4 Tweaks to a Clutter-Free Home

by Amberlee Rich | Aug 17, 2018 | Living with Less | 2 comments

4 Tweaks to a Clutter-Free Home

I don’t know about you, but when my house is in utter chaos, I feel like my life is in chaos. Piles of dishes and laundry to fold can totally derail me. My endless to-do list can make me feel like I am not accomplishing anything. I don’t think I am the only mom who feels like this.

Clutter affects us in so many ways and there is so much research proving that clutter is affecting pretty much every area of our lives. It affects our marriages, kids, keeps us in debt, hurts our productivity, our health, and our diets, and so much more.

Why do we as women see our homes as a direct reflection of us. If our house is put together, then our lives are put together. But there is a catch 22- I wanted to spend quality time with my kids, but when I did, my house suffered. I felt like I had to choose spending quality time with my kids and live with a messy house or have a clean house and not interact much with my kids. I was realizing that I didn’t want either. There has to be some middle ground. This was the catalyst for my personal journey toward a more simplistic and minimalistic lifestyle.

Personally, I felt like I was in a rut and didn’t know where or how to start. I decided to listen to decluttering and organization books. I use the Hoopla App from my library so I can listen to audiobooks for free. Check out my post 4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library for a complete list of library resources.

While listening to the decluttering books on my phone, I started getting rid of the excess in my house. Listening to these books was so motivational for me. One of the first minimalism books I read was “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo. Check out my post here to learn more about this book.

I had several epiphanies on my journey. I realized that every item I own takes up my energy and time; I only wanted to keep what was important to me and my family. When I started to recognize how clutter causes such an emotional response in me, I was more driven to deal with my possessions. Clutter stifles my productivity and creativity.

I started to look at where most of my time was spent and it was in the kitchen making meals, cleaning, doing dishes and laundry. I was constantly picking up toys and shoes and random things dropped on the floors. I started to look at ways to free up time and creating small changes to make my life easier.

Here are some of these small tweaks that really help maintain our home…

ONE

Ditch the Dish Drying Rack

The drying rack was taking up prime counter real-estate, and I wasn’t good about putting the dishes away. I would make the excuse that the dishes need to dry for hours and sometimes days. I now use a towel to dry my pots and pans and everything else that I don’t put in the dishwasher and put them directly away. Check out my post 5 Steps to a Tidy Kitchen for more kitchen clutter hacks.

TWO

Run your Dishwasher at the Right Time

My dishes always seemed to accumulate because the dishwasher was running during meal time. So the dishes piled up while we waited for the dishwasher to finish running. The dirty dishes from the meal filled the sink, so I didn’t have room to wash the pots and pans. This was a perpetual cycle of dish chaos.

Now I run the dishwasher after lunch so we directly put the dishes in the dishwasher instead of the sink. I unload the dishwasher before I start on dinner and then the dishes stay under control. Just figuring out the timing of running the dishes and loading them, has lightened my dish load significantly.

Discover when you should run your dishwasher so you can directly put dishes into it. Many people run their dishwasher at night and unload it in the morning. This didn’t work for me because it added one more chore to do in the morning. It derailed my morning routine.

THREE

Make Your Bed

I never used to make my bed, because I had the mindset that it was a waste of time. I’m not sure what pushed me to try to create this new habit. I was surprised how my bedroom felt so much more relaxing and peaceful when the bed is made. I felt less sloppy when my bed was made, even if I was the only one who would see it. By making my bed, I also realized that I could start a new habit and be consistent. This was my baby step to adding more routines to help keep my house tidy.

FOUR

Have Routine Family Clean-up after Dinner

We started playing upbeat music after dinner while we all clean up. We clean up after the meal and the main living spaces. When we all pitch in, the cleaning process is so much faster and it makes it routine. I used to try to have family clean-up before bed, but it was so hard to be consistent with it. There were so many other routines for bedtime that adding one more didn’t work well for us.

These new small routines had a major impact on how our house runs and gave me momentum to continue to get my house into the peaceful oasis I wanted. We still have days where we slip up, but we are improving. What routines and tweaks have you made that helps you gain back your time?

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4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library

by Amberlee Rich | Aug 14, 2018 | Living with Less, Living on Less

4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library

Let me just put this out there…I LOVE the library. If you haven’t been to a library recently, GO! Libraries are not like they were when I was a kid. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed going to the library as a child, but they pretty much only had books, a few movies, and CD’s. Now, libraries are totally upping their game! The resources are amazing and free! Libraries give us so many resources that help us create a family culture that loves to read.

