Embracing Change
My family and I just returned from the most amazing vacation. I feel immensely blessed for the opportunities we have had. While on vacation, I had a lot of time to think and reflect on various aspects of my life. This is what I realized.
The most important part of my life is my family. Taking care of my family, teaching my children and caring for our home consumes 80% of my time and energy. And while I don't have a lot of leftover time and energy, there is SO much I would like to do during that time.
I thought about this blog a lot. Writing and sharing here is something I truly enjoy. I sort of used the weekly decluttering as a jumping point for my blog, but that is not what I wanted this blog to be about. I wholeheartedly love the idea of decluttering and I still try to do it every week. Posting about it here kept me accountable and I am thankful for that. What I was not crazy about was the extra time involved in taking before and after pictures, editing them and uploading them each week. As I mentioned before, there are a lot of things I'd like to do with my extra time.
I'm going to put myself out there and share some of my craziest dreams. At some point in my life, I would love nothing more than to be a decorating consultant. I want to help people realize the home of their dreams in the easiest, most inexpensive way possible. I have a passion for home decor. I have a passion for warm, welcoming spaces that embrace our families and make us feel good.
When I started this blog, I wanted it to be the beginning of bringing that dream to life. And that is what I am taking it back to now. Sharing design tips and tricks, posting pictures of my homes, helping others with their homes... that is where I am going. I hope you will join me on my journey!
~ I still truly believe it is near impossible to have a warm, welcoming home when you have a lot of clutter. I strongly encourage you to continue the weekly decluttering by following Beth's calendar at My Simpler Life. It has helped me and I know it will help you! ~
Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 13
We are one quarter of the way done! How have you been doing? Can you tell a difference in your home? I have to say, in some places of my homes (such as the ones most recently decluttered), it is noticeable. In other areas that haven't been decluttered since January.... well, they could stand to be decluttered again. I have a tendency to be frustrated or angry at myself for letting this happen, but then I choose to remember this is life. Life is fluid. Always moving. Kids are always, always moving. Most of the time, they carry things with them and move items from one place to a perfectly decluttered space. It happens. So, I choose to stow away my frustrations (for now) and move on to this week's list.
First up, get rid of cleaners you don't use.
We don't really use cleaners in our house other than Norwex antibac microfiber cloths. The microfiber is so fine that it picks up everything. As for the bacteria, Norwex uses silver that is interwoven into the cloths to kill bacteria on contact. I love them. My hubby even loves them. We've been using Norwex for about four years and I don't see us ever going to conventional cleaners again. I did find a random bottle of Clorox wipes under our bathroom sink this past week though. Actually, Sam found it and I promptly threw it out. It's something he obviously doesn't need to play with and we haven't had the need for.
Replace any mops, dusters, brooms, brushes that need it and get rid of the old ones.
We have a Libman upright broom, brush and dustpan that is still going strong. We also have the Norwex mop that is also in great condition. No need for us to replace anything yet, so there is nothing to get rid of either. Love that!
Update your car first aid kit.
For a long time, I had a great first aid kit in the car that I bought at Target for $9.99. It was perfect and had everything you could ever potentially need. About six months ago, I took a closer look at it and realized all but the bandages was expired. I now have a fantastic collection of bandaids. This is a great reminder to nudge me in the direction of replacing the ointments, medications and creams in that kit. If you aren't sure what to put in the kit, click here for a great resource.
Return items you have borrowed to friends, family and the library.
Good reminder! We do have some books & movies to turn in!
Do a quick pick up of clutter areas you have already decluttered.
Yes! and NO!! This is where my hard work truly occured this week. Of course, this is something I pretty much do on a daily basis, you?
I apologize for the lack of pictures this week, but it's basic cleaning out and I didn't feel pictures of my Clorox wipes in the trash can would really be helpful. Stay tuned this week for pretty pictures!
The 2012 Declutter Calendar was created by Beth at www.mysimplerlife.com You can jump in at any time and join in!
