We have this room in our home that I affectionately call the gathering room. It rests above our garage and for many years it was a great connecting place with family and friends. In fact that is the original intent of the room. A gathering place for family and friends. A place where we could hang out, play games, watch a movie and relax. A place where we could enjoy laughter and long late-night talks with our children and one day grandchildren.

And, that is how the room was for a many years.

But overtime, the room became a place to stash and hide things away in a hurry when company came. Which eventually turned into a place where I would store items I didn’t know what to do with - always with the mind set: One day I will take the time to get this sorted back out and cleaned up.

But …the time didn’t come and I have continued living my life while steadily stashing away items in the bonus room like a squirrel packs his nest for winter.

Our hearts can be the same way.

In this episode, I share with you 3 things I learned on this decluttering journey that will also help us declutter our hearts and set us up for relational wins in 2025.

I also share two ways to maintain a clean room and a clean heart along with 3 questions you can ask yourself as you declutter:

1. How well has this attitude, thought, or behavior worked for me?
2. Does this bring me joy in life?
3. Do I want my children to have to deal with this?

If you are decluttering a room or your heart this year, let me know. I would love to cheer you on and prayer for you. Send me an email: melinda@melindapatrick.org

Also, please share this episode with someone else who may need to be encouraged.

Let's start 2025 off with decluttered hearts!