It has been a month since I last updated. I haven't been ignoring this page but life was extremely busy! We just moved about 9 time zones and several thousands of miles which has mean life has been a bit crazy.
In this season of giving stuff it has been interesting to get our personal belongings. I have to admit I have lost a little sight of my fewer things goal. Part of that was in a deep desire to make the season 'perfect' for my girls. So we re-purchased Christmas lights and basic decorations just to have a little bit of Christmas cheer before our things arrived this week.
However, when we were packed up I was sure we had gotten rid of SO much. Boy, was I wrong! All of the sudden I realized that I still have SO much stuff. I can say that a lot of it I didn't miss as much as I would have thought. Surprisingly it was mostly the kitchen stuff, and physical furniture. Our kids also really missed their toys and bedroom things. My hope is to take some of the boxes that our stuff have been packed up in and re-evaluate what is worth staying in my home.
I think on the potential chopping block is books (which is shocking. I have always loved having books in my home). I think my wardrobe is under scrutiny again as well as just cluttery 'keep sakes' that turn out to be just junk collecting.
One of my fears is that the house we are in is much larger than we are used to living in which leaves the risk of 'filling it up'. So we will be focusing on not adding unless it is truly necessary. I am realistic enough to know my husband and I do have to meet in the middle on the subject as well. So what do you think is the hardest aspect of cutting down on stuff in your home? Leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you!
Kay xxx
Monday, December 22, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Virtual Hoarding
I have been in search of ways to simplify in all walks of my life. Then it hit me. One of my biggest hoards isn't cluttering my halls, closets and bedrooms. It's cluttering my computer. My virtual hoard.
I don't know about you, but I use to have SO many bookmarks. Things that I wanted to make sure I saved for later. Then, along came Pinterest. It was amazing. Organized. So like so many people I began pinning almost anything and everything that I could get my hands on. Was it pretty? Pin. Funny? Pin. Looks tasty and master chef level to make or bake? Pin that too!
The other day I realized I had around 40 boards on Pinterest. FORTY! I want to just say, I am in no way knocking those with loads of boards etc. It made me realize though that it is super easy to virtually hoard ideas, pretty things, stuff that just clutters up the stuff I actually want to do via Pinterest or other similar medias. I am currently working on decluttering my Pinterest boards, combining them and removing stuff I won't do anything with or is just a waste. For example, I deleted an entire board planning for my 10th Anniversary 'do over' wedding. My husband and I pretty much were miserable with our wedding and have always wanted to redo it. However, now that mark is only about 2 years away it seems less important. I moved the pins I saved of new wedding bands (which I think we will likely do) and deleted the rest. If we end up renewing our vows, awesome. I will make a board then. If not, no worries. I have been married for 7.5 years, have two kids, and doubt the plans I had are really what I want anymore.
Another virtual hoard in our house is pictures. I can't do anything about that at the moment as our move is underway and most of our electronics with our photos etc are packed and shipped. However, I save all pictures, even bad ones. We have spent the last few years traveling and of course you have to take a picture of every.single.thing least you forget it. I am hoping to work towards either making prints, photo albums or deleting some of the space but it's difficult. I love photography and my husband loves having photos. However, the fact I have an emotional response to deleting poor quality photos of my daughters, or of a place we have been shows the level of attachment that I don't feel I should have at all. Why am I so attached to a blurry photo of my kids? You can't even see what is going on!
So in an attempt to de-clutter my virtual space I have made goals. For example, I only pin non-hobby crafts if I actually plan to do them and then date them and have 6 months (at the moment that time frame could change) and if it doesn't get done, delete. On the flip side of that I am an active yarn crafter (knitting and crochet) and I sew so I have left those boards alone for now. Stuff with helpful information for others (or myself) stays at the moment as well. For example, my breastfeeding, cloth diapers and baby wearing boards all have information that can help others and promotes them so no deletes there.
How do you keep a handle on your virtual 'stuff'? Do you at all? Do you find things like Pinterest overwhelming or a helpful tool?
Kay xxx
I don't know about you, but I use to have SO many bookmarks. Things that I wanted to make sure I saved for later. Then, along came Pinterest. It was amazing. Organized. So like so many people I began pinning almost anything and everything that I could get my hands on. Was it pretty? Pin. Funny? Pin. Looks tasty and master chef level to make or bake? Pin that too!
