The matter of clutter

So I know I touched on dealing with clutter earlier this week but it’s on my brain for many reasons today. I always talk about ways to deal with the clutter…but I rarely talk about why it happens in the first place.

I posted this article on Facebook yesterday and really enjoyed reading your responses. I find this kind of stuff fascinating – psych was my minor in college because I’m always overly curious as to why we do what we do. The article focuses on a study that correlates clutter and depression in women and I found it really interesting.

I’m never a black and white person so I wouldn’t ever go so far as to say this is always the case, but after reading it it was kind of a “duh” moment for me. It is SO me. The article also mentions that men are not nearly as affected by the things around our house as women are, which again…for the most part I believe.

It got me thinking…if we allow clutter in our homes, why? If we don’t (and I find those that don’t are dedicated to avoiding it every day), what was it that made it unbearable for them?

I’m mixing in some organized spaces throughout to give us some motivation. ;)

As I was reading the comments on Facebook I was struck with a few things about myself. First of all, as with so many things, I think the reason we do what we do is borne out of how we grew up. There is still a deep, internal struggle I go through when I declutter because of that.

(Replacing wire shelves in pantry)

It feels wasteful for me to get rid of things I bought…no matter when I bought them and how often I use them. We you don’t have a lot growing up it sticks with you. I’m a bagger, as I’ve mentioned before, and I will have things in bags for months and never need one thing in there. And I’ll still go through each and every item – when if I’m honest with myself I don’t need any of it after all that time.

I also don’t have many things from my childhood – the only items salvaged are photos and a few other items. So I tend to hold on to many things for ALL of us so that we’ll “keep” the memories.

(Organized linen closet)

I had to laugh because I was watching The Goldbergs last night, which is my favorite show and last night’s was stellar because it was about New Kids on the Block, but I digress. The rest of the story line was about how the mom had kept literally every single art project and drawing from her children over the years and couldn’t part with them. It was to the extreme but I identified with her.

The best part though was when she showed her husband a drawing of her son did with his hand – and how there was no possible way she could ever get rid of it. And the dad said something like, “well he still has a hand!” It’s a goofy sitcom but his response stuck with me.

I struggle with the difference between memories and needing to keep things in order to remember. I think as moms we all want to keep every memory of those little hands…all 50 drawings of them. ;)

(DIY laundry chute)

But I write a lot down and we have a crap load of pictures so do I need every single drawing? Probably not. Is it OK to keep some? Yes.

My other reason that I’m not always on top of clutter around our house is that I’m the only one here fighting the good fight. My husband is completely, totally oblivious to it. Completely. And honestly, I am to a point. That’s where the article comes in – I always feel better with less clutter around our house. Always. But I can deal with it to a degree. I have a fairly high threshold. ;)

I get to that threshold though and seriously feel like I’m going to lose it if it’s not gone right that second. I have cried because of clutter. I sat in our newly organized master closet yesterday with my husband’s clothes piled on the floor and was so overwhelmed I had to walk out.

(DIY rolling drawer)

He didn’t do it to be disrespectful – he was going through clothes to wash. But I could feel my blood pressure rising while sitting in that room.

We’re both creative types and for us clutter isn’t always a big deal – but even when I’m not overwhelmed by it I’m annoyed by it. My husband is never annoyed by it. But if I’m being honest here…he’s not the one cluttering up our house. It’s me. And if he attempted to organize the clutter I’d probably stress even more…so there. you. go.

I don’t make resolutions but I always focus on cleaning out our house this time of year and I DO love the feeling. It is freeing and light and truly amazing. I have a lot more to go through yet and I’m actually looking forward to it. It is hard for me to let go of things but I can count on one hand all of the things I regretted donating. And that wasn’t for emotional reasons, it was purely a “oh I could have used that thing for this” reason.

(Organized coat closet)

I have made a vow to myself to stay on top of the clutter more this year than I ever have before. I focus on projects around the house so much I don’t focus on the little things like the kitchen island piling up with crap. But I’m realizing those “little things” become big things and weigh me down emotionally.

I would never go so far as to say clutter makes me depressed, but I can certainly see how it could cause that. And clutter is a crazy thing – the more it builds up the less we want to deal with it. It can paralyze us.

