TheLionRampant.net

So the boys are still sick and overtired lately. Ezra is going through a very “2″ phase and potty training is regressing. Some dear friends of ours are grieving. I’m having RUF girls over tonight. Life continues and spring cleaning isn’t nearly what I’d like it to be given all the emotions and chaos that happens in life. I’m committed and I’m excited to purge, so in baby steps, we’ll keep on keeping on.

We’ve had some lovely little moments lately. Our baby tree in the front has some lovely white blossoms on it and I saw a bird land there for a minute and it made me happy. We’ve purchased some soil and herb seeds and hope to begin sprouting some seeds. It’ll be a great messy project for the boys once I get around to pre-soaking the seeds. The sun has been out and I’ve worn flip-flops. The wind is still chilly but the blue skies and things growing have done my soul good. I’ve been pretty worn out with the emotional fortitude needed to withstand daily life around here. But small glimpses of beauty help rectify that.

Now if I can have my home participate in some of that beauty, that too, will refresh me.

Firstly I apologize for the slightly out-of-focus images; I believe it was caused by little finger smudges from a certain toddler who shall remain nameless.

These photos were all taken right before naptime, i.e., right before Mama did clean-up #133 of the day, so you can see our house in all its toddler glory (i.e., mess)! (Pictures of the boys’ room to come. It was naptime after all).

Mudroom:

Kitchen:

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I’m really loving SimpleMom’s explanation of why we hold onto things instead of giving them away. She really gives you freedom that you needn’t associate some cheesy trinket with a memory (chuck it!) and that you needn’t keep things around “just in case”, that it actually adds stress to your life. Check out her short blog post, it’ll help you purge, I promise.

The reason I’m doing this spring cleaning is 1) I hate that it takes me inordinate amounts of time to find something I need, 2) I’m never going to get around to unpacking the boxes that have sat at the top of our stairs since October unless I have a plan like this, 3) having a clutter-free room/house really helps me actually relax and enjoy the people who are in our house, 4) it will make my husband able to relax and enjoy being at home.

I bought her e-book and I’m excited to get started today. I need a plan, otherwise I get overwhelmed and discouraged and don’t follow through. Today’s task is a “clean sweep”: to get rid of trash laying around the house and immediately put things into “give”, “sell”, and “maybe” boxes. It’s a quick task, though it covers the whole house. After the clean sweep, we’ll go room by room. I’ll try to take some pictures along the way.

I shall get around to a celebratory post of my cutest one-year-old, but for now I wanted to see if anyone else wanted to jump on Real Simple’s Spring Cleaning Week bandwagon with me?

Who else feels they have too much stuff and it’s prohibiting them from seeing home as a relaxing space? Wouldn’t it be nice to have less stuff? Let’s declutter, clean and organize!