Thrift stores

I want to talk about thrift stores here. There are many out there. You probably donate to some. But, have you ever gone in and looked around? There are SO many items in like new, and sometimes even brand new condition. Here we have a place called The Waterfront Rescue Mission. It's an awesome place and they do so much good in our community.

So, yesterday was our youngest sons Pre-K graduation. We had some time after so I asked my husband if he would be up for going to the Mission. He's such a good guy, he agreed without hesitation. I am so low on shirts I wear the sames ones over and over and over. I swear, I am ALWAYS doing laundry just to have clean clothes to wear. Anywho, I tried on LOTS of items, and of course women are not one size fits all, so only a handful of items fit the way I wanted them to.

You can see the items I picked out are in awesome condition. One of the shirts I don't 100% love, but I am so low I can't be super picky right now. Also most of these shirts I have plans for once I don't want them anymore, or cannot use them myself. A couple of them I really love the print, and plan on making my daughter skirts out of them with matching headbands.

One thing that really got me thinking, is these capri-pants. I have been needing more for a long time, and have gone into the Mission a few times and not found any that fit. I broke down last month and bought 2 pair new from AE. They cost with tax, SEVENTY dollars. All of the items you see below cost a whopping 22.93 out the door. The capri's alone ended up being 2.50!!

I know some are apprehensive about buying second hand because someone else had at one time worn these, or it's not "cool". But listen, we all wash our clothes before we wear them, don't we? And who ever decided it wasn't cool to buy second hand? Someone who doesn't appreciate saving money for other things, would be my guess. I know when I was little I hated buying second hand, and was always afraid of getting made fun of. But seriously, who will know? I mean, everyone who reads my blog will know that I shop second hand. But I am proud of my frugality and wanting to save my family a little bit of money where I can. So I'll tell anyone who asks where I got my clothing :D

Oh, and one more point I want to drive home on this topic. Not only did I do a small part in reduce/reuse/recycling, the money spent there helps others in our community. Now that is a good feeling! While we were there we also dropped off a few boxes of items for donation. 

One year of no consumerism

It's been a slow journey to minimalism, and I can't say were there yet. My husband is on board, but not as enthusiastic about it as I am. He is supportive for the most part (although he thinks I'm crazy pants for wanting to get rid of our bed frame, dresser, and night stands). On this journey we still slip up and buy things we don't need. Especially when we go to a store for just a few needed items, and walk out with about 10 bags.

Last night we set a budget in place. We decided we're not buying anything we don't need. And to me that also means we will not be buying anything new unless we have to. My husband and I are getting more and more into running, so if we need a few new articles of clothing or a new pair of shoes, that's not something we'll skip out on.

We set up a personal allowance for each of us, and an entertainment allowance for our entire family. Things like movies, dining out, ect. I can pretty much say with confidence I won't use my allowance to buy anything new, but I can't speak for my husband. I doubt we will be perfect on this journey and never slip up, but it's worth a try.

I know we seem completely crazy, and most will not understand what we're trying to do. I don't want to live a life where we constantly owe banks money and are a slave to our belongings. I want to minimize our waste as a family of 5, and get as much use of out items as we can. Less things will end up in landfills this way. I want to live in a way that brings our family closer together and lets our creativity flow.

So here we go, June 1st 2014 - June 1st 2015. I will do my best to document how we are doing once a week.

Living room update!

If you read my post yesterday, this is a follow up to show you the HUGE progress that was made. Some other stuff you won't see in the photo is wall hangings that were taken down, and last night my husband fixed up the holes from them and then touched up the paint in a few areas. I am SO excited! So, in the following you will see the before, and then the after from our first attempt, and then the after after from yesterday! What a difference!

                                                                         Before

                                                                         After

                                                                  After, after!

Round 2 in the living room!

A few months ago we ventured into the living room and really purged quite a bit! In reading the book I mentioned in the last post (the joy of less), I decided it was time to go back in there. You know what I realized? I really still had a LONG way to go. I feel like the word minimalism is going to mean different things to different people. Well, I guess a better way to say it would be that there are different levels. I mean, I've heard of people living with 100 items. And when you think about it, that's hardly anything! I can't even begin to guess how many items we still own.

