Confession: I'm a clutterbug

There has always been a bit of a joke in my family that no matter how much space you have, there's never enough space.  There always seems to be another way to organize something to make everything work better.  There's always one too many pieces of furniture, thus requiring constant rearranging.  I, personally, have always had too much clutter, I struggle to keep the clutter at bay.  

Less than one year ago we became first time homeowners.  I knew that I wanted something smaller than the rental house that we had been living in, but in the same neighborhood.  We found a home that fit the bill within the same neighborhood, just 0.4 miles away.  We downsized by approximately 500 square feet.  While that made the amount of house to keep up with more manageable to me, 500 sq ft is actually quite a bit to lose.  That's the size of a NYC apartment! As we packed up the house we got rid of SO MUCH STUFF!!! We gave away furniture galore, clothing, toys, books, rugs, literally so much stuff, and yet, we are feeling like we still have to get rid of a lot of things to be able to comfortably fit into this house.

At the moment we still have 5 boxes of things to unpack. It's easy to just say "if we haven't needed it yet, we can just get rid of all of it", but it's never quite that simple.  The last 9 days of this month will be dedicated to a few tasks.  I need to finish painting our main living space, finish making my way through all of the laundry that has piled up, help one of my daughters sort through her clothing to make room for what actually fits her, and tackle those boxes.  

The amount of painting is really not that much, I can probably finish it in the bulk of a single day.  The laundry seems daunting, but really, I just need to take the time to do it.  My daughter's clothes will take less than one hour.  Those boxes though, that will be the thing that takes the longest.  I'll need to figure out what we keep and what we donate.  I need to find the space to put away anything we are keeping.  

I pray that I find the strength to keep the clutter at bay, and find a place for everything we decide to keep...otherwise it all just becomes more clutter.

Making Progress

What is a homemaker? Is a homemaker in the 21st century similar to the homemaker of the 20th century? What about centuries before that?  How do I create a happy, comfortable, welcoming home? How do I remember to take care of myself while continuing to give myself to others? 

I'm mama to 3 girls, I love She's In Her Apron, Faith and Flour, and The Secret Slob on YouTube; I'm an avid romance reader, an Audible addict, and spend too much time on Facebook.  I enjoy cooking and baking, hate laundry, and would rather do anything other than clean my house.  I'm naturally a clutter-bug, a couch potato, and need to work on my focus and follow through.  I start a bunch of decluttering and cleaning projects only to get distracted midway and start something else without finishing the first project.  

I am a homemaker who is constantly trying to elevate the physical act making it spiritual, trying to accept that progress is better than perfection, and realizing that my family finds spiritual, mental, and physical comfort from my hard work.  A woman I look up to (but have never met), Eve Levy, inspired me through a video to better myself by remembering that the physical can be our moment to connect to our higher power through prayer.  Pray for the ability to become better at "x", pray for our family members to be able to flourish as we wash our dishes, fold everyone's laundry, vacuum, etc.  I need to remind myself that every chore that needs to happen is because I have that blessing in my life.

I hope that this blog allows me to explore the world of homemaking, and will serve as both a record of my successes and failures, as well as encourage others who find themselves inspired by my journey.