Apr
4
2011

Weekend Projects + Minimalist Links

Filed under: House Tour, Life in Longmont

I was SO excited for our weekend project of painting the bathroom! The “before” photo may look white…but it was more of a dingy yellow. Every time I walked in, I would cringe I need color!

BAM! Color! A big thank you to my amazing hubby who is the painter extraordinaire…he remained positive and upbeat even after doing remodels all week at his “real” job The color is a bit darker/richer in person…it’s the Valspar color “City Chartreuse” in the Olympic No VOC paint base for kitchen and bathroom.

This shower curtain was my inspiration…I found it World Market and I love the design and rich tones.

Bella’s room was another beast to tame. Her room goes from spotless to “were we robbed?” in 3 seconds. We’ve been continually purging unwanted toys to get it down to a reasonable level. Less stuff = less cleaning!

The main playthings in her room are her kitchen, her dress up clothes, her art supplies, cash register, books, stuffed animals/dolls, and her TV. We tidy her room twice a day to keep it under control and that seems to be working. Where there is open space…there is joyful play!

And lastly, my desk! This has been completed for awhile, but I did some major decluttering and have resolved to keep this surface open for activity and not for storage! (Thanks Francine!). It’s amazing how having completely clear surfaces can make you feel instantly inspired.

This little nook is in our kitchen and is such a great example of how you can use wasted space to create something wonderful! There used to be a high table and a couple of stools here (they belonged to our landlord), but we removed them, built shelves, and made a desk out of our old front door. Add the chair we got on Craigslist for $15, and voila!

It’s nice to have my printer/scanner up there, but it’s out of the way. The gray wall “file” is for papers I need to sort through. I like having somewhere to keep it all in one place! The large clear bin is for recycling and the drawers on the right are mailing and letter writing supplies. I would eventually like to replace those with lovely fabric covered boxes and put them up above on the shelves. The blue cupboard above my desk is our pantry for dry foods.

I love to sit here and work with the door swung open while the girls play in the backyard.

…and that was our weekend.

* * * * * * * * *

Many of you are asking for book and blog recommendations for decluttering and minimalism. I will compile a complete list when I do my longer blog post about it, but you can start with these! If you have a favorite that is not listed…please leave it in the comments so I can add it to the master list!

*For those of you who think minimalism is only about living in a sparsely furnished tiny house with white walls…think again! To me, minimalism is clearing out the things and thoughts that are cluttering your life so you can LIVE FULLY! Now get inspired!

Blogs:
Miss Minimalist
Becoming Minimalist
Minimalist Packrat
Zen Habits

Books:
The Minimalist Mom
The Joy of Less (highly recommend!)
The 100 Thing Challenge
The Radical Minimalist
30 Day Clutter Bootcamp (I’ll be writing more about this later!)
Sell Your Crap

Posted by Sara @ 10:04 pm | Leave a Comment

http://walkingadifferentwalk.wordpress.com/ Anita

I always try to hold back on commenting because I’m afraid I look like a Sara groupie! BUT GIRL! I LOVE YOUR STYLE!!! Gonna copy cat some of your ideas! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  Oh STOP! This is the “virtual living room” of my blog! It’s a conversation. Comment all day long I’m so glad you like it!
http://painting-on-the-road.blogspot.com/ jessie b

i always love seeing inside creative peoples’ homes. chartreuse is one of my favorite colors right now. i just made a sewing machine cover out of a repurposed chartreuse sweater (after i used another part of it for cute legwarmers). im addicted to color too
thanks for the home tour.
http://bekisbloggybits.blogspot.com/ beki

I ordered ‘joy of less’(thanks to you) and love it, very inspirational.
I’m about to ‘tame’ Jacks room and rid of unwanted toys, not something I’m looking forward to but has to be done.
I like your idea of tidying twice a day, that may just work for us.
Love your shower curtain and colour of the bathroom walls!
Anita’s comment made Me laugh as that’s how I often feel, well may be more of a stalker ‘hehe’
http://therecanbeonlyjuan.com Juanita

Love the nook! Love the shower curtain! Love the resolve for minimalism!
http://coffeebeings.blogspot.com/ Erin

Wow… love it all!!! I’m about to do some de-cluttering of my own this afternoon. Thanks for all the inspiration!
http://beinghappygirl.blogspot.com/ happygirl

Loved the phrase “goes from spotless to “were we robbed?” in 3 seconds.” I remember when I was young and had the energy to do a bathroom project and then go to work on Monday. Love it.
Suyai

I used to be a major hoarder of things… everything seemed to remind me of someone/something so I couldn’t throw stuff out. I was raised by my grandparents who were WWII survivors and I guess that had a lot to do with not throwing anything away just in case… then, 8 or so years ago I cam accross the FlyLady on the web. My life was changed forever! Then I moved cross-continents twice in the past five years, back and forth, and that really teaches you how to NOT keep stuff and travel light. Although I still struggle at times!

