I spent all weekend working through some of the clutter in our home.

Y’all, we have A LOT of clutter. SO MUCH STUFF it’s absurd.

Matt will shake his head & tell you it’s “all me” and, to be honest, yea, most of it is… oops.

I was starting to feel like a hoarder. Seriously.

(And I’m a little/a lot embarrassed to show you this photo of the exploded closet… but here goes…)

It all started with one closet in our Guest Bedroom … the “junk” closet. The closet we throw things that have no home… you know, old wedding décor, the re-gifting pile, a box of my 50+ purses (no joke). I was OVERWHELMED with that closet. It was so full you literally had to hold your hand out when you opened the door in case something tumbled out. Embarrassing, but true. (See photo above – UGH)

So, I decided to dedicate my Saturday to purging it out. We made a trip to Target & Matt bought me a large plastic bin for $4.99 and a white bookshelf on sale for $18. Win! Then, I had a movie-marathon-trash-bag-filling-organizing-the-mess-afternoon. It took me all afternoon on Saturday AND Sunday to sort through & re-organize 2 closets and part of our basement. We have a MASSIVE (and I do mean massive) Goodwill pile in our basement that we’re taking over as soon as we can.

I just got SO TIRED of the crap, y’all!! The random things we hold onto because we-may-need-it-at-one-point-so-why-trash-it. IF I HAVEN’T USED IT, OR EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT IT, IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS, I’M NEVER GOING TO USE IT. Bottom line. I’ve joked that I’m an “emotional hoarder” – I hold on to things that have sentimental value because maybe ONE DAY I’ll want it again. Or use it again. Or miss it.

Well, friends, I got rid of A LOT stuff over the weekend. Stuff that I haven’t missed in a long, long time so chances are, I’m not going to miss it EVER. Amen? Amen.

( Tomorrow I’ll show you more before-and-after pics of my hard work! )

I was really, REALLY excited when one of my fav-bloggers-pretty-paper-organization-makers Emily Ley shared a new blog series today – Simplify 2014. Talk about perfect timing!! She’s the maker of this amazing product, and she’s encouraging women to start simplifying the new year NOW, not later. I love that! I think that one of the biggest reasons our New Year’s Resolutions constantly fail is because they’re not as thought out as they could be… we don’t really PREPARE ourselves for the changes we want the new year to bring, we just jump right in. Don’t get me wrong – sometimes jumping right in is great! But, sometimes for those huge life changes, it’s not so great. It just leaves us feeling overwhelmed, stressed out & like a failure.

So, I really encourage you to join me in her steps to Simplifying 2014. #Simplify2014 is about making our lives clear of the clutter & confusion, so that 2014 starts off the very BEST it can. I’m going to share my answers to her steps in various blog posts over the course of the next few weeks. If you’re doing it, too, I’d love for you to share your answers in the comments 🙂

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PART ONE: “Prioritize (figure it out, decide WHY you’re doing this)”

I’m simplifying because I’ve come to the realization that I am incredibly materialistic. I love shopping. I love Target. TOO MUCH. I don’t need a new pair of earrings every time I go in to buy dog food. I don’t need any more Christmas décor, as cute as it may be. What I NEED is more time spent with God. More time reading & PRAYING God’s word. (I’m HORRIBLE at praying y’all). I need more iPhone-free movie nights with my husband. More time cherishing the non-materialistic things in my life – because they’re the only ones that really matter.

 ACTION STEPS: PART ONE: “Name WHAT matters. List priorities so that future decisions are made FOR you.”

1. God. Have I spent time with Him today? No? Okay, then I need to do that instead of watching yet another episode of House Hunters.

2. Matt. I will NOT constantly be answering emails & checking my phone when we’re together. I will be PRESENT in his life, in our marriage.

3. My relationships. Family time. Girl time. HUMAN-time, not just social-media-time, is SO vital.

4. DSE. My business. My brides. Being passionate, fearless & confident about my business.

5. My heart. Me-time. Ahh. So needed, right? Remember to say “no” to others so that I can say “yes” to myself, too.

…….

What are your priorities? Are you going to #Simplify2014, too? I hope so 🙂

xo, kat