Hey, hey, beautiful friends, and welcome to faith fueled Woman.

This is your host, Kristen.

Today I'm going to cover part three of reclaim your Life series, and we're going to be talking about cultivating calm spaces.

We're going to be talking about how can we make part of our homes, whether that's a corner or a whole room, a sanctuary, you know, a calm place for us to unwind and get renewed.

And we're also going to talk about what does it look like to start decluttering, to minimize the things around us so that our space helps what we are doing in our lives instead of adding to our stress.

Welcome to Faith Fueled Woman, a podcast designed for christian women eager to deepen their faith and shine God's light in every aspect of their lives.

Each week, we will delve into practical strategies, inspiring stories and biblical wisdom to equip you with the tools you need to navigate life's challenges and grow deeper in your faith.

From finding calm in the chaos, forming deep christian friendships, to everyday ways to connect with God will cover it all.

Hi, I'm your host, Kristen.

I'm an encourager, a faith led entrepreneur, a mom, and a wife.

Let's be encouraged in our everyday lives as we let our faith guide us, fuel us, and fill us with God's incredible peace, wisdom and joy in our lives.

All right, before we dive in, I did want to let you know that I have a free download for today's episode for cultivating your spaces.

It is a monthly declutter planner or worksheet.

And so if you head over to kristenfitch.com slash palm dash spaces, you can grab that or head over to kristenfitch.com freebies, which is also on the top navigation bar on my site.

You can grab that.

But there's also other freebies, like my reading at your passion workbook, my joyful living devotional, and a couple other things.

So go check that out now.

But you may want to go ahead and down that.

Just.

So download it.

So when we talk about how can you start kind of simplifying and calming your spaces, you'll have that download.

All right, let's dive in.

Okay, so the first thing is, I have definitely had rooms in my house.

I still have rooms in my house.

And I definitely have drawers and closets in my house that have too much stuff in them, right?

They're packed full.

I have the drawer with pens and tape and things, and it has too many.

I have closets with too many coats, right?

And hats and gloves and all the things.

But I have done the work to minimize or to make some of my spaces calmer.

About a year and a half ago, we updated our bedroom.

I got new curtains and new bedding, and we painted the walls, and we freshened the room up.

And can I tell you now I go in there, and it feels like a calm place to rest my head, to have quiet time.

I have a chair in the corner, so I can read the Bible there.

I can just have a moment to myself.

I can read a book, but it made all the difference.

And we.

The cost was only in a can of paint, some inexpensive bedding.

I just went for really neutral, light colors, and we were past due for that.

So you might be thinking, one, I don't have a budget to change anything.

Or two, why does it matter?

Well, it matters because our spaces, our environment, actually impact our.

How we feel.

It impacts our energy, it impacts our health and our mental health.

And so a lot of us, we're so busy that we kind of push aside decluttering or maybe getting rid of things that aren't serving us anymore.

But the honest truth is, if we hold on to too much, which I just told you, I can be guilty of this as well.

It actually just makes more work for us.

We have to clean around more things, move things more.

We have to keep looking at the things and thinking, you know what?

I have too many things.

And it creates stress in our lives.

And so today we're going to talk about why and how we can cultivate calm spaces.

The goal, though, is for this to not be stressful.

The goal is just to talk about a couple of things that'll kind of get you excited to, little by little, make small changes that'll have a big impact on your life, and it'll let you start reclaiming your life again in your home environment.

All right, so first, I want to share the scripture with you, and it talks a little bit about how we live, if you will.

It's Isaiah 32 820.

And it says, my people will live in peaceful dwelling dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

Though hail flattens the forest, and the city is leveled completely.

How blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

But I think that that clearly talks about that.

We should, you know, it's.

We should expect to live in places that are peaceful, that we should feel safe in our homes, and that it should allow us to have rest.

And so I'm going to say that rest is both where we lay our head, but it's also where we have time to be renewed, both in our bodies, our minds, but also our souls.