The other day I realized I had around 40 boards on Pinterest. FORTY! I want to just say, I am in no way knocking those with loads of boards etc. It made me realize though that it is super easy to virtually hoard ideas, pretty things, stuff that just clutters up the stuff I actually want to do via Pinterest or other similar medias. I am currently working on decluttering my Pinterest boards, combining them and removing stuff I won't do anything with or is just a waste. For example, I deleted an entire board planning for my 10th Anniversary 'do over' wedding. My husband and I pretty much were miserable with our wedding and have always wanted to redo it. However, now that mark is only about 2 years away it seems less important. I moved the pins I saved of new wedding bands (which I think we will likely do) and deleted the rest. If we end up renewing our vows, awesome. I will make a board then. If not, no worries. I have been married for 7.5 years, have two kids, and doubt the plans I had are really what I want anymore.
Another virtual hoard in our house is pictures. I can't do anything about that at the moment as our move is underway and most of our electronics with our photos etc are packed and shipped. However, I save all pictures, even bad ones. We have spent the last few years traveling and of course you have to take a picture of every.single.thing least you forget it. I am hoping to work towards either making prints, photo albums or deleting some of the space but it's difficult. I love photography and my husband loves having photos. However, the fact I have an emotional response to deleting poor quality photos of my daughters, or of a place we have been shows the level of attachment that I don't feel I should have at all. Why am I so attached to a blurry photo of my kids? You can't even see what is going on!
So in an attempt to de-clutter my virtual space I have made goals. For example, I only pin non-hobby crafts if I actually plan to do them and then date them and have 6 months (at the moment that time frame could change) and if it doesn't get done, delete. On the flip side of that I am an active yarn crafter (knitting and crochet) and I sew so I have left those boards alone for now. Stuff with helpful information for others (or myself) stays at the moment as well. For example, my breastfeeding, cloth diapers and baby wearing boards all have information that can help others and promotes them so no deletes there.
How do you keep a handle on your virtual 'stuff'? Do you at all? Do you find things like Pinterest overwhelming or a helpful tool?
Kay xxx
Monday, November 3, 2014
Just Checking In
Halloween has passed us. We have a crazy excessive amount of candy in this house that I am hoping do shed by sending into my husbands work. We are down to a couple of weeks left before our big move.
Mostly this is just a "hey I am here" post. I have been doing some minimalist reading. I recently found this website on minimalist baking. I am SO excited. I have plans to buy the cook book they sell on the website and give it a try once we settle in our new location. We aren't doing full grocery shops anymore so it'd be silly to start now. I love cooking and baking for my family but I get into major ruts when I just am sick of trying to come up with what is for dinner. The idea of a book of simple, minimal recipes for a month really appeals to me.
Well, we'll keep it a short post today. I truly don't have a whole lot of new information/transformation on this end since all of our home goods have been boxed and shipped over a month ago, now. I am excited to get into my new home and open up the stuff I have been living without and see what I am ready to send off. The promise of the new space and new opportunities is really exciting. Hope you all are well.
Kay xxx
Mostly this is just a "hey I am here" post. I have been doing some minimalist reading. I recently found this website on minimalist baking. I am SO excited. I have plans to buy the cook book they sell on the website and give it a try once we settle in our new location. We aren't doing full grocery shops anymore so it'd be silly to start now. I love cooking and baking for my family but I get into major ruts when I just am sick of trying to come up with what is for dinner. The idea of a book of simple, minimal recipes for a month really appeals to me.
Well, we'll keep it a short post today. I truly don't have a whole lot of new information/transformation on this end since all of our home goods have been boxed and shipped over a month ago, now. I am excited to get into my new home and open up the stuff I have been living without and see what I am ready to send off. The promise of the new space and new opportunities is really exciting. Hope you all are well.
Kay xxx
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
21 Days
It has almost been three weeks into our very minimal living due to our very large move. We are all a bit itchy to leave in some ways, sad about it in others. My heart personally breaks as my girls, for the most part, really are little British kids. They know nothing of living in America. They never have, and so the idea of going back is a bit odd.
Now that we have lived almost a month with slim pickings regarding our stuff (the very last things that won't be taken in suitcase or left behind were taken yesterday) I have some reflections I just felt like capturing.
