If you guys are anything like us, you’re probably suffering from a bit of a holidaisical hangover.
It’s all fun and games until you’re comatose from exhaustion while your kids parade on their trillionth sugar high and your home looks like a Lego princess doll subway train busted through your living room and exploded. Twice. This is usually accompanied by an all-of-the-food gluttony regret, as your pants are just a little tighter than usual. Okay fine. A lot tighter. ‘Tis the season.
I lasted for quite a while, allowing them to revel in the post apocalyptic fun… building all of the Legos and galloping through the house with a princess tiara in the middle of a Nerf gun war. {Wheeeee!} And then at some point, three Christmas celebrations later, halfway between stepping on my fifth misplaced Lego {considering a foot amputation} after tripping over the creepy obligatory Ken doll included with Barbie’s sweet ride …we began to twitch.
So yesterday, it was down with all the Christmas. Usually, it lasts much longer, so don’t hate me.
You were probably all ahead of me anyway.
If you’re anything like us, you have already, or will at some point these next few weeks, totally wig out and start the great purge of everything. In the history of ever.
At least it’s what we do. We’re all, can’t stop. Won’t stop. And pretty soon I’m freaking out over what still needs to be accomplished. So much overwhelmption. So little time. We have sessions where we freak out, and it makes us feel better. Kind of like that new years diet that’s also bound to follow closely on our heels.
Except it’s not really a diet. It’s kind of a lifestyle change.
So this year, we decided it was time to revamp this little series again, {The Lazy Gals Guide} in honor of all the new years house angst experienced everywhere. We’ve been on this journey of simplifying our lives for two years now, and have shared our honest to goodness love/hate with absolutely all of it. Our successful moments, with our absolute fall-on-our-face fails. {If you’re curious, it’s one of our very favorite series we discuss in some way, each year. Check out some of our very favorite older posts, here!}
If we’ve learned one thing tried and true, over and over again: It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with it all.
That’s where our revamp of this series comes in. Maybe you don’t know where to start. Maybe you crave a change, but aren’t sure what on earth you’re supposed to do. Maybe you’re curious as to what in the world I could possibly be rambling about, and can’t wait to see the ensuing train wreck.
Cue the clutter drama, because it’s about to get personal.
First world conundrums galore, and all things philosophy aside, {because we’ve shared a lot from our come to Jesus moments} this time we’re walking you through, so we can do this together. Space by space.
If we could break it down into four major steps, to stay on a great path for simplifying our homes and our lives and all things overwhelming …it would be these key, interchangeable elements that can be real game changers for your home:
1. Have a vision for your home.
It all starts with conviction for change.
Have a goal that you wish to reach, with a vision behind it. And flesh it out with a real life plan. Jamin and I are big believers in this, with goals to help us get there. For our family, for our business, for our lives. We believe it helps us stay on task, and evaluate things in the long run. That’s where this series comes in. For instance, here’s two main principles we stick with so that we can reach our vision of a simplified lifestyle for our family:
A. If I don’t have room for it… if I struggle to find a place for it to go… if I’m holding on to it just to hold on to it… it needs to go. We’ve easily cut back on nearly half of our belongings in the past two years. We were ashamed. We learned and we grew. But life catches up with you. Three kids and some dog/health issues and a few room redos, and here we were, picking ourselves up again.
This year, will henceforth be known as absolute Armageddon at our house. For Narniaaaaaaaa!
:: rides horse. raises sword. falls off ::
B. If it is not useful. (Hello, rando third set of measuring cups I am holding on to because I have no idea} If it is not beautiful…(Hi, duplicate fiftieth blanket collecting dust in my closet that I could bless someone else with) It needs to go.
*Not to be mistaken for perfection, but doing our very best in a world where we were once so overwhelmed, our things were ruling our lives.
2. Purge.
The purging part is the beginning, the middle, and the end. It’s also the hardest part. Once you’re convicted and ready to make a real change, this is the step, and this is what we’re focusing on in the first part of the series this year. If we’re realistic, a true change goes beyond purging.
It’s kind of simple once you break it down: divide your home into zones, and go for it.
It never ends and that’s the dirty truth, because there is no such thing as a dream house. So starting next week we’ll be walking you through, space by space. Doing it with you. We believe that if you keep it manageable each week and keep it small, it’s easy to make a real change and stick with it.
3. Find systems that work for your home.
We’ve developed systems that have truly made our lives easier. From finding your weakness and honing in and working with that, to open shelving and family closets… We’ll be covering a few ideas and simple areas to work on once all the purging is done. It’s all about making life a little more manageable so the stuff isn’t managing you.