Anyway, I looked at my entertainment area. Still quite a few items. The walls, LOTS of pictures and wall decor/art up. Also, our dogs have a bed in our living room, and a dog crate. Recently our puppy (well she's not exactly a puppy anymore) finally stopped eating things at night, so I decided to put up her crate today. I won't say I'm done with the living room, because I want to wait till my husband gets home and see what he thinks about it, but I will say I have a fresh look on everything again. I am hoping by tomorrow I will have really reduced the amount of items in my living room yet again!

I really highly recommend this book, though. I'm only a little over 1/3 of the way through it, and I cannot believe how much it's changing the way I look at everything, and the way I feel as well. One big thing I have adapted is I am basically having a conversation with each item I own. It's going to take a long time to get through everything, but I have made so much progress already I am so excited. So, the conversation (usually in my head, ha) goes something like this; What purpose do you serve in my life? How often do I use you? Would I miss you if you were gone?

Sounds silly, but those really are good questions to ask yourself about the things you're deciding to keep, or move on out. Also good questions to ask about things you're considering bringing into your home. So, back into the living room I go!

The Joy of Less

I have decided to spend a little dough and purchase a minimalist book. At first I thought to myself "This goes against what we're trying to do by not spending money" Let me tell you, I've spent money on a lot of silly things, but this was not one of them. I'm only 17% of the way through the book (says our Kindle), and I am very impressed. It's so much more than just "get rid of your stuff!!!". The first handful of chapters are just thinking about why we do things things, ect. It really opened my eyes so much.

We live in a culture that just lives to consume, not consumes to live. How much do we really need? Do we really need to keep up with the Jones'? Why? Why do we feel compelled to have everything, when we already have so much more than we ever needed? Yesterday the book had inspired me to go through a lot with a fresh mindset, and it worked! I was able to get rid of a lot. This past weekend I had a baby shower to attend. I had all these Mommy Necklaces (these are cute little necklaces basically meant for nursing mothers to give the baby something safe to play with while nursing, vs your hair). I kept them because they're so pretty and I do wear them once in a while. But then I thought about it, and I really thought my friend would get much more use out of them than myself. So, I passed all of them to her. Not only did it feel amazing to pass them on, but she really appreciated it, and even her husband thanked me later at church saying that they meant a lot to her. WOW!

Anyway. I feel so refreshed in my minimalist journey. I had already made SO much progress, but reading this book is really just energizing me more than ever! I want to change my whole way of thinking. Not just purge a few times a year, but keep bringing things in. I highly recommend this book. You can find it here The Joy of Less

Don't forget about the clutter in your head!

I have to keep telling myself this is a journey. Think, marathon, not sprint. I keep hearing that, but seriously, it's the best way to describe it. I have slowed down a wee bit on minimizing while focusing on getting everything done that needs to be. It has occurred to me lately that I just have too much going on again. Some things I can't avoid, much as I'd like to. But some things I just reeeeeeeeeeally didn't want to let go of, though I know it was at a point where it was creating more stress for myself, and more to do.

Ever heard that saying "too much of a good thing"? I definitely think there is. When it gets to the point where there's more of something than you can use in a year, yeah... Too much. Especially if it's creating more clutter/stress. I have gone through some slight obsessions. For example, baby legs. Heard of them? They're itty bitty leg warmers for babies. Seriously adorable, and very useful. So I took that, and ran with it! My daughter had almost 30 pair. It was INSANE. To think of the money I spent on that, when a few pair would have sufficed.

I read my devotional today and it was talking about the American dream. You know, bigger, better, faster, stronger... More more more. It's so hard for my generation especially with all the mommy wars, and social media. Everyone wants what others have. I do too, sometimes. I was just talking with my husband about this yesterday, actually! Then to have it right there in my face today was almost like the answer I was looking for.