Your use of space amazes me! Clear, beautiful, colorful spaces: love!
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  It’s so hard to break away from our “legacy” and habits of the past. Congratulations on making such big changes!! It’s a constant journey…everyone struggles! Keep focused xxoo
http://www.bonny-clark.blogspot.com Bonny Clark

great post; great pictures thanks for the links!
http://happymamasjournal.blogspot.com Lisa G. – Happy Mama

Loving the bright bathroom. We’re in an apartment right now with a “no paint” policy. We are likely moving states in the fall and we plan to rent a house. At some point I would love to hear if you have any tips on how to find/choose a great house to rent and what kind of landlord to look for that will allow us to make small changes to the interior, like you have.

Loving your recent posts. I’m off to take a look at the blogs you listed. I am feeling the pull to get rid of stuff and live more simply…yet again. Thanks!
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  Hi Lisa!
  The key is just to look for privately owned properties…avoid rentals that are owned by large companies, as they have stricter policies on modifications while you are renting. Usually, a landlord would be crazy not to let you paint. If it’s done tastefully, it will increase the value for them. We always ask BEFORE we sign a lease…it’s just very important to us!!
Kelly

Hey Sara,

Was it a tough call for you to decide to let Bella have a tv in her room? My daughter asked after we were at a relative’s house where there is a tv in virtually every room in the house, and I am hesitant to let her have even a little tv in her bedroom… Advice?

Thanks,
Kelly
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  Hi Kelly,
  Thanks for asking…I’m sure you aren’t the only one who will question this. I wouldn’t say it was a difficult decision, but it is one that we carefully considered. She really enjoys watching movies and her favorite shows (just as we do!)…and we like to give her the choice to self-regulate in this area. Her use of the TV ebbs and flows…in the winter months it’s on more often and in the warmer months, it’s rarely on because she’s outside all the time! I do feel that there is MUCH to be learned from TV…she is constantly telling me things that she has learned and we love watching it together and talking about what she sees. There is a great conversation with Sandra Dodd on the issue here: http://sandradodd.com/t/debate
Kelly

Wish World Market would ship to Canada!!
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  What do you want? If it’s just one or two things, maybe I could ship them to you?!
  - Kelly
    
    Thank you for the sweet offer!!
    
    I’ll scour the website…
http://wicwoes.com Lynn

I always love when you share pictures of your house! It almost motivates me to decorate my house. Almost.
http://bohomumma.blogspot.com jules

love that shower curtain – looks so much warmer and cosier than the normal transparent/white type that you generally see. Might have to steal your idea there, as it would go really well in our bathroom which is painted a similar colour to how you have done yours.

Cutting down on toys makes such a difference we found – the children have the energy to play more and really use what they have and none of us feels overwhelmed by the task of tidy up time. We know where stuff is, where it goes at the end of the day and then it all looks good and ready for play the next day, plus even if it is all out on the floor (we do tidy to robbed in 30 seconds too – funny story about that, see below) – it’s not too overwhelming for the adults to be in the play space either.
Funny story (kind of) – pre the de-clutter days, there was one particular sunday evening where we just couldn’t be bothered to tidy up, so had left all the toys and there were masses, everywhere. Well, overnight we were genuinely burgled. Obviously, we had to call the police the next day and they were staggered at the state in which the place had been left – I had to fess up that the criminals had only messed up the drawers and work surfaces and that the clutter on the floor was of our own doing. After that little episode, I felt inspired (ashamed) into doing something about our toy collection and our daily tidy routine!
Lauren

Did you get your paint at Lowe’s? Neither of my local stores would put the Valspar colors into the Olympic base so I had to chose an Olympic color. I love seeing lots of color in other people’s homes,but prefer quiet, serene , tranquil colors for my own. I find it calming.
Julie

