A Simpler Motherhood

Category: A Simpler Home

Vanessa

Pre-Christmas Purge

A Simpler Home, A Simpler Motherhood

Christmas morning. Saying those words brings me back to my childhood. I remember sneaking out of my bed before dawn as a kid.  My brother, sister, and I would round the turn at the top of the stairs and peak around the corner at the tree in all her glory with presents scattered around the living room.  It was an extraordinary morning and almost always ended with a surprise.

My mom did Christmas well when I was a kid, keeping the magic alive and curating an environment that made Christmas morning special, magical, and full of wonder. I can maybe (maybe) tell you a handful of gifts I received on those mornings growing up, but I can absolutely describe the way Christmas morning made me feel. Safe, warm, loved, cherished, celebrated, and part of something bigger than myself.

Before we get to the magical few hours on Christmas morning, what if we prepare?  Prepare our hearts for the miracle of Christmas and our homes for the abundance Christmas brings.  The past few years we have done a Pre-Christmas Purge to prepare for the upcoming gifts coming into our home.  It is always well received because we do it under the pretense that we will be receiving gifts very soon and others may find value in the things we no longer need or want. A Pre-Christmas purge can help us with A Simpler Christmas.

You may have seen a version of this on social media. Families are setting out a box labeled ‘Old Toys for Santa’ or a box with the child’s name on it. The idea is for kids to go through their toys and donate toys no longer used. Essentially, that is what the Pre-Christmas Purge is all about.

Maybe you are needing to implement a Pre-Christmas Purge into your home.  You see the knick knacks, the books, the Chick-fil-A-whatevers piling up.  Here is a breakdown of how our family does a Pre-Christmas Purge.

Pre-Christmas Purge

1. Set a Time

Since Christmas will be here (like really soon), try and implement this in the next few days or week. Put it on the calendar or your to-do list in the next day or two.

I understand there could already be 1,000 things on your to-do list at this very moment, but a little Pre-Christmas Purge doesn’t take long and I personally think it’s incredibly worth it.  But if you can’t find the time, feel free to stop reading and come back after Christmas when we will do a Post-Christmas Purge.

2. Announce the Pre-Christmas Purge

Tell your family.  Tell your people there is abundance in the house and you need to make room for all the fun things coming at Christmas.  This would be a great time to discuss how it’s important to give to others.  We always tie this in as one of our gifts to Jesus on his birthday.  If you have littles, maybe start with having them find 10 things they would like to donate or give away.  We always start there.  Most of the time it snowballs and turns into much much more.

3. Get to it

It’s time to get to it.  I think the best way to begin a Pre-Christmas Purge is by Mom or Dad initiating it.  We need to lead by example. Go to your closet, the bookshelf, or the kitchen drawers and find 10 things you no longer need. Grab a bin and put the items inside, while talking to your family about it. Encourage each member of the family to find 10 things to put in the bin. As your family goes through items, decide if the items need to be recycled, trashed, or still have life and can go to a new home.

4. Praise

After everyone has found the things they want to donate, PRAISE your people!  We all love some good words said about us, so let’s not hold back when our family has done something to make our homes simpler and more manageable.  Praise the ones you love for purging before Christmas.

5. Donate…SOON

Take 20 minutes and get those items out of your house.  Find a church, school, Goodwill, or other mission-oriented organization and donate those items.  I speak from experience when I say if you keep them around, there is a good chance those toys and books and what-nots could creep back into your home.  Make it a learning experience and take your kids to help you with the drop off and grab hot cocoa after.

A Pre-Christmas Purge always makes me feel lighter and the incoming plethora of gifts from the ones we love more exciting and manageable.  It allows me to accept the gifts without thinking about where we are going to put them or how we are going to manage them.  The Pre-Christmas Purge sincerely allows me to enjoy the season a tiny bit more.

Tell me, will you do a Pre-Christmas Purge this year?  If time isn’t on your side, stay tuned for a Post-Christmas Purge coming after the big day.

Vanessa

Fall Simplicity Challenges

A Simpler Home, A Simpler Motherhood

The changing of the seasons naturally triggers a fresh start. The seasonal rhythm offers a chance to begin again, to create something new, to re-establish some simplicity in our lives, to complete one or two Fall Simplicity Challenges.

While getting ourselves and our homes ready for fall, a good challenge can keep us accountable, stretch us, and grow us from our sun-drenched summer selves. Today I’m sharing some fun Fall Simplicity Challenges. They are called challenges for a reason: they challenge. They will challenge us to push ourselves, get out of our comfort zones, and possibly deny ourselves short term so we can grow long term.

If you are competitive in nature, this post is for you. This is how it works: Choose one Fall Simplicity Challenge and complete for one week. At the end of the week, notice how you feel and reflect and name one thing you learned during the challenge. Possibly partner with a friend and complete the same challenge to keep each other accountable. The purpose of the Fall Simplicity Challenges are to get you to make progress in the area of simplicity and build some momentum to keep on the journey.

There is something for everyone. If you need to start small, choose a challenge from the Motivate Me challenges. If you are ready and motivated, pick a challenge from the I’m Motivated section. And if you need an overhaul and are looking for big change, check out I want to do it all. Like I said, something for everyone.

Fall Simplicity Challenges

Motivate Me.

