The Changes So Far

When I first got the simplicity idea about a month ago, I expected it would take at least a few months to see any sort of difference in our daily life.  But here we are, one month into the idea (and that doesn't mean that everything I've tried so far has been happening for a full month) and I can tell a difference.

I've cleared out a good portion of belongings that we didn't need anymore and that includes some random furniture, freeing up a little bit of floor space.  I've organized a few areas and have been putting things away when we're done with them and if I'm heading upstairs/downstairs, I grab whatever I see that should go with me.  Just these few changes have massively cut down on the amount of time it takes me to clean my house.  I've set up a housework schedule and yes, I actually schedule the housework like an appointment.  I bought a day planner and I write down my housework to be done at a certain time.  Example from the other day:

9:30am-10am: Basic tidying
10am-11am: Clean bathrooms (hey, I have three bathrooms that need to be scrubbed down and it very well might take me a whole hour some days)
1pm: Clean cat box and guinea pig cage

Usually, I won't schedule more than three household tasks (cooking doesn't count) each day.  That way, I'm not overwhelmed with stuff to do and it gives me time to play with my kids.

I've been spending more time with my boys than I ever imagined.  We've been playing games, going to the park more often, and having little baking sessions together.  It's been great and their behavior has drastically improved.  We've also cut down on our TV time because we're spending time with each other instead.

I noticed a huge unexpected difference this weekend as well.  We were having a group from church over for dinner on Saturday evening and normally when we have people over, I'm stressed beyond belief.  Spending an entire week before the get-together making sure my house is JUST how I want it, and when the day comes around, I still end up coming to the door out of breath and covered in sweat because I've been cleaning like a mad person.  That didn't happen this weekend.  At all.  There was no stress.  My house was clean already.  I spent an hour or so on Friday sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and dusting, but that was it.  I was fresh faced, relaxed, and happy when everyone arrived on Saturday.  When I realized the difference from our past parties/get-togethers, I nearly cried.  What a wonderful, wonderful change it was to actually enjoy having people over instead of worrying about how my home looked.

One month in and we are happier already.  I can't wait to see how things continue to change as we get further along in our challenge!