Gwynnae Byrd, owner of Home Transitions, a business that helps people organize, is also vice president of St. John Lutheran Church in Sacramento, Calif. She credits an article called “Tackling spiritual clutter” from The Lutheran (December 2012) for launching a three-session seminar at her congregation that helped members address the spiritual, physical and mental clutter in their lives.
In the new year, many will resolve to get organized, but that rarely gets accomplished, she said. Byrd did her own transition from practicing law to helping people get organized for life. Here she shares some of her expertise with The Lutheran.
The Lutheran: How is cleaning and organizing a church like cleaning and organizing a home?
Byrd: The principles remain the same whether it’s a house, an office or another entity. A neighboring Lutheran church was closing and St. John took on its stuff, which meant inventorying all of it, including kitchen supplies, choir robes, Bibles and three pianos, so we’ve just been through this.
Congregations want to do the same thing people want with their own stuff — decide what has value and what they want to move on to whoever can use it. Finding a good place for it is key. That might mean a school or the homeless shelter rather than Goodwill, for instance. Find out who deals with church organs or pianos and whether they’re worth saving. Where might there be a need for coffee urns and pots? Avoid throwing everything into a dumpster. Archive paperwork. Find a new purpose for stuff. If you can’t, be honest and say this has to go.
What’s one of the hardest parts?
Deferring the decision is tempting, but professional organizers help clients make decisions now instead of postponing. If a client decides they can let go of something, then helping them find a new home for it can be satisfying. That’s definitely motivation.
Is there anything particular to cleaning out the church?
Like any other nonprofit, they don’t want to be wasteful. They’ll use the other side of the piece of paper and leftover craft supplies, so they end up keeping things. We want to be good stewards. We want to be environmentally conscious and not toss things into the landfill.
Also, we all want to be respectful of honoring memories of people. It’s not that different in church. When siblings discuss and fight over their parents’ stuff, it’s a microcosm of what might happen in church. There are those who want to hold on to something no matter what, those who want to get rid of it and people in the middle.
I often suggest that we can take photos of special items and put them in scrapbooks, or bring an item out and use it — whether it’s Grandma’s china or a church’s old icons. If there are things at church that have family names on them, let the family members have first dibs. If no one knows who the people in the photos are, it’s hard to see a value in keeping it just for the sake of keeping it. The watchword for everything is that it has to have a purpose. Is it used or does it bring you pleasure? Clutter is all the stuff that doesn’t have a purpose for you—church environment or at home.
If there is a historical reason to keep something, great. If it is kept to beautify, great. Holding on to it because of guilt is not a reason, especially if it’s burdening you. We are often burdened by our stuff.
What about people who are afraid to get rid of certain things because they just might have value?
There is also a psychological value in having no clutter. If you can’t get a closet door closed or find your keys in the morning, that’s probably weighing you down. There is a lot of value in reclaiming your space and time, including restoring your well-being and the ability to relax and enjoy your space.
Who are some of your favorite recipients of stuff?
Recycle to local theater companies, drama departments, Craigslist, Freecycle. Share free stuff in the community if there is a need. Or get realistic and know that it has got to go in the trash.
And for both home and church, what’s the payoff?
On an even bigger scale, getting organized helps us get rid of mental clutter. Get your vision clear for who you want to be and what’s important to you. Eliminate busyness, delegate and prioritize what is causing you stress. Live a more purposeful life. Being more grounded will help you achieve spiritual and mental calm. What is it that’s causing buzzing, whirling around in your head? Today’s busy lives are not just about stuff. Stuff is a magnification of weight, emotional stress.
