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What season are you in now?

Anyone else? 😅😬🫣

Omg preach

She’s right 😉

This seems weird, right? Why am I posting Christmas stuff the day after Valentines Day?

Because these pictures are from yesterday.
I finally decided to take my Christmas tree down. It’s been a warm, cozy glow since I put it up at the end of November, and we just needed it longer this year. I thought Candlemas seemed like an appropriate time to take it down, but we weren’t quite ready yet. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be ready yesterday.

There was zero guilt or shame about ignoring the acceptable end of the Christmas season. We needed a little extra light in the darkness of winter, and we kept it until we didn’t. That’s not something we should ever be ashamed of.

Don’t put a timeline on the things that work for you.

Here’s to more sunlight and new beginnings 🌥️

Some guidelines we could all use this time of year via The Minimal Mom

🎁 Preferably we'd just have clear cut rules: If I receive a gift and don't want it, don't need it or feel like there are strings attached then I simply discard it. I give it away, sell it, or donate it. Plain and simple. But this disregards the complexity of our relationships! So here are my current rules around gifts:

1️⃣ I keep some things that are useless or unneeded for me if I love and appreciate the person and the gift brings up positive feelings (like feeling loved, noticed, appreciated or cared for). I'll often let these gifts go after a while, but not usually right away.

2️⃣ I discard gifts that bring up feelings of resentment, anger, sadness or feel that they have strings or expectations attached. (If we look at the definition above, that's not actually a "gift" that's an "exchange", trading a physical item for an expected response disguised as a present).

For myself, I don't keep things just because someone might come to our home in the future and expect to see it UNLESS they're very close to me. I've kept and displayed things that my mom or grandma have given me because I care about them and I want to honor them in that way.

But I don't do the same for all people...see how it's not cut and dry! 🤪 And no matter what, I always express appreciation and gratitude for any gift that I receive (and *try* to follow up with a thank you note, too).

The good news is that gifts are generally a pretty small portion of the clutter in our homes. Don't let yourself get hung up on any one item. Set it aside and work on other things until you have more clarity about the object.

I love you and am excited for the next year. I believe you can have a fully decluttered house in 2024 and I'm here to support you and cheer you on!

Dawn

Could anyone else use a jumpstart for dealing with their stuff? Dawn (The Minimal Mom) is offering this FREE 4 day cleaning and decluttering holiday reset. She’s practical, relatable, and has tons of great YouTube videos for any specific areas you may be struggling with on your own.

I don’t think it’s just me…are we tired of all the stuff? 🤷‍♀️ Been there, done that, ready for a fresh start? 🪴If you’d like some help next week, I’m offering four FREE days of guided cleaning and decluttering. We’ll work together each day and use the power of body doubling to get a TON done. ❤️ Sign up here: https://www.theminimalmom.com/holiday-reset

Look for space.

Fight for margin.

Scratch and claw for the gap between stimulus and response.

Demand - or accept - rest.

Anxiety is healed in the gap. In the space between.

You’re worth it.

Don’t run from the mess - grab a trusted friend and run right into the middle of it.

That’s where the healing is.

Delony

⏰ It’s that time of year again ⏰

Everyone is trying to get your attention to buy stuff. That means, come Friday, your inbox will be full of offers from every business that has your email address. Use this to your advantage. Which ones are still relevant to you? Be ruthless with the unsubscribe button, and go into the holidays with a little less e-overwhelm 😊

Something to keep in mind this holiday season.

“Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.” - John Ruskin

(A mantra for the holiday buying season)

Artwork: Hoarding, James Gulliver Hancock

📣 This is still something I’m incredibly passionate about. Don’t build your current problems into your future house! It’s huge to have another set of eyes on things to give you perspectives you might not have considered.

Just in case you need to hear this:

In case you needed the reminder. 🫶🏻

🔔 Today! 🔔

📺 Have E-waste to dispose of?

🗓️ Mark your calendar for this event!

