I have thinking a lot about simplifying lately. Maybe it's just me nesting (I'm 33 weeks pregnant, due July 24th), or maybe it's all the stuff I've been dragging in from garage sales. Something about the simple life has always intrigued me and while I definitely wouldn't call myself a minimalist, I want my home to have a clean vibe.

A place for everything. Only keeping things that I love. Decorating in a way that makes me happy when I walk into a room.

There are two types of messes, good messes and bad. This, my friends, is a good mess:

Why? While it might make you cringe, this would take 10 minutes to clean up. The blocks go in the penguin, the legos go in the basket cube, the game pieces go in the game box, and it all has a spot in the family room. DONE! YAY! Let's go outside and play!

Want to see a bad mess?

Yikes. The green laundry bin has folded linens that go to a closet a few steps away, the bin is full of stuff that doesn't go in here, paper shredder, bulletin boards, and bin full of clothes are both ready to go to the attic…

This is bad mess. None of it belongs here, yet it has sat here for over a month. OVER A MONTH! And all of the stuff could easily have been put away yet it just lingers and stares me in the face.

That pile and the other ones nearby have stopped me from having a nice bedroom. Let's tackle our little annoying messes bit by bit and hold each other accountable, okay?

The Summer Simplify

The "Summer Simplify" challenge will be a bit more lighthearted than the 40 BAGS IN 40 DAYS challenge we did earlier this year. Instead of trying to get rid of stuff, I want you to focus more on getting your home in shape. Sure we'll be getting bags of stuff out (hopefully), but the focus is on setting goals and establishing good habits that we want to keep up with.

Guys, I'm not announcing this and waiting to start, we're starting now. Here's your homework, a printable worksheet to help you diagnose what is working in your home, and what you want to change. You can print it out and fill it out by clicking the image below:

and then maybe hang it on a cute little clipboard so it stares you in the face.  Here's mine:

Your challenge for this week:

Take a good long look at your home and figure out what's not working. Fill out the printable. Take pictures of your rooms without cleaning up first and then look at them. See what doesn't work, and start making little changes. Post any pictures of your progress on instagram under the hashtag: #summersimplify. Follow me @whbsblog and I'll follow ya back to cheer you on. 🙂

If you want to spread the word, you can pin this:

Want more decluttering posts? Here's the intro to this year's 40 BAGS IN 40 DAYS challenge, a list of non-stuff things to organize, and a nice wrap up of the ways we've organized in the past.

As for me, I'm going to go clean up that pile because I'm sick of it looking at me.