Simple on Purpose | Intentional Living and Parenting

Whether your vision is to be the hangout spot on the block, or a place your kids still come to visit after moving out, small changes can be made to create a cozy, comfortable, and welcoming home for the quickly growing and ever-changing family.   Products recommended here may include referral links to Amazon. If you click through and buy something I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.    In this episode I discuss:  Having a vision for the kind of home you want to have Creating a peaceful house is not just simplifying and decluttering  Ep 69. Will a Simpler Home Bring Me Peace? Creating spaces in your home to foster certain activities and atmospheres for your family and friends  What makes kids think that a house is a good place to hang out at  Getting your kids to still hang out with you as they grow up and creating spaces that foster that connection Hygge and how to add this to your home  Three ways to bring hygge into your daily life 30 ways to hygge when it is cold outside Hygge vs minimalism    All the fun links you might enjoy  The Simple Christmas Planner Simple pleasures: Puzzles (side-by-side activities) Mom on Purpose Be the mom you are: how this one list can empower you to be the mom you are Ep 166. How to find confidence in being the mom you are Setting your Values and Vision The Life on Purpose Workbook The Live your Vision worksheets The Live your Values worksheets  The Perfect Moments Project Emotional Intelligence, for Moms (the podcast playlist) Ep 162. Hard and Awesome FULL TRANSCRIPT (unedited) 0:09 Hey friends, welcome to the simple on purpose podcast. Around here we talk about all the ways all the ideas, all the mindsets and approaches that you can take to simplify your life, your home and your heart, kind of the inner experience as well, and show up for your life on purpose. So I am Shawna, if you are new here, and I am a mom of three kids, my kids are 11,10 and eight. And over the years, you guys have termed me to be your nerdy girlfriend. That's a nickname given to me in the simple Saturdays, email. So I proudly wear that name as a badge of honor. I am your nerdy girlfriend, your counselor and your life coach. And hey, I'm in small town, Canada. So here we are preparing for the winter, as fall is going to be wrapping up soon. And winter, hey, I did some Christmas shopping on my lunch break today, ordered some things and I want to make sure they get here in time. So I'm gonna put that out there. It's kind of like those reminders, go pull me out of the freezer for dinner,

Planning the day can be an overwhelming chore that you are constantly behind in. Sticking to that plan can be frustrating and seem impossible. I want to share a few ways that I keep myself on track and having a proactive day, rather than a reactive day.    Products recommended here may include referral links to Amazon. If you click through and buy something I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.    In this episode I discuss:  The crafty form of planning, bullet journaling  How to get started bullet journalling  The three planners that I found worked the best  Moleskin Weekly Planner Passion Planner Ban.Do Planner  The crown jewel of planning apps, Google Calendar, and how I use it to plan effectively  How to organize and use your To-Do list to check things off How I prioritize my To-Do list, shiting from a should-do to a could-do mindset  Planning a proactive day rather than having a reactive day, especially with chores Cognitive distortions and how to get out of that All-or-nothing thinking  Meal prepping    All the fun links you might enjoy    How to get started bullet journalling  Planning the day for moms The freedom you can gain from planning your day Procrastination tips for moms Does your to-do list overwhelm you? Do you trust yourself to show up for you?  How to move from ambivalent to ambitious    Sign up for Simple Saturdays email (a fun email, twice a month)     TRANSCRIPT (unedited) 0:09 Hello friends welcome back to the simple on purpose podcast. My name is Shawna, you guys know me as your nerdy girlfriend and life coach and counselor. And if you are new here, if you found the podcast over the summer, welcome, I'm so glad you are here. At simple on purpose, we talk about ways to simplify, simplify your home, your heart, your life, and do things on purpose, do life on purpose, turn off the autopilot, turn off the default mode, that we're just living in life reactively to life and letting things happen, like letting life happen at us and moving into an intentional space, being really proactive with who we are, how we want to show up our lives and what we want to get out of our life. So that's the premise of what we talk about here. I'm really glad you're here. I let you know earlier that I had taken the summer off, I was finishing up my schooling to become a registered professional counselor. And now I'm on the other side of that I've gone through certification, I am working on my supervision hours with my supervisor. And I just really had no idea what I would come back to in terms of what simple on purpose was going to look like. I think I still don't know,