Mainly, I do miss my homey trappings. I miss my family pictures, and the few pieces of art work, but also realize that because of the size of our current house and wall space everything I had up might have been a little busy. It will be fun/interesting to try spreading out what I have in our new home in December. I also really miss my kitchen gadgetry. I went to bake a blackberry almond tart and found, rather annoyingly, I had no rolling pin and would have had to go fairly far to buy one. I ended up using a can of crescent rolls to roll the crust out, but I want my fully functioning kitchen back in the sense that I miss my blender, baking things, and food processor. I have enjoyed the fewer pieces of cutlery, less plates and less tea cups and glasses.
I am surprisingly really liking the limited about of living room furniture. The temp furniture is also smaller than our current set which I really like. It's slimmer and trimmer. So far it is really setting the tone, for me anyway, for what I would like to achieve in our home.
Surprisingly (and I hate to admit this) I don't really miss our books very much. I am a huge book lover and it is my soft spot for sure. I have all the books from my childhood for my girls and I love collecting books. My husband and I have always aspired to have a library in my own home. I like the idea of so much knowledge in my home. However, truthfully, I realize that other than my true favourites and what I am currently reading we could live without the books. Especially since we utilize the library so often anyway.
So far, I have a feeling I'll be cutting a lot more stuff once we get our goods on the other side of this journey. Hope everyone is well!
Kayxx
Now that we have lived almost a month with slim pickings regarding our stuff (the very last things that won't be taken in suitcase or left behind were taken yesterday) I have some reflections I just felt like capturing.
Mainly, I do miss my homey trappings. I miss my family pictures, and the few pieces of art work, but also realize that because of the size of our current house and wall space everything I had up might have been a little busy. It will be fun/interesting to try spreading out what I have in our new home in December. I also really miss my kitchen gadgetry. I went to bake a blackberry almond tart and found, rather annoyingly, I had no rolling pin and would have had to go fairly far to buy one. I ended up using a can of crescent rolls to roll the crust out, but I want my fully functioning kitchen back in the sense that I miss my blender, baking things, and food processor. I have enjoyed the fewer pieces of cutlery, less plates and less tea cups and glasses.
I am surprisingly really liking the limited about of living room furniture. The temp furniture is also smaller than our current set which I really like. It's slimmer and trimmer. So far it is really setting the tone, for me anyway, for what I would like to achieve in our home.
Surprisingly (and I hate to admit this) I don't really miss our books very much. I am a huge book lover and it is my soft spot for sure. I have all the books from my childhood for my girls and I love collecting books. My husband and I have always aspired to have a library in my own home. I like the idea of so much knowledge in my home. However, truthfully, I realize that other than my true favourites and what I am currently reading we could live without the books. Especially since we utilize the library so often anyway.
So far, I have a feeling I'll be cutting a lot more stuff once we get our goods on the other side of this journey. Hope everyone is well!
Kayxx
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Moving
Hello, hello! It has been VERY busy at our house the last few weeks which is why I have been absent around these parts. If you are just seeing this blog we are a military family and we are currently in one of the many stages of what we call a PCS (permanent changes of station) or otherwise known as MOVING.
This move, however, has been really interesting in learning what kind of minimalism I can live with and what I am really hoping to adhere to later on in life. Right now all of our home goods are boxed up and on four crates making their way over 8000 miles to their final destination. This has left us with some extreme minimalistic living. When you are stationed overseas you are given temporary furniture for the time period that you are either waiting on your home goods or having sent them, waiting to leave.
So at the moment we have in our 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house : one two seat sofa, two single comfy chairs, two side tables, a coffee table, four lamps, a dinning table with four chairs, a high chair, one double bed, two side tables, one twin sized bed and two pack & plays/travel cots (one is ours we are taking and one was provided as a crib, which had I known, I wouldn't really have bothered with).
I think what I really miss is having pictures on the walls, and curtains on the windows. I want my home to feel homey, and well, it doesn't. So I can say I will likely never be one of those people who chooses like four pictures for their walls. I LOVE displaying artwork, and photos of those I love. However, I hate to say it, with the exception of a few pieces of furniture.. I kind of love the lack of furniture in our home. I miss our comfier sofa, but these work just as well, and while not like, beautiful, they aren't the worst either.
I am hoping these next 2.5 months (yes it will be that long before we see our things again) will be a lesson on what I really need and what maybe needs to go once we touch down on the other side. I did get rid of an incredible amount of stuff (clothes, housewares, etc) before we packed up. So here is too an even more insightful learning experience as all of my life is stored in boxes right now!
