role we play in our husband’s lives. We all remember that great line from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, spoken by Toula’s mom, “The man may be the head of the household, but the woman is the neck. She tells him which way to turn.”

OK, I don’t tell my husband which way to turn, but I do have an influence about how he navigates through his day.

I know that I need to be especially careful about my tone. Sometimes I think I am just oh-so-witty, when really it’s coming off as sarcastic and biting. It’s not enough to just say kind and encouraging words. I need to make sure that whatever words I choose only build up my husband, never tear him down.

That’s what great gossip is all about.

If you could brag on your husband to the whole wide world, what would you say?

Kathi Lipp is a speaker and prolific author, including The Husband Project and Praying God’s Word for Your Husband with Revell and Harvest House Publishers with four more books coming out in the next two years. Kathi’s articles have appeared in dozens of magazines, and she is a frequent guest on Focus on the Family radio (named “Best of Broadcast”). She and her husband Roger are the parents of young adults in San Jose, CA. When she’s not doing laundry, Kathi speaks at retreats, conferences and women’s events.