I’m on a journey to living a simple life.
I’m about to be homeschooling kindergarten in September. So, I’ve been reevaluating the atmosphere in my home.
I want to look at it and it feel like a breath of fresh air. I want to look around my home and feel like it’s an escape from the outside world.
Refreshing, right?
A little paradise that I get to live in everyday.
So, what if we traded in the clutter for free space that makes us feel like we can breathe that fresh air?
No more overwhelm in our space. Just peace.
That’s my mission. And I will be sharing what I do along the way.
So, here are 5 Steps to Simplify Your Home Right Now.
5 Steps to Simplify Your Home Right Now
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When I first thought about clearing the clutter, I got so overwhelmed with it all.
I have too much stuff. Which is sad. But, I’m not the only one with too much stuff.
I looked around me, and said, “Enough! I’m going to make the time to clear the crap!”
Why?
I’m simplifying life to make room for the precious moments with my kids. You know…all the crafts and activities I do here on The Mama Workshop. Plus, all the outdoorsy stuff we do too.
My kids love it.
But, managing clutter, busy schedules and all of that, got to be way too much.
The crafts slowed down. Story time became shorter. Family fun became almost non-existent.
Because of all the crap.
I love this quote from Emily Ley, author of A Simplified Life, “No matter what space you’re in, you have the power to make your space provide the rest and connection you deserve.”
Rest and connection.
That’s what we all need more of and deserve.
So, how can we reach that?
Begin with a trash bag
It all begins with a trash bag my friends.
Seriously, you would not believe how much trash was in my house. What?!
Real life moment, girl.
It was bad. I couldn’t believe it myself.
So, take a big trash bag and do a once over of your entire home.
Don’t give it much thought either. Just put on your favorite jams, and dash with the bag in your hands, picking up all that you can that is trash (such as: papers, receipts, empty bottles, broken items, your what-the-heck-does-this-belong-to tiny things).
Then, throw it away.
You will feel at least one brick leave your chest. It’s pretty flippin’ awesome!
Donate duplicates in your kitchen drawers (and cupboards)
Why do drawers just collect stuff? Out of sight. Out of mind. Am I right?!
UGH.
Set the timer to 10 minutes. And, go through all of your kitchen drawers eliminating any duplicates.
And by eliminate, I mean put it in a donate bucket for someone else that needs it.
Why did I need two ice cream scoops? Or 3 potato peelers? Am I running a restaurant? Nope.
And why do I have 30 coffee cups? For real. 30. I had 30 coffee cups.
Must’ve been from my random collection of Starbucks mugs when I worked there. Eek! Go away mugs.
Keep the ones that match.
Wait, mugs aren’t in drawers. So, I should have made that a third step (I’ll just add it in parenthesis).
Oh goodness. I got overly excited!
But, go through your cupboards too. Get rid of duplicate stuff, unnecessary items, extras and expired things.
Be ruthless.
If you haven’t used something in the last month or so, chances are you don’t need it.
Buh bye stuff. Hello peace.
Clear the counter top
This was a big one for me.
In our home, the kitchen is the first thing we see when we enter through the garage door.
If the counter is cluttered, instant stress-out mode for me (“I must clean the mess; but, I’m just too tired and want to do something else. But, the mess!”).
And I don’t want that. Not one bit.
I want to come home to a clear counter, walk to our living room and sit down to read a book to my kids with no stress. Or kick up my feet. Or whatever I want to do.
So, what did I do?
The biggest thing taking up my counter space was dishes. I had no system to doing my dishes. So, they would pile up a mountain high and start taking over the counter.
How did I fix that issue?
Load the dishwasher throughout the day. Run the cycle at night. Put the dishes away in the morning.
It took at least a week to make this my routine. But, it’s doable.
I have been doing this for 4 months now. And it’s great!
Waking up to a clean kitchen is amazing. I can brew my coffee and read a chapter out of a book.
The next biggest thing were big appliances. Do I really need that on the counter all of the time?Nope.
Put big appliances that don’t get everyday use in a cupboard you just cleared.
TIP: wipe down the counters and prep your coffee maker right before you go to bed, so all you have to do is press BREW in the morning.
Teach your kids simple tasks
Kids are way more capable of things than adults give them credit.
If you tell them they can’t do something, they will believe it.
I coached my kids to put their dish in the sink, so it didn’t stay on their place mats. Very simple task that helps so much.
Another simple task I coached them through, was serving themselves water.
I put a water filter with a spout on the kitchen counter (this is the one we use). Then, I put the kid’s cups in a cupboard that’s at their level. Then, I coached them on how to serve their own water.
It takes trial and error. There will be spills. But, once they know how to serve their own water, it’s awesome.
One less thing for you to do. Amen!
Walk through your home with a donate box
The stuff you have been setting aside to donate, put it in a box. Then, walk through your home and fill it to the brim with more stuff.
Put that box in the back of your car. And, the next time you’re running an errand, stop at a donation center first to drop the box off.
So, simple.
I have done this quite a few times. It really feels great!
You are clearing your home and helping someone else in need.
Now, that you have cleared some stuff, how do you feel?
It was such a relief for me. Such a big weight lifted off my shoulders.
But, now that we simplified our spaces a little, what can we do to maintain it?
- Before bedtime, grab a bucket and walk around the house putting in items that don’t belong. Put them away. Have the kiddos help. Make it a game. Who can empty the bucket first? Winner gets extra tickles before bed.
- Empty the trash cans.
- Wipe down the counters.
- Prep your coffee
- Place your favorite book next to the coffee maker.
I really hope these 5 steps help you simplify your home. I will be diving deeper into how to simplify your home in future posts.
This is just what I did to get myself started with being clutter free, so I can focus on what matters most.
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