My year of simplifying is going pretty well so far. I decided to donate or share furniture we don't really use. So far I have donated two leather chairs we had near the bookcases to Bianca for her new office. We loved those chairs, but we didn't really sit in them unless we were talking about how we never sit in them. Now they can be used to fulfill their full chair potential. It also frees up some space, yano for cartwheels or something.

We also have a china cabinet in our living room, because it doesn't fit in the dining room, and it doesn't match the style of anything else in our house. So I spent some time cleaning out and reorganizing our buffet so that we could fit all of our china, bar glasses, and serving pieces in there. Having a seven foot long buffet and a china cabinet for two people who only host one or two nice dinners a year was a little excessive. I do love hosting, but I've gotten over needing to use fancy plates and cups when my friends come over. We can drink our wine out of a tervis just as well as a wine glass, and that cockpot meal or taco bar was really meant to be served on a paper plate anyway.

I think what I am looking for most of all in this simplification process is empty space. Little pockets of nothing, an empty shelf, and a feeling of calm. I want to stop feeling like I need to fill every drawer, shelf, wall, or room with stuff.

I know the three areas that will be hardest for me are going to be the kitchen, these bookshelves above, and my craft room/home office. It's all stuff I really like and sometimes use, but is it something I use enough or like enough to give it space in my house?

Have you decluttered any areas of your life? What are things that you thought you couldn't be without, but haven't missed? Or have you decluttered something that you ended up missing enough to rebuy? Let me know in the comments.