A Little Decluttering

Most days, I look around my little home and think, "Yikes, it's cluttered again! How did that happen?" Clutter has a way of creeping up on me. I don't notice the piles of mail and paper, and then all of a sudden, those piles are spread out on the table or counter.

The same kind of creeping happens in bathrooms, except that the process is much slower. I buy back up toothpaste, shampoo and soap and those items need to be stored somewhere. I do not like cluttered and crowded cupboards, so I work at striking a happy medium between storing supplies I purchase on sale and keeping the shelves uncluttered.

This week I am focusing my attention on the guest bathroom. I decluttered some outdated items and reorganized what is left. I suppose that a true minimalist would not have done what I did: I found three small baskets on a sale at a craft store, bought them (50% off!), and replaced two large, old, tattered cardboard boxes that I have used for years to hold Bactine, bandaids and other first aid supplies. Because I had decluttered those shelves, all the useful bath items now fit in the baskets. The bathroom cupboard looks neater and cleaner. And color coordinated. I like the look of a minimal, uncluttered, green and white bathroom.

Join me in decluttering the bathrooms in your home, and then tell me what you've done so we can celebrate simplicity together!

New Starts

I have allowed this blog to languish for several months. After I posted in September about simplicity beginning in your attitude and moving in to your actions, I continued researching what other people considered to be the essence and meaning of simplicity. I read more books and searched the internet. I discovered that there is a wave of minimalism sweeping over the coastlands of the world and I realized that every person has his or her own definition of minimalism and simplicity.

I've found some great blogs and websites and some not so great ones, 'great' meaning that I agree with the writer and like the writing style. At this point, my personal favorite is becoming minimalist, a blog written by Joshua Becker. Because he is married and has two children, his focus is on how to live a minimalist lifestyle in suburbia; he defines it as 'rational minimalism'. I like that. I have read his book titled Simplify which you can purchase as an e-book on his blog. In general, I already knew and agreed with the content but it was good to be reminded of the benefits of simplicity and minimalism.