Country Minimalist Home Tour: Cori
Everyone’s idea of minimalism is different and that is very important to remember. When you are thinking about embracing minimalism, the whole point of it is to keep true to your authentic self. What is important to you, the things you enjoy and the life you want to live. I’m excited to share some real life…
Read Full PostHow to Prevent Clutter From Creeping Back In
Have you ever said “I’ve decluttered before, I can do that part. But how do I stop it from coming back?” I’ve been in that place myself. I remember as a kid grabbing up my mom’s copy of Clutter’s Last Stand and reading it through. I decluttered my toys and my room would be ok for,…
Read Full PostHow to Enjoy Life and Still Make Progress Decluttering
If you are in the beginning or middle stages of your clutter-clearing journey, it can seem like clutter is more “in your face” now than it was before you started getting rid of it. And it’s very hard to take time out to enjoy life and live a little when you’re so determined to simplify. It’s…
Read Full PostWhen Your Spouse Doesn’t Share Your Ideas About Simplifying
This is a guest post from Rachel Bowman, a full-time working mom of two girls under 4. Rachel started Just Getting Things Done when she realized she didn’t want to be that mom that doesn’t have any energy anymore, who thinks everything is a burden or a chore. She wanted to be a mom that…
Read Full PostDecluttering 2017 in 2017: Join the Challenge!
Each year, this blog hosts a decluttering challenge to get rid of the same number of items as the year. In 2017 everyone who joins the challenge will get rid of 2017 items from their homes. 24,440 people have signed up to do the challenge in years past and I’m so excited to see how many people…
Read Full PostKeeping Holiday Traditions without Holiday Stress
December is here, and regardless of where you are in your decluttering journey, the overwhelming feelings that lead many to embrace minimalism can resume with intensity through all the holiday activities. We can end up in the cycle of perfectionism, trying to do it all, including maintaining every. Single. Holiday. Tradition. Perfectly. (Social media is excellent…
Read Full PostChristmas Gifts For The Crunchy Mom In Your Life
I have some lovely people in my life that I am planning to gift to this Christmas, and most of them, like me, are on the crunchy (natural) side. While I’ve been thinking through what they would enjoy I figured I would share the cool crunchy gifts I’ve discovered. Crunchy Mom Gift Ideas: Essential Oils. This…
Read Full Post7 Ways to Simplify the Thanksgiving Holiday
Thanksgiving has always been my mom’s favorite holiday. The focus is always on people and appreciation, rather than heavily commercialized and being bombarded with idealized expectations. I can totally get on board with that myself! I love turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. Give me that along with friends and family to share it with, and it’s…
Read Full PostUnplugged Gifts For Teens (and Adults!)
My older boys (men! yikes!) are 18, 19 and 20… and planning out our Christmas gifts has got me thinking on what to get them and what they will enjoy, that won’t require them sitting and staring at a screen. When you’re thinking through gift-giving, the best thing to do is spend some time thinking about the person and their interests. For…
Read Full PostDecluttering The House (Even When The Children Are Running Around)
It’s important for children to see you decluttering, to learn how to do it and what the results are. Certainly there are challenges, anything we do with our children means it’s going to take longer, either while wrangling them, explaining things to them, or showing them how to do the task. Parenting takes time and…
Read Full PostDeclutter the Holiday Schedule With These 3 Simple Steps
A jam-packed, bursting-at-the-seams schedule is often a big contributor to the mess in our homes. When we allow ourselves to get so busy that we don’t know which way we are coming or going, our decluttering efforts, and the routines necessary to maintain a minimalist home, fall apart. We neglect to guard our homes against the influx…
Read Full Post8 Ways To Create Instant Zen This Week
If you are in the midst of feeling overwhelmed with far too much going on in your life and too many cluttered surfaces, there are a few things that you can do to reduce that very quickly. No, it’s not going to take all the troubles away, but doing even one of these suggestions listed below…
Read Full PostConquering The Last Messy Place In Your Minimalist Home
This is a guest post by Stefanie Williams. Stefanie and her husband have 6 children, and enjoy soccer and music. Stefanie has been cutting out the things that just don’t matter, and simplifying the things that do. One day, a few years ago, my husband and I were outside working. It was probably a couple months…
Read Full PostLife is Simpler When You Meal Prep
Note from Rachel: This is a guest post from Cara of Health Home and Happiness. She has been meal prepping in the form of freezer cooking for years, and has become more intentional with it as her children have gotten older. She’s going to tell you a little more about how a little bit of…
Read Full Post8 Habits To Keep Paper Clutter To A Minimum
Papers are easily one of the number one clutter issues in our lives. We are afraid to get rid of something, for fear of needing the information on it, or needing a copy of it. We feel shame for not filing utility bills and grocery receipts. Aren’t we supposed to compare our receipts to our…
Read Full PostEmbracing Minimalism Instead of Habitual Decluttering
In this blog, I tend to focus a lot on decluttering. I know when I started seeking minimalism, I needed guidance with even the most basic beginnings of decluttering, I longed for encouragement and someone who had been through it, sharing what they know. So, for many articles, that is the bent I take. But…
Read Full PostCleaning Rewards: Clutter-Free Treats to Reinforce Your Tidying Routines
Keeping a clutter-free home takes a change of habits, a lifestyle shift and anytime we make habit changes, it takes time to establish those changes. There are steps we can take to reinforce them and make them more concrete in our lives, and one of those reinforcement techniques is reward. First when changing habits, you…
Read Full PostWhy You Shouldn’t Wait for the Perfect Time or the Perfect House to Embrace Minimalism
How many times in your life have you said: “I’ll do that when…” I’ll do that when… I have a nicer house I’ll do that when… I have money to buy nicer dishes/furniture/decor/cooking supplies I’ll do that when… The kids are grown I’ll do that when… I have free time I’ll do that when… I’ll do…
Read Full PostInspirational Decluttering And Minimalism Articles For Overwhelmed Moms
When I started learning about minimalism, there wasn’t much for inspiration from people with families. I had 4 children and one on the way when I decided to purposely head in a minimalist direction. Could it be done with a family of 7? Yes. But since there wasn’t a lot to find online, there wasn’t much for…
Read Full PostMinimalism Isn’t A Magic Pill
It’s been a rough season for me. Most of life is filled with good days and bad days; the good days are nice- I want to get outside, I play with the kids, I read books and laugh at my husband’s jokes. But most often over the last couple months it’s been bad days, and they’re really bad. I found myself angry and overwhelmed, the…
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