Thursday, April 28, 2011

Purgeday Thursday: Coming to the End

Wow! These Thursday's just sneak right up on me. Thank goodness the child is asleep and I can blast out a post right now.

So I donated a bunch of things this week to the lupus foundation.
Which is great since we are moving within 2 weeks.
They keep pushing off the closing date for the house.
Hopefully "2 weeks" is for real this time.

But anyway. This is probably going to be one of my last "Purgeday Thursday" posts.
I feel I've got no more to give.

We really don't need anything for the new house.
Besides new curtains for the living room, and I just ordered a pretty damask terra cotta rug to replace the icky smelling one we have now.

I'm excited we don't need much.. hopefully friends and family don't go nuts and get a lot.
I DO want one of those awesome ceramic Cimineas for the patio for those chilly summer nights. Also this adorable birdbath from Dayspring.

So, Hopefully the next Purgeday Thursday post will be about packing and moving in a few days.
We'll see!
But for now, were sitting tight, waiting to hear when the big day will be.

Do you have any tips about owning your first home? What you should buy, or not buy?


The818.com

Monday, April 25, 2011

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was a fun-filled crazy day.
We got up around 930am and started making my yummy eggplant parmesan.
My husband actually LOVES the stuff, and he will eat it for 3 days straight.
I wanted to introduce my grandparents to the awesome-ness of my homemade dish, so I had to get crackin' early to get it done on time.



Everyone loved it! Even my little man {duh.}

Noah got a wheely bee toy and some little cars that he LOVES.



Noah and great grandpa

After my grand parents house, we went to Jay's Uncle's house for some more food and family fun.

Next year we're going to hide eggs. I remember back when I was little how excited I was to go on the egg hunt and open up my easter basket. I can't wait to start that tradition with my little family.

Hope you had a great Easter!

Spring Is here!

Spring finally arrived to Long Island friday.
We went for a walk with Noah in the stroller, and admired all of the beautiful trees and flowers blooming.
I love spring so much!
The feeling of the sun on my skin and a warm breeze in the air {especially after this long drawn out winter we had} gets me so excited for the fun spring and summer ahead.



I walked outside with Noah again today. It was gorgeous out.
He nommed on Wheat Thins while looking around gleefully.
This kid is so easy to entertain.

Heres to many more walks on warm sunny days with my little love.


what is your favorite thing about spring? tell me in the comments..

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Purgeday Thursday: More and More

I'm gathering a bunch of things to give to the lupus foundation on the 26th, and my mom brought over a big bag of our old clothes she was holding onto {no idea why.. this stuff is like 8 years old}. So this donation is going to be bigger than I thought.


We are slowing down on finding things to toss, but I'm sure the more I pack, the more I will find to donate.

My husband and I decided to toss our 3 rugs before we move cause they are kinda stinky from our dog. Hopefully that persimmon and cream striped rug will be back in stock soon, that would be gorgeous in our living room.

What do you guys think? We have chocolate brown couches and are looking for a rug with some color. Persimmon is nice, right?

The818.com

Friday, April 15, 2011

Purgeday Thursday: Looking Ahead

We are moving forward with the house, and it looks like we will be closing/moving in 2 weeks!
This news totally puts a fire under my butt to get rid of as much crap as possible. I have a small pile building in our bedroom for The Lupus Foundation and I plan on making it bigger.



We're getting rid of possibly all 3 rugs we own, unless we find a local rug cleaner, then one is staying. {one too many puppy messes}
I'd LOVE to snag one of those persimmon & cream striped rugs from Dwell Studio, but they have been out of stock since Real Simple Magazine featured it.



So here we are: packing tossing donating.
I can't wait to show you pictures of our new house, and how we decorate. Cause right now, our place is a mess!

The818.com

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Fill Up Your Life

Have you ever listened to commercials?
Really listened?

They tell you how you aren't pretty enough, skinny enough, own enough, happy enough.

While listening to a commercial, I heard the line "A new you starts with NEW SHOES!"
So thats what's been holding me back from being all I can be! Shoes!

It's sad how commercials can so easily convince us we need something.

The other day I saw a commercial for Lumineers. They said "Never worry about having a brighter smile again!" and I thought, hmm, that sounds great!
Always being self conscious of my smile, what they said hit the nail on the head.
But then I thought about it. Do I really want a whole new smile? Do I want to spend hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars just so my smile is "perfect"?

Look around you. Be thankful for what you have.
Whether you have a small apartment or a large house
A nice new car, or a bicycle
beautiful furniture, or still living with your parents,

this is your life.

Don't let other people, or commercials tell you what you need.
Fill your life with beautiful, meaningful things. With good friends and family. With laughter, and happiness.

Fill your life with love.



What do you fill your life with? Whether its bills, meetings, playdates, tell me in the comments..

