Less stuff, more joy

Creating simple pleasures at home.

Something I love about living with fewer belongings is that you can take real pleasure in the items that remain. You can carefully consider how you arrange and use what you have, trying it this way and that, till you get it just right. This doesn’t mean you have to be a minimalist, just that everything in your home is there with intention.

I’ve recently been inspired by this Rightsizing newsletter series by Whitney Leigh Morris about optimizing one’s space with recycled/vintage items. The author’s family of four lives in 900 sq ft, and she showcases ways to problem solve rather than seek more space. I love the little details she shares that might be missed otherwise:

Examples of Whitney’s clever use of hooks and hanging in her gorgeous home. Source

It’s been a lot of work to get to a (mostly) decluttered state in my house, though as we know decluttering is never really done. But when I slow down I appreciate the little details in spaces I use frequently. Here are three details that make me smile and which might spark an idea for your space.

1. Make daily routines extra special.

I use my medicine cabinet while doing my morning and evening rituals every single day, and it occurred to me this is an ideal space to create a moment of calm. No one else uses this cabinet, it’s out of reach of children’s hands, so it exists just for me. As most moms know, such spaces are rare!

I put some special rocks and crystals inside, decanted some products so fewer labels yell at me, put white duct tape over others, and I smile every time I open it. My own little weirdo supply center.

(In case you’ve noticed the conspicuous absence of toothbrushing supplies, they are in a wall-mounted device that decidedly does not give me pleasure but which suffices.)

I could imagine doing something like this with your coffee or tea area or in your workspace as well.

2. Hang hooks from hooks: a dog stuff solution.