Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle
Encouragement and Inspiration for women choosing to rise above the “just survive” mentality and instead set their mind on thriving in all that they say and do. The ultimate goal is to equip you to pursue whatever is excellent in the midst of your ordinary life and in all that you say and do.
Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle
43: Simplifying Before September - 3 Areas to Declutter
The whirlwind of fall schedules looms just around the corner. Are you prepared to trade the peaceful rhythms of summer for the potential chaos of a new school year? What if this year could be different?
Discover the transformative power of simplicity as we explore three critical areas that need attention before summer ends: your overflowing calendar, your cluttered home, and your overwhelming social media feeds. Drawing from personal experience and biblical wisdom, I share how implementing thoughtful boundaries now creates space for what truly matters when schedules intensify.
Remember the stress of May—constantly rushing, saying "yes" out of obligation, and struggling to complete everything? Let's break that cycle. By reflecting on what summer rhythms are worth protecting and understanding what God is calling you to BE (not just DO), you'll gain clarity about your purpose in the coming season.
Your home environment profoundly impacts your mental state. Learn practical approaches to decluttering children's spaces, kitchen counters, and your personal sanctuary. Create systems now that will maintain order when life gets hectic. As Proverbs reminds us, "By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established."
Perhaps most revolutionary is simplifying your digital consumption. Discover how alternating weeks on and off social media transformed my summer experience and why our hearts weren't designed to carry every global struggle simultaneously. Implementing boundaries around information intake might be your most powerful step toward peace.
Ready to trade hustle for holiness and clutter for clarity? Join me in creating intentional space for listening to God, being present with loved ones, and embracing the beauty of a simplified life. What's one area you can simplify this week?
Recommended Resources:
The Simplified Planner by Emily Ley
The Cozy Minimalist by Myquillyn Smith
Unroll.me for decluttering your inbox
Connect with me!
You can find me on Instagram @mrs.leannetuggle or you can email me at leanne.tuggle@gmail.com. I love hearing from you!
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If there is one thing I have gleaned from this summer, it is that slow and simple is a gift. The school year is full and busy with homework and sports activities, meetings, deadlines so summers that prioritize rest and chasing slow are truly the refreshment that we all need. Slow are truly the refreshment that we all need as our summer is winding down and we look forward to the start of a new school year. I want to take a minute and discuss three areas to simplify before summer is over your calendar, your home and your social media calendar. Your home and your social media.
Leanne:I am a reflective person by nature. I see value in looking back and learning from the lessons and moments that I have experienced. I used to do this a lot while I was teaching. I would present a lesson to my students and then later after school, reflect on how the lessons for that day went, and then I'd make adjustments to the lessons I had planned for the next day based on those reflections. I find myself doing something similar in my day-to-day life now, and, while I know not everyone operates in this way, I thought that this would be a good time to stop and assess and then prepare for what comes next. And what comes next is my favorite season, but it comes with some clutter if you're not careful. So let's give ourselves some room to breathe and set the tone for a life giving school year that is thoughtfully and biblically rooted.
Leanne:Earlier this year I did a study on the book of Ecclesiastes and I find myself coming back to this book over and over again, especially when I consider being intentional and thoughtful with my time. When I consider being intentional and thoughtful with my time. Ecclesiastes 3.1 says For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. Summer is a season of slowing down and enjoying the moments, and then fall comes along and suddenly our calendars are full to bursting. Our homes feel cluttered and disorganized. So we look to social media for inspiration and suddenly we feel overwhelmed and anxious. I really don't want to repeat this pattern again. Do you pattern again, do you? We don't have to look any further than Jesus to see the best and most perfect example of what it means to live simply and purposefully. He sets the tone for us.
Leanne:Jesus gives us some valuable wisdom in Matthew 6, 33. He says but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. When you seek God first, before filling up your calendar or buying more things for your home or seeking advice from social media, you will find that you do have everything you need in Him. There is clarity and simplicity found in seeking God first. So we start there, and then, in Hebrews 12, 1, we find very clear directions. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Make no mistake, the fall season is going to be busier. Make no mistake, the fall season is going to be busier, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that we need to be ready to run the race set before us. We don't want to carry any extra weight and we want to be women on mission who know exactly what God is placing on our hearts to pursue with intention this year. Now that you are armed with these truths from God's word, that there is time for everything, that we need to seek his kingdom first and that we must lay aside whatever pulls us away from the mission set before us, let's start simplifying things, shall we.
Leanne:Before you start filling up your calendar, I want to encourage you to go back a couple of months. Do you remember May? Remember how you were constantly rushing from one thing to the next. Remember the stress of trying to get everything done. Remember how you said yes to things out of guilt. And remember those thoughts and feelings because we are going to try our hardest to not repeat the same mistakes. Instead, reflect on your favorite parts of this summer. What rhythms are worth protecting as you move into the next season? Family dinners, sabbath rest, unhurried mornings, quiet time.
Leanne:With these things in mind, consider this what is God calling you to be in this next season? Take some time in the next couple of weeks and really pray about this. And note that I didn't say what is God calling you to do. I said what is God calling you to be. There is the difference. For example, a year ago, I felt God calling me to be a mentor and an encourager to women. I felt him telling me to be available and ready. After much prayer and many hours seeking clarity on what that meant, I felt ready to start a Bible study in my home so I could disciple women who were right around me, and then I felt compelled to start this podcast with the intention of encouraging and inspiring women all over the world. And then the Holy Spirit nudged my heart and let me see the sweet girl and the opportunity to mentor and disciple the young woman under my own roof. All this action, all of these things, was a result of praying about what God was calling me to be.
