the In-Law initiative

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This weekend my husband's grand parents are coming to visit us in our new home for the first time.  GULP.  Nothing like the fear of criticism from the family matriarch to light a decluttering fire under your butt.

Don't get me wrong his grandmother is a lovely lady, but she has strong opinions and of course I want them to be positive where my efforts are concerned.  So I have spent my spring break this week packing boxes to take to charity, returning things to their proper places and generally giving the whole house a good scrub.

Now I am exhausted but the house is almost spotless, which is a nice change from sanitary but cluttered (the normal status of my space).  Our lady of minimalism tells us not to clean or organize our clutter, but instead to remove the offending items.  Sometimes that is not as possible as we might like.  I had to buy a set of shelves to fix my foyer problem.  Coats and shoes are always being left there by my family and company.  It has helped to make the area more manageable.  I think next I will have to pare down the coats and hang only the most weather appropriate one in the hall.  I will try to include pictures when the area is complete.