Answering decluttering, simplifying and momlife questions that were sent in through the Simple on Purpose community group. Covering topics including organization, procrastination, decluttering kids' clothes, showing up well for momlife.  Make sure to check out the show notes for more related links on these questions     Questions that were sent in: * I'm reworking a room in our house soon to be an office/media room and trying to figure out a system for office supplies, books, devices, charging cables etc. It wants to turn into a catch-all space... If you have any thoughts on that? Thanks! * What Pinterest Doesn’t Tell You About Home Organization * 5 common mistakes moms make when organizing their homes, and what to do about it (+ cheatsheet of 5 more) * 157. How I tackled decluttering my office and kids craft drawers + how I handle the resistance to decluttering * The old basement home office * Adding a desk to my (upstairs) home office * Tips for vehicle/trunk organization * Considering a bin/bag system * Simplifying kid's shoes * A question to start with to know what next steps you need * Seasonal declutter: * Keeping track of what is in storage * Do you have any on simplifying kids' clothes? (big, wearing, grew out of) * Decluttering with Kids Guide * I’m moving in the next few months and have been working on all the decluttering and packing etc. I have 2 kids under 5. What I notice is that I have a hard time getting started on the jobs involved until the last minute when there is a big push and looming deadline. I’d love to work on a more peaceful and gradual approach to get it all done *  How I found myself procrastinating this morning * Questions to ask yourself when doing self-inquiry into your own procrastination * 153. How to move from ambivalent to ambitious (making change takes more than just willpower) * 154. What to do now that you are motivated (simplify getting started) * 135. Procrastination tips for moms

How do we teach our kids contentment? I want to unpack this question from all angles. From why it is hard for us as parents, how we teach them reactively vs on purpose, where the emotion of contentment comes from, the purpose of discontentment and growing our tolerance of discontentment.      Products recommended here may include referral links to Amazon. If you click through and buy something I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.  Topics covered in this episode: * The difference between being happy vs being content * Happiness as a parenting goal can be very defeating and maybe even counterproductive * Should happy kids be our parenting goal * Recognizing that we live in a culture that is obsessed with happiness * The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris  * 66. Are you stuck in the hustle for happiness? Finding contentment in momlife * Teaching our kids contentment, how we do it reactively and without intention * Pretending you're happy * Parenting Book: Review for Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child * 120. Teaching our kids emotional intelligence * Guilt and deprivation * The ‘not-enough’ mindset (how to spot a scarcity mindset and shift it to an abundance mindset) * Consider how we learn contentment in our own lives  * How to really start showing up for your life * How To Find Your Enneagram Type (and how it has changed my life) * Hard and awesome (from Think The Best of Me) * 140. Give your discomfort a purpose #uncomfortableonpurpose * 115. A Controlling mom, or a capable mom? * Finding Joy In Your Every Day (#theperfectmomentsproject) * ...

Being a mom on purpose means stepping into your strengths as well as stepping into your struggles.  This means letting go of perfectionism and the chase to be the ideal mom and have the ideal kids.    Products recommended here may include referral links to Amazon. If you click through and buy something I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.  This episode covers: * What is conscious parenting * Parenting on auto-pilot, why we do it and how it is different from mindful parenting * When our kids are difficult we try to 'out-difficult' them, and what we can do instead * How conscious parenting challenges our western parenting culture and how many of us were raised * Quote from Dr. Sheflai * Unless we address why we can’t embrace our children for precisely who they are, we will forever either seek to mold, control, and dominate them—or we will allow ourselves to be dominated by them.Tsabary, Dr. Shefali. The Conscious Parent (p. 54). Namaste Publishing Inc.. Kindle Edition. * How our kid's struggles bring us face to face with our own struggles * When our kids aren't easy, they are challenging the things we have conditioned ourselves to be uncomfortable with * Letting go of the notion that we are meant to be perfect parents * The messy relationships and the struggle matter as much as the peace we crave * Hard doesn't mean you are doing it wrong, it often simply means you are doing it   Related links and episodes mentioned 53. Change your motherhood experience by changing how you make memories The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali The key elements of Conscious Parenting Never Say No by Jan and Mark Foreman Three Books That Changed My Mothering Sign up for Simple Saturdays email (a fun email, twice a month) Join me on Instagram      Full transcript (unedited) 0:07 Hey friends welcome to simple purpose. I'm here to girlfriend Shawna. And this is a follow up episode to episode 166. So I encourage you to stop by and listen to that one versus 13 minutes pretty quick. In that one, we talked about understanding that you can be a mom on purpose because you were made on purpose. It's not a checklist you have to make. It's something that's already inside of you everything you bring into motherhood, your strengths, your struggles, they all matter. They all help your family and you learn and grow together. And I think we can hyper focus on giving our kids this idyllic childhood, I think we can get caught up in all of the Pinterest requirements on how childhood has to look. But the motherhood experience matters just as much it matters. Motherhood matters as much to us as childhood matters to our kids. So our experience matters. This is important. If you want to dig in a little bit into that, check out episode 53 Change your motherhood experience by changing how you make memories. I'll link that in the show notes.