Kay xxx
This move, however, has been really interesting in learning what kind of minimalism I can live with and what I am really hoping to adhere to later on in life. Right now all of our home goods are boxed up and on four crates making their way over 8000 miles to their final destination. This has left us with some extreme minimalistic living. When you are stationed overseas you are given temporary furniture for the time period that you are either waiting on your home goods or having sent them, waiting to leave.
So at the moment we have in our 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house : one two seat sofa, two single comfy chairs, two side tables, a coffee table, four lamps, a dinning table with four chairs, a high chair, one double bed, two side tables, one twin sized bed and two pack & plays/travel cots (one is ours we are taking and one was provided as a crib, which had I known, I wouldn't really have bothered with).
I think what I really miss is having pictures on the walls, and curtains on the windows. I want my home to feel homey, and well, it doesn't. So I can say I will likely never be one of those people who chooses like four pictures for their walls. I LOVE displaying artwork, and photos of those I love. However, I hate to say it, with the exception of a few pieces of furniture.. I kind of love the lack of furniture in our home. I miss our comfier sofa, but these work just as well, and while not like, beautiful, they aren't the worst either.
I am hoping these next 2.5 months (yes it will be that long before we see our things again) will be a lesson on what I really need and what maybe needs to go once we touch down on the other side. I did get rid of an incredible amount of stuff (clothes, housewares, etc) before we packed up. So here is too an even more insightful learning experience as all of my life is stored in boxes right now!
Kay xxx
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Little House
Last night I watched a fantastic little documentary called Tiny. If you are not familiar with the idea of a 'little house' it is pretty straight forward. It is living in a home that is, well, little. I think by definition around 200sqft or less. I have to admit being in love and frighted with the idea. It REALLY appeals to me. I find that naturally the little house movement goes hand in hand with the ideals of minimalism, I mean, you can't have a TON of stuff if you are living in the space that is the size of some peoples walk-in closets.
Anyway, the concept of smaller not larger has been something I have been really playing with for awhile now. I think the problem with most houses is poor design. I firmly believe I could live in a tiny space if it was designed the right way. I have been slowly sharing that my ideals, and ideas about housing are changing to my husband. I am not sure he really understood what I meant until he watched the film with me last night.
While I don't think either of us are ready to dump our things and live in 200sqft (truthfully I haven't seen too many people with kids do this) I have stopped thinking that my life and it's success has to do with how large my home is and how much stuff I have in it. It is the mindset. One day, if we aren't military, we hope to build a home, or perhaps buy one. I think that depending on where our family is we, for the first time ever, will not be dreaming up a 2500sqft home. That, in its self, is so much growth for us as a couple.
So, what room could you really do without? Do you have a room in your home that you are almost never actually living in? Or perhaps it's a room totally dedicated to housing stuff that you never use. Do you have a guest room but never have guests? It's amazing what we could truthfully do without if we really thought about it.
Kay xxx
Anyway, the concept of smaller not larger has been something I have been really playing with for awhile now. I think the problem with most houses is poor design. I firmly believe I could live in a tiny space if it was designed the right way. I have been slowly sharing that my ideals, and ideas about housing are changing to my husband. I am not sure he really understood what I meant until he watched the film with me last night.
While I don't think either of us are ready to dump our things and live in 200sqft (truthfully I haven't seen too many people with kids do this) I have stopped thinking that my life and it's success has to do with how large my home is and how much stuff I have in it. It is the mindset. One day, if we aren't military, we hope to build a home, or perhaps buy one. I think that depending on where our family is we, for the first time ever, will not be dreaming up a 2500sqft home. That, in its self, is so much growth for us as a couple.
So, what room could you really do without? Do you have a room in your home that you are almost never actually living in? Or perhaps it's a room totally dedicated to housing stuff that you never use. Do you have a guest room but never have guests? It's amazing what we could truthfully do without if we really thought about it.
Kay xxx
Friday, September 5, 2014
Minimalism in Dinner
This week has to be the first time in awhile I didn't feel utterly stressed out about the meal planning. It was kind of amazing. I typically feel the task of coming up with new and exciting meals for my family exhausting and draining. I often ask my husband's input, which honestly usually makes me more frustrated as he loves to come up with some outrageously big meals sometimes. Mostly he just goes with his cravings.
Anyway, this week I pantry shopped, and then made a decidedly simple meal plan of good, uncomplicated dinners. Not only has it helped my sanity this week but it has helped our grocery bill as well.