First up, get rid of cleaners you don't use.
We don't really use cleaners in our house other than Norwex antibac microfiber cloths. The microfiber is so fine that it picks up everything. As for the bacteria, Norwex uses silver that is interwoven into the cloths to kill bacteria on contact. I love them. My hubby even loves them. We've been using Norwex for about four years and I don't see us ever going to conventional cleaners again. I did find a random bottle of Clorox wipes under our bathroom sink this past week though. Actually, Sam found it and I promptly threw it out. It's something he obviously doesn't need to play with and we haven't had the need for.
Replace any mops, dusters, brooms, brushes that need it and get rid of the old ones.
We have a Libman upright broom, brush and dustpan that is still going strong. We also have the Norwex mop that is also in great condition. No need for us to replace anything yet, so there is nothing to get rid of either. Love that!
Update your car first aid kit.
For a long time, I had a great first aid kit in the car that I bought at Target for $9.99. It was perfect and had everything you could ever potentially need. About six months ago, I took a closer look at it and realized all but the bandages was expired. I now have a fantastic collection of bandaids. This is a great reminder to nudge me in the direction of replacing the ointments, medications and creams in that kit. If you aren't sure what to put in the kit, click here for a great resource.
Return items you have borrowed to friends, family and the library.
Good reminder! We do have some books & movies to turn in!
Do a quick pick up of clutter areas you have already decluttered.
Yes! and NO!! This is where my hard work truly occured this week. Of course, this is something I pretty much do on a daily basis, you?
I apologize for the lack of pictures this week, but it's basic cleaning out and I didn't feel pictures of my Clorox wipes in the trash can would really be helpful. Stay tuned this week for pretty pictures!
The 2012 Declutter Calendar was created by Beth at www.mysimplerlife.com You can jump in at any time and join in!
Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 12
Raise your hand if you or your family has had the stomach bug in the last two weeks. *raises hand and waves it back and forth* I am sorry for the silence around here for the last two weeks. My home has been somewhat of a small time infirmary and/or pharmacy during that time. It has not been fun. But that is life, no? Today we are working hard to get back on track. I have some fun posts in store for you this week.
Back to the decluttering! This week we are working in the bathroom. To be honest with you, I could go back into my own bathroom and declutter again. But I decided to work on our kids/guest bath.
I honestly don't spend much time in here... ever. It gets out of control. It gets really chaotic. Here is our girls' bathroom before:
I didn't need to declutter so much as organize what was in here. I did throw out a few expired items and random things Sam had carried in here. Other than that, it was basic picking up and cleaning. Pretty easy. Now, who wants to come mop the floor?
- Clear out under the bathroom sink.
- Declutter bathroom knick knacks and things on the wall.
- Get rid of multiples of hair dryers and curlers.
- Declutter the shower or bath area.
I honestly don't spend much time in here... ever. It gets out of control. It gets really chaotic. Here is our girls' bathroom before:
I didn't need to declutter so much as organize what was in here. I did throw out a few expired items and random things Sam had carried in here. Other than that, it was basic picking up and cleaning. Pretty easy. Now, who wants to come mop the floor?
Don't forget to spend 15 minutes each decluttering another bathroom or room. My girls and I actually set a timer and do this. Make yourself stop at 15 minutes. You'll be amazed at how much you can get done during that time!
One more week of decluttering and we will be 1/4 of the way done with 2012! Can you believe it?
Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 10
Hello, Monday. I can't believe you're here again. Where does the time go?
This week's pictures are going to be iPhone quality. I wasn't feeling inspired to drag out my real camera and do any editing at all. Hubby's TDY, baby's teething, school girls are whining and complaining. It's a wonder I got any decluttering done at all!
Clean, organize and declutter the microwave area. Here is my microwave area. Normally, I keep kitchen towels on the white tray on top of the microwave, but they are all dirty! Thank goodness I don't do laundry for this blog.
