Hello again minimalism...

...minimalism has been a huge part of my life right now. I didn't dare say it because I was afraid people from New York would parachute into my parking lot and come chew me out on how NOT minimalist I was. Which is totally true. I'm working on it. My minimalism is not their minimalism. Isn't that cool? Just like we all parent differently. 

I could make this blog post really short and say I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff and want to get rid of more stuff.

The end.

But if you want to read a bit more than I guess you can.

Lately I have been focusing on crafting stuff.

I have one tote of craft stuff to some thats a lot. To others thats a little.

To me its a work in progress. I had a tote just for fabrics. Some I didn't even really care for

I just didn't know if I might need it some day. 

What did I get rid of?

Fabric lots and lots of fabric

Scrap book stuff all of it

(other than the book which now is out so we can look at it) 

Yarn 

knitting needles

Random goggly eyes

BEADS

buttons

ribbon

...

I could keep going. 

I just kept my favorites and decided I can't craft everything I see on pinterest. 

What gave me great courage was this blog post found here. 

She gave a great idea to just buy a cheap kit for kid crafts and when they are done get rid of it

all of it. Don't save pieces just in case you might sort of need them 20 years down the road. 

WHEW! It helped me so much it was hard to get rid of things I had even started to make, 

like a jean quilt I finally gave it away. hopefully it will make someone else happy. 

Every time I looked at it I just got frustrated. 

I still have a long way to go but for now I have found much more time to enjoy things like this...

and this...

hiking around beautiful Cache Valley.
Thayne walked 4.5 miles all on his own. We are so proud of him! He finally let us carry him when there was only a mile left. He loves being outside... I wonder where he gets it from?

Less stuff=less cleaning/organizing time.
Less cleaning/organizing=more time outside
more time outside=happy family
:)

Spoiler alert next blog post is going to be about a big outdoor adventure... stay tuned!

Valentine's and painting crafts

I've missed my blog. 

I always feel I don't have anything cool to write or anything to show.

These two babies keep me pretty busy.

Don't mind the iphone pictures...

this is our Valentine's day. Adam and I got to celebrate on Wednesday together. 

We aren't much of V-day people so grandma (and grandpa) bringing the cake was very exciting!

Thayne had to get frosting everywhere. He smeared it all over his little face and even put some on my nose. I made him this "big dada" heart on his tummy. 

The kids are growing up too fast. I have tried my hardest to enjoy the moments while I can.

Life gets chaotic but in all honesty I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love crafting but lately I have been decluttering and minimizing. 

Crafting=clutter + lots of I-might-need-that-for-something-I-saw-on-pinterest's. 

But I have to create. So I struck a compromise with myself. What if I do crafts that I already sort of have? Or get rid of ones I don't want anymore to finally make room for new ideas?

I'm doing it! 

I have taken pictures of our apartment but I keep changing it. 

For now this is my latest craft.

Painting! I need to be better at before and after pictures. Because my fridge looked ridiculous. Its amazing what frames can do. I will probably change it up again but for now this is what it looks like.

I saw this on pinterest and thought it was so cool I have Adam's schedule (I have to have it up I can't ever remember when his classes and labs are). I also decided I am in love with this blue right now so I brought it through out the living area.

Thayne and I painted this star and Lindsey helped me make the paint chip calender. I am in the process of moving these especially the calender so I will use it more because I decluttered and now that isn't my "command center" anymore. 

I also (with the help of Lindsey :) ) did this pinterest find. I love being able to display all my bracelets and necklaces. I want to make it more orderly I'll probably get rid of more things too. 

It's just two thrifted china plates and a candlestick holder. I don't even have it glued together :)

So for now I am trying to live a simplier life I read a great decluttering book, Clutterfree with Kids:Change your Thinking 

You can find it here on Amazon.

Every time I picked it up I had to quickly put it down because I wanted to get rid of things. It gave me some great momentum. Right now my goal is to get my kitchen minimized. What do I really need? If you think minimalism isn't for families this book will definitely change your mind. If you think minimalism is crazy this will change your mind. If you are scared to try it this will give you some strength. Our whole fam has some new friends (shout out to Taffee!). They are teaching us so much about simplier living and a clutter free life. They have 3 1/2 babies!!! and live in an apartment!!! I don't think I will ever be able to get rid of as much stuff as them however this book helped me realize that needs are an individual thing. And that I can choose my own level of minimalism if you will. 

So far I have gotten rid of toys lots and lots of toys and guess what? Thayne my 2 1/2 year old plays with toys better. He also reads more books BY HIMSELF. He and Joslyn both still have a ton of toys but getting rid of toys is actually much harder than I thought. 

I will have to tell you more about my journey in simplifying my life. I feel like I finally have some real momentum I don't want my stuff to own me. 

Clothes Exchange

I am constantly getting rid of clothes. I mean all the time. Some just don't fit me right, some just aren't my style. Most my clothes are in great condition. I'd rather them go to someone I know for free. So I had this crazy idea. What if they did go to people I know? 

I live in apartments and doing a yard sale is way too much work for me plus you charge people money. Plus I don't want to sacrifice a Saturday for it. Right now I have a great opportunity to be with the young women in my ward. Since its back to school time I thought maybe they would like to come "shop" through my clothes. I went through clothes, accessories and told the girls to do the same and next thing you know we are doing a clothes exchange. 