Motherhood is a journey and there are stepping stones along the way of things we learn. I want to share a few of my stepping stones with you. They are around parenting from our own strengths, rather than focussing on what we are doing wrong. I want to share a few ways you can find confidence within yourself rather than from comparison and external validation.      In this episode I talk about: * the Perfect Mom Checklist * Making your own list for motherhood * Where to start when you want to do motherhood, on purpose * Parenting from checklists and comparison and how can create pride or shame * Where we try to find shortcuts to confidence * Where we can truly find confidence * Finding connection and fun in motherhood   Related links and episodes mentioned: 162. Think the best of me, or not. Allowing the hard and awesome in ourselves and in our lives. How this one list can empower you to be the mom you are The ‘not-enough’ mindset (how to spot a scarcity mindset and shift it to an abundance mindset) 76. Why it matters what you think (limiting mindsets in motherhood) 163. Have fun with your kids, on purpose + reasons we don’t have fun The Mom, on Purpose podcast playlist     Full transcript (unedited) 0:00  This is a place where we just stop for a minute we slow down and we talk about the ways that we can simplify our lives, remove the distractions, remove the clutter, and start living on purpose with intention shutting off that autopilot. Today I want to talk about doing this in motherhood being a mom on purpose, something that's helped me is to think about motherhood as a journey. So I have three kids, they are 11. One's going to be 10 Soon, and one's going to be eight soon. And so I like to think about the journey I've been on over the past 11 years. For me, it really has been a journey where I started off clueless, I mean, my son, my firstborn son, was the first newborn I ever held. I also started off worried, which was my nature, but that I think that's something you bring into motherhood, you're worried about everything you don't know up against everything you're dealing with. And along the way, you learn. You listen, you try, you adjust, you wait, you learn, you learn what the different color poops mean, you learn how to set schedules and rules. You learn how to find peace, when everything is making you anxious. And you learn how to sit through the hard parts. Rather, rather than just scrambling to fix everything all the time you learn your way you learn the journey. And it really is a journey nobody can take for you. I think we're all looking to other people for the solution for the path.

Spring cleaning had me feeling a mental urgency at ALL THE THINGS I needed to get cleaned in my home. I am sharing how I am approaching that overwhelm. Also sharing how organization and inventory of your stuff can save you money and reduce clutter (starting with the freezer!)     Products recommended here may include referral links to Amazon. If you click through and buy something I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.  The main points covered in this episode * My cleaning goals for last weekend and how I was derailed by spring cleaning mental drama * My spring cleaning list and closet jenga * Operating from a sense of urgency and how it can lead to shame/resent * Paying attention to our thoughts and which thoughts we will 'hop on and run off with' * Cleaning out the freezer * The hidden costs of stockpiling and having all of the options on hand, scarcity  minset  * How to do a food inventory (and save money on groceries!) * Organizing things in a way that makes them accessible and visible  * Doing an inventory of things to prevent you from doubling up by buying more because you don't realize you have it at home   All the fun links you might like 61. How we introduced chores to our kids (Saturday Morning Chores) 60. Doing Chores You Want to Avoid (how I life coached myself to do the dishes) @GOCLEANCO on Instagram A quick video about thought trains by Russ Harris  154. What to do now that you are motivated (simplify getting started) 15 Practical Tips for Moms to GET STUFF DONE 78. Small things that can change your whole life (the compound effect) A post I shared on IG, four years go, about using the notes app to do storage inventory Bitters, I like this peach one by Dillons, the next one I want to try is the Alcohol-Free digestive bitters by Flora   FULL TRANSCRIPT (unedited) Welcome to the simple purpose podcast. Around here, we talk about ways that you can simplify your home, your heaart your life. So you can show up right now in whatever season you're in and show up for it on purpose with intention about what you want, and how you want to act and what you want more of and what you want less of. Today, I want to talk about some recent decluttering and cleaning that I was doing the other weekend. And some realizations I came to while I was doing ...

