Photo from my instagram
No matter the cause, this year I'm going to follow my instinct. Usually I half-heartedly make a donation pile and drop a few things off at Goodwill before my motivation dies. I stumbled on this pin last week of a simple handwritten list of areas to clean/organize/declutter. It's not a fancy printout. It's not a schedule. It's just a list.
I know myself and I am at my best when I have a list of specifics to get done. Between the adoptions and the multiple moves I can rock a to do list (especially the paperwork ones-ha!). So why not give it a try? If I lose motivation and stop, the worst that will happen is 3 or 4 rooms with less clutter. That's a win in my book.
If there is one thing that motherhood has taught me-it's that every season of life requires a different method. So here's to a few months of selling, donating and recycling the excess. A time to let go of what's not working, and to find what will work now, in this moment.
Do you get this urge to clear out in January too? What are your favorite ways to simplify?
Yes! So good. I am not a resolution girl, but made some goals on different areas of my life. My "home" goals were to perfect a signature dish and simplify the house. I HATE clutter, but our house is slowly being overtaken by toddler things. I also do a pretty good job of making things look nice on the outside, but our closets, drawers, etc are a hot mess when you look inside. I'm hoping to tackle those this year, and institute a "gain something new, get rid (or donate) something old." policy. Good post ;)
ReplyDeleteI always feel this way in January too. Once I take down the Christmas tree I'm ready to purge/organize my entire house. Unfortunately, that resolve usually only lasts a little while. So far this year I've made two trips to Goodwill and organized my silverware drawer. At least it's progress, right?
ReplyDeleteYes! I get this urge, too. I'm following along in a book that lays things out on a weekly basis this year. We'll see how it works. I love that simple list though. So much that I repinned it.
ReplyDeleteLet us know how it goes. I embrace the some-progress-is-better-than-none-at-all theory, too!
I so agree-the kids stuff takes over the house in a way I never imagined! And there's a reason half my list is closets…if you open my craft closet you have to be careful that things don't fall on you! I'd love to do the one thing in/one thing out but I never have much luck-let me know how it works for you! (And advice on implementing it :) )
ReplyDeleteThat is progress! That's more than I've done so far :)
ReplyDeleteOoh! What's the book? I like the idea of taking things one week at a time!
ReplyDeleteI totally get this urge and I love the idea of a simple list. I get bogged down in the spreadsheets and binders and books you see all over the internet. I think I might have more success with a good old fashioned hand written list.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those places where I really let the perfect get in the way of the good. I'm always looking for the perfect "system" and I've never found it. We'll see if back to basics works!
ReplyDeleteOne Year to an Organized Life by Regina Leeds. I'm only one week in - on the second week now - so it's way too early to vouch for it. I'll let you know what I think though :)
ReplyDelete