QUOTE: A pleasant, unintended consequence of my clutter clearing was that it solved the “four-thermometer syndrome”: I could never find our thermometer, so I kept buying new ones, and when my clutter clearing flushed them all out, we had four thermometers. (Which I never used, by the way; I felt the back of the girls’ necks to see if they had a fever.) It’s a Secret of Adulthood : if you can’t find something, clean up. I discovered that although it seemed easier to put things away in general areas— the coat closet, any kitchen drawer— it was more satisfying when each item went in a highly specific location. One of life’s small pleasures is to return something to its proper place; putting the shoe polish on the second shelf in the linen closet gave me the archer’s satisfaction of hitting a mark.”
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NOTE
DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets your attention?
What human needs or problems relate to the quote?
What is it like to have that problem?
What other resources connect to this idea?
What is the solution suggested in the quote, if there is one?
What would a camera see if the solution was implemented in my life, in my family’s life, or in my church or community?
What are the steps that I would take on Monday to implement that solution?
CONTEXTUALIZING QUESTIONS
What does this say to my context as a …
… person?
… follower of Jesus?
… to a church?
… to a community – my neighbors?
RESOURCES
The quote is from The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin, located at page