I also got rid of all scented candles except 2! A few years ago I gave away every one I didn’t LOVE (including the scents I liked but they gave me a bit of a headache). We keep one nice, clean scent in the bathroom (currently grapefruit and thyme!) and one in the kitchen. It makes me much pickier with choosing a replacement and I make sure to only get natural scents that won’t hurt my head.
Our towel situation is similar too! We have 2 towels for each person - so 8 towels for our family of 4. This is plenty. Even when we have guests, it’s never an issue. And I don’t reuse towels! Though the rest of the family does. It keeps laundry easier too. No mountains of towels. Just one mountain, easily folded. ;)
We also only have one type of food storage container - just the round glass Pyrex bowls in 3 sizes, 3 of each size. Easy!
I also pared down my socks and underwear to only what I love. Enough for one week is plenty, because I do laundry at least once a week at a minimum.
I love hearing what others do to simplify! :)
(Thank you for your work by the way! Came to find you on Instagram back in the day - but I’ve since deleted it and gotten on Substack instead. Thankful to find you again here!)
The candle thing is genius. Whenever my mom is visiting we go to TKMaxx (she lives in Portugal now so a trip to TKMaxx when she visits us in the UK is a rare treat) and smell all the candles, choosing the best 2-3. I tend to have a candle burning on my desk and had a phase of candlelit baths so they don’t last forever, and the big pots they come in are super useful for desk/under sink organisation (put them in the freezer and the leftover wax just pops out).
One of my easiest house keeping hacks is to keep a pretty lidded basket in the laundry room to catch all the items we intend to donate to Goodwill. Once it's full, I bag everything up and drop it off our our local Goodwill collection zone - this has drastically reduced any chance mess in our closets.
I keep all of my makeup and jewelry (which is a very minimal amount) in a little travel cosmetic bag. Easy to take places (I'm on the move a lot!) and solved my "problem" of not having a drawer in my bathroom. I feel like a genius everytime I travel haha.
One set of sheets per bed for me. I let the bed air whilst the sheets are washed and hung on the line to dry (I’m in Australia). And then remake with sunshine fresh linen.
Love the towel idea!!! I am so proud of myself for only ever recycling my brown paper bags for gift wrapping; also use the brown paper they now use in boxes for packing...love to reuse.
Brown paper bags > gift wrap is a great idea! I've been realizing there are SO many creative ways to wrap gifts without buying gift wrap - bandanas, dish towels, fabric scraps, old maps, newspaper, kid art, etc.
Shira, the inspiration to my life-pivot in launching my own home-organizIng business,
Streamlined Home, I LOVE Poesie Laundry Detergent Sheets! They were my first (and very lucky) try of a natural laundry product in sustainable cardboard packaging. Two sheet and a few drops of peppermint oil per load gets everything clean, even the training wear of my two teen athletes...AND it works better and costs only a quarter of what I used pay for pods! Give them a try!
Love the idea of mainstreaming shower products for all.. my family shares 1 bathroom as well.. what is the shampoo, condition, body wash you use for the whole family?
It's been a game changer for us! For body wash I typically buy Dr Bronner's Organic Sugar Soap which they sell at our local market. My daughters and I have thick curly hair (and my husband is bald!) so always searching for great options. Currently using up our Kiehl's Amino Acid shampoo and conditioner which I bought in bulk, but open to any recs!
Thank you for the great list! I do all the same except I use refillable candles now. The one I use is called Siblings (online) - so you can reuse the same vessels or use something else you already have. I've seen other pouches now too. Happy 2024!
I also got rid of all scented candles except 2! A few years ago I gave away every one I didn’t LOVE (including the scents I liked but they gave me a bit of a headache). We keep one nice, clean scent in the bathroom (currently grapefruit and thyme!) and one in the kitchen. It makes me much pickier with choosing a replacement and I make sure to only get natural scents that won’t hurt my head.
Our towel situation is similar too! We have 2 towels for each person - so 8 towels for our family of 4. This is plenty. Even when we have guests, it’s never an issue. And I don’t reuse towels! Though the rest of the family does. It keeps laundry easier too. No mountains of towels. Just one mountain, easily folded. ;)
We also only have one type of food storage container - just the round glass Pyrex bowls in 3 sizes, 3 of each size. Easy!
