Want to say “no” to seasonal cleaning?
The idea of a seasonal, bi-yearly, or spring cleaning has always given me a feeling of dread. So, at one point I just decided that I will not require that of myself, and that is okay. Instead, I wait until something bothers me or I’m in the mood for it. Because I dreaded cleaning for…
Read Full PostWhen a Minimalist is Messy
When I record a video or take pictures of my home, I make sure that the house is tidy. When I share my home in any way, of course, I pick it up first so it’s pretty. But just because I tidy up and it’s nice in my video or on Instagram, doesn’t mean that…
Read Full PostFinding Calm in Schedule Changes
I have always struggled with change. Not big changes… for whatever reason, I can handle those just fine. Get married. ✔ Move across the country. ✔️ Have a baby. ✔️ How about 6 of them? Sure! Why not? ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️ But the small changes, those throw me for a loop! Things like: Kids starting school in…
Read Full PostDecluttering Emotionally Heavy Things
On our decluttering journey we will come to things that are really difficult to let go of, and most of them are items that have a lot of emotions tied to them. On a recent YouTube video, Lisa asked: “Rachel, I’m having such a hard time going through my storage room. I want to clear…
Read Full PostWhat Cleaning Supplies Should We Use?
I’ve had a few questions lately on what cleaning supplies I use. And I have hesitated to share, because when I ask that type of question, it’s because I recognize that what I’m doing isn’t working, and I see that what someone else is doing IS working, so I think I should try the products…
Read Full Post7 Time Saving Hacks for Big Families
I don’t feel like we have to manage a big family anymore, now that our 3 oldest are out on their own. But I still rely on these things to make our lives run smoothly. 1. Minimalism. If you found me through the Mega Motivation playlist, I know you’ve heard from minimalists already, but I…
Read Full Post13 Tips to Make Hand Washing Dishes Enjoyable
I’ve talked quite a lot about how it helps us to be consistent with routines. How establishing a habit of washing dishes regularly makes ours lives easier. But I have a dishwasher. And so I’ve gotten comments on my YouTube videos on how it must take me less time and it’s “easier” for me because…
Read Full PostKick the procrastination habit
One of the common factors of a messy home is procrastination. For me, I just flat out didn’t “feel” like dealing with things – whether that was getting off the couch to throw away a candy wrapper, cleaning the toilet, or washing the dishes. I never “felt” like doing it. Which is funny to think…
Read Full PostDon’t Keep Repeat Decluttering | Declutter With Purpose
We don’t just want to declutter for the sake of decluttering, and we should never get rid of anything just for the sake of being a minimalist. Most of us know we need to change. We might think, okay, yep, we for sure, need to declutter. And we probably need better habits. So let’s do…
Read Full PostMy Morning Reset
I used to wait until all the dishes and pots and pans in the house were dirty before I washed the dishes. I hated dishes. Almost as much as I hated doing laundry. That actually feels weird to say, because now I don’t hate either of those tasks. When I think back all those years…
Read Full Post4 things preventing you from decluttering
There are things that prevent us from decluttering. They get in our way. And today, I want to talk about four of them. 1.If we don’t believe something’s possible, we’re not going to take the steps needed to make it happen. If from the get-go, we don’t believe that we can ever embrace minimalism, that…
Read Full PostWhy emotions matter in our decluttering
Our things usually have emotional connections to them. Not all of our things, some of our things are completely utilitarian and it doesn’t matter whether we keep them or not, it’s an easy decision to make if we don’t need them. But as soon as we get rid of that surface layer of clutter, we…
Read Full PostHow many bathroom towels do we need?
I was visiting with a friend this week and we were talking about minimalism, she said, “I’m interested in minimalism, I need to find out some more information.” And I was like, “Well, what do you want to know? Because I could tell you!” And she said, “For example, how many towels do I need?”…
Read Full Post10 Questions to Ask as You Declutter Your Kitchen
#1 Which ones do I want to keep? When I started decluttering I would open the cupboard up and I would think like, oh, which items should I declutter? Maybe I’ll declutter this one and declutter this one. And then I would close the cupboard up and I would be so disappointed because it didn’t…
Read Full PostTips for Effective Decluttering
If we’re decluttering, we want all of our work to be effective, right? We want it to accomplish something. We want to see a change. We want to make our lives easier because of decluttering. For so many years, I decluttered all the time and I never saw a difference in my home. So today…
Read Full PostJalapeno Cheddar Sourdough Boule
My daughter-in-law is an amazing sourdough baker and when we visited she made this Jalapeno Cheddar Boule. Sorry, no pictures of the inside… but I can tell you it was DELICIOUS! If you want to see the video of her making it, you can watch that here. And she was kind enough to write the…
Read Full PostHealthy-ish Pancakes
My kids love pancakes for breakfast. Because they like bread. Any sort of bread. Quick bread, yeast bread, sourdough bread- it doesn’t matter. If it’s some sort of bread they will adore me for making it and eat their fill. It goes like this: Eggs. Well, ok. Bacon. Yum, thanks Mom! Bread of some sort.…
Read Full PostBaked Tilapia and Roasted Potatoes
I avoided fish for so long because I didn’t know how easy it was to prepare. I was always worried about under-cooking and “how could you tell if it’s done anyway??” But it turns out, baking fish simplifies ALL of that. And it’s easy to mix things up with a variety of seasonings or…
Read Full Post2021 in 2021 Decluttering Challenge
Say goodbye to feeling overwhelmed! We’re getting rid of 2,021 things in 2021! My FREE 2021 in 2021 Decluttering Challenge will help you transform your home into your own personal oasis. Freeing up our physical space is important because the environment in which we surround ourselves affects our moods, health, and how we interact with…
Read Full PostDecluttering Kitchen Counters
Have you ogled the pictures of model homes, and longed for similar kitchen counters- where there is nothing on them except a bowl of delicious fruit? Me too!! And I never thought it would be possible, but I’ve learned and I’d love to share with you how to maintain completely decluttered counters. First, we have…
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