Clutter creates chaos. Chaos creates clutter.
Somewhere I read, “cleaning house with kids was like shoveling snow in a blizzard!” This has been my mommy mantra for the past 8 years! I have resigned to the fact that in my chaotic life there is no room for a constantly clean house. Even though I believe we must have grace with ourselves and the clutter in our homes–I also realized that my clutter was creating chaos.
American excess is rampant. To “simplify” things we gain more gadgets, and fill our home with modern day conveniences. In reality this fills our home with more STUFF. We regularly find ourselves maintaining our stuff. Taking care of it, shifting it around, then purging it. Only to replace it again. Why do we have so much stuff? How much stuff do we need? These are the simple questions that I have begun to ask and have loved finding the answers.
Recently, I stumbled on to a gem of a book called, 321 Stop–stop running and start living . What I loved about Lorilee’s book is that she not only gave practical ideas on how to simplify your life, she also explained WHY this would benefit your life. When you tell me to clean for cleaning’s sake…I am not interested…it doesn’t move me. When she explains de-cluttering our homes helps to create more time for building relationships with those we love…I am intrigued. THAT I want more of.
So once I read 321 Stop, I found myself hopping on Lorliee’s website for additional thoughts on simplicity and stumbled on to the opportunity to help launch her next book. This week Lorilee is launching her second book (the perfect compliment to 321 Stop): Simple Living: 30 days to less stuff and more life. Simple Living is super short and super practical. One of her suggestions was to clear off your counters as the eye apparently likes, “horizontal lines.” Well, my eyes LOVE horizontal lines, and if you have ever been to my kitchen you have never seen my counter tops this clean, so this has been an awesome improvement! (Amazingly, we have kept them this way!)
This next phase has been tremendously freeing and our home feels lighter, almost like we can all breathe better. We have a long way to go, but I am noticing a less chaotic feel in our home and I cannot help but believe it is due to less clutter. Her book goes on sale this week. Hope you enjoy it!
May You Be a Blessing and May You Be Blessed!
Jenni
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100 Cups of Coffee 
Just downloaded the book. Your uncluttered kitchen is what did me in …it's so refreshing and yes, I completely agree with you on loving horizontal lines! There is something about a lack of clutter that really allows you relax and breath more easily when you walk into your home (and even when you're gone, just knowing your home is free of clutter allows you to be more productive in other areas of your life).
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