Rhapsody in Rooms

Guys. I read a book. Actually, I read FOUR books within the past two weeks. Excessive reading? Yes, but it’s been a while coming.

See, I haven’t been reading because I’ve been blogging. I’ve been thinking up projects, working on projects, buying things for projects, photographing projects, writing about the projects, and publicizing the projects. Don’t get me wrong, I love projects but that is a lot of emphasis on projects. And a lot of emphasis on nothing else.

There actually came a point when the blog started dictating the projects instead of the house dictating the projects. That didn’t leave me feeling excited. Yes, I loved the result (most of the time) but it felt like work – instead of the excessive happiness I used to get in finishing a project that adds to the happiness and beauty of my home, my life. And I think that’s wrong. That’s wrong for you, that’s wrong for me, that’s wrong for the house.

I don’t need to clutter my house, your brain, my blog with things I’m doing just to say I’m doing them. I want to share things that I can’t help but share because I’m so excited about doing them. Projects I’m doing that are something that will add value or beauty or happiness to our home. Projects that pull me off the couch, onto my feet. Not project after project that weigh me down.

I don’t know when it changed, but it did. I started this blog because I wanted to write and share projects, recipes, travels, thoughts that were on my mind and that I thought you might enjoy those ramblings too.

Then I fell head over heels in love with blogging and things got serious. Maybe a little too serious, a little too fast. I thought, “I want to do this all the time! I want to make this my career!”

I started reading blog books and articles, attending conferences, and trying to figure out how I could grow this blog into something big.

Needless to say, that didn’t happen. It’s been growing but it didn’t explode into this hugely read blog over the past year or two. Even though I’ve been following all the blogging “rules” and busting my butt every single week night and weekend to churn out content.

I guess that’s when the honeymoon period ended for me. The thought of using all my free time (nights and weekends for this 8-5’er) to make things, blog about them, and publicize them hoping for that one big break just wore me out. Just thinking about it wore me out. I wasn’t excited to get up, get my paint brush, and get to work. The thought of opening my laptop and pressing the on button exhausted me.

I think it boiled down to that I got scared. Scared about the thoughts I had about quitting my blog. Scared about thoughts about all this work going down the drain. Scared that my future plan/dream of this blog really going places was over. Scared that I really didn’t have a plan. Scared that what I was doing wasn’t good enough, beautiful enough, original enough, creative enough.

I’ve had these thoughts revolving around my head for months. Trying to figure out what I wanted for the blog. What I wanted for the future. What the point of the blog was. What its purpose was. What my purpose was. What its motive was.

I started asking myself what this blog was giving to the world? Was it adding clutter? Adding beauty? Trying to be something it wasn’t? Trying to be someone else’s vision?

So I’m making changes.

I’m only going to post about projects that I’m really excited about, that I really want to do around our house, posts that I think may be helpful to you – or at least entertain you. I am going to stop posting just because I think I’m supposed to post at least three times a week. Heck, getting three projects a week out of a small weekend usually doesn’t fit well into my life.

I’ve been living in a project ridden, slightly messy, kind of unorganized, not the cleanest house these past couple of years for the sake of the blog and doing projects. What?! When my blog is about DIYing, beautifying, organizing, and cleaning, how in the world does that make sense?

I need to streamline my life, my house, my stuff, my blog. It’s time to get rid of clutter everywhere. I don’t want piddly projects here and there. I was substance to surround me everywhere – that includes my home, blog, job, life. Plus, I want to enjoy my home too.

So my blog is getting a little late spring cleaning. I’m still definitely here. I’m still 100% in on this blog thing. Heck, I may be even more than 100% because I’m stripping away everything that isn’t me, isn’t fun, isn’t worthwhile. I’m not going to be following rules that haven’t really been working for me. I’m going to stop comparing myself, my blog to others and trying to mimic their success. That isn’t me – literally.

It’s time to just strip it down to what is just me, my loves, my challenges, my travels, my life, my definition of beauty, my happiness.

Doing that for me seems like the best thing I can do for you too. That way you aren’t seeing cluttered content just to be content. You aren’t seeing regurgitated content just to get a post up. What you are seeing is real, passion, happiness, excitement. Hopefully that will be content you connect with, get inspired by, laugh with.

I’m here, perhaps just less. We will see. I will let life dictate my time and my projects. This 60’s ranch house still has a huge long list of projects that I am excited to do and excited to share. Plus, I have this other small dream that I am cultivating too. But that’s a dream of another day, another blog post.

That means I’m off. I’m off to live life to the fullest in the moment. Whether that means I’m stoked to climb up into a closet, get paint in my hair, and paint a closet ceiling (spoiler alert) or it may be to enjoy a cookie in my favorite velour chair and read a book for hours in a row. Cause that’s where I am in life and that’s what I’m going to do.

Hopefully, this change will be a good change for all of us. To go back to our roots, be happy for ourselves, and make that happiness, that excitement contagious.

Because happiness starts with you.

PS – As I look back at this post after writing it, it makes me think that I’m saying these things about my blog, but don’t these concepts apply to other jobs, activities, and life in general? It’s just not worth doing it if it’s forced, not you, not the best for you. So make a point to strip down your life to your essential loves and then rebuild from there. To stop doing what you “think” you should be doing or following some “rules” that aren’t right for you.