This week's pictures are going to be iPhone quality. I wasn't feeling inspired to drag out my real camera and do any editing at all. Hubby's TDY, baby's teething, school girls are whining and complaining. It's a wonder I got any decluttering done at all!
Clean, organize and declutter the microwave area. Here is my microwave area. Normally, I keep kitchen towels on the white tray on top of the microwave, but they are all dirty! Thank goodness I don't do laundry for this blog.
Empty out, clean and declutter your utensil crock. My utensil crock truly only has the few utensils I use. I did take them out and was pretty surprised and a teeny bit yucked out by the bottom of that crock! Make sure you clean yours out.
Declutter your small utensils and kitchen tool drawer. Get a drawer organizer if you don't already have one. We have very little flatware, so this task wasn't very daunting. We had some old coffee stirrers that needed to be thrown out. Other than that, I only needed to put a baby spoon in it's rightful place.
Clean off one kitchen shelf. I decided to tackle our coffee/tea cabinet. We have quite the tea and coffee obsession in our house. I guess it would be more accurate to say I have a tea obsession. You just never know what kind of mood you'll be in when the desire for tea strikes. Will you want the calming effect of Sleepy Time? Will you want the relaxing Vanille Rotbusch or the Chai? Maybe a little Earl Grey Creme is just what you need to start your day. I digress. Here is our coffee/tea cabinet before and after. Lots of clearing out expired tea, tossing a few packs of cocoa and organizing a few mugs. Oh, and I guess this isn't the correct place to keep the girls' DS and games, huh?
So, that it is for week 10. If you'd like to join in or you are curious about how this whole decluttering thing started, visit Beth's blog, My Simpler Life. Beth has all kinds of tips for simplifying as well as a free PDF download of the 2012 Decluttering Calendar.
Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 9
Welcome March! Is it feeling like spring where you are yet? I wonder how hard it will be for us to stay inside decluttering when the beautiful weather beckons to us. Or maybe the lovely air will be an inspiration to clear out unwanted and no longer needed items in our dwelling place.
As you all know by now, I completely bowed out of week 8. I could make it up, but I've made the decision to just pick up with the current week. I hope that encourages you to do the same. Some days (and weeks) in our lives just don't lend themselves to extra work and that is okay. The point is to never give up fighting clutter. Now onto week 9!
Our first task was to let go of hobby items from a hobby you have outgrown. Did you know I used to make and sell hairbows? I have a ridiculous amount of ribbon. I sold a LOT, but I still have quite a bit. I think this is the perfect nudge I need to get rid of it. I have been saving it just in case I needed to make some more bows for my girls or maybe my sisters' children. Now my girls have nearly outgrown hairbows and my sisters have all boys. Goodbye ribbon!! I don't have a "before" picture, but rather a "during" picture. Here is all the ribbon being wound and packaged to send to a friend.
On day 2, we were to "trim a collection." I don't really have any collections unless you count stamps! Funnily enough, I had been in the process of putting together a list of retired stamps and accessories to sell and pass on. Here is just a tiny peek at what I set aside to sell. I've actually already sold about 1/4 of these. It is nice to pass on things to people who will use them and to make a little pocket change while doing so! Maybe you have some things you could sell too!
The cabinet on the bottom of this end table is where we store all of our WII supplies. They are haphazardly tossed in there, but it works for us.
As you all know by now, I completely bowed out of week 8. I could make it up, but I've made the decision to just pick up with the current week. I hope that encourages you to do the same. Some days (and weeks) in our lives just don't lend themselves to extra work and that is okay. The point is to never give up fighting clutter. Now onto week 9!
Our first task was to let go of hobby items from a hobby you have outgrown. Did you know I used to make and sell hairbows? I have a ridiculous amount of ribbon. I sold a LOT, but I still have quite a bit. I think this is the perfect nudge I need to get rid of it. I have been saving it just in case I needed to make some more bows for my girls or maybe my sisters' children. Now my girls have nearly outgrown hairbows and my sisters have all boys. Goodbye ribbon!! I don't have a "before" picture, but rather a "during" picture. Here is all the ribbon being wound and packaged to send to a friend.
