Clutter free!

Sometimes living a simpler life takes a bit of work. A few weeks ago I read about a mom who decided to put all her children's toys away. She said the children were starting to get greedy, were constantly fighting, and their bedroom was a constant mess. It may seem like a drastic resolution, but one thing she said got me thinking. She said that since doing that, she hasn't had to tell her children to clean their room. No wonder, there are no toys to put away!

Inspired by that, I grabbed a box and went through my child's toys. There are several that are not played with anymore, so those have found a home inside the box. No, I didn't take all the toys away as I didn't feel there was a need for that, but I took quite a few. He liked the look of his room and was motivated to help me sort through more of his things. Some things went into the box, others are to be given away to a younger child, and others went to the trash (noise makers anyone?) The result is a much cleaner and clutter free room. We had stored his board games under the bed, but I realized it was becoming a good gathering place for dust, so we found a new home for the games and under the bed can now be used as a tunnel for train tracks and car races whenever it's needed.

The whole project took us about an hour maybe a little more, but we did it together and had fun. Plus we are totally enjoying the uncluttered room. 

Removing clutter from our environment doesn't have to be a long and tedious project. It can be getting rid of junk mail or unused lotions and creams from the bathroom cabinet. It could be tossing the food that is going bad inside the fridge or clearing the kitchen counter. The result is a more beautiful environment which will reflect on how we feel.

Hooray for clutter free!

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A to do list.

Some people are very organized. I love looking through organization blogs for ideas on things to do and ways to improve our home, but as much as I like it, I'm not that organized. I probably spend more time looking at the ideas than actually putting them into practice.

I think everyone has a different organization style. Some people are organized in their own disorganization. As long as you can find the car keys, you're ok. 

So my organization style is different from the many I read on the blogs or magazines. My wardrobe is not color coordinated and I don't own a label maker. But to do lists work well for me. Not always do I get everything on the list done, but it gives me a little bit of direction. The problem is finding the balance between what must get done and what would be nice to get done.

This morning as I had some time to myself before everyone woke up, I made a to do list. After the family joined in the new day, a few more items were added, and we all worked to accomplish our goals for the day. 

Now a wise man once said that there's a time for everything, a time to work and a time to rest. Heeding that advice, we included play time on our to do list. Looking at all the items, I wanted to make sure we made time to play. Laundry could wait one more day, so could vacuum, and even trying a new recipe for sandwich bread, so before we were done with our chores, we got our snow gear on and went to play outside. We had so much fun and were there for a long time. Our dog had fun chasing the ball and we all ran and jumped in the deep snow. Temperatures were a little above freezing which is nice. We didn't need to wear our winter jackets.

Before coming back inside, we did some deep breathing exercises to soak in the fresh afternoon air. I felt energized and invigorated. 

After dinner we looked at our to do list and realized we had done everything plus a few more things. Thinking back on the day I believe that the most important item on that list was play time. I could've done everything, but if we hadn't played it would've been all pointless. And I could've not crossed a single item on the list except for play, and that would've been a very successful day. In the end, little arms hugging me and thanking me for a fun day are way more important than a dust free home.

What is the most important item on your to do list today? Make sure to include that very important play time!

Taking in the fresh air

Journey

Have you noticed how the world seems to be going faster and faster every time? Often I find my self wondering if life was this complicated for my parents, or grandparents. Long gone are the days of sitting around the fire at the end of the day reading a book, knitting, playing the piano, or simply talking. Those things were a given back then. Now we have to be encouraged to take time to ourselves, to have dinner with our children, to turn the radio off, or to purchase all kinds of things to make our lives easier. 

I've grown to be very aware of how complicated life can be in many aspects, so I've embarked on a journey to simplify my life. I know this is not my doing, but God helping me to see that He has more for me than what I've been getting myself into.

This blog is about this journey...