Libraries are perfect for anyone who wants to be more minimalistic. You can borrow books, toys, games, puzzles, and so much more and then return them when you are done. Talk about the perfect scenario, you check out what you want and you don’t have to keep and store it. Plus, libraries can save you SO much money.

Start taking advantage of the resources the library near you has. Here are some resources to look for:

4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library

ONE

Digital Resources

Many libraries have IPAD’s, SLR Camera Lenses, GoPro’s, portable WIFI, projectors/screens, and so much more to check out. Many libraries have 3D printing for super cheap, computer labs with expensive software on it like Photoshop. So if you need to use a program occasionally, use a library computer. In the town I live in, there is an entire branch of the library that is a digital library. They teach classes on coding, blogging and so much more.

Most libraries also have apps that give you access to free audiobooks, music, and movies. This is how I listen to my books. I don’t pay for a subscription service and I LOOOVE it. Many libraries have resources like free Lynda courses and a variety of online classes.

TWO

Entertainment

Libraries have tons of DVD’s to check out, so you don’t have to buy as many movies or rent them. My family owns less than 5 DVD’s, we just use Netflix and the library. You can put movies on hold online, so you don’t have to go through them at the library. New releases are available too.

Many libraries have games and puzzles. This is a great way to try out a new game without paying a high price. We checked out the game Ticket to Ride and loved it. That game is normally $50. It was nice to play it and not buy it. We end up playing the games more if we check them out, because we know we will need to return them. This has helped us just keep a few games we really like at home and check out the rest.

4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library 4

THREE

Home items

Many libraries are providing items that you might not have on hand but need occasionally. Our library has sewing machines, food dehydrators, scrapbooking tools, garden seeds, cake pans, energy efficient electrical tools, seed sifters, fishing poles, cake decorating tips, knitting items, bike repair kits and so much more. Some libraries even rent out tools. How practical!!

I threw a big birthday party for my mother-in-law and checked out pretty much everything for the party. I checked out the cake pans (our library has over a hundred different ones), cake decorating tips, cookie cutters, and all the scrapbooking punches I needed. I probably would not have bought those supplies normally, but I was able to make everything look so much nicer without spending a dime. Win-win!

FOUR

Classes and Programs

The classes the libraries provide are amazing. My kids love them. We go to classes that are specific for their ages, art classes for kids, plays, and bilingual classes. The adult classes are great. I have gone to classes where I made bath bombs, took yoga classes, painted a cute wooden sign, and made my own essential oil room spray.

The classes were free and I was able to take all these items home for free! The classes range from teaching new skills like coding, gardening, knitting to clothing swaps and escape rooms.

There is so much available for free at libraries. Find out what is available to you and GO to the library. What a great resource that is available to us. So let’s use it! Let’s create a family culture that loves to read!

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5 Steps to a Tidy Kitchen

by Amberlee Rich | Aug 8, 2018 | Living with Less

5 Steps to a Tidy Kitchen

Do you ever look at all the piles of stuff everywhere and feel totally overwhelmed? I used to feel like I could never keep my house clean, even before having kids. Once I started having children, the mess just got worse and I kept excusing it, blaming it on my kids. I realized that I needed to change myself and start creating habits to keep my home in a less chaotic state.

Honestly, I didn’t know where to start. I started to survey my house and realized that most of my stuff doesn’t have a home. I had paperwork in four different places and toys in random bins. I decided that I wanted every item in my house to have a designated home. In doing this, I decided that I need to deal with my stuff and choose what needed to stay and what didn’t.

I also knew that a clean and organized home wasn’t enough. I needed to be disciplined in maintaining my home on an everyday basis. After looking at my home, I realized that my biggest frustrations with mess and clutter was my kitchen. So, I started there.

Here are the five steps I took to get my kitchen from being a constant mess to a more tidy and less-cluttered kitchen. I’m not perfect, and I still have those days where it is messy. But my kitchen is SOOO much better than what it used to be.

5 Steps to a Tidy Kitchen

ONE

Keep the Essentials and What You Love

My kitchen is small and my countertop space is limited, so I made it my goal to get rid of enough kitchen supplies to put almost everything out of sight.

I cut down on the super specific kitchen gadgets like my avocado slicer and strawberry huller. Who really needs them anyway? If the item wasn’t multifunctional it was given away.

Eventually, I was able to pare down to the essentials and man, does it feel wonderful. I can open a drawer without searching endlessly for what I need.

TWO

Become a Detective to Solve Your Problem Areas

The most common countertop space-sucker for me was my clean dishes that were ‘drying’ for days. I needed to find a solution to my problem. And surprisingly, the biggest change for me in my kitchen was getting rid of my drying rack. Read my post 4 Tweaks to a Clutter-Free Home for more details.

