Cut the Crap: My Inspiration

A few months ago I found this great blog called Makeunder My Life. It's written by a girl named Jessica who got her start in the blog world by showing people how to simplify their life and design it with intention and purpose, and who also happens to be a very talented jewelry designer.


Organization and jewelry? A girl after my own heart.

You can imagine that when I found this blog it was like I had just found the Clinton to my Stacy. "I'm not the only one who thinks these things!" I thought. And I read on. And on. And on. Back through her many archives full of great ideas and inspiration.


This morning I was browsing through my google reader and happened upon this gem from Miss Jessica's site:
I couldn't have said it better myself.

I highly recommend you check out this page and learn more ways to Cut the Crap from your own life. Her vision board particularly stuck with me because it's near identical to what I would make for myself. All it's missing is a few tiny footprints and a sweet husband to share my wine with.

And if you happen to divert over to her jewelry shop as I so often do, my birthday is next week and I really wouldn't mind one of these.

Honey, are you reading??

Cut the Crap II: The Purge

Cut the Crap Part II: The Purge

This segment in Cut the Crap is about The Purge. This is the first step in making your life cleaner, more organized, and definitely less-stress. I think oftentimes people don't realize the mental "space" having extra stuff takes up in their life. For example, when you're looking for something specific but you have to plow through drawers and cabinets of things you don't even like or use just to find said item, you end up annoyed and in the process waste 15 minutes. Or when you're trying to get dressed for work and you're rifling through a closet full of clothes and can't find a single thing to wear, you begin your day frustrated and negative. Sound familiar? Sound like fun? I don't think so either.

As someone who is an admitted purge-a-holic, this is my plan for ridding your life of the unnecessary extras, leaving you with just those items you need and love, and more time to enjoy your life.

1. Take 20 minutes each night this week and tackle one room. Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to de-clutter your entire house in one evening, just do one room each night. Go through every.single.thing in every drawer, closet, cabinet, vase, etc... If it's not moving (i.e. your husband, child, or pet) it should be examined. For each item, ask yourself two questions:

"Do I use this?" And "Do I love this?"

If you haven't used it in the past year, you aren't going to. And if you don't love it, why do you waste time every week dusting it? Anything that doesn't fall into these categories should go to Goodwill.

This includes ugly gifts that you perhaps don't want but have kept out of guilt, cookbooks you don't use, DVDs you don't watch, games you don't play, books you've read and have no use for, etc...

I did my own purge recently--what the heck am I saying, I do one every month--and cleared out TWO trunks full of stuff: two bags of clothes, serving tray I've never used in three years, diapers that don't fit Madelyn, books, frames, candlesticks, toys that we don't need (i.e. the 39th stuffed animal in the closet), etc etc.

Afterwards I felt lighter, more efficient, and happy for having helped others who will shop for these things at Goodwill, get an excellent deal, and love them the way I never could!

2. Now, it's time for your closet. And this one may take a while. I would spend an hour or maybe even two going through your entire closet one evening. I'd also bring a nice bottle of white, light a candle, and think about who's style you admire. For me, I'm a huge Reese Witherspoon fan. She can do no fashion wrong in my eyes. So when I'm going through my closet assessing what I do and don't need, I think of her style. It's simple, polished, a little trendy, but mostly classic. Try every single thing on and ask yourself these questions:

Do I FEEL good in this? Do I look good? Have I worn it in the last 12 months? Does it fit my "vision" for how I want to be perceived?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, it goes. And don't be dramatic about it, just put it in the donate pile. They're just clothes. And trust me, you'll feel better when you know you have a closet full of items that you love. It will take you half the time to get dressed.

3. And lastly- pictures. I think part of the problem people get so behind on printing and organizing their photos is that there are waaaay toooo many! We do not need 13 pictures of the same thing, pictures with blurs, copious pictures of inanimate objects, or pictures that aren't even that good. Pick your absolute favorite pictures from each event and delete the rest. Then give these some meaning- put them into an album, frame them in your house, anything. No one, even your children, is going to want to flip through 19 pages of pictures from "that one time we went to the pumpkin patch!" It's much more impactful to just show those that really capture the event.

Disclaimer: I realize that I, by nature, am a purger, and not everyone is like this. There are times that Matt is genuinely afraid he's the next item to be dropped off at to Goodwill (most of the time this is not true.) But the reason I'm this way is that I believe life is too short and our time is too precious to surround ourselves with anything less than the best. You don't get to enjoy the things you love the most when they're surrounded by things you could care less about.

So go forth and purge! You'll reclaim time and maybe even a better attitude in the process ;)

image from here

Cut the Crap I: Streamline Your Life

Cut the Crap part 1: Streamline Your Life

image from here

I'm starting a new series called Cut the Crap. It's really for my benefit, but I'm hoping it can help some of you who may be in the spirit of "I am tired of feeling stressed and rushed every second of every day and I need somewhere to focus my controlling energy!"

No? Just me?

Well either way, I find the start of a new year the best time to simplify life. The daily processes that sometimes bog us down in very mundane and un-exciting ways; the over abundance of "stuff" that surrounds us that we aren't sure what to do with; those parts of life.

This is the first order of Marden family business in 2011.

One thing I struggle with is constantly feeling like I have errands to run. There is always that one extra thing we need from the grocery store, or we're out of diapers, or it's so and so's birthday at work and I completely forgot. And when you have a little one and you work full-time, the one thing you don't have a lot of is spare time, and what you do have you want to spend with your family. Not behind someone with 27 things in the express lane at Publix.

So, here are a few things I've started doing and hope to do this year to keep things running smoothly, and to give me back some time. Hopefully you find these helpful too.

1. We all have smart phones by now, so let's use them. I created a contact card in my blackberry contacts called Store List. In it I have a section for the grocery store, Target, and Costco. Any time I think of something I need at one of these places I immediately I add it here, then it's always with me at the store. I add it right then or I swear it's gone from my brain. Plus, this is much more efficient than keeping a list at home because you don't always remember to carry that with you.

2. At the beginning of every month Matt and I are going to sit down and talk through what we have going on that month, from both a social and financial perspective. We're going to plan our budget based on specific expenses for that month which may include car repairs, hair cuts, etc, and also so that I can go ahead and think of any gifts, cards, etc. I need to pick up at the store.

3. I'm starting to grocery shop and menu plan for two weeks at a time instead of one. I hate (seriously, hate) having to run to the store to get one or two things. It drives me bananas. And, I'm starting to hate grocery shopping because it's become a bit of a time sink. Doing this gives me at least an hour back. On top of this, I cook and prep most of our food on Sunday. That way all I have to do the remaining days is heat it up or throw it together. Because coming home to a whiny, hungry baby and no idea what to cook for dinner at the end of the day is not my idea of bliss. And no amount of wine can fix that.

4. Keep a shopping bag in the trunk of your car for things you no longer use, and when it's full drop it by Goodwill. Example: When you take a top out of your closet to wear on three separate occasions but never actually leave the house in it because something isn't right, it needs to go in this bag. Right then. Don't come back to it later and create more work for yourself. I'll elaborate more on this later as it's a subject near and dear to my nerdy minimalist heart.

5. And finally, I've put together a list of the must-have items we rely on weekly if not daily that I like to make sure we have on hand. Before I head to the store I'll check to make sure these are present so we don't run out mid-week. This includes things like dish detergent, diapers, toothpaste, etc...don't hesitate to add things like wine, chocolate, or an anti-stress detoxifying face mask. I won't judge.

Here's to less stress in 2o11!