Post Move Clean Up

So I am still slowly unpacking things. Which is probably crazy, though I would say 90% of our stuff is unpacked. I am still trying to make decisions on which pictures go where and that sort of thing. I have so much more wall space but for some reason I suddenly feel like all the pictures we have might be too much.

I think partially this sudden fear of having 'too many pictures' is because we had wonderful window ledges in Europe which provided space to put a few pictures without it giving the appearance of over crowding. If my husband and I ever 'settle down' and buy/build a house it WILL have ledges. I LOVE them.

I also saw a recent article that mentioned only framing and displaying the most important photos (like a wedding pictures) which also started making me evaluate what pictures we are displaying. Most of them are favorites but others probably could be switched out. So I might be re-evaluating some of those. Pictures are the toughest. The memories are there but the physical representations are hard to let go of and that is why we all need to keep them.

 Even with skipping the photos I have managed at least two large boxes of stuff to pitch and I have several other rooms left to go. I am so excited and relieved already to get rid of the extra junk. Even though I had de-junked before the move I find this time around I really need to do it after. It has been an amazing realization, for me, personally, to see what I really 'need' and clearly do not.

 So what about you? Do you de-own before or after moving? I'd love to hear from you!

Kay xxx

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

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

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