Play

I have done a few rounds of purging in my house. The biggest was our garage sale in May. Since then I have taken a few Jeeploads to the D.A.V. and it just keeps getting better and easier in so many different ways that even though I have been reading books/blogs and watching YouTube channels and listening to podcasts on decluttering. I knew what to expect, they told me how good it would be...but guys, I am serious. This is good.

So. G O O D.

This past weekend, I spent most of my Saturday and Sunday continuing the purge process. It was way easier to look at items with fresh eyes and say "nope, don't need it...don't even know why I have it." I got through both kids' rooms and let go of countless odds and ends-type toys that had no real purpose here. A trillion stuffed animals, most of which he only touched when he pulled them out of their bin and threw them across the room in an attempt to "play." Some of the things I would stare at and feel a little guilty because I remember who bought it for him and what occasion it was for. But I needed to be realistic. He didn't play with them...and those stuffed toys are just housing dust. I kept a handful that he plays with/carries/sleeps with. But the rest went. I got rid of large toys that had very little play value. They took up more space than what they were worth. Part of me still feels a little guilty about some of it, just because I know the people who bought them worked hard for their money that they spent on his birthday or on Christmas. But he honestly wasn't playing with pretty much any of it. And I needed a change. And I am so glad I did it.

Charlotte's room was easier. She's younger...but has also just plain grown out of the majority of toys she had. Lots of rattles, etc. They had served their purpose, although I realize now how few of them ever made it to her hands. We had our favorites, the rest pretty much sat there for a year now.

Okay, let me tell you why this is so good. Because this is the best part. Not only do I feel better as a "stay at home mom" because my house is generally WAY cleaner... but my kids feel better. After my weekend purge, I noticed the difference immediately on Monday morning. They have been playing together so much better than they EVER have. Usually one or both would constantly be at my feet, looking for entertainment. Not anymore. Right now, they are playing on the living room floor while I pound this blog post out, I have timed it, it's been 40 minutes of quiet play so far. And it's been like this daily all week. They have gone into their rooms, unprompted...and just played.

I know that just sounds crazy. You wouldn't think kids would play better with fewer toys. I would have always thought the more toys, the more options to play, the better. Completely opposite from the truth. They are having fun together. They aren't throwing toys for fun. They sit and play. They pretend together. And they do it for longer periods than they ever have before. And this is huge for me because I work from home full-time, so these quiet times are perfect for me to try to hammer out some hours at work. It's been honestly amazing.

Another great result has been how much less I have to do after they play. They played alone in Jack's room for a few hours yesterday, but I had minimal cleanup. I had to put some play food back in the kitchen, pick up some musical instruments...but it took me less than five minutes. Same with the rest of my house. I had to load a half load of dishes, pickup a handful of things in the living room, and boom, I was done. Less than 10 minutes, total. And my house was clean. I woke up to a clean home. I usually would have an actual mountain of toys to clean up in Jack's room alone, which would take me at least a half hour. But last night, I had so much free time that we sat in Jack's room and had a family sing-a-long/dance party...because I wasn't stressed about getting the house to look even moderately picked up.

Guys, it's so good. I can't even explain it to you. I'm trying so hard...but I'm falling short. I can't put all of these good feelings into words. I can't tell you how relieved I feel. I know it probably still sounds crazy, and maybe it is crazy...but it's the best decision I have made in a LONG time.

Time is Money

I used to catch myself thinking about a purchase and thinking "it's ONLY x amount of dollars, which ONLY took me x amount of hours to earn" and it would often lead me to buying the silly random item on clearance at Target. Rugs, shoes, whatever. It was a problem.

I still look at things and think about the money and hours it took me to earn it...but now I have a curved scale on what it's worth in regards to my time. My time is absolutely priceless. I don't get any of it back. Ever. It's gone. So am I going to work for two hours of my LIFE to own another brown pair of boots?? No thanks.

Now, I am not perfect, as discussed in my last blog post. I still shop. But I am better every single day. Every day I have more available time. When I spend less time looking for my water bottle because it's not surrounded by dishes I don't use, less time sorting laundry, reorganizing countless shoes...

After you buy something you don't realize the effort you will likely put into owning it. So much effort that it ends up owning you. (insert Fight Club image here for good measure). You own those shoes. Now you get to find a place for them, decide if you are going to keep the box, care for them, try them on 800 times and probably still go with your tried and true comfortable shoes, feel guilty if you have only worn them once, put them back 30 times a day when your kid tosses them out of the closet, pack them up when you move...etc etc. And that's just one pair of shoes. Think of ALL the stuff you own. Your knick-knacks that you have to dust, holiday decorations that you have to spend an entire day bubble-wrapping and storing every year,  and we can keep going on and on here.

