one of my favorite parts of our house is the attic. it has this cool ship's staircase up to it (ladder-like), two skylights, two other windows that feel like they're nestled in the trees, and feels so cozy with the roof slants and white walls. we want to make it a space where we can be as a family & grow as a family -- i think of forts, movie nights, sleep overs, rainy days spent reading up there -- a place to escape, for all of us.
the problem is right now it is a storage unit gone awry -- piles & boxes & things we're not quite sure what to do with. so, bit by bit, i've been chipping away at the piles. finding good homes for some things, consigning others, donating & sorting. in the next few weeks, we're going to build some storage for what's left -- a fraction of what we began with.
the reality is, these are first world problems (having too many things in your attic), but i believe deeply in living simply & raising our family with things we intentionally want around us. bit by bit this year, i'm going room by room trying to simplify our lives -- normally, i'd try to do this in a weekend & totally overwhelm myself. this time, i'm taking my time, knowing it will go much better if i take my time & don't set artificial deadlines. it also allows me to really find good homes for the things we don't need, not carelessly getting rid of them. what's slowly happening is that it's changing how i think about our purchases -- i am more realistic about thinking about whether something is really something we need or will use. goodness knows i don't want things drifting up to the attic!
that said, this new space will need a few things to make it a family space. above are a few things i'm dreaming about adding: a shower curtain to separate where we'll store extra clothes/uniforms (we have old house teensy tiny closets in our rooms & so this serves as back up); a teepee for reading & play, bright knobs for the storage cabinets; open whale bins for a few toys (hat tip, alli!); & a world map i received in my stocking a few christmases ago -- so we can track our family adventures!
p.s. i've been meaning to do this simplifying since we moved in (almost three years ago) it's been on my "to do list" & kept getting pushed to the back. since our budget has changed dramatically since going down to one income, i set up some motivation for myself -- i've long dreamed of hunter rain boots. so, i told myself if i could consign and earn enough money for them from the attic, that would be my reward. & the check just came that got me over the hump! see you soon new rain boots!
click through if you want to see this room before we moved in -- i'll show you the updated room soon!
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ellie 