So that time with God being able to get a few minutes here and there of silence or solitude or prayer time.

Okay, so that's the first thing.

And then the next is, I love this quote.

It's by James Clear.

And it says, environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior and environment both can be where we're living, where we're at, or what's going on around us.

And so I think it's really important for us to take our living spaces seriously and for it to not be the last thing on the list for us.

And like I said, this is a long term process.

This isn't something where tomorrow we're going to have a tornado of ourselves go through our house and all of a sudden it's lovely and perfect in every space and every nook and cranny.

Because while that might be true for some of you, most of us have a junk drawer or too full of a closet or the garage has stuff in it we don't use anymore.

Or maybe every room in your house looks like that because you just haven't had the time to go through it or just even the mental space to start making decisions about your spaces.

All right, so I think what we want to do is we want to come up with.

I want to share with you a couple of action steps in a few minutes.

But I also wanted to share this quote with you.

It is by Michaeline Smith.

And she says a cozy minimalist creates a space that is inviting all day, every day, not one she has to rush to put together in time for visitors.

So the goal is for it to just be calm and inviting for ourselves or when anyone else comes over, we don't have to do a lot to get it ready.

And I don't know about you, but that is absolutely a goal for me.

I still have a full house.

Full.

I have all three sons still at home, even though they're older.

They're either finishing up high school or two are college aides or looking for that first job.

So I still have in the foyer shoes that people don't put away their work.

You know, they're water jug for work, sitting out you backpack sometimes.

So all the things, right.

So we have a busy house of five, and it's often not looking perfect.

It's often not everything is not in its place.

Even though I do my best for the common spaces to kind of put things back away or ask people, for the hundredth time, to put things away.

It's not.

It's never going to be perfection, but the goal is that I want to walk into, for instance, my kitchen and feel calm when I walk in there.

But when there's stuff everywhere, it stresses me out.

It makes me feel overwhelmed or that I need to go do those things.

And surely there's times where I just have to leave it be and go do some work or something.

But I love it when I can get it cleaned up real quick at night or in the morning.

And every time I walk in there, I feel good about it.

Okay, so my first recommendation to you is just pick one room or one drawer or one closet or one small space to start with.

So it might be a bookshelf that, you know, you have books you're never going to read again and you don't want anymore, or it just looks unattractive and you don't like it.

So the first thing is we're going to pick what it is we want to work on.

Okay?

So you're going to determine what the space is going to be.

The second is I want you to write down where in your house do you have a quiet space or corner that you can maybe just tweak a little?

Or where could you have a quiet space or corner?

So, like I said, in my bedroom, I have a chair with a little table sitting there.

I have my Bible on it, and then I have another, my bedside table beside it.

If I'm reading a book, I might have there, but it's a place that I could, you know, snuggle with my blanket, you know, read something.

I can do prayers there.

I can just sit there and, you know, maybe do put on my face lotion or whatever it is.

So the point is, is I already have a space, but I often find myself having to kind of clean it up a little bit.

Maybe it's.

I've kind of cluttered it a bit, if you will.

So it may be time for me to clean it up again.

All right, so I want to, before we go into a couple other things that I want you to write down as action steps, I wanted to talk about some of the benefits of having a calm, you know, a very tranquil space in our house, you know, physical spaces, and also the benefit of decluttering.

Okay.

Which, in other words, having minimal things in your space, the things you love the most, the things you use the most, the things that have a use to you still.

And there's real health benefits.

So I wanted to talk about that.

First, it says clutter creates high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to higher stress.

It can lead to health problems.

It can lead for some to more anxiety and even depression.

Okay.

Also, the more stuff we have, it can be harder to clean, and you can have more allergens.

Okay.

And so once again, we have less cleaning to do.

If we have less stuff, which I don't know about you, but sign me up, right.

If I can clean less, that's amazing, because I don't.

I am not the person that loves cleaning.

I do have a girlfriend or two that loves cleaning.

It's like they do it every second.

That's not me.

