Hey, there! Melissa here!
Let me tell you a little about my Life with Less Mess mission!
Once Upon a Time…
Wayyy back, when I was in college, I decided I’d like to be a teacher — so I was! And it was great!
Then, I had a baby, and it was (mostly) great!
Then, I gave up my teaching job, packed up my house, and moved to Maryland from New Jersey with my husband, my 3-month-old and my cat leaving my home, my friends, my family and everything else.
And it was not so great.
It was HARD.
I felt isolated and lonely and desperate as I watched my husband leave for work every day (where he got to talk to real live actual grown ups).
It had also never been so hard for me to maintain our home, run errands, or get anywhere on time.
Plus, we had SO MUCH STUFF, and we just kept getting more and more!
Finally, I began working in my home — unpacking, organizing, decluttering, redecorating, and dreaming up projects and I found something that I not only enjoyed, but that my family benefitted from, as well.
Until I Embraced Organization & Routines
As a teacher, organizing, planning, and routines are essential — but when I left teaching, some of that fell by the wayside.
I finally returned to it a few years later.
I re-learned that life is better (for me) when it’s simple and orderly, when I know where things are when I need them, and when I don’t have too much clutter.
Eventually, I had a few more kids and moved into a different house (still in Maryland) and realized I totally and utterly rely on organization and routines to battle the chaos.
When my home is organized, my spaces are neat(ish), and my day is planned, I feel better.
I’m a happier mom and can focus on my family instead of focusing on the mess.
I also learned that I really enjoy do-it-yourself projects.
When my babies got older, didn’t need me quite so much, and I was better rested, I started Life with Less Mess.
Life with Less Mess was Born
For four years, I helped clients get their chaos under control, but I knew what I actually wanted to do was to motivate and inspire people to take on THEIR OWN CHAOS.
Remember — I have a teaching background. I believe in teaching and learning and doing.
When I organize for clients, I implement systems and their spaces are transformed, but things usually revert back to how they were.
Why?
Because unless you commit to decluttering, learn to organize and build new habits to maintain that organization, spaces will devolve into a cluttered, chaotic mess again.
Some clients commit to this, but some don’t.
Life with Less Mess Grew Up
So, despite running a successful in-home organizing business, I took a step back to focus on my home — and YOURS? — in the form of tackling projects and writing about them.
I aim for function in a space. Sometimes that means investing in organizing materials, but sometimes that means purging excess and using what you have.
Sometimes (most times) making a space functional means changing habits or forming routines.
Another Life with Less Mess goal is to raise independent, responsible kids — so you’ll see a lot of content here on chores, routines, setting your home up so kids can function on their own, and articles that involve the research behind both!
I’m eco-conscious, so I try not to be wasteful, use chemicals, or have a large carbon footprint — you may see that come up a time or two around here.
I want to teach and motivate others to live an organized, simplified, clutter-free, environmentally friendly, and experience-rich life. I try to lead by example.
I also host challenges a few times a year. Whether your mission is to spend less money, get organized, or declutter (or all three) this is the place for you!
Stick Around
So I hope I’ve convinced you to live your life with less mess!
Want a lot of content? Follow along on Instagram where I share day-to-day life and projects in my stories.
Want just a little content? Join my email list below. I only email 1-2 times a month when I have something to share. I won’t fill your inbox with junk, I swear!
Thanks for sticking around!