You need to move some things out of your home. Grab an empty cardboard box. Each day, choose 10 things to let go of and put in the box. At the end of the week, haul those 70 items (or more) off to a donation center and reward yourself with the beverage of your choice. Bonus points: Designate a permanent donation box or bin and regularly declutter unused items.

The toys have taken over every inch of your home. Discuss with your kids how unused toys could go to kids who don’t have many toys. (This is a great add on challenge to the first one above, we want to lead by example!) Each child chooses 10 toys they are no longer enjoying to donate. If you want to make it an all week thing, choose 2-3 toys a day every day for a week. Donate the toys and have a dance party to celebrate helping others.

Maybe you have been enjoying to-go curbside pick up a little too often lately. Decide to eat in all week long, including no pumpkin spice lattes. (Make your own pumpkin spice at home with Lydia’s recipe for Scooter’s Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Copycat over at Joy Filled Table.) Take the money you save and purchase some local coffee beans or just throw it in the bank.

Your phone is full of beautiful pictures of your family, but having so many is overwhelming. Go through your phone each day this week and delete 10 photos you don’t love.

I’m motivated.

Choose one room to declutter and organize. Every day set aside 15 minutes to declutter the chosen room. Set the timer, put in earbuds, and get to work. You will be amazed at what you accomplish in a little over an hour and a half in a week. Bonus points: If you’re still motivated after 15 minutes, set the timer for another 15 minutes and see how much you can get done.

Tackle every kid’s room in one week. Get a caddy loaded with cleaning supplies, grab a garbage sack for trash and a box for donations. If your kids are old enough, tell them their day at the beginning of the week and communicate how you will need their help. Meticulously go through each room and get rid of unused and ill fitting clothes and toys. Reward everyone with apple pie and ice cream when every room is complete.

Your pantry and freezer are full. Commit to not making a trip to the grocery store this week and getting creative with the things you have on hand. When you have made it 7 days without an online grocery order, reward everyone with the last of the popsicles in the freezer.

Set a timer for 15 minutes each day to work on your photo clutter. A few tasks to choose from: 1. Go through and delete unwanted photos on your phone or computer. 2. Get all the pictures from your phone to your computer. 3. Upload all pictures from your phone to an outside source like Shutterfly, Dropbox or an external hard drive. 4. Organize your photos on your computer into folders. 5. Begin a picture book for your family using Shutterfly, Chatbooks, or some other site.

I want to do it all.

Finally take the leap to overhaul the clothes closets. There are a million ways to do it, but here are two options. Option #1: Take all the clothes out and put them on the bed. Go through each item and ask yourself: Do I love it? Does it fit? Would I buy it again? If you answer ‘yes’, put it in the KEEP pile. If you answer ‘no’, donate, sell, or trash. Option #2: Keep your clothes in the closet and first tackle the summer clothes asking yourself: Do I love it? Does it fit? Did I wear it this summer? If you answer ‘yes’, put it in the KEEP pile. If you answer ‘no’, donate, sell, or trash. Continue with the fall, winter, and spring clothes. Bonus points: If you want to take it a step further and curate a capsule wardrobe, check out Fall Capsule Wardrobe.

Create a toy closet. Box up half the toys in the play spaces. Organize the toys in a toy closet so they are easily accessible. Kids are able to ‘check out’ toys from the toy closet by putting currently played with toys in the toy closet. Cutting toys by half means less clean up and clutter for everyone.

Eat through your pantry and freezer. No curbside pick up, no drive thru coffees, no last minute grocery pick up. Work with what you have for one week, no stocking up beforehand. Challenge yourself and your family to get creative and use what you have to eat meals throughout the week.

Make this the week you will tackle your photos. Start with January 2020 and delete unwanted photos, upload photos onto your computer and then Shutterfly, and begin a family photo book for 2020.

You’ve got this.

Challenges are a way to make a lot of change in a little amount of time. Keep in mind: It may or may not be the season for you to tackle a Fall Simplicity Challenge. But, if you’re feeling the itch to get rid of the clutter, to make a change, to finally clean out the spare bedroom, there is no better time than now!

Tell me: What Fall Simplicity Challenge will you choose to complete?

Vanessa

5 Minute Tasks for A Simpler Home

A Simpler Home

Many times it takes a small thing to turn into a big thing. It takes small wins to get to bigger wins. It takes one tiny step repeated and multiplied to get the results we are after. Creating the home and lifestyle we want takes small, sometimes unnoticeable, actions to get there.

Today, I’m going to lay out 5 minute tasks to take steps towards A Simpler Home. No rocket science, simply small actions you can take in 5 minutes or less that will make a difference in your home right now. The action itself is something, but my hope is it will snowball and give you the motivation and momentum to take more steps towards A Simpler Home and A Simpler Motherhood. Here are the 5 minute tasks:

5 Minute Tasks

Take away a throw pillow (or 3).

I was feeling overwhelmed with my living room a few weeks ago. Maybe because my four monkeys are constantly using the pillows and throw blankets for forts and garages for cars and blankets for their babies. I took two throw pillows off the couch and the space isn’t so loud to me now. If your living space is driving you nuts, try removing a throw pillow or three.

Take one thing off the kitchen counters.

