- I thought of titling this video Getting
Rid of Culturally Expected Furniture. So like nightstands and sofa
tables and entry tables. And I actually just even want to get rid
of the bench in our entry because I'm so tired of stuff getting piled on it. - That sounds a little heavy for
a Sunday morning, Dawn. - Okay. - Could we call it Unnecessary Tabletop Surfaces
in Our Living Spaces? - Well that's wordy. How about
Get Rid of Flat Surfaces? - No More Flat Surfaces.
- There we go. Well hi, I'm Dawn from The Minimal Mom and... - Dawn said I have to remember
that now so I get the right title. Okay. Sorry, Dawn from the
Minimal Mom. I am Diana, glad to be joined with
you on Sunday morning. - And to say you're my twin sister. - Identical. - Yeah. The hair might
be throwing us off a little bit today. But we love helping you
simplify your house. I've called myself a minimalist
for about seven years now. And one of the things I did
actually fairly early on was I got rid of flat surfaces. Anything that collected
clutter I'm like, gone. And you look at our living room in our
townhouse and it's like two couches and an ottoman because it was
like, I don't want side tables. I don't want a coffee table. Don't
even talk to me about a sofa table. Because what do people do? They
just pile stuff on it, just always. - But it was fine. When
we went to Dawn's house, we would just carefully balance our
glasses. We got really good at it. And you learn to just, even now I'm actually just setting
it on the floor because that's... Thanks for this. It's just what
you learn to do at Dawn's house. I think the biggest one that people
still comment on is Dawn doesn't have bedside tables. - Yep. No nightstands. I know. And I don't even miss them
anymore. And so, I mean, obviously you find the
right balance for you, but I think we all know that
flat surfaces collect stuff. If we could get rid of
our dining room table, I would probably get rid of that
too, because it's just incredible. It's like you walk in
the door and it's like, where's the closest flat surface that
I can just dump everything on, right? - Do you know what I think is
the number one absolute worst? Is those built-in desks in the kitchen. - Oh yeah. - Thankfully the people before us
actually took it out and made it a closet. Cause we found the old listing picture
and I was so grateful because those are just... and cause it gets piled. And it seems like that's where
everything goes because it's a desk. But I think that has to be hands down
the number one flat surface to eliminate. - I've thought, like you know how they have those
spikes to keep birds off of things? Like outdoor buildings they'll put those
spikes so birds don't sit on there. And I kind of want to have this roll-out
mat with spikes in it that I could just put on the dining room table and the
coffee table. So it's like, no one can, unless we're having company over or
we're having a meal then it's like, okay, roll up the spikes now, enjoy your meal. And then we'll just put it back out again. - So that's one option. So what have been the actual
practical ways to keep horizontal surfaces
from collecting clutter? - So obviously number one is inventory. So we have to just keep our overall
inventory in our house down. We have to have a place for everything. So a lot of times the stuff
that's collecting on our
flat surfaces doesn't have a place. And I love what Cas
from Clutterbug said. She's like, it has to be almost as easy to put
it away as it is to leave it out. So what she meant is have the spot where
you put it away right next to where it would get piled. - Exactly. - And so having
places for stuff to get put away. - Everybody knows where it is. And I know the Sunday basket is like
a filing system for mail that has made that, given it a home. - Right. - Cause that's probably
one of the biggest things. The built-in desk where the
mail goes is probably the mail, the number one clutter that comes
into the house on a daily basis. - Right. So if you can set up, like Lisa from Organize
365 has the Sunday basket, a weekly planning basket, or just some kind of spot
where the paper comes in and it goes, and you do a quick sort, you have your action stuff
and we have videos on this, but it has to have a home. And the home can't be piled up on
that dumb little built-in desk thing. - We still have mail
slots, though. I told him, those are not a home for anything,
that's the rule in our house. - That's just where it goes to
get forgotten about forever. - Oh yeah, forever. So that those
are not, I've retrained everybody, these are not actual mail slots anymore. They're just decorative little
boxes on the bottom of our shelves. - Right. And so for most
of us, anything horizontal, even a basket where you stack it up, that doesn't work either
because you forget. So usually some kind of vertical file
folder, or even those wall things. Cas will say too, she was like, if you have that spot on your
counter that always piles up, put a vertical wall hanger above
there with categories in it. So at least it's going in there
and it's slightly organized. - And the third tip would be to
eliminate the horizontal surfaces. So we're just kind of updating a little,
painting a few walls here and there. And I wanted to get some more shoe
organization for our entry off the garage. And I found one at Ikea and it's great. And I knew it was the right thing
for us because the horizontal surface is only like three inches
wide or something like that. And so I'm thinking, hoping, praying that you practically can't
actually set something on there. - The mail wouldn't even
fit. - The mail wouldn't fit, even a soda wouldn't fit or
your water bottle wouldn't fit. I don't think anything
can get forgotten there. I'll keep you posted because where
there's a will, there's a way. Where there's a horizontal surface,
there's a way. - It's true. - But it's amazing how now I
have that mindset of like, oh no, I can't add another tabletop here. This
cannot happen. And so I'm like, okay, three inches. I think I can handle
that. - So don't be afraid, like I said, just because it's expected that next to
every chair is a side table and next to every bed is a nightstand. And you know, there's a console table
behind every couch. I think we're giving
you permission to say, it's okay to reevaluate some of that
stuff and be like, huh, maybe it is time. - Look. My water was just on
the floor this whole time. - And you are fine. - It did fantastic. There
were no kids to knock it over, but you gotta do what works for you but... - I said in the kitchen video, just
invite that stuff to leave your house. And so someone was like, I really like how it sounded
very nice the way you said it. Just kindly invite it to leave your
house. Thank you for your service. -Thank you for the time we had
together. - We don't need you anymore. - Well in light of this,
if I may turn the corner, and the reason that you're
so passionate about this is there's just way more important things
that we should be spending our time on than constantly decluttering or moving
things around or trying to clear off and find our dining room table again.
