There is something that I am learning more and more as we continue this journey of making our third-generation Adirondack cottage 1% more restful each day.

And sometimes, making a home more restful doesn't involve purchasing something beautiful, decorating a corner, or completing a project that looks especially lovely in pictures. Sometimes it simply involves deep cleaning out the refrigerator. *smiles*

Welcome to Day 3 of our journey of making our third-generation Adirondack cottage 1% more restful each day! You can watch the reel HERE!

If you have been following along with this little series here on Caravan Sonnet or over on Instagram, you know that my mom and I have been slowly and intentionally working on making our beloved family cottage a little bit more restful, one small project at a time. Our cottage has been part of our family for three generations, and there is something incredibly special about caring for a place that holds so much family history, love, and memories.

But as anyone who has lived in or cared for an older family home knows, there is also a lot of work involved. There are projects that are exciting and beautiful, projects that require more time and money than we have available, and then there are those simple, necessary projects that quietly make everyday life a little bit easier.

And today's project definitely fell into that last category!

For our third 1% project, I decided to tackle something that was incredibly ordinary but very necessary: cleaning out our kitchen refrigerator. Not exactly the most glamorous project in the world, right? *smiles* But one of the things I have been reminding myself throughout this entire journey is that creating a more restful home isn't just about what a space looks like. It is also about how a space functions. It is about those little areas of our homes that we interact with every single day and how even the smallest improvements can bring a sense of peace, order, and calm to our routines. And our kitchen refrigerator was one of those areas that needed a little attention. So instead of overlooking it in favor of something more exciting or visually beautiful, I decided that this would be our project for Day 3. A simple, necessary deep clean out. Nothing expensive. Nothing elaborate. Nothing that required an entire weekend or a complete kitchen makeover. Just taking the time to care for something we already have. And friends, there was something really lovely about that.

I have to laugh a little because sharing this project was also a humbling reminder of something I think we can easily forget when we look at beautiful homes and inspiring projects online.

Real life is not always picture-perfect. Sometimes there are areas of our homes that need attention. Sometimes there are projects we have been putting off. Sometimes life gets busy, difficult, overwhelming, or simply full, and the ordinary tasks of caring for our homes fall further down the priority list than we would like. And that is okay. One of the things that I have learned through this journey is that we don't have to wait until everything is perfect to begin making something better. We don't need an unlimited budget, endless energy, or an entire day set aside to make meaningful progress.

We can simply begin with what is right in front of us. For me, on Day 3, that meant the refrigerator. 

And while it may seem like such a small thing, it was another step toward creating the peaceful, welcoming, and restful home that my mom and I are pouring ourselves into.

There is an important lesson that has been growing in my heart as I continue these little projects, and I wanted to share it in case it might encourage someone else today.

I think sometimes we can become so focused on the big transformations that we forget the value of the small, faithful steps that happen along the way. We want to see the finished room, the completed renovation, the perfectly organized home, or the beautiful before-and-after pictures.

And there is certainly nothing wrong with dreaming about those things! I have so many dreams for our little cottage, and I am excited to continue working toward them. But I am also learning that there is something deeply meaningful about the process itself. About choosing to be faithful with what we have today. About caring for the spaces we have been given. About recognizing that a peaceful home is not created only through grand transformations, but through the quiet accumulation of small acts of care.

A drawer cleaned out. A shelf organized. A corner made a little more welcoming. A refrigerator given some much-needed attention. 

None of these things may seem especially significant on their own. But together, over time, they begin to change the way a home feels. And perhaps even more importantly, they begin to change the way we approach the ordinary moments of our lives.

Instead of looking around and feeling overwhelmed by everything that still needs to be done, we can begin to see the possibility of what can be accomplished, one little step at a time.

One of my greatest hopes for this series is that it encourages us to appreciate and care for the homes we have right now, even while we are dreaming about what they might become. I love beautiful spaces. I love thoughtful details, cozy corners, and the feeling of walking into a home that invites you to slow down and rest. But I am also learning that a restful home is not necessarily a perfect home. It doesn't have to be newly renovated. It doesn't have to be filled with expensive furniture or the latest decorating trends. And it certainly doesn't have to look like the beautiful homes we see in magazines or on social media. Sometimes a restful home is simply a home where we have taken the time to care for the little things. A home where we are slowly creating more order, more beauty, and more room to breathe. 

A home where the ordinary is treated with dignity and gratitude.

For our family, this little Adirondack cottage is so much more than a renovation project. It is a place filled with generations of stories, memories, and love. And as my mom and I continue this journey together, I want to be intentional about honoring that history while also making the cottage a place of rest for the season of life we are living in now. That doesn't happen overnight. And I am learning that it doesn't need to.

So Day 3 wasn't a dramatic transformation. It wasn't an expensive project or a beautifully styled room. It was simply cleaning out our kitchen refrigerator. And I am counting that as a wonderful little victory.  Because our goal has never been to create a perfect cottage in thirty days or to complete every project as quickly as possible. Our goal is to make our home just 1% more restful each day. And some days that will mean working on something beautiful and exciting. Other days, it will mean taking care of something necessary that has been waiting for our attention. 

Both matter. Both are worth celebrating. And both are part of the journey.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the projects in your own home, or perhaps by a season of life that feels like it requires more energy, time, or resources than you have available, I hope this little refrigerator clean out is an encouragement.

You don't have to do everything today. You don't have to have the perfect plan. You don't have to make enormous changes for your efforts to matter.

Just choose one small thing and begin there.

One percent at a time. And then tomorrow, if you can, begin again. I think we may be surprised by how much beauty, peace, and rest can grow from those little beginnings.

Thank you so much for following along with these projects, for your sweet comments, and for all of the encouragement you have shared as we continue working on our third-generation cottage.

It truly means so much to have you here for this journey, especially for the ordinary and humbling projects like this one! I hope that wherever you are today, you find a little encouragement to make your own home, your own corner of the world, or simply your own day just 1% more restful.

You can watch our little kitchen refrigerator clean out and follow along with this 1% project over on Instagram!

Happy Thursday friends! I hope that you have a wonderful day!