Overcome by Clutter: Action Plan

I've written about our efforts to become more minimalist in the past, so I also feel I should share when it's just not working out. Like now. OK. So, we were doing well several years ago, but I noticed the creeping of stuff started after Eloise was born. I think it was a mix of getting an influx of baby items and putting my guard down. It's an excuse, yes, but it's harder to stay on top of things with a baby/toddler around AND sometimes there's stress. And as much as I'd like to say it isn't true, I do still have stress-shopping tendencies.

We're all works in progress, right?

Anyway, as I sit in our basement playroom, I'm a bit disgusted. We have all these beautiful new and old toys strewn about. Many of them aren't getting good use. Instead of appreciating them, I'm incredibly annoyed at the moment. They're a giant source of stress for the adults and kids alike. Stress for me and Stephen because of constant pickup. Stress for the kids because there is so much, they're overwhelmed, hopping from thing to thing.

I woke up wanting to throw everything in the garbage. So, before I do something crazy, I decided to write this post. Thing is, I don't even know where to begin. The main level of our home is relatively tidy most of the time. Not ever when I hop onto Instagram for some reason, so that's a fairly true representation of what annoys me. It's nothing a half hour of picking up can't fix, though. The second level where we sleep? Yikes. It was clean before Christmas. Laundry abounds from all corners now, along with some Christmas items that never found proper places to live. And, of course, the basement is an absolute wreck.

Minimalism is about a lot more than just a clean house, and I think that's one area where we've strayed. Now, I also want to explain that I've always been more of a wannabe minimalist. We, as a family, are getting there. We're slowly arriving at a point where we're accepting the core principles of living with less excess and embracing those things with purpose. Anyone who's done it will tell you it takes time, and there will be back-sliding.

All of this is to say that today I have written up a short to-do list that I'm hoping will help get us back on the right track. And, at least at first, this mostly means clearing some stuff out so I can think. So we can ALL think.

• Donate/get rid of one bag of my own clothing. Re-create a capsule wardrobe for winter. 
• Have Stephen donate/get rid of a bag of his own clothing.
• Weed through Ada's and Eloise's clothing to store away anything that no longer fits them/is damaged/etc. or donate.
• Go through basement toys and pack away/donate at least one box of items that are no longer used or are damaged/missing pieces/etc.
• Reevaluate all toys and books in the living room. This is our most annoying area of clutter where Eloise's just grabs and throws things all over. We may temporarily eliminate toys in this space because it's getting to be too much at the present moment.
• Go through all mail and recycle/trash what isn't needed.
• Weed through kitchen drawers and donate/get rid of random cutlery, cups, appliances, etc. we're either not using or that's broken/missing pieces/etc.
• Identify a better storage area. We don't have many bins of storage, but keeping them in the garage isn't working out.
• Gather up a box of "maybe" miscellaneous things and put them away for a month or so to see if we actually need/want them to stay in our lives.

I'm hoping these activities will only take an hour or so, and I'm also hoping I can update you on my progress next week.

More Minimalism:

Eliminating the Maybe
7 Clutter Categories
Cleaning Week Snapshots
Wannabe Minimalists
Five Things I No Longer Buy

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Keeping the Momentum

As I drove myself to yoga last night in spitting snow and great whooshes of wind, I felt . . . tired. The walk from my car to the studio was a blustery one. We're having wind chills down in the -20 to -30 range today -- damn cold and unpleasant. It was also cloudy, grey, and already getting dark at 4:30. It was one of those times when I just didn't feel like doing what I was doing.

A true motivation slump only four days deep into the new year.

There are times when I wonder if I'm just not a terribly motivated person. I'm surrounded by men and women who are achieving greatness, if I want to get all Grey's Anatomy for a moment. I consider myself quite ordinary. There are people all around me who are doing truly extraordinary things. Things at their jobs. Things with their families. Things within the local community and, yes, even in the world. Heck, they're even doing incredible things at the gym or on the roads (ultra-marathon friends, how do you do it?).

Some of them seem to be doing it all at once, too.

And then there's me.
I feel spent a lot of the time.
I also feel I don't do that terribly much.
Am I lacking in some way?

I kept my foot cautiously hovering over the breaks as I made my way across town on the slop-covered roads. If an old friend of mine can perform an important surgery or diagnose a disease on the daily (many high school and college "friends" are doctors) . . . surely I can muster the courage to go to an hour-long yoga class. Surely.

I did; it felt good.

Where am I going with this?

