Comments on: purging: the dirty truth

By: ashley @ the handmade home

ashley @ the handmade home

In reply to Jennifer. That's amazing!!!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer

Hello!

I’m always drawn to discussions about purging. 🙂 My husband and I had been planning for a couple of years to live in an RV full-time and in 2012 (at ages 29 and 32) we did it! We have an 8-year-old daughter that we homeschool.

We lived in the RV for 15 months and are now in a house again. We sold and gave away almost everything we owned and just put a few things in my parents’ storage shed. It was an interesting, crazy time for us and we learned and grew A LOT. My husband left his job, we traveled and worked across America and back, and we learned even more intimately what it means to live by faith. We felt we needed a BIG change and, of course, we believe God orders our steps even if we think we are doing something only for the reason(s) we can see at the time.

It was in most ways a very different experience than we expected because we had personal growth to attend to. 😉 That’s something we don’t take into consideration when we fantasize about something being a fun vacation or experience. God’s grace is sufficient and we see how all that has happened has been an integral part of our spiritual growth and are glad overall that we did it.

My favorite quote from our daughter while living in RV:
“Mommy, I was wondering something and I was hoping you could help me figure it out. I think I’m learning something but I don’t know what it is. [Me: What do you think it is?] I think it’s about life; like traveling and getting along.”

Thank God for giving us wisdom; even to our young children.

By: Real Mommy

Real Mommy

Great article! It’s so true about it being trial and error, especially when you have kids that you need to get on board! What works for you and makes sense in your eyes wont necessarily hit home with them…and wont last!
Be open to trying something else if the kids are sticking with the first idea:)

By: Marian@ Gathering Branches

Marian@ Gathering Branches

Thank you, thank you for this post!!! I was literally in tears yesterday as I looked over my house, that I have spent the better part of the summer trying to organize and realized it looked no better than when I started in June. But after some sweet words from my daughter, I looked again. The systems are appearing. There are less things. And I think my major problem is simply having the kids gone for a while so I can sort it without being interrupted. It really does help to hear that this is taking someone else a long time to get right, that it’s not jut me and it really is trial and error. Bless you for your openness!
Marian

By: ashley @ the handmade home

ashley @ the handmade home

In reply to Anne.

Hey Anne! I know the feeling. I’ve kind of addressed that before, so be sure to check out the rest of our series here if you think it may help you… particularly the one on guilt! ;} https://www.thehandmadehome.net/category/lazy-gal-survival-guide/

By: Anne

Anne

Sigh. I need to do this. It is my hope that I will, once my youngest starts school next week. The hardest thing for me in purging is that I feel someone would be able to use it all. I don’t know how to get rid of it in a way that would feel good to me.

By: Christie

Christie

I’m just coming to realize this concept. For about a year I’ve had the “routine maintenance” phrase stuck in my head. After being so discouraged when I would see places in my apartment that were recently “organized” (stretching that word a little) in a messy condition again… I gave in to the reality that everything is subject to the second law of thermodynamics. Order to disorder. Bummer! Oh well, I keep trying and posts and comments like this are so encouraging! Yay for not being the only one with a family of six and an inordinate amount of hand-me-downs, Laura. = )

By: ashley @ the handmade home

ashley @ the handmade home

In reply to Jen. So true, Jen! Thanks again for the awesome reminders, and as always, the inspiration. ;}

By: Jen

Jen

SO SO SO proud of you! This post makes me giddy happy. You have done so much already, and I know it can be exhausting and not easy and sometimes you may feel like you are going crazy {or at least I usually do}, but I adore that you are all feeling benefits from all the hard work. Although I love the actual act of organizing, the hardest part is staying disciplined about using the systems, especially when we are so busy. Having to go through and tackle some areas again a few weeks or months later, is normal and great {and much easier than years later}. Kudos my love!

xo,
Jen

By: ashley @ the handmade home

ashley @ the handmade home

In reply to Cindy.

Cindy – thanks for this perspective. That is so true! I’m always so focused on things being done… and yet we have an entire room in the back of our house completely disheveled because here we go again on the design roller coaster ;} And yes! People think we’re crazy, but we love our color coded legos! It has brought a level of peace to the toy conundrum that I never thought possible. ;}