I was asked to cover this topic in the recent feedback survey. I think it is a great question to ask, and it is one I've ruthlessly searched to the ends of Pinterest to answer, 'how to find balance in motherhood'  In this episode, I will share about the extra demands in my life right now and the ways I am finding balance in a very busy season of life of motherhood, school and work.      Topics covered in this episode: * What we think 'balance' means culturally for women and moms * What I have decided to make it mean for myself  * The power of prioritizing and all the reasons it is hard to prioritize * What I am saying yes to this year * What I am saying no to this year * How I plan out my weeks  * How I protect my priorities and the reality that it doesn't always look or feel lovely * Adjusting things as I go versus having an all or nothing mindset * Owning it and not feeling like a victim of my life Links you might like: Simplify your life series What I Learned While Searching for Balance in Motherhood The Eisenhower Matrix Opportunity costs, talk about this a bit more in How to Define Simple Living for Your Family The Life on Purpose Roadmap How To Plan Your Day As a Mom (3 Simple Steps) @themanwhohasitall 133. 4 simple habits that make my momlife better 137. Back to school routines that we have in our house Family Rhythms 144. How to lighten the mental load of DECISION FATIGUE 150. A new approach to habit change: routine and habit refinement 69. Will a simpler home bring me peace? Working through a bad mood with one simple question   GET CONNECTED Make sure to share your thoughts with us in the

How to have more fun with our kids. It is OK if you feel like you aren't enjoying your kids and if having fun with them is not happening or is hard to do.  There are a lot of reasons why we aren't having fun and I want to talk about those and then share ways to bring fun into your family, on purpose   In this episode we talk about: * The cultural image that makes parenting look fun will be easy and natural. And part of us holds onto this stock photo dream of family fun.  * Is Motherhood What You Envisioned It To Be? * The culture of fun in your family and where people in your family are getting their 'fun' * 9 Simple Ways to Cultivate Your Family Culture * Letting the day build up into a stress mountain vs having small redirects in our day * When Did I Stop Enjoying My Kids? (and my journey back to enjoying them) * 55. Tips to move out of the stress response and into resilience * Distractions from harder emotions vs honouring our emotions and doing something to help us move on * 120. Teaching our kids emotional intelligence * Parenting Book: Review for Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child * Reasons why we aren't having fun with our kids * 162. Think the best of me, or not. Allowing the hard and awesome in ourselves and in our lives. * 76. Why it matters what you think (limiting mindsets in motherhood) * Four steps to manage overwhelm in motherhood * 25. Working through unhappiness in motherhood, life coaching steps for handling a bad day. Bonus Q+A Episode * Making fun when things feel heavy * Making fun happen, on purpose * Making a list * Simple and Easy Kid Activities (mega list of ideas) * some family fun suggestio...

When we want others to think well of us, what is happening is we are buying into the cultural myth that WE are all good, all the time. And then our EGO steps in to defend this truth and make us look good all the time. But this comes at a cost, it disconnects us from others. What if we can allow the not so good parts of ourselves to be seen and accepted? What if people don't HAVE TO to think the best of us? Quieting our ego in our relationships, especially in our marriage.    Products recommended here may include referral links to Amazon. If you click through and buy something I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.  In this episode I discuss: * Assumed judgement versus concrete judgement.  * Assuming what others think about us reflects what we think about ourselves * Differing between the cultural term of EGO from how Freud uses the term EGO * Wanting to believe we are all good, all the time * How the EGO shows up when we feel we are being judged or feel inferior * Should we be happy all of the time?  * 66. Are you stuck in the hustle for happiness? Finding contentment in momlife * The cultural message that we are all awesome, all the time! * Acknowledging that we are not good all the time and how that can free us and improve our relationships * The problem with teaching our kids there are 'good guys and bad guys' * The role of serotonin in feeling superior and special  * Tame your Anxiety by Loretta Breuning, PhD * Habits of a Happy Brain by Loretta Breuning, PhD * Differentiating between wanting our friends to think well of us or wanting to be socially superior * Making change from a place of shame/inferiority * What does it mean if we are NOT 100% good or 100% bad * How it can improve our relationships  * Acknowledging our good without minimizing it and taking ourselves off the hook to perform * Validating ourselves rather than looking for validation from others.  * Acknowledging what is 'good' and 'bad' in our partner and allowing it to bring ease rather than a fight * The Hard and Awesome Game we play with our kids and how it de-stigmatizes 'hard things' and also celebrates 'awesome things'. * Letting go of the expectation that the whole day has to be good and awesome and allowing the hard parts of our day to not take over Stop by Instagram for some fun conversations there    Full transcript (unedited) 0:00 Hey friends, I'm Shawna, your nerdy girlfriend. Welcome to the simple on purpose podcast. This is the podcast where I remind you to stop, slow down, 0:14 breathe. Like really take a deep breath. Let's just slow down. Because I want you to stop where you are. So you can pay attention. what's working, what's not? 0:28 What will bring you a sense of purpose today. So I'm Shanna, you know, me as your nerdy girlfriend. I have been coaching women since 2018. And I am a counselor in training working on my certification. I'm also a mom of three kids, my kids, how old are they now, my oldest just turned 11. My middle is nine and my youngest is seven. So I am just here going through the motions of motherhood and marri...