So, how do you simplify your meals or is that an area left untouched on your quest for a simplified life?
Kay xxx
Anyway, this week I pantry shopped, and then made a decidedly simple meal plan of good, uncomplicated dinners. Not only has it helped my sanity this week but it has helped our grocery bill as well.
So, how do you simplify your meals or is that an area left untouched on your quest for a simplified life?
Kay xxx
Monday, September 1, 2014
Starting
As we prepare for our big move (81 days and counting) I have already pitched a lot of stuff. A few big bags of cloths and goods. I have not, however, been as bruital as I want or should be to achieve my uncluttered dream.When we returned home from a stressful church morning (ya know, one of the mornings you wonder why you bothered to drag your children and yourself out at all) and I was itching to dejunk some thing. So, I hit the kids room.
I recently read a great article about making a capsule wardrobe and thought I could stand to go through my girls drawers and sew if I could manage to make them a capsule style wardrobe. Not only did it seem appealing from narrowing down the size, but also it could help my husband dress our girls in clothes that make sense and allow my three year old to make choices for herself without looking so removed from presentable.
Not long ago I went through the girls storage bins full of the baby stuff and the sizes our youngest is waiting to grow into that was her sisters. I felt I had gotten rid of a lot. I only saved gender neutral baby items and a sprinkling of clothes specific to each girl that have meaning. I also went through and removed things that would never be seasonable for my youngest since we are moving to an extremely cold climate. So while I was eager to shed some stuff I decided to start with the clothes in the dresser.
After using serious judgement and thinking about comfort and what I tend to pick for her to wear I got the littlest little down to 19 items in her dresser and 11 hanging in her closet. This doesn't include pjs which will meet the chopping block soon. It is hard. I am always worried that family will take it personally if I don't keep something they bought but often it is totally based on the kids preference, comfort or practicality. Also we live 4000 miles away, they truthfully will never know but I still have that guilt! Anyway, I felt so accomplished to have a basket overflowing with clothes going out. I still have some tweaking to do. A lot of the tops we have are patterned which mostly doesn't matter but there is one skirt that doesn't match any of the tops I chose to keep. It is one of the cutest skirts that my oldest passed down and so I haven't been able to let it go. Especially since she just recently grew out of it and there is a lot of wear left. So it stays for now. Next step, Little Miss and my own wardrobe!
Kay xxx
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Introductions
Hiya,
I feel the need to introduce myself. This is not my first my blog. In fact you can find that I have been blogging for almost 7 years since I said "I do" to my sweet husband. Anyway, I am Korey. I wear many hats including mother and military spouse but this blog is to document a new journey I am on; Minimalism and intentional, simple living.
I was introduced to the idea of minimalism about two years ago when I stumbled across Project 333. My oldest daughter was just under one and I had lost the baby weight but my body was totally different. I had tons of weird and I'll fitting clothes. So I gave it a try. I didn't end up sticking to it long term but it helped me part with junk in my closet.
Over the last few years I have been looking into minimalism and just physically yearning to give it a go. It was hard realization that my typical frugal attitude had slide for awhile but I have had a lot of conviction of faith on the matter along with the desire to just make my own life easier as a mom of two young children. Now my family is about to move around 8,000 mile and it seems like a golden opportunity to lighten our load. This will be a documentation of the journey. I am excited and I hope you will be too!
Kay xxx
I feel the need to introduce myself. This is not my first my blog. In fact you can find that I have been blogging for almost 7 years since I said "I do" to my sweet husband. Anyway, I am Korey. I wear many hats including mother and military spouse but this blog is to document a new journey I am on; Minimalism and intentional, simple living.
I was introduced to the idea of minimalism about two years ago when I stumbled across Project 333. My oldest daughter was just under one and I had lost the baby weight but my body was totally different. I had tons of weird and I'll fitting clothes. So I gave it a try. I didn't end up sticking to it long term but it helped me part with junk in my closet.
Over the last few years I have been looking into minimalism and just physically yearning to give it a go. It was hard realization that my typical frugal attitude had slide for awhile but I have had a lot of conviction of faith on the matter along with the desire to just make my own life easier as a mom of two young children. Now my family is about to move around 8,000 mile and it seems like a golden opportunity to lighten our load. This will be a documentation of the journey. I am excited and I hope you will be too!
Kay xxx
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