On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Renaissance at Colony Park and Nextech Partners, Inc., a local IT / E-Waste disposal services company, will host an E-Waste Disposal Event in recognition America Recycles Day. The event will be held at Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland (in the Barnes & Noble parking lot) and will offer a place for residents and small businesses to dispose of their end-of-life/discarded electronics such as laptops/personal computers, monitors, televisions, cell phones, printers, scanners, cords, and the like. Equipment will be collected and taken to NexTech’s Pearl, MS, facility for processing/recycling.

Acceptable Items and Costs:
- Desktop computers, laptops, tablets and cell phones – FREE of charge
- Flat screen monitors - $2 each
- Printers, fax machines, DVD players - $3 each
- CRT monitors - $10 each
- Televisions - $15 each

Location: Renaissance at Colony Park Shopping Center, Ridgeland, MS
(adjacent to frontage road/Barnes & Noble)
Date/Times: November 15, 2023, 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

📚 Have some books you need to donate? 📚

Since Big House Books only accepts these genres, your local library is another way to donate your unwanted books for a good cause.

Thinking about donating books during this giving season? Thank you for your support! 🙏 Because we have limited space we recently updated our Accepted Titles list. These are the genres we need AND which we struggle to keep adequate stock. If you have paperback books that are NOT on this list, please consider recycling them. ♻️ Thanks, and happy giving!

📦 The #1 perk of hiring me is all the stuff you want out of your house goes with me at the end of the work day 🥳

So most people who know me know I feel pretty strongly about Sash bags 😂

🎽 If you’re curious, now’s the time to check them out. They’re great for going hands free, being intentional about what you carry around all the time, and giving your neck and shoulders some relief. Feel free to reply with any questions. I’m not an affiliate or anything, just passionate about things that work 😉

Sash Bag: Flash sale happening NOW!

Buy One Get One FREE. Ends 9pm Pacific Time

Buy ANY BAG or accessory on our website and get another of equal or lesser value for free.

NO CODE NEEDED, discount appears at checkout.

*Restrictions on returns and exchanges apply

Sash The cross body bag you'll never take off.

Some decluttering inspiration via
The Minimal Mom

Impression Books is one of our favorite used bookstores. You can browse while you’re there (they have a great kids section) and then go by Crazy Cat Eat Up for lunch 😉

Donations are a great way to make space for you, and allow someone else the joy of one of your old books

Professional Organizers United

PSA- It's not about your stuff. It's about YOU. How you feel. Your goals. Your dreams. Your aspirations. It's about what YOU want for a better life.
Get a jump start to living better. Whatever you hope to achieve, we can help you kick start the journey to a better YOU. ❤

I love this.

via Mandy McCarty Harris of Happy Like This

Picture it. My home office. 9:15 am.
I settled in and opened my computer as I casually reached for my coffee cup. I took a confident swig of that fresh, hot brew only to find that it was yesterday’s cold, stale coffee. Eww.
I gently and gracefully put the coffee cup down, politely swallowing what was already in my mouth.
Okay, no I didn’t. I spit it out and made icky noises like a child. Whatever.
Hey, you guys, you know what was good yesterday might not be good today, right? You know that because it brought joy or served a worthy purpose before, doesn’t necessarily mean that it will bring joy or serve a worthy purpose now.
WHAT WORKED THEN MIGHT NOT WORK NOW AND THAT’S OKAY.
This is true for parenting, marriage, friendship, art, work, and plain old life.
You don’t toss the cup. The cup is good. The cup is your job or home or people or passions and YOU KEEP THE CUP, but you rinse it out and fill it back up with what works, what brings joy, and what serves a worthy purpose. Not only is that okay, that’s living a beautiful, purposeful, intentional life, and THAT IS GOOD. That is happy.

*repost from October 2019*
written by Happy Like This by Mandy McCarty Harris

Progress from my ongoing kitchen project. The items in the middle of the far left cabinet will eventually be hung around the area above the cabinets. It’s always good to display or use sentimental items instead of them just getting in the way and taking up useable space. This lady deserves to have a kitchen she loves. So proud of her!

More clothes hangers have been ordered, some extra jewelry storage is in the works, those fabric bins will be replaced, and that chair will be removed when we decide on a suitable step stool. It’s not completely finished, but I feel like we have achieved the boutique closet and vanity oasis I envisioned for this busy mom!