purge!

it's a good day to write. lots going on in my life right now but today is a rainy, gloomy, beautiful kind of day that supports drinking excess amounts of coffee and sitting just a little longer at the computer.  i have been teaching the kids what it means to purge, minimize and live with less.  we are preparing to have a yard sale and the challenge: get rid of 50% of our junk.  the kids are doing outstanding with this.  i have always been a pack rat but i have also always been surrounded by my clutter.  as i work diligently day in and day out to keep a nice, comfortable living space for my family, i realize i am working around loads of junk that no one uses!  i am glad my heart and mind is finally open to letting go and getting rid of.

i like decorations, don't get me wrong, but since we moved just shy of a year ago, i still have a basement full of boxes that have not been touched!  most of them are decorations. i really have no desire to get all the loot out and decorate! i have minimal things in each room and i am content with that.  i really like to decorate with things from nature. think about your christmas stuff for a moment.  if you are anything like me, you can't contain yourself in the ornament aisle and you are always adding another theme tree in each of the rooms in your home. my problem: i love all the junk but i don't love to organize it and put it away. heck, i can barely stand to get it out anymore!  anyway, instead of getting all the plastic artificial stuff out this year for christmas i am going to sell or donate the majority of it and just get one fresh pine tree as a family, chop it down and make a memory. place it in my living room.  maybe buy a box of candy canes to hang on it. planning to string popcorn and cranberries as a family like we have done in the past and add a few sprigs of fresh pine around the home and viola, be done!  oh, and maybe ONE strand of lights.  imagine if your christmas decor all fit in one cardboard box on a shelf in your basement?!  you know, if you went into a woman's basement or attic 50-60 years ago you would probably find one cardboard box with some ornaments and lights in it, maybe a wreath or two and that would be it!  that cardboard box, when it no longer served a purpose would decompose nicely in a landfill over time and life would be good.  i feel guilty-extremely-for the amount of plastic totes that i have purchased over the years that will never decompose and that are packed full with items that really do nothing for me anymore.

now, i don't mean to suck the fun out of everything. but i am realizing, as i grow older and my kids do too, the things that mean the most to me. if i have no artificial tree in the basement then that will mean cutting down a christmas tree together each year which will also mean that we all have to spend the whole day together, choosing the perfect tree.  in the past, i nag and nag at my husband to carry up the 14 totes of christmas decor and he relentlessly does it eventually. then, my house is a mess for a week as i try to sort through all my crap and find a place for it.  for some, that is still fun and meaningful, but for me, it has become an added stress. i am one person. i have been left with no choice but to prioritize.  right now, being wife, mom and homeschooling and being my son's medical advocate is all i can do at full capacity. everything else has to be simplified!

do you think you could purge? live with less?  it takes some time to mentally prepare for it. i have been thinking about it for quite a while and now i am finally ready to only have 10 outfits, 1 set of dishes and minimal decorations.  i feel free.  live simply and big things can happen!