Clutter, Be Gone! {Kitchen Stuff}

When I cook with a frying pan, I prefer a nonstick one.  When Jeff uses one, he chooses a cast iron skillet.  So why have we, for YEARS, had this (very good) one sitting unused in a cupboard in our kitchen?

I don't know.

But guess what?  It's not there anymore!  :)

This time, rather than drop this off at a thrift store (which is a good option!), I decided to donate it directly to a local shelter that cares for women and children who are leaving abusive relationships.  Ever since I heard a lady at church speak about this organization, my heart has been moved to consider how we could help to meet the needs of these vulnerable ones who sometimes flee from their homes with only the clothes on their backs.  Many of the people who come through the doors of this shelter need EVERYTHING in order to rebuild their lives.

Maybe even a good skillet.

When I was planning to go by the agency to drop this off, it seemed a little silly to just take a skillet.  Surely I could come up with more things than that from my I-have-a-lot-of-cupboards-and-they're-all-bulging kitchen!

It didn't take me long to think of these plates.

We've used them from time to time through the years and have certainly enjoyed them.  But goodness, we don't need them; and if these plates that look to me like a rising sun can bring smiles to the faces of a mother and her children who are going through perhaps the hardest time of their lives, then by all means, let's give them away!

I wasn't sure what my kids would think though.  After all, it's one thing to declutter and pass along things that we don't use anymore, but quite another to give away something that we still kinda like and would still use if we had it.

I was so proud of my kids, however, because when I told them that I was thinking about giving these plates to this particular shelter, they simply requested that they use them for one final meal; and then we could get rid of them.

Fair enough!  That was a request I was more than happy to grant.  :)

An even bigger test came when I asked David if we could give away his personalized lighthouse mug.  Since he has a mug that's even more personalized (with his face, not just his name!), I figured there was no need for him to have two special mugs.  And since David is such a common name, I could easily imagine a boy named David coming to the shelter and being overjoyed to be given a mug with his own name on it.  However, David tends to be like I was as a child; he really values stuff.  So would he be willing to give away his mug?

Just like with the plates, his only request was that he be allowed to use it one final time; and so he did, drinking hot chocolate in it one day at lunch (and making us laugh by stirring it with the wrong end of his spoon).  :)

Then he was ready to say goodbye to it and pass it on, with love and a prayer that someone named David may indeed benefit from it.

There were a few more things I put in the box for the shelter; and if I had time, I could round up so much more stuff that could benefit those who seek safety there!  Well, it's not a matter of finding time, but of making time; and I'll continue to do that--little by little, one item at a time, simultaneously releasing myself from the bondage of too many possessions while also being a blessing to others.

Clutter, be gone!  :)