It has been 1 month since our decision to go minmal! It seems silly, but I’ve learned so much about myself this past month and it’s been nuts. So here we go..let’s talk about what was wishful thinking and what actually works.

One dish per person is the stupidest idea I’ve ever had. Efffff that! Our dishes came back out of the closet…mama couldn’t hang. Seriously sometimes I use a spoon while cooking then two for eating because no one likes different foods to touch the same spoon….the only dishes that have stayed minimal are Liam’s. We still wash his stuff by hand and it is wonderful…but our stuff..failed idea….those who actually do this- you’re amazing and insane

I like the empty walls and shelves: I had a lot of ugly stuff on these shelves I have

in my hallway. They are those hall closets without doors..so I felt like they needed to be full. So I got rid of a lot of it and now there are a couple empty shelves and I actually love it! Feels airy and fresh.some people may call it cold..but then again some people may call me annoying and I disagree with both 🤷

The laundry still piles up- the only way I could avoid this is to have like 1 pair of pants and 2 shirts. I HATE LAUNDRY. I leave clean loads in the basket all week…why can’t I just fold it right away? I’m the woorsstt. I’m working on it. I thought that since reducing my wardrobe by like 75% laundry would be easier to stay on top of…and maybe it is a littttttle, but I still suck.

Cleaning my house is a million times faster. My favorite part of all of this is how quick and easy cleaning my house is! My room is still a mess due to said laundry..but cleaning up is faasstt. There is room for everything it’s so nice! My floors get so stinking dirty because we have a lot of dirt in our backyard and our dogs track it in, but as long as I use my dry mop daily and wet mop every couple of days..it stays okay.

I swear that purging everything has significantly impacted other areas of my life: this is something I read about before starting…people purge and lose weight, or start a new business, or do something unrelated that they’ve been meaning to do for years. Kinda thought that was just fancy talk and I didn’t think it would really happen so obviously..but it has. Here’s what has happened since minimizing –

1- I have finally gotten serious about figuring out some digestive issues I’ve had for years and have cleaned up my diet and started being diligent about my probiotics.

2- I am much more active.

3- my mood and ppd have improved greatly.

4- I want to meet up with friends again. I want to have people over/ be social/ build or continue relationships that I started not caring about for a while.

5- Im remembering that I’m a wife too. I have been so focused on being the best mom I can be that my husband probably thinks all I want from him is his sperm..and now that I have my baby, I no longer need him until it’s time for #2. I have no idea how minimizing has made me wake up and realize I’m still a wife…but I think I’m just thinking a little straighter. For the record my husband has great sperm , but I love him for MUCH more than that 😜

Basically, we have quit some of our minimalistic adventures, but kept a lot of them and we notice a difference all over our lives from it. I would LOVE if you guys kept sending me pictures of your purges! I love seeing it. Tag me in them on insta or DM them to me! @makeroomforjoy

I just put a poll up on my @makeroomforjoy Instagram account to see what content you guys like- I’m having trouble deciding what direction I’m going. I would LOVE the feedback. Check back next week to hear about my first overnight trip without my baby and more about the struggles of balancing mom/wife roles. And I’ll throw in the ONLY item that made me emotional during our purge.