This is a repost from last year. Little one asked to get the halloween decorations out this weekend, and it reminded me of this post. My oh MY am I glad that I sorted all the decor last year and got rid of a bunch. I will be doing the same decorations as last time. Read on to hear all about it.
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When I got our Halloween decorations out, I was surprised to see that over the years my
one bin of Halloween decorations have multiplied to
three! I knew right away that would just not do. Why? I have been much more purposeful in minimizing, thanks to the influence of Joshua at
Becoming Minimalist. I love the freedom I am feeling from both getting rid of stuff and refraining from buying more unnecessary stuff.
I went through the bins and tried to keep things that would add just a touch of festive fall. I’m not putting lights up outside. I’m not hanging messy spiderwebs. I did not keep every little pumpkin I had. I only kept things that I liked and that I knew would add atmosphere.
My kids love Halloween, and I know they delight in fun decorations the season brings. I kept things that I knew would appeal to them, like faces that light up and the sparkle of a pumpkin wrapped in white twinkle lights.
There were a few sentimental things in the bins. Paper pumpkins my kids made. I threw those away, but kept these little monster jars we made together a few years ago. They loved creating these jars and knew exactly which monster was ‘theirs.’ They look so cute all aglow in my windowsill.
Click here for how-to.
I did not decorate every room. I added some decor to the living room and dining room, which is our main living space. I put a festive candle holder in the bathroom and a pumpkin in my sunroom. My kitchen got an apple cider scented candle. I let my girls go through the bins and choose some things they wanted in their rooms. Just a couple small things like a couple plastic spiders and a rubber mouse, a skeleton head. Things I didn’t want in my main living space, although they keep showing up all over, strategically placed to make Mom scream and jump.
Things I kept:
~monster jars made by little hands that bring the memories
~large lit pumpkin
~a few fake pumpkins and gourds
~festive candle holders to make our evenings at home glowy & fun
Things I got rid of:
~large outdoor decorations that take up too much storage room
~messy cotton spiderwebs that catch all things including dust and leaves
~old Halloween costumes
~old creations made by my girls, especially paper fragile ones (confession…I took a pic of a few for memories sake. It is hard to get rid of such cute little things!)
~lots of fake fall foliage that used to sit around and collect dust & get in the way of dusting!
~fall twigs for vases…I’m over it.
Last night was the first night with our minimal fall decor out. I really am starting to believe in this “less is more” thing. It was so warm and glowy and festive and fun in our home. The girls loved it and did not comment on missing any of the things that I didn’t put out. Love it!