And here is the ENTIRE storage container I gained by clearing out the ribbon. You have to love that.
On day 2, we were to "trim a collection." I don't really have any collections unless you count stamps! Funnily enough, I had been in the process of putting together a list of retired stamps and accessories to sell and pass on. Here is just a tiny peek at what I set aside to sell. I've actually already sold about 1/4 of these. It is nice to pass on things to people who will use them and to make a little pocket change while doing so! Maybe you have some things you could sell too!
The last day of February had us recycling electronics we no longer use. Did you find you had many {or any} of these? Maybe it's all the moving around, but we don't really have any electronics we aren't using.
Next up on the list is decluttering an end table in the living room. This is our table between the couch and chair. It is usually kept fairly clutter free thanks to our little one year old boy. He can reach most anything on top of this table and he will grab it.
After putting away a few things and straightening up the boxes a bit, here is our table again.
I have a special little side tip for you. Naturally, my one year old gets into these boxes. So, instead of filling them with anything of any value to me whatsoever, this is what is inside the top box:
Cars! I love them and so does Sammy. The bottom box truly is just storage. Here's what it looks like. A few books and some random coasters. I just had a thought, I should probably pass those on as well. Hmm.
On Friday, we were to get rid of pet toys no longer being played with. Well, we don't have a pet, but we do have a one year old. {This post is quickly becoming all about him!} I don't have any pictures, but I went through all of his toys today and weeded out the infant toys, the teethers and the rattlers. I put them in a box in his closet and I will soon pass them onto a pregnant friend.
Finally, on Saturday we cleaned out a coffee table or another end table. We don't have a coffee table, so I chose the end table in the corner of our living room. The top is pretty clear of clutter for the same reason our other end table is. The top drawer however, could stand to be cleaned out. Here it is before:
A few magazines tossed and office supplies put up where they belong. Sam likes to open this drawer and play with whatever he can grab, so I will put stash some of his toys in there as well.
The cabinet on the bottom of this end table is where we store all of our WII supplies. They are haphazardly tossed in there, but it works for us.
And that is that for Week 9. It felt good to get back into the decluttering. As always it's never too late to join! If you would to join us, download your free calendar at Beth's website, My Simpler Life.
Real Life Right Now
Real life is finding joy in the simplicity of everyday.
Real life includes sick babies, sick husbands and missed deadlines.
Real life is not decluttering on a daily basis, but rather on a weekly basis. This week, the sick baby did not allow for the decluttering.
Real life is always putting your family first and never regretting that.
Real life is needing a little time alone and going for night walks to catch some fresh air and a grip.
Real life is letting go of the idea of perfection. It is not reality.
Thanks for being patient with me friends as I take a breather from the decluttering this week. I promise to be back on Monday with week 9. Also stay tuned for new a new decorating post!
Declutter With Me on Monday Tuesday | Week 7
Wow. I have to admit to you I am having some serious backsliding as of late. Not only is my decluttering suffering, but I find myself very tempted to buy unnecessary things. I wonder if there is a support group for this? I will be striving to focus on family/home time during Lent this year. I hope this will help curb my desire to purchase some a lot.
Now back to decluttering!
This week was fairly easy as well. I tried to enjoy the small amount of decluttering because I think next week has me in the storage space in the basement. Yikes. I will absolutely be enlisting the help of my hubby for that.
When I read that the bulk of this week's tasks were clearing a desk, I was excited. I thought I was totally off the hook for decluttering. Here is my desk and printer before:
Now back to decluttering!
This week was fairly easy as well. I tried to enjoy the small amount of decluttering because I think next week has me in the storage space in the basement. Yikes. I will absolutely be enlisting the help of my hubby for that.
