Sometimes it’s hard to make a house feel like home.

It’s especially true for us in the tire house.  We have to keep things the way the owner likes them (from plates to couches) or rearrange everything we move when he comes to visit.  It’s his vacation home, after all.  He deserves to have his home the way he likes it.

So I create my own little sanctuary in the kitchen.  I like having a little corner that’s just mine.  A favorite spot of your own somewhere can make all the difference.  It could be a desk or favorite chair, a corner in the garage, or even your bed.

Martin and I each create our own spaces no matter where we live.  It’s our biggest trick for living in small spaces.  No matter what, we always have a corner of our very own.

Here’s my corner in the tire house kitchen.

It’s so refreshing when I feel out of place here.  I know that little drawer is mine, and suddenly regular old kitchen accessories start feeling like mini treasures.  Ordinary things like a scale or leaf-shaped cookie cutter start feeling extraordinary.  Putting on a handmade apron from etsy feels like a magic cape.

Suddenly all the faults I see in the kitchen – probably because it’s not my kitchen or the way I would organize it – don’t seem so bad.

Do any of you have a favorite corner or drawer in your home that is just for you?  What do you keep there?  Now pause.  How does that space change your perspective?

We’re big fans of capturing the moments around our house, and I’m absolutely sure there is one monumental time that is more worthy of celebrating than any other:  welcoming baby!

I’m so glad to present the much requested newest addition of {You Are Loved} baby books to Gadanke…

I wanted to make something that was just right for the detailed mom who wants to document every detail – growth charts, lists of loves, lists of firsts.

It was also really important for me to create a book for moms who like to go with the flow and jot down memories and experiences as the mood (and time!) struck them.

I’m all about supporting the local guys and opting for sustainable practices in life and in my products.  This crusade to find 100% recycled materials, products from sustainable forests, and resources made in the USA or the European Union has really come together well with these journals.  It’s my way of giving just a little tiny something extra to baby.

So mosey on over to Gadanke to look at the lovely new baby books, and pick one up for yourself, a mother-to-be, or a mamma with a little bundle of cuteness if you’d like.  Just make sure you get over there before my own mom and all the women in my family snatch them up.

Our table is filled with little bits of recycled paper confetti.

I think that there are stories in all of the bits.

New journals are coming together to celebrate those stories.

Won’t you come by?  There’s a new shop update at Gadanke tomorrow.

I’m so excited that there’s so much interest in our little decluttering project challenge.   I know that I’ll be much more thorough and more willing to purge, just knowing that there are so many of us in this together.   Do you think you’ll find the same results? I hope so!

Here’s how our decluttering project is going to work:

• Today, pick your three decluttering goals.  Think of the outstanding projects in your house that need to be decluttered.  Closets?  Junk drawers?  Garage?  You can make your three projects as big or as little as you want.  We’ll cheer for you either way!
• Write your goals in the comments section of this post or write them in your heart or tell a family member or friend.  The first step is to get your intentions out there.  Make them public.  Make them known.
• Write your decluttering intentions down on a piece of paper, and put them where you’ll see them.  At your desk?  On the mirror?  On the fridge?  That way you won’t forget.
• Blog about your goals. Post your challenge, and post about finishing them.  It’s just another way to solidify the idea that, “Yes!  I am doing this.”
• We’ll check back in with each other for the next three Wednesdays. Let’s make it our goal to cross off one of our decluttering projects each time.
• DO NOT start decluttering a second item on your list until the one you started is finished. Trust me.  That’s a one-way ticket to wipeout.  That’s why I’m sticking to one decluttering item a week, and I hope you do, too.

If you need tips on how to approach your decluttering goals, don’t forget to check out The Decluttering Project where we break challenges down one at a time.

My biggest tip is this: have a particular place in mind where you want to donate something.  It’s much easier to give away when you have a recipient in mind (like a church, women’s shelter, or children’s library).

There are some beautiful suggestions in the comments of this post for anyone wanting to pass on a wedding dress.

As for my decluttering plans?  I’ll be ready to check in with all of you next Wednesday when the first item on my list is crossed off.

Will you be ready?

