The year of less stuff

I've come to the realization that I am a prisoner to our stuff. Not to sound too dramatic, but our stuff overwhelms me. In the morning, as the clutter starts to build I figure that it's no big deal. Once the kids are asleep I'll deal with it. And I'll shower. And blog.  And I'll do all the accounting for my business. And I'll make lunches for the next morning. Problem is, the little critters never seem to go to bed early enough for me to tackle half - nay, a quarter - of what I set out to do, and I'm exhausted by the time they're asleep. Tell me you also have this problem! I can't be alone!

I've purged in the past. I thought these episodes of clutter-ridding were helping us establish a more organized home. But it was never enough. We have too much.

My house isn't tiny (not like these), but it's a downtown semi-detached with an open concept main floor. I love my house, but my living/dining room doubles as our playroom, eating space and home office and there is stuff everywhere. We also like to hang out in the living room in the evening and sip wine and watch whatever we're binge watching that week. I hate seeing all the junk everywhere and I find it incredibly hard to relax.

I saw an excerpt for The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo recently and was intrigued by a few of the quotes. Have you heard of it? Apparently it's been on the NY Times best seller list for a while now, and the author is THE tidying expert in Japan. I picked it up recently and read it very quickly (if you're considering it, it's a very easy, quick read), and it has inspired me.

This is my hallway after 2 days of spending a few hours getting rid of, as Marie Kondo put is, things that do not bring me joy. And I'm not even close to being done. We're breathing better already. Stay tuned for more. Way more!