This is my dream kitchen, guys. It is all white and clean and clutter-free!
I can not tell you how long I have had this pinned. However, this is not my kitchen. Mine is black and dark and there are no plants or natural light. Don't get me wrong, I love my house. I enjoy being in my kitchen, I mean that is where the coffee lives!
I have thought a few times about painting my cabinets, but that isn't really the problem in my kitchen. The problem is all the STUFF. I am grateful we have things, but there is such a thing as too much. We have dishes from when I was in college, we have dishes from David's apartment (ahem, bachelor pad), we have plain white dishes from our wedding, then we have the fancy dishes that we never use because, "fine china" and all that! WHY?? Why do we hold on to all these things?
The kitchen isn't the only area of my house that is cluttered. Something had to give.
I started my journey into a simpler lifestyle in September of 2018 (so I'm still a novice at this idea of minimalism). My husband is in the Navy, and I enjoy doing projects like this while he is away to focus my mind. What started as a "clean up" project, is now a journey. It isn't an easy one, and it has proven to be much more time consuming than originally anticipated, but I am enjoying every second of it.
I'll go into more detail on clutter-free living next week, with tips and tricks for your home, but for now, I want to leave you the reasons why living simple has freed up space in not only my home but also my mind allowing me to focus on the things that truly matter- my family.
Okay, so back to the picture of the kitchen- what do you think of when you think of minimalism? White walls? No television? No toys? Plants in every room? One, small Ikea couch? I used to think of it that way. It's really all about lack of clutter though!
Don't miss this: Less "stuff" equals less stress!
Living simply is about getting rid of what you don't need in order to make room for what you do need! That's not just physical stuff, but also about putting systems in place that organize your life: what you eat, what you do, your roles, your goals, and your finances, in order with less chaos. It's about being proactive to plan for your daily life, so when things don't go as planned, everything else is flexible and manageable. Living simply is good for you Mama!
I do not need TVs in every room of my house. What I do need, instead, is quite time to talk to my husband and be present. Seriously, we have one TV. We watched 30 minutes of some show on Netflix last night, then we went to our room and TALKED for 2.5 hours. He had been at work for 24 hours prior, and we just needed to catch up. We talked about personal growth, we talked about the baby, we talked about work, we just talked and laughed with no background noise. It was lovely.
What I do not need is a pile full of kiddo toys in every single room. What I do need, space to get in the floor and play with my daughter, read to her, and teach her. More toys does not equal more fun.
I read a blog today as I prepared to share my experiences with you all and it is called "Why Mama needs Minimalism" and I just want to hug this girl! She shares 10 reasons that she needed it, as a mama and wife. I was applauding for a solid 6 of these reasons.
The number one reason I want to live a more simple life is because there will be LESS CLEANING. Okay, this isn't a "me, me, me" thing but girlfriend, your family is best taken care of when you take care of yourself. Right?! So, if you are spending less time cleaning, that means you may actually have time for yourself, which means, YOU HAVE TIME AND ENERGY TO TAKE CARE OF THEM BETTER! Following? Please, tell me I am not alone here. She breaks it down like this: less cleaning means that she is spending less time frustrated about all the cleaning that needs to happen, less time being overwhelmed, and more time being a happy mama, which is a much better way to spend the precious few years we are given to raise our littles.
Look at this face! She does not care one bit about my clean house. She cares about my attention. Yours do too.
"I don't remember my mother ever playing with me . And she was a perfectly good mother. But she had to do the laundry and clean the house and do the grocery shopping." - Patricia Heaton
That quote breaks my heart. And while we all want to do better for our kids, better for me is just having room to grow.
All month long the JPF Moms will be sharing how we do life {and what little nuggets of wisdom we have in some areas about simple living}.
Stay tuned for more!
I would love to know if you have done it what worked for you. It is a journey I am still on, and maybe one day I will have all the answers. I am not there yet though.
Simply,
Kenzie
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