Home Improvement Week

Helloooooooo friends!

I recently took advantage of my pup's neuter appointment as a good reason to use up some of my workplace's generous vacation policy, but quickly realized I'd have a lot of downtime on my hands. You'd think they went to the vet for a spa day for all the inconvenience and pain it seemed to cause them! When it became clear they would not need me to cuddle them for five days straight as I'd figured (and hoped) they would, I decided my staycation would be better spent getting the house in order.

We've been in our home almost 3 years now, and stuff just accumulates so dang fast. It was time to declutter. Thus, Home Improvement Week was born! Luckily I happen to have the most amazing interior designer/declutter expert/most patient friend alive all in one neat package I call my mother in law (or Momma). We went room by room doing a mixture of decluttering, deep cleaning, and reorganizing. Our good friend Tom (who is more family than friend really) helped us build out my dream closet toward the end of the week too! It was a week of crazy hard work (returning to work will be a nice break from the manual labor, frankly) but so much fun and such a weight off my mind. As Spring cleaning time is technically nearing, I wanted to share in case you were in need of a clear out but needed some inspo!!

Here are some tips:

• Utilize your tribe.
  1. PS if you don't have a tribe, it's crunch time baby. For Pete's sake how do you get through the day let alone a full spring clean?
  2. "It takes a village" applies to far more than child-rearing. How do I know? Because I have no children, but I do have a village. Said village aided in my sanity and the pleasure of this otherwise dreaded task.
  3. When you start crying in the club because you didn't realize you're a crazy hoarder and want to keep all within said hoard, your friends can reign you back in. Or smack you in the mouth. Or dump all your crap into a dumpster when you're not looking.
• Understand that "a job well begun is half done" really applies here! 
  1.  Sometimes getting started on a big project is so daunting that you justttt don't bother. Like me for the past three years.
  2. Also understand a good start is enough. Don't half ass this, or your full ass gets to do it later. Do your future self a favor and get it doneeee.
  3. Make peace that you'll get to do this particular project again and again and again, just like cleaning something. It's never fully done but that doesn't mean it isn't worth doing.
• This is a great way to get comfortable getting rid of shit that no longer/never did serve you. 
  1. This particular lesson can also be applied in other areas of your life. Bless and release alllll manner of ish you don't need, material and otherwise.
  2. Like so much else, this gets easier with practice! Apply to affected areas.
  3. Make a habit of doing better so that you don't constantly have to repeat.

Are you a Spring cleaner? Or one of those magical unicorns who is already super organized? If so I'd love to hear your tips and tricks. Let me know if this was helpful or made you giggle in any way, shape, or form.

All my love,

​Ashley