Slowly & Simply

I looked at the calendar today and realized it was April.  I find that unless Peter is here reminding me of the day and date the days tend to blend together.  I bought a planner to try to organize myself and I can't find it.  Ok that's not totally true.  I actually know where it is right now but I haven't used it in a couple of weeks thus rendering it useless.  I tend to think I can rely to my memory to help get me through life.  And while that worked in BC (Before Children) time it doesn't work in AC.

I've been struck with how full our lives are.  Often of the wrong thing.  I mean just looking at my refrigerator door makes me cringe.  I started thinking about how many boxes it would take to pack this house up.  It makes me a little crazy to imagine it.  We do not need all of this stuff!

So...I've been on a mission.

Simplify life.

The less you have the less you have to lose.  The less you have the less you have to maintain.  The less you have the less you have to clean.  Therefore less is more.  It's simple logic right?

I started by going through each room in the house and getting rid of obvious things.  My problem?  My middle name is nostalgic.  Not really.  But seriously folks I have a problem.  I can tell you who gave me almost everything in my house.  I made deviled eggs for Easter and used this cute plate and thought of my friend Blair (holla Blair if you are reading!!) because she gave it to us when we got married.  She probably doesn't remember this but I do!!  And I become attached.  Things become people because they have stories behind them and I just can't let them go.

I'm doing better.  I've already forgotten what all I got rid of in the first go around (except that it's all in my basement waiting for a goodwill run or a garage sale...whichever comes first).  So that part is good.  The bad part is that I look around and I still feel like our house is just full of STUFF!!  So I'm going through room by room one more time and getting rid of more stuff.  I did get rid of about 4 laundry baskets worth of clothes a couple of weeks ago and that felt amazing!!

My goal?

Spend my time more wisely.  I am constantly trying to get my house into some sort of an order so I can clean it.  It's so "messy" that I never even get to the cleaning part.  And then I feel gross.  And stressed.  And busy.  And unsimple.  I have come to terms that my house is never going to be as clean as it could be.  Or as clean as it would be if we didn't have children running around.  Or clean as it would be if I were married to Danny Tanner.  BUT I can simplify and I can get on top of this!!

I'm joining in with Money Saving Mom for her spring cleaning.  Everyday she posts a "to do" list.  You should be able to accomplish it in 30 to 40 minutes.  I got about half done today before I was distracted by my bed and a shower.  When I'm single parenting all bets are off.  Gotta shower when I can!

So....at the end of the month I'll report to you how this is going.  I need accountability.  Ask me how this is going!!  And I encourage you to see what you can do to simplify your life too!