This seems like it won’t help, but it is so worthwhile. The other day I took my milk frother off the counter and put it in the drawer right below the coffee maker. One less thing on my counters instantly made my kitchen feel less cluttered. Kitchen counter space is prime real estate. I literally use my milk frother 3-4 times a week for two minutes each. It doesn’t get used enough to live on top of the counters. What thing can you take off your kitchen counters to make it feel lighter and less cluttered?

Recycle the magazines.

Anyone else love Chip and Jo? Me too. I enjoy their Magnolia magazine so much. Awhile back I pulled out every season of Magnolia since 2017 I had hidden in a cupboard. I thought I would flip back through them, but I never have. I asked some friends if they could use them and one could. Win win. Magazines take up space and chances are you aren’t going to flip through them again. Ask some friends if they are interested and if not, recycle.

5 minute tasks

Clear a surface.

I’ve said it a million times. Surfaces matter. A clear surface verses a cluttered surface can change my mood. (And research proves it.) Take five minutes to clear a surface. Maybe your dining room table? Kitchen island? Coffee table? Choose one surface to clear and keep it that way. This is my favorite 5 minute task.

Contain in a basket.

Homes can many times seem cluttered because things don’t have a home. House loose items in a basket. Shoes can go in a basket or drawer at the door. Toys can go in a bin under a side table. Papers can go in a letter tray. Choose one thing that’s driving you nuts, put a basket or bin there and see what happens. (Here is one of my favorite baskets to give items a home.)

Put out of season items away.

At the beginning of July I noticed I still had spring coats hanging by the back door. I wondered why I got annoyed every time my eyes passed that corner. Putting those spring coats away made the corner feel lighter and made room for my basket of sunscreen and sun hats. Put out of season items away including shoes, jackets, clothes, and decorations. If this is a bigger project than five minutes, consider doing one category a day for five minutes each.

Go through the mail everyday.

Paper clutter is the worst. To keep it at bay I go through the mail every time it comes into the house. I deal with it then and there and don’t put it to the side to collect dust and possibly make it into the hands of my littles. I put Kevin’s mail in his drawer where I know he will see it and then deal with the things I need to and recycle the rest.

Put the dishes away and shine the sink.

My house always feels cleaner and simpler when the dishes are put away and my sink is clean. Take five minutes to put the dishes away, shine the sink, and enjoy less mess.

Clear the bedside table.

There is a good chance there are unnecessary things living on your bedside table. Take a few minutes to clear it off, put things where they belong and make it clear with a book, lamp, charger, alarm clock, and maybe something pretty. Don’t let unnecessary things live there.

Fold the laundry in the dryer.

Ugh. This is probably one of my least favorite home tasks. However, when I fold the laundry and put it away, I take that thing off my mental load. Otherwise, every time I walk past the laundry room I think about how I need to fold it. Anyone else?

Do a grocery sack walk through.

Grab a grocery sack, set a timer for five minutes and walk through your home. Throw anything in there that is garbage or clutter or you’ve been meaning to get rid of. At the end throw the garbage away and put the sack in a box to be donated.

All big things come from small beginnings.

James Clear

A small, 5 minute task is a step into the direction of A Simpler Home and A Simpler Motherhood. If nothing else, you will get a clean sink or a load of folded laundry out of it. Tell me: what 5 minute task will you tackle today?

Vanessa

5 Plants You Can’t Kill

A Simpler Home

About fifteen years ago, I received an orchid from my then boyfriend for my birthday. It was an odd gift for a twenty year old who was living on Taco Bell, 80s music, and post-basketball game gatherings. The orchid was beautiful, purple and bright, a tall slender stem with a few robust leaves. It was full of life. Slowly and surely, I drained the life out of it. It didn’t take long to kill that beautiful plant.

plants you can't kill

And although I either watered it too much or too little, it became infamous, my basketball team coining a pre-game shoot out after it. Not all was lost after the death of the orchid, I married the man who gave it to me a few short years later.

The orchid began a slow and steady journey towards green thumbing. Outside plants, inside plants, succulents, more orchids, ferns, herbs, roses. I won’t sugar coat it and say my thumb is green. However, I have learned a lot these past fifteen years thanks to my husband and my mother in law (a literal Master Gardener).

Today I want to share with you some plants you can’t kill. There is a caveat to this because of course you can kill any plant if you put your mind to it, but if you try, just a little, these plants will have mercy on you and live.

Phlox

If you are looking for a plant to spread everywhere, grow tall, and give your yard an English garden look, phlox is for you. It is a perennial, which means it will come back year after year. There are loads of colors to choose from and it flowers here in the midwest from July until September. Phlox likes good soil and lots of sun.

I have only planted phlox in the ground, so I am unsure how it will do in a container, but it could be worth a try. We love phlox because it grows tall and fills the back of our garden beds, keeps out weeds, and provides pretty color in the late summer. We have mainly purples, pinks, and whites. Creeping phlox is also pretty if you’re looking for ground cover.

My biggest con for this one is it spreads so easily. I end up digging lots of phlox up throughout the summer because it ends up where it’s not supposed to be.

Sedum

If you google sedum, you will quickly learn that up to 600 species exist. On our farm we have a few varieties and I haven’t killed any of them, yet. Sedum likes full sun, although it can tolerate partial sun, because it has loads of grace. Sedum has thick, waxy leaves and is my go-to plant to keep the weeds out.