Back to my original idea for this post (I saw something sparkly, sorry!) I tend to think SO much. I get the gut feelings, but the I have to rationalize EVERYTHING. I pretty much just drive myself crazy. So, when you decide to take it from gut, to brain, ask yourself these questions. Does this add value to my life, or stress? Do I really need ALL of this, or just some of it? If you find yourself thinking a ton about it, maybe talk about it out loud with someone. You never know, the answer just may come to you in a really unexpected way.

But my point is, I want to stress less. I am going to be taking the time to face these things that are stressing me out, and find a solution to them. Getting rid of the mental clutter, as well as the physical clutter :)

Do you have anything on your mind lately you're trying to sort out? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I hope my journey is helping others who're wanting to try this out as well!

Distractions, and a confession.

Distractions... They're everywhere. Electronics I think is a big one for us. The computer, the T.V. (we got rid of Dish last year then after a few months without it turned it back on), the Kindle, our phones. Geeeeeez! If I could just use them the way I intend to, it wouldn't be an issue. But I get caught up. I feel like we're missing out on life because of all of these distractions.

I want to be healthier. I want to put more time into my business. I want to get our house organized so that it's just maintenance after that. I want less stress, and more time. Yet I can't seem to break away from the distractions. I've also got books I've had for years that I want to read. I want to crochet more. Why do we do this to ourselves? I usually use these things as a reward or break when I've done a lot of work, but then that's where I get sucked in and can't break away.

So here it is, my confession. It's MY fault. I have the choice of where to put my focus, and sometimes, I don't make good decisions. I feel like until we admit things like this, it won't change. Yes, we have VERY busy lives. But the little bits of time I do have, I need to choose wisely what I do with that time. If I'm trying to get healthy, and I spend that time playing Candy Crush (DON'T PLAY IT IF YOU HAVEN'T, it's addicting), even 10 minutes at a time 5 times a day. That's 50 minutes of my day I can't get back. Why not 10 minutes of Candy Crush, 30 minutes of working out, and 10 minutes tidying up the house? There are lots of options, but I just have to stop making excuses, and get to it!

No one likes to have these things pointed out by others, because we get defensive. So, let's sit down and think to ourselves about it instead, and admit to ourselves what our weakness' are, and if we're wanting real change. I definitely do, so this is me giving myself a swift kick in the butt, and signing off to get some stuff done :)

To go along with minimalism

We have taken so many car loads to the local mission lately, that we are slowing down a little bit and focusing on some projects we've been needing to get done. Something that's come up lately, is re-purposing things. I feel like this goes hand and hand with minimalism. My biggest issue with buying new things, is there might be something you already have that you can use, and save from just being thrown into a landfill.

For example. We have these outdoor chairs that have just had it. For a bit my husband and I wanted to go get new chairs, but we haven't yet. Next thing we know, he and our oldest son are out in the shed doing "man stuff" and BOOM, a bench for our fire pit! He had some leftover wood, and also found part of an extra shutter out there.

Another example. I really need some kind of shelf to clip my desk lamp to in my work area. The last time my husband was in the attic, he found a broken shelf and brought it down. This was almost a year ago when we first moved in here. He fixed it, and painted it, and now it's ready to be put up!

I think the biggest gain from this though, is our son is on his way to becoming a man. He's about to turn 9 this year, and honestly that just feels so big to me. I mean, he's going to be half way to being an adult! There is a 4.5 year age difference between him and his little brother, and my husband and I just both feel it's a really good time for them (father and son) to start bonding. He's not exactly interested in what our 4 year old is. So to go along with what we're gaining from minimalism, they are building on their relationship. These are memories our son will have for the rest of his life!

Another bedroom down! Our sons room!

This weekend I helped my oldest son with his room. I have been dreading this because he wants to hold onto everything. I'm talking rocks from outside, acorns, papers galore, ect. His room isn't tiny, but it's not that big. He has a full size bed in there, a dresser, and a desk. His desk was full of papers and all kinds of stuff. He had even stashed stuff under his bed, and in his closet. It took a good few hours with breaks between to get it done.

