When we moved nearly a year ago, I was completely baffled by the amount of stuff we had managed to accumulate.  I mean, seriously, how?  Every drawer, every cabinet, every closet was filled the brim with so. much. stuff.  So, I purged.  And I purged GOOD.  Bags, and bags of crap.  Some went to friends, some to the Salvation Army, and some straight to the trash.  It felt good, so, soooo good to do it too.  With every drawer I cleaned out, I felt like I was getting lighter.  Crazy, right?

So, we moved into our new home and it was a fresh start.  I made a solemn, albeit, silent, vow to myself that we would never, ever collect that much stuff again.  Go ahead, shake your head and laugh at the absurdity of such a statement.  I would laugh too, if I wasn't the one looking around, again, at all of the crap.

If you have never read the book "The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up" by Marie Condo, do yourself a favor....don't.  I'm kidding, definitely read it.  Just be prepared to go through a cleaning/purging phase of scary proportions.  You will want to get rid of every thing.  You will even start eye balling family members and wondering...do they really bring me joy?   Even the family dog will start to fear a trash bag and the "must purge, must declutter" frenzy face.  You know the face.  Don't even lie.

I was standing in my closet the other day, just staring at the rows of clothes, the boxes of shoes and other odds & ends stacked on the shelves.  And all I could think was "holy....stuff."  Let's be real here...who needs 50 different shirts, 15 pairs of jeans, 7 jackets and 100 pairs of shoes?  How, why, when did I amass all of these things?  Was I sleep shopping my way through Amazon, the mall and Target?  Oh man, don't even get me started on Target.  The place where all of your simplifying dreams go to die.

Three, nearly four hours later, I had managed to completely clean out and purge the closet.  I couldn't believe, that not even a year after moving in, I had already filled our closet with more crap than I knew what to do with.  Honestly, it's because I always look at an article of clothing and think "well, maybe I'll wear that one day."  You do that too, right?  It's so easy to just hold on to things that you know, in your heart of hearts, you will never wear or use again.  It's that "stuff" mentality.  That "must have all of the things" feeling.  You know that feeling, I know that you do.  It's that same feeling you get when you walk into a Target and see the "Dollar Spot" sign.  The things!  All of the things!  Give me!  It's SO easy to get wrapped up in that feeling.  It's like an adrenaline rush of sheer, one dollar, polka dot, gold and aqua notepad bliss.  We've all been there, done that and walked out with the $200 Target receipt to prove it.

Now that my closet is done, I am eye balling the kitchen cabinets.  They know they're next.  I can hear all of the mismatched plates, cups, random bowls and knick knacks quivering in fear.  I am determined to clear out the clutter so that I no longer have to deal with the Jenga tower of pots and pans every time I open a cabinet.  So, who is with me?  Come on, you know you want to.  With spring right around the corner, now is the perfect time.  We can keep each other accountable.  We can talk one another down from the Target buying frenzy.  We can do this.

Hi.  Yeah, that's me.  It's been a very long time since I had a personal blog.  Blogs are strange things aren't they?  It's like I'm saying, "hey!  my life is super interesting, read all about it!"  When in reality, I'm pretty simple.  Pretty average.  Pretty, well, boring, actually.  I'm a homeschooling mom of 3 kids, I run a photography business, I love paranormal shows, reading, long baths, hiking and the mountains.  Is it just me, or does it sound like I'm signing up for eHarmony or something?!

Seriously, there's nothing super special about me, so why blog?  Honestly, it's to keep myself accountable.  To keep things real.  I love writing and documenting things and I want there to be something out there to look back on.  Of course it would be a huge bonus if people like it, or, if I write something that hits home for someone.  Life is hard, but it makes things more bearable when you can relate to someone else who is also doing the hard life thing.

I have no idea where blogging will take me.  I don't have a type A personality, so, this is likely to be a hodge podge of rambling, photos and more rambling.  You will probably read a lot about my kids, about photography, simplifying my life, and my overwhelming urge to get lost in the woods.

I hope that you'll come along for the ride.  I hope that you will stick around.  Don't worry, if you don't, I won't hunt you down, I totally get it.  We're all doing life, right?  In the best way we know how.  We are all, in our own, amazing and unique way, keeping it real.