An Early Christmas

Hey there! A couple days ago, we received presents in the mail from all the family....and decided that it was a sign that we should have Christmas early! Plus, we didn't want to haul all of our presents to Oklahoma. It was nice to enjoy an evening of gift giving with just the three of us.  Sam loved everything...especially ripping wrapping paper. I'm pretty sure that was his favorite part of all. Silly boy. 

Now on to pictures. Sorry this post is mostly pictures, but really that's what people care about most anyways, right? So without further ado....

 Sammy loves the fabric quiet book from Grammy

 And, of course, he loves his new toy dump truck from Grammy and Grampy

 Jimmy trying on his new TMNT socks

 "Tissue Paper!" - Sam

 Enjoying his new Sophie the giraffe books

 Yep, we're nerdy and got him an abacus. And he loves it.

 Jimmy trying out his new gopro head strap

 Yep, still playing with the abacus

 Sammy wasn't a fan of the head strap, but he looks cute!

Semi-matching TMNT socks! Thanks again, Grammy and Grampy!

Up next? Christmas with the Neely's in Oklahoma!

Until then (and Merry Christmas), 

Kyrstie

P.S. we've been receiving lots of Christmas cards and love them! Instead of sending Christmas cards, we send a family Valentines Day card...so if you think I don't have your address and want one, let me know!

The Purging Continues

Last time I posted, I said that I was going to be purging our lifestyle...starting with my closet. So, for those of you who might want to join in the fun, this is what I did.

1. I sorted all my clothes, shoes, belts, accessories, ect. into three different piles. The first was a "donate to the thrift store" pile, the second a "trash it" pile, and the third was a "keep" pile. I filled two kitchen trash bags in stuff to get rid of! 
2. I took my pile of "keep it" clothes and sorted them into a "pack away until spring/summertime" pile or "keep out because I wear all the time" pile. (I also decided to donate a few more things that I originally thought I would keep.) 
3. Next I took a look at everything I had left for my "keep" pile and decided to downsize to 33 items. I used this article as my inspiration. The basic idea is that you downsize to 33 items (not including underthings and workout clothes), for 3 months. I followed it pretty closely and feel confidant that these 3 months won't be too difficult. Even though underthings and workout clothes don't count towards the 33 things, I went ahead and got rid of a lot of things in those categories. I tend to wear the same things over and over again, so it just made sense for me. 
4. My final step (for now!) was to put everything in it's place. I typically put my underthings, socks, pjs, and workout clothes in the dresser and then hang everything else up. It saves space, especially if you're sharing a dresser (which we are), and keeps clothes less wrinkly. Plus, I like being able to see all of my clothes. When I hung all of my clothes up, I hung them up backwards, so that I could see if I was really wearing everything that I kept out. We'll see how that goes. (Thanks Aunt Amy for that idea!)

So, what did I end up keeping? Let me tell you. In list form, of course (I LOVE lists):

1. Red skirt
2. Two dresses
3. Two "cute" t-shirts
4. Three button ups
5. Four "cute" blouses
6. One black and one white tank top
7. Three cardigans 
8. Skinny jeans
9. Flare jeans
10. Wide leg jeans
11. Simple black pants
12. One gray hoodie
13. One light jacket
14. One winter coat
15. Black flats
16. Nude flats
17. Brown riding boots
18. Tom wedges
19. Two scarves

(Yes, I know that only adds up to 30 items, I'm leaving room to buy a few things.)

Now, for a couple of pictures. I wish I would of thought ahead a bit more and taken pictures of the entire process, but I got excited and forgot. Sorry! 

It's so spacious feeling!

I'm almost embarrassed by how much unnecessary stuff I had!

I also went through Sam's clothes and got rid of an entire trash bag! I didn't use the 333 principle for him. Instead, I left out enough for five outfits, three sets of pajamas, one church outfit, two sweaters, and a coat. He really doesn't need much. Especially since his usual outfit is a shirt and diaper. And now someone else will get to enjoy some cute hand-me-downs!

This week, I'm hoping to go through and get rid of extra stuff that we don't need in the living room/office/laundry room (aka junk room). Wish me luck!

If you are have trouble with editing your wardrobe, you might find these links helpful.

Wardrobe editing decision tree

How to weed out your closet

Wardrobe decision guide

30 piece wardrobe and free printable

And because I love quotes and printables...

Try it! I promise it works!

I've already noticed how much easier it is to keep our room picked up! And it's so much more relaxing and peaceful. I love it!

Until next time, 

Kyrstie