After my husband passed a $20 Amazon credit on to me that he was given I decided that besides getting a Chicobag sling that I wanted to also buy “Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living” by Tsh Oxenreider (http://simplemom.net is her website). I haven’t finished it yet…but it’s great!!
Kristin

I love The Joy of Less! I barely get through a few pages before I’m up and getting rid of things!
Kristin

Oh and LOVE the bathroom color!
naomi

Great! I love the desk. I recognize that green curtain from Urban Outfitters I think? I was considering it for my living room but am not sure at this point. I had just ordered some other curtains from UO and will be returning them. Is it shear? Do you have the washer/dryer behind the curtain?
http://www.adventuremobile.blogspot.com Missy

LOVE IT! Especially the shower curtain and anything that happens to be purple! The hardwood is GORGEOUS!
Stacey

Oh thanks so much for sharing! Did you have Bella makes the choices to what to give away. I am sure she is in the habit of it. Unfortunately my two aren’t….patience on this I guess! Thanks again for sharing.
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  Stacey…yes, she has always lived in a small places and has grown accustomed to it. We keep the things that she is currently playing with and loves…the rest gets passed on to other kids who will enjoy it. She likes knowing that other kids will have fun with her stuff that she isn’t using. We also talk a lot about how having a clean room FEELS so much better and easier to play in…and that helps.
  - Stacey
    
    thanks for such a quick response.
    my kids are getting there….our house is small and when it is clean they tell me (without prompting) how great it is…
    
    my daughter does a great job decluttering my son’s room:)Her own is something off the show “hoarders” and I say that endearingly…
    I have started having those talks with them
    and will keep it up…
    
    I have noticed that they do not play with many toys. Imaginative play, reading, art, crafts, sports..experiences are more important to them.
    
    Again. Many thanks!
    - http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
      
      You’re exactly right…I always encourage people to really pay attention to what their kids are actually playing with. In our house, it’s the toilet paper roll and tupperware drawer. They are constantly finding things to play with that aren’t billed as “toys”. I think having less toys in their room helps them to be more creative in their play!
Stacey

yes Tupperware also big in our house, what you can do with it is quite amazing…also quite the hit is the expanding “grocery store” they have made downstairs from leftover Costco boxes (cereal, ziploc boxes, etc…you name it…) and they make their own money. It’s quite clever, cute but a bit expensive when I go shopping…I think a box of Cheerios cost me $900 once. Whew…:)
http://www.just-making-noise.blogspot.com Marillyn

Love it! I do hope that we will one day paint and decorate our house, but we are waiting for the Lord to provide to finish building it. I love all the colors… that’s me and it brightens my life. It makes me joyful, excited and passionate. It influences my thoughts and I would often find myself breaking out in singing and laughter )
http://hedgeshappenings.wordpress.com/ KIm

I’ve been following Francine since before her book came out. She is absolutely fabulous!

Each year on my blog I post pictures of my “minimalizing” efforts for that year. I actually just finished this year’s go-round.
http://organizedlivingrgv.wordpress.com/ Nichole

I’m a professional organizer and I used to just be aware of how unorganized people were, but now as I am growing and evolving, I’m so aware of how much stuff people have. Stuff we don’t need, don’t want and don’t use. Seeing this has added to my journey to become more present and less of a consumer of needless things.
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  Yes! One of the things that I’ve been reading over and over that has really resonated with me is that people keep trying to “organize” their stuff. Buying more bins, more this, more that…to stack and keep it all tidy. But the real need is just to PURGE all unused and unwanted items first! Make the job much easier, as I’m sure you already know
  
  I love that you pointed out how your perspective has changed over time. I think it’s easy for people to get discouraged and think…”why I am having such trouble letting it go!?” when in reality, it’s taken me 5 years to get to this point where it’s easy to downsize and get rid of possessions.
  
  Thanks for sharing!
http://walkingadifferentwalk.wordpress.com/ Anita

We have owned our house for about 20 years. We are redoing it, thinking of selling and moving to the city, but we seriously don’t think we want to buy again, giving us freedom to move if we need to. Thoughts?
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  We’re not big fans of owning a home Of course, there CAN be benefits. But even the “experts” are changing their minds on how long you have to live in a home to make back your investment. Sometimes we toy with the idea…as in, we talk about it for about 5 minutes and then snap out of it. ha.
  
  Honestly, we FEEL like we own this house. We build stuff. We paint stuff. We love it like our own. But when stuff breaks, we use someone else’s money to fix it! Best of both worlds.
  