If and when you start the purge process, and you stare at a shirt with the tags still on...and you feel guilt because you never even wore that shirt... so you put it back on the hanger and tell yourself you will wear it the next time the opportunity arrives...just stop. You won't. If you haven't worn it in the 8 months or years since you bought it, you likely won't wear it now. Let it go. Don't spend time staring at it today. And don't pick it up on your next night out, try it on, still hate it, throw it on your bed and have to rehang it when you get home...and continue to beat yourself up by its presence. That money is gone. Your time is more valuable.

And when it comes time to just let it go, feel free to have a garage sale or take it to a consignment store, or if it's (still) valuable, sell it online. But also be realistic about it. If you know it will fetch you $1 at your garage sale, along with other 50 cent items...maybe re-evaluate if that is how you want to spend your weekend? Haggling with people who offer you 50 cents instead of the dollar you're asking for your new Express tank. It's not worth it. If you feel like it is, then by all means...but just stop and think about it. Your time is worth more than all the money that your closet could get you in a garage sale.

When staring at this stuff, don't think about it as a waste if you learned from it. It's only a complete waste if you do it again next week on another identical shirt. Don't make the same mistakes, don't waste more of your time and hard-earned money. Learn from it and say goodbye.

Decide what your time is worth. Because I can promise you it will change the way you look at how you spend it. The next time you are polishing a vase...ask yourself if you would rather be playing with your kids/dog/cat? These things can weigh you down and you may not even realize it yet. Things can hold you back. Things can rob you of your life. I know that kinda sounds absurd...but I hope that it at least gets you thinking about it.

Capsule Wardrobe

Hey y'all! I'm baaaaaack!

I took a little break from the Facebook world, but I am back and ready to talk about some changes that I have kept making (and some setbacks!)

I have done overall very well with getting rid of excess stuff in our house as well as not adding more to it. I can honestly say that I have made HUGE progress with not purchasing clothing for my children, I don't think I have bought them anything since I started this journey (other than some pajamas that were needed or a hat that my daughter wouldn't leave Target without! haha) But I have had zero giant online purchases on things that were "just a good deal." And if you know me, that is awesome because buying them clothing/accessories was one of my favorite "hobbies" HA!

Now, me on other hand, I have been losing some weight and I was very excited to go down (a few!) sizes in clothing and I did maaaaaybeeeee buy more than I technically needed. I was just excited about how I looked in clothing and it made a lot of things hard to turn down. I will say that I am still WAY better with that also. I used to buy pretty much anything if it was cheap, now I actually look at it, and really think about it...and I would say about 90% of the time I still put it back.

Most of my damage was done on swimsuits, VS is discontinuing their line and had some incredible deals...and I was very excited for a vacation with Cory in Cancun...aaaand the thought of wearing a TWO piece just made my wallet basically empty itself! I bought more than I needed, I see that now, but I honestly have no regrets. It kept me excited to get up in the morning and keep working out, so I don't regret any of it!

I will also admit that I might have been sucked into a promo to get a free tote bag, which I told myself I would never do...but it is fab and I don't regret that either!

Okay, so, about this capsule wardrobe... I have talked to Cory about this a few times and I was honestly just scared to try it. Which is completely silly when you think about it...it's just shirts! haha. But I really want to give this a shot and I am hoping it will not only make my life easier, but also kind of reel me back in with my shopping. I am hoping that it will show me that I have everything I need and there really isn't any other tank tops that will "make my wardrobe complete" (I will definitely have to stay off Pinterest this fall though, AMIRIGHT?)

The idea is to keep it to 33 items (not including things like socks, underwear, etc) And I will definitely be tweaking it...because I workout six times a week, so I have a TON of exercise clothing (tanks, yoga pants, sports bras) and they all get a lot of use, so I won't be changing that *too* much just yet. But I realized I was holding onto some business casual items that I really just have no use for anymore...I work from home, and I wear my workout clothing while I work (another reason why I use it all so much...oh and I go to Target in them too!)

So a lot of things needed to go. I realized how many repeats of shirts I had, even after my HUGE purge in May. Lots of sweaters or tops that were close enough in style/print that I just didn't need them both. And I managed to STILL have two black blazers, which is just silly since I wear graphic tanks 8 days a week.

I also packed up anything that was too big, no matter how much I love it still. I know I won't reach for anything that is too loose. Also had the mindset to get rid of a lot of things I considered to be sentimental back in May. I just didn't see it the same way this time around! Purged around 50 items...and it only took me a few minutes.

So. Many. S T R I P E D. Tops.

I realize the pictures may not  look too different, but I promise there is way more space in there. The bottom is all workout clothing. Top is all of my dresses, rompers, tops, light jackets, etc.

I feel like I did pretty well, but I know that with a little more time and confidence with a smaller wardrobe, I will be able to purge again easily. I am getting closer and closer to where I want to be. Baby steps, folks!!


Thanks for reading! I hope to show even more improvement soon.
I'll leave you guys with some blog posts that I enjoyed about wardrobe reduction:
http://bemorewithless.com/how-to-build-a-capsule-wardrobe/
http://theeverygirl.com/how-to-create-a-capsule-wardrobe