When I read that the bulk of this week's tasks were clearing a desk, I was excited. I thought I was totally off the hook for decluttering. Here is my desk and printer before:
And after putting some clothes in their right place and packaging up something that needs to be mailed, here is my desk and printer after:
In my dreamy fantasy world, that is all I would have needed to do this week. But wait! There is this other desk... in our master closet. Much to my hubby's dismay, it is pretty much my office. I bet he just loves getting dressed in there! Here is my space before:
I have to admit that I pretty much enjoy organizing this space. Crafting makes me happy. Organizing my crafting things makes me happy too. Here is my happy little space after:
So, with the exception of organizing your bulletin board {which I do not have,} that is it for this week! Hope you are all hanging in there with the decluttering.
If you are new to this blog or this concept, please check out Beth Dargis's blog, My Simpler Life. She has a free downloadable calendar to help guide you decluttering your way through 2012. It's never too late to start! Take the first step today.
Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 6
Left, right & center of bedroom dresser
I felt this week's tasks were fairly simple and straightforward. Normally, our bedroom dresser is pretty free of clutter. As luck would have it, however, it was a bit out of control this week.
Things just needed to put away in their rightful place. It wasn't too labor intensive or taxing on my brain. It was just busywork, which I already have plenty of, *thankyouverymuch*!
I felt this week's tasks were fairly simple and straightforward. Normally, our bedroom dresser is pretty free of clutter. As luck would have it, however, it was a bit out of control this week.
Things just needed to put away in their rightful place. It wasn't too labor intensive or taxing on my brain. It was just busywork, which I already have plenty of, *thankyouverymuch*!
Clear off one bedroom shelf
We don't necessarily have any shelves in our bedroom, so I tackled the window ledge in our master bath. This is where my hubby and I keep our items of daily use. I still had things up there that hadn't been put away since our trip to Venice. I'm horrible about unpacking.
A little rearranging is always good. The coffee cup has been returned to it's rightful home as well as the dusting cloth. Hey, if anyone has any ideas as to what to put in the cream colored bowl, please let me know! I've considered river rocks and decorative balls, but neither seems to fit.
Clear off another bedroom shelf
I've run out of shelves, so I moved to an area in my home that is always in desperate need of tidying... my daughter's bedroom.
Every surface of my girl's room is usually covered in something. Her room is pretty random. Take her dresser top for example. My conditioner was carried in here by her baby brother and the screwdriver was probably left here by yours truly.
So, that's kind of it for this week. Not terrible. I'm starting to wonder what kind of trouble I'm in for next week! How is your decluttering coming??
Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 5
It's February! We have completed one entire month of decluttering. How is it coming? Even if you've missed some days, it's still okay to jump right in at the current date. Don't worry about what you've missed. Just start today.
This week we conquered candles, nixed knives and fought with the fridge. If your household is anything like mine, you actually fought the toddler to get to the fridge! I am happy to report that this week our lives are back to our normal and I was able to accomplish some decluttering tasks.
Candles + Kitchen Drawer {1/30 + 2/3}
I don't have a lot of candles anymore. I used to be an avid collector of candles. If it was pretty, if it smelled good, if it had sentimental value I bought it. As you may or may not realize, candles do not move well. They usually end up melted or broken. I guess you could say I have the military to thank for my small stash of candles.
Here is what my stash consists of:
The Everyday | Niven Morgan Gold - When we moved from Oklahoma in 2005, my dear friend Rebekah gave me a Niven Morgan Gold pillar as a going away token. Needless to say, I was smitten. With the exception of fall + Christmas scents, I have not bought any other candles since then.
