- Okay, so the number one
thing I don't buy anymore is scatter rugs, area rugs. And I've even noticed that if
I have a good house shoe on, I don't even need anti-fatigue
mats anymore in our kitchen. It makes it so much
easier to keep it clean, to sweep, to clean up
at the end of the day if I don't have to move those around and I never have to
clean them or shake them. Number two, this might be controversial. I am no longer buying microfiber cloths, so you all are so kind to
share resources with me. I had no idea that impact
that microfiber has on the environment. It breaks down into little
pieces, it's like plastic, it gets into our water supply. Even though they work so well, they're really not good for the earth. Now you follow your own
own convictions on that. But what I've decided is I'm gonna use up the ones that we have and then after that I'm
not gonna purchase anymore. Now speaking of using up
the things that we have, I have made a commitment
to myself this year and I am not gonna buy any
more cleaning supplies, tea. I have a whole list here, let's see. Cleaning supplies, tea,
makeup, hair products, shampoo, conditioner, candles, until I have used up everything
in our home that we have. So what's so nice about
my organization down here under the sink is that
everything fits right now, but sometimes I'm tempted
to buy new cleaning products because, well, I don't know, influencers make it look
like they work really well. Do you know what has helped my kitchen? Do you know what has been
like the miracle product for my kitchen and for my bathrooms, just cleaning more consistently. I find that when I clean on a regular basis that I don't
need fancy cleaning products or those like miracle
products that they sell. Now, I was never one
to keep up on cleaning. So I say that as a person who never could stay up on cleaning. Do you know what has made it
possible so that I can stay up on cleaning, highly simplifying
and decluttering my house. And when I'm bringing in more of these products that
is working against me it's like this vicious cycle, right? My house is cluttered,
I don't clean and then I need those like really hardcore
cleaning products, right? And so we keep this stuff out and then I don't need the
fancy cleaning products. And then also in regards to the kitchen, things I don't buy are those just any kinda like gimmick, a gadget, things that only do one thing. I found that like I would buy like those fancy choppers
or a mandolin or things and I never used it because
they were such a pain to clean. So you might find that you
have single use gadgets or even appliances in your kitchen that you don't use for
their intended purpose because they are too much work to clean. And so let's be willing
to let that stuff go, not buy it anymore. And then again, our kitchen
is easy to keep tidy and then we clean more. I'm telling you, every
area of my house functions better now that it's simplified and that I'm not buying
more stuff to put in here. So I'm willing to maybe experience even a little inconvenience by
not having these things in my kitchen to keep
it highly simplified, so that I cook in here and
it's very easy to keep clean. And like I said, this year I
am committed to using up all of my skincare and lotion and
shampoos and all those things. Just recently you got to
see me organize this drawer and it has like my skincare system in it. And again, is this the
best skins sayer system in the whole world? Is it gonna make me look younger
and prettier and all that? I don't know. There could be better ones out there, but I've decided this year I am not gonna continue to try more. I'm gonna use one system
and I'm gonna stick to it because for almost
all of these products I found that they're actually effective when you use them consistently, right? It's more about the consistency of use, not necessarily trying to
find the miracle products. I've said it before. There are no miracle products out there. It's usually just the ones
you use over and over again. I'm not gonna buy any more
perfume, makeup products. I am just going to use what I have, continue to master using what I have, figuring out how it works best for me. And when I see influencers
that are saying like oh my goodness, you have to have this. This is the best ever. I am just like putting the blinders on. I've even had to unfollow some
people that I tend to be weak and buy all the stuff they
recommend and remind myself, you have bought that stuff
before and it was not really any better than the other
stuff that you already had. It makes my life easier
actually learning new products and all of that. Finding a place to store it and keep it. It just takes time and energy and I don't wanna put that
time and energy in right now. So using up what we have,
not buying more stuff. I'm also putting the blinders on when it comes to new jewelry. So I have some just
really great basic pieces that are very versatile. Like I often get asked
when I wear these earrings where they're from,
they're just from target. I think you can still get them there. So I have a couple dangly earrings. I have like two sets I like
and I have like two pairs of studs and two necklaces
and they're very versatile. I can dress 'em up, dress 'em
down, and like I had gotten I was just going through my short, I've been giving a couple
earrings as gifts this year and I wore them each once or
