Choosing Simple

We did recently find out our car was officially totaled by the insurance company, but we haven't finalized anything regarding our payout and where we stand with the cash value. With each day, I'm actually becoming more and more grateful that this has happened. There's so much more going on around this incident than the replacement of a car.

Justin and I have been on a little mission to find something that works for our family. Something that serves a purpose but not an ego. I've been looking all over for leads to different cars, but with our price range, we're finding lots of high miles, and it's been a bit intimidating. But I know something is out there, and will serve the purpose of getting us to and from Atlanta on the workdays. 

I shared the small steps I took to make the kitchen a little more simple. That was just one wall, but with those small changes I had made, came such a large difference. The kitchen has been clean for over a week now, with steady and consistent dishwashing and cleaned counters. I know to a lot of people, it's expected, routine. I hope that it becomes that way for me. But for right now, it's honestly a treat! 

Next, I took that momentum (and coffee, my artificial momentum) and tackled Ali's clothes. My Lord, all the clothes. I washed everything and then tried my hardest to match up every outfit. I set aside any outfits that were really meaningful, like her Christmas outfit, her "My First Thanksgiving" bib, that kind of thing. I set those in keepsake boxes and plan to protect them until one day I can maybe even whittle those down into just a few pieces that are so special I can pass them down to her one day. I'll take a picture of the boxes I'm using to store them and share on here soon. They are beautiful, simple, and a great size for baby clothes. All I need for the future is some acid-free tissue paper to keep the clothes protected. 

Finally, I did all the laundry! I separated, folded, and put it away, and now I think I've finally worked up the momentum to go through my ridiculous amount of clothes. I still have clothes from high school that I hardly wear. I look forward to, while simultaneously dreading, the attempt at this next goal. However, given how darn good it feels to finally have clear thoughts and energy when I'm at home, I can't go back. And I am hoping this is a new lifestyle I can officially adopt. 

Have you felt like I have recently?  You look around your house, finding it difficult to reconcile the chaos and unorganized spaces. You spend an extra five minutes every morning looking for your car keys. You smell your dirty laundry to find an acceptable shirt to wear. You eat microwaveable meals each day because you simply feel like the last thing you want to do is cook or prepare a healthy meal. You pin every healthy, organized, well-designed idea to your Pinterest Board, and by the time you're done, you have no will to actually put those ideas into action. Do you feel like you've been slaving away at a job, and all your productivity seems to be going into your work, with nothing left for your home life? 

I'm trying something different. I want a change. I want less, so I can live more. 

-Britt