But you know what? I think I planted a seed. I had him bring one drawer full of items to the middle of the floor, and we created 3 piles. Throw away, give away, and put away. When everything was said and done, we had an entire box of donations, 90% of his items had a place (we're looking for some smaller sized bins for lego's and such) and he got rid of most of his papers and misc items he brought in from outside. I think he even had fun!

When we first started it, he didn't want to really get rid of much, but when he saw the piles filling up, he got more into it! We humans are very visual. It seems like with me and my family especially, the more progress we SEE, the more we want to do! What I really liked about this experience, is that he was fully involved, and I could almost see the way he was thinking change! I hope that this will help him as he grows up, so that things are always manageable for him and stress free!

I highly encourage you to try this with your child if they're at an age where they can help you. For one, it's always nice to have company when doing this, and two, they might really enjoy it :)

Our daughters room. DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNN

Recently, we went through our daughters bedroom. She's our only daughter, plus she's the youngest. She was pretty spoiled to start out with, and it's calming down a little, but she definitely still had too much stuff! Not to mention, we have most of her brothers toys in her room as well due to his room being really small, and some behavioral issues we are working through with him. He uses toys as projectiles, it's not a fun time.

So, wall to wall, floor to ceiling, we did our thing. To include the closet! I was able to get rid of a lot of her clothes, and found quite a few broken toys and trash items. We pulled both our youngest kiddos in there when we were ready for them to make some decisions on which toys to give away to other boys and girls, and to our surprise, they were able to do this! We had a hang up on a tiny pretend kitchen, and cash register set. So we had them choose one to give away. Thankfully they chose to give away the little kitchen, because they already have a bigger one.

After all was said and done, it was SO much easier to clean because there weren't any toys and misc items all over the floor. It is now much easier for them to clean up because their toys fit into two bins. To be honest they don't have that many toys compared to most kids here in the US. We had started changing our ways a few years ago by keeping that kind of stuff to a minimum. We don't want our kids to be lost in a sea of toys, and we want them to value people and their time more than objects. We have learned that they are NOT at all bothered by this. I think we were more bothered by the idea of this in the beginning.

I think most of the time the reason kids have so many toys, is because of us, their parents. We love them so much, that we want them to never go without. We want them to enjoy their childhood, and have fun. They can still do this without a sea of toys, I promise. We are living proof of that. I have seen so much creativity come from my little ones, and be still my heart... They play SO well together now that there aren't so many toys to distract them. They pretend all the time. The two youngest are only 15 months apart, and I didn't think I'd see them grow into best friends still at such a young age.

Our bedroom. One HUGE task we've been avoiding since we moved in.

A little back story. We bought our house in Feb of 2013. It has 4 bedrooms so each of our children finally have their own room. One of the rooms used to be a garage, so we do not have one. We have a little shed in the back of the property, but it's not fit for storage. So, our closet is our storage. No real attic to speak of, or basement. That's it. Now, our bedroom is ENORMOUS! Which you'd think is great, right? But the issue is it is also my craft/office, and our workout room. So, too much going on to say the least.

My parents are here for a few days, so instead of them watching the kids so we could have a date (I'm too sick to go out anyway) we asked them to watch the little ones so we could figure out our bedroom and closet. I know, so romantic :) It took us a solid 2 hours. We went through probably 85% of our belongings both in our room and closet. Let me tell you, it was no easy task. Boxes and boxes of items and photo's and such we've had for years. Some things for decades.

We took a lot of trash out, and filled up my car with yet another load of donate items. I am only posting a few photo's because we still have a little work to do, but now we can do it here and there since the bulk of things are gone. I refuse to let it get to that point again. I refuse to bring in more things that will just take up space. Our lives are changing for the better so we can focus on what's really important :)

Please excuse the black squares. Hubby has a photo of him by the treadmill after his first deployment of non stop working out as motivation LOL.