I now hand-dry my pots and pans and put them directly away instead of letting them dry for days and take up precious counter space. I have room for everything in my kitchen now and my countertops have space.

THREE

Work Smarter not Harder

My sink used to be filled with dirty dishes because my dishwasher was in use, so I had no room to wash any of my dishes. The dishes became so much harder to clean since they were still dirty and the cycle continued. Once I started running my dishwasher at a convenient time, I was able to load my dishes directly into the dishwasher. I have days that I am off schedule, but this has helped me immensely.

FOUR

Clean While You Cook

My husband can attest, that I would not put anything away until I was done cooking. I wish I would have started cleaning as I cooked years ago. Creating new habits takes work and discipline.

I’ve started reciting this mantra in my head “if it takes less than 30 seconds to put it away, put it away.” By reminding myself to put in the little extra effort, it pays dividends later. I try to put items away as I cook because after dinner I don’t want to clean up after cooking, plus put away dishes.

FIVE

Create an Inviting Kitchen

Most of us are in our kitchens often. What if we made our kitchen look and feel more inviting? I started to diffuse essential oils while I cook and having fresh-cut flowers from my garden. By making my kitchen more of an oasis, it has helped me keep it clean.

Once my kitchen was neater and more organized with what I truly love and use, I have had a much easier time wanting to keep it clean. I struggled and still do with being disciplined in keeping a clean kitchen. When I have an off day and my kitchen looks like a bomb went off, my mood goes sour fast.

Once I have started putting the correlation together, keeping a clean kitchen makes me a better mom and wife. When my kitchen is clean, I cook more and we eat healthier. It really is a domino effect.

What area of your home is the big domino that will affect change in other areas of your life? If you aren’t sure, what area or items always seem out of control? Start paying attention to what areas are the most frustrating to you. Once you start evaluating what you own and being a ruthless editor of what comes in and out, you can find freedom. Make the changes you need so you can be a more available momma and have a more peaceful home.

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A Fresh Perspective on Every Season of Motherhood

by Amberlee Rich | Aug 4, 2018 | Intentional Living, Living with Less, Motherhood, Parenting

A Fresh Perspective on Every Season of Motherhood

I see so many stressed out and crazy busy moms. They live and breathe exhaustion. It seems like so many moms are just waiting for that next season of motherhood. I’ve heard these phrases countless times:

once my kids are out of diapers then…
once my kids are old enough to go to school…
once my kids are old enough to drive…

A Fresh Perspective on Every Season of Motherhood 7

A Fresh Perspective on Every Season of Motherhood 8

Why do we always think that grass is greener on the other side? Why aren’t we enjoying the season that we are in? We seem to think that the older our kids get, the easier our lives will be. But from my observation, it seems that parents seem to be more stressed out the older their kids get. So why?

4 Ways to Start Enjoying the Season You are in

ONE

We are too Busy

We start off being busy with feeding our kids and changing diapers and managing our babies lives and then we transition to different forms of busyness like taking kids to practices.

So many moms I know don’t know how to be still. We are not meant to run a marathon for eighteen years. We need to rest and take care of ourselves.

Cut out the activities and obligations that are stressing out the family. Start saying no to things. The best memories our kids have are from the moments when we are not busy, and we take the time to enjoy life.

TWO

Take Care of Yourself First, then Your Kids

Many moms serve, serve, serve to the point that they snap at any little thing and they believe they will never have time to do what they want until their kids go off to college.

We have to start putting ourselves before our kids. This may sound selfish but stay with me. If we take care of ourselves well, we become better mothers. Shouldn’t we be modeling to our kids how to take care of themselves? If we run ourselves ragged, how will that help them?

Just because we have kids, doesn’t mean that we need to put our life on hold for years. If our identity is wrapped up in our kids, what happens when they move out?

Start doing the hobbies you love. Start journaling, reading, running, and whatever else brings you joy. Let your kids participate in your passions. They need to see you as a person and not just their mom.

THREE

Step out of Survival Mode

So many moms are living in survival mode all. of. the. time. and they believe that that is the way of motherhood. There can be seasons of survival mode, but that shouldn’t be our permanent existence.

I think that some moms realize that they are in survival mode, but a lot of moms don’t. They have been on the motherhood journey and are just exhausted.

Ladies, there is hope. We are meant to live for more than just mundane tasks and being a chauffeur. Being teachable and having an open mindset is what is blocking mothers from enjoying freedom. You have control of your time. Start believing it. You can make the change.

FOUR

Get Rid of Your Stuff

This one may throw you off, but hear me out. What we own is one of the biggest stressors we have.

Once I started purging my possessions, I have had more time, energy, and way less stress. I have been able to be more present with my kids.

