Living the Simple Life

I am starting a new series on my blog today, Living the Simple Life. This will be a series of posts chronicling my journey from mess to a cleaner, more simple, more organized home. I have to disclose here that I am truly embarrassed to post these pictures of my home. I am doing so to show the state we are in now. When I have simplified, decluttered and cleaned an area, I will post before and after pictures. As I did for my closet makeover.

 

 

The back corner of our dining room. So need to go through this clutter.

For a while now, I have been feeling very stressed about the state of my home. There is way too much stuff in my home. We love in a small 2-bedroom apartment, less than 700 square feet, and I am feeling very overwhelmed by all the stuff clutter we have. There are piles of stuff everywhere!

 

The bookcases... and donation pile from cleaning out our closets. It'd look better if we took the donations to Goodwill...

A couple of weeks ago, I did a post about cleaning out my closet. You can read it here. I completely cleaned out my closet. I got rid of stuff that no longer fit, I didn’t like, or no longer fit my life now. The only items that made it back onto my closet were the clothes I knew fit and I would wear. Now, going into my closet is so much easier and less stressful. My husband noticed how much neater my closet was, and how much less time it took for me to get dressed. Next thing I knew, he was going through his closet too! Now we both have manageable wardrobes that fit in our closets.

 

Another shot of the bookcases. Just need to get that donation box outta the house!

I will admit, I do have two wardrobes. One for spring/summer, and one for fall/winter. I will be doing a post later about storing your off-season clothes so they don’t stress you out.

 

End table in the living room. It's become a "catch-all" for clutter.

However, doing this has made me cry aware of how much we truly need to simplify our belongings, and declutter out home. I am embarrassed by the stare of our home, but I’ve just been so tired lately, I haven’t done anything about it. You see, on June 16 of last year, I gave birth to our first child. I had to have a C-section, and recovery took longer than I expected. Not only that, but 8 weeks after her birth, I went back to work. Finding the balance between motherhood, homemaker, and working has been difficult. There have been many sleepless nights.

 

My bedside table. Just a mess. So embarrassing!

But these are all excuses. Our home was cluttered before I even got pregnant. In fact, before I got married, my home was cluttered. I truly believe this has made my life more stressful and cluttered.

 

The bathroom sink area. Need to find better organization.

Now, with being a mom, I just can’t run from it, or hide it, any longer. Something has to be done about it. I have to get a handle on this mess! I want my home to be a relaxing place for my family. I don’t want to be embarrassed when people come over. I want to be able to know where things are, and be able to retrieve them easily when I need them.

 

Our solution to not enough storage in the bathroom. I bet, if I simplify our bathroom products, I could pull this outta the bathroom and possibly use it for my painting supplies. Which are currently in a box in the back corner of our dining room (see first picture).

Therefore, over the next few weeks, I will be working on simplifying our home. I will be decluttering, cleaning, and organizing. I hope you will join me on this journey, cheering me on when I need it. And maybe, just maybe, my journey to Living the Simple Life will inspire you to do the same.

 

Wishing you love, happiness and joy.

 

What are some things you do to keep the clutter down? Is there an area of your home you want to simplify?

https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/lesliejohnson1017