As I sit here writing this post, my home is currently clean. Like actually clean. Like everything is orderly and put away. There might be a pile a boxes on the counter waiting to be dropped off at USPS, but, overall, things are looking pretty damn clean. And why is this worth mentioning? Because today just felt so much easier than it usually does. My day was pretty usual. Woke up before 5am for barre, had a yummy breakfast, showered and dressed, woke up and fed the twins, played in their room while a contractor cleaned our chimney, went to the grocery store, made lunch, played a bit, and put them down for a nap. If this were any other day, the beginning of nap time means me collapsing on the couch with a bag of snack food while simultaneously watching Netflix, reading blogs on my laptop, and checking Instagram on my cell phone. This goes on for an hour or so while I contemplate the chores I’ve been putting off and stress about everything I have to do. It feels nearly impossible to lift myself off the couch and pry my iPhone from my hands just so I can accomplish SOMETHING before nap time ends.
Tag Archives: decluttering
PMI + Potential Year-Round Capsule
In my last post, I mentioned that the reason my husband and I are holding out to purchase a home is because we don’t want to pay PMI for having less than 20% down. One of the reasons I chose to start talking publicly about our finances is because it allows me to look at things from an outsider’s perspective. When I edit blog drafts, one of the many things I do is ask myself questions I think my readers would propose as they read through. Of course, immediately after I typed out, “I don’t want PMI so I’m saving up the 20%” I realized “but if you’re planning on paying off your home, there might be some overall savings if you take the small hit from the PMI instead of paying rent every month”. For instance, if you’re paying a $50 PMI on top of a $850 mortgage, that’s still cheaper than $1000 in rent.
30-Step Minimalist Challenge
I have been feeling particular uninspired and unmotivated as of recent. And, lemme tell you, it is not a good feeling. And the longer I go without being productive, the farther I fall into a place where it becomes more and more difficult to accomplish anything. Which is why it took me until 3pm to start a post that I meant to publish 10 hours ago. But we live and we learn.
Starting a Capsule Wardrobe
If you are into fashion and style, chances are you’ve heard of a capsule wardrobe. The concept of a capsule wardrobe is to create an essential collection of clothing pieces that can be worn for a long period of time. The capsule normally has a consistant theme based around color(s) and style adding a cohesive sense to the clothing as a whole. In contract, for most of us, when we look in our closet there is not a lot of rhyme or reason, just a bunch of stuff.
“The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and the KonMari Method
Last night I read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” by Marie Kondo. I heard about this book a couple months ago, but after stumbling across several YouTube vlogs focused on the book and it’s method, I realized it was something I had to read this very moment. Luckily at 126 pages, it’s a quick read. If you are not already familiar with the book and/or the KonMari method, I’ll give you a brief synopsis. Marie Kondo is a professional declutterer and organizer in Japan. Gaining great success from the method she developed, her waitlist was so long, she decided to put the details of the KonMari method into a book.
Lauren, Etc. 