Amy Slenker-Smith

Today I revisited the habits from Day 2. For the first time in two weeks, the mid-Atlantic temperatures rose above freezing. In fact, 40 degrees felt pleasant after the bitter cold that swept through our area. Schools closed for several days due to snow and ice. Kids and parents drove each other crazy. My typical clutter busting habits were overcome by these events. And what I found in the aftermath of the storm was a graveyard of stuff strewn all over the garage and much of my house. The Path Remember the path I described on Day 2? The path leads from our kitchen to the car and allows me to get out the door easily each day. I restored the condition of this path today. I returned snow boots and shoes to the shelf. Next, I re-hung the abandoned sled, scooter and skateboard on the wall.  Finally, I gathered gloves, hats and snow pants in preparation for next weekend's ski trip. The truth is, decluttering requires maintenance.  And when I walked into the garage …

[Read more...] about Decluttering Challenge – Day 9 – Habits

It's time to look at the small appliances parked on your kitchen counter. I believe that the earlier challenges set us up nicely for today. A reasonable number of dishes now reside in the cabinets (Day 3). Some pantry shelves should be empty thanks to the food inventory challenge (Day 4). By reducing cabinet contents, more appliances can live inside cabinets versus on the counter. Going forward, limit kitchen gadgets. As appliances wear out, question whether to replace them. Two crockpots, bread maker, flour sifter, espresso maker, frother, deep fryer, coffee carafe, toaster and many others have left our home. The result - a very clean counter, ready to work. I love my empty kitchen counter. At the end of the night, I reward its efforts by putting everything away and cleaning it.  Empty counters clean up easily without obstacles. The goal of today’s challenge is to uncover these flat surfaces and allow them to work for you. Decluttering and Downsizing …

[Read more...] about Decluttering Challenge – Day 8 – Appliances

It’s Sunday, the day of rest. Sort of...as I type this at a swim meet. :) Instead, many of us are pondering the work and school schedule ahead. How to fit it all in and maybe sit down to a family dinner once or twice! Admittedly, some seasons are busier than others. But I hear “surviving the holidays" as an all too common phrase. I think we can do better this year. Simple living influences not just physical space but calendar space. It’s important to be mindful of over-scheduling. Particularly as it affects our children. Our family schedule inspired conversations about trade-offs. We discussed budgeting the resource of time similar to money. My son elects activities that give him at least 3 nights off per week. He also relishes a lazy Sunday watching football snuggled up on the couch. Truth be told, so do I. Last week’s frigid temperatures forced much of the east coast to slow down. Cold weather cancelled school and sporting activities. Parents and kids cheered for the excuse to …

[Read more...] about Decluttering Challenge – Day 7 – Schedule

Yesterday’s challenge was tough right? Some of you have told me that you’re still working on it. Take your time. I understand that going through boxes and bins of stuff is one of the hardest decluttering tasks. It is very easy to close the lid, tuck it in a closet and deal with it another day. Out of sight, out of mind? No, not at all. We know it’s there. Clutter lurks, stealing peace and calm. As I told you on Day 2, this is not an “organizing challenge". I hope to lighten the physical and emotional burden of stuff in your home by inspiring you to live with less.  Through the month of January, we will downsize items all over the house. In the words of one of my favorite authors Joshua Becker “Decluttering can be tough work. We spend years and years collecting and accumulating more and more things. We should not be surprised then, if it takes considerable time to make decisions about what to keep and what to remove. But it’s always worth the effort. Possessions weigh us down …

[Read more...] about Decluttering Challenge – Day 6 – Board Games

Baskets, bins and boxes are meant to make you more organized. In fact, they have the opposite effect. What I learned over the last 10 years of downsizing is that storage containers made me an organized hoarder. Ok…hoarder is probably not the right word but I owned very neatly contained stuff. Lots of it! Moving from an apartment to our starter home only masked my clutter problem because I could no longer see what we amassed in just two years. We installed cabinets to hide clutter. Most of these additions are now empty. I purchased furniture and fixtures I’d rather donate than dust. Turns out, our starter home is really spacious without a bunch of stuff we don’t need. 20 years later, we still live here. Over the years, I acquired a lot of things. I still feel like I own too much. At one time or another, I contributed to the statistic estimating there are 300,000 items in the average American home. During my former life, weekends were spent purchasing, organizing and …

[Read more...] about Decluttering Challenge – Day 5 – Baskets and Bins

Let’s stay in the kitchen for Day 4. If you didn’t get through all the plates, mugs, tea cups, bowls and glasses from yesterday, keep working!  Today’s challenge is what I affectionately call the Food Inventory Challenge. Take a long hard look at the freezer, fridge and pantry Throw away expired or freezer burned items Make a list of entree-items (ground beef, chicken, pizza etc) Plan at least 3 meals from current inventory No grocery shopping Borrow ingredients from a neighbor Check online for ingredient substitutes or try a different recipe Here in the mid-Atlantic, the roads are icy and it’s freezing! I have no desire to leave the house for the next three days. So, it’s the perfect opportunity to declutter the fridge, freezer and pantry. When you take time to meal plan and reduce the volume of food, these spaces have a way of organizing themselves. Clients often tell me their pantry is too small, but I would argue that we stock pile too much …

[Read more...] about Decluttering Challenge – Day 4 – Food Inventory