Debby McCuiston, the “Queen of Clutter-Free”, does a segment for us each Sunday on simplifying our lives, getting rid of “clutter”, and focusing on what’s important. We look forward to her words of wisdom each week & hope you enjoy it too! Take it away Debby….

Next week at this time my sweet hubby and I will be headed to New York to see our handsome son and lovely daughter in law. We will be traveling on the Mega Bus; it is the best deal going for traveling right now.  Round trip tickets to New York for 2 adults will cost us about $76.00.  If you have the time to ride instead of flying to your destination it is well worth your time and money.  We couldn’t find airline tickets for under $200 to $300 apiece. Now we can save some money and enjoy the trip.

The thing that stresses me the most about going on any trip is the packing.  Now that there are such strict regulations on size and weight of your suitcase and carry on I almost panic at the thought of packing.  I have to mentally plan out the week’s activities and check the weather then I can begin to plan my wardrobe for the week.

When my kiddos where younger and we made our yearly trip to Florida to visit my family, it was very easy to pack for them.  A bathing suit or 2 and clean underwear and they were happy. Of course I did pack more, much more; sometimes it seemed like their entire wardrobe wound up in their little suitcase. Over time I realized I had to become very organized when packing for them. I used gallon sized zip lock bags and packed a complete outfit for each day, it included the outfit for the day, underwear, socks, hair bow (for my daughter) and shoes. It made getting ready much easier and I never heard “I can’t find ________”.  I have even labeled each bag by the day to keep them from wearing an outfit I had purchased for them to wear to a special event.  You would be surprised how much easier it makes life to have something so simple already planned out. The kids didn’t care what they wore just as long as they didn’t have to find it or make decisions about it. So it was a win-win situation. I stopped doing this when their clothes no longer fit in the gallon size bags then I just packed outfits together and hoped for the best each morning.

So many things to think about and decisions to make when trying to pack on a trip that it makes my brain tired and I wish I could live with the idea that “I shall not clutter up my pretty little mind with all that thinking”. Great way to look at it if you can do it but I would wind up naked in New York City, not a good idea!! (But in that crowd I am not sure if anyone would even notice)

I try to pack according to what is available in the area. It is not common for apartments in NY to have a washer and dryer so a trip to the laundry mat will be in the plans.  If you run out of clothes it will require a trip of several blocks carrying a load or two of dirty clothes along with the bottle of washing soap just to get to a washer and you may or may not have to wait for a washer and dryer, you can plan on staying for a while.

Many times I have left on a trip thinking if I forgot something I can always stop by a local store and pick up the missing item. In the city there are NO Wal-Mart’s, it’s a train ride to get to Target that takes at least 45 minutes not counting the walk and wait to catch the subway, so most shopping is done at the local mom and pop stores or drugstores that may or may not have the size, color or brand you need. With that in mind I feel I must pack everything I may need in that little tiny suitcase. So my first priority is packing enough clean underwear to last the entire week with a few extras for emergencies (you never know), that just one of those girl things!

I use to pack shoes to match every outfit, this trip it’s all about comfortable and walking shoes (white tennis shoes match everything).  Gone are the days of a fresh pair of pants and matching top every day, a couple of mix and match outfits will do just fine.  Surprising how our priorities change as we get older and wiser.

I also have to remember why we are making this trip to the “Big Apple”. It’s not about the plays we might see or the places we will eat it’s not even about the amazing stores we may shop at, it’s all about the time we get to spend with our kids. I can be very very content to just sit and visit with them but it makes them a little nervous to have me sitting and staring at them 24/7. If you are a parent and your kids do not live close you know what I mean. Just to be in their presence is enough for me.

In reality isn’t that how we are supposed to be with the Lord. To come to Him with our needs and wants usually is what our relationship is all about. How much time do we spend asking for things or for the Lord to fix a problem or make someone do something we want them to do? Don’t you get tired of always being “needed to do or give something” and not having them content to be with you for who you are not what you can do for them? Needing and wanting are not relationship building traits, they are ok in small doses but all the time will wear you out.