Ever wonder if decluttering will be worth your time? Does minimalism really matter much? This question was asked in a recent survey I held and I thought it was so valuable. Because we all want to know that going through the work of decluttering will be worth it. Sometimes we need to hear about the benefits to help motivate us to start and move forward with the work of simplifying.  I'll share my own decluttering story as well as the benefits I see from in, after being 7-8 years in.  Why having less matters, is a topic that was suggested in the 2022 Feedback Survey. Make sure you give your feedback if you haven't done so yet.  Products recommended here may include referral links to Amazon. If you click through and buy something I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.    Collect memories, not things  Starting out with my pitch to celebrate with your people, and make memories together when the opportunity comes your way. Take the chance! * Why You Should Date Your Friends * Giving Experiences Instead of Gifts   A bit about my decluttering journey.  It started with the book The Joy of Less, by Francine Jay. This book prompted me to start decluttering the Basement of Shame.  This was the big declutter I started with and since then, decluttering has been a routine in my life   The benefits of having less * Clearer space * We know there is a scientific correlation between your mental state and clutter * What Clutter Do You Tolerate? (Bust Your Tolerations Workbook) * Being able to USE your space for what you want * The 16 ways minimalism has changed my life * How it makes our space easier to clean, but also #welivehere * More mindful * More mindful of how I shop * 141. When shopping isn’t making your life better (mindful and minimalist tips for shopping) * Five Ways We Justify Needless Shopping * The mindset is not about consumption anymore * The Habit of Consumption

This is a continuation of the insights we had in the #moms30for30 challenge, where we wore 30 items of clothes for 30 days.   This challenge was a way for us to shop our closets, wear clothing items we never wear (cause we always stick with familiar, right!?), put together outfits, and get dressed each day.    In this episode we cover: * The power of visual data aka taking dorky outfit selfies * How getting dressed can be a keystone habit that has a ripple effect in other areas of your life * Paying attention to how you FEEL when you get dressed   * The personal goal I gave myself for this challenge versus the goal I have had in past challenges * Can comfort and style co-exist (for the under 60 crowd?) * How taking the time to observe and edit your wardrobe can make getting dressed simple and easy * Same clothes but different looks, using accessories and the rule of three * The breakdown of my numbers in doing this challenge  * 22 items for 26 days * 7 Pairs of pants (3 jeans, 1 black jean, 1 jogger) * 17 Tops * 7 blouses * 3 sweaters * 3 tees *  4 cardigans * (Head over to the previous episode post to see the photos of my outfits) * Building a capsule wardrobe is not about having all of the options. It is more about having a handful of great items that you love * My encouragement to empower you in dressing how YOU want Products recommended here may include referral links to Amazon. If you click through and buy something I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.    Simple Pleasure Is a handheld fabric steamer.   I bought mine last year and have used it for things like drapes and curtains, thrifted items, and most of my shirts.  It is easy and fast to use and the satisfaction of seeing those wrinkles and creases steamed out is making this my simple pleasure! This is the one I use.    Mentioned and related links: * Join the Facebook group, if you are ready to participate in the community!  * The realization I had when I saw the Instagram feed of me instead of being pics of my kids When I Instagrammed My Own Life, and Not My Kids * The emotional shopping I was doing last fall 141. When shopping isn’t making your life better (mindful and minimalist tips for shopping)  * The rule of three Simple Style Tips for Moms * The 2022 Feedback Survey! I wonder about what you think, so I am going to ask you here and hope you will share your thoughts. 

