simplicity makes life, as a whole, feel less cluttered…
more focused…
less needy.
A couple of years ago (well, really, it was about 10 years ago) I discovered the book, 30 Days to a Simpler Life.
It said to me: Get rid of a bag of stuff a day and your life will be better.
Okay. Maybe the book didn’t sprout lips, a mouth, a tongue, and teeth and say that. Maybe the book’s pages don’t even say that but that’s what I read. That’s what jumped off the page and into my brain.
Get a bag + Fill it up with stuff + Get rid of it = Better Life
I did that. Everyday.
Some days I filled lots of bags.
It made me get focused in a way I had never been.
It was during that decluttering time ten years ago that photography came into clear focus (I’m really not intending that to be a pun…but there it is.)
I had my finger in about 14,000+ projects….quilting, being a mom, soap making, sewing, painting, re-decorating, being a mom, candle making, photography, repurposing old furniture, being a mom, flower arranging, journaling, being a mom, paper making, crafts of every kind.
This doesn’t mean that I was good at every one of them or even that I did every one of them.
Mostly what it means is that I had just bought supplies for 101 projects and they were all sitting in closets, drawers, and cupboards taunting me to come and get them; each project knowing that I certainly didn’t have a moment to gather them together and actually do them.
The projects I did actually get started on sat unfinished in some hidden place only to jump out at me unexpectedly…specifically to remind me of my failures.
As I was going through all of this stuff and painfully trying to decide what to keep (I’m sure I’ll do this project tomorrow!) and what to get rid of (what if I need this project??) I realized that I was trying to be good at a bunch of stuff.
And really…I was good at nothing. Maybe mediocre but not good.
New plan:
Decide on only one thing I love.
Get rid of everything else.
That one thing decision was: Being a mom (and photography)
Okay, I decided on two things. The two things I thought I was the best at. My two strengths.
It was a great plan. It made me choose. It made me get serious about what I had fun doing.
_________________
And so this year I decided to try that plan again.
Today I don’t have 14,000 things that I’ve got my finger in to but I do want to simplify. I like it when things feel simple.
I like it when life comes down to only a few things.
So, I’m starting with a bag. And filling it.
I wish you could have seen this wall before the decluttering took place (please ignore my bookshelf that is spilling books everywhere and the Empire State Building of books has taken residence…both of which make it look like I don’t understand what it means to declutter…).
A before picture would have been nice, I know. But I forgot…
This is the after. Mike and I filled 3 trash bags (kitchen size) to get to this point.
And I love it.
I love the missing stuff…the blank walls…the space for my house and my life to breathe.
Looking back into 2011…life got busy, a little hectic, a little bit full of stuff.
My house has started to feel like we are busting out of it. (How does that happen when only 3 years ago we were 6 people living in 1700 square feet and now we are 6 people living in 2800 square feet and we are busting out of it?)
I’m ready to get back to simple.
(In case you’re ready to get back to simple…here’s a little plan for you: week 1 of 52 weeks of getting simpler)
what’s the one thing you’re ready for this year?
(please tell me in the comments)
xoxo,
Davina
*share this with a friend by clicking on the facebook or twitter icons below…or just copy and past the link in an email.
18 Comments
love you and love this 🙂
Thank you Carmen. It makes me happy to see your name…I hope I get to see your face someday soon…
Once again, you’ve inspired me. I’m trying to finish organizing my craft/office space and the thing that keeps coming back up is how much stuff I have for projects I might do. I know I need to get rid of it, but I keep saying, well, maybe once the space is cleaned up enough for me to use it, I’ll do XYZ….I can usually let my stuff go, but I have such a desire to be creative that it’s hard to get rid of the things that could help me be creative. However, maybe I just need to focus on one thing like you said.
Rebekah, I hear you! Being creative is so stinkin’ fun! For me, I find that when I get too many creative projects going my life fills up with stuff that doesn’t matter, I start to get stressed over little things, and I lose focus on the projects (and people) that I really love. This may not be you but sometimes I totally get distracted by projects because in my own mind I put up these deadlines that are invisible to everyone else but me! haha!
Oh…..I LOVE decluttering. My kids have joked that I might declutter a little too much and donate their Birth Certificates to Goodwill.
My house can get out of control sooooo quick. It is a never ending snowstorm of items being brought into our home by 8 people that gets crazy. I would LOVE to have the professional organizers (on TV shows) come in to my house and set up a (fully paid for) system WITHOUT the camera crew!
You ARE great at decluttering! You should have people pay YOU to come in and declutter their homes! 🙂 (without the camera crew, of course.)
I love this post, Davina. I’m in the process of doing the same thing. Just filled up boxes and boxes of children’s books to give away. It’s crazy when you have no idea how it got to that point. This is awesome and inspiring, my friend!
Thank you, Calvina! 🙂 What a lovely way to bless some other children’s lives, too. I love it when I clean stuff out and make room for doing what i really love to do. Plus, the feeling that you’re living more simply (and helping others) is so invigorating!
I’m really good at GETTING simple or decluttered, not so much at STAYING decluttered! Ha
My this year thing is finishing the novel I’ve been working on. Being a mom and photographer makes it hard, but I’m making the commitment. going to a writing conference in May so it must be ready to go!!!! 🙂
Oooo! A writing conference sounds so fun. I’m interested in your path to your novel. Are you blogging about that?
Wow Davina this is just what I needed!!! Being a mommy and a photographer are the two most important things to me, but I am constantly getting distracted by my “projects” and end up stressed and overwhelmed having accomplished nothing in the end. This article was a real “tah-dah” moment because I can SO relate! I’ve been wanting to simplify for a while (what can I say, it’s on my list of to-do’s 😉 ). I’m getting started right now, thanks for the inspiration and insight you give!
Jodie,
I’m so glad this was helpful to you. I so appreciate hearing that posts help other people! 🙂 When you blog some before and afters I would enjoy seeing them. Getting the chance to see spaces become simpler is so inspiring. Can’t wait!
Last fall was so nutty for me and all that was really on my mind was organizing the house and making things more simple. I feel the same way. How on Earth did we get so much stuff. Stuff that doesn’t matter. So I have been an organizing machine this week and have many other projects ahead. I think I am a little OCD with it but it makes me have the “ahhhh” feeling when it’s done! Thanks for a little motivation! 🙂
Mandy,
How does all that stuff manage to come into our homes. It seems like it sneaks in doesn’t it!? haha. When you’re done organizing bring your machine over to my house. I want to stay motivated to move through my whole house and it sounds like you’d be just the ticket! 🙂 My favorite is to stand back and look at the difference I’ve made. That relieved feeling is the best!
Oooh, this makes me want to grab a bag right now!! What a great exercise!
You’ll end up addicted, Melanie, because it’s so easy. It gets you started which is the hardest part. When I think about just one bag that feels like a 15 minute project. When I look at a room I get overwhelmed and think I’ll be in there all day or lost forever in the pile up and never found. One bag = do-able. 🙂
I love this post! Just yesterday I took a carload of Stuff away and it felt so good. I can’t wait to take away MORE! Heavens, WHAT did you do with the stuff on your walls? I love that open space!
Thank you for putting words and beautiful images to what I have been experiencing and motivating me to continue (a bag a day)!
Laura, it’s so funny the way we live parallel lives. I love it! 🙂
And the stuff on my walls…I’ve lived here 3 years, I’m a photographer, and I’m ashamed to say there was nothing on them. Now that I’ve cleared all the junk that had been piled up I’m not ready yet to put something on the actual walls. Crazy, huh?
We’ve been making some plans though… 🙂