2014 is going to be fantastic

Aside from still being sick, I have a feeling this year is going to start pretty well. We're already on a roll on our journey to minimalism. Really, we just want to keep up the momentum. And actually, my parents are here right now for a short visit. Our bedroom has really taken a back seat because we're trying to get the main rooms of our house in check, so our bedroom has been our catch all.

I think my new years resolution, is to be able to just maintain this new lifestyle. Meaning to have all the big things pretty much taken care of, and just maintain all that we've achieved. And also, to really get my business going, while keeping a minimalist mindset while doing it. Not having way too many supplies (I've had more than I need in a lot of things, and it's just created too much clutter)

Ok, maybe one more. To take better care of myself. Mentally, emotionally, and definitely physically. What are your new years resolutions?

Our laundry room, AKA, the black hole.

On our journey to minimalism, we know there are certain areas, and rooms that are going to be harder than others. Sometimes we're feeling brave, and sometimes we want to go hide in a dark room and curl up into the fetal position. Yesterday we did our underwear drawer. That was fairly easy. My husband had to work, and I have been pretty ill, so we kept it simple. Today, it was time to go big, or go home. Looking back, it was honestly harder to make the decision to do it, than any of the work itself. I'd guess it took us about a half hr working at a slow-moderate pace. And the end result surprised us both.

The husband actually got a little cranky when we first started, saying the room too small to do anything in. Turns out, it's not that small at all. Before and after photo's below!

                                                 Before

                                                  After

 

So, something that we've been putting off for months, took us a matter of minutes, and took a huge chunk of stress out of our lives. Quite a bit was trash, some was donate, and a lot of stuff belonged in the shed. Seeing before and after pictures just reassures us we're doing the right thing for our family by changing the way we think, and changing our lifestyle.

Another view of our new lifestyle

Hey everybody, This is Danny (the husband). This is my first post on here, and I'm told it won't be my last. We just wanted to get another point of view on this minimalism thing we're trying out. My point of view is a little bit different than Stacey's. I think that's why we work together so well. It may also be why we butt heads sometimes...

I have to say, I was less than thrilled when Stacey mentioned minimalism. I thought "oh great, lets just get rid of all the stuff we spent so long collecting". Then as she started, and I started watching, I started thinking. She had me read a few posts on another minimalist blog, and it started to click with me too. We won't ever be a "true minimalist" family, but we can surely minimize our "stuff".

Today I went through my nightstand. I filled an entire small garbage basket with "stuff". I had old papers from our move, receipts, copies of deployment orders, books, medals, flashlights, and even sandpaper. Why did I have sandpaper in my nightstand? Beats me. So I trashed the trash, reorganized what I actually want in there, moved what didn't belong in there, and made a ton more room. The top became a catch all and an eye sore. Now it's functional and looks much better with just my watch case on display. 

We also cleaned out our linen closet. We found expired OTC meds, duplicate meds, and even empty boxes of meds we've used. So we gutted it completely, cleaned all the shelves, and chose more wisely what we put in there. We have our towels, face cloths, meds up high, and spare paper towels. We consolidated the meds, keeping only what we really needed, allergy and children's cough mostly, and some toiletries. Again we filled an entire small garbage basket.

So, seeing all that we've taken out of fairly small areas add up to this much, almost a full kitchen bag, I'm excited to see what we can do with the rest of the house. I may be less than thrilled for us to get to some areas, like the kitchen and my shed, but that's why it's a process. One step at a time. Plus, getting rid of all the "stuff" we don't need, will help us identify what we do need. Not what we WANT, but what we NEED. Then we can focus on quality, not quantity. If we aren't buying so much, we can buy better. Simple math that's escaped my mind for my entire life.

So I guess with that, I'm sold. We can start to live a better life with less, so we can focus on what's really important.

2 heads are better than one! Huge progress in the last two days! Before and after pictures :)

My husband is so lucky to have the next two weeks off for Christmas and New Years. Well, other than one day. I've been the one really doing most of the work as far as our journey to minimalism. I of course consult with him about some stuff, but he works a lot, and doesn't have as much time as I do normally. But since he's home for a while, we agreed to make an effort to work together a little bit each day toward our goal.