While we’re on the topic, these will be different for everyone, and we would even love for you guys to send in some questions about it all {titled Lazy Gal’s Guide via ashley {at} thehandmadehome.net} We’ll be covering more of that, coming up.
4. Stop the cycle.
It all begins with working hard on cutting back. We believe, of course, that the holidays, though much improved, are sometimes a little unavoidable. It’s all about a realistic approach to life, and most of making a true lifestyle change comes with the refined art of diligence. All while still enJOYing life.
So if you’re not sure where to start, use this next week to establish a vision, and a plan for your home.
And then join us, for The Lazy Gals Guide {2015}: 12 Weeks of Purging!
Here’s how the schedule will work:
• We’ll post a new space each week, showing our own progress, along with a checklist as a free download {if you wish} to help keep up with it all. We’re hoping this basic list system will rock your world if you’re list people like us. Or maybe just motivate you to know you’re not alone.
• Simply go into your space with two bags: Donate + Trash {divide your recycling as you see fit} and use our list {we’ll have a new one for each space, each week}. The key to all of this is finding where you feel the most passionate, and motivated to begin. We’re just hoping this inspires a few of you who are a bit hesitant to start with it all.
• We realize that not all homes are created equal. We may have left a ‘zone’ out, or you may have more than what we list. You may feel motivated to do something different. By all means, please diverge and come back if/when you feel so inspired. We hope more than anything that it serves as a fun guide for making a move in the right direction.
So for instance, where we have ‘dining room’ on the list for week 5, {Guess what? We don’t have that. But we do have two study + homework spaces (see studio + homeschool room)} We’ll be using the time to get ahead on other areas or fine tune wherever we feel motivated. If you don’t have kids {because we realized we concentrate heavily on that for the first few weeks, mainly because of all the holidaisical hangover, move ahead to your own space, or a guest area that could be friendlier for visitors in new and inspired ways.
• The point of it all? Is to keep the ball rolling, beyond that initial throw-away-all-the-things-in-the-first-week-of-January-new year. To stay motivated, in a realistic way. To be consistent. Even if you’ve already hit that room, chances are that by the time we come back around in our posts, you may have already accumulated a few new things. Rinse and repeat.
• We’re inspired by you. You’re not alone, and it’s fun to be a part of it, together. So please share it with us and use the hashtag #lazygalsguide via instagram. We would love to see any progress you want to share, and follow along from our own trenches… it takes a village to keep us motivated!
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We can’t wait to ring in the new year with fresh spaces, and an easier lifestyle for change. We hope you’ll join us, and we’d love to hear from you if you.
If you have any questions about the upcoming series, suggestions for topics, or need to be pointed in the right direction of past topics we’ve covered, be sure to ask us, or share below!
Have an inspired day!
Pam says
I love this! And I’m so excited you guys are bringing it back! Thank you!
Kirsten says
I totally took down all of my decorations this past Saturday. Couldn’t stand it any longer, and didn’t even wait for hubs to get home from hunting. I carried that dry, pine-needle dropping tree out the door all by myself and did a HUGE clean of the house. And OH! Do I feel so much better!!! 🙂
And yes, the Great Purge of 2015 is on the horizon! Looking forward to this series! Happy New Year! (And beware of those rampant Lego’s. They’ll tear up some feet!)
ashley @ the handmade home says
SO Impressed that you did that! I couldn’t stand it either. We’ve been freaking out over everything over here ;}
Michael @ CraftyDad.com says
Our Christmas decorations are 90% put away too. I love all the Holiday stuff…but it’s SO NICE to get back to normal. (Whatever ‘normal’ is. IS there a normal? I’m not sure anymore).
While I’m not a hoarder (my wife might disagree with me on that) I have accumulated way too much stuff over the past few years. I’ve made half-hearted attempts to get rid of it; but it’s tough. There’s some sort of stupid ‘connection’ you make with all the
crapstuff. And I’ve done so-so with the getting-rid-of-stuff project.But 2015 shall be dubbed The Year of the Great Purge at our house. I sometimes want to call Goodwill and have them send a big truck over to our house. {And a team of people to help me carry all the extra stuff out of my basement.}
SIDENOTE: My wife and I were shopping the other night and I saw this cool little container to put pens and pencils in. It would look great on my desk at home. But then. I stopped. And said something like, “You know. I don’t need more containers to put stuff in. I need less stuff.” [Cue the angelic chorus.] MAJOR EPIPHANY right there, my friend. MAJOR.
So yeah, I’m looking forward to this series. It’ll be fun to follow along.
