Saturday, January 21, 2012

Simplicity

Even the word itself - simplicity - rolls off the tongue and floats through the mind like some delightful, whispered secret. I spelled it out in scrabble letters on my fridge and even loved the way the word looked.






But more than that - I love what the word can mean. When I think about what simplicity means, it conjures a feeling that is like an emotional lungful of fresh air after being choked in a polluted city for months or years. I look around my small apartment, that in reality is more than enough space for the four of us, and feel choked at times by the amount of stuff and clutter around me. 


Yes, I know I have two small babies and the messiness of a young family is going to be a part of my life for many years to come, but I can't help feeling that there is still just Too Much. Too much to look at, to much to clean, too much to organize, too much to pick up and too much to find a place for (don't even get me started on the Too Much of our possessions compared to the rest of the world). If the Too Much was lessened - simplified - to only the things that we really needed and loved, this place we called home would not only take me less time to clean and maintain, but could turn into a welcoming haven rather than a stuffed-to-the-brim kingdom of Stuff


There are so many other reasons that The Stuff has me itching to purge. Two of the big ones being that I want to be able to welcome people over to our home on a moment's notice without wondering how much clutter I'll have to clear away before they'll have a place to sit. And two, our lease is up in December. I don't know if we'll move and if we move I don't know where to, but I do know that if we stay here I can not live in this clutter and if we move somewhere else I'll be darned if I pack, unpack and find a new place for anything that I don't truly need or love. December is a ways away, but I also have to be realistic - I've got infant twins and de-cluttering this whole apartment in a major way is going take some serious time. Time that needs to be spread gently over a long stretch of months so I don't stress myself (and my family) out. My goal in finding simplicity is about creating a haven of peace in our home and overcommitting in order to purge will do nothing to create peace in the interim. 


In honor of my new journey towards simplicity - our apartment first and along with it our life and focus as a family - I've redesigned my blog with something clean and uncomplicated. Much like the clutter of my apartment, the layers and layers of this blog's design suddenly made me cringe to look at. And unlike the clutter of my apartment, I can revamp this blog while one of the twins sleeps on my lap. 









Oh, I probably should have mentioned that I'm reading Organized Simplicity right now which is why am about to go NUTS on this apartment! I'm just itching to be home full time so I can start simplifying this place. Watch out material things - I'm about to get'cha.

5 comments:

  1. I like how the book broke the organization into pieces although it will take me 10 MONTHS instead of 10 days. If you think you're drowning in it, think about what our family of 7 sentimental, crafty, history-loving, book-hoarding, homeschooling packrats have accumulated!

    We paid off our house several years ago so we're NOT moving...ever. My incentive is more along the lines of what you mentioned--being able to have people over. "Kisses from Katie" inspires me so much--she's always packing people into her home but we don't have room b/c of "stuff" in the way! Have you read her book yet? Such motivation to give or sell what we have in order to meet the needs of the truly needy around us or overseas.

    Thanks for taking MY people in tomorrow on short notice so they can enjoy your sweet babies for a few minutes!

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  2. I'm pretty sure you know HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS. It's time for me to go through our home again, but this time I'm taking it to a brand new level. Narrowing it down to what I/we love to do most, what we're totally passionate about, and finding tangible ways that our decrease in stuff can bless the poor around the world. It's invigorating. But I'm tired. So I'm going to go read a book and start on Monday. Love you!

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  3. love the new look of your blog!

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  4. 'Simplicity' is my word for 2013, I am hoping to keep this one little word as my focus for 2013 to make some progress and positive changes in my life. Wish me luck!

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