Melissa Michaels
About the Author

Melissa Michaels is the NY Times Bestselling author of Love The Home You Have and The Inspired Room book. Her blog, The Inspired Room, was voted Better Homes & Gardens Readers' Favorite decorating blog in 2014 and 2015. Melissa is a church planter's wife and a mom to three human kids and...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. Melissa,
    The last time I had a garage sale, I made an oath to myself that I would never have another one. Well, at some point I lost my mind and decided to have another one (this time for a mission near and dear to my heart). It was a lot of work, but in the end, it felt good to purge my home of things we weren’t using, didn’t really need, that only created clutter, etc. Simplifying the tables and counters, gives my eyes a more peaceful place to land. I am a clutterbug at heart, so my challenge is to keep it that way. Even if the whole house is in ruins, I always make my bed. There’s just something peaceful about climbing into a made bed at the end of a busy day. Thanks for the attitude of gratitude tip…I like that one.
    Blessings,
    Bev

    • Oh Bev, I always love reading what you write. Iam in the middle of downsizing from a house to a small condo. I have been here for 16 yrs and yes, am a pack rat. going thru this has been one of the hardest challenges I have ever done!! sitting down and going thru every single thing has made me realize that this is totally ridiculous..everything is almost ready for the big move next week-end. then I will have a huge moving sale here at the house, what ever doesn’t sell will go to Good Will. I have emptied so many bags of clothes and household stuff there already!! and huge bags of just plain trash. stuff that has sat in my drawers and closets for yrs. I know I will feel so much better when this is all done and after the move there will simply be NO ROOM for anything else !! God Bless all the ladies and their encouragement!!! you have helped me greatly..

    • Thank you Bev! Good for you on decluttering. It sure does make things feel more peaceful! Take care.

  2. Melissa, I liked what you said but find it hard to get rid of things as I have nowhere to put things. I have been in my own house now for 6 months and still have boxes and suitcases full of stuff and nowhere to put it. I need more space for clothes

    • Hi Denise, I know how hard it is to move into a new space and have more stuff than room to store it. I was in that place when we downsized from a large home to a more moderately sized house, we just had way too much stuff!

      What I ask myself now is, do I really need what I’m stashing and storing? Do I love it and use it regularly or is the space it is taking up or the effort to move it around the house all the time causing me more stress than it would cause to give it to someone who could really use it?

      I find it really helps me to realize I don’t actually need all that stuff. I don’t need to save it for someday. Simplicity and less stuff makes life so much easier and more enjoyable! I can see how all the stuff you are keeping is making your life more stressful.

      I would start with going through items like clothing or boxes of trinkets and get rid of everything you can. If you don’t use it or love it now, let someone else have it. Praying for a more peaceful home for you!

  3. Boy do i have clutter. Thank you for giving me
    a plan. I can definitely feel better if i express gratitude over my messes.
    I so enjoyed this post.

  4. Yes, yes and …. yes. Discouraged to the max this day for all of the reasons that you mentioned. I hope that I can begin to tackle things one day at a time. And I hope that I can reset my attitude. Right now it feels like drudgery…. I don’t want it to. But it’s very disheartening to have a space cleaned and tidied and then 2 days later it looks like I didn’t even touch it. And every room right now needs help.

  5. We unintentionally down-sized 3 years ago when my husband was transferred, and our garage is holding much of our remaining “stuff” that just won’t fit in this house. We say we are saving things for this child or that child…but #4 is heading to college in the Fall, and we are CLEANING OUT! Because THREE YEARS of being able to only get one car in the garage? I’m over it. Putting everything in it’s place frees up so much time, because there’s no wasted time looking for every little thing. It is also very empowering… because, for 3 years, our clutter has controlled us, but now…little by little…WE are controlling IT. Thank you for sharing your awesome tips! 🙂

  6. Melissa,
    I love downsizing (purging) my house of stuff I don’t need or use. Periodically I go through my closets and riding myself of clothes I don’t like, don’t fit or haven’t worn in a while. I see this as a mission to help others in my area. A while back I went to our basement and got rid of empty boxes and other items. I can’t stand a lot of clutter and want others to use the stuff I no longer want or use!
    Blessings 🙂