When your sister-in-law texts you all the way from Iraq, you listen. I'm so glad I took her suggestion that day to download the book Organized Simplicity when it was free on Kindle.

The author, Tsh Oxenreider, is also known for her blog, Simple Mom. Now before all the non-moms peace out on this blog post, please know that you don't have to be a mom to benefit from this book! It includes tremendously useful advice on how to simplify and organize your life, no matter who you are.

One of the things I love most is her definition of simple living - "living holistically with your life's purpose." That's it. Simple living doesn't always mean starting a compost pile and living on solar energy and trading in your gas-guzzler for an electric car. That might be "simple living" for some people, but it's different for everyone. There is a do-able and realistic way for ALL of us to live more simply. Because of that desire, I started this blog over 6 years ago.

I'm still working on totally defining our family's purpose, our mission statement - but I know it will definitely include the word "peace." Peace in our home, peace in relationships, eliminating anything that doesn't bring peace to us and others.

Once I have our mission statement fleshed out, I fully intend to declare by creating some wood pallet art for our wall - like this or this.

Anyway, as I continue to work through this book, I'm excited to join the author and tons of other people on Project: Simplify! For the month of March, there's a focus each week on how to simplify, organize, and declutter an area of your home.

When I get rid of physical clutter in my home, I actually feel a lightness in my soul. Each time I get rid of more stuff, I'm moved from a place of entitlement to a place of gratefulness. A few months ago, our close friends who love organizing came over, and in a whirlwind few hours they helped me declutter practically every room in the house. Ahhhhh. The kitchen was suddenly way more functional, the closets had lots more room, and I had a huge pile of things to sell or donate. Now, I'm ready to do it again, as there is always more to give away.

But more importantly, I'm trying to stop accumulating more unneeded stuff. Amen?

Do you want to join the decluttering challenge? Just click this image below for all the info.