Simplicity

Simplify~

to make less complicated, clearer, or easier In trying to organize our home, I started to realize just how much stuff we had that we didn't need.  It almost seemed as if a light bulb went off in my head...why on earth do we have 20 dish towels, when we could get by with 5?  Or do my daughters really need so many clothes, that they overflow out of their dresser drawers? We have been blessed with hand-me -down clothes over the years, but I have had a tendency to hang on to everything.   As the old saying goes, You can't organize clutter! So, I started with all of our clothing.  I ended up taking several bags to goodwill.  Now my girls have a much easier time not only keeping their clothes put away, but also keeping their rooms picked up and clean.  (I had each one of them go through their toys to donate the items that they no longer played with.)  This has felt so liberating, and peaceful!  Why did I not realize this sooner?  It has motivated me to simplify other areas of our home as well.  It is a work in progress.  I am absolutely loving the results of simplifying!

Organized Bliss???

Okay, I have to admit that maybe I was overly optimistic (just a tad) about getting my house completely cleaned and organized from top to bottom in one week.  I had a great start, but didn't count on getting sick in the middle of it.  I think I wore myself out!  The good news is, it has only been 2 weeks since I started, and I am almost finished!  I have been gleaning many wonderful tips and bits of advice from various blogs, websites, and home organization books.  One of my favorites was to put all of our DVD's into a DVD wallet, (or in our case, 3), and get rid of all of the empty movie cases.  What a difference this has made!  You would not believe the amount of weight and space they took up before.  I have also had to get creative with storing our clothes, as the bedrooms and closets in our home are small.  I have clear totes that slide under the beds to hold clothes, as well as an over-the-door shoe hanger, re-purposed for small items, such as socks.  This I hung on the inside of our closet door.  I have also been keeping to a home keeping schedule. Today was the beginning of the 3rd week of doing this routine.  Today was Tuesday, which is to focus on the bedrooms.  One part of it, is changing the bed sheets.  I make it a point to have all of my laundry caught up, so that I can get all of the bedding through the wash on that day.  I love doing this weekly!  I read such an inspiring blog post about making our beds to the glory of God.  You can check it out here: http://raisinghomemakers.com/
It has been a blessing to our entire family to have a routine that we stick to.  It has made such a difference in our home.  :)