Weekend Wellness | No. 24

Hello, Friends! We are happy to be back after our little holiday break. We hope you enjoyed the Christmas break and took some time to enjoy your family and friends. Here in Minnesota, we were able to spend some extra days at home with our kids due to some major snowstorms. It was fantastic.

The new year always brings a time to reflect on our homes. I don’t know if I am the only one… but I am always in the mood to re-decorate my whole house this time of the year. Anyone else? Just me? This year, rather than re-decorating, we are trying to get our homes in order. I’m sure you’ve heard “Clutter Free in 2023” – well, that is certainly the goal here for us!

I made a list of each and every room in our home and am working through them slowly. Going slow is purposeful. First, it is a pretty busy time of the year for our family. Going slow allows me not to get down if I don’t go as fast as I initially wanted. It also provides momentum. Our suggestion is to start easy. Don’t tackle your clothes (especially if they have sentimental attachments), paper clutter, or family heirlooms first. Those areas are usually a little more time-consuming and difficult to go through.

I chose the bathroom and linen closet first. Our small home does not offer a lot of storage, so everything for our bathroom as well as medications, etc. all live in this closet, and it is used continually throughout the day. First, I took EVERY. SINGLE. THING. out of the closet and placed it all on our kitchen table. It always amazes me how much we collect over time. Living in a small house, I try not to purchase too many duplicates of things which is helpful in reducing waste. But, we still had much more than I thought we did! The first thing I did was go through all of our personal care products and tossed anything that was expired or not in use. How many unnecessary hair products that don’t actually work for your hair do you need? The answer: zero. I struggle with knowing I spent money on something and then tossing it (or, preferably, passing it on to someone else that could use it). But, the reality is you are never going to get that money back. But, holding onto it is costing you mental clutter and potentially more money (because you have to buy baskets/etc. to store all of the unused stuff).

I also went through medications and tossed anything that was not in use. We have moved away from most OTC medications, ointments, etc. and had a few expired, unused ones laying around. I got rid of all of those and condensed our medication basket. I also went through any duplicates and try to use multi-use products as much as possible. Our Forget Me Balm has replaced Neosporin, Aquaphor, Hydrocortozone creme, and a few other prescription creams for us. I have also replaced my old face oil and moisturizer with our Face Oil. Our Body Butter has allowed me to get rid of all of the various lotions I had on hand. I am so happy we have replaced hundreds, if not thousands of toxins by switching out these simple products. Multi-use products save not only space but money too!

None of this is rocket science, but we just wanted to encourage you to take that first step. Even if you can only spend five minutes each day. Set a timer and clean a drawer. You will feel so much better once it is done! We promise. We hope this is encouraging to you as we enter into 2023.

What area in your home are you tackling first? We would love to hear from you!

Stay Well,
Tricia + Alisha