Clutter and Dominion
Photo of John’s room
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21).
In my last post I mentioned that I’d made a New Years resolution to keep my room organized – have I kept it? Oh ye of little faith! Indeed I have. I’m happy to report that after nearly a month, my room still looks more or less like it did when I cleaned and decluttered it in early January. If you yawned or rolled your eyes at that, I most humbly ask for your indulgence. Staying organized and keeping my room free of clutter has never come easy for me. On a good week (I’m being generous here) my room has normally regressed to 60-75% organized after two or so days post cleaning. So whether this streak represents a long term change in my character, or it’s a burst of enthusiasm that will soon fizzle out, the fact remains that I’ve never kept my room this clean for this long. Whatever this is, it’s undeniably a breakthrough.
How did it happen? After a retreat I took during our winter break, I came away convicted that I needed to become more organized in every facet of my life. My room seemed like a good place to start. I used one of my Audible credits to get Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and followed her instructions about 75% of the time. The gist of Kondo’s method is that you go through all of your possessions, and you determine whether or not to keep items by holding them in your hand and asking yourself, ‘does this item bring me joy?’ You do this first by emptying your closets and drawers to purge unwanted clothing. Then you take all the books you own off the shelves and do the same. Finally you grab all other miscellaneous items, wisely saving sentimental ones for last. I say wisely because these pose the greatest mental and emotional burden when it comes to deciding whether to keep or get rid of things. But by the time I got to my sentimental items I’d already had hundreds of small opportunities to reflect on and discover what was really important to me. These micro-meditations gave me the clarity and strength to see sentimental items for what they were without undue fear.
I think the wisdom of Kondo’s method lies in the way it helps you clarify your personal relationship with your possessions. Kondo talks about how arbitrary rules like ‘throw out what you haven’t worn in a year’ or ‘get rid of one item for every item you buy’ often have little staying power because they are artificial. Going through each and every one of my items to individually evaluate them shifted my approach from external rules to internal motivation. It allowed me to take personal responsibility and true ownership of what I possessed. Before this declutter, I acquired possessions in the same way a room gets dusty. Things just floated in. Now, just about everything in my room is there because I’ve taken it in my hands and decided it brings value and joy to my life. You wouldn’t believe the mental and emotional bandwidth this has freed up.
In Fathered by God, John Eldridge talks about how men need to live out their role as kings. Although he wrote specifically about men, women too, as baptized members of the body of Christ, share in Jesus’ kingship. Although not all of us hold an official position of leadership, we all have a sphere of authority – our own dominion. This includes any people we may have direct authority over, but it also includes our possessions, and perhaps most importantly, it includes ourselves. In light of this definition, Eldridge asks us: ‘What is life like under your rule?’
As I intensively decluttered my room, I realized that this was an area of negligence in my kingship. My room was crawling with clothes I didn’t like and would never wear, books that I didn’t like and would never read, class notes that I wouldn’t or could no longer use, countless unnecessary trinkets, and an embarrassing amount of garden variety trash. Instead of manifesting the beauty, peace, and order of the kingdom of God, my room reflected my own procrastination, indecision, and fear. Ultimately, I think keeping my room organized now comes easily because I’ve truly brought it under my dominion.
Please note that I speak only for myself here. As valuable as an orderly room is, it’s not the be all and end all. If yours is messy, perhaps it reflects the fact that you’ve chosen an even more valuable way to spend your time. Even Kondo, the international tidiness sensation herself, has recently chosen to allow her house to become messy after having her third child. Today I encourage you to take some time to pray and reflect on how you rule your dominion, and how you steward the possessions God has given you. If you come across any areas where you fall short in your faithfulness and diligence, make a resolution to remedy this, but let joy be your compass.
John Brundage is a seminarian with the Companions of the Cross. He also writes a Substack Newsletter called Integrated Prayer.