As younger parents, we have accepted the reality that we don’t always have the same financial means as other families. The main reason is that I never had a career before having my son at 25. Others may have worked 5-10 years before children. This felt like a huge hurdle in the past. Sometimes my […]
The Joy of Decluttering
When I was in high school, I owned a puffy vest from The Gap. The color was a shade of powder blue, with vertical elastic ribbing on the sides. (They literally ‘don’t make them like that anymore.’) It was a staple of my wardrobe at the turn of the millennium. It carried me through school […]
Lessons From Losing
Our son’s Godfather, a close family friend, passed away last week. It was a sudden, unexpected passing. The kind that leaves you struggling to find your footing in the wake of a life ended too soon. In trying to make sense of it during this somewhat surreal past week, I’ve found myself asking questions. Naturally, […]
The Dig to Fly Model, and My Online Shopping Confession
It was late on a Friday, and I had just put my son to bed. I sat back on my couch, checked my phone, opened Amazon, and started shopping. I bought a phone stand with a light to improve my social media videos. I used it twice in the past two years. I felt that […]
Five Ways to Feel Less Alone
About a week ago, I found myself in a full-blown half-hour conversation with my dog. Usually, I wouldn’t be rattled by this; we typically have an easy back-and-forth. I offer a sentence or two, and she turns her head in response. This time was different. It was an outpouring of isolation; I felt like I […]
Trimming the Dead Branches
I live in a sea of 1950’s ranch brick homes with tall aging trees. Colorado sunshine can be relentless in the summertime and these trees bring welcome relief from the heat. They also bring other emotions—namely worry—if you’re my husband, Randy. A few months ago we had high winds sweep through our neighborhood and a […]
Stuff: The Thief of Time
I’ve also got back to minimizing and simplifying, which is now more important than ever with a family of four, even more so because my six-year-old son has just received an autism diagnosis. I know that simplifying his life and routines can help make a difference in his stress levels and sensory overload, but the […]
Don’t Wait to Downsize
Maybe you’re like me, and you’ve helped a newly-widowed parent pack up and sell their home. You’ve spent days (maybe even weeks) going through drawers and closets and boxes full of stuff, deciding what to do with old books, papers, paintings, furniture, towels, knickknacks, DVDs (or even VHS tapes), dishes, mementos, small appliances, tools, and […]
How Minimalism Changed My View of Death
Recently my husband and I were talking to our four-year old son about death. It came about because he wanted to break a branch off a tree to throw into the neighborhood stream. My husband told him to take a stick from the ground because it was already dead. Thus started the inevitable questions about […]
Other People’s Clutter
My husband came home one Friday at the end of a busy week, took his shoes off, and left them sitting by the front door. He took his backpack over to the dining table and left it on the floor behind his chair. Then he asked what plans I had for the evening. How did […]