The varieties we have on the farm fall into two separate categories: ‘upright sedum’ and ‘low-growing sedum’. The upright sedum is a nice circular clump. It is a perennial, and although it does spread, it looks great year after year. It stays green through the summer and then turns a muted pink in the fall. It isn’t a typical cut flower, but I love to bring some inside in September and early October.

The low growing sedum lives in about every garden on the farm. I can literally throw it in a garden bed and it will grow. It looks great in pots and is pretty ground cover to keep out the weeds.

Mint

Mojitos anyone? If you want to dip your toe into growing your own herbs, start with mint. Before kids, my husband and I would grow mint by the bucketfuls, not on purpose, of course. One plant in our garden bed turned into enough mint for the neighborhood. Two things to learn here: it’s hard to kill mint and it grows like a weed.

I suggest growing mint in a pot, to hinder it from taking over your garden. Mint smells delicious and is the perfect ingredient to make your summertime mojito dreams come true.

Jade

If you’re looking for an easy to grow indoor plant for your kitchen or living room, jade is it. Jade plants like full sun and to be watered when the top of the soil is dry to the touch. I’m sure they do better if you water them when they need it, but I’m not always on top of it. Jade plants have been the only plants to survive during the first month after a new baby or week long vacations.

Cilantro

Another herb on my list is cilantro. It is easier to kill than the others, but it’s worth the extra effort because fresh cilantro on tacos is life. It can be planted in a pot or the garden and likes partial/full sun. What’s great about cilantro is it can reseed itself. It will form little seeds, called coriander, and when the seeds drop, new plants will grow. You can, of course, pinch the seeds off and grow in another spot yourself as well.

I have found it’s a good idea to plant coriander seeds/cilantro at two different times, so there is always fresh cilantro to pick. Plant some seeds in one spot and then a few weeks later, plant some seeds in another spot. Then your tacos can always have fresh, green cilantro on top.

The garden this time of year is a happy place. With a bit of effort, it can yield some pretty and possibly yummy green things.

What have you planted recently? Are there any plants you think are impossible to kill? Share in the comments.

Vanessa

One Thing for a Cleaner Home

A Simpler Home

Home is where the heart is and our hearts sure have been home a lot more lately. Being home together has created so many memories (good memories, hard memories, and memories that will define #quarantine2020) and has also given us ample opportunity to do all the things together. Lots of things are happening in our homes and those things create a lot of one thing: messes. Meal messes, craft messes, toy messes, potty training related toilet paper messes, laundry messes, grass and mud in the house messes, baking messes, outside messes, more meal messes. Messes can literally take over our home.

My personality lends itself to like tidiness. I like things picked up, organized, put away. As you can imagine, my family of one husband and four babes doesn’t lend itself to being naturally tidy. Messes, yes. Tidy, no.

The One Thing for a Cleaner Home

The last several months of quarantine I have been paying attention to why and how our home becomes messy to the point of frustration. I have noticed our home is cleaner and tidier when there is less stuff available. Our house is easier to get back to ‘ground zero’ if there is less to pick up, less to put away, and less to manage and organize.

one thing

The one thing for a cleaner home is less stuff.

Not a cleaning schedule. Not hiring a cleaner (although that helps). Not buying the most natural cleaning supplies. Not even making your kids do it (although that helps a bunch, too).

The fastest road to a cleaner home is the stuff in it.

It is far easier for my family to tidy up, clean up, and get things put away when there isn’t a lot to tidy up, clean up, put away. I’m not saying we all need to get rid of everything we own, I’m saying if we are a teeny bit intentional with the things out and available in our home, it could save us some cleaning and some sanity.

Take Action

If you are in, let’s start with the main living area. Think of the place where your family spends the most time. Grab a trash bag and clear at least one large surface in the space, then take about half of the nonessential stuff and put it in the bag. If you need more bags, grab them. Put those trash bags in a closet for a week, maybe two, and wait. This isn’t forever, it’s an experiment to see if for your family and your home, less stuff will equate to a cleaner home.

Pay attention the next few weeks to see if your experiment is working. Is it easier to clean the space? It is simpler to keep it tidy? If in a few weeks you miss the stuff and you don’t see a difference, pull it back out of the closet and add it back in. If there is a noticeable difference, consider parting with those items or moving them to another part of the house or rotating items out of a closet, similar to a toy closet.

We all want to love the space we live in everyday. One way to love it is to make it easier to clean and keep up. Tell me: will you try the one thing for a cleaner home?

Vanessa

10 Tasks for Quarantine

A Simpler Home, A Simpler Motherhood

We are over a month in to being at home. An introvert by nature, I’m even getting a bit antsy with the lack of freedom to go anywhere. However, I don’t want to waste this time. Jesus willing, there will never be another time in my lifetime when everything is put on hold because of a virus. If that’s true, I want to be sure I use this time at home for as much good as I possibly can and hold tight to what I hold dear: my people.

Not only is it a good time to invest in the relationships in our home, but it could also be a good time to complete some tasks that double as stress relievers or sanity savers. If you’re at home and find yourself with a bit extra headspace and time and are craving some inspiration, these 10 tasks for quarantine could encourage you, motivate you, cut some stress, and maybe even bring you some joy.

