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                                  A Shift in Your Mindset Can Go A Long Way
To create more livable spaces in your home, sometimes, it’s not about cleaning or decluttering. It’s about a mindset shift! 

We’ve all been conditioned to look at sale prices with eyes wide. And we all have that knee-jerk reaction to make a purchase even though we don’t necessarily need the items. 

But can you imagine what would happen if you could learn to be happier with less? Not only would it be easier to manage the clutter in your home, but it would also allow you to save money, live simpler, become more productive, and even help our planet in the process. 

Minimalism isn’t just a new trend. It’s something we can all incorporate into our daily routine! You deserve a life that’s free of clutter and filled with joy. Keep reading and try to integrate some of these simple tips into your family’s busy lives. I don’t think you’ll regret it! 
From documentaries and news articles to hashtags and YouTube videos, the word “minimalist” is just about everywhere these days! Sure, trends come and go, but people who follow this lifestyle seem to be onto something.

So, what is minimalism? It’s doing more with less! Adopting a minimalist approach can transform the world around you—helping you save money, become more productive, protect the planet, enjoy the little things, and live simpler.
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While some people actually limit the number of belongings they own, you don’t have to be so rigid! To start, try tweaking simple parts of your daily routine and watch how the rest falls into place.
There is so much more to life than stuff! Are you ready to maximize your time & money, and enjoy the comfortable spaces in your home without distractions cluttering the mood? These simple steps will help you on your journey!

Quality Over Quantity
Instead of grabbing that t-shirt or knick-knack just because it’s on sale, ask yourself if you really need it. Is it a quality product, or is it only marked down to a reasonable price? Will you use it soon, or is it something you might see yourself wearing at some point down the line?

So often, we buy things out of impulse instead of necessity. And the result is a home packed with things that we never use and don’t value. Before you shop online, enter a mall, or even a grocery store, remember your goal and stick to it.

When you buy quality pieces that will last you years and years to come, they might cost a little more, but the money is worth it! Your home should be your place of peace. Limit the junk for the ultimate retreat away from the rest of the world.

Clear the Clutter
If you’re anything like the families I work with, over the years, you’ve accumulated lots of stuff. Clothes, gadgets, tech tools, kitchen appliances, toys, toys, toys—you get the idea! If you want to build a solid minimalist foundation, you’ll want to start in your home.

This weekend, go through your home and collect the items you never use. Pick up all the old DVDs & CDs. Grab clothes that haven’t been worn in years. Look through the garage for old toasters, waffle irons, and blenders that are no longer in use. Sort through the kids’ room for any toys that your children have outgrown.

Once you have all the clutter, pack it in a box and store it somewhere for 30 days. Keep note of whether you had to dig through the box for items during any part of the 30-day period. If not, it’s probably safe to say that you no longer need these items. Community donation centers would be happy to take them off your hands!

Go Paperless!
How could something so simple cause so much clutter? My clients find that paper quickly becomes a huge problem. Bills, letters, junk mail, old homework assignments, receipts—you name it—paper will quickly cover your surface areas if you don’t nip it in the bud.

Luckily, in our digital age, going paperless has never been easier. When you have the option, always choose paperless bill statements. Take some time to go through all of those old documents collecting dust and shred them! Reduce your carbon footprint, minimize stress, and declutter all at the same time.

Experience the World
Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, how do you show the people you love that you care without buying them stuff? That’s an easy one! Buy them experiences instead.

Sure, your kids might love the newest Lego set, but they’ll also enjoy a trip to the beach loaded with delicious snacks and time to play in the sea. Your teenager might be clothes-obsessed, but they will also like tickets to see their favorite band.

Researchers found that while money can’t buy you happiness, it can buy you experiences, and experiences broaden our minds, expose us to new things, and leave us with memories to last a lifetime.

Rethink What It Means To Be Happy
Whenever I work with my clients, I always offer a unique approach to their particular lifestyle. If I came in and gave them a cookie cutter method, the house would be back in a chaotic state in no time!

Before you declutter or try and change your lifestyle, you have to shift your mindset first. Talk to your family about what matters to you the most. Is it being able to spend time together? Is it the Sunday mornings where everyone is piled into the kitchen? Double down on the things that bring you joy, and remind yourselves of this whenever you lose sight of the goal!
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If you’re ready to get your home in shape so you can live out loud in the spaces you already love, I want to hear from you! I help families with judgment-free organizing methods that make sense. You’ll be amazed at how much time and space you’ll free-up by clearing the clutter for the home you deserve! 

​What’s worse, doing the laundry, folding it or hanging it up? Oy!

Laundry day can be a real challenge in most households, mostly because it’s just so time-consuming. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed with the clutter in your home, laundry day can magnify that feeling X 100.

I don’t want you to feel consumed with all the clothes, the crayons your little one left in his pocket, or the socks—all those missing stocks.