(Simple utensil organization)

Do you identify with any of this as well? Of course the opposite is true for so many – they grew up in a home with a lot of clutter so they absolutely cannot handle it and stay on top of it. OR they grew up in a home that was free of a lot of stuff and they continue the same in their house. I admire that – I want to do the same.

I do want to find a good balance. I don’t think it’s wrong to want to keep the kid’s drawings and the birthday cards with sweet messages from ten years ago. I just think I need to be a little more selective. And this post may sound like I’m Beverly Goldberg and I’m not. ;) For the most part our house is organized and functions well.

Does the clutter in the house affect your mood? Do you stay on top of it daily or can you let it sit like me? And was your childhood home the same?

Living debt free

This time of year I’m especially…incredibly grateful that we are one of the weird ones. Well, I’m always weird but weird meaning debt free. :)

If you’ve read along with me for awhile you know our story – we were $125,000 in debt. It was a combination of everything – I took out a ton of credit to get through college and had a pretty decent student loan bill at the end of the four years (even though I had grants for almost half of my education!). We financed absolutely everything as adults too – TVs, cars, trips, furniture, a hot tub…all of it. We did what “everyone” does.

What’s funny is it never crossed our minds to save for those items. We wanted it…so we got it. We now know the meaning of delayed gratification. Sometimes it sucks. But three months later, six months later, two years later when we still would have been paying it off, then it does not suck. ;)

It’s been almost four years since we got rid of that massive monkey on our back (all but the house and we are chipping away at that) and it is now just our nature to use cash. To save. To be patient. To be deliberate with our money. That is huge.

It’s hard to explain the freedom that comes with not having debt – it just becomes normal so it’s hard to put into words all this time later. We now live like no one else and some think that term means living extravagantly. That’s not the case. Living like no one else means you get to do things you weren’t able to do before, yes. But more than that it’s living with a peace that we didn’t have before.  

Deep in my soul I am thrifty. Most every time I will do something myself before I have anyone else do it if I’m able. I will always wait for a sale, use coupons, and try to find the least expensive way to do things (well). My car is now nine years old and I still love it. My husband’s car was 11 years old and this year we were able to buy him a new-to-us car. I’m not a big bucket list person but that was one of those things that I’ve dreamed of doing my whole life – we paid for that car with a check. Amazing!!! I tell you what, it makes me tear up to even write that. Who gets to do that??

And of course we give way more than we did before. I can’t really put that into words either – giving more is easily the best part about being debt free.

It took us years, a lot of sacrifice and a ton of work to get through all of our debt. We used the teachings of Dave Ramsey and they truly changed our lives.

I got to meet him two weeks before we paid off the last bill:

He was the nicest guy and genuinely excited for each one of us that stood there with him.

For us it started when I caught his radio show on a business trip. I think he actually annoyed me a little bit at first. ;) I was all…I have it under control! We don’t have that much debt! We could stop any time we want! And then the more I listened the more I woke up and then dreamed of us doing the same. I told my husband about it and he bought his book – we were hooked.

We worked through the debt for years and it was when we took his Financial Peace class that we really got hard core about it. A few months later we were debt free. The book is wonderful, the CDs are great…but those classes changed our lives.

That’s why I chose to give a few of them away every year. I missed last year so I’m making up for this Christmas. ;)

I’m giving away five Financial Peace classes/packets and the lovely folks at Dave Ramsey are throwing in five as well. I’m thrilled to have developed a relationship with his team over the years and am so grateful that they continue to do this for my readers.

Things you should know – this includes a packet of info (including the book) and you can follow along on your own at home. But I strongly recommend making the commitment to the classes. They meet once a week for nine weeks. Our church offered free childcare during the class so that was a huge help.

You will meet others in your situation and will get a lot off your chest – it helps to just be able to talk about it with people. You don’t have to share any details at all – but the group setting helps immensely.

Go here to see if you have a class starting in January near you. Or any time – it doesn’t have to be January. If you want to take the class or get a packet, feel free to comment to enter. I will sign up the ten (randomly chosen) winners or have the packet delivered to you.

This giveaway is now closed, thank you so much for entering!

This is a feeling I want for everyone that feels completely overwhelmed by their debt and finances. It is worth it.

 

Affiliate link included for your convenience.

