SRKindredSpirits

This month, we are back to homeshooling our two youngest kids. Not only was I a homeschool kid, but I have homeschooled my own kids off and on for over 13 yrs. Our oldest daughter has graduated and is in her second semester of college. I firmly believe the number one rule for homeschooling should be this: - Keep It Simple! - This year we are using Gather Round Homeschool Unit Studies and Abeka Math. Our supplies consist of our Unit Study workbooks and Teachers guide, an individual notebook for each of us, my Bible, a planner/calender (I use it to keep track of our days as required by the State), a Chromebook (used for researchand watching videos), Math workbooks, and Reading books.  We keep all our school supplies in a carousel. When school is finished, we put the carousel and our books back on the school shelf in the closet and go on with our day! It is super simple and stress free! Keeping school simple has helped me be a better teacher. No more desks, chairs, white boards, pos...

 I love decorating and making over a room... so when I heard of the One Room Makeover Challenge.... I was all in! Here's the deal.... the challenge is you have 2 days and a $200 budget... I thought our bathroom would be perfect for this. You see, some day, when we tear up all the flooring, we are planning on a big remodel/refresh for the whole house. And when that happens I have big plans for this bathroom.... a soaker tub, a see through glass shower, a real stone sink top, new vanity, flooring, closet, etc. But until then.... a little refresh will do wonders! So here's the story on this bathroom... When we bought the house 15 years ago, this bathroom was all decked out in its original 70's style.... blue and pink wall paper, blue floor, blue tub, yellowed blue marble sink and yes, a blue toilet! (Sorry about the picture quality- it was before I had a digital camara.) We got rid of just about everything.... except the ugly blue tub, always ...

I made my first jewelry holder back in 2011 and ever since then, I have displayed my jewelry on our bedroom wall. My ideas, wants, decor and jewelry has changed a bit since back then.... (which is probably a good thing! ) In 2014 I made another jewelry holder, which was the perfect size and looks great on the wall. I still use it today. However, I have always kept my bracelets in my jewelry box tucked away in my closet.  I love wearing bracelets, but since they weren't out where I could see them or easily accessible, most days I never wore them... Well, alot has happened in the years since then... we have minimized our life style, getting rid of a bedroom dresser, mirror, and cairo cabinet, and cleaned out our bedroom closets.... oh, and a new chair and fresh coat of paint made it look like a completely different room. Except, the crazy little jewelry box was still sitting in my closet, driving me crazy, most of the bracelets unworn. So, I decided to final...

"Whenever you want to add to your life.... take away something instead.  You'll find that the more you take away, the more you have. And even better, you'll find yourself buried down there at the bottom somewhere." - Rhoda A Kindred

Today, we are talking about closets.... Never underestimate the difference that a little change can make . I have always used plastic coated wire hangers in my closet, but over the years, I had just about every color and style and flimsy ones they make. Hubby on the other hand always used plain old wire hangers with some wood ones and yarn wrapped ones, that his great grandma made. They just looked bad. I hated hanging up clothes and I hated looking at them even more.  So, I purchased brand new plastic wire coated heavy duty hangers in white for our closets and it's amazing how much of a difference it makes!  Left - after white hangers and hung by type and color Right - before uniform hangers (hung by type, but NOT color) Another way to brighten the closet is to change out incandescent light bulbs for some bright white LEDs and to throw a fresh coat of paint on it. We just painted our shelves white (they were just an ugly stained wood) and that mad...

I grew up in the 80s and 90's. I loved big hair, teal mustangs, pointed shoes, and ladies in skirt suits with shoulder pads.... when it came to my clothes and decorating my house. Everything had to match!  But here's the problem....  I could never get my house to look good.. it seamed something was always missing... or just not quite right. Over the years I've discovered a few things.... Teal cars are no longer cool, big hair doesn't work on everyone, comfortable shoes is better, shoulder pads are just yucky, and matching is way over rated. When it comes to your home, forget the matching - here's the secret to making your home look great! USE WHAT YOU LOVE Don't keep things you don't like. That means that stool you really don't like, or the ugly mug your Aunt Betty gave you, or the picture frame that's been in the family for years and you cant get rid of it, or someone will be upset.... let it go... if it doesn't bring ...

How many bottles do you have in your shower? I'll wait, while you go count them.... I seen on Facebook the other day that a couple had twenty, yes twenty bottles in their shower for two people! There is never a reason to have that many, or even half that many bottles in the shower, ever! Tonight, while I was complaining that our shower has no cubbies/shelves in it,  my husband reminded me that I really needed to use minimalism in our shower.... And while it would be really nice to have a couple built in shelves in the shower, he really does have a point.... The thing is, most of us are guilty of buying another shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, facial cleanser, or shower gel.... and sometimes, we often keep our old bottles that are half full along with our new ones. Just pick out your favorite and toss the rest. You don't need so many bottles.... I mean If I was rich, I'd pay to have lazer hair removal, so I could get rid of my shaving cream, sha...

Dishes in the sink, toys throughout the house, stuff covering every flat surface; this clutter not only makes our homes look bad, it makes us feel bad, too. Walk into any middle-class home in the U.S. and you will come face to face with stuff—toys, trinkets, family photos, furniture, games, DVDs, TVs, digital devices of all kinds, souvenirs, nick-knacks, food, and more. We put our stuff anywhere in the house, every where there's room, or even if there's no room. We have Clutter-strewn garages, abandoned yards and families who are too busy to actually enjoy the possessions they work hard to acquire.  George Carlin famously observed that "a house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it." Buy stuff. Keep it. Get more of it. Keep that, too. Store it. Display it. Spend time on it. Spend money on it. Worry about it. Stress over it. Repeat. We are a clutter culture, and that, my friends is sad. When clutter takes over, the home, can become a large cont...

One thing that you always read when it comes to kids toys and minimalism is how to get rid of them or why fewer toys benefit your kids . But you never hear about how many toys are too many? I asked myself the same thing a lot through the years, and while I know minimalism is different for every one, I thought I'd let you know what works for us and how we handle our kids toys. Our two girls ages seventeen and nine, share a small room and closet . We have a set of bunk beds, and they each have their own desk, and folding chair. There are five (six cube) storage organizers in their room, along with a saucer chair, a clothes basket, and a guitar. The 17 yr old has outgrown toys obviously and now collects books!  Below is a list of every toy my nine-year-old has. We have condensed all her toys to fit in either a shoe box, a fabric cube, or a small drawer, with the exception being the barbie toys in a tub. There are 4 clear plastic shoe boxes that hold a little puppies ...

We are four years into our clutter free living journey and still going strong. We have litterily gotten rid of hundreds and thousands of items.... two four wheelers, my hubbys entire wood shop and tools, filing cabinets, chairs, benches, lamps, gun cabinet, dressers, and tons of household miscilanious stuff. I continue to go through cupboards, closets and drawers, and continue to remove the unnecessary. I still love this journey and the benefits that we are enjoying since living with less... We bought new bikes so our whole family of 5 can ride bike together. Getting rid of clutter has helped me reduce a tremendous amount of stress. We got rid of all of our animals, and as a result, we can travel more and enjoy weekend trips. It has given us more time to do things as a family. It keeps the house neat and tidy. I almost never have to pick up toys in the livingroom, and the counters stay open and clear. It makes us feel lighter and happy. The simple t...