Thank GOD you put ‘garage’ last on your list. And, even though ‘basement’ isn’t on your list, I’m going to start there.
ashley @ the handmade home says
HA! Yes! I was the creative/stuff shover and have learned to deal with my own version of how I tend to hold onto/hide things.
Speaking of stuff shover…. I can’t even go there with the garage yet. I mean, we need somewhere to shove more of the stuff while we clean the other rooms until we can donate, right??? ;}
Jaime Costiglio says
Like white on rice I’m all over this. I’ll do it but it’s so hard to post and hashtag my messy pics! Keeping it real.
ashley @ the handmade home says
I’ll do it if you will! ;}
Jami says
So excited for this! Thank you!
Sara says
I can’t wait to start! My house is small (think cozy cottage) and I need room to breathe. This will be a good push in the right direction. Thank you!
Bonnie C says
“:: rides horse. raises sword. falls off ::”
Seriously. I love you. lol
I’m on board with this, big time. Also, that Morris quote really *justrightnownolie* coalesced for me – 2015 is going to be my year of “useful AND beautiful”. I have a ton of functional stuff but… meh. I think I really want to focus on putting the “fun” back in “functional” for our stuff and spaces.
Also also: I use your banner/bunting printable all. the. time. No lie. Is there a hashtag you would like us to use to spread the mad props? The people need to know. ;p
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Bonnie!
YES you hit the nail on the head with the fun in functional. So true! I feel like we’ve really been working on that as well. It’s tricky! Can’t wait to hear some of your perspective. ;}
So glad you can use some of the printables! We are sharing them on instagram with #thehandmadehomefreebies I can’t wait to see! Thanks!
elisabeth says
Oh yes!! My house is in need of a major purge. How a single (well…living on her own anyway!) woman in a 2 bedroom apartment can have this much stuff is an ongoing mystery. I have so cut back on the buying in the last year but the purging has not happened as it needs! And I think I may drag my mom in on this, too! May the PURGE BEGIN!!
ashley @ the handmade home says
YES! I think I’m going to drag my mom, too. ;}
elisabeth says
Yay for multi-generation purging!! Lol! And I bought my brother this awesome vintage arm chair (it’s wood with leather seat/back) that I have promised to fit into his room (he and my mom live together) as it has been sitting in their living room for months now…So I gotta step up!
Marsha Sefcik says
If you come up with a system for Lego, please for all that is holy, share it with us. My boy likes to play Lego on the floor so a table with bins underneath does not work. Been there , done that. I’m at a loss so if you have genius idea, I am all ears.
Taria says
Have you heard of the layngo for lego? It seems like it would be perfect for your situation! I have also seen homemade versions.
http://www.layngo.com
Brittani says
This will be something we implement in our home. Although small, we now have a mobile baby who likes to get into everything.
Jen Spadaro says
love this! i am completly on the same page. i actually am a neat freak by nature, so i love thus stuff, but we still accumulate and i need to do this often. we also live in a home thats 1300 sq feet with 2 grown ups and 2 kids, one being a baby 5 months old (he has so much stuff) and the home was built in 1890, so there is exactly 2 closets, neither very functional. right before christmas i purged, but it was enough. then i read an article after christmas that really changed even how i was purging. it was the whole how many spatulas, measuring cups etc do you actually need? so ive now further purged each room. but still theres more to do! excited to dive in even further. less really is more!
ashley @ the handmade home says
So true, Jen! Today, I fell flat on my face. HA! But one day at a time, I guess! ;}
Carley says
I am so excited about this, and you make it sound totally do-able (which I need)! I am pregnant with my 2nd baby, and boy has this pregnancy been kicking my butt! Along with moving into our first home, and many boxes to still unpack (and the desire to just throw most of them away so I don’t have to look at it anymore) is totally there, if my energy will just keep up! You had me at LAZY! Although it may take me longer then 12 weeks, unless this baby decides to play nice, I am so excited to be able to really have the things we need, and have a house prepared for a new baby in July! Thank you! Can’t wait for the weekly updates!
Sarah says
This is just what I need to help focus myself and finally start the 2015 Purge !
I can’t wait to get started and see how everyone else gets on, when do you anticipate the weekly updates starting ?
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Sarah! They’re at the beginning of the week, each week (Hopefully!) You can find the first one for this past week, here! All updates will be on our home page ;} Hope that helps!
Sarah says
Thank you thats great x
Britney says
Well, Im am just getting started on your guide. Week 1 begins TODAY! (Better late than never.) To be honest, I was cheating on you and was following a different blog. I know, I know, I am so sorry! BUT, I find your guide so much more attainable. No need to make myself feel guilty. So here I am – Week 1. Thank you!!! I hope you will forgive me for straying! 🙂