I know at times my prayers are like fly-bys, a quick thanks, a list of needs and an even quicker, thanks talk to you soon.  If I got those types of phone calls time after time, I am not sure I would continue to answer the phone when their number appears on call ID.  But we know that our Lord listens every time we approach the throne with a request, but how it must grive His heart when we won’t even stay long enough to hear His answer.

To have a deeper relationship with Christ we must be content to just be in His presence! We must take time to listen and obey! We must have a 2 way conversation with Him not a “fly-by” chat. Really, who do we think we are that we think we can run into the presence of the All Mighty God, the lover of our soul, and demand what we want then turn to leave without so much as a second thought. I have done this so many times, when I stop and think about it I wonder if I had stayed what would He have said, what would I have felt in my heart as I heard Him explain the plans He has for me and as He shows me the future He has already set into motion. How many of those precious moments have I missed? How many blessings have I not even noticed because I was so caught up in my wants and needs I couldn’t see His hand moving in my life and in the lives of those I love?

As we try to pack so much in each day or each trip in life, may we take time to see the hand of God as it moves with purpose in our life.  May we not miss the blessings because we are so busy packing our days with what we want and think we need.  Let’s live with intention to build our relationship with the Lover of our soul!

Love you ladies,

Debby queenofclutterfree@yahoo.com

 

 

 

Debby McCuiston, the “Queen of Clutter-Free”, does a segment for us each Sunday on simplifying our lives, getting rid of “clutter”, and focusing on what’s important. We look forward to her words of wisdom each week & hope you enjoy it too! Take it away Debby….

Since the weather has turned a bit cool I have gotten in the mood to cook.  I use to cook a lot, when the kids still were around and their friends were in and out all of the time.  But with just 2 people in the house I have gotten out of the habit of cooking, grocery shopping or even thinking about it, it’s just easier to decide where to eat and what time to be there.  I remember my mom saying it was easier to cook for a houseful of people than for just her and dad.  At the time I didn’t understand but now it makes sense to me.  When you are used to cooking for a herd, unless you like leftovers for a month or have friends and family that you could help out with a home cooked meal, you wind up wasting a lot of food.

During my college days I joined a cookbook club, I am not sure why but at the time it made sense.  It was one of those that they sent you the card about the next latest and greatest book that would be setting in your mailbox next month if you didn’t send the magic card back.  Needless to say I have several of those cookbooks because I forgot to send the card back.  At the time I didn’t really panic because I knew prince charming would come along, we’d marry and I would need to know 330 ways to cook squid.

Now that I am older and hopefully a bit wiser no one in their right mind needs a cookbook with that many ways to cook anything. Believe it or not I finally got rid of that cookbook just a few years ago when I was speaking at a Christmas luncheon for the cafeteria ladies at the school I used to teach at, I gave it to the lady that had worked there the longest. (creative regifting)

Over the past 100 years (or so it seems) I have collected recipe books, cut recipes out of the newspaper and magazines, gotten recipes from great meals of friends and have a small collection of family favorites. I gathered these with the best of intensions to cook these for my family and they would then be added to one of their great childhood memories. I could even visualize setting around the table and the kids talking on for hours about this wonderful meal or that one.  Reality is that I have a few go to meals, I rarely branched out from the normal nightly meal and being honest it was easier, quicker and I usually kept those items on hand. [Read more...]

Debby McCuiston, the “Queen of Clutter-Free”, does a segment for us each Sunday on simplifying our lives, getting rid of “clutter”, and focusing on what’s important. We look forward to her words of wisdom each week & hope you enjoy it too! Take it away Debby….

If you haven’t been hit with any of the crazy weather in the last few months, please count yourself among the extremely blessed. Our area is still trying to recover from the unbelievable tornadoes that came through this past spring. Rarely does a day go by that someone somewhere doesn’t have to face the devastation of over the top downpours, mudslides, forest fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and or droughts.  As I watch the stories unfold about how family after family have to deal with the loss of family members, their homes and almost all of their personal possessions, I find myself at a loss for words trying to figure out what I would do when given the same devastation.

Of course, I find it necessary to come up with a plan to help settle my mind at the thought of having my world totally turned upside down.  Growing up in Florida I grew up knowing about hurricane season and all the preparation that goes with living in the sunshine state.  During this season there were always certain things that must be done each and every time the weatherman gave a name to the next hurricane that was starting to form and head our way.

