After watching the Golden Globes and Oscars you probably have a long list of movies you need to see. Here's a round up of 28 new films that you can find on netflix now. Did you know netflix is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year?

Even though the weather is still really cold, spring is on the way as evident by the blooming magnolia and cherry blossom trees. Spring is the perfect time to really clean out your closet. This has been something I've been wanting to do for a long time but absolutely dreading it. But I have so many clothes I need to toss that I don't wear anymore. One of my new years resolutions was to have a tranquil home. My goal for my home is to be light and airy and not overflowing. I want to be able to find what I'm looking for and have my home always be company ready. I think this will help me live a calmer life. I'm relying on the lessons I learned in Marie Kondo's books on decluttering.

Rule #1 for Kondo is to not waste money on organizational solutions. The most important principle of the book is that you must purge before your organize. She frowns on the idea of buying organizing bins because that only encourages you to store more unnecessary things. So I pulled out the storage bags I had under my bed and emptied out the clothes that I have been storing but haven't worn in years and have no plans to wear again!

Then I attacked my bathroom cabinet and dumped out the storage bins that have a tons of makeup samples and half used products that I will never use again. I filled a whole grocery bag with that stuff! Next up I emptied the junk drawer in my kitchen, that was such an easy, doable task. And then I tackled my entryway with my collection of free tote bags. You know they all seem so useful, but I don't need 50, right? Then I cleared off the kitchen counters of paper clutter. With the easy stuff out of the way, I felt a bit accomplished and ready to do the hard work in the closet.

Reduce the Amount of Clothes You Own
Kondo says to not  keep something just because it might become useful and to be confident in your decision to throw things out. Kondo recommends you do a "joy check" on your clothes, put them on and ask yourself will you really wear them again. If no, thank the clothes for the wonderful memories they gave you. My next steps was to discard old coats, my high school prom dress, and college sorority gowns.  I got rid of all of my birthday dresses because those were one time occasion dresses no matter how sentimental.  I got rid of  most of my cheap necklaces. Then I took every shirt out, tried it on, and decided what to toss.

I've had some luck selling clothes on Tradesy but decided it was just easier to bag everything to donate. I requested a donation bag from Thredup which is an online consignment store. They send you a huge plastic bag that you can fill with clothes. It has a pre-paid printed FedEx label on it.
They will either sell it on their site, taking the photos for you or donate it to the charity of your choice. It's super easy and simple!

My activewear collection has gotten a little out of control and spilling out of my drawer. I seem to tire of things quickly and always buying more yet never getting rid of anything. That's one of the most popular things ThredUp sells so I threw a bunch in my donation bag.

Previously I tossed all my old electronics. What I haven't tossed yet: old purses, books, cds, free t-shirts, "painting clothes", and old costumes. I'll save that for my next clean out session. I found how easy  it can be to tackle one small task in the name of a better home. As everything I accomplished here I did on a Sunday afternoon. I've set up a system to help me not end up with an overflowing closet again. I've cut back on my clothes spending and set a policy of tossing one article of clothing for every new one I buy. I still use the stylebook app religiously to see what is in my closet. It tracks what dates I've worn what clothing so I know what hasn't been worn in awhile.

At the end of the day you have to realize that you don’t need all of this stuff. It won’t make you happier. And your home should not make you feel overwhelmed or stressed.

With all the rainy weekends we had last month I found a lot of indoor activities to keep me busy. You might have seen on the news that the Obama's official portraits were unveiled and now on display at the Portrait Gallery.  On the second floor of the museum is the "America's Presidents" exhibition which just reopened last fall with portrait paintings of all the Presidents. The line was so long to see Obama's portrait they had to move his portrait to the third floor. The line is to have your picture taken with his portrait, but if you don't want that, you can do a quick walk by picture like I did. The guards don't allow you to stop! lol There's a separate line for Michelle's portrait on the first level.