The Holiday | Yankee Seasonal Scents - I'm a sucker for them
The Practical | generic candles in various colors to change with the seasons
I combined Monday's task with Friday's task of cleaning out one kitchen drawer. Because we have very few kitchen drawers, I moved onto the cabinets. Conveniently, the cabinets that housed the candles really needed to be organized. Here are the shots:
Keep Only Your Good Knives {2/1}
The whole plastic bag situation was a little out of control. Sometimes {frequently} I forget to bring my reusable bags to the commissary. I always save the commissary bags I acquire to be used for trash bags in the bathrooms and in the car. My previous storage solution for these bags was throwing them onto the top shelf of one of my cabinets. Yeah, that wasn't working well.
This week we conquered candles, nixed knives and fought with the fridge. If your household is anything like mine, you actually fought the toddler to get to the fridge! I am happy to report that this week our lives are back to our normal and I was able to accomplish some decluttering tasks.
Candles + Kitchen Drawer {1/30 + 2/3}
I don't have a lot of candles anymore. I used to be an avid collector of candles. If it was pretty, if it smelled good, if it had sentimental value I bought it. As you may or may not realize, candles do not move well. They usually end up melted or broken. I guess you could say I have the military to thank for my small stash of candles.
Here is what my stash consists of:
The Everyday | Niven Morgan Gold - When we moved from Oklahoma in 2005, my dear friend Rebekah gave me a Niven Morgan Gold pillar as a going away token. Needless to say, I was smitten. With the exception of fall + Christmas scents, I have not bought any other candles since then.
The Holiday | Yankee Seasonal Scents - I'm a sucker for them
The Practical | generic candles in various colors to change with the seasons
I combined Monday's task with Friday's task of cleaning out one kitchen drawer. Because we have very few kitchen drawers, I moved onto the cabinets. Conveniently, the cabinets that housed the candles really needed to be organized. Here are the shots:
Photo Organization {1/31}
I admit I do have some photos in boxes that I should go through, but the vast majority of my photos are digital until I print them out for a project. I am currently enjoying Project Life, so my photos are organized by week. Here is a screenshot of how I organize them.
Keep Only Your Good Knives {2/1}
Go Through Your Plastic Bag/Foil Area {2/2}
My foil area has been pretty well contained. We rarely use these products in our home, but they are here just in case.
The whole plastic bag situation was a little out of control. Sometimes {frequently} I forget to bring my reusable bags to the commissary. I always save the commissary bags I acquire to be used for trash bags in the bathrooms and in the car. My previous storage solution for these bags was throwing them onto the top shelf of one of my cabinets. Yeah, that wasn't working well.
I had this extra 2 gallon plastic pitcher collecting dust. I wadded up each bag individually and stuffed them one by one into the the pitcher. {You know it stinks when you grab a plastic bag that has four more stuffed into it!} After the pitcher is filled up, it's easy to grab just one bag through the lid. And look how much more space I have on the top shelf now!
Empty Your Fridge + Clean It {2/4}
Thankfully, I work very hard not to let old and expired things get lost or forgotten in my fridge. That made it pretty easy to complete the last task of the week. I did throw out a few things though!
Don't you just love my little helper? He is involved in almost all of my weekly tasks.
Have a wonderful week fellow declutterers!
Making a Temporary House a Home | First Things First
First things first. Par down, par down and par down some more. I know, I know, this is not very fun. But it is an important step necessary to making a house a home. If you move as often as I do, you never know what type of house you will be living in next. A house full of clutter isn't very relaxing. It also does not give way to pretty decor. I admit this is something that does not come naturally to me at all. I am a reformed pack rat myself.
Growing up in an Air Force family, I moved frequently as a child as well. I am sure my parents loved the fact I lugged around boxes of cards I received in the mail, junk I won at a school fair, and years worth of church bulletins. I have this innate ability to attach sentimental value to almost anything. It's an illness.
I also have this problem in thinking, "What if I need this later?" Later has never come for me. Yes, there are certain papers and records you should keep. Thankfully, in the digital age you can almost always find these records online or contact the source to have another sent to you if need be. As for the papers you truly need to hang onto, they can be stored in a small filing cabinet that takes up very little room.
