Less is More

We've been undergoing a transformation around here.  It all started with the idea that every. single. thing. we own ought to have a place.  Like, a designated spot where it belongs.  And I'm not talking 'it goes in the junk drawer' or 'toss that in the linen closet'.  I'm talking this-is-exactly-where-this-thing-belongs.

At first, I thought we mostly had that covered.  Boy, oh boy, was I wrong.  The deeper we delve into the project, the more I realize just how much crap we've accumulated in roughly 5.5 years of wedded bliss.  I try to think of simpler times; when we lived in our 500 square foot apartment with one teeny-tiny storage closet.  Then I remember that back then we did not have children or a home business.  Still, though, we have too. much. stuff.

And that's what it is:  stuff.  Junk.  Things we're just never going to use.  And we're not even the hang-on-to-this-'cause-we-might-need-it-in-25-years types.  We're pretty open to just tossing, selling, or donating.  But still, somehow, we have junk in this house.

I think it started when we purchased this 1,000 square foot mansion.  Believe me, when you double your living quarters, it sure feels like a mansion.  Back then, we had a spare room (aka:  dump anything and everything in there and just shut the door) and an office, but sans home-based business.  Talk about space.

Our home, circa 2006.

Well, when you have space, you just fill it, you know?  Boy, do we know.  We are really good at filling space.  And we have generous families.  They gave us new furniture as gifts and really great used furniture they were done with.  Pretty soon, we had tons of furniture.  Nice furniture.  Furniture that traditionally, we'd hang on to until we're dead and then our kids would have to deal with it.  These pictures make us look like hoarders or something.  We're not!  We started as fairly organized people, I swear.

The garage in Phase 1.

Enter my new philosophy:  less is more.  Let's keep less things so that they mean more to us.  It's radical, it really is.  I've been working on this since January, and I'm barely scratching the surface.  Case in point:  I've made it my goal to go through my house and fill one {giant} bag to take to Goodwill or sell on Craigslist (mostly Goodwill....I don't have time to mess with Craigslist!).  Every day.  Every single day I do that.  And guess what?  I haven't missed anything yet!  Is that not sick?

The office, right before I filled 5 (yes, 5) garbage bags full of stuff we don't have anymore.

This new approach to living has caused some major changes around here.  I'll post the improvements to each room.  I'm super excited about the way things are starting to look and feel.  I came across this phrase from the Lucky Shopping Manual, and I think it captures what I'm hoping to achieve:  If a piece doesn’t work, look at it this way: You paid for it once in cash, and now you’re paying for it in valuable closet space. If it’s not right for you, bite the bullet and let it go.

So we're letting it go.  And guess what we've found?  We have a home that is totally big enough for us, with plenty of storage.  We're organized, we're happy, and our home feels calm and inviting.

Less really is more.