It wasn't all rainbows and kitty cats, though. He's in the military, and is used to being in a leadership position, so he's very headstrong. And me, well I hold down the fort while he's gone, and even when he's not overseas because I am the one home and who handles things here. So, both of us working together was super interesting. I will say that though we butted heads a few times, and probably got in each others way, the end result was fantastic. We now know that we need to work on being a better team, but we also know that we can really get a LOT done.

So, yesterday we cleaned our a hutch, and got rid of quite a bit. We also found some things we were missing and needed, hiding in there! Amazing what you can find when you clean up. But today was a HUGE step in our journey. I'm actually including some before and after pictures. I'll tell you what we did below the photos :)

                                                 Before

                                                 After

Now, you have to kind of look close, because it still sort of seems like there's a lot in the after photo. I can tell you we will never be true minimalists, but we are making huge strides in becoming MORE minimal. The reason it looks like there's still a lot, is some things were not even there before. I had no place for them because there was so much already there. Things we got rid of:

An entire shelf of books. Gone, in the donate box, buh-bye! All my precious moments items. Gone. 1 photo. Put away to maybe put up elsewhere. The stars and stripes box on the right, gone. The bottle decoration. Gone. And some things were moved around/added. Also we deep cleaned EVERYTHING. What you don't see, is all the items that were inside those cupboards. About 75% of what was in there, is now gone. What is still in there, is organized, functional, and CLEAN. Oh, and the DVD player, and Wii now have an actual home inside the cupboards, so they're not an eyesore.

Also, a lot of the decorations up, are Christmas stuff. Those will be put away very soon, so there will be even less going on in this area. It will be back to just basics, with a little décor. I cannot even put into words how happy I am with this transformation. And none of the items that we got rid of has any negative impact on me. Not even the stuff I've had for decades that I thought were important.

Just because you stop bringing things into your house, doesn't mean your kids do!

We are choosing to kick this into high gear at a funny time. We didn't know I'd get so sick, so that's slowed progress (but hey, even slow progress is progress), and also Christmas time. Christmas time also means our children are bringing ALL kinds of things home. And, we're supposed to provide all kinds of things for each of their classes. Oh boy! That was a tough one, because although we are trying to live a minimalist lifestyle, it doesn't mean everyone else is, nor will everyone understand the desire to live that way. And that's totally fine.

So, we made gifts for one of our sons class, and for all their teachers, and bus drivers. We didn't get any fancy bags, but instead used the wrapping paper we had already. So that was partially going along with the lifestyle we want to live. But then came all the things they brought from their school parties and such. Ornaments, decorations, papers, gifts, JUNK FOOD. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Some of the ornaments went on the tree. Others, yes, we threw them away. With 3 kids, if we kept every single thing they ever made, or brought home, we'd probably have to buy a storage unit to put it all in! Also, I think back to when I became an adult, and my mom showed me all the stuff from my school days. It was neat, but a lot of the stuff, I honestly didn't care about. Certain things, absolutely. But I didn't need to see every finger painting I ever did, and the things like it. So, a lot of their papers went into the trash. We've kept special things, and what I do is laminate them, and stick them in their school album I have for each of them.

A lot of the little cheap toys and stuff, trash. Yes, I know, it sounds terrible. But honestly, they'll get broken anyway, and they had so much stuff they never noticed anything was missing. The candy, after break, whatever is left over, trash. I suspect after Christmas, we'll really be able to kick this back into high gear, without anymore hiccups. Till Valentines day ;)

10 weekly goals- update

When I planned my weekly goals last Wednesday, I didn't plan on getting even sicker than I was. So, some things didn't get done unfortunately. Also, it's a busy time of the year with 3 kiddo's in 3 different schools. Different Christmas parties and such. That meant a lot of time and energy went into making/buying supplies for those parties.

