home – Tuesday Update

Was that the fastest summer ever? My summer consisted of chasing the cutest kids in the world around town and cheering my superstar catcher of a brother on at his baseball games. When I wasn’t in the driver’s seat of a minivan or on a flaming hot bleacher, you could catch my mom and I hunting down the cutest finds a college budget could afford for my new apartment. I just couldn’t wait to deck out the first apartment in college with pieces that will most likely get trashed for year #2. Since you asked for a little sneak peek of what our shopping days consisted of, I’ll give you a taste, but only because you begged. It goes a little something like this…”But mom, it has a pineapple on it!!” “You’re right it’ll go with the rug, put it in the cart and don’t tell dad.” “Deal.” And if you wanted to be in on the action, we were at Target most every Tuesday and Saturday, but if we found something better at Home Goods on Wednesday, we were back at Target on Thursday to return Tuesday’s finds. So the answer is yes, it was indeed the fastest summer ever.

While trying to find things to fill an apartment, I learned about the moolah that’s required to live on your own more than ever. After my mom told me that Pottery Barn was just absolutely positively never an option for my apartment, we got resourceful. I am so lucky and beyond grateful for the people that cleaned house for my new “house”. Also, shoutout to Facebook Marketplace for allowing me to find old items down gravel roads in the middle of nowhere that just needed some extra love. My new-old dresser works great and my clothes appreciate it- they told me!

Well, where my clothes go I go, so that means I am officially all moved in. Last night was my first night and I really do love it. I mean, aside from the fact that my mom isn’t here and my bedsheets were the worst, I really do love it. My roommate, Nicole, and I had Halo Top for dinner and learned that apparently cable TV just isn’t for everyone. What’s better than that?

This morning when I woke up, I came to the realization that my sheets just had to go. They are the material of swishswishswish pants and I got a weird feeling inside every time I moved a toe. So as of now, I have no idea where any of my classes are but ask me how to get to Target- I got you. We went back to Target where I proceeded to feel every set of sheets to make sure they had no similarities whatsoever to the ones I already had.

Since we were out, we stopped at Walmart to pick up a screwdriver for the shoe rack that I bought on yesterday’s trip to Target. Did you know you need tools to assemble things? Me either. Here’s a snippet of the conversation with the man in the FISHING department (which FYI is separate from hardware) as I held up the screw I brought: “I need a screwdriver to fit this screw for my shoe rack, do you have one?” He goes, “Ma’am that is the most basic screw there is, yes we have a Phillips screwdriver. Are you building this yourself?” You should have seen the concern on his face when I nodded my head. Well sir, I built it myself and it looks great.

I have absolutely no idea what to do until Monday, but don’t think I haven’t thought about driving home for a quick visit. Until then, I’ll keep putting things in my planner and watching vlogs on Youtube. This may sound like a complaint, but trust me, I’m one happy camper.

Peep:

Processed with VSCO with f2 preset

GRATITUDE BONUS: I couldn’t be more thankful for my Pyatt people. They make leaving so hard, but they continue to help compose a life of fabulousness for me. I seriously don’t know if I could blink without them!

I have recently come across one of my stress builders. You know, the foundation that supports all the other building blocks to your breaking point? Clutter.

I have always taken pride in being over the top on organization, whether it is in school, my room, or life in general. I focus on a clean-cut, fresh look. The less clutter, the better, but the Target dollar section just doesn’t agree. I truly believe that clutter in your house is the ultimate source of clutter in your brain! No one needs “I need to clean the basement” in the back of their mind on a Tuesday afternoon when they have more important things to accomplish- NO ONE.

When I was in high school, finals would roll around, and I would become a completely different person. I needed to clean out the fridge, rid my under-sink, purge food that we hadn’t touched in a while, and refold all of the clothes for my drawers before I could actually focus on studying. Casual? No. I needed all of this to be done around finals, but in reality it was always in the back of my mind and never being addressed. Then when a stressful time snuck up on me, I couldn’t have it there to be completely narrowed in on getting good grades.

Well, I have come to the realization that lately I just have not been pulling my best organization strings. This first year of college was hard to come home on a short weekend and clean my room because I wanted to spend ALL of my time with the family. On the other hand, I was living out of a duffel bag for a few days, which turned into one big mess for normal people and one excessive, overcrowded clothes party for Lindsey people.

It took me a quick minute to know that this is not how summer is going to go! After an unnecessary melt down to dad that he needed to build me a bigger closet, I pulled myself together with a pep talk. I will not live in this cluttered room with clothes I have not worn in years. I will not save these hair products under my sink that I am no longer using. I will not look at an email inbox full of spam. I will not keep things that I do not need.

And that is exactly what I did. I went into my room and stripped it. Other people could use these items more than I can, and if I had not worn it in two years or more, it had to go. Yes, yes I wanted to hold onto every t-shirt that has a memory, but I am not about to wear them, so I either put them aside for a t-shirt quilt, or they went to my memory box. (Praise the Good Lord for fabulous memory boxes). After the sorting, I took {several} trash bags to their appropriate places and am now basking in a simplified, organized, and oh so fabulous bedroom, with my favorite people only a few steps away. (I really couldn’t be happier!)

Our homes are not only places to recharge your electronics, they are our place to regroup, re-juice and relax, while enjoying the company of our closest humans. Some people spend more time in their homes than others, but everyone should make time to clear their space. Like I said, a cluttered home (or workspace, for that matter) is a cluttered brain. Clear your head with a cleaning spree! I promise promise promise your shoulders will raise and your brain will have more thinking room. An organized life is a fresh and FABulous life!

Processed with VSCO with b1 preset — Alllllllllll the memories. Cue the tears.

DE-CLUTTER TIP: My mom started our memory boxes when we were born. They are filled with too many preschool art projects to count, special baby outfits, and anything that will make us cry when we open them now. Since my brother and I have been old enough to clean our own rooms, we became bosses of our memory boxes, which are just large storage tubs. I add things like my high school acceptance letter and notes I’ve gotten on retreats. One day I will open it and be able to read the birthday cards I received and relive the moments from the pictures I’ve snuck in there. The boxes that I have started include high school, college, and random memories, not counting several that my mom made. This way we get to keep all of our special things, but they slide under a shelf in the basement for “one day”.

Tag: home

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Clutter Cluster