The first phase of our almost Amish transition is our home. This includes getting rid of items we don't need, maintaining a clean home, staying on top of things that need to be done, and taking more pride in our home.

We have been cleaning out everything! I've already made three different donation trips this year, I have one pile that's collecting stuff and getting ready to find a new home, and we also have a yard sale pile. Technically we aren't allowed to have a yard sale, in our yard, the yard we paid for and maintain, due to the wonderful bureaucratic homeowners association we live under. So we will take everything to the flea market come spring. I figured if I'm getting rid of half of our possessions, I could at least get a little money from it. I still have one closet and the garage to go through, but I have cleaned out every single drawer/shelf/cabinet/room in our home over the past few weeks. I'm going to wait a few more weeks and go through everything again. I got rid of mostly everything we don't use, but I held on to some stuff and said I would use it soon. If I haven't used it by the time I go through the house again, it's going too. The hardest part for me so far was cleaning out the kitchen. I am absolutely crazy over kitchen stuff! Kitchen equipment is so cool!! I used to thrift shop a few times a week and I would buy something related to the kitchen on almost every trip. Let's just say I have a lot! Although I will never need ten pie pans, it was hard letting go. Going through every single drawer and cabinet made me realize just how blessed I am. Here I have four crockpots and somewhere out there is a single mother wishing she could afford just one so that she could prepare meals for her children. I was a selfish woman for ever thinking I needed that many. The kitchen was the hardest part, but I kept thinking of the families who needed my stuff more than I did, and that pushed me through. 

I have made more of an effort of maintaining a clean home. Last year I did a 30 day challenge of making the bed up every morning and that has stuck with me ever since. 30 day habit forming challenges are the best!! I did the same one a few months later for cleaning the kitchen at night before I go to bed. That stuck well too, but some nights I just do not have it in me. Taking care of a house and a family is no joke and it wears me down most days. I don't beat myself up over dishes being in the sink at night, but I have been doing a much better job at keeping a cleaner kitchen. The laundry has stayed up to date, my husband has clean clothes every single day and I haven't been overwhelmed by massive laundry piles. It's hard cleaning up after a one year old, so we won't touch on that subject. I'm convinced he's out to destroy the house. However, I try my hardest to have every toy picked up before Zachary walks in the door. Happy wife, happy life? Happy husband, perfect, beautiful, amazingly incredible life. 

The dogs are the same as Zaylen, as soon as the toys get put up, they feel the driving need to pull out every last one. And not just in their room, they share their babies (that's what we call the toys) with every room in the house, and some days their babies even go outside. The dogs take my obsession with Vitamin D pretty seriously. Our home may stay dusted and orderly, but you can always count on toys and babies everywhere. I just ask for a ten minute warning before you come over for a visit :)

I hope we aren't alone in letting some things around the house "go." It needs to be done, but we don't have time, we don't feel like it, it's too much work, blah blah blah. The air filter in our ceiling has been pitch black with over an inch of dust on it before we changed it. We let the water filter run out, the filter in the fish tank has been in there for a year and a half, and we have 3 weeks worth of dog poop in the yard waiting to be picked up. Eh, I think it's Zachary's turn for doggie duty (pun intended.) After writing that I see that we are just gross sometimes. I'd like to tell myself we aren't the first or the last to ignore some important things around the house. 

I am proud to say now, every filter in our home was changed this week! Batteries have been changed and containers have been refilled too. Other small stuff I've been meaning to do, but haven't made it a priority, has been done as well. I had a plant that needed rehanging, plants needed new soil, stuff needed to be ordered, the fish tank needed to be cleaned, and it felt so good pushing through and getting everything done over the past few weeks instead of waiting for the "right time." 

Overall, we are taking more pride in our home. The Amish cherish their homes. Their homes are kept clean, uncluttered, and beautiful. They don't have fancy decorations. Their homes are filled with homemade items that mean something. I want everything in our home to have meaning and a purpose for being there. Decorations are fine and stuff is okay, but the lavishness and excessiveness had to go. 

The Amish also don't leave messes around or hoard plastic containers. I still hoard plastic bottles because I'm saving up for a recycle-a-thon in April, but you get what I'm saying. The Amish think of their home this way, the outside reflects the inside. I feel better when I have a clean home. I am more calm and at peace. I can think clearly and feel in control. On the other hand, I am a complete mess when our house is a mess. My desire is for our outside to reflect our inside. 

An Amish-type home is what we are striving for. A simple, beautiful place filled with memories and company that we can reflect on and treasure. We aspire for our home to be an orderly and simple homestead. We have made huge strides in this transformation already and I'm beyond excited to see the condition of our home in the future. 

I really regret not taking before pictures, but here are some I think you might enjoy seeing!