As soon as a hurricane was on the map my mom started cooking anything and everything that might spoil if the electricity went out. We always had a large collection of milk jugs filled with water and a store house filled to the brim with tuna, spam and peanut butter and lots and lots of candles. To tell you the truth I thought hurricane season was code for party season. While my mom was cooking her little heart out so was every other mom in the neighborhood. Then just before the storm hit our city everyone went from house to house boarding up all the windows and tying down anything that might blow away. Next they would gather up clothes, blankets, pillows and all the prepared food and headed over to our house. Party time!!!! We usually had about 4 or 5 families safe and sound in our little house. Then when the clouds parted and the storms had passed everyone started the task of putting our world back together. [Read more...]

Debby McCuiston, the “Queen of Clutter-Free”, does a segment for us each Sunday on simplifying our lives, getting rid of “clutter”, and focusing on what’s important. We look forward to her words of wisdom each week & hope you enjoy it too! Take it away Debby….

Please excuse me as today it seems a bit disrespectful to write about getting our “stuff in order” on a day when so many gave their life for our country. So I thought I would try to give a voice to the feelings that seems to bubble to the surface each year as I remember those that made a choice to do the right thing.

It seems like our lives are marked by important events in our life, our birthdays, deaths, graduations and the birth of our children, anything that changes your life.

I am surprised that so many people can remember where they were at those life changing moments. Even those that happened when we were young, mostly because of the reaction of the adults in our lives but not really understanding the effect it may have on our life down the road.

Today 9/11 is a day that is etched in my mind forever!! Ten years later I can remember it like it was yesterday. I can tell you what I was wearing, where I was setting, and the emotions can come to the surface and flow as quickly as they did that day. I am sure my emotions will always be a bit raw as I have several family members and friends that still live in New York City or in an area close by. [Read more...]

Debby McCuiston, the “Queen of Clutter-Free”, does a segment for us each Sunday on simplifying our lives, getting rid of “clutter”, and focusing on what’s important. We look forward to her words of wisdom each week & hope you enjoy it too! Take it away Debby….

I love to plan parties! I love the whole creative energy that swirls around the whole planning and carrying out of any major event from a wedding to a simple luncheon. To tell you the truth I think I enjoy the planning of it all better than the event itself.

After our sweet daughter’s wedding I was wondering what to do with all the table cloths, flower vases and stuff that were needed to turn her dream wedding into reality. I know that I am not the only one that has had to ask themselves this same question
because we have 2 wonderful ladies at our church that have taken all these wedding items and organized them into what we like to call the “wedding room”.  If you are planning a wedding they will let you use anything in that room, which has come in very handy for a lot of families.

Of course as I am buying the 15 tablecloths for the wedding and a ton of tulle my mind was already planning the next party I could use all this stuff for. How many parties will you really need 25 tall vases for or 200 chair cover with black ties? Believe it or not all the items that we had for our daughter’s wedding have been used at least a dozen times a year for the past 3 years. God has taken something as simple as wedding decorations and turned it into a ministry to help others that are planning major events.

Let me warn you as you kids grow up and leave, be careful about asking God to show you what He wants you to do because He will answer that prayer sometimes in the strangest way. He has taken something so simple as a pile of tablecloths and
turned it into a way to bless others. I don’t know how many times I have meet with a bride and her family that had thought because of budget restrains, a very plain wedding was all they had in mind. When I start to tell them all the items that are available for them to use they cannot believe that they may really get to have their dream wedding without breaking the bank. Because others were willing to donate items that they could no longer use they have been a part of blessing others. [Read more...]

Debby McCuiston, the “Queen of Clutter-Free”, does a segment for us each Sunday on simplifying our lives, getting rid of “clutter”, and focusing on what’s important. We look forward to her words of wisdom each week & hope you enjoy it too! Take it away Debby….