Snag a few of these hacks and make laundry day more enjoyable for you and your family! Where do we start with making laundry day a breeze? Yep, you guessed it, organization!
 

• Use your space wisely.

Do you have to go on a treasure hunt every time you need to start a load of laundry? Instead of keeping your laundry essentials all over your home, keep them neat in one easy spot, so you never have to climb into a cupboard to find the detergent.

I understand that some laundry spaces are tighter than others, but with the use of a door rack, you can keep all your laundry tools right within arm’s reach.

• Separate clothes by color every day!

Sounds tedious, huh? Not at all! Create designated bins for your family’s clothes—one for whites, darks, and colors. When your family is ready to toss their dirty clothes in the bin, all they have to do is drop it in the correct color, and then it’s good to go for laundry day. If you want to take it a step further, you can even use pictures or flashcards to remind your little ones.

• Roll your towels.

Towels are so bulky and can quickly take up all your space. Instead of folding them the “traditional” way, try rolling them up instead. You’ll also find that the rolling method makes it easier to stack them in tight spaces.

• Think ahead.

Instead of rushing through the house with an overflowing pile of clothes that need a “home” until you have time to fold them, find a clean table top before the load is complete. Knowing that you have a surface area to work from that’s free from drinks, pens, candies, or pets will make all the difference.

• Bring the bin to you.

This is such a simple hack, but it’s a total game changer. When you’re doing laundry, always make sure you have a trash bin nearby for lint, strings that need to be pulled from clothing, and of course receipts and other random pieces of paper that get left in pockets.

• Create a chart.

Laundry day shouldn’t always fall on your shoulders! If the thought of allowing any of your family members to handle your precious items terrifies you, trust me, I get it! That said, you can easily pass off the tasks if you create a simple chart. List the recommended water temperature, how many cups of detergent needed, and whether certain items should be hung or thrown in the dryer.

Do you need a hand getting your home in order? I’d love to help!

Schedule a maintenance check today and let’s work together to bring back the love to the spaces you already enjoy. 

This summer, my family will be entering entirely new territory—Boy Scout and Girl Scouts’ sleep away camp! You could say the excitement and nerves are taking over my home for my 11 and 14-year-old. 

The Girl Scouts sent over a packing list which was tremendously helpful for a new sleep away camp mom. Fortunately, we were also able to ask a friend who went last year, what were the top items we should be bringing? 
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So for the past month, I have researched and ordered large roll away duffel bags for each of the kids. The cheapest bags I could find were the big plastic footlockers. But in my mind, all I kept thinking about was where I was going to store these huge pieces, so instead, we bought the “body bags” as my kids like to call it.
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We went down the list and determined what essentials needed to be bought in advance online and what could be purchased at the store. In my case, I have one child going one week and another leaving the following week. Many of the items such as the headlamp, bunk sheets, alarm clock, and fan, I bought in neutral colors, making it easy for them to share. 

From my experience, and from what I hear from other parents, at any sleep-away camp or sleepover adventure, you’ll want to follow these tips!

• Write an extensive list of what your child needs, and highlight or circle the items that should be purchased ahead of time or ordered online. 

Now that you’ve established what you need, buy it! Once the items have arrived at your home, have your kids try on anything that you may need to return: water shoes, hats, bathing suits.

• Start labeling! Since your kids will be in a cabin tent with other children, everything needs to be labeled. Start sooner rather than later.

You might like using oil-based markers for the larger items. You could use Sharpies to label the items as well, but they tend to wash out after multiple uses. I like to place duct tape on water bottles and lunch boxes, and then I add Sharpie to make it clear who it belongs to. You can find vinyl fabric labels from Avery on Amazon or Mabel's Labels—which work perfectly for camp.  
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• Now it’s time to pack! Put essential items such as sheets in a backpack, that way, you will have it on hand if the duffle bags are put on a cart.

All personal hygiene and bathroom products can go in the shower caddies inside the duffel bag or simply place it in the trunk. That way it’s already good to go once your child arrives at camp.

• When packing for camp, you have a few options. The first is rolling up a complete outfit into a Ziploc bag, including socks & underwear. You can also pack outfits in a packing cube. Most packing cubes can hold about six outfits, so this is a great tool to condense your kid’s luggage. 

In my case, I am going to bag each outfit in a Ziploc bag, with a separate bag for towels and washcloths. Extra socks and underwear and bathing suits and any extra clothes will be packed away in their own cubes. This way, all my daughter has to do is pull a black bag out, put the clothes on, and when she’s done wearing it, she can put it back in a zip lock bag or throw it in her dirty laundry bag!

• Double-check the list to ensure you didn’t miss anything. Gather any medicine that is needed and be sure to keep it in original containers. Hand it to the camp counselors with instructions as soon as you drop your child off. 