twice and then I just decided that they're just not classic enough. Even these ones kind of came
up when I was wearing them and I just don't want stuff
like that right now that, again, I have to to store it, keep it organized remember that it's there. For right now, I need to have these rules with myself. Like we're not buying buying jewelry, we're not buying makeup, we're not buying cleaning supplies 'till they're all used up. And it just like that
works really well for me and it makes my life so much
easier and I don't have all of the clutter creep coming
into our house right now. Now I wanna remind you
that we've been living as minimalists for over eight years now. So if any of this seems
like odd or extreme, I'm kind of past the point of carrying what other people think, whether they come into my
house and they're like, why doesn't she have end tables? Or you know, just some of the
stuff we're expected to have. I've gotten really good at looking around my house and
figuring out what annoys me, like scatter rugs or throw
rugs, whatever you call those, and what things add value to my life. So I had been testing out like different end
tables for this sofa. Finally just decided that I actually like it without anything. I like the space around the end of the couch and it's so much
easier to sweep the floors and take care of this area
when there's no tables. There's also no flat
surfaces to collect stuff. So I don't buy furniture
that is a flat surface now. I know myself flat
surfaces collect clutter. It does not matter if it's
a coffee table and table dining room, table, desk, anything. They collect clutter. So I've just decided I
don't wanna have that. And every once in a while
someone's sitting on the couch with a drink and they don't
have somewhere to set it and I'm just okay with that
because 98% of the time, it's so awesome not having those here. I also don't really get home
decor anymore and I used to really enjoy decorating,
but I found that it was fun in the moment when I would decorate and put new stuff on, but it didn't ultimately satisfy. I just found that I had to continually be changing it with the
different trends and the seasons. And so now I prefer just to
have some classic pieces. I'll still switch 'em
around once in a while, but I really don't get new stuff season to season or even
necessarily year year. Now the exception, you've
seen my throw pillows. I do like to update the throw
pillows once in a while, but even that now I'm
kind of getting over it and I'm just like, whatever. Everyone's been using them,
sitting on 'em, squishing 'em, and it just, it kind of is
what it is at this point. And you'll not find any
fake plants in my house. One because it's good to have living stuff for like the air quality and all that. But I've really enjoyed
caring for living plants. Now, I've had to be
careful not to go too far, not to have too many. So I have these two and
then the one on the shelves, my open shelves here. That's real. I know sometimes people are
like, oh, I thought it was fake. It is real. And I have kept it alive
for a couple years now and that's how I feel
pretty good about it. Showing you this plant I forget what the actual name is. They call it like a Chinese money plant. But do you see all the little
guys growing down there? Like that has just been so
gratifying and so rewarding. And I actually wanna propagate
these so I can give this away 'cause so many people think
this plant is so cool. And I agree with that, right? Anyways, enough about plants. I also do like to get like
living flowers and stuff. In Minnesota right now you don't get a lot of living flowers. I like to plant about sides
so I can bring 'em in. But Tom actually got these
for me, which is nice. And every once in a
while I'll grab a bouquet at Walmart too. I don't buy fancy, fancy flowers, but it's nice to have living things inside of our homes most, most of the stuff is dead
and there is just something about having living things in our home and tending to
it that is very relaxing and good for us too. Okay, I don't love showing this area, but let's talk about kids' craft supplies and all of that stuff. I've seen many comments that
of parents who are like, what? How should we organize
kids' craft supplies because they get so out of control. And I believe that we
should have the right amount of craft supplies for our
kids that they can help keep them organized. So if you are constantly
having to pick up stuff on the floor, spend your precious time and energy keeping it all organized. I heard it said the other day like. That's above my pay grade, right? I want to raise creative kids. Like that is actually
like one of my goals. But you don't have to have
a lot of craft supplies or craft kits or all
those things to do it. My kids mostly had cardboard,
painters tape and markers and the creations they came
up with were phenomenal. Now they still get gifts and
they spend their own money on things and this area gets
a little out of control. We are gonna tackle it here this weekend and so we'll get it back in shape. It won't take long at all, but
if it has been a pain point for you, stop buying
craft supplies and kits. They don't need 'em to be
creative and highly simplify 'em. And I think you're gonna
enjoy your parenting and your motherhood so much more. And you know, this is how it