I'd much rather not have to clean, but the minimum amount.

All right, so.

Okay, the next action step for you is, all right, so you wanted to write down what's the first area or corner or closet or drawer or room that you want to work on to just make it feel calmer, more peaceful, and more tranquil.

And then also, what is the first thing that you maybe want to work on?

Decluttering.

And same thing.

It could be a drawer, a closet, a room, a bookshelf, anything you want.

And start really small if this feels overwhelming to you.

Okay.

And then what I want you to do is try to list out one, two, four things that you might have to do in order to clear up or make that space calmer.

So maybe you have no idea.

And that's okay.

So for you, the assignment might be to go online and just find, let's say that you're doing a little corner of your bedroom.

You know, maybe you're just a cleaning it up a bit or you're going to add maybe a pretty pillow or something to it to just freshen it.

So maybe go get a little inspiration, pop on Pinterest or online and just look for, you know, similar spaces to your own or things.

All right?

And.

And that's it.

If you print.

If you print out the cultivating calm spaces, spaces, monthly decutter clutter worksheet that I shared earlier, then you can.

That actually gives you a four months, and it gives you what room or area, and then it lets you break down about four tasks each.

And then what day of the week you're either going to work on it or you did work on it.

And so it's a good way to get organized for this sort of thing.

And then it's a good way that you can, each time you're going to do something or each month, you can just print this or quarterly, maybe it's only quarterly.

You're going to try to tackle anything, so just print it four times a year.

But I think that's a great way to visualize what you want to do and then keep it organized so you can think about it one time and then knock it out as you go.

All right.

I also wanted to share with you, I did a great episode with a decluttering expert.

She's an interior designer, but she helps people kind of declutter and also live a little more minimally.

I did an episode with her a couple years ago, and it was a great episode.

You can get so much out of it.

I think you'll learn a lot.

So I'm going to share that in the show notes.

So if this is of interest to you, go listen to that episode.

And she shares some really great stories and some really good tips.

But I remember one of the stories she shared, or the concepts in the story was this.

She said, what happens with some people unless you're somebody that's super kind of ultra rich?

In those cases, people did things a little bit differently, she said.

But everybody else, what would happen is they would, for instance, if they had a home office and they had a broken desk, they wouldn't necessarily try to fix it or go get a new one because they kept saying, well, when I make this much money or when I do this, I'll fix the desk or I'll get a new chair.

And so what she said is that mindset was keeping you stuck where you're at.

In other words, those things impact our energy.

And what would happen is instead of having the space that made you energetically excited and feeling good about your space, good about yourself, people would continue to see this broken or damaged thing.

And so she's explaining that it actually benefits us to fix the item or buy another one.

We're not saying that anybody has to spend much money.

You can even buy a, find great things at a thrift store or a garage sale.

But, and then she explained that one of her clients hadn't replaced her sheets or a comforter, I forget which, and it had a hole in it.

And it was the same sort of thing.

Well, I'm going to eventually.

But every day she had to see that worn out, ripped blanket.

And I'm surely not saying that everybody can go out and replace their blanket or their sheets, because I know some sheets and blankets can be expensive.

But let's be honest, TJ, Maxx, and Target often have affordable options.

And so once again, it's just about our mindset.

In other words, our environment is very tied to our mindset.

In other words, what do they say?

A cluttered.

I forget how it goes.

A cluttered mind.

In other words, I'm sorry.

A cluttered space usually creates a cluttered mind.

And so if we want to be clear, you know, we want to have clear thoughts, if we want to have calm thoughts, if we want to have a space to reconnect with ourselves, a space to connect with God, a space to enjoy the people that we live with, that we love, then really cultivating a calm space is so important, actually, in our lives.

And let's be honest, we spend a lot of time at home, especially since COVID more and more people are working from home or they're starting home businesses or side hustles.

And so we want to enjoy our spaces.

I remember during COVID in my backyard, I already had separate little areas, like sitting areas and things, and I already had plants and flowers.