The un-tour

Hello my friends! Hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead of you!

I’ll be sharing more of our Christmas decor next week but I had to laugh as I talked with fellow blogging friends earlier this week. We all shared photos of our houses “behind the scenes” and it always makes me feel so good to know I’m not the only one who doesn't have it all together.

Blogging is a double-edged sword – you want to inspire and show pretty spaces but those pretty spaces can also create an unrealistic image of how we actually live. I have always tried to share how we live day to day with you, or real life you could say. Honestly, sharing these pictures is one of my favorite things about blogging. Nobody has it all together. Well…maybe a few, but not many people I know. :)

I took these photos after I finished taking the “good” shots for the tour of our family room and kitchen earlier this week. Our crazy-A cat knocked a container full of pebbles off the island the morning I took pictures. And it stayed till that night – you just couldn’t see it:

Oh yeah, and the spilled wax on the floor and trash sticking out of the compactor is a nice added touch. :)

Our kitchen island still looks like this:

Instead of this: 

Because we had to pull it out during the renovation and all that pretty beadboard had to come out with it. :( I haven’t fixed it yet because the island will be expanded next year when I tackle the kitchen reno.

The living room was my dumping zone:

Not pictured are the two trash bags I ended up filling with STUFF from around the house that I just didn’t want to deal with. They are currently in the garage and have been since Monday. ;)

The mud room was piled high too:

Everything but the paint cans is gone now, so the good news is we can walk through there now. Yay for ME!

This shot is one of my favorites in our family room:

And that strategically placed paper weight hides a spot where one of the cats got sick on the dresser:

Cat puke is a normal thing around here (we have an old kitty that needs steroid shots because he gets sick frequently). I’ve never had it eat away at paint though!

So yeah…I never want to give the impression that my house always looks like it does in the pictures. It’s always a warm, welcoming place but it’s usually not picked up and there’s ALWAYS something piled up or not done. Always. It’s just normal. :)

I do love looking at pretty pictures but even as a blogger it gets overwhelming at times. The good thing is I spent all day yesterday cleaning for a party and now our house is all picked up and clean…I should take some pictures. ;)

Have a great weekend!!

Fall in Indiana

Hello all! Thanks for the comments on the new door trim! I’m loving it as always. Yesterday I started one of my last big projects in the room – the new window trim. It’s all installed and now I’m starting the caulking, filling and many coats of paint. :) And I’m EXCITED because our new French door should be in this week – so we will have a completely finished space very very SOON. Goodness, I can’t wait.

I have to tell you – we have had an incredible fall around here. The trees are absolutely BURSTING with color this year! I know the intensity of the colors all depends on a certain mix of temps and rain and all that – so whatever happened this year was perfect because it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the trees look quite this vibrant.

We try to take advantage of all the fun stuff going on locally in Indiana during this time of year – there are SO many cool things we do every year. One of our traditions has been a trip to Nashville Indiana for a day – usually we stop by on our way home from our family weekend every fall but we ended up in Kentucky for that this year.

So we decided to take a trip down for a day to take everything in. It was an absolutely perfect time to see all the color. If you haven’t been to the Brown County area before and you’re within driving distance I highly recommend it. It’s great any time of the year – I really want to stay in a cabin in the winter sometime. But the fall is when this area really shines:

The main street in Nashville is lined with TONS of shops and restaurants:

There’s so many you can’t get through it all in one day.

It was a little chilly and we got some rain a couple times, but overall a lovely day. We walked up and down taking it all in:

We went to a few new-to-us places this year – the Rock Shop was one. We grabbed a bag of dirt and then took it over to “mine” it:

One small bag contains a ton of beautiful rocks and fossils. We had a blast doing that – my son is now obsessed with rocks and it made me happy because I used to love them too. :)

The shops are all small and most are located in old homes and buildings. You’ll find handmade brooms:

Aren’t they beautiful?

There are a couple Christmas shops and we stop in one every year to add to the Bub’s Christmas village:

And just fun little trinkets and gifts everywhere:

:) You’ll find wineries, breweries and amazing little treats like cinnamon sugar biscuits with apple butter as well.