gets outta control for them. I know for myself, if I
buy a lot of craft supplies for myself, I just don't
have time anymore for it. And so I love to craft, but I know for this season right now I have actually donated almost all of that stuff because I
just didn't have time. And it caused me a lot
of guilt when I would see unfinished projects and I knew
the money I had spent in it, I knew my intentions,
who I was gonna give it to and all of that. It made me feel bad. And so I don't keep that stuff around. I do think in another season of life I would love to do that again. So no soy projects, no craft stuff, but I do express my
creativity in other ways. Like when I made the baked
bunt cake recipe book and creating bunt cake recipes that I didn't need a lot of stuff. I really just needed my stand mixer and my bunt cake pan, right? And I really enjoyed that. And then when I was done,
I made sure to get rid of any extra stuff I had acquired, whether it was decorations or sprinkles or that kind of stuff. Along those same lines too, I love to DIY. I love doing house projects. You can still like see my
wall over here that I stencil but again, I am in a season
where we just don't have a lot of time and bandwidth for that. And those things make me feel guilty. So if I see an idea on Pinterest
or Instagram or YouTube or something like that, I
say that is a cool idea. It's not for me right now in this season. Did you know that reading fiction for just six minutes can reduce your stress level by up to 80%? It's a fantastic way to unwind. And so I don't buy new books anymore. So for fiction, I love to use
my Kindle app on my phone. I know some are like
I have to hold a book. You get used to it pretty quickly. And actually I find the
Kindle app easier to use than a regular book. And so for fiction books, I
have no problem reading them on an e-reader. When it comes to books
that I wanna take notes on. I still like to get the physical book. I like to highlight it. I actually just watched a
really fascinating video for non-fiction books
and how to take notes and not lose your ideas. And so I'm gonna link down to that down below because why
do we get non-fiction books? Because of the ideas. Like they can totally
change our lives, right? They're so powerful, they're so awesome. But when we have too many books, we have this like FOMO, like, oh no, there's all these ideas in here that I'm not learning
because I'm not reading them. So for me, I buy books used and if I know it's a book
I'm gonna wanna mark up and take notes in, I buy them
used, but I have to limit it. So I keep them on my wishlist for a long time before
I actually purchase. Like I really try to
keep all my books to fit in this basket because I get overwhelmed, I get stressed out and
then I don't read them and I don't go through them, right? But like I said, that video below to how to take notes on books is so good. So I will link to that. If you're a non-fiction reader
that likes to curate ideas. Okay, so a few other things. I don't get subscription boxes. Subscription boxes are
awesome, aren't they? It's like this, they curate
like all these fun things and then I just never used them. Now I like a one time subscription box. Like I got one from Mercy
House Global for my birthday and it was beautiful and I
truly loved everything in it and used it, but I knew if
that came month after month, that I wouldn't use up all of that stuff. I also in the past, always
bought everything on clearance and on deep discount. And I've learned that especially
when it comes to clothes that stuff did not stand the test of time. So again, I've got really
good at observing this stuff in my house and I'm like,
what lasts and what doesn't? But here's what's interesting about that. I'm still not the type. I still don't invest a ton in my clothes because I feel like then I have to like keep it
and wear it forever. So I'm still somewhere in the middle. I'll usually spend a
little bit more on jeans. But then as far as like tops,
like I'm still kind of middle of the road, but I always
ask myself if it's on sale or clearance, like would
you pay full price for this? And if the answer is no,
then I don't allow myself to get it. I have a video about how I don't impulse
buy clothes anymore and like it has to be a for sure yes. - So I'll link to that. And I've also learned from myself, I have to invest in good shoes now. I don't know, was it when we
were younger we could buy like inexpensive shoes and they were cute and it didn't like kill our feet. But like even I showed
these earlier in the season like my dance go house
shoes, I don't know, these were worth every penny. I think they were around $80. I wear them every day,
multiple hours a day. And so I don't know about you, I can't buy cheap shoes anymore. But I do know too, like
if you buy good ones they usually last a really long time. So they are worth it. And I'd be curious for
you too, is that like just something that changes with
age or how does that work? Because honestly, if I
could still wear cheap shoes I would probably still buy cheap shoes. And then real quick, let's talk about like kid stuff like toys. Again, this is something that I have really researched a lot, so I have a lot of passion about it is learning how kids learn,
how do they become creative? How can they play better independently? How can they get along
