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I feel like we live more simply now because we can't afford not to with LO here

We were recently talking about a similar topic. I have noticed that a lot of people "outgrow" their homes a few years after having children and I have noticed that a big part of it is not constantly thinning out their possessions. For example we know one family of five that is moving out of their 5500 square foot home into a 7500 square foot home because theirs is "too small".

As a result we have made a point of making it easier to be constantly purging. We have a designated spot for things we no longer need that can be sold or donated and I take them to Salvation Army monthly. I also try to be more mindful of bringing things into the house. I recently read that someone added another "R" onto reduce, reuse and recycle-- the fourth is now "refuse." I can't tell you how much of the stuff we are purging is random junk we have been given. Hand me downs from my mil, "swag" from conferences my husband goes to for work etc.

One of the other things I am making a point of working on is cooking from scratch. I was really good about cooking almost everything from scratch we had a few big things crop up over the last year and a half and it feels like I am just coming out of lala land. Meanwhile both of our weights ballooned and I feel very unhealthy. I know that rebuilding those habits will really help us both now and when we have a lo. I keep cringing about some of the things I have been eating and thinking that I really don't want to raise a family on those things.

I am trying to live and make decisions deliberately. As an example, we're moving to a new house and as a result, need to buy some new furniture. We are buying the absolute best that we can and making an effort to select pieces that are made in America. We're purposely not doing IKEA stuff because it needs to be replaced every so often and we'll end up spending MORE by buying cheaper.

I'm pushing DH to de-clutter, haha. I have kind of a weird house configuration because it's a townhouse and we're going to be moving our bedroom before LO is here to the loft on top of the house. DH has issues getting rid of things and when he moved in with me he brought boxes of stuff and just left them in the loft. 3 years later that stuff is still sitting there. He never reads and yet he has tons of books, he's got papers and homework from elementary school, and a bunch of other randomness. I told him he needs to thin it out and confine himself to one box of memorabilia that will go in our utility closet.

Every time I clean I come up with a car load of stuff to be donated. I'm sure when I clean out my close this time there will be giant amounts of clothes that no longer fit, are worn out, or I plain just don't wear.

I am a ruthless purger of excess stuff in our house. DH is content to hang onto 5,000 t-shirts, but I just can't do it. I do a big clean-out probably twice a year, selling and donating everything we don't use.

@littlebittyhouse: I feel like it makes cleaning SO much easier!