Leanne:When it comes to simplifying your calendar, here is a practical approach that you can take. Establish weekly anchor points, things like tech-free Sundays or quiet mornings. Review your weekly commitments and be prepared to say no to one or two things that don't align with your family rhythms or priorities. Use a planner to keep all your commitments in one place. I'm convinced that mom brain is an actual thing. If I don't write things down, I will never remember it. So I have a command center sort of a space set up in my kitchen, and this small space includes my planner, which stays open. I have a notepad for my grocery list so that I can add to it as I run out of things. I also keep our morning devotions in that space so that I don't forget to share gospel truths with my children every morning. Personally, I love this simplified planner by Emily Lay, and I encourage you to find a calendar system that works for you and then stick with it. There are so many options out there, so find one that you really like and connect with. Make it a goal to leave plenty of room for margin in your calendar. The more white space, the better. There is something powerful about seeing everything all written out that helps to keep what matters most in the forefront of your mind.
Leanne:Have you ever heard the saying that the state of your home reflects the state of your heart? When your home starts to feel cluttered and disorganized, it is usually because other areas of your life feel chaotic too, and, honestly, I have a hard time focusing on what God is calling me to be when all I see are piles of stuff everywhere. I tend to be what McQuillan Smith calls a cozy minimalist. I like my home to feel welcoming and cozy, but I don't love clutter, so I am quick to purge and get rid of anything that feels like excess. At least a couple of times a year, I do some major decluttering and purging in my home, and the end of summer is, for sure, one of those times.
Leanne:There are three main areas that I feel need regular attention, or else they can easily get out of hand. Kids' toys and clothes, kitchen counters and your bedroom. The most practical way I can recommend to tackle these areas is one by one. I can recommend to tackle these areas is one by one. I will literally write down on my calendar and make a goal to finish each space by the end of the week. For example, it was the kids' bedroom last week, and since they are old enough to help, I enlisted their services too.
Leanne:We went through all the toys and made a pile of things that they don't play with anymore so that we can pass them on to someone else. We also threw out all the broken toys and we decluttered some of their storage bins. Organizing their Legos has been quite the project, but the best part of this process was how content they all were to play with the things that they chose to keep. It was like they were new and exciting again. We also tackled the clothes. I asked my kids to try on things to make sure that they still fit. We made a donation pile for the things that didn't fit or that they don't wear anymore, and then I made a list of some things that they could use before school starts Again. They were excited to wear some of the things that they had forgotten about in their closet, and I know that in the long run, we'll end up saving money.
Leanne:Kitchen counters are the first place that gets cluttered, especially during more stressful or busy seasons. So summer is a great time to rethink your storage system or where you want things like backpacks and important papers to go. Create space and a system now, and then you will be so much calmer and peace filled later, when the school year starts back up. You could also go through those junk drawers that are always in the kitchen and maybe simplify those too. And then, lastly, go through your own bedroom and I say this because this is your sanctuary, your place to rest. When you refresh your system for putting things away right away, then you won't walk into your room at the end of the day with a pile on your bed. Go through your own closet and make donations and get rid of piles as needed. Take the time now to simplify and systemize your home so that you can step into the next season feeling refreshed and decluttered and ready. Your mind will feel less cluttered, with everything in its proper place. Cluttered with everything in its proper place. Proverbs 24, three and four says by wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established. By knowledge, the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. To be honest, this last area to simplify was actually the catalyst behind this whole episode. I was in the middle of cleaning the bathtub when I felt inspiration strike.
Leanne:All summer long I have been following a pattern of one week on and one week off social media, and it has been so life-giving For the most part. I really enjoy social media. I, like the community, feel that it brings. I see the value of sharing and gleaning wisdom from others. But there is a lot of information available on these platforms too, and if you aren't careful it is so easy to get sucked into a doom scrolling vortex. One of the things I noticed about taking a week off of social media was how much calmer I felt. I realized after a bit that this was likely because I wasn't hearing about news events every other minute. It's no secret that there is a lot going on in our world every day. The difference is that 50 years ago we didn't hear about all of those events in real time. It could take several days or weeks for the news to travel to our ears, and really I don't think that we have the capacity for all of the information that we have access to today.
Leanne:Your heart wasn't meant to bleed for every cause under the sun. You don't have time for all of the things and the things that matter most to you. How can you simplify your social media so that you are not overwhelmed and overloaded with too much information? Practically, you can set time limits for social media or plan to take regular breaks, like I have done. It is very helpful to have pillars or family values. This helps you focus on what really matters, and then you can speak up on your social media platforms about the things that align with your values. You can also choose to unfollow people or brands that stir up unrest or drain your spirit. Knowing your three to five family values helps to keep your heart and mind focused on the things that really do matter to you.
Leanne:The best way to discover what your family values are, if you don't have them already, is to seek God and his heart for you and your family. And here we are back to where we started, where we're seeking his kingdom first. From here, you will have more clarity on what mission he has placed on your heart and a more simplified life will flow from there. When we decide to simplify our calendars, our homes and our social media, we make space for listening to God, being present with our people and slowing down to enjoy beauty and rest. As we slowly shift into the next season, let's trade our hustle for holiness and our clutter for clarity.
Leanne:To close this episode, I want to leave you with a verse to meditate on this week. Psalm 46, 10, says be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. Let's choose to live with intention and purpose by simplifying our lives with our calendars, our homes and our social media. Something to ponder this week what is one area I can simplify to make more space for God and what truly matters?