with their siblings better? And it is fascinating that as we lower the toy inventory and don't buy these toys that make noise that are a single use
that like do it for them, that they are so much more creative. But again, here's where I
think there's middle ground. So on one end we have like
the really annoying toys and we just like don't even
let those in our house. If it's a gift, it's one
thing, but we do not buy them. And then on the other hand, we have these like beautiful
wood Montessori toys. I don't buy those either. I don't think we have to have
expensive Montessori toys. If you have them, great, whatever, but you don't have to go out and buy them. I think there's this
middle ground where we just have the good old
fashioned open-ended toys like Duplos, Legos, building blocks. I do like magnet tiles a lot too. Our kids like had a few baby
dolls and a couple accessories, a few trucks and tractors and
they could play for hours. I also don't buy the big toys, so we don't have the Barbie Dream House. You've heard my saga around that. Like we bought it, they
never played with it. The big kitchens and play
houses and basketball hoops. If your child plays with it every day and they
love it, keep it, of course. But if not, if it is
just stuck in the corner of your living room and you're
so tired of looking at it, you can let that stuff go. Kids are actually drawn to little things like
have you noticed that? Like micro machines and
matchbox cars and poly pockets. Again, whatever their age
is that it's appropriate. But we don't need big toys and a lot of toys to
keep our kids occupied. They thrive in highly
simplified environments. Again, I do have like an
hour long teaching webinar like around toys, how we simplified it, how we decided what to keep, what tactics to use with your kids if they're really attached to everything. So I can put a link to
that down below as well. And then again, for kids stuff, like we don't buy new kids' clothes. There are so many used
kids' clothes out there. Once in a while we'll fill
in a gap with something new, but it's so easy to come across secondhand kids' clothes and they're still fashionable and cute if that's important to you. Similarly with baby gear, you
don't have to buy that new, you can borrow it from
friends, test it out, see if it works with your baby. And then if you like it, look
for something on marketplace. My goodness, you can find anything on marketplace where baby is to, right? And then I also know myself too, and I don't get exercise
equipment, workout stuff. I've talked before, but I really like to develop
the habit and add in new stuff. But even once I've gotten into
habit of like walking again, like we would get like kettle bells or that kind of stuff, I never used it. And so that's I think probably what I've
learned the most over time now. There has never been something I've bought that has made me do the
thing to be healthier or to read more or to whatever it, that's not where our
motivation comes from. And it's so confusing because marketing tells us
this will fix your problem. This will make you healthier this will make you lose
weight, skinnier, prettier whatever it is. There is a solution that we
can buy for every single thing. And as I look around my house and I
continue to declutter, I'm just like whether that was a lie, that was a lie, that was a lie. Maybe it works for someone
else, doesn't work for me. And that's okay. The best thing I have done for myself is to simplify my house. And now that I'm not managing
so much stuff in my house I can keep it more clean. And then all of a sudden I'm like, okay, maybe I could entertain some
healthier habits this new year. Maybe I can think about reading
fiction before bed instead of being drawn into my phone. Maybe I do have a little more
space for some DIY projects or some other way to be creative. Or maybe I have more
space to help other people and that actually brings
the most fulfillment and satisfaction and happiness of all. And I didn't have to buy
a single thing, right? Here is complete permission. If you have bought some of
this stuff and you're like darn it, like I just thought
that product was gonna be the end all be all, it's okay. Let's be willing to let it go. Recognize we all make mistakes. Marketing is so powerful,
influencers are so powerful. But recognize that, okay, it's not, it's not meeting that need in my life. It's not adding value. I am gonna let it go. It's gonna make it so I'm
a much better consumer moving forward. And I am gonna feel so much
better about myself too and not to mention my bank. My bank account is going
to thank me as well, right? So it just keeps getting
easier and easier. And I'm guessing that
you're finding that as well. All right, so like I said below, I'm gonna link to a few of those videos. I really like the clothing one. If you get drawn into
clothing, that was me. I'm not a fashionista by any means, but I would walk by the clearance track and I just couldn't help it. It seemed like it was, I was being wise with
my money when in fact I wasn't at all, right? So I'm gonna link to some of
those videos that I mentioned. But I love you. I am so grateful for you and that you continue to watch
our videos and share them. So thank you for that. But I hope that you have a great day and I will definitely look
forward to seeing you again soon.