But when Covid had first hit, I remember thinking, oh, my gosh, like, if I'm going to be home more, then I wanted to love my outdoor spaces because I love being outside.

And especially then when there was that chance that we'd have to not be able to go, go out as much.

And so, once again, it makes a big difference.

And so not trying to push this too hard, it's just that it really has great benefits to you.

Okay, next up is I want you to do a little exercise.

Okay.

And this is the exercise.

I want you to write down what two spaces in your home cause you the most stress or frustration, and then write down why.

Why are these one or two spaces causing you the most stress or frustration?

You know, why is it, is it that the kids dump everything?

Is it that you have too many, you know, books and stacks of things in your kitchen?

Is it that you have no designated space in your kitchen for eating versus working versus kids doing their homework.

So what is it?

Because I think if we write these things down when we decide what we're going to work on, either decluttering or just calming, making it calmer, it will help us remember what's causing us to be more stressed out in our homes or frustrated or feel anxious, because it's not very calming.

I think having those two questions answered will help you a lot.

And then the other thing is, think about really simple things that you can do that don't cost a lot of money.

That will make a big difference.

So for me, adding really small or bigger, sometimes plants to my spaces they add color.

Sometimes the pots, right, are colorful.

Sometimes they're just neutral because it goes with the space.

Those brighten my room or adding fresh flowers to my, you know, my room that can be flowers from my own yard.

Or sometimes I'll buy them a space, especially when they're on sale, but I'll buy them other times as well.

Or having a favorite coffee mug that I use in that space, you know, or a chunky soft blanket sitting on the sofa.

So when I go in there, it's welcoming.

So there's really easy, small ways to make a big impact, to make our spaces feel more tranquil, calmer and inviting.

In my bathroom, we don't have the fanciest of bathrooms, but I have a couple plants in there and then some candles right where the big tub is.

Then across the bathtub is one of those.

I can't even think what they're called now, the holder for like your, you know, if you have a beverage and you can have your book on it, it goes across the bathtub.

I don't know what it's called.

Bathtub stand or something.

Tray.

Bathtub tray, maybe.

But.

But it's just sitting there all the time.

But it's wooden and it's put kind of far, you know, near the edge.

But with my plants and that bathtub tray, it looks inviting at making me want to take a bath, even though I don't take them that often.

So we can easily make our spaces more welcoming.

And as I said, there's real benefits to it.

There's health benefits, there's mental health benefits.

It makes you feel better.

It makes you want to be in the space.

And it's literally going to minimize your stress level.

So like I said, the most important thing is start really small.

Start with a little small project.

Or start, if you pick a room, don't plan to do the whole room, right?

You're not going to do it in a whole day unless it's just tidying up a little bit in the whole room.

Decide what are the three or four things that I'd like to tackle.

It might be, you know, all your drawers, you know, that might.

That'd be a big project that might take you to couple weekends, or it might be that you just want to spruce up the.

Maybe the decorations that you have in the middle of the table, you know, or something.

Or maybe you just have way too many coffee cups or cups out and they sit out or something like that.

So just start small.

And remember, we want to have fun with this, you know, remember that show on Netflix?

What was it called?

That's right.

It was called sparking joyous or something like that.

But, you know, so that show is great.

But also, it is a little harder to understand her because obviously English isn't her first language.

But it's that when we actually purge, when we clear spaces, when we keep the things we love the most, things that give us great memories, maybe from things we've brought back from trips, then it makes us want to be in the room.

It brings back good memories.

You know, having a, a Bible or devotional book sitting on the table so you're more likely to grab it or read it is great, too.

So anyways, this episode is all about cultivating calm spaces.

I hope this at least plants that little seed in you that you want to go ahead and start having calmer, more serene, tranquil spaces or at least a corner in your home.

And so like I said, go grab the free download@kristenfitch.com.

calm spaces or you can go to kristenfitch.com freebies and find it there as well.

Until next time, I hope you have a great week.

Thanks again for listening to the show.

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