It was so easy to do. I set up sections on my rug of tees, sporty clothes, accessories, winter jackets, church clothes, ect. We made sure everyone was there before we let them go through the clothes. We made a rule that you had to try on the clothes and that you could only take 4 things at a time. Once we felt everyone had a chance to see all the items we did a free for all. 

(I used a food tray to display accessories) 

Each girl had a "shopping bag" and after trying on the clothes and liking them she got to put them in her bag. Everyone left with smiles and with some clothes. Even girls who thought they wouldn't want someone else's clothes. I didn't make this an official church activity but I felt like we had a range of sizes and having the accessories was easy for everyone. This is a great way for a group to save money and help you down size your wardrobe. Giving to people you like is way easy.

I've even seen wards do this as a whole ward and you can bring anything and everything. I totally support it. Great way to save money and share. Would you ever do this? 

A real apartment

Welcome to a quick tour of my home. 

Its not a house. I can't paint the walls, I can't change the layout, I can't really hang too much on the walls either.

But what I can do is make it fun, work, and look super cute. 

I have been trying to get ideas of apartment decor online, but everything seems to be a studio 

apartment that they revamp and can paint everything. 

I thought I'd do a post about a real apartment with real decor problems. 

I am in love with the idea of living with less but there is a balance

that I find myself struggling with. Which is what in the world to keep and 

what to get rid of. 

Is it this time of year or is it just because I moved that I want to organize so bad?

Is anyone else feeling it? 

Our apartment is a spacious 2 bedroom (approx. 1,100 square feet) 

We have a laundry area (which you will NOT be seeing today)

2 bathrooms (so spoiled I know) 

Here is the master bath which holds 95% of all bathroom things because Thayne can 

get into the cabinet in the other one. 

When we first moved in I immediately noticed a HUGE storage problem the only storage that 

came with the apartment is that vanity which has two teeny tiny drawers. Can you see them? So we went out and got this beauty...

I know its not much. But it is so functional and holds so MUCH!

P.S. I got it from Wal-mart and also the shower curtain which brings some life and color into this otherwise very white bathroom. Too bad no one ever sees this bathroom.

Still have our robes hanging on the back door.

All our bathroom "stuff" fits in here. I wont show you the nitty gritty details of the cupboards yet...

(Give me a break we haven't even lived here a month yet)

But here is a very helpful thing when organizing a bathroom: remember that you have too much.

Seriously! I had about 10 different bottles of lotion when we moved here and I thought I was doing good. Most were on the emptier side of life. Here is a little solution for that.

This is my travel kit. We go on weekend trips and long trips all the time. This is so handy 

because all I have to grab as far as bathroom supplies when we leave town is our glasses, toothbrushes, and razors because I have everything else that we could possibly need ready to go. 

I highly suggest getting one together. For the lotion problem... 

See those bottles I have out? I just did a lotion collection bottle, a shampoo one, ect. All those

hotel ones I kept "just in case" were driving me crazy and almost empty bottles that I 

couldn't throw away. Less things, more easy to find what you actually need, more organized. Trust me its a beautiful cycle. 

Out of the master bathroom you will find our room... its long and narrow. 

We put our desk in here so Adam can study uninterrupted by me and Thayne.

We also downsized most our office stuff. That was so wonderful. Before we had 

a wall of a desk and somehow we filled it with stuff. Love this desk so much better.

Haven't gotten everything up on the walls yet. But we hung the curtains. 

Curtains help so much in making a place feel like home. 

Not very exciting but my nightstand.

My ikea organizer I am using for my favorite scarves.

Blah these pictures of the closet didn't turn out so hot. I will have to retake some later...

Yes I know we are spoiled by a huge walk in.

ikea baskets for our sweaters, snow gear.

My "nice" shoes aka not enough room out front to hold these ones.

better picture of the desk in our room. Adam keeps it nice and clean. 

This is my kitchen... its tiny. Look close at all the cabinets. where in the world is there space for food? 

Ta-da! This shelving unit is my open pantry. Its not perfect, Martha Stewart would probably not approve but it works for us. I hold extra appliances on top and then have some baskets that I hold like things. I have a ikea step stool to help me reach everything and also so Thayne can help in the kitchen. I choose cream colored baskets because I can use them through out the whole house. Then I can buy the same type of baskets and not have to worry about it not matching a different room if I take it out. 

My kitchen island (wal-mart) also helps with my lack of counter space and storage. I keep most my baking supplies in there. I also managed to squeeze some fold out chairs for extra company. 

I no longer have a knife block (don't have room) I use this ikea magnetic strip to hold my cutting knives and they are very much out of Thayne's reach. 

  

Our entryway. Shoe racks are the way to go. I have our most commonly used coats out. 

See the baskets? They work everywhere.

Here is a room that still has a lot of work. Where the love sac is, is where the desk was. I am going to have to probably rearrange and get another chair to make this room work. Another ikea buy is the entertainment center. Again I am not doing any close ups yet... 

I need to figure out how to decorate the book cases better.

Well thats our apartment so far. I have been learning lots about apartment living. This will be my 6th year of apartment living. With hopefully only 3 more to go. I am enjoying the simplified lifestyle and 

feel like I have plenty of room. We will see when baby #2 comes along. 

I will have to show Thayne's room off another day. He is sleeping like an angel and I am enjoying the blogging time :)