Goodbye Summer!

With school around the corner - Here in Michigan the law is we start AFTER Labor Day - we see the cold coming, our leaves are changing (they've actually already died because of a fungus) and our beach days are coming to an end. My family LOVES the beach. The sand....the water.... the SUN!

I'm sure we might have a few more good, hot days but for now...we will have memories to tide us over.

My Bokeh attempt!

All But Forgotten!

So it's been a while since I have posted. My mother actually reminded me I had a blog! Thanks mom! And? We've been greatly blessed!

Remember our laundry room? Nice bright orange?

Well, we got cabinets! YEAH! Friends of ours were redoing their kitchen and were going to toss these and my Honey said we would take them. Guess how much they wanted? $0!!!!!!!! We can totally afford that. SOLD!

I know they give off a sort of 70's vibe, and it's not over yet! I have a huge ornate flower frame that will cap the 70's look quite nicely. lol I should get a macrame hanger and put a plant in there. Don'tcha think?

I guess it's not as bad as having this awesome $5 find my Honey scored. It still has the original tag on the bottom....yup! 1969! lol HAHAHAHAHA 

  What can I say? We're eclectic! lol

Living without WHAT!?

So.... I tried everyone. I did. I tried to get my kids to have fun and to do fun things every day but they revolted! They wouldn't do it and would whine and complain and be terrible the whole time. WHY!? A friend of mind made comment that maybe they are just used to me doing fun things. WHAT?! I totally understand though. My kids get bored with me playing the piano and dancing around the house.....does yours? Maybe I need to tone it down so my kids appreciate my FUNNESS....yes. I totally just made that up. So I guess for now, that list has become sort of a Summer Bucket List. I will throw out a few things that I wasn't TOTALLY looking forward to, but we will see. We just did Mind Jars and that went over well.... I will have to post about that soon.

Meanwhile, my Honey and I have come to a complete realization.....we have way too much stuff. AGH! This is nothing new people. I knew I had too much stuff and my friends all know I have too much stuff! That's just me, right? Wrong! We have decided that the stress and clutter and all that comes with it does not belong in our home.... or in our lives for that matter.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 (from the Doctrine and Covenants a part of the Book of Mormon)
"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God"

We couldn't do it. We couldn't get ahead of the kids. I felt like I am constantly cleaning only to be left with a mess at the end of the day. Our kitchen was COVERED in dirty dishes.....

I don't think you believe me.....well, I'll show you just what our house looked like. Now, these are REAL photos....don't judge.

Doesn't it look like I set this room up to take a picture for the next I SPY book?

Those are clean dishes.....I know amazing....but still out on the table.

A whole lotta crap on the counter!

Lovely huh?

Um... I have no words.

The OTHER side of the room.

The front room.

The toy box.....for downstairs.

Dress up clothes.

Junk...why?

The hallway upstairs....you know, the one we "cleaned out."

Our bedroom

 Now looking at these pictures you are probably thinking... what a terrible mom? I know! I feel like it! I feel like a terrible wife and mother. I feel like I can't take care of my home like I am supposed to. But now? Looking at it with new eyes and a new mindset...no wonder. We have way more stuff than our family needs. So? We are going to adopt a "Minimalistic" mindset. Of course this could take years, but we are off to a good start and my Honey and I are BOTH resolved.....which will mean more in the long run. So for now, we purge and we purge. I have small fleeting moments when I would love to go shopping, but I must change.

I must change so my children will know what a clean home feels like.
I must change so my children will know HOW to clean.
I must change so we can save money instead of buying things I don't need.
I must change so that we can afford the things we DO.
I must change so we can afford to give our family more experiences.
I must change so I feel better about my role as a wife and mother.

Change will make us all happier. We know this to be inspired revelation to our family and I hope you feel inspired to do what fits YOUR family best!

For now....feed the URGE to PURGE! lol