In this episode, we are recapping the moms30for30 capsule wardrobe challenge. I will be sharing the insights I have learned and the ones shared by the ladies who joined in this round.  Listen to this if you are curious about a capsule wardrobe, simplifying your closet, being more intentional with clothes shopping, being mindful about how trends impact you and finding your personal style, and if you have struggled with the notion of being a mom who gets dressed each day.      What is the moms30for30? This is a 30for30 challenge in which we wear 30 items of clothes for 30 days (or pretty darn close!)   Why I love to do the 30for30 challenge: It has helped me do things like learn to put outfits together, get to know my style better, interview my closet so I can declutter things that don’t belong, and get dressed each day.  If you want to read about the past challenges I have done over the year head to this page.  This challenge has helped me really challenge a lot of discomfort I have had about being 'too much' and having a limiting identity of 'who I am/who I am not'. Challenges put us in a situation where we are challenging ourselves....getting uncomfortable! And also, getting some consistent data and increasing our awareness of what the experience is like for us.  We have so much to learn from doing a challenge vs trying a behaviour or action for a day or two.    Insights we (myself and those ladies who joined in!) had around wearing 30 items of clothes for 30 days! Listen to hear more about each of these points: * Getting dressed in our favourite items vs always wearing the familiar items * Some questions to ask yourself to help you understand if you are going for favourite or familiar  * The benefits of wearing your favourites * The burden of keeping 'backups' * A simple exercise to help you determine your favourites * Understanding why we shop * How fast fashion impacts our ability to determine our own personal style * Noticing feelings of insecurity and scarcity we have when we think about buying more clothes * How we handle these feelings of insecurity and the two outcomes it can give us * My new shopping mantra that I have adopted that has helped me shop very mindfully * Taking pride in ourselves vs the vanity of focussing on our outward appearance * There is a common sentiment that being a mom who focusses on her own appearance can be a self-focussed or vain situation * The filter through which we make assumptions about others being vain or being empowered * How to determine what is acceptable for you and understanding healthy pride vs vanity Related and Mentioned Links * Thanks to those who have filled out the 2022 Feedback survey, if you are up for sharing your feedback please do so here * The intro episode into this year's 30for30 and my aha moment around what was in my closet

Hi friends, welcome to an MVP episode. These are episodes I have shared over the years that I have had feedback on that they have been particularly helpful. I am sharing these for those who missed them the first time around and for those who want a refresher.  This MVP episode is all about the labels we give our kids and how it changes us and them.      In this episode we talk about: * What is a typecast * How we are labelling our kids, and might not even realize it * How we parent according to this label and enforce our own confirmation bias * How it changes our child's self-concept and can become a self-fulfilling prophecy * What to do about labelling our kids    Links mentioned in this episode: the 2022 Feedback Survey  book a free mini-session Personality isn’t Permanent by Benjamin Hardy episode 49 on having a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset Episode 76: Why it matters what you think

This past week I decluttered a few spaces in the home, the kitchen craft drawers and the office closet.  These are areas that had become unruly with stuff and clutter. They have been on my list to declutter as we need to start clearing out our kitchen and dining area to prepare for an upcoming kitchen reno.    In this episode I share: * How decluttering one space can require decluttering of another space where storage is interrelated * How I have been slowly reducing the storage in my kitchen over the years * The craft drawers in the kitchen and the maintenance they have required of me * What junk I am finding in my office and my craft drawers * How I declutter these areas (steps I take to tackle it) * What I have learned over years of decluttering my spaces * How I have resistance to decluttering and how I pep talk myself into getting the decluttering done   Photos of the spaces and decluttering process Before we moved in, this was the wall between the kitchen area and the living area   The kitchen, before decluttering (2014/2015)   The wall of pantry storage in the kitchen, before decluttering   Our current kitchen (2021/2022)   Decluttering the craft drawers (and sorting into piles as I go)   Emptied the craft dresser in the kitchen! Only the top supplies made the cut, to be stored in the office closet   The required humble brag memes to let my husband know I will be buying myself a tiny trophy* for my efforts (*probably in the form of aged white cheddar)   How the office closet was holding up.... (and if you spy that White Jesus art there, it is a completed puzzle that someone framed- I know, I have questions too. But I brought it home so I could use the frame)   Totally emptied out the closet so my husband could build the shelves. It is amazing how much was crammed into that space!   Real-life organization that doesn't look cute, but works for us   Related links on decluttering and managing 'stuff' in your family Episode 11. Are we TOO comfortable? + Do we need so much pantry space? Episode 2. Decluttering the kitchen, meal planning book, capsule wardrobes and the currently list. Decluttering our home (on instagram stories) Setting a vision for our kitchen helped me to declutter it over the years Episode 65. When your kids don’t play with their toys anymore 5 common mistakes moms make when organizing their homes, and what to do about it (+ cheatsheet of 5 more) Hygge vs Minimalism