I‘m sitting down tonight for the first time all day. After I write this post, I’m going to tackle Mt. Laundry, and then pack for an overnight trip to Portland. Just today, we decided it would be fun to start our spring break with a little overnight trip to Ikea and the children’s museum.

It’s been a tiring month, but a really good one. Project Simplify has made my March fly by, which is actually a good thing for this southerner trapped by mountains and random snowfalls. For me, March normally means saltwater wind from the Mediterranean or fields of Texas bluebonnets. This year, it’s…. snow.

(It’s honestly not that bad. I’ve just been dramatic about the whole where-the-heck-is-spring? thing this month.)

Having a weekly challenge that both makes me physically move about my cabin, and then make said cabin more live-able has been a good way to welcome in the spring.

I hope you feel the same. And I hope you’re ready for this week’s challenge—it’s the last!

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Whoosh. Did you hear that? That was the week flying by. How did that happen? One minute, it was Monday, announcing this week’s hotspot. Then I blinked and it was Thursday evening.

Drawers, countertops, and closets…. Why are these places such clutter magnets? My theory is that a lot of the things that end up here don’t really have true homes. We’re not sure where to put this mirror, so…. here. I’ll just put it here.

Not saying there’s anything wrong with a junk drawer. I think we just need to limit those drawers so that we have space available for things that truly do need a home. Like coats. And markers. And cutting boards for slicing and dicing dinner.

But these places are also a lot of fun to declutter, I find. A finite space to empty and refill with good stuff, tossing the leftovers. Here’s that sort of work I did this week.

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We’re halfway through Project Simplify! Feeling better yet? I’m excited about this week’s because it’s the cousin to my arch nemesis, paper clutter. Isn’t the note above hilarious? It’s from contributor Sarah Park‘s daughter. Perhaps she’s on to her.

This week, we’re focusing on closets, countertops, and drawers. Know that one spot in your house where everything is dumped? This week, you can clear it.

Or how about your coat closet where jackets are relegated to the floor because there’s no more hanging room? Now you can set aside time to weed through your collection and box some up for the thrift store.

Do yours kids have a craft station full of dried markers, like mine? Make a plan to cull through the defects and weed through the scrap paper pile.

Whatever’s giving you grief in your home in the department of closets, countertops, or drawers, this week it’s being tackled. Won’t it feel good to get this crossed off your list?
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It was quite a week around here. I’ll spare the gory details and just say I got sick. So as you can imagine, I didn’t quite get as much accomplished on the kitchen as I had planned.

But that’s life, right? And Project Simplify is nothing if not about regular people and everyday households, so that’s why this week’s before and after is very much a Normal Life Edition.

I’ve also had a whole variety of kitchens in the past 10 years. 11, to be exact. And I’ve only really loved one of them (the one from our home overseas). I tell you this because if you’re not crazy about your kitchen, I know what that’s like.

We’re also moving soon (to a house a half mile away), so I’m more concerned with curbing clutter than about setting up a workable cooking environment right now.

Still, there are a few things I like to do with my pantry. Here ‘s what I did this week.

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Feel better about getting a hotspot accomplished in your home? I do. Didn’t get a chance to tackle last week’s? No worries at all. Today, we’re starting a new one for the week.

Head to the kitchen, because this week we’ll declutter, clean, and organize the pantry and fridge. And I mentioned this during last year’s Project Simplify, but it’s worth repeating: there’s an aspect of physical, mental, and habitual clutter we’ll be clearing here.

This may seem easy to you—great. If you don’t feel the need to rework your food storage areas, focusing on another part of the kitchen—some cabinets, or your countertops, perhaps.

Or maybe you need to start from scratch, toss a bunch of stuff, and start with a fresh plate of real, quality, seasonal food.
Either way, there’s something for everyone in this week’s project.
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