 

• Make the trip to camp fun and exciting, not sad! Before you leave, make sure to sign up for any communications the camp offers so you’ll be in the know during the duration of their stay. 

I also think it’s a fantastic idea to leave your kids with addressed envelopes so they can mail you a letter home. And most importantly, enjoy the break and know that your kids are having the time of their lives! 

• Once the kiddos come home, wash everything, and put it right away. Enjoy the last days of summer together! 

Want to get the house in shape while the kids are at camp? Now’s the perfect time to book a maintenance check! Even a well-organized home will build up clutter and mess over time. Let’s chat about how you can straighten up the spaces you already love. ​

In-between running to and from clients, I have been snatching a minute here and there to enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve been having. I love this time of year before the humidity arrives.

I also love summer – trips to the beach and lazy days at the pool. With two kids though, it’s not quite as easy as it once was, so being organized is key. Whether you’re hitting the pool or beach, there are some items that you can have packed ready for either venue:

• Sweat and waterproof sunscreen
• SPF lip balm
• Hats, sunglasses, rash tops
• Spare rash tops, especially for babies when they get wet. Mine likes to take his off and then it’s too sandy to put back on so will get a clean one out of the bag.
• Cooler- for drinks and snacks (think about getting one with wheels)
• Kid friendly snacks & scissors to save your teeth from opening those bags
• Towels (bring two for each person if you are going on a day trip - one for the journey home in the car)
• Goggles – fun for pool games and essential for the seas as salt water burns little ones’ eyes
• Hair ties, brush and even a detangler (wet, knotty hair anyone?!)
• Money is always good to have for those ‘just-in-case moments’
• Spare diapers, swim diapers and fold up portable potty if needed
• Baby wipes
• A bag for trash. I find that a grocery bag is great for all the trash that is accumulated
• Bag for the wet clothes, as well as other wet items.

 
While at the pool, all you need in addition to the above is a few pool toys (floats, sunken ‘treasure’), the beach requires a few more items especially if a baby is involved.
 
My top, top essentials are:

• Blanket or fitted sheet
• Beach chair/s, unless you are happy to sit on your towel on the sand
• Some sort of shade – a beach tent or umbrellas. I love this SportBrella
• Beach toys
• Baby pool – excellent for containing a baby (especially a crawling one) and for babies to play with their toys in
• Bug spray

I take either a spray bottle, watering can, or a bucket to wash off sandy hands and feet. I love capturing the fun, so I take along a water proof camera. As there is a little more ‘stuff’ required for the beach, I swear by using a beach cart such as the Wonder Wheeler.  

I also have a ‘car-stash’ of summer essentials:

• Change of clothes for each child (Have you gone to the park and there is splash pad and the kids are wet and you don’t have a change of clothes?)
• Swimming suit
• Hat
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Towel
• Baby wipes
• Hand sanitizer
• Snacks

• First aid kit (somehow my daughter always needs a band-aid on the beach!)

We all dream about the day we can turn our lives into an endless vacation. But scientists have actually proven that as much as this fantasy lives in our mind, we probably wouldn’t enjoy it too much if it became a reality.

Why?
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Because having the freedom to do nothing all day doesn’t bring us joy. Purpose does—a reason to get up in the morning, a goal we’re working towards, challenging ourselves to become better than we are today. That’s what drives us.
This summer, it might be easy to let the kiddos run wild after a long school year. But after a little while, the joy of summer break will wear off, and you’ll hear nothing but, “mom, mOoOom, momma, mommy!!,” all summer long.

Maintain order, have fun, and help your kids create goals this summer with these tips!
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• Keep a schedule and stick to it! Sure, maybe the kids don’t have to wake up at the same time as during the school year, but their schedule should stay relatively the same. There’s nothing harder than getting them back in the groove come August and no-one wants to do all their summer reading the last week of summer vacation-a schedule will avoid that conflict.

 

• Start a book challenge by taking the gang to the library. Using charts and stickers, track how many books your kids read. At the end of the summer, enjoy a pizza or ice cream party to celebrate.

 

• Work together to create physical goals that will keep the kids active. From learning to ride a bike to practicing shooting hoops, it’s so important to get the kids off the couch by engaging them in activities that get their blood pumping.

 

• As a family, pick a charity or organization you’ll donate your time to each week. Watch as your kids grow once they see the impact they can make on the world around them.

 

• Create a family goal list of places you want to go, things you want to see, and experiences you want to enjoy together!

Creating goals with your kids over the summer is an easy way to keep them engaged, out of trouble, and full of purpose—100% ready to take on the new school year.

If you have a goal of getting your house in tip-top shape before the new school year, I’d love to chat!

Whether you’re in need of maintenance services, organizing sessions, or seasonal clothing changes, let’s work together.