A Small Life

Recent saved screenshots that have made me think and/or brought me joy. ✨

Let’s be real: most of us don’t have thousands of dollars and unlimited time to be doing big renovations. What we do have is small pockets of time on the weekends and random bits and bobs to fix what we already have around the house.

Caring for our stuff, fixing it and putting that little extra time into it is the most sustainable thing we can do. AND it’s the most wallet-friendly too.

Have you fixed or upcycled anything lately? If so, I want to hear about it! 👇

Swipe for decluttering red flags! 🚩

We’re all guilty of these and this is a judgement-free zone, but these are some of the most commonly heard phrases I hear when people are decluttering.

And let me tell you this, keeping something just because it was a gift, it was expensive or for your maybe someday “best self” is a burden on your current self. If no one has told you lately, you’re doing great, you are loved and you can let go of the figurative and literal things that weigh you down.

🚩You don’t have to hold onto something because it was a gift. The giving part was the gift!

🚩When you don’t know what you’ll use something for, it’s ok to let it go. No guilt needed.

🚩Just because something was expensive, doesn’t mean you should keep it. Learning about the “sunk cost fallacy” totally changed my life. Look it up!!

🚩And lastly, it’s ok for your body to change. It’s ok for things not to fit anymore. There is NOTHING wrong with you and you can let your “skinny pants” go. It’s not motivating to keep them. It’s just making you feel bad.

I talk about strategies for all these red flag road blocks in my workbook, “The Two Week Declutter” available tomorrow.
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Shed makeover “after” and swipe to see the “before.”

After owning this shed for about a year, we finally made it look less like a big, grey box. We actually ordered the shed with white trim, but there was a mixup and we didn’t think it was worth it to send it back.

This was one of those projects that was nice to do, but not really essential, so we didn’t want to spend a ton of money on it. Reusing materials in every home project I do is also really important to me, so we attempted to use what we had.

For those of you that want the hot goss, here’s the details and the money breakdown:

✅ Lights were reclaimed from my in-law’s fishing shack that was being torn down.
✅ Metal that we put under the porch was reclaimed from my neighbor who was moving.
✅ Mulch was leftover from our garden earlier in the year.
✅ Wood around the plants is from a tree another neighbor cut down.

✅ Wood for the ramp, paint, brushes, stain and plants were purchased for about $275. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.
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A friendly reminder to you and me: Your home doesn’t have to be perfect to be better. 🧡

Our patio was a sun trap. Ironically the sunniest place in the yard was also the space that we wanted to sit and hang out with friends (human, feathered and furry). Ideally, and maybe someday, we’ll have a pergola with romantically draped wisteria for shade. But that would require hundreds of dollars, waiting years for the wisteria to grow and dealing with the headache-inducing permitting process.

Instead, we went with this quick and (approximately) $50 fix with a shade sail and a pole cemented into a galvanized bucket. (More details about the process in my stories.)

This option provides a good amount of shade, is easily removable and didn’t cost me an arm and a leg. Is it the patio of my wildest dreams? No. Is it a vast improvement? Yes. Am I happy with it? Also yes.

Do you have any small home improvement wins that you want to share? I’d love to hear about ‘em. 👇
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