Are you living your life on purpose?

Happy New Year! To kick start 2019 and get you thinking about your home goals, Kendra Allen, mother of three, shares her five favorite strategies for simplifying and decluttering her children’s toys. She offers simple solutions that you can use in your own home starting right now.

December is officially upon us!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the expectations we have for gift-giving and the bringing of more, more, more into our homes and others’ during the holidays. For many families across the US, the joy and cheer of the season have been displaced by stress and financial strain.

My message today is this:

Do not be afraid to take back your holidays.

It was our first Christmas foregoing traditional gifts.

Would it still feel like Christmas?

I wondered.

If you are trying to declutter your life and home, the holidays can be particularly challenging. It’s hard not to get caught up in the wants and desires sparked by 1) beautiful design 2) effective marketing 3) expectations of the season. Here are five actions you can take to resist the temptation to add more, more, more to your home and others’.

Curious about what we did with the giant bookcase that ended up in our bedroom? Here’s its story. This project is a great example of how armed with a shoestring budget and a vision, you can make your home dreams a reality.

We turned some much needed attention toward our bedroom this summer. Find out how we gave this room a total rehaul.

Nearly a decade ago I read Richard Carlson’s bestseller Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and to this day the opening scene is etched in my mind: he urges readers to imagine holding their favorite coffee mug—to picture themselves sitting on the front porch, perhaps a cheerful bird is chirping in the background, lifting the cup to their lips and then—SMASH! The cup slips and shatters into tiny porcelain shards across the deck.