So, that being said, if you'll notice the important things are crossed off. Time with family. I didn't get to cleaning my daughters room with her. But we've spent a lot of one on one time together this week none the less. I will likely not make a list for this week as I need to pretty much do nothing but rest. But this hopefully gives anyone following an idea to try :) Let me know if you've tried it and what you think!

Original 10 weekly goals post

Knowing when to let go

Deciding to try to minimalist approach to life is HARD. Mostly it's hard to get started, but sometimes even when you're in a good groove, you'll hit a road block. Things like "But my grandmother gave this to me", and "If I get rid of it, I might find that I need it later and have to buy it again", or "This is really cute, and it's in perfect condition!" We are in the beginning stages of minimalism, and I can promise you we will never be the true definition of minimalists, but we are going to do the best we can to achieve happiness, and freeing ourselves from our over abundance of belongings.

So, let me touch on those things that pop up into your mind when going through things. This is another thing I learned from Flylady. Start small. In one area of a room. Maybe pull out a box that you've been meaning to go through. You want to have 3 categories that you put things in. Put away, throw away, give away. I'll give examples on each categories, and those thoughts listed above. Here we go!

In our bathroom (this is the room I chose to deep clean and organize this week) I found some dog ear cleaner. One of our dogs is a breed that is known to have ear issues because they're floppy ears, and very very furry. When we got him over 3 years ago, we bought some to prepare ourselves. I found it in our bathroom 2 days ago and thought "Well, we got lucky and he has never had ear trouble, but I should probably hold onto it in case he does, so we don't have to buy it again" Seriously, Stacey? You've had it for more than 3 years, he hasn't needed it yet, and it's just getting moved around from one place to another, and from one house to another! We move a lot being a military family. Oh, and look, it's EXPIRED! So once that voice of reason came out, it was a pretty easy decision, after all. And, if one day we have to buy some more, we just will. Another way to avoid this, is don't buy things you think you MIGHT need.

So, that went in the trash. Next order of business. This is really cute, and it's in perfect condition! I had a very overflowing basket full of lotions and body sprays. Even as a woman, you won't use 10 bottles of body spray in a very quick amount of time. I had stuff in there that was full that I've had for FIVE years. I'm not even kidding. So, I went through and picked my favorites that I use constantly, and took the rest to the donate pile. OK, this is getting easier... Next!

This was in a different room, but this was one of THE hardest decisions I've made so far in my journey. My grandmother on my dads side passed away 2 days before my 5th birthday. I do remember her, but my memories are almost like photographs in my head. She was a very sweet lady, who loved to craft. She crocheted lots and lots of goodies for everyone in the family, and we have a BIG family. I had a blanket that was made by her that my mom passed down to me because she didn't want it anymore. The thing is, it's not something I honestly wanted, and it was being packed and stored and only taken out to look at once in a while.

Here's why I made the decision to let it go. My grandmother made it, yes. But holding onto that is not how I am choosing to remember and honor her. Keeping something that she made, and putting it in a box for decades is not doing it any justice. I know there is someone out there who could/would appreciate it the way it was meant to be, so I decided to donate it. I feel so much better about it having gone to the mission to raise money to feed the homeless, than it sitting in a dark box on a shelf.

And the things you love, but don't have a home. Find a home for them! Put them on display. If you can't think of a place for it that it will get some use, or be appreciated, maybe you don't love it as much as you thought you did?

Don't forget, once you get a box full of donations, put it in your car to take the next time you are out :)

10 weekly goals, and how we can apply it to our journey to minimalism.

I think lots of people make goals. Daily goals, weekly,  monthly, yearly. Hey, how about the whole 5 year plan idea? It all starts with goals in our minds, and then we typically put them into list form. Whether on actual paper, or digitally. I was so inspired by  Money Saving Mom's list of 10 blog post this week! I have been feeling very under the weather lately, and it's keeping me down both physically, and even mentally.