10 Tasks for Quarantine

Spend time just being together.

This is something I’m working on. There might never be a time again when all six of us are home for this long, all together. I want to embrace this time, not let it go to waste.

10 tasks for quarantine

The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies. -Laura Ingalls Wilder

More walks, more books, more laying on the floor playing with my littles. More lingering at dinner, more movie nights, more stopping to smell the flowers.

Personally, I am working on being still and present with the people I love the most.

Keep a journal.

I don’t mean write pages upon pages everyday while a candle is lit and a cup of coffee is in your hand, although that sounds nice. I mean jot a note down everyday about what the day was like, what is happening around you. I have been writing one line a day in my planner and I hope it will help me remember this time a year or ten years from now.

Plant something.

Now is a great time to plant something. Try herbs like basil, cilantro, or rosemary inside from seed and then move outside mid-May. Plant carrots in the ground now. Start microgreens inside and you will have something to put on your sandwich in a week. Enlist your kids to help and your work can be both science lesson and stress reliever. Living green things have been saving my sanity during this season at home.

Carve out quiet time.

If you have kids at home, there probably isn’t much quiet in your day. Although it’s hard to carve out, I whole heartedly believe quiet is nourishment for my soul. Find a time during the day when the kids are sleeping, when they are playing outside or in their bedrooms. Be still, breathe deep, pray, read an inspiriting quote or Bible verse or favorite book. There can be noise everywhere, but it doesn’t have to be noisy within us.

Clear a closet.

Or a drawer or a surface or a room. It’s the perfect time to clear some of the clutter while at home. Choose one place: a drawer, a closet, a surface, or a room to clear. Put it on your calendar or to-do list, set a timer for 30 minutes and make it happen. If there is still work to do after the 30 minute timer, keep going or come back to it tomorrow.

It always feels good to clear a space. Since we are home now more than ever, decluttering highly trafficked areas is even more important.

Research has shown physical clutter leads to stress and I think we can all agree we don’t need any more stress right now. Take 30 minutes to clear a space and get ready to feel lighter.

Read a book.

Did you know reading can lower stress? Reading has been shown to lower blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress. Choose a novel you have been wanting to read for awhile and set aside some time each day to dive in.

If you have kids at home, designate 10-20 minutes each day when everyone reads, you included. Check out The most important thing. Even toddlers can wander through a stack of books. What’s on your To Be Read list during quarantine?

Take a nap.

I’m writing this at 3:30 on a gray afternoon, so a nap sounds pretty tempting right now. Find time in the day to put your feet up and close your eyes. Meditate, pray, or act like a two year old and take a snooze. Naps can improve alertness, reduce stress, boost creativity, among other things. I am not a great napper, but closing my eyes for a few minutes recharges me and gives me the boost I need for the evening hours.

Set up a toy closet.

If you’re feeling like you’re constantly picking up toys or your kids are constantly saying ‘I’m bored’, a toy closet could be a tool to keep your kids engaged in play at home. Simply choose a space for your toy closet and place 50% of the toys inside. You can sort these by category in bins or simply place in tubs to store them. Every week or so, exchange some toys that are available with some toys in the toy closet. Your kids will have ‘new’ toys to play with and your family will have less toys to pick up.

Move your body.

Exercise is another way to lower stress. Moving our bodies increases endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. If you feel like you’re in a funk, do some jumping jacks, squats, push ups, or get after it with some burpees. Or simply go on a walk around the neighborhood and enjoy some fresh air while moving your body.

My workout happens in the morning, before my babes are awake. If I miss it, I feel it all day long. Moving my body sets the tone for my day and makes me feel good about myself and the day in front of me.

Take an Internet Sabbath.

Technology is more important than ever. It’s the one way we are staying connected during this pandemic. But, if you’re like me, it’s been a bit noisy. The news, social media, trying to stay connected with friends and family. It sometimes has me overwhelmed.

If you’re feeling the same way, try an internet Sabbath. I’ve never done this, but am going to try it Sunday. My usual Sunday Sabbath is I stay off social media, but this week I am going to put my phone on airplane mode and go about the day. I will still use our laptop for Bible study and we will watch church as a family, but my phone will be unavailable, except for the occasional picture. Technology is such a gift during this time, but I think it can also be overwhelming and detrimental to our mental health. If you’re feeling the same way, an Internet Sabbath might be for you.

There is a good chance we will never again have this extended period of time at home. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to waste it. Are you completing any tasks during quarantine?

Vanessa

Spring Cleaning

A Simpler Home

Spring has sprung. It’s here, friends. The rain (and sometimes snow) is falling, it’s not getting dark at 5 p.m., and the birds are making all sorts of racket in the early morning hours. It’s what we have been waiting on these past few months and thank heavens it’s here when we are all at home.

Every year I try and choose a few Spring Cleaning tasks to tackle to spring us into the new season. (Not to be confused with Spring Tasks.) I’m sure you’re not, but if you have ever wondered why Spring Cleaning is a thing, think back to Little House on the Prairie days. All winter long they would sit in a boarded up house, fire blazing, getting soot and ash and gunk all over themselves. Come spring the women couldn’t take it anymore and cleaned every surface, every textile, every thing to get rid of the grime. We have held onto the Spring Cleaning tradition 150 years later and I would argue it’s a good one to keep.