  The freedom is definitely worth it. I say rent. Of course, if God drops an amazing house in your lap that makes total sense for your family…pray pray pray!
http://jimblejamble.blogspot.com/ Jessica

I LOVE your bathroom! There’s something I never thought I’d get excited over! I love that shower curtain.
Lina

I’ve been an admirer for a couple of years now and I just have to tell you how much I love your taste! You’re an inspiration.
http://hotteaandmilkchocolate.blogspot.com holly c.

Another beautiful room!
http://unconventionalchristian.blogspot.com Hilaree

Hi there! I’m new to your blog and I just love, love, love it. One thing I wanted to mention is how grateful I am to you that you included a photograph of a TELEVISION (dramatic gasp) in your blog. I sometimes struggle with the thought that many mama bloggers don’t ever admit that their whole family watches tv and loves it, and instead portray unrealistic images of the children quietly knitting by the fireside or something! LOL! Do you know what I mean? So anyhow, we enjoy our television as well and it was a breath of fresh air to see some authenticity!

Thank you!
- http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ Sara
  
  Thanks I did include it on purpose (I totally could have cropped it out!)…and I agree. I have nothing to hide. In some people’s minds it disqualifies me as the perfect natural mother. Good thing I have no desire to achieve that title. We go with our instincts and right now, we love it. Much love mama! xxoo
  - Kelly
    
    * Like *
    
    ☺
http://www.translucentdew.blogspot.com Mariana

Sarah,

Succulents require little water and lots of lights. They are related to cactus!

Mariana, a biologist from Brazil.
http://www.translucentdew.blogspot.com Mariana

Oopps! This comment was supposed to be under the most recent post! sorry.
http://www.thefranglaisdiaries.blogspot.com Melisande

thank you thank you thank you for these links! this is just what i needed. lately, i feel like the clutter (tangible and non-tangible) has completely taken over. this is just what i needed to read to take the first step towards minimalism. thank you.
Rebecca

Hi Sara,

If I am remembering correctly, didn’t you all utilize the family bed approach while on the road? If so, I was just wondering if Bella transitioned ok to sleeping in her own bed versus sleeping with you all when you were on the road? Just curious because my husband and I are having some issues with getting my almost four year old transitioned to putting himself to sleep in his own bed. I have always laid with him until he fell asleep and then would move him to his bed or just let him stay with my husband and I for the night, but now that he is taking almost an hour to go to sleep at night, I’m starting to grow weary of our bedtime routine. Just curious to know how your girls transitioned as I am in need of ideas to use with my little one.
- Kelly
  
  I’d be very interested in getting some ideas as well, for exactly the same reason. What you describe is 100% my family – except my son is a little over 3. My 5 1/2 yr old daughter still sleeps with us occasionally as well, but she falls asleep in half a nano second – wish my son would do that!!
http://bekisbloggybits.blogspot.com/ beki

I have the same problem with my 3 year old, my older two were fine at this age.
It’s good to know I’m not alone though xx
Rachel

Hi Sara! I love the color of your bathroom! and I just noticed it’s very similar to the color of the sidebars on this blog…. I love the little wall jewelry organizer, I’m looking for something similar – where did you get it?
I really appreciate your blog, your passion for authentic simple full life is so inspiring and encouraging! Enjoy your family time this week!
http://www.steenkbug.blogspot.com elizabeth

Hello, my friend recommended your blog to me awhile back. I have checked in from time to time and find it very inspiring. I just read Not So Fast and was excited to see that you were a contributor. I’m really interested in compacting now. I’m thinking of trying it for a few months. I already buy a lot of previously owned things, so that is not a huge change for me. I also hate clutter and frequently purge my stuff and give it to Goodwill. Anyway, city chartreuse was in the finals for something I just painted. I ended up picking a coral color, but I thought it was interesting that you chose that same color and that you had it made in Olympic because I do that too. Do they ever give you a hard time about getting a Valspar color in a different brand? I had a Lowe’s employee refuse to make it for me and had to call a manager. Ha! I got it eventually.:) I love that you are not a boring Christian. Way to represent! Thank you for sharing your faith and all your creativity. It is appreciated.
http://growingflowes.wordpress.com Kiersten

I am so happy to see I am not the only one who talks and writes about purging, decluttering and such…..It brings me great joy and deep, deep satisfaction to have open and empty spaces….and it seems like you do too! What a sweet sense of color you have…..
I’m happy to find your blog….