Friday, April 8, 2011

Purge Day Thursday: Urge to Purge

Some boxes are packed, waiting to be carted off into our new {hopefully this time is for REAL} house. They sit on our dining table, staring back at me, while I wonder if I actually really need what's inside.


Of course I don't need any of it. But where will it sit once were in our new house? Is it even worthy of a place in the house? Is it worth the time it takes to wrap, pack, ship and unpack?

These questions have been floating through my mind these past few weeks. Not just about those boxes. about everything we own.
Do you really need that gaming system when I only enjoy 2 games occasionally on it?
Do I need all of those darn hangers in the closet?
Do we need those great yard-sale-find end table and tv stand? We wont have the tv in the corner anymore, so why have a corner tv stand?
My urge to purge is getting to me and I think I know why.

My sister.

She has SO MUCH stuff.

She is currently living with us, along with her bags and bags of clothes. {and I thought I had a lot of clothes before the huge purge!}
Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE having her here everyday and Noah loves seeing her right when he wakes up.
But seeing all of her stuff, makes me itch with the need to de-clutter.

Once we move, and my stuff is in my room and her stuff is in her room, things will be easier.
Just another few weeks {if everything goes as planned} and we'll be in a whole new place, with 7 rooms instead of 3.5

It can't come soon enough!

The818.com

Monday, April 4, 2011

Getting Down To The Nitty-Gritty

A few months back I started to get rid of things. LOTS of things.
From chotchkies to smaller baby clothes, out the door they went.
It felt good to give some to goodwill, Lupus Foundation, and others to expecting friends.

I feel like its that time again. Although, I don't really have much more to give up.

Of course I have the random gifts from well-meaning friends and family that don't quite fit into our simply-styled home. It's quite hard parting with these things. Not because they mean something to me, but because it came from someone who means a lot to me.

Is that a reason to hold onto something?

And what about the 2 sizes too big post-pregnancy jeans I'm holding onto just in case my weight goes back up? Does storing them in my out of season clothes bin make me subconsciously think it's okay to gain that weight back?

So here I go, digging through my packed boxes and clothes bin tossing whatever means nothing to me.

Join me?

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Simple Ways To Remove Clutter From Your Life

When I was just starting to getting rid of the junk Ive been holding on to, I made small, simple steps. Heres a list of ways you can begin your journey to a clutter free life.


Computer

.Remove unnecessary icons from your desktop. put them in the appropriate folders for a streamline look.

.Go through your inbox and remove yourself from email lists of daily and weekly sales and specials from various stores. {Click "Unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email}

.While you're there, remove spam emails from your inbox as well. {Check the box on the email, and click "Report as Spam" up top}

.Empty the "trash" on your desktop. {if you are on a Mac, go to the finder menu on the top, click "Secure Empty Trash" to remove everything permanently}

.Another tip for Mac users, while on Safari, go to the menu, and empty Cache. Also, go to Preferences> Security> Remove cookies. {you can also, change "Accept Cookies" to "only sites I visit"}


Personal Items

.Go though your pictures. Remove blurry shots, photos you cringe at of yourself {who doesn't have these?}, ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends and duplicates. Arrange in chronological order for extra points.

.Delete bad pictures off of your digital camera

.Remove excess pictures, magnets and old cards from refrigerator.

.Throw away any expired medicines and vitamins {check for regulations about disposing antibiotics and medicine}

.Bag up {hehe} plastic shopping bags and bring to local grocery store to recycle them. {most grocery stores around here have a big bin by the entrance/exit for this purpose}

.Go through your cabinets and discard old cans of food, or expired food items.

.Recycle older magazines and newspapers. {cut out favorite articles you would like to keep, and put them in a binder or folder}


There are so many ways you can make your life even just a little more clutter free. Try a few of these and you will see the difference.

Do you have any small steps you make to make your home less cluttered?

The Minimalist Mindset


Thousands of people around the world are catching on to the benefits of living a minimalist lifestyle. When the economy is in a downturn, and everyone is pinching pennies, people will look for ways to save some money.
But is Minimalism popular only because of the economic state? Or, is minimalism for many families a long journey for life?

Many scientists, monks and religious masters in the past have spoke of the benefits of living a simple life, free of clutter, therefore freeing the mind.

“If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements." The Dalai Lama 1935

Living in modern society makes it difficult to free oneself from the materialist lifestyle, with advertisements everywhere we look, telling us what we have is not good enough. Being content with what we have brings greater happiness than anything money can buy.

“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu 500 BCE
“It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly.” Bertrand Russell 1872

Possessing more does not equal greater happiness, one must find that happiness through family, friends, laughter and joy.
Showing gratitude, and giving thanks for what we cherish most in life will lead us to peace and freedom within ourselves.

Do you think minimalism is here to stay?