Although we don’t have much soot or ash to deal with in the 21st century, there are still things that go undone all winter long. Maybe it’s because we don’t have the energy to do it thanks to the limited sunshine and seemingly unlimited darkness or maybe it’s because we have a holiday hangover. Whatever the reason, spring usually comes with a bit of extra energy for Spring Cleaning. And this year we all have a bit more time at home. I want to share with you a process I am trying this year to get some Spring Cleaning tasks completed. Here we go…

Do a Walk Through

This is the easiest and most straightforward step. Walk through your home and take inventory on what is driving you crazy room by room. Is it the dirty baseboards? The disheveled closet? The cobwebs in the corners? Go room by room and write down a list of things driving you bonkers.

Choose your Priorities

Look at the list you made and choose three things to complete. These are the top three things getting under your skin. When I did a walk through the three things I decided to tackle were:

  1. Change the felt no scratch sliders on the kitchen island chairs. (They have been collecting crumbs and debris and are driving me bananas.)
  2. Purge and organize the homeschool closet.
  3. Wipe down two walls that endure dirty hands on the daily.

Gather Supplies

Looking at the three things you have prioritized, gather the supplies needed. You may or may not need to order a few things. For me, I needed to purchase new chair protectors and Magic Erasers to wipe down walls.

Think about cleaning supplies, organizing supplies, and any extra things you might need. Your cleaning motivation can dissipate quickly if you don’t have the supplies on hand. Before you begin, make sure you are prepared.

Rally the Troops

If you have kids and a husband who can help, now is the time to rally the troops for Spring Cleaning. Share the list of priorities and specific tasks that need to be completed. Let your people choose a task or tasks they want to complete. If you want to up the ante, either offer a reward at the end or money for each task. My kids are extremely motivated by dollar bills, so I will use this to my advantage during Spring Cleaning. I will give specific tasks a dollar amount and maybe even have a cookie and ice cream party when all the tasks are completed.

Just Do It

Now is the time to get moving. If you don’t have time to complete in the course of a weekend, put it on your calendar to complete the tasks when you have the time. For me, spending a week doing the work leaves me feeling accomplished and gets. it. done and out of my mind. All of us are different, so do what works for your personality and sanity.

Grace and Celebrate

Maybe you got all you wanted done. Yay you! Maybe you didn’t. Still…yay you! Any amount of time spent knocking out Spring Cleaning tasks is worthwhile. If you didn’t get everything done #grace and celebrate what you did achieve. If you knocked it out of the park, make cookies and watch a movie to celebrate. I whole heartedly believe in celebration and scrubbing all the dirty fingerprints off my walls is cause for celebration.

What Spring Cleaning tasks will you get to this spring?

Vanessa

Spring Tasks

A Simpler Home, A Simpler Motherhood

With the changing seasons, come new beginnings.

Spring begins this month. We are so close, friends! A new season means a new beginning. The specific season of spring always puts me in the mood for a refresh or spring tasks. These tasks guide me through the season with intentionality and inspire me to embrace the season. My list of tasks will probably look different than your list, but my hope is in sharing my list, it will encourage you to create your own. Praise Jesus He made us all uniquely in his image. Here is my list of Spring Tasks.

1. Plan my garden.

Any gardeners out there? Me either. I am a beginner at best. Since we live in the country and have lots of built in space for a garden, we plant one. My kids enjoy it and at times, I do, too. I plan to make a list of seeds and vegetables to plant and then map out what bed they will go in. I order most of my seeds from Johnny’s Seeds and pick up my plants at a local gardening store. My mother-in-law is a pro and usually gifts me some plants she starts from seed in her basement. #blessher

2. Deep clean the mudroom

Our mudroom gets abused in the winter (and spring and fall and summer). This spring task is nonnegotiable. I will take most everything out, give it a good cleaning and put back only what is needed for this spring. Drawers will be vacuumed, spring jackets brought in, rain boots cleaned up, and everything that doesn’t belong put away. I’m secretly looking forward to this one.

3. Purchase Easter outfits

Easter is Sunday, April 12th this year. It is on my radar to see what I have for the kids to wear for Easter and then order anything that isn’t in their closets. Lily chose her dress a few weeks ago and it arrived last week. Now, I am going to spend the next month telling her she only has ____ many days until she can wear her Easter dress. #prayforme Anticipation is good for us, right? I still need to decide what the boys will wear and might even think about me, too.

4. Catch up on Shutterfly books

One of my Quarterly Goals was to catch up on my Shutterfly kid books. The end of the quarter is at the end of this month, so I want to be sure I do one last round of adding and editing so I am caught up for spring.

5. Continue 40 things in 40 days

For lent this year, we are giving away one thing everyday for 40 days. This has not only allowed us to focus on generosity, it has also cleaned out some stuff. It’s always nice to make some room in the spring.

6. Review the Cozy Minimalist Spring Course

I am a big fan of all the work The Nester (Myquillyn Smith) does. I purchased her book, The Cozy Minimalist Home, and received her seasonal courses as a bonus. They are SO good and everything is SO pretty. Myquillyn has invaluable advice and knowledge when it comes to creating a beautiful home with not a lot of stuff. I am excited to rewatch the spring course and implement Myquillyn’s tips into my home for spring.

