I've been working on the whole simplifiying/decluttering thing off and on, but I'm back on board now, as we have a new baby coming in a few months. Life feels so cramped and busy and I'm trying hard to make room (in more ways than one) for the baby. I still can't quite grasp how our family will be redefined in a few months. We're not having any more kids, and dh made it clear no more pets either, so it feels like soon we'll really know who we are as a family and won't be searching or wondering what we will add next, so I suppose our general outlook on the future is being simplified too.
Many people assumed we would be moving when we announced ds2 is coming, we live in a 900 sq ft townhome (no basement, garage, or yard), the kids will share a room, and dh and I share our room as his office, but it feels good to tell people our priorities are different- many of our relatives have both parents working full time and miserable, so they can afford nice big houses. We've made the commitment to live with less income, and in a tiny, not so nice house, BUT have a wonderful home where the kids can be raised.
The physical decluttering is winding down, so now I'm also trying to say no to commitments. I quit my very part time (ten hours a week) job last month; not just because I don't want to work when the baby comes, but because financial gain is not worth the stress (read: clutter) of commuting, and stress on family to provide childcare. Our parents have crazy busy stressful lives and I don't want to add to someone else's clutter. And, this week alone, I turned down 3 different family gatherings. We still see both our immediate families weekly, but we can't be running everywhere every day. I'm coming to realize that dh, ds, and the new baby and I are our OWN family- not just appendages to other familes, and sometimes, we need to be our own priority. My sudden urge to say no is also because of potty-training ds. It was so nice to just hunker down at home for a whole week, say no to any outside commitment, and mark a huge milestone in our son's life.
With the baby, I got so into nesting and got excited and made a registry full of things I'd love to get for the baby. Now, I've been going online everyday looking at my list, making sure everything on there will contribute to a more simplified life, and sure enough, it's helped me come up with alternative ideas and cross things off the list that I once deemed as necessary. Makes me realize how much I've changed since ds1 was born.. there was soo much that I thought I needed, but was just wasted.
Many people assumed we would be moving when we announced ds2 is coming, we live in a 900 sq ft townhome (no basement, garage, or yard), the kids will share a room, and dh and I share our room as his office, but it feels good to tell people our priorities are different- many of our relatives have both parents working full time and miserable, so they can afford nice big houses. We've made the commitment to live with less income, and in a tiny, not so nice house, BUT have a wonderful home where the kids can be raised.
The physical decluttering is winding down, so now I'm also trying to say no to commitments. I quit my very part time (ten hours a week) job last month; not just because I don't want to work when the baby comes, but because financial gain is not worth the stress (read: clutter) of commuting, and stress on family to provide childcare. Our parents have crazy busy stressful lives and I don't want to add to someone else's clutter. And, this week alone, I turned down 3 different family gatherings. We still see both our immediate families weekly, but we can't be running everywhere every day. I'm coming to realize that dh, ds, and the new baby and I are our OWN family- not just appendages to other familes, and sometimes, we need to be our own priority. My sudden urge to say no is also because of potty-training ds. It was so nice to just hunker down at home for a whole week, say no to any outside commitment, and mark a huge milestone in our son's life.
With the baby, I got so into nesting and got excited and made a registry full of things I'd love to get for the baby. Now, I've been going online everyday looking at my list, making sure everything on there will contribute to a more simplified life, and sure enough, it's helped me come up with alternative ideas and cross things off the list that I once deemed as necessary. Makes me realize how much I've changed since ds1 was born.. there was soo much that I thought I needed, but was just wasted.
Wonderful thread...
, and I've spent last year making some BIG changes.
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