Less is More

Guess I never uploaded this...old post up here now!! So I realize it has been awhile since I posted anything. Kind of forgot about this actually. Plus life with 3 little kids is kind of busy! But I decided to pick back up. So here we are....a year and a half later! Not in Oklahoma anymore. Now the great city of El Paso, TX...yay! They don't call it Fort Bliss for nothing...lol! We are just (still) trying to adjust to the heat. I am NOT a hot weather kind of girl. I am a sunny and 75 kind of girl. Now almost everyday is over 100 degrees....that is just plain hot. I know they say it isn't as bad since there isn't much humidity....but seriously ANYTHING over 100 degrees....IS HOT!! Well we got a lucky day today...overcast and a little rain this morning! So the kids and I took advantage and headed outside. Not really sure what the temp is...but there is a nice breeze and we aren't dying so it must be nice out! Since it was an overcast day we decided to ditch the pool and do crafts instead. I have been wanting to get the kids doing something creative for awhile but honestly I was scared. One 4 year old and 2 2year olds painting sounds kind of crazy. But we are outside so whatever happens happens. Well being outside and watching them use watercolors on old paper towel rolls and scrap paper made me realize something. Now I know people have been saying this for years and it really isn't anything new. But LESS IS MORE. Kids have way too much stuff these days. They have had more fun playing with paint and "trash" today than they do playing with most of the expensive toys we buy for them. And they are much more creative in the process. They are sorting Popsicle sticks and counting them. Making an old paper towel tube into a looking glass. And at the end of the day it was all going to get thrown out anyway. So if they cut it, paint it, ripe it, stomp on it, doesn't matter. It was free and has kept them busy! I made a challenge to myself.....GET RID OF STUFF! It only makes MY life more difficult. How many hours do I waste doing endless loads of laundry....picking up toys they just thrown around, dealing with the endless paper pile trying to save every cool idea I see in a magazine (and honestly with Pinterest...who even looks through their old "idea books" anymore anyway?!?!) I don't know what it is but getting rid of things is hard. I hate the clutter and the mess but sometimes it is just hard to part with stuff...I mean what if I need it someday or I change my mind?? But then I realize....I don't even know what I have and I sure don't think I will remember it when it is gone! Who remembers what they gave to Goodwill? Out of sight....out of mind. And if for some reason I ever do need "it" again....there are tons of great thrift stores in MI. I can always rebuy what I need. SO I am challenging myself....get rid of a 3rd of what we have. It is hard to exactly know whether or not a 3rd of our household is gone but I am going to do my best. So this is my way of holding myself accountable. I will have to reread this one day and I want to make sure I followed through. Now I know a 3rd is sort of random and hard to know for sure. But I figured I needed to set some sort of "goal" to work for. So I will lay out all my shirts and 1/3 goes in the donate pile. I wish I could say half but I don't know if I am that brave. So we will start with one third. I also think it is hard to get rid of things sometimes when we don't have a good "reason". So I found a local shelter that takes in children in emergency crisis situations. They need everything from bedding to food to clothes and toys. We have lots of kid stuff so it seemed like a good fit. Now the "fun"part. Actually doing the work! Wish me luck!!