Finding Me

"A place for everything, everything in its place." - Benjamin Franklin After the tidying, decluttering, minimizing, or whatever you choose to call it has been done, it is time to find a specific spot for every item. This may sound overwhelming at first ("I have to figure out the exact right location to store everything I own? "), but is a key part of the process. Taking the time to do this gives the following benefits: It's another chance to determine if something adds value to your life. If you feel like you can't be bothered to take this step, well, how important can X item be to you? By having a set place for everything, you will be less tempted to just toss things on the floor, on the kitchen counter, etc. because you won't have to think about where an item goes.  For the same reason, this makes tidying up when things get out of control (after all, this is real life) a lot easier as well. This can be especially helpful when teaching children...

I've been trying to minimize my wardrobe for the past two years, and while I definitely have made huge progress, I've also kept a bunch of "Maybe" clothes in a separate closet for a while. Well, yesterday I was inspired to go through them once and for all and behold, got rid of another two bags of clothes. Considering how much I've already downsized my wardrobe, this is a big deal. Two bags and a little extra! I was left with a closet of things I truly love to wear and I, well, love it. I won't lie, there's a couple items sitting down in those entryway bags that I'm tempted to unearth and put back in my closet, but it's more of a "I might want to wear this" rather than a "I love that item." Definitely need to get them out of the house as soon as possible before I change my mind. It's worth it though to open my closet and see this: I just need to find a better way to store the "summer only" it...

I may have been quiet on here for the past week or so, but I've been busy decluttering. I've gone right back into another round of The Minimalism Game after doing my first ever complete run-through last month. I'm hoping to continue doing the Game until we pack and move. I can see how some people would prefer to just organically remove items as they come across them, but having a hard number target helps me and pushes me to really reconsider what I "need" or even truly want in my life. I've also been doing Joshua Becker's decluttered course, which is pretty great too. He goes room by room every week.  So far it's been car, living room, dining room, and master bedroom, all "easy" areas for me and I honestly haven't removed much so far.  (My pain points are definitely clothes and my home office. They're both much  better than they were but definitely not where I want to be yet. Lessons Learned from Week Two: Nothing except t...

Although I've been fighting off a stomach bug (with varying degrees of success) since Saturday, I did manage to declutter my makeup collection, which was (and probably still is) ridiculously vast considering I wear makeup about once a month (#TelecommuterLife). When I piled it all up in one place a la KonMari I was pretty astounded. Nine eyeshadow palettes. Once again, I wear makeup maybe once a month . Witness: It actually doesn't look like much in this picture, but trust me - the herd needed to be thinned. So I went through, and got it down quite a bit: Left is discard, right is keep. A lot of the left is boxes, but there was plenty of actual makeup too, including four palettes, so I'm pretty happy with the result. One of those times where I can feel that I haven't hit the "click point" yet though. I'll definitely need to go through again but for now, mission accomplished!

Well, this week was just crazy at work, so didn't get as hardcore as I hoped, however I really decluttered the linen closet (we had WAAAAAAY too many sheets and towels for two people!) and started going through memorabilia.  The linen closet looks a lot better but otherwise it's hard to see a difference despite everything I decluttered. I can't wait until Spring when I can put out the large items I want to give away for free! (I'm just going to put them in the yard, they should get scooped up quickly.) (And yes, although linens don't count towards the Two Bags project, it was some of the last of the easy, low-hanging fruit. I've been minimizing for about two years now so it gets tougher and tougher.) Insights this week: I'm still afraid to tackle makeup or clothes despite the fact that I wear makeup maybe once a month and the same 20 or so items of clothing over and over. Notebooks are also a problem.  Memorabilia is easier to declutter than I thou...

Hey there! I'm Veronica! I currently live in New York and am preparing to move to Colorado at the end of the year. Instead of just throwing everything into boxes without thinking, I'm going to take the next ten months to do some extreme decluttering until I can fit all of my possessions into my carry-on and backpack, hence one girl two suitcases (with a nod to the infamous namesake). Some rules: I will also have a laptop case for my two (personal and work) laptops to fit into together and a purse. These will not count towards the two bags. I will not be counting shared household items such as linens, dishes and other kitchenware, holiday decorations, etc. These categories will still be minimized and decluttered as part of the process. My bike and related accessories (helmet, shoes, trainer/turbo, etc.) also will not be included (but once again, minimized.) Bike clothes WILL be included. My two heirloom items - my great-grandmother's rocking chair and my grandfath...