I think me being sick is just another wake up call. Hello, you're doing too much, stressing yourself out, and stretching yourself TOO thin, says the voice in my head. So, as much as I dislike being sick, I am choosing to use it as positive re-enforcement to do what I can, and slow down!

So, I made a list of 10, much like Crystals at Money Saving Mom. Here is a peek at my list:

Weekly 10

Family/motherly

1. Help Shaelyn clean her room, then play
2. Build a fort with Destin
3. Watch a movie with Logan, or play a game, his choice
4. Have a date Friday night at home with Danny, no distractions
5. Write a letter to my Grandma

Personal

6. Finish the book I started months ago (I pitched it, the book couldn't hold my interest)
7. Take 15-20 minutes of time to sit and reflect each day

Household

8. Pick one small room to deep clean/minimize/organize

Business

9. Clean/organize craft table.
10. Create measurements for bow sizes/styles

If you look at my list, you'll notice most of these things are using the minimalist idea. Especially the ones spending time with my family. My list will hopefully remind me to slow down, and smell the roses, but those are all things that really need to be done (especially taking time for my family members individually). I believe most of these things will be good for the soul, and good for my body to heal from whatever these cooties are that I have.

If you try this, let me know how it goes for you! I will follow up next Wednesday to update on my progress. I kept my list pretty simple, so I am hoping I will be able to accomplish each of these things fairly easily.

If you are going to do this, I strongly suggest if you are making a paper list, to put it somewhere that you'll see every day, or if you are going to do it digitally, set a reminder to check it daily :)

The meaning of Christmas

As many others will agree, sometimes the meaning of Christmas seems to get lost. Many will spend hundreds and thousands of dollars this season, as they have every season. Some will even get cranky along the way if something sells out, or the shipping time for something is too long. We get into a hurry trying to get everything done in a timely manner, and the whole point just gets lost. I am not accusing, and pointing fingers, but we all know this happens. Some of us are guilty of it, and I'll admit I have gotten caught up before, too!

This year we really want to do things differently. We don't want to spend spend spend. We don't want to get a bunch of things for our kids that will likely get lost and/or broken right off the bat. We don't want to get them so many things that they get to the point where they just expect more and more.

I watched a video last Christmas with my husband and kids, and my parents. It was Christmas from maybe 1991? I was 6. I. Was. MORTIFIED. I was SUCH a spoiled little brat! I thought everything was about me, and I didn't seem to be happy with very much, and was ready to just move onto the next thing as soon as I got one gift opened. There must be more, there must be something better. Me, me, me, me. Yes, I am admitting this out loud, and I am so embarrassed. But, thankfully I am not that way any more, and being 6 years old, I just didn't understand.

My parents were just trying to do what they thought they should. They were doting on their daughter, because they loved me. They didn't mean to spoil me, but it happened anyway. I do not want this for my kids. I know how many are out there without a roof over their head, and without food in their belly.

So, I read in a few places that a lot of people are giving 3 gifts. One thing their kids want, one thing they need, and something for learning. We are doing something very similar, but not staying super strict to this. We've gotten them each 3 gifts (but one is from Santa) and then one gift for them all to open Christmas Eve. A new pair of PJ's, some hot cocoa, popcorn, and a Christmas movie. Then we got them a couple stocking stuffers. (one of the two items is something they need, and one for fun).

Also, I'd like to inspire those that read this to do something for someone. Doesn't have to be a family, or even a friend. Maybe it's someone you see that could really just benefit from a good deed. It is a time for giving. Maybe you can make a meal for a stressed out family. Maybe you know a single mom who doesn't have the money to do something nice for herself, and give her a gift card to buy a new outfit. Maybe you see a homeless person in the same spot all the time, that could really use a new pair of shoes. Maybe you even know someone who just really needs a friend to call and check on her, and spend some time just chatting.

Id love to hear your thoughts and ideas on these subjects. And if you have already, or are planning to give to someone in need, please share what that is/was!

I know this is a tiny bit off topic of my blog, but these are some thoughts that have been floating around in my head for a while now, and I really just wanted to get them out there :)