“When you get close to the raw materials and taste them at the moment they let go of the soil, you learn to respect them.” ~Rene Redzepi
Foraging for food is not something I do, unless you count the nightly pantry raids after the kids are in bed and my husband and I settle in with Netflix. I am more likely to be found foraging for a pint of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream in the freezer section at Target than I am in the forest for edible mushrooms, obviously.
Every year, when December rolls around, thousands of families go into crazy-overwhelmed mode as the holiday season begins. Actually, let’s be honest, thanks to the retail industry… the crazy overwhelm now starts somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving.
The pressure of “getting everything done” suddenly gets multiplied by 10 as there are gifts to buy, trees to put up, houses to decorate, food to prepare, cookies to bake, parties to plan and events to attend.
The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine during an interview for her podcast and the subject came up of the $1 bins at Target.
You know the ones I mean… they greet you as soon as you walk in the door and try to persuade you into buying random things like foam door hangers, inspirational signs, kids’ socks and a selfie stick. It’s a rather hodge-podge selection of items, but they all have one thing in common - the “Well, it’s only a dollar… I mean it’d be a crime not to buy it, right?” factor.
What’s the first thing that you think of when you hear the word “clutter”?
I’m guessing it’s probably an image of an overstuffed closet, a filing cabinet that’s overflowing with papers or a garage that more resembles a storage unit.
And while these are all perfectly legitimate examples of clutter and great places to start when you’re finally ready to start purging and downsizing, there’s another area of your home (and your life) that I’m guessing is also cluttered, but may have been flying under the radar up until now.
Your virtual world.
So, you’ve been wanting to de-clutter your home. You know there are things that need to go. And you’re really looking forward to actually having a garage that stores your car, as opposed to operating as a storage unit.
But, you have no idea where to begin.
You desperately want your home to feel open and peaceful, instead of crowded and cramped and you’ve pinned a thousand pretty Pinterest images for inspiration. But, when it comes down to actually doing it… in your house… that’s when things come to a screeching halt.
When I talk to people about what's been holding them back from doing the major de-cluttering purge that they've been "meaning" to do... it usually comes down to a few of the same things:
I don't even know where to begin.
It all seems so overwhelming.
I don't know what to keep and what to get rid of.
I don't have the time to do it.
When I was growing up, I think I had a pretty typical "middle class American" childhood as far as the possessions that I had.
We weren't rich, so I didn't have an extravagant amount of belongings. But, I did have a decent amount of toys and games. My sister and I had a playroom in the unfinished basement of our childhood home that had several shelving units full of board games, puzzles and the like, as well as a wooden chest of dress-up clothes, a play kitchen and even a full-sized chalkboard and antique school desk where we could play school.
I'm super excited to have my friend, Alexis Stephens from Tiny House Expedition, guest post on the blog this week. Alexis and her boyfriend Christian have been an inspiration to me ever since the beginning of my own tiny house journey. And having gotten to know them over the years at various tiny house festivals, they're pretty cool people too. ;)
So, make sure you follow their adventures! And without further ado, here's Alexis...
Last night, I was chatting with my BFF about the biz and the new membership program I am building (which btw, you have a MAJOR say in... you can let me know what you want right here) and she said, "You basically help people cut all the crap out of their life. You de-crapify their lives!" We both laughed. But, you know what? That actually is my passion.
To help you de-crapify your life.
Whenever I give a presentation on downsizing and de-cluttering or teach a course on it, I always tell people that it will give them a new life perspective.
It may seem like a pretty lofty statement - how could donating a few bags of clothes and a few boxes of kitchenware change your life?
Because, if you've come to the point where you are ready to start practicing minimalism, your life will never be the same.
