Is Minimalism The Answer For Your Home?
I am guilty of wasting a great deal of emotional and tangible energy on Pinterest and other various blogs drooling over other peoples’ seemingly perfectly tidy homes. There is something so appealing about the “clean slate” look with everything in its place. But then I come back to the reality of my own home – you know, the place where you can’t afford those pristine new vinyl plank floors with coordinating mid-century style furniture and don’t forget the continual cycle of unfinished messes. My kids are creative and busy, and they are therefore notorious for moving on to the “next thing” before cleaning up the first, or fifth, mess. (If I am honest, so am I.) We are a busy family and along with that comes a mess. Often a mess to an embarrassing degree!
Why is the mess such a problem?
While individuals thrive in (or can tolerate) different degrees of clutter and disorder deep down we all have a longing for order. Cleanliness, order, and beauty are all things we associate with God! In 1 Corinthians 14:33 Paul writes, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace!” The whole of creation demonstrates his order. Consider the host of Levitical laws concerning cleanliness. They are pointing to the deeper spiritual reality of God’s holiness. External, physical cleanliness won’t accomplish salvation, but the process of cleaning and tidying does point us to the deeper spiritual reality of what our true needs are. Consider the first man, Adam. God placed him in a garden. God tasked him to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it! He was created to have dominion and, in a sense, to maintain order on earth reflecting God’s order in heaven! Mess, chaos, and ugliness are all things we associate with the fall of mankind. For example, the dust in my home is a result of dead skin cells, which is proof that those in my house are inevitably decaying and dying. The chaos is a result of my imperfections and my inability to have sovereignty over my 1,850 square foot home. This points me to the reality that I am not God, I am not sovereign, and I am not in control. And my rather ugly kitchen flooring can breed discontentment in me OR it can point me to my eternal hope in my eternal home where the streets will be paved with gold!
So, the mess is a problem for us because it is the overflow and the evidence of our spiritual reality: we are fallen, dying, finite people who are desiring a better home. The solution to this is not minimalism. The solution is the gospel! Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time! (1 Peter 1:3-9) Consider the examples of the faithful in Hebrews 11. I don’t envision Mrs. Noah looking around what was certainly a messy ark, and thinking, “What we need is minimalism!” and surely Sarah comprehended that the great promise had little to do with a tidy tent. Hebrews 11:16 describes the solution they were longing for, “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”
But less is often the answer for the here and now
Don’t get me wrong! I have read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and I do binge watch YouTube videos of the MinimalMom in my downtime. (I think Dawn is absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend her materials!) While I don’t believe minimalism is the answer to our deepest longings, I do believe that when viewed circumspectly it is often a needed approach to the physical untidiness of our lives. Here is what I view as a Biblical and balanced approach:
1. Understand that the messes in your life are indicative of something deeper than the physical mess. As you remove dust from your home (again) think about the reality that in Eden there was no dust and, most importantly, in Heaven there will be no dust. Let this remind you that what you truly need is not a thousand dollar vacuum promising to save you time and money, and clean your house better than Mr. Clean, but what you need is Jesus! One day, when you see His lovely face the last thing on your mind will be that brand new Dyson -but boy do I want one so bad!
2. Remember that you were created in the image of God! Order, creativity, beauty is all part of who he is – he created a beautiful, orderly universe – and by proxy a part of who you are! But you are fallen, like the rest of us, so you probably have a tendency to horde and clutter your home. Minimalism can be a great technique to fight against our fallen impulses. Unless you are some strange anomaly you probably need to get rid of things on a regular basis just so you don’t drown in a sea of lidless Tupperware and clothes that no longer fit you, your kids, and yes, maybe even your pets…
3. Keep in mind that everything is spiritual. God made us physical, spiritual, and emotional beings, and the stuff cannot be your god though it will try its darndest! But on the flip side, perfectly tidy rooms cannot be your god either. Find the place between hoarder and minimalist where you are best stationed to obey Jesus and serve your family to His glory. This is your calling -obey and serve – focus on that! (John 15:1-17)
Messes are an inevitable part of productivity but too much mess hinders productivity
If you are going to “do” anything productive there will be a mess. It is inevitable. Bakers have to wipe up the floor when the sugar spills. Gardeners have to scrub the dirt from under their fingernails and put away their tools. The student will have books and papers piled on their desk. Even the software engineer, who is “100% digital” has a mess of files on his computer. Think about your own home. When you play a game with your children you need to find all the pieces and put the game away – or if your home is anything like ours you have to find the pieces that the toddler hid, play the game, find the pieces again, and put it away. Surely, even our Savior had to sweep up the sawdust when his long day as a carpenter was finished. And certainly the farmer responsible for said oxen in this Proverb also worked hard (daily!) keeping the manger clean.
It is hard to bake when you have no counter space, you can’t play a game unless all the pieces were put away last time, and have you ever tried to study when your papers and all mixed up! Again, the mess is inevitable, but it is, in fact, evidence of productivity! Side note, every time my husband sweeps the kitchen floor he murmurs about oxen. He does this jokingly, but it reminds him that production happened here. Food was made. Children were fed. And the glitter is evidence that art happened!
If you are too mess averse you may hinder yourself from doing the things God has called you to do! Conversely, if you never clean up after yourself that will also hinder you from doing the things God has called you to do. There wasn’t any sort of chaotic mess in the Garden of Eden and there won’t be any in the New Jerusalem. I like to think that all the things will be so submissive to King Jesus that they’ll just automatically return to their proper places, but I am just guessing. For now, we are left with a sort of fallen tension and a need to seek a balanced middle ground between sterility and chaos. May your King give you much peace and wisdom as you strive for that balance!
I personally, have found these resources helpful as I have worked through my own “balanced middle”. Find a system, tweek it (continuously), and serve the King and others!
Rachel Jankovich – Loving the Little Years