So, what are some ideas for parring down? Here are just a few:
1. General Decluttering: Join me in Beth Dargis's Declutter 2012 challenge. You can find Beth's calendar here. You can follow along with me as I tackle the items on the calendar each Monday in my Declutter With Me series.
2. The Kitchen: Keep only the minimum.
Tabletop | I love dishes. LOVE THEM. I used to have at least four full sets of dishes. However, my family always reached for the same dishes. There was never a time I needed them ALL. My husband and I made a decision to sell two of those sets. {One set is our wedding china and we will always keep that. It is currently in storage in the States.} We then spent quite a bit of time looking for a practical, pretty, neutral set of dishes that we agreed on. We finally settled on these. After they arrived and were unpacked, we donated any remaining dishes we had left.
Prep + Serveware | In my house, these are interchangeable. Here are all the bowls I have. Two vintage Pyrex bowls, a large salad bowl from my wedding and two bowls I picked up in Soufflenheim. I also have two Corningware bakers with lids and a shallow pasta bowl from Soufflenheim. {I think the pasta bowl will be headed to donation soon.} I use those for baking as well as storing leftover food. Most of the time, the sides we have with dinner are small enough to fit into a bowl from our dinnerware. I also use the large dinner plates as platters.
Flatware | We received a very simple set of flatware {that we chose} as a wedding gift ten years ago. We still have only that set. Along the way, we seem to have lost quite a few tea spoons. I very recently purchased a set of six from IKEA as those are the spoons my kids use the most. We go through the whole set in less than two days. We run the dishwasher almost daily. It works. There are no dishes piling in the sink because we need to wash them to be used again almost immediately.
Growing up in an Air Force family, I moved frequently as a child as well. I am sure my parents loved the fact I lugged around boxes of cards I received in the mail, junk I won at a school fair, and years worth of church bulletins. I have this innate ability to attach sentimental value to almost anything. It's an illness.
I also have this problem in thinking, "What if I need this later?" Later has never come for me. Yes, there are certain papers and records you should keep. Thankfully, in the digital age you can almost always find these records online or contact the source to have another sent to you if need be. As for the papers you truly need to hang onto, they can be stored in a small filing cabinet that takes up very little room.
So, what are some ideas for parring down? Here are just a few:
1. General Decluttering: Join me in Beth Dargis's Declutter 2012 challenge. You can find Beth's calendar here. You can follow along with me as I tackle the items on the calendar each Monday in my Declutter With Me series.
2. The Kitchen: Keep only the minimum.
Tabletop | I love dishes. LOVE THEM. I used to have at least four full sets of dishes. However, my family always reached for the same dishes. There was never a time I needed them ALL. My husband and I made a decision to sell two of those sets. {One set is our wedding china and we will always keep that. It is currently in storage in the States.} We then spent quite a bit of time looking for a practical, pretty, neutral set of dishes that we agreed on. We finally settled on these. After they arrived and were unpacked, we donated any remaining dishes we had left.
Prep + Serveware | In my house, these are interchangeable. Here are all the bowls I have. Two vintage Pyrex bowls, a large salad bowl from my wedding and two bowls I picked up in Soufflenheim. I also have two Corningware bakers with lids and a shallow pasta bowl from Soufflenheim. {I think the pasta bowl will be headed to donation soon.} I use those for baking as well as storing leftover food. Most of the time, the sides we have with dinner are small enough to fit into a bowl from our dinnerware. I also use the large dinner plates as platters.
Flatware | We received a very simple set of flatware {that we chose} as a wedding gift ten years ago. We still have only that set. Along the way, we seem to have lost quite a few tea spoons. I very recently purchased a set of six from IKEA as those are the spoons my kids use the most. We go through the whole set in less than two days. We run the dishwasher almost daily. It works. There are no dishes piling in the sink because we need to wash them to be used again almost immediately.