Every shop is decked out with fall and Halloween decor:

It’s just filled with quaint areas and beautiful spots everywhere you look:

Nashville was packed that day but we still got around just fine. We walked around for about four hours and then took off to Brown County State Park just down the street:

I grew up camping in this park so it was fun to take my son through it. The views were absolutely STUNNING. I was literally gasping at the colors everywhere we looked.

The seven-year-old thought it was cool too, just not quite as much as mom. ;)

The park has a couple lookouts you can climb up and get great shots (where I got the ones above) but there are tons of spots to pull over and get a great view:

We walked up to this lookout and a young couple had literally just gotten engaged. She was saying yes as we walked up and it was PRECIOUS. I took their photo and then got one of my own:

I don’t think people realize the beauty that Indiana holds:

We’re not all cornfields. ;) Although those can be quite beautiful too.

For a few weeks out of the year we get a spectacular show from Mother Nature:

And at this time and every other time of the year, there’s no place I’d rather be. Can you blame me?:

We probably have another week or so of these colors – and in southern Indiana where Nashville and the park are maybe a little longer. The leaves are really starting to drop here in central Indiana and I’m extra sad about it this year. It’s been a lovely fall.

Have you traveled to Nashville or been to our pretty state in the fall? We’d love to have you. :)

Birthday quiz answers

Hey all! Happy WEEKEND!

I’m back today with the answers to the annual birthday quiz my friend Chris and I do every year. It hurt our brains to come up with somewhat interesting facts about ourselves again, cause we’re boring. :) But we did it! So here are the answers and the winner!

Has never learned to play an instrument?

I hang my head in shame – it’s me. My mother played piano, my Dad is a musician and plays the guitar and drums and my husband was a BAND DIRECTOR and is a composer. Ridiculous. I was in the marching band but I was in the guard. ;)

Never wears matching socks?

I’m weird but not that weird. That’s all Chris.

I’m guessing it makes getting ready in the morning easier?

Does not have pierced ears?

This one is Chris too. I have three ear piercings – the extra was back when that was cool. Is it still cool? Anyway I haven’t worn an earring in it for years and it won’t close.

Suffered whiplash from a mechanical bull?

Yeah, all me just a few months ago. I actually was fine riding the bull, it was when I was thrown off (twice) that the whiplash happened. I have had it from car accidents and interestingly enough, it hurt worse from the bull. ;)

Auditioned to be on The Wheel of Fortune?

This one was me! I was a poor college student and thought I could win some cash? I guess? Ha! I don’t even know – but I was SO not what they were going for. They traveled around to different cities for the tryouts and you had to practically scream the letter and do a cheerleader move to be peppy enough for them. I am many things but peppy is not one. I was all, “I’d like an “A”??” Not good enough for the Wheel!

Oh and side note – you have to pay your way out there so it wouldn't have happened anyway!

Is a grandma?

ME! :) This sweetness is my stepdaughter’s boy:

I’ve known my stepdaughter most of her life and feel like her “second” mom not stepmom, so I won’t ever call Cheeks my step grandbaby. He’s a JOY!!!! Can’t believe he’ll be one soon!!

Had horrible experiences on horses and will never ride them again?

This one was Chris but it was a hard one because like many things with Chris and I, we had similar experiences. I rode a horse as a child and HATED it. I haven’t ridden again but would consider it. Chris is just done. And I understand why.

Didn’t visit Disney until she was nearly 40?

This one was me! I never went as a kid and since both my husband and I travel to cool places for work we rarely schedule vacations outside of those trips. But last year we went (and then went back again) and we are HOOKED. We’re heading back this year and cannot wait!:

Favorite author is Jane Austen?

This one is Chris too – I think it’s mandatory since she’s an English teacher. :) Honestly I don’t think I’ve read a Jane Austen book since high school? I’m more of a Gone Girl type.

The winner of our $100 Target gift this year is Niki from JandE Doodles on Etsy – her shop is adorable, be sure to check it out!

I honestly can’t believe we were able to come up with more questions this year – it’s going to be rough next time. :) You can check out our questions and answers from years past here and here!

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

Justa Decor Birthday Quiz!