I’ve been helping other moms go through their possessions and they all have found freedom. They are able to do family outings and do things instead of clean. Start cutting out stressors in your life.

Let’s enjoy the season of life we are in because these seasons go so fast. Life is going to go by at light-speed, we might as well have a positive perspective on it.

If you are feeling trapped in motherhood, slow down, breathe and cut the excess in your calendar, activities, and even your stuff. Start taking care of yourself, so you can care well for your family.

We are in this together, let’s enjoy each moment with our precious kids.

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How to Gain Freedom by Letting Go of Most of Your Clothes

by Amberlee Rich | Aug 4, 2018 | Living with Less

How to Gain Freedom by Letting Go of Most of Your Clothes

Cleaning out my closet was a little scary. I’ve got to be honest. I had to try on clothes that used to fit- ugg. Which is disappointing. It’s like swimsuit shopping with your whole closet. But once I truly tackled my closet and dealt with all the emotions, I found freedom.

So, let me give you a little of my backstory, I’ve never been a crazy clothing shopper. I’m not a fashionista. But my closet seemed to magically fill up even when I didn’t go clothes shopping. I have been given hand-me-down clothes all my life and I would go clearance shopping and buy random items. I love deals, and I used to buy super cheap clothes that I liked, but didn’t love.

How to Gain Freedom by Letting Go of Most of Your Clothes 9

How to Gain Freedom by Letting Go of Most of Your Clothes 10

My size has changed from having my two kids, so I have clothes in a variety of sizes which adds to the full closet. You know, I have kept those clothes I really want to be able to fit into someday, but when you try them on you can’t get them past your thighs. I don’t think I consciously thought that my closet made me feel bad about myself, but after I started going through it, it did.

At that point, I realized that I wanted to only keep clothes that made me feel good about myself and as Marie Kondo would say ‘spark joy.’ In the past, I would go through my closet and get rid of stuff, and then I kept bringing in more clothes that I didn’t actually love.

If you have been avoiding the process of purging your wardrobe, I feel you. By addressing the reason why you feel like you have nothing to wear in your full closet, you can find freedom. You will be able to have a closet full of clothes you love and keep it that way.

4 Steps to Let Go and Have a Closet You Love

ONE

Dump the Guilt

It is so easy to look at clothing and want to keep them because it was expensive, someone gave it to you, or it was sentimental. Guilt is no fun and should have no room in our closets. Instead of making excuses about why you should keep it, look at each item of clothing you own and decide if it makes you feel good when you wear it. If it doesn’t, donate it.

This was my ah-ha moment. I won a free pair of LuLaRoe leggings that were in a too small size. If you don’t know about these leggings, they are super soft and expensive. I would never normally buy them, so I felt like I should keep them. They fit me when I stood up, but when I sat or bent over, it cut into my gut and was uncomfortable. The leggings made me feel overweight, which is no fun. I was keeping a pair of leggings just because they were expensive, even though I felt like crap when I would wear them and see them in my closet.

Can you relate? What are you keeping because you have guilt about getting rid of it?

TWO

Let Go and Let Someone Else Enjoy your Clothes

When I started to really look at my closet, I realized that I kept on to clothes for all these what-if scenarios. Like if I lose weight, I will fit into these pants (even though they are ten years old). Do I really want to keep these items for that long and will I love them years from now? Probably not.

Instead of holding onto our clothes as a security blanket, let’s be generous and let others enjoy the clothes we don’t love. This mindset shift gave me a reason to purge my closet. By giving my clothes away to people I know and to organizations that I want to support, made this process easier for me. I want my stuff going to a good home.

THREE

Most People Wear 10% of their Clothes

This statistic blew me away and gave me permission to get rid of 90% of my closet (you don’t actually have to do the math, but you get the idea) without feeling like I will miss it.

Cutting out 90% of your closet might make you think you won’t have anything to wear, but evaluate what you actually wear. Do you have a hard time choosing clothes in the morning? It’s probably because you have more clothes that you don’t like than clothes that you love.

FOUR

Only Buy Clothes that you Love

It is so easy to buy clothes for retail therapy or because it is on sale. If we keep repeating our old patterns, our closets are going to be full again in no time with clothes that don’t fit right and are just ok. Be ruthless. Make a pact with yourself that you will only buy what you truly love even if it is a great deal. Just say no.

By buying less you are saving time and money. This is a win-win scenario, but you have to stick to your guns.

By changing the way we think about our clothing and our possessions, we are able to get rid of what is weighing us down. It is so easy to accumulate stuff. Let’s change our mindset and start loving what we look like right now while having a closet full of clothes we love.

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