According to the folks over at Re-nest a Slow Home Is...
1. A thoughtfully-designed place that feels good to be in and makes life easier.
2. Sized appropriately for its residents.
3. Reduces unnecessary or wasteful energy or water usage.
4. Reduces greenhouse gas and unhealthy household chemical emissions.
5. Benefits the planet without sacrificing quality of life.
6. Supports life in a community.
7. Has a strong connection to the outdoors.
8. Makes every effort to support daylighting and natural heating and cooling methods.
9. Establishes a functional entry space, or landing strip.
10. Focuses on efficient furniture layout that is multi-functional and breathable.
11. Emphasizes sufficient, well-organized storage in all rooms.
12. Accessorized personally, thoughtfully, and with an eye towards healthy, lasting design.
As I embark on this Slow Home challenge, I am learning that my specific circumstances won't enable me to fully embrace the slow home movement in its entirety. But, heck! That's not going to stop me! I may not be able to move into more compact living quarters tomorrow, but I can still make plenty of necessary changes. After reading THIS, I realized that I'll need to reconnect with my house before I can truly begin the efforts to create the most efficient and clutter-free home possible.
While you're here you'll probably get to know a lot about me. You'll learn that I live in a big house...a really big house. In fact, being the Eco-minded individual that I try to be, I'm sometimes ashamed to admit it, and often find myself making excuses...
"We got a fantastic deal on it!"
"It's my husband's dream house, I had to agree to it..."
"Although it's size isn't all that environmentally friendly, I promise I make up for it in other ways!"
Don't get me wrong, I am truly appreciative of what we have, but truth be told, all of the above are correct. This house and I have maintained a bit of a love-hate relationship. But along with this transformation needs to come acceptance.
Dear big brick house,
I accept you for all that you are, all of your awesome potential, and I don't hold you personally accountable for my inability to make the best of you. Despite your grandness, from this point on I promise to put as much effort as I can into transforming you into a beautiful, yet simple Slow Home.
Yours truly,
Kate
The Plan:
Week 1: The Kitchen- the heart of our home
Week 2: The Garden/Backyard-dogs, kids, weeds, they all want a stake
Week 3: The Laundry Room/Pantry/Shoe storage/Dog Food area- yup, nuff said
Week 4: The Master Bedroom-No tranquil resting space here!
Week 5: The Living Room-let's talk, no seriously, let's talk!
Week 6: The Bathrooms- all (mumble) five of them...sigh
Week 7: The Kid's Rooms-not even sure where to begin
Week 8: The Playroom/Office/Creative zone-really, which is it?!
Week 9: Closets/Clothing
Week 10: Attic/Storage
Week 11: Foyer
Week 12: The Garage
Each week, I also plan to take some time to decrease the chaos and clutter in my personal life, so that I can find more peace, and begin to enjoy more of life.
I'm excited and ready to start this challenge! Who'll join me?!
Kate
4 comments:
Great post, and thanks for sharing the link! Between kids' clutter and cleaning, it's overwhelming sometimes. We've also moved to a smaller home and it should've helped us to de-clutter, but.... I've seen ideas about doing daily 10- or 20-minute cleaning to stay on top of messes, which really does help reduce the stress. I'm going to try the 30-day challenge. Thanks, Kate!
Ok, so what are you doing in the kitchen????????
Hey Kathy! The challenge will start this coming Monday, Sept. 19th. I will have a post up first thing in tghe morning! I am going to plan it so that we I will tackle a little every day and take before and after photos. Hope you have a great weekend!
Kate
Cool idea, Kate!! I have been trying to de-clutter, too, but always get frustrated and quit. Maybe you'll inspire me to get back to it!!
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