There's just bigger things in life, and I read this quote from Billy Graham
and it stopped me because someone asked him before he passed away, what's the
thing that surprised you most about life? And imagine a man who's accomplished so
much in the faith and in leadership and history. And the thing that
he said was its brevity. How short life is. And he
lived a good long life. And I was out for a walk and I was thinking
about that. I'm like, yeah, man, time flies by. The days are long,
but the years are short. And there's a passage in Ephesians
that encourages us to really take accountability for that. And for the things that we've
been entrusted with and called to. So this is Ephesians 5:15-17, it says, "Look carefully then how you
walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the
time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but
understand what the will of the Lord is.". So there's a lot there. How you walk isn't obviously
like one foot after the other, it's how you conduct your life. And it has to do with the
character of a person and not as unwise, but as wise. And wisdom is knowing what to do. And so that implies that there's a
way that we conduct ourselves that is knowing what God would want us to
do. So there's some implications there, not only that we're disciplining
ourselves to be a certain way, but also that we know
what that certain way is. And so that takes a really
intentional pursuit. - And I think what probably still
surprises me on a regular basis is by simplifying our house, it has freed up so much
time and energy to pursue my relationship with the Lord, but
to pursue other people as well. And I think sometimes too, when
we talk about life goes so fast, those of you who are
a generation above us, I hope that you feel encouraged that
you still have so much to offer. Because I look at the relationship
our mom has with our kids and when the girls go over there and
it's such a different wisdom and life skills that she's
imparting to them than I can. And they have such a special relationship
and I look around and there is a world of people right now that
just want to be noticed. And it does not matter
how old you are right now. You could walk outside right now and
notice your neighbor and you would make a huge impact in their day right now. And so I hope none of us are
disqualifying ourselves saying, well yeah, but you girls are still in your upper
thirties so you have all this time and all this. All of us are so much
more powerful, I think, than we give ourselves credit for. - Well, and this Psalm
was written by Moses who, he spent the first 40 years of
his life living in the palace. And then he spent the next 40
years as a fugitive shepherd. And then the next 40 years trying to lead
the people of Israel into the Promised Land. That's 120 years. So we got lots of time ahead of us. But this is what he said in
Psalm 90 in verse 12, he prayed, "So Lord teach us to number our days; that we may present to you a heart
of wisdom." And then in verse 17, he says, "Let the favor of
the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the
work of our hands. Yes, confirm the work of our
hands." And so again, Lord, teach us to number our days. Teach us to live with an awareness
that this time on earth is fleeting and that the things that we're
actually living for are eternal. And then confirm the work of our hands. The just plain natural nine to five
work that we do is significant. And it's part of what the
Lord has called us to. And then those things
that are in our heart. To care for the orphan and the
widow. To care for the lost. To be interceding or reaching out and
evangelizing to those who don't have salvation yet. And so those are the
things that as we take those steps, that the Lord is constantly
confirming to us. And then we just live with this
sober-mindedness that we're accountable for this. We're accountable for the things that
have been entrusted to us and the things that the Lord has called us to.
And so, again, it's walking, it's conducting ourselves in a
way that we're constantly growing. None of us just turn 21
and know exactly what we're called to and exactly what
we're supposed to be doing. And so it's a walking it out,
it's exploring the things
that are in your heart. Where have I bared fruit in the past?
Where is my heart moved with compassion? And Lord, continue to confirm the work
that I'm doing on your behalf. So Father, we thank you. Lord, thank you that you
are constantly leading us in wisdom. Lord, that it is your joy to
reveal your ways to us, Lord, and to help us to know what to
do. And so Father, I ask today, even that you would help us each just
to take a moment to reflect. Lord, to look at our lives and
in terms of eternity, Lord, to be grateful for all that
you've entrusted with us, Lord, and to be intentional with the days and
the hours and the minutes that we have, Lord God. Father, that it would
bring you great glory. Lord, that your church would
rise up in these days, that we would reflect your love and
your goodness and your salvation like never before. That truly your glory and the knowledge
of your glory would cover this earth, Lord God. And that all would come to know
you and the joy of your salvation. So I bless each one of us
now in Jesus's name, Amen.
