Still Minimizing!
I am still very focused on minimizing the stuff around the house, and am enjoying it more and more as I see more results! I've noticed that things are staying cleaner with minimal effort on my part. I can't express how much joy that brings me.
I've been finding more time to read books (for fun, not just homeschooling) to the kids, without worrying the whole time about all of the housework that needs to be done. (We're currently working on reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. We've almost gotten through the first book, "The Magician's Nephew".)
There is less laundry to do, therefore, fewer loads to wash, dry, and put away each day.
There are fewer dishes, therefore, fewer loads of dishes to wash, dry, and put away each day.
There are fewer toys, fewer decorative items, fewer books, and therefore, the floor is getting to the point where it's almost free of clutter the majority of the time - Not that it doesn't still get messy... after all, I do have 4 kids! lol - It's just a mess I can tolerate and that is more easily picked up!
Last week, I went through my kids clothes again and found another hefty sack of clothing that is either too big or to small for them to wear, or that I don't like, and gave them away. It's getting so much easier for them to find their clothes now that they can see them without much effort. It's getting harder and harder to put them in the giveaway bag, now that it's been really narrowed down, because they're really nice clothes, but we still have a little bit too many. I have to keep asking myself, "How many pairs of shorts or pants does one boy actually need"? I also remind myself that some other boy out there can use the same pair of pants, so it's not just going to go to waste.
By the way, one of my favorite things lately has been what I've been calling the "magic driveway" when I talk about it to the kids. I tell them, "Watch this. I'm going to put this item on the edge of the driveway, and in a couple of hours, I bet it will disappear!"
Works every time!
We got rid of our old vacuum cleaner, a torch lamp, a bench, a kitchen playset, and a few other things this way! Sometimes it only takes a matter of minutes before the item mysteriously "disappears" from sight. It's much easier than doing freecycle or taking it to the Salvation Army.
Have any of you been minimizing or decluttering? Please share your progress/story/results below!
I've been finding more time to read books (for fun, not just homeschooling) to the kids, without worrying the whole time about all of the housework that needs to be done. (We're currently working on reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. We've almost gotten through the first book, "The Magician's Nephew".)
There is less laundry to do, therefore, fewer loads to wash, dry, and put away each day.
There are fewer dishes, therefore, fewer loads of dishes to wash, dry, and put away each day.
There are fewer toys, fewer decorative items, fewer books, and therefore, the floor is getting to the point where it's almost free of clutter the majority of the time - Not that it doesn't still get messy... after all, I do have 4 kids! lol - It's just a mess I can tolerate and that is more easily picked up!
Last week, I went through my kids clothes again and found another hefty sack of clothing that is either too big or to small for them to wear, or that I don't like, and gave them away. It's getting so much easier for them to find their clothes now that they can see them without much effort. It's getting harder and harder to put them in the giveaway bag, now that it's been really narrowed down, because they're really nice clothes, but we still have a little bit too many. I have to keep asking myself, "How many pairs of shorts or pants does one boy actually need"? I also remind myself that some other boy out there can use the same pair of pants, so it's not just going to go to waste.
By the way, one of my favorite things lately has been what I've been calling the "magic driveway" when I talk about it to the kids. I tell them, "Watch this. I'm going to put this item on the edge of the driveway, and in a couple of hours, I bet it will disappear!"
Works every time!
We got rid of our old vacuum cleaner, a torch lamp, a bench, a kitchen playset, and a few other things this way! Sometimes it only takes a matter of minutes before the item mysteriously "disappears" from sight. It's much easier than doing freecycle or taking it to the Salvation Army.
Have any of you been minimizing or decluttering? Please share your progress/story/results below!
We were blessed to be able to purchase a new home recently and during the moving process discovered that we really did not need nearly as much of the stuff we have accumulated as we thought. It's amazing how much stuff two parents and six kids can accumulate over 15 years. Since we have not sold our first home yet we only moved bare essentials into the new home, thinking we would move the kids' toys and some other things later. What we discovered is that the kids do not miss the mounds of toys and we do not miss the other things we thought we needed either. It is so nice to be able to just straighten up the house and actually have free time without worrying about trying to manage the piles of stuff. Now we are planning to just donate/sell/trash all of that extra stuff. I wish we had gotten rid of this stuff years ago and now I have no intention of accumulating stuff like that again!
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Hi Bethany,
I am a bit of a minimalist by nature. I go through my house fairly often and get rid of whatever seems unnecessary, however, with 5 kids in the house things tend to pile up quite easily and I don't always have time to really clean out a cabinet or closet. I've been following along with your minimizing efforts and it has encouraged me to take some time to go through the house and really de-junk and reorganize. I always had a hard time getting rid of kids clothes because I thought that I might need them for the next kid, so I found the strategy of only keeping what one kid could reasonably wear to be helpful. Like you, I still have a little too much, but now all the dresser drawers shut and the closets are not overwhelming. It is also easier to see what the kids were needing for winter.
I have held onto books and cds I didn't need and other personal items, but finally realized that if I never listened to it or wouldn't read it again, then it was okay to pass it on. My husband even packed up some of his precious camoflauge clothing that he has had for 15 years. He says that you can never have too much camo but our decluttering efforts encouraged him to get rid of the stuff he never used.
I think I am almost finished going through the house. I have a few more shelves to tackle, like in the laundry room, but I feel really good about what we have accomplished.
It has made our homeschooling year get off to a great start. There is more room on the kids bookshelves for their school books and supplies. We can find stuff more easily. I have appreciated the encouragement.
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Very good article and video about organizing. Didn't know she is so devoted to organizing
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/celebrity/jamie-lee-curtis-comes-clean?click=pp
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Thanks so much for the stories! I am encouraged by reading what you've done and thanks also for the link!
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