This week I was looking for a pen to make a shopping list, for a person that loves to buy new colorful pens this is usually an easy task but that day they all seemed to disappear.  As I was digging through the little drawers in all the tables in the living room I was shocked to discover that each and every drawer was filled with stuff. Stuff that at one time must have been setting on the surface of each table.  How did that mess happen without me noticing? All I can think is the Queen must have shown up at my door one day and I panicked and started shoving everything on any surface in these little drawers. In reality I probably put stuff in there that I had no idea what to do with at the moment. Maybe you don’t have that problem but it seems no matter how much I work at getting the big items all organized and neat these little spaces are the hardest to keep from becoming a catch-all.

In the first drawer I came to there where 4 pacifiers, all I can figure is when one of the little ones laid it down and I needed a place to keep it safe from the dog. Now that no one needs one I guess they will go in the toy box, the dolls will be so happy. I just can’t get past the fact that no one noticed they were without a paci and needed it to stop the little one from have withdrawals and a screaming fit, I must have had a backup in the diaper bag. I guess there a little drawers all over American filled with little pacifiers that found their final resting place among the highlighters.

Then in the same drawer I found a wind up tractor, I remember taking it away from someone that was using it as a chew toy, and it wasn’t the dog. All those little bits and pieces that could snap off during a teeth cutting time make me a bit nervous, so in the drawer it went. I ran across a needle and thread that I remember using to hem a pair of pants with awhile back, a few receipts, some pencils and broken crayons but no colorful pen. Now what to do with the stuff I unearthed during my search, do I stuff it back in to be dealt with another day or take the time to put it where it belongs? [Read more...]

Debby McCuiston, the “Queen of Clutter-Free”, does a segment for us each Sunday on simplifying our lives, getting rid of “clutter”, and focusing on what’s important. We look forward to her words of wisdom each week & hope you enjoy it too! Take it away Debby….

With only a few weeks left of summer it’s time to start getting rid of some of the stuff that we have collected.  I am sure if you are like me if you opened any of your kitchen cabinets there would be a lovely collection of butter tubs, cool whip tubs, plastic silverware, Styrofoam and plastic cups and a few take-out containers. I will not argue with you take these are all important for survival with our busy schedule during the hot summer months but do we really need all of those that are hanging out in our cabinets.

It almost seems a bit un-American to throw out such great storage items and then spend the money to buy something to store left overs in. Yes, by reusing these items you are “saving the planet” and living a “greener” life style, but it is not our job to save every piece of reusable plastic that comes through our doors.  We need to start asking ourselves will we really reuse that item and what would we put in it.

I am sure you can find all kinds of website that will give you a million uses for that Styrofoam hamburger box from puppets to an upscale gift box.  Unless you are running a daycare and have the time between diaper changes to help glue goggley eyes on the “hamburger box puppets” all day, I would venture to say they really do not serve a purpose in your kitchen.  If you can’t imagine your mom getting excited about how creative you can decorate that box you might want to rethink your packaging ideas.  If you have kids that love to paint they do make good containers for paint, but throw them away when your little artist is finished. [Read more...]

Debby McCuiston, the “Queen of Clutter-Free”, does a segment for us each Sunday on simplifying our lives, getting rid of “clutter”, and focusing on what’s important. We look forward to her words of wisdom each week & hope you enjoy it too! Take it away Debby….

Well, it’s almost here-the first day of school. If you took advantage of the tax free weekend and picked up school supplies and clothes, the question is what I do with all this stuff.

Go ahead and get everything out and get their school backpack packed. Try to organize it as well as possible, understanding the whole time it will never be this neat again. If there are items that still need to go to school such as tissues and hand sanitizer pack those in one of those store totes for groceries. If you are like me I have at least a dozen, all nice and neatly stored in the car ready for my next grocery store trip and then I leave them in the car every time.  I guess that’s why they stay neat and clean, ready for the next time.

I believe the way we start our day determines in a very large part how our day is going to go.  If you jump out of bed, rush to get ready, leave your house in a whirlwind you are going to feel rushed all day long.  On the other hand if you get up on time, take time to make your bed, shower, put on makeup, wear clothes you laid out and ironed the night before, have a cup of coffee and do your devotions your day will not feel like you can never catch up. This is not a guarantee that you will have a perfect day, but at least it started off calm. [Read more...]