30 Day Wellness Challenge Days 9 to 13: 5 Day Mini Decluttering Goal

I am a firm believer in the adage "Messy Home, Messy Mind."  Yet still, there have been many times when I find decluttering to be emotionally unsettling.  I have written about the mini 5 Day Decluttering Challenge here,  where on Day 1, you discard one thing, on the second day, 2 things and so on.  At the end of the 5 days, 15 things will have been decluttered.  It is a relatively simple and easy way to get the ball rolling when it comes to tidying up the home and achieving peace of mind.  See you on the flip side!

This is not a sponsored post.  Use #30days2wellnesslbh on Instagram so I can find you!

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Decluttering and Clear Surfaces

As I continue to stoically and steadfastly declutter and organize my home, one thing I have discovered that really helps to keep me motivated is to have at least one clear surface in the home.  The above is what I see when I walk through the door.  For some reason, seeing that surface with nothing on it except what is necessary puts me in a good mood.  Even if every other surface in the home is covered in junk, knowing that I have managed to keep one surface clear keeps me motivated to continue on my decluttering journey.  Baby steps, people, baby steps.  If you are struggling to maintain some sort of order amidst the chaos in your home, try keeping at least one surface clear.  Let me know if this tip is working for you!

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Being Emotionally Ready For Decluttering

I have tried many, many methods of decluttering espoused by various "experts". Discarding one item a day, playing my version of the minimizing game where you discard one item on the first day, then two on the second day and so on.  And while they all have their merits,  a lot of these organizing and decluttering experts assume that, by the time you discover their method(s), you are ready to jump right into decluttering and that, once done, you never have to do it again.  They don't really cover the emotional springboard required before the whirlwind of decluttering commences.  Based on my own experience,  I have found that I have to be emotionally ready to do it.  Declutter my childhood teddy bear?  No way!  To be honest, I have gotten rid of a couple things that I regret parting with.  At the time, I felt like I "had" to get rid of it as it was taking up space and wasn't being used.  But I loved it and thought it lovely.  I think I fell into the trap of playing a numbers game and worried that, if I didn't constantly declutter, I was being a bad declutterer and that, at any minute, the declutter/minimalism police was going to show up at my door.  Afterwards, I felt a simmering resentment inside of me and, for a long time, thought about what I had discarded (hoarders, stop reading if this is causing you palpitations!).  No, I wasn't prostrate with grief and lived to tell the tale but, looking back, I know now that the only person I am accountable to in my decluttering efforts is myself (and to some degree, the people I live with).  If I want to keep my childhood teddy bear, I will!  And placing it in a tree in a forest, as some suggest, or placing a bag over its head doesn't really alleviate the sadness if you feel you are being forced to do it.  In fact, if you do have a strong emotional attachment to something, being forced to do something you don't want to do, can make you cling on even more.  So, I think that before starting your decluttering efforts, ask yourself if you are truly ready?

Once you have completed your decluttering campaign, you may think that you never have to do it again.  Wrong!  Unless you are a hardcore minimalist, life changes and you change.  One day, you might look at that thing that you looked at a million times and thought you could never part with and suddenly decide that its usefulness is over and you are ready to part with it.  And that's fine.  You haven't failed.  Our homes should move and flow with our lives and be a true reflection of it.  

Are you in the midst of Spring Cleaning?  Any suggestions to make the process easier?

LBH Weekly Roundup: Straw Brushes and Under Cabinet Wire Drawers

In my neverending quest to streamline my life, I have converted to using a stainless steel travel mug and straw.  To be honest, I bought the mug because I just wanted the straw.  I think I switched over after I saw a video about a giant sea turtle that had a plastic straw stuck up one nostril.  The poor thing kept sneezing.  For some reason, the sneezing, which sounded just like a baby with a bad cold, and the giant dinner plate eyes really got to me.  I have been very good about taking my stainless steel paraphernalia with me wherever I go even though it is heavy and cumbersome.

The only problem that remained was "How to clean the straw?"  Gone are the days when I would sip on a plastic straw and then blindly throw it in the trash, not worrying about cleanup.  Thankfully, I got my hands on the world's longest and thinnest brush.  You can get similar brushes here.

Also, in my neverending quest to organize and streamline, I think I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in taming the horror that is the cabinet under the kitchen sink.  I finally realized that a lot of the problem lay in the fact that there are no shelves or drawers in there so everything gets thrown on top of each other.  Some sort of elevation was needed so I put in a set of wire mesh drawers.

image source via Amazon.ca

The cleaners get stacked up top.  I love the fact that the drawers slide forward allowing for ease and efficiency of movement and more importantly, no drilling or hammering required!  If you have any organizing tips, please share!

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Homemade Citrus and Vinegar Cleaner

Hello Friends!  As the last year drew to a close, I did a lot of soul searching.  I was working 3 jobs and felt really overwhelmed.  Luckily, because I had started "zone cleaning" (more on that later) and had begun simplifying my life in other areas, my home didn't fall into a complete shambles.  Well, at least not right away.  I had heard about the versatility of using vinegar as a household cleaner long ago but for some reason, the concept had never "clicked" with me.  I just assumed that commercially made cleaners would do the job much better and I would have to put up with the hassle of searching for a cleaner whose artificial fragrance didn't make me sick.  Late last year, I chanced upon the idea of making a citrus vinegar cleaner.  And as clementines are in abundance during the Christmas season, I decided to try it out.  