I can’t wait to see what your three decluttering projects are going to be…  (hint hint – broadcast or whisper your 3 in the comments below.  Your cheer squad is waiting.)

Okay, everybody.  It’s time for you to call the shots.  I hope you’ve been joining me in The Decluttering Project, where we’ve been attacking various corners of our homes from under the bed to sentimental heirlooms.  And it’s not over yet!  Martin just signed up for classes as we work toward our big family goal I shared with you a few months ago.  But before the school season gets going for everyone, I have an idea.  It’s something we can all do, so I hope you’ll join me.

I want you to think of three things that you need to declutter.  It could be as simple as your inbox or as intense as the garage.  Keep in mind how much time you can devote to this project over the next few weeks.  The greatest part of this decluttering effort is knowing that we can all do it together. You can be off sorting through your junk drawer, knowing that I’ll be right beside you with my own piece of clutter and so will gobs of other determined Making This Home readers around the world.

Sound like fun?

Okay, okay… “fun” + “decluttering” don’t exactly add up.  Words like “fulfilling” and “satisfying” and “ammmmazing!” + “decluttering” certainly do.  So let me know if you’d like to join me.

Here’s how this piece of The Decluttering Project is going to go:

• Tomorrow I’ll share my three targets for decluttering.
• I hope you’ll share your list in the comments tomorrow, too.  It’s so much easier to hold ourselves accountable when we put something in writing where the world can see (even if we keep completely anonymous, we still know in our hearts that it’s there).
• Each Wednesday for the next three weeks, I’ll share the outcome of my decluttering and check in to see how you are all doing.

So be thinking:  what are some spaces that need help in your house so we can all cheer for you together?

What do you say?  Are you in?  I hope this is something we can all do together, so leave a comment to say you’ll go for it.  See if you can get your family on board or even your blog readers.  And tomorrow we’ll all post our plans.

It’s no mystery to Martin and me that living in Europe has had a profound connection to our choices to simplify our load so we could enjoy living more.  I was a little surprised this summer to find that while we’re back in the United States, there are some of those ol’ European habits that came back with us.  They’re stubborn little guys.  And frankly, I’m so glad that they are.  Here are three very non-American habits we’ve sticking to in our path toward simplicity.

1.  We use a 24-hour clock.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever accidentally set your alarm clock to go off at 6 pm instead of 6 am.  (My hand is waaaaay up!)  In Germany, there is no such thing as 6 pm; that’s 18 o’clock.  I still remember pulling the mouse of my computer up to change my computer clock to 24 hours last year.  You know the old saying:  when in Rome, you’ve gotta do what the Romans are doing.

All of the signs on Berlin shops were on 24 hour clocks.  My classmates in German class all spoke in 24 hour time.  It was really hard to adjust to a 24 hour clock for about a week.  I kept messing up 6:00 pm with 16:00 (which is 4 pm).  Now I’m never going back.  And I’m also never going to accidentally set my alarm clock for the wrong time of day ever, ever again, which was so worth the week-long struggle.

2.  We buy whole fat foods.

At our grocery store here in the US, everything is labeled “fat free!!” and “low fat!”.  But have you noticed?  The more fat companies take out, the more sweeteners and salts they usually add to our food.  I think if I had asked for fat free yogurt at our German grocery store, they would have given me a hard kick right out of the place.  (The “low fat” milk there is 1.5% fat.)  Some fats are really good for our bodies.  I happily buy the high fat yogurt (which is dang hard to find in the US, unfortunately).  It tastes sooo much better.  It isn’t full of sugars, though you have to read labels to be sure.  I think the Germans know what they’re doing with this fatty food business.  (Have you seen how SKINNY they are?!)

3.  We walk more.

The 8-year-old little girl down the road asked me, “Why do you always walk?”  She’d seen me walking the long dirt road to the mailbox several times.  ”I like to,” I told her.  ”And it’s good for me.”  She just shrugged and said, “Oh.  We just drive.”

So there you have it!  Too American to be German.  Too German to always feel American.  Have any of you picked up simple habits that raise the traditional 8-year-old eyebrows in your neighborhood?