WHOOT! It’s that time again…the best day of the year! It’s the Thrifty Justa Decor Girls’ birthday! ;)

If you are totally confused – today is my birthday. And it just turns out that my blogging BFF has the same birthday. Her name is Chris and she blogs at Just a Girl. When we realized we had the same birthday it didn’t come as a surprise to us really. We are so alike about MOST things it’s just weird. (But she doesn’t like noodles…that’s right up there with not liking ranch dressing. Helloooo.)

Let’s say I think this girl is amazing and after the year she’s had – she is one of my heroes. I am so thankful to have her in my life, even though she is a state away.

Here’s a few of my favorite spots in her beautiful home – this front porch? The stuff fall dreams are made of:

And her organized garage is RIDIC. I can’t even finish that word it’s so blissfully organized:

Her dining room is so classic and lovely – it’s one of my favorite spaces in her house:

Which is weird, by the way. That I only see her house online and I’ve never been in it. But I know I’d walk right in and open up her fridge. Blogger friendships are funny. :)

The dining room is gorgeous but this bathroom is perfection:

Planked walls! Black vanity! Blue ceiling? Yep, all of it.

If you’ve been around for a few years you know we celebrate our birthday each year by giving one of YOU a $100 Target gift card. Cause we’re cool like that. You just have to answer ten questions. The first five are here and then you can go on over to visit Chris and answer the rest. When you’re done comment (on either blog) and let us know how many you got right.

I mean seriously…some of these are EASY. Some…pretty hard. You may have to click on the quiz button to get it to load, but it should after that. Remember Chris is Just a Girl and Sarah is me. :)

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

 

Have fun! I’ll be back on Monday my friends!

Family getaway

Hello my friends! I hope you had a lovely weekend!

We were away with family this weekend and it was wonderful. One weekend a year my entire family -- parents (my dad and stepmom), the kids and all the grandkids get together. It’s a treat from our parents and it’s turned into a wonderful tradition for us.

The problem is finding a location that can fit us all. I’ve mentioned before that I’m one of seven kids – there are full, half and step and I’m the oldest of them all. I was an only child for ten years too, the oldest and only is a dangerous combination. ;)

This time there were about 20 of us – you can see why it’s hard to find a place to fit everyone. Usually we go to southern Indiana in the fall but this year we took a trip down to Kentucky to a spot our parents love.

It’s called Mountain Laurel Lake in Harned, KY and there aren’t any mountains and the lake is really more like a pond, but the name is pretty, yes? We were truly in the middle of nowhere:

It was SO quiet. And a welcome change from all the activity at our house over the past few weeks.

The main cabin was the biggest so it’s where we ate dinners. The kids (OK, and the adults) loved the horses:

And there was a fenced in area for all the dogs (we are an animal loving family) and plenty of places to sit and swing:

Down some steep roads were the rest of the cabins off the lake. We couldn’t swim in it but the view was lovely off our deck:

We sat on the deck during a massive storm the last night and it was spectacular! Actually, we were out on that deck about 90 percent of the time, day and night.

They had little boats we used to just tool around in or get to the other cabins:

The kids (OK, and the adults) loved them! Since there were so many of us we were in three different cabins and this made it easy to get to each other.

My favorite part was the hike my Dad kept telling us about. I’ve never seen so many mossy rocks!:

They were absolutely everywhere!

Big ones too:

It was really, really beautiful. I eat this stuff up – just love it:

The bugs…not so much. I think Dad was a little over his five girls and our fear of ticks and GINORMOUS spiders on this trip. But seriously Dad. GINORMOUS.

The scenery was just gorgeous though. Dad said there are usually waterfalls coming down but it hadn’t rained much before we went on the hike:

A few of us climbed to the top:

That’s me up there. :)

And we got a hiking selfie while we were at it:

It was another wonderful weekend with some of the people I love most in this world. The only one missing was my husband – he’s been away on a work trip to Singapore for 11 days and is on his way back as I type. We can’t WAIT to see him!!

Did I mention there wasn’t any Internet or cell phone service? Well, we would get spotty service up at the main cabin, but we weren’t there much. So we were forced to bond and the cousins had a ball together. It was nice to get away with my boy too:

The heart and soul needs weekends like this sometimes. I love our parents for making it happen for the whole family.

Do you ever get away with your extended family like this? Any favorite spots? Anyone know of a a cabin big enough for all of us within three to four hours of Indy? We’re considering Lake Michigan sometime – that would be spectacular.