Minimalist Monday....

I'm at home today with Ms. J who spent the night coughing and has her little sad sick face on.  So, we're on the couch today, snuggling, while she watches Nick Junior and I faff about on the internets. 

Normally, on a Monday, I'd share things that I love and today is no exception, but instead of disgruntled kittens or cute puppies, I'm going to share a blog that I've been following along and reading with: The Minimalist Mom. 

I think I've talked about her on here before but I thought with the holidays fast approaching, it's a great reminder for 'doing' instead of 'buying'. 

Plus, I've noticed lately that my weekends lately are being ate up with taking care of 'stuff' instead of the people that I love.  While laundry and keeping house are important, there is nothing more important than shaping the lives of those short folks in my life and recently I've been relegated to the Laundry Room with increasing frequency. 

In short:  I've been buying into the hype of MORE is BETTER.

When in reality, pals, MORE is just MORE. 

My daughter's rooms are taken over by clothes that they have no hope of ever being able to put away in some sort of order let alone their toyload. Holy buggering bajeezus. 

I'm setting those short folks up for failure before they even start. 

So, it's time to start reigning it in and reassessing what's important to them, to me. 

Who honestly needs 42 blankets for Baby Alive?  No one, that's who.

And I, as their mother, am probably the most guilty about adding to their load.  My nostalgia button gets pushed every single time when I see some adorable Strawberry Shortcake doll or Raggedy Ann and I add this to their load.  How am I supposed to teach them to take care of their things when their things are taking care of them instead? 

Their rooms are rarely played in because they're often too cluttered with a floor full of bits and bobs. 

It's too much. 

So, in short, I'm hoping to start slowly and pull back on the reigns and get this under to control.  We've recently swapped clothes for the season and both of my girls had laundry baskets overflowing with clothing for the next season when in reality they don't need that much.  Yes, the outfits are cute; yes, they all fit; but, do they NEED all of the above?  No.  No, they sure don't. 

Tonight will see me on the dining room floor surrounded by sweaters and jeans and sweatshirts, but we'll be going through these with a fine-tooth comb.  I'm going to wear my 'reality mom' hat and be unrelenting (well, not so much truthfully. I'd be a horrid ring-leader unless we were invading Starbucks). 

I'll keep you guys posted on my journey (little by little, yes?).  This didn't happen overnight and it'll take longer than that to get this under control but we've begun.  So, there's that.

Tell me what you think of the 'Minimalism' life.  Is it for you?  Do you feel overloaded with everything that's going on in your house?

P.S.  Later in the week, I'll post some links about a 'homemade holiday'.  Yes, it's all on our mind even if Halloween hasn't past yet.  But, there are some projects that we can all do together and still spend relatively little money and make memories in the process.  Look for this on Wednesday!