7. Plan and purchase curriculum

Our school year will be ending in a few short months. Usually about March I get antsy to plan the upcoming year. In the fall, Luke will be in second grade and Lily in kindergarten. In the next month or two, I hope to make a plan and purchase our curriculum for next year.

8. Clean out our books

There is always room for one more book in our house. However, some books aren’t super high quality, are damaged beyond repair, or are no longer loved. We will make a sweep through all our books and donate ones no longer serving us.

9. Plan and purchase outdoor supplies

When spring arrives, we move outdoors more and since we live on some land, there are loads of tasks. I review and edit an ongoing spreadsheet of spring tasks. We need to purchase things for these tasks and that’s in my wheelhouse. Grass seed, fertilizer, gardening gloves, seeds, more grass seed. I will make a list and check it twice.

10. Read a book outside when it’s above 60 degrees

I have this one on here because #selfcare When spring comes it is go, go, go and I want to be sure I slow down and savor the beauty around me. The green (not brown!!!) grass, the buds on the trees, the birds singing, the warm sun. I can’t enjoy these things if I don’t stop and notice. Reading a book outside sounds lovely and a bit indulgent. I hope to get it in a few times this spring.

I hope my list inspires you to create your own list of spring tasks. Tell me: what is on your list this spring?

Vanessa

Simplify the Gathering Space

A Simpler Home

There’s no place like home. -L. Frank Baum

If you close your eyes and think back to your childhood home, what do you see? Hear? Feel? Smell? Taste? What are the clear markers that point you home?

Thinking back to my childhood home, I can smell the garlic that was prominent at dinner time, see my Dad is in his chair watching football, and taste the macaroni and cheese with hot dogs and ‘homemade’ pudding for dessert in those cute plastic dishes. But for me, it’s mostly a feeling. I felt safe. I felt loved. Most of the time it was organized chaos, but it felt like home.

How do I want my home to feel?

Now that I’m a mom, I want my kids to remember and cherish their childhood home. They may not remember a single smell or sound, but I want a good, warm feeling to come over them when they think of home. I want them to remember it was peaceful even with all the people. I want them to remember it was a place they could be completely themselves. I want them to remember it was a place of curiosity, learning, and where there was always room for one more book.

simplify the gathering space
Take Action: Be Thoughtful

How do you want your kids to feel when they think of their childhood home twenty years from now? Truly take a few moments to think about it and jot a few notes down.

What needs to be done so my home can feel how I want it to?

I’m going to take you from big picture to practical quick. I want to be intentional with my home so it can serve the people in it. If I want it to be peaceful, I need less stuff so most of the noise in our home will be coming from us and not the stuff around us. If I want the people in our home to be completely themselves, there needs to be room and space for them to paint or kick a ball or bake or tell stories. And if I want our home to be a home of curiosity and learning, there should be a variety of books always available and spaces for us to snuggle up to read and talk together.

Take Action: Be Intentional

With the notes from the first question, think about what you need to do to get there. If you want a peaceful home, it may require getting rid of visual clutter to make room for one another. If you want to invite people into your home often, it might mean feeling confident and good about your home at all times so you can have an impromptu dinner date with the neighbors. If you want to have a home that’s playful, you might play music and have games within arms reach. Write a few notes listing something intentional you can do for each way you want your home to feel.

Simplifying can help!

However you want your home to feel to you and the people in it, I believe simplifying can help you get there. Simplifying shared living spaces can maximize the quality of time spent with your people. It can enhance everyone’s feeling of home because stuff won’t be in the way.

Don’t misunderstand me. Some of the best days in our home are when the pantry is emptied and the kids are playing grocery store with the real groceries or when the dining room chairs are pulled out and replaced with a city of magnatiles, wooden blocks, cars, and dinosaurs. Our homes are meant to serve us and by getting all of the unnecessary stuff out of the way, they can serve us well.

Where does your family gather?

We are living in the main living area today. I’m going to call it the gathering space. Where does your family spend the most time together? The family room? Kitchen? Basement? Where is your gathering space?

For our family, it’s our great room that includes our kitchen, living room, and dining room.

gathering space

Look at your gathering space and ask yourself: Is it serving us well?

If it is, you probably can stop reading and go pour yourself a cup of coffee. But if it’s not, maybe some simplifying will help. Keep reading…

Myquillin Smith aka The Nester suggests quieting a space before adding anything or trying to figure out what’s missing. I like the idea of getting rid of all the unnecessary stuff to see what is actually needed.

Four Steps to a Simplified Gathering Space

After choosing the room or rooms in your home where your family gathers, these next steps will help you minimize the stuff to maximize the quality of time with your people.

1. Box It Up

Grab a box and go through the gathering place of your home and put anything in it that doesn’t help make your home feel the way you want it to. If you’re going for peaceful, the battery operated anything goes in the box. If you’re going for playful, the games can stay but the stacks of miscellaneous bills, ads, and magazines can go. Box up anything that doesn’t align with your intentionality for the space.

