A little less stress, please. A little more beauty?

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During the holidays, we long for our homes to be extra beautiful and welcoming, the picture of peace and serenity...don't we??

So it has always struck me kinda funny that to create this much desired peace and serenity,  we bring out stacks of boxes bursting with stuff, create chaos as we empty their contents willy-nilly in the center of our houses, and then try to assimilate all of these extra items into an already full house--

And we do all of this during some of the busiest weeks of the year.

Seems crazy when we look at it that way, right?

Simplicity is at the heart of joy and beauty, but we often forget that during this season.  So, as we start to get big plastic bins out of the attic and spread their contents around our homes, I would like to invite you to try a different approach this year...one that will hopefully leave you feeling less frantic, and more peaceful & joyful indeed:

  1. Create a staging area--a place you don't mind if it is messy--the attic or basement itself where the holiday items are already stored, or perhaps a guest room. THIS is where the boxes and all of that STUFF will be unpacked and sorted--not in the middle of everything in the main part of the house.
  2. Focus on only ONE ROOM AT A TIME...We seldom have huge blocks of time to decorate, so think of one room you want to focus on--or even a single shelf or small area of that room--when you have a bit of time. Take just a handful of items from the staging area to the spot you are working, so there aren't big piles of things to deal with that can overwhelm you. (Decorating in small doses helps us to remember that this is a season, not a single event, and a process to enjoy, not an item on our checklist.)
  3. Decorate with only your most favorite decorations this year and abandon the devotion to decorating things a certain way because it is the way you always have in the past. Bah Humbug! Try something new, follow your heart, do something fun!
  4. Embrace Simplicity--small, subtle, yet sparkly touches around the house can be more beautiful than going whole hog...and they will be less stressful to gather and put away come January 2nd.
  5. Share the Spirit--After you have HAD FUN (rather than stressing and fussing) putting your favorite items where they can be enjoyed for the holiday, come back to your staging area. There will be a lot of items left over that you don't truly love or really need, and that is GREAT! Consider donating these to a charity as soon as possible so they can bless someone else's holiday. Your generosity will be so appreciated, and there will be less to put away and more storage room left over when you are done.

Decorating for the holidays is meant to be a celebration, not a chore. Be mindful and selective, so that you do things to adorn your home not simply out of obligation or tradition, but because it truly brings you joy.

AMEN & Happy Holidays!!

{video} Imagine you and I are cleaning out your closet...

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So, we find this box in the closet we are cleaning out. Sealed. Unlabeled. 

What is in it??

Who knows!

SO...should we open it up and go through all of the STUFF that's in there??

I SAY YES!!!!

What do YOU say?? (Don't roll your eyes at me!)

Hope this week's video helps you to tackle these "clumps of clutter" we all have in our houses, and inspires you to just jump in and get started, one small step at a time. :)

Is Your House Haunted? (Mine might be...)

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Because my house is so old (its original foundation dates back to 1778),
one of the most frequent things visitors say when they first see our house is: 

"Your house is over 200 years old?! You've gotta have some ghosts, right? Is your house haunted??"

Well sure, I love to tell the stories of the weird things we have seen and heard around our old farmhouse over the years. Ooooh! Like the night we arrived home to find the garage door fitfully going up and down and up and down all on its own, the overhead light flickering in the darkness! (Never mind that I was unknowingly sitting on the remote)... 

There are also all the creepy legends we heard from the neighborhood kids when we first moved in--like bright orbs floating in from the woods outback in the dead of night and menacingly hovering right outside the kitchen door! (If you come over for one of our bonfires, those stories are a must!)...

However, one of my favorite ones is The Tale of the Day That We First Toured the House  (insert evil laugh here).

Once Upon a Time, back in 1996, a young, innocent (ha!) couple came across the listing for an old house that had been on the market a few months--a fixer upper a little down on her luck. 

Nestled amongst a development built in the early 1980's, it was an unexpected find. And after they came across it, they drove past it frequently--mysteriously drawn to its seductive charms buried under gross siding painted three different colors.

It seems they were powerless to resist...so they ventured inside (well, with their realtor, on a scheduled showing. But still...details, details). 

It was dark inside. The bathrooms and kitchens were from a bygone era. Two of the three bedrooms were mysteriously cold (well, mostly because they didn't have any heat yet, but nevertheless....).

After they had cautiously walked through the rooms and examined every inch of the old structure, the most unexpected thing happened:

(haunting organ music swells)

They found themselves sitting in the living room, completely relaxed, visiting, talking, dreaming of their future there, and feeling as if they were already at home.

That's right. My favorite ghost story about our home is about its true "spirit:" --we instantly felt so welcomed and at ease inside of these old plaster walls, that we decided to make an offer on the place...and the rest is history. :)

I love to share this story because it shows how important it is to pay attention to your gut--our instincts are rarely wrong when it comes to finding our way home. 

Happy Halloween, dear friends! May your spirits be high and your home be welcoming! 🎃