The readers of the Simple Saturdays email will often email to share something they have appreciated in the emails or a way that simplifying is helping them.

Leisell is one woman who sent me a long letter of how her life had been changed by starting the decluttering process.

When I followed up with her in later months she shared how decluttering her home had moved into something deeper and more meaningful for her life. I asked her to put her emails together into a post that could be shared here to offer you encouragement. 

Thank you for taking the time to put your heart and story into words Leisell.

I love to hear how minimalism is changing lives and helping other moms make space for the life that matters. 

 

Making Space For the Life That Matters

I was asked to Guest Post. What an honor. To be honest I wasn’t sure what that would even look like, or how to go about it.  I’ve never been asked to do something that felt so ….well…out of my “comfort zone”. So here it goes, I’m posting away…

I hope you can find SOMETHING that makes some kind of sense.

First, I’m Leisell. I’m a 48-year-old mother of three. Step-mom to two. All are grown but our 6-year-old. Yea, we’re nuts. A 20-year span between my oldest to my youngest. I’m also a Wife, an Artist, and a collector of Boots, clothes, jewelry and whatever AMAZING and ODD home decor I can find. OR make.

I’m a bit late to this party…Seems I’ve been HOARDING things while all this ‘Hygge and Simplifying’ has been going on…apparently, I don’t pay as close attention to trends as I had thought. Bummer.

As a Graphic Designer, I pride myself on keeping up with current trends, color, textures…But it had gotten to a place where I was feeling suffocated and I wasn’t happy. Or fun to be around.

More things mean more time to take care of them. Wash them or put them away.

Every night I was feeling overwhelmed. I could not keep up.

I thought more stuff was supposed to mean ‘Comfy and Cozy’. So I kept collecting and making more and more, when in fact I was just creating distractions.

I’m a very frugal shopper and I always look for bargains. But when you are basically stockpiling ”things” it can get costly. So although I wasn’t spending a ton of cash, my money can be better spent on more important things, like adventures, vacations, family outings. Memories, not things. (I have to tell myself that daily, it’s not always easy)

I stumbled upon Simple on Purpose and it all kinda clicked and came together. Maybe I needed to breathe and just sit in the simplicity of life for a while.

My journey started about a year ago with my daughter’s room of total and EPIC chaos…I had ignored it for SO long it was at capacity. 
She was six and was about to start 1st grade..she deserved a new clean orderly place to rest and play and be six.
At this point I also realized she wasn’t even playing in her room, she couldn’t, the floor was wall to wall stuff. If I was feeling overwhelmed, what was SHE feeling?

I took out all the toys that were too young for her, and I had held on to for sentimental purposes.
I bought containers for all her Art Supplies and placed them all in their own space on a shelf above her desk.  I rearranged the room so that we were using space wisely.  We found a good flow to the room and it just feels better.  AND more importantly she plays in her room now..that makes me happy. She has a space. 

After that, I moved to the closets. Now I can open the closet and my vacuum doesn’t fall on top of my body!! Who KNEW?!

Then onto the kitchen. Things started to feel lighter. Fresher. Almost like the air felt clean and clear. I wasn’t digging through cabinets and drawers to find something, I actually knew
where things were. Instead of thinking about what I NEEDED (or wanted) I was thinking of how I can better spend time. 

Since then I’ve made various progress here and there…although my room has still to be tackled. 

Overall the process has been great. I’m able to keep up so much better with cleaning and feel like my time is MINE. What little I have. 

I’m not saying that things still don’t get crazy and cluttered..but its 90% better than it was. And it’s SO much easier to keep up.  My daughter’s room is STILL a disaster most days, but it only takes us a few minutes to straighten up now that everything has a home.

The simplifying idea has sparked a few other changes for me (us).

My husband was recently diagnosed with Prostate Cancer..low grade and not aggressive, so although a terrifying experience for us, we have the best possible outcome. And we’re feeling good about our future and the choices we need to make. We are only 48. With a six-year-old and four grown children from previous marriages. This is not remotely what we thought we would be facing at this age or stage of our lives.

This has had a profound effect on what’s important to me.

Closets overflowing with crap…the newest trend in fashion and home decor…just isn’t it!! I really want our lives to be LIVED not smothered by all this stuff. And I want us to really be able to just focus on US.  And feel a sense of peace. 

I’ve also been researching Sustainable Living and have implemented, what I like to call, Phase ONE GO GREEN (fists raised) Just cleaning up some daily things we use: lotion, soap, laundry detergent, cleaning products, and getting rid of some chemicals in our lives and helping this Planet. 

I truly believe clutter can bring a great deal of distraction to our lives and we just can’t see what’s really in front of us, what truly makes a difference in the quality and enjoyment of the authentic life we need to lead.

I’m by no means done. My life is still hectic and chatioc at times.  I’ve still got work to do. And I probably always will.  But I’m making an effort. I’m a work in progress.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Peace and Love