2. Clear a Surface

I believe wholeheartedly visual clutter matters. Choose one surface in your gathering space to keep clear. For our family, it’s the kitchen island. Besides two candles and sometimes a vase of flowers, nothing is stored here. This doesn’t mean there isn’t anything on it. In fact, plenty of things litter our kitchen island throughout the day: papers and paints for art projects, cutting boards and veggies for lunch, 108 hot wheel cars lined up going to ‘Starbucks’. Those things are the exact reason the island needs to stay clear: to allow the surface to do its job and serve us.

gathering space

Choose a surface that can serve your family well, clear it off and make it a priority to keep it clear.

3. What do you need?

I’m usually not advocating for people to add things to a room, but because we want our homes to serve our families well, this step could be necessary. What things are needed in your gathering space to make time with your people better? What is missing that will give you and your family that feeling you are after? Is it books? A caddy holding art supplies? A speaker to play music?

About 6 months ago, I made a decision to move almost all our books upstairs to the dining room bookshelf. They were housed in different places around the house, mostly in the basement and I wanted them all in a place we spend lots of time. Moving the books upstairs to our gathering space made them more accessible and a part of our everyday life.

gathering space

There is a good chance you need only a few items or possibly nothing at all, but think through what needs to be added to the gathering space to make it serve your family.

4. Sort

There is a good chance you have a box of items to sort from ‘quieting’ your space. If you need a break, put them in a closet and sort tomorrow. If you’re feeling motivated, sort these items right away. Put items back where they belong out of the gathering space or find a new home. This is a great time to donate items no longer needed.

Enjoy

Enjoy your reclaimed gathering space! Intentionality and a little time and effort can go a long way to make your home feel the way you want it to and serve your family well. Tell me: What space did you choose to simplify today?

P.S. If you’re looking for more ways to simplify check out Simplify the Closets, 3 Ways to Simplify Today, and How to Declutter by Category.

Vanessa

Simplify the Closets

A Simpler Home, A Simpler Motherhood

So in fact, narrowing down our choices means less overwhelm, and more creativity. -Courtney Carver

Some minimalist influencers suggest starting with clothes when one wants to simplify. We all seem to house our lives in our closets. Our past life, our current life, our future life. The jeans we once wore BC (before children), our favorite lived in tee worn every weekend, and the blouse we bought on sale for that perfect occasion that hasn’t materialized, yet.

Clothes can be incredibly difficult for some and incredibly freeing for others. In my experience, simplifying our closets has brought two things:

  1. More space, less laundry
  2. More creativity, Less overwhelm

How can less clothes=less laundry?

It might seem counter intuitive when I say less clothes=less laundry. But, it absolutely can. With four kids, there is always dirty laundry at our house. Always. But, the less clothes the kids physically have in their closets, the less laundry I have sitting in my dirty laundry basket. I do at least one load of laundry everyday. I put one in the washer in the morning and it must be in the dryer (preferably out and folded) before I go to bed. This simple rhythm aids me in keeping on top of the endless laundry chore.

How does less clothes=more creativity?

Dressing with less allows me to use what I have to put together outfits. Boundaries allow us to be creative and I believe that is true in our closets. When I buy a new piece of clothing, I think about how hard it can work for me. Can it be worn with more than one pair of bottoms or more than one top? Can it be worn for multiple seasons? Can it be paired with various accessories to change up a look? Keeping only the ‘hard working pieces’ in my closet allows for less in my closet overall.

How do I simplify?

I have lost count how many times I have simplified my closet and my babes’ closets. Many, many times. A simpler life is a journey, right? And each time I have simplified a closet, I have done it a slightly different way. I want to share the easiest and fastest way I have done it. Don’t take everything and put it on your bed (unless you really want to…GO YOU!).

A Simpler Approach to Closets

  1. Take a look at your closet, big picture. What do you notice? Do you have clothes from every season in your closet? Are there things you haven’t worn since 7th grade still on hangers? Take a big picture inventory. If this is super overwhelming, you’re doing the right thing by simplifying your closet.
  2. Take everything that isn’t in season right now and box it up. Label the box with the season. (For example, we are in the dead of winter here, so all shorts, tanks, and flip flops can go in the box.)
  3. With only this season’s clothes, go through and sort out items that need mending or altered. Make a plan to get it done within the next week or so. If you know that isn’t going to happen, those items can go into the donate box.
  4. Next, go through and donate anything that doesn’t fit you right now and hasn’t fit you in the last year-ish. You don’t need the past living in your closet.
  5. Touch each piece and ask yourself: Do I love it? Is it beautiful? Do I feel like me in it? Donate (or give to a friend) anything you can’t give a confident ‘yes’. (Side note: I have a super cute, stylish friend who offers me pieces from her closet she is no longer loving and it is such a gift to me. If you know someone who could benefit from items in your closet, ask and then give!)
  6. Donate the clothes as soon as soon as you’re able so they don’t find themselves back in your closet.

This is the most straightforward way I have found to simplify our closets. I have done this with mine as well as all our babes’ closets. I wholeheartedly believe visual clutter matters, even in our closets. Putting away the out of season clothes and donating or giving away things that no longer fit us or we no longer love eliminates some of that visual clutter. This goes for dressers and drawers, too.

Tell me, how do you simplify your closets? What is holding you back from simplifying your clothes? I would love to hear!