How a Treasured Home Leads to Treasured Moments.

I would not consider myself a great home maker, home decorator, or "home" anything really. I can honestly say that none of these things come naturally or easily for me. Don't misunderstand me, I've always wanted to be good at these things. But I am just not. My brain is weird in that it is highly overwhelmed when tasked with organizing a large area, but it also loves an organized space. Mix into this natural overwhelm: college, babies, a few jobs, and my brain, as well as my time, then lacks the capacity to take on anything outside of the essential tasks most days.

It wasn't until after a really tough counseling session last year that I began to realize how necessary it was to my mental health that I learn how to manage my home in a different way; in a way that cultivated a calm, inviting, and warm space for myself and my family. I needed to start viewing my home as a treasured space. Even though I'd been told it before, during this session it "clicked" to me that my home is my family's refuge. It is where they consistently come for rest, refueling, and love. I get to provide these things for them within my home. My home needs to be valued, loved, and cared for as though it was a priceless treasure.

So thus began the journey of learning how to process getting my home to a place where I needed it to be. We started going through stuff. And more stuff. And. more. stuff. Good gravy! We have gone through so much stuff and we are still going through stuff! While I've learned to give myself grace through this process, it still baffles me how we have accumulated so much stuff. If you follow Treasuring Littles on Instagram, you know that I'm a sentimental person. I hold on to things too long sometimes. My husband had to learn to sit with me at times as I processed a memory associated with an item and then gently help me give that item away. There's also the struggle to not feel like I'm throwing money down the drain. I have a love-hate relationship with my frizzy, curly hair. The amount of different products I have bought and tried is overwhelming. For so long, the thought of throwing out barely used, but hated products I would never use again, felt like I was being a terrible steward of money. Again, I've learned to give grace to myself because holding on to those things aren't doing me any good. In learning about myself and taking on the perspective of treasuring my home, I've been able to take big steps towards getting my home where I need it to be for myself and my family.

Please, don't read this and think I have my house completely together. It is not and I'm not sure I ever expect it to be. I heard a mom once say that there is often not a perfect balance between managing kids and a home. If one area is thriving, the other is likely not. I find this to be so true! My balance might look different than yours and that’s okay! I live in my home full-time with my kids and it will always look like its lived in. There are still places in my house that are holding spaces for project supplies or give away items. I was sick most of last week and my house still very much shows it. We have rooms who's purpose has changed 5 times in the last 4 years and I still don't know how I need them to function for us.

The point is: My home will never be perfect, and I'm okay with that. But, here is what our family’s goal was and what we have recently achieved: We can work together for 30-45 minutes and have our main living spaces tidy, cleaned up, and organized. That is all my family needs for our home. If you drop by mid-day you’ll see a very lived in house. But at the end of the day, before we go to bed, we can achieve a tidy and clean home that leads us into starting the next day in a peaceful space.

Our dining room is one of my favorite places in our home. We have many treasured moments in this space.

For me, an easily managed home helps me feel calm. It helps me focus less on all the things beckoning my time and aids me in giving my family more of my undivided attention. My kids are able to easily tidy up their things because most have a designated home. I'm so thankful that my husband is a great help in our home, but he also deserves to have a space where he can come and find refuge from the stressors of the world.

There is so much more I could write on this; from insecurities related to managing my home to specific organizing practices that have helped me. Maybe we can discuss those later on. But for now, my encouragement is this:

Treasure your home in a way that helps you have more time to serve the ones inside your home.