Happy Simple Mom

Dear Reader, Have you heard the Walker Hayes country music song, "Fancy Like"? We laugh in this house, as my husband calls it "Mama's song.". I'm so not fancy. I eat leftovers, shop thrift stores for my clothes, make my kids wait impatiently at the grocery store while I "cut" digital coupons before checking out, and waited about ten years before I replaced my bath towels. I've never set foot into The Container Store, and it hurts me to pay full price for anything. When it comes to my precious...

Hello Reader, It took only one year to change everything for our family. To write about decluttering and simple living is a strange occupation. I have friends and family who can't quite believe I can write about the same topics for years on end. Here's the thing though, decluttering literally changed how my family lives our lives. We value simplicity and time together over everything else. We no longer shop for fun. We no longer go into debt so we can have the newest and greatest. We value...

Hello Reader, Decluttering can put your home on auto-pilot. I know..l know. That seems too good to be true. I mean, how does getting rid of stuff really change that much? You still have to clean. Hear me out… Several years ago, it was nothing abnormal to grab the kids and head to Target on a beautiful sunny afternoon. I would place my sweet toddlers in the cart, and we would first swing by Starbucks. Then I would push them through the dollar section looking for a simple toy to keep them busy...

Hello Reader, Decluttering is more than just creating a clean house. ⁠⁠The act of decluttering and then living in a clutter-free home can help reduce your stress and anxiety. ⁠⁠I always know when things are getting out of hand in my home. I actually FEEL it. ⁠⁠Do you feel it? Today I want to challenge you to find one tiny space in your home that causes you anxiety and give it 15 minutes. Set a timer. ⁠Commit to 15 minutes. ⁠You may be surprised at what you can accomplish so quickly. ⁠⁠Maybe...

Hello Reader, Are your dirty dishes staring at you from a pile in the sink, day after day? ⁠⁠It seems to be a never-ending cycle. ⁠⁠Your root issue may be more than a lack of motivation or willpower. It may be something as simple as having TOO MANY dishes. ⁠⁠What happens when we have too many dishes is we use them…all of them…before we actually clean them. ⁠⁠Why clean them when you have another set ready to go? ⁠⁠This causes your sink to back up, which makes using your kitchen frustrating....

Hello Reader, "Just in case..." I should save this JUST IN CASE my kids/grandkids want it. I should save this JUST IN CASE I can use it in a future project. I should save this JUST IN CASE my next home has room for it. I should save this JUST IN CASE we don't have the money to replace it down the road. I should save this JUST IN CASE... [insert your own reason here]. It's sometimes really, really hard to argue with "just in case". I mean, we don't want to be financially irresponsible. We paid...

Hello Reader, Piles and piles and piles of receipts. I go through phases where I'm really, really good at logging every single receipt into our budget software and then I go through phases where I throw them in my purse to handle "later". This happened around the holidays this past year. I was so busy and taking care of so many things that I just tossed my receipts into my wallet, the outside pocket of my purse, the car center console, and my dresser drawer. I was slightly mortified when I...

Hello Reader, Have you ever visited a Little Lending Library? We found one of these delightful libraries during the pandemic. When the libraries were closed, someone in our neighborhood made sure we had a consistent stream of books at our disposal. I never met the owners of the little library, but I'm so grateful to them, and I hope, in some small way, we contributed to the neighborhood by participating in their endeavor. Every week, my girls and I would walk the neighborhood and stop by the...

Hello Reader, I helped a client clean under her kitchen sink. We found FIVE bottles of the same cleaning spray. They were all opened and partially used. We had a good laugh because I too have been in this situation. I'm especially terrible about collecting half-empty bottles of sunscreen under our bathroom sink every summer. Enter the "Use it or Lose It" Decluttering Rule. It's a silly and to-the-point name I gave to a practice of using up what I own (or decluttering it) before buying more....