I also pared down my socks and underwear to only what I love. Enough for one week is plenty, because I do laundry at least once a week at a minimum.
I love hearing what others do to simplify! :)
(Thank you for your work by the way! Came to find you on Instagram back in the day - but I’ve since deleted it and gotten on Substack instead. Thankful to find you again here!)
Thanks so much for sharing your tips and so glad you found me here! x
The candle thing is genius. Whenever my mom is visiting we go to TKMaxx (she lives in Portugal now so a trip to TKMaxx when she visits us in the UK is a rare treat) and smell all the candles, choosing the best 2-3. I tend to have a candle burning on my desk and had a phase of candlelit baths so they don’t last forever, and the big pots they come in are super useful for desk/under sink organisation (put them in the freezer and the leftover wax just pops out).
Love the freezer trick!
One of my easiest house keeping hacks is to keep a pretty lidded basket in the laundry room to catch all the items we intend to donate to Goodwill. Once it's full, I bag everything up and drop it off our our local Goodwill collection zone - this has drastically reduced any chance mess in our closets.
Love this, thanks for sharing! x
I love this idea! I feel like I have bags/ boxes in various rooms but this is great!
I keep all of my makeup and jewelry (which is a very minimal amount) in a little travel cosmetic bag. Easy to take places (I'm on the move a lot!) and solved my "problem" of not having a drawer in my bathroom. I feel like a genius everytime I travel haha.
So good - I think you are a genius! x
One set of sheets per bed for me. I let the bed air whilst the sheets are washed and hung on the line to dry (I’m in Australia). And then remake with sunshine fresh linen.
Oh, that sounds so lovely! x
I keep all my jewelry in a tiny flip lid jewelry box with all of like 6 compartments...
I've considered going bigger - after all, I could - but then I know I'd be tempted to get more jewelry to fill it. And I really don't need or wear it!
The system sets us up for minimalism! 😄
Love that - let the physical boundary limit the quantity you own :)
I was laughing reading this. I really need to continue the decluttering. All those boxes of tea from 2018... are however now gone. Victory!
Ooh that is a victory I can get behind! x
Love the towel idea!!! I am so proud of myself for only ever recycling my brown paper bags for gift wrapping; also use the brown paper they now use in boxes for packing...love to reuse.
Brown paper bags > gift wrap is a great idea! I've been realizing there are SO many creative ways to wrap gifts without buying gift wrap - bandanas, dish towels, fabric scraps, old maps, newspaper, kid art, etc.
For those of us who do Grocery pick up...I have paper bags coming out the ears 😂
Shira, the inspiration to my life-pivot in launching my own home-organizIng business,
Streamlined Home, I LOVE Poesie Laundry Detergent Sheets! They were my first (and very lucky) try of a natural laundry product in sustainable cardboard packaging. Two sheet and a few drops of peppermint oil per load gets everything clean, even the training wear of my two teen athletes...AND it works better and costs only a quarter of what I used pay for pods! Give them a try!
Thanks so much for sharing this resource - will be sure to check it out!
This might be the push I finally need to buy some cute shampoo and conditioner dispensers: Thank you!
Yay! It's the little things ;)
Love the idea of mainstreaming shower products for all.. my family shares 1 bathroom as well.. what is the shampoo, condition, body wash you use for the whole family?
It's been a game changer for us! For body wash I typically buy Dr Bronner's Organic Sugar Soap which they sell at our local market. My daughters and I have thick curly hair (and my husband is bald!) so always searching for great options. Currently using up our Kiehl's Amino Acid shampoo and conditioner which I bought in bulk, but open to any recs!
Shira, how did you like the Kiehl’s?
I like the Amino Acid shampoo and conditioner a lot and so do my girls (we all have very thick hair)!
Only three candles! Omg
Oh, the money I've saved on candles!! And now I enjoy the ones I have and actually light them LOL.
Thank you for the great list! I do all the same except I use refillable candles now. The one I use is called Siblings (online) - so you can reuse the same vessels or use something else you already have. I've seen other pouches now too. Happy 2024!
Thanks for sharing - I love the idea of refillable candles and will be sure to check out Siblings. x
What brand shampoo/conditioner and body wash does your family use?
THank you for practical tips! I especially like the tips for sheets and towels.