Spring Cleaning

Hello from the farm and Happy Easter! What a special time of the year it is! It’s been awhile since I had a chance to slow down and write a post. The Dogwoods are blooming here, so are the Redbuds, and the leaves on the trees are turning beautiful shades of green. Everything is just beautiful!

If you follow us on Instagram (@thefarmatcrowderscreek), you know Carl and I have been busy cleaning up around the barn, the workshop, the pig pen and even in the attic and garage at the house. Throwing away the old junk feels so good! It is certainly not glamorous, but long overdue!

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We even rented a big dumpster to handle all of the debris! (See below) This thing was huge – eight feet across, thirty feet long and six feet high. We filled it up, y’all! How did we accumulate so much unnecessary stuff?

All of this cleaning got me thinking about life and doing a little personal spring cleaning. For me, this involves an honest assessment of my priorities and some good old fashioned quiet time with the Lord above to show me distractions in my life that I need to purge!

Faith, family and farm are the lenses through which I like to examine anything I do, or for the sake of this post, areas I want to clean up and declutter. For me, I have to take stock of the things that might get in the way of my relationship with Christ first and foremost. Then, I reflect on being a wife, mom, mimi, homemaker and educator. It is my utmost joy to be all of those things, but wearing all of those hats is a challenge sometimes!

So, I have been taking stock of anything I am allowing to distract me from what I love the most. If there is something in the way, it needs to figuratively go to the trash! 2 Corinthians 10:5 is a great verse to help me remember to be aware of what I focus on and give my attention to each day.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5

My use of social media is one area I am focused on cleaning up. I love to connect with others, particularly farmers, homesteaders and women in agriculture who inspire me. I use social media to stay in touch with family and friends. Yet, it can be a thorn in my side sometimes. What I don’t love is the time I have lost being sucked into an endless rabbit hole of social media drivel, or viewing content that makes me think, “Oh, I should be doing this or that…” The comparison game is exhausting!

So, using faith, family and farm as my guide, I want to make sure that my posts, the accounts that I follow, and the content that I consume are aligned with my desire to be a light (#BeLight) every day. Am I growing my faith, deepening connections with family and friends, and finding posts that help improve farm life, or am I wasting time?

Whether it is the intangible internet or the tangible reality of the farm, I plan to keep simplifying and spring cleaning around here. As we get ready to remodel our kitchen, which is circa 1970, and complete some other important projects around the house, I will keep purging items we don’t need. No doubt, I will post about the kitchen remodel! It looks like the demolition will take place in the summer, so stay tuned!

As the beauty of spring unfolds for you and your family, Carl and I wish you all a wonderful season of planting, growing, renewal, and maybe even some spring cleaning of your own!

Happy Easter to you and yours!

~Laura