I am not a particularly crafty person so the simplicity of making this cleaner really appealed to me.  All you need to do really is eat the clementines (or any other citrus fruit of your choosing) and put the peels into the vinegar.  I used a vintage mason jar.

I leave the peels in for about 2 weeks.  The essential oils in the peels slowly leach out and turn the vinegar orange.  The vinegar takes on a fresh citrus scent.  Plus the citrus ingredient boosts the cleaning power of the vinegar.   I love the fact that it is all natural and homemade.  You get your Vitamin C and make your own citrus cleaner at the same time.  How easy is that?

The sense of pride and satisfaction that I get every time I use the cleaner was quite unexpected.  I truly feel like I am "blessing" my home whenever I use it because it is non-toxic and I took the time to make it.  Now, making sure I always have a supply on hand to keep my spray bottle topped up is part of my household routine.

I am linking up with Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson.

Painting with Dark Colours

With the onset of warmer weather, instead of wanting to be outdoors (which I do), the need to freshen up my home descends upon me with great urgency.  Are you in the midst of Spring Cleaning as well?  Maybe it has something to do with the increased amount of sunshine highlighting the grubby marks on the walls.  In preparation for repainting the walls, I took down the paintings and was shocked at the accumulation of dust on the frames.

And to emphasize the dirt, here's another photo.  Skip over it if you are squeamish!

Appalling, huh?  Following recommendations, I washed the walls with TSP and discovered a great time saver.  TSP took off a lot of the scuff marks to the point where some walls didn't need repainting.

 

I did repaint one main wall as there was quite a bit of damage to the dry wall underneath which required replastering.  It was originally painted with Benjamin Moore's Rocky Road, CC 470, but I decided to redo it with Benjamin Moore's Hiking Trail, CC 514 which is a couple degrees darker.  The paintings that I have up on that wall have light coloured backgrounds and I thought they would "pop" more against a darker wall.  I forgot to take a before shot but here is an after shot.

Here are close ups of the paintings.

I repainted the kitchen as well with Hiking Trail.  Originally, it was a pale blue but I discovered that it just did not work with the granite countertops which are a very dark green.  Another consideration was that there is no natural light in the kitchen.  White and other light colours just appear flat and dead in a dark room which sounds illogical, I know, but it's true.  Also I have a display of blue Pyrex in the kitchen and they weren't standing out against the blue walls.  Here is a before shot.  Please forgive the poor quality of the photo.  I was balanced on a chair with a camera in one hand and a paint roller in the other. 

The only "problem" with the new colour is that it is a warm brown, the shade of milk chocolate.  In fact, every time I look at the walls, I get hungry as I think of a milk chocolate bar!

The aqua blue of the Pyrex casserole dishes "pops" so much more against the darker colour and looks a great deal more vibrant, don't you think?  Is it completely mad to base a decorating decision partly on wanting to showcase a vintage collection?  Have you ever done that?  I have lots more Spring Cleaning to do but I am determined to soldier on despite the lure of sunny skies.   Please let me know how you are getting on so that I can stay motivated!

I'm linking up with A Stroll Thru Life, Faith Grace and Crafts, Green Willow Pond, My Romantic Home and The Charm of Home.

 

 

Keeping House

When I was a little girl, I loved to play house.  Did you play this game?  I don't love it quite so much now.  I am not a "Clean Nazi" by any stretch of the imagination but I am not fond of living in a sty either.  The problem is that I live with someone who has to be the messiest person on the planet.  I guess I should have known what I was in for when we were dating and I would visit his bachelor pad.  He told me that he used to lie in bed and watch his friend Ms. Spider make her daily circuit back and forth across the ceiling going from web to another.  I know spiders help keep the insect population under control but, between you and me, they give me the creeps.  I prefer them outdoors rather than hanging over my head.  Sometimes, I wonder if I will make it to a happy old age and be like the elderly couple below:

Thrifted vintage sweetness.  If you have any information on the elderly couple, please let me know.



Then I think of the decades  and decades of cleaning that faces me and I begin to feel a little alarmed.  I would like to end up like this but a bit less wrinkled:

Thrifted vintage Quebec folk art



I think I need to call in the big guns.  I was so thrilled when I found out that Williams-Sonoma carries my best friend, Bar Keeper's Friend.  I'd heard about it from other vintage loving bloggers who use it to clean off years of grime off things like vintage Pyrex.
 

I panic when my supply begins to run low as the Williams-Sonoma near my home is constantly selling out of it.  And no, this isn't an infomercial for the stuff.  I use it and I have no idea what's in it but it's like magic.  I think part of being able to complete a job successfully is having the right tools.  And having good looking tools is a bonus.  Lately I have been obsessing over Kaufmann Mercantile.  Why have I never heard of this mecca before?

Kaufmann Mercantile Enamel Dust Pan & Hand Broom

One of their slogans is "Products That Will Outlast You."  Whoa!  Those are fighting words.  And no, this isn't an infomercial for Kaufmann either.  The shipping to Canada is quite hefty and so, for the moment, I can only ogle the dust pan.   I asked one of my best friends once how she dealt with the housekeeping.  I've always remembered her answer which was 1) Forget about attaining perfection and be happy with "good enough" and 2) Get a housekeeper.  Haha, I think the second option is out of the question or rather has already been taken care of because I AM the housekeeper.  Tell me, do you live with a messy person?  How do you deal with it?

I am linking up with Apron Thrift Girl, A Stroll Thru Life, A Living Space, Sir Thrift A Lot, Ivy and Elephants and Thrifty Groove.