Utensils | I purchased the bamboo set of utensils from Pampered Chef about 18 months ago. I just received the silicone Le Creuset utensils for Christmas. Together, I use these utensils for about 90% of my cooking. Occassionally, I use the OXO spatula and spoon. Very rarely do I use the pasta spoon or masher. Actually, I need to donate those.
Cooking Accessories | I have a bunch of cool tools that are great for cooking. Thankfully, they are small. I use them occassionally and they are easy to store. I use the Pampered Chef adjustable measuring spoons and measure-all cups multiple times a day. I also use the solid measuring cups and rolling pin frequently. Those are my MUST HAVES. The other things in here really could stand to be donated.
Pots, Pans + Bakeware | I have a large nonstick skillet from Pampered Chef as well as a large Le Creuset pot that I use for everyday cooking. I have two bakers from Soufflenheim, two cookie sheets from Pampered Chef, a Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan and some generic muffin pans. They are all very easy to store. I have some old nonstick pots that I really need to replace. I use those for boiling eggs, etc.
3. The Bathroom: Minimize!
Towels | In our master bath, we have two white bath towels, {We had four until a recent laundry mistake. Oops!} two white hand towels and several Norwex washcloths. In the kids/guest bath, we have several sage green towels as well as some very cute personalized towels my mother in law made for the kids. All of our towels were wedding gifts. We have yet to buy any towels. {Until I replace those white towels I ruined!!}
Products | I once had a mentor tell me she never accepted free samples of makeup, toiletries, etc. She is a genius. My kids and hubby have all used the same toiletry products for years. It really simplifies things. Sometimes we keep a replacement, most of the time I replace as needed. Having very little toiletries to clutter our bathroom is really nice. I have a product problem. I have way too much stuff. I collect makeup I never use. I truly use the same makeup every single day. I need to get rid of the rest, but I haven't been able to make myself do that quite yet.
4. Closets: If you think about it, most people could do with a lot less clothes. All we really need is a few pair of jeans, some nice tops and a couple of cardigans. I am not an expert on this subject, so please don't look to me for specific advice on clothing! I do know we have way too many clothes. I had a realization that a lot of clothes = a lot of laundry. I have really parred down the amount of clothing our family has, but we could stand a little more weeding out. My goal is to have everything fit nicely into our dressers and closets with space to spare.
5. Books: We have a lot of books. Most of them are books we don't want to get rid of, but we do not use. I came up with a good idea of storing them in clear containers such as this. That way, we can look into the box without actually opening it when we are searching for a specific title. The system works very well. We kept these books in storage either in a basement of storage room. Right now they are safely stored in the States.
6. CDs/DVDs: We have too many of each of these. They were taking up way too much room. My hubby and I decided to recycle all of the cases and bought cd/dvd storage cases that hold 100. We have two with music and one with movies. This takes up far less room than when the cds/dvds were in there original cases. They fit nicely into a small drawer in our armoire.
7. Toys: I try to regularly go through my kids' toys with them and weed out those that are broken or no longer loved. Just having Christmas, it is definitely time to do this again. Although my kids do have too many toys, I try very hard to keep them out of site when their rooms are picked up. The toys are kept in multiple bins within their closets or in drawers/on shelves of their furniture. This, of course is a personal preference. But I do find it makes the overall atmosphere of home much more calm. On a daily basis, my kids drag out quite a bit of their toys. We help them completely clean their rooms about once a week.
8. Laundry: I used to keep a laundry basket in each person's room. That made doing laundry very challenging and frankly, it never got done. When we moved into our new house on post, I had everyone put their dirty clothes in the laundry room. We have a sorter similar to this. {Local friends: I got it at Momax in Boeblingen.}When one of the compartment {or all of them!} is full, I do a load of laundry. It has really helped me to stay on top of those piles of dirty clothes.
Well, I think that covers nearly everything. I hope this post helps you with some ideas to par down in your own home. Now that we have covered this, we can move onto the fun things next week!