Amy Slenker-Smith

Decluttering Challenge – Day 3 – Dishes

January 3, 2018 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I laid out the plan for my decluttering and downsizing challenge. Build momentum by first addressing common spaces used every day. Day 1 - Clean Sweep the house. Return items to their proper home. Set up Donation Box Day 2 - Clear your Exit Path. Establish a landing spot for keys, wallet, phone etc. Declutter your work bag/purse, coat closet and car. How many donation boxes are loaded in the car? I have two. Day 3 takes us back inside the house to the command center of most homes, The Kitchen. Let's talk dishes. How many people live in your house? Mine, just 3 and yet we have a lot of glasses, plates, cups etc. Collections I’m embarrassed to admit that we own three sets of dishes (everyday, wedding china and Christmas dishes). My husband loves our wedding china so we use it often. We drastically reduced the number of pieces and agreed we won't keep it forever. Neither of us want our possessions to be a burden on our son. I would be content to …

Decluttering Challenge – Day 2 – Landing Spot

January 2, 2018 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Landing Spot It's Day 2 of the Decluttering and Downsizing Challenge! Today, I'm going to recommend some tips for getting out the door quickly and easily. These tricks help me feel more organized and start the day off on the right foot! But first, we'll declutter that space and create some best practices. One of my favorites and most effective is the landing spot. Did you know? In our lifetime, we will spend a total of 3,680 hours or 153 days searching for misplaced items. We lose up to 9 items every day—or 198,743 in a lifetime. (The Daily Mail) If the challenge feels too slow, keep in mind that you did not accumulate all this clutter overnight. So, it will take time to get rid of it and new habits to keep it away! Stick with me this month and you'll get there! The Simply Enough Challenge is about more than helping you to declutter and organize your home. It’s about challenging you to live differently. Living with less but having more. I didn’t call this …

Decluttering and Downsizing Challenge with Simply Enough

December 31, 2017 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

I've participated in a lot of decluttering challenges over the years. Every time, they reinvigorate my downsizing efforts. I embraced living simply and a minimalist lifestyle for the positive effects it has on many aspects of my life. New Year's is a great time to refocus my attention on what matters most. For me , that's living simply, living intentionally and living with less. I continue to clear clutter because what we have is Simply Enough. Simply Enough Challenge 2018 This year, I decided to launch my own Decluttering Challenge for the month of January. I'll use FB and Instagram with the hashtag #SimplyEnough2018. Each day will offer a new challenge with videos and photos. It will be something that I'm doing in my own home. Monday-Friday will be shorter challenges. We'll save the bigger, extra-credit ones for the weekends so that everyone can play along. I'd love to see your posts and progress. Feel free to tag Simply Enough on Instagram or FB and use …

I Think Shopping Has Made Me Hate Christmas

December 22, 2017 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Ok - perhaps hate is too strong of a word, but I strongly dislike shopping. I cannot sugar coat it. Last week was Week 3 of my holiday preparation. During this week, I attempted to focus on Gift Making & Shopping. As you’d expect, this is my least favorite week of the season. All week, I struggled to get going. Even writing about shopping felt like a chore because it's so counter to what inspires me about living a minimalist lifestyle. Perhaps like me, you also feel bogged down by the “need” for excessive gift giving and family expectations. In fact, I know you do! Because I’ve talked to you at my speaking engagements. Gift Giving is the #1 question I field at these events especially from exasperated parents. Gift making is a completely different story. Photo calendars for the grandparents, cookies and mason jar mixes. The recipients look forward to these gifts and return empty jars for refills. Delivering these homemade items makes us feel like Santa with the …

7 Secrets To Hosting A Successful Holiday Party

December 9, 2017 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

It’s party time! Perhaps you're getting ready to host a Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve bash! As I shared last week, party prep is Week 2 of holiday preparations in our house. We host our annual holiday party on the second Saturday of December. 75-100 people attend each year. It’s our labor of love for the holiday season. This year, we celebrated our 21st year. Suffice to say, we learned a few things along the way. Keep It Simple No surprise, we simplified. We do less. In years past, decorating consumed days and I scrambled right up until the last hour. No more. I completed my decorating in a few hours last week. Week 1...Check! Many rooms in our home used to require a significant amount of effort to declutter and rearrange. I had to create a pathway for guests through our maze of possessions. Tables and counters had to be cleared of “stuff.” Then, the items were boxed and stored in closets. Why didn’t I just pass those on to GoodWill? :) Bins used for Christmas …

Houston Does Not Need Your Stuff

August 31, 2017 by Amy Slenker-Smith 268 Comments

Houston lived inside my heart and overwhelmed my thoughts this week. I took this picture in Austin's Zilker Park during our US Roadtrip. As we drove across Texas, I remember the vastness of Houston. I can't imagine what Houston and the many affected cities look like now. Everywhere you turn, people are talking about Houston. While watching conversations on social media, a concern grew inside me. After a few days, I felt ready to write. Actually, I need to write about Houston. They need our help! Like you, I want to help. I am praying. I donated money. But I cringe at posts about sending “stuff” to Texas. (School supplies, clothing, water, etc.) I am here to tell you.... Houston does not need your stuff More posts appear every day about trucks that will deliver items to Houston. I applaud all of these well intentioned efforts but Houston residents don't need your old sweatshirt. Donations can and will do more harm than good in this first wave of …

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