I suppose it's all relative. The whole of life. What I do today may seem insurmountable to others just as what others do seems absolutely mind-blowing to me. I do think a lot of it boils down to momentum. Once you get going at a certain pace, it's the trick of maintaining it. It's having the endurance to continue on at whatever level you find yourself attaining. I think about my running "career". There are times when I've run fast and long with ease. Other times, it's been a crawl and struggle to . . . lace my shoes. The cycles change with the seasons of my life and my own goals and desires and external forces.

I'm resisting the pull to hibernate right now. In both my body and mind. Writing has felt good. While I do a great deal of writing for my freelance job (I'm in the middle of an article right now . . . but I needed a break), I haven't done much personal writing in years. When I had Writing Chapter Three, I'd regularly share essay-style posts about motherhood. Maybe I'll return to that.

The momentum I kept up back then also encouraged me to seek more opportunities. I'm trying to hop on that train now, as I took the first step in a project I've been planning for years yesterday. More on that when I finally get the time to do more. Whenever that is. You see, we all achieve greatness in our own ways, whether through larger or small victories. I truly believe that.

Anyway, consider this a gentle prod before the weekend to keep at doing whatever you're up to that's bringing you joy or fulfillment. The momentum is the hardest part, but -- yes -- you can do it. Take a walk break if your goal is to run a bit farther. Take a mental break if you're trying to accomplish something a bit more cerebral. And try your best not to compare yourself to others.

Remember, friends: It's all relative.

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2018 // Micro-blogging in January

Happy New Year, everyone! I kicked off 2018 by getting 10 hours of sleep for the first time in . . . a really, really long time. I'm also headed to yoga this morning. A real class, not YouTube in the basement (though that's great, too!). Hmm. This photo is nearly 10 years old. Do you remember my 10-year rewind post? It's a goodie.

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know one of my big pushes in 2018 is to take a break from social media (Instagram and Facebook, specifically). I know lots of people are doing that, so it's nothing novel or particularly interesting. My goal isn't to get rid of Instagram in the long run (I love the community there. Facebook is another story -- and I've gone back to the evil side after quitting for a few months last year) . . . but I feel like Instagram has been stealing my blogging mojo and time I have to put toward other things in my life.

There really wasn't such intense social media back when I started blogging. It was write, write, write . . . maybe share some photos on Foodgawker or SeriousEats, and then just think of more content. The "good" bloggers have found a way to do it all -- even after having kids. I, personally, don't want to turn my life into a business. Or at least I'm no good at it. I need to turn off. To unwind. And I think I'd rather share my thoughts diary-style than try to market and monetize my lifestyle.

So, I've decided instead of sharing content on my social media platform, I'd like to dig back into blogging. I'll have the time if I'm not scrolling through feed after feed. What is a micro-blog? I don't know technically. But for me, it just means I'll only spend a maximum of like 5-10 minutes writing a post on something very focused. Today's post is simply to share my intentions, and then I'll dive in with some more interesting tidbits in the coming days -- my actual 2018 goals, what's up in our house, my pantry cleaning project, why I'm going to yoga 3 times a week, how TTC is going, etc.

Alright. For January (at least) . . . I'll only be logging on to Instagram for a bit (20 minutes?) each Monday. I'll share a collage of the week's blog posts and also hop onto stories to share a quick face-to-face "what's up" sort of video. Otherwise, please check back Monday through Friday here on neverhomemaker.

Stay warm. Be happy. Achieve your goals. And thanks so much for reading. I am excited to get back into a true rhythm, and I think I've finally figured out how to carve out the time.

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Blog Love: January 2010 -- Share your blog on (never home)maker

Well the sunshine is gone and the temps are chilly, but it isn't all bad news. In fact, it's that time again!!! Time for BLOG LOVE. Last month's was a great start -- if you want to check it out, here's the December Blog Love page. Basically, blog love here on (never home)maker is a way to get a quality reading list for the month. And I'm smitten with it.

Want to participate? Here's how . . . (and PS: if you added your blog last month -- feel MORE than free to add it again!)

Just click below to enter your NAME, BLOG NAME, and BLOG ADDRESS (or website, or Flickr account, whatever web-way your express yourself -- note: adult & inappropriate sites will be removed), and it'll be shared on this post for all those other (never home)makers to see. Also: If you're reading this post from your favorite feed reader, you'll need to hop onto neverhomemaker.blogspot.com -- the list won't show up unless you're on the site.

It's that easy! So, don't be shy! Share away . . . and if you've got friends who blog, send 'em this way. My goal is to get together a nice list for everyone to check out during this chilly month.

Pssst: You have until January 10th, then the list is closed until the next Blog Love Fest in February.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever <3

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