Tonya has just lived my nightmare; not only did she move, she moved into a smaller house.
You would think that this would have sent her into a corner, rocking back and forth, but not Tonya. As the leader of Clutter Free Academy on Facebook Tonya has learned more than a thing or two about how to do life Clutter Free – including moving all of her earthly possessions.
And now, Tonya and I will share everything we’ve learned about moving in the midst of getting rid of clutter.
In this info-filled interview, you will learn how to:
• make decisions about what to bring and what to get rid of
• change your attitude about keeping stuff “just in case”
• give things away with an attitude of abundance
After the interview, I asked Tonya to share with me her 3 rules for holding a yard sale/giveaway. Here is what Tonya encourages you to state:
No Holds: Your objective is to get rid of stuff, not to establish layaway programs.
No Negotiating: This will considerably lessen your stress on the day. Price things to move!
No Give-Backs: Once you take it, it’s yours. Tonya had her couch returned 3 times because people failed to measure their space or the couch. Eventually, they ended up taking it to the dump – what a waste – especially since the right buyer may have stopped by at some point while the couch was on a field trip.
I’m thrilled to have Tonya back on the show! Join us if you are planning a move, or ever plan on moving – you will thank me!
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Special thanks to Tonya Kubo for joining me this week. Until next time.
Meet Our Guest
Tonya Kubo
Tonya Kubo is the illustrious, fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter-Free Academy Facebook group. She and her husband, Brian, are raising two spirited girls in the agricultural heart of California. She writes about fighting the demons of comparison, clutter and compulsion on www.tonyakubo.com.
Welcome to The Mom Project. For the next few weeks, we’ll be launching my book The Mom Project by hosting several mom friends who have tried it out for themselves. They read the book, completed a project from the book with their kids, and wrote all about it. And these are real moms. Busy moms. Unsure-of-themselves moms. Single moms. Special needs moms. Working moms. Stay-at-home moms. They do the hard working of mommyhood every day, and have found fun ways to connect with their kids in the simple activities found in The Mom Project. Read on to hear their experience:
The Project
“I have an idea.” This is one of my favorite lines that my family hears me say right before I introduce a new plan. I’m sure over the years those words have evoked concern to some and excitement to others since my ideas tend to be outside the box and usually require some work. Like the time I said, “Hey Brian, I have an idea. I want to be a surrogate and carry other people’s babies.” That story is for another time, but more recently, about 3 years ago I had the idea to downsize and become a part of the “Tiny Home Movement.” My family was quickly on board. We decided we wanted to have a tiny home so we could have more time for our family (instead of maintenance on our things), to keep our current house as an investment/rental and most importantly to make financial changes so I could work towards being a part time WAHM (Work At Home Mom) so I could have more time and energy for our family. Despite the close quarters with 2 teen girls and the love-hate relationship with a tiny home that has brought, we have loved the “easy-ness” of simplifying our lives and being able to have more time to make memories as a family. As a part of this season of life, I’ve been reading The Mom Project and have loved all the fun and simple ways it gives to connect and make family memories. So now I have an idea! I’m going to share with you how I did one of the projects from the book with our girls. Welcome to our world.
The Plan
Since our girls are both in the phase of wanting to re-decorate their rooms, the project “Add a Few Creature Comforts” is perfect. They both literally have printed out inspirational photos from Pinterest in their rooms of how they want their rooms to look. If only we would be chosen for Fixer Upper, we would all be in heaven! (We only live a couple hours from Chip and Joanna Gaines, so if any of you have a connection, hook me up!) For the project, I am going to take the girls to the store to have them pick something special that will help make their tiny space more of their own and more enjoyable for them. To start off I had to choose the time and the place. Since we live outside of town and the girls go to a charter school, I get to drive into town and pick them up every day from school, so I chose a day that we didn’t have anything scheduled after school. I also chose Hobby Lobby since it is located in between school and our home, has lots of home decor and styles to choose from and I had a gift card! That’s a triple win in my book. I also let the girls know ahead of time what we would be doing since they are at the age that they tend to make plans in their head for their own lives and time and always appreciate a heads up.
Results
I picked the girls up from school and reminded them we were going to the store so they could pick out something for their rooms. They had forgotten, so they both were excited for this after school fun shopping trip. After some time wandering around the store checking out all the options, they both fairly quickly made great decisions. Trinity chose a black storage box and a white wooden organizer. Selah chose a metal organizer and two storage boxes (probably for all her homemade slimes).
What I Learned
I was surprised that both girls chose storage and organizational items! I thought they would choose more “fun” decor pieces like a mirror, wall hanging, pillow or candle. I loved that they chose pretty, yet practical pieces that would help them stay organized and keep their rooms and stuff under control. When given the option to make decisions for themselves, our girls often surprise me with mature decisions. Sometimes we as parents, just don’t give our kids enough opportunities to choose for themselves or we don’t allow them to have the natural consequences of their choices, good or bad.
Extra Tips
To add to the fun and challenge, I gave both of our girls a $15 limit. This meant they had to do the math to figure out the cost of what they wanted (since a lot of decor items were 50% off) and they had to stay within budget. These are everyday life skills that we all need and that I like to throw into the girls lives as much as I can. Also, don’t forget to take pictures when you are making memories. Don’t overdo it though. Make sure you find the balance of being in the moment and taking pictures to help keep that moment forever. Enjoy our pics!
Hope you loved this peek into our tiny world. For more ideas on connecting with your kids, check out “The Mom Project.”
“Ready for your chance to win a copy of The Mom Project? To be entered into the drawing, just comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win. *Only US readers are eligible to receive the free book.”
Bio: Written by Tiffany Jo Baker, a mom who has birthed 7 children, but only 2 of them were her own. This 3x Surrogate, now Couples Life and Fertility Support Coach, continues to help couples birth their dreams and thrive thru infertility. Are you “Thriving Thru Infertility?” Free Quiz Here.
As we embark on this quest for simplicity and the purging for The 2014 Things Challenge, it helps to remind ourselves of what our purpose is in each act of organization we have.
The true gift of organization is getting to live the life that you are designed to live. My favorite flower is the orange gerbera daisy. On the gerbera daisy, all the good stuff is at the top—that ridiculously not-of-this-world orange color and the intricate layering of petals that you don’t notice until you get right up close. In order for that daisy to bloom and bring me all that joy, it has to have a strong stem.
It’s the same with my life. I am created to do a lot of beautiful things—worship my God, love my husband, raise my kids, create a home, work at my job, love on friends, etc. But in order to do beautiful things, I have to have a strong base to support everything I want to do. {click to Tweet}
Each of us has a limited amount of Space, Time, Energy, and Money (STEM) that we need to balance in our life. So for this 2014 Challenge, as well as other areas of our lives, we’re going to make sure that our STEM is strong so that we can stay strong.
Space. Have you created space in your life that allows you to do all that you are supposed to be doing?
Time. Are you wasting time every day in a million little ways? Do you have buffer in your schedule or are you constantly having to compromise because of your lack of time?
Energy. Do you often repeat steps because you aren’t organized?
Money. How much money have you wasted because you’ve bought duplicates of something you can’t find?
By answering these vital questions, we can be on our way to creating a strong stem that will support the challenges and changes for this new year!
We are in this together and it is a struggle for me in different areas at different times. Which area do you feel you struggle with the most, in space, time, energy or money? Also this is your space as well, so tell me what you would like to see in future blog posts about these areas – Saving Money by Organizing? Reclaiming Space in your House. How to Organize when You Have No Energy? I would love to hear!
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