One Month

Well it has been one month of my "new uniform".  I have to say I did deviate I think two or maybe three times.  One time we were going to the fair in the heat of the day and I really didn't want to wear black, standing on pavement, in the sun for hours, while the kids rode the rides.

It has been much easier to keep up with my laundry at least.  Limiting myself and only wearing from those few items, it is easy to see when you need to do the wash. Also I can do everything of mine in one load.  That is awesome.  If I could get the kids to follow suit.  That is another post.

 This is more clothing that I have stuffed everywhere on shelves.  Need to clean it out and put it away.

 Picture of some of the ribbons the kids earned at the fair this year and in years past.

 Even Maggie's little bunny is into the black look!

 Sometimes at my house you never know what you are going to find when you come down the stairs.

 Doug and the kids playing dungeons and dragons.  Lots of Laughing around here.  I am not sure D&D is suppose to be comical. 

"Uniform" one month.  Time spent standing in front of closet trying to figure out what to wear. 0 minutes. I love that!

Minimalist Wardrobe

I have never been a fashionista, not even close.  Last time I really cared about clothes was in high school.  That is when neon shirts, mini skirts, stirrup pants, parachute pants and china flats were in style.  Oh and don't forget the huge earrings.

Those days are long past for this chick.  I stopped wearing earrings when I taught at Head Start.  I stopped buying expensive clothes when babies came into our family.  I think everything I wore for 10 years had a spit up stain or worse on its shoulder.  Couple that with being a stay at home mom with one income and the days of mall shopping were over.

Enter in Minimalism...I have been chucking stuff my whole life, but with a family things get messy.  You hate to throw stuff away that belongs to someone else.  How long do you wait for someone to pick up their "junk" even when you have asked time and time and time again?  Well...fed up mom.  I just started chucking stuff that obviously they didn't care about.  No complaints yet.  Amazing.

We have cleaned out closets, drawers, bathroom supplies...almost everything has had a round of tossing. It is amazing, but believe it or not...the house is still a mess.  I removed furniture, simplified the kitchen, organized the cupboards...it all needs another round of decluttering.

 I think it was last year I quietly did the 33 items of clothing challenge.  No one noticed. Not one person.  I wore things for three months from a closet full of only 33 items.

Anyway.  Add some extra stress, new demanding church calling, homeschooling, football, piano, flute, and a million other things I have to accomplish each week and I decided spending time peering into my closet to figure out what to wear was a huge waste of time.

So I found some pants and shirts I like. They are comfy.  Oprah would have a fit.  I am not the stylish "yuppy mom" oh well.  I am sure she would deem me worthy of a makeover.   I bought 4 black shirts, 4 black pants, added them to the other black items in my wardrobe.  I am done.  Finished.  My new "uniform" has emerged.  If I want color, I can add a scarf.  I can add accessories, change shoes etc.

Here is my new "uniform"  I of course am the one in the black.  I will see how long I can hold out with wearing the same thing day in and day out.  So far I like it.

Minimalism and Shoes of a family of 6

We have tried to get our shoes to a manageable level in our house.  The kids feet grow like weeds so they often get new pairs of shoes out of necessity.  I try and quickly donate or toss the old shoes that don't fit anyone.  If it is something that can be passed down to the next kiddo then I do save them.  I have extremely whittled down my shoes.  Now I will tell you that I do wish I had one more pair of every day shoes without heels.  I didn't own them before so it isn't like I chucked a perfectly good pair and now I regret doing so.  I am on the look out for something that goes with jeans and with khakis that are more practical.  Oh well...they will show up sometime somewhere for the right price.  Patience....  

Most of the kids shoes.  I think there might be a few more pairs lingering in rooms, but these are most of them.  

My shoes.  The hot pink boots are a recent purchase.  $7.00. The brown and black heels that match I got at goodwill brand new probably 3 to 4 years ago for 1.00 a pair.  One set of sneakers from my mom that I am saving for when the other pair wears out.  

Oh yeah and the pair I am wearing.

Moving toward Minimalism

I have been inspired by reading minimalist blogs lately.  Especially Lorilee Lippincott with her blog www.lovingsimpleliving.com.  I love that she shows us a minimal life and it isn't ultra modern decor.  Jump on over to her blog to see the inside of her place.  Link on the sidebar ------->

Anyway...remember all that cleaning my mom and I accomplished?  Well we really did haul out tons.  I wanted to post some pictures of the living room.  I don't know about the chair and footstool.  I want it gone I think.  Steve says we should keep it...I at least want it slipcovered maybe...but then I think fussing with a slipcover every day is not my idea of fun.  Anyway, I think I am sick of that chair.  Got it at the good will so it isn't like we spent a fortune for it.  Oh well....

Here is the pictures of the living room.

After living with it for a few weeks it doesn't look minimalist anymore.  Hmmm...I know I could get rid of a few more things.  LIKE THAT CHAIR!  :)

What I've been up to...

I have been so busy this year with schooling the kids at OHVA.  It has taken oodles of time and energy.  I have been also busy cleaning house!  By that I mean that I am simplifying, minimizing, and generally getting rid of STUFF!

When my mom was in town we were going great guns.  I think we made 15 trips to the goodwill, with a full car load.  Here is some of the things we accomplished.

1. Went through all the clothes in the house.  Each kid tried on and kept 10 shirts and 5 pants.  Some of them ended up not having 5 pair that fit them.  Steve and I went through our closets and organized and got rid of tons. (well that was me...Steve hardly has any stuff)

2. We cleaned out and hauled out the linen closet.  We got rid of torn pillowcases, ripped blankets, and thread bare sheets.

3. Cleaned out the kitchen cupboards.  Mom couldn't stand my series of mismatched dishes gathered from the goodwill a bit at a time.  She especially disliked all the chipped and cracked plates.  So we chucked the bad ones, donated the "good" ones and she was so generous to by us new for Christmas.   We also reorganized things and labeled the inside of cabinets (just to drive Steve nutso :) )  We put things that never get used in a holding area...we will see if they ever get used. I doubt it.  Also we cleaned the pantry and got rid of the expired stuff.

4. We went through the dreaded coat closet with a fine tooth comb.  We boxed things we weren't currently using but may someday use.  I have in the past just left them in there since there was room but the kids would just paw through it all and make a huge mess.

5. We bleached all the boys white "church" shirts.  Some still didn't make it, but they look better.

6.We went from room to room and got rid of things that make things feel cluttered.

7. We painted Maggie's room, moved Doug's room and finished Curt's room.  We also finished and decorated the master bed room.

This house is going minimalist.  I have been reading lots of blogs about living a minimalist lifestyle.  The house feels better, I feel like I can breathe.  Laundry is in the manageable zone.  There is certainly more I can get rid of.  Maggie is helping me clean out the junk dresser.  On the list to tackle...the hall closet, bathroom closet and classroom.

I will take pictures soon.