Is that even a word? Minimalism? Did I just make that up? Anyways, my journey continues. It is a constant struggle for me not to buy, buy, buy. It's not big things. It's small things. "Oh, that will be nice!" "I've been wanting dry erase markers for awhile now..." "When I get back into _____, this will come in handy." Some things that I've acquired have been really helpful. Have made my life easier. Like the strawberry huller. I can't believe I lived for 33 years before owning one. It is awesome. Like my label maker - my pantry has never been more organized (Mom, you would be impressed). But other things... well, other things I can probably live without. I have tried to make a concerted effort NOT to buy so many things on Amazon.
Sometimes I wonder if I buy things partly because I am unhappy in a different place in my life. I don't mean that in a bad way, per se. I mean, no one's life is perfect. I would generally call myself a happy person, but there are some things lacking in my current life. Sleep for example. A social life. And though I know that is just part of my current season in life, sometimes it is hard.
So today I ran into this article from the blog, Be More with Less. It really rang true to me today. She talks about making baby steps towards simplifying your life so that you have more time for the really important stuff. She talks about taking 10 minutes a day to do self-care. 10 minutes. That does not seem like a lot, but I'll bet many of us don't spend that much time on self-care every day. Especially those of us who work full time and are parents as well. She talks about keeping a box to throw things in that you don't want/need. She talks about being uncomfortable, and that is OK. She talks about living now, not waiting for tomorrow.
And the place that I continue to work hard - my closet. I keep winnowing down. I kept feeling like I was missing something, though. And since there are no good places to shop in North Platte, I decided to sign up for TrunkClub. Mom has been touting the awesomeness of TrunkClub for awhile, so I thought I'd try it. Molly is my stylist, and I'm hoping that over the course of time we'll be able to work together well so that she can help me freshen up my wardrobe for each season while keeping things simple. I hate, hate, hate looking at my closet for minutes at a time in the morning wondering what I'm going to wear. Time wasted that could go towards other things, lol.
So my journey continues. It really is hard.
Sometimes I wonder if I buy things partly because I am unhappy in a different place in my life. I don't mean that in a bad way, per se. I mean, no one's life is perfect. I would generally call myself a happy person, but there are some things lacking in my current life. Sleep for example. A social life. And though I know that is just part of my current season in life, sometimes it is hard.
So today I ran into this article from the blog, Be More with Less. It really rang true to me today. She talks about making baby steps towards simplifying your life so that you have more time for the really important stuff. She talks about taking 10 minutes a day to do self-care. 10 minutes. That does not seem like a lot, but I'll bet many of us don't spend that much time on self-care every day. Especially those of us who work full time and are parents as well. She talks about keeping a box to throw things in that you don't want/need. She talks about being uncomfortable, and that is OK. She talks about living now, not waiting for tomorrow.
And the place that I continue to work hard - my closet. I keep winnowing down. I kept feeling like I was missing something, though. And since there are no good places to shop in North Platte, I decided to sign up for TrunkClub. Mom has been touting the awesomeness of TrunkClub for awhile, so I thought I'd try it. Molly is my stylist, and I'm hoping that over the course of time we'll be able to work together well so that she can help me freshen up my wardrobe for each season while keeping things simple. I hate, hate, hate looking at my closet for minutes at a time in the morning wondering what I'm going to wear. Time wasted that could go towards other things, lol.
So my journey continues. It really is hard.
1 comment:
So, I just finished reading this morning almost exactly what you are mentioning about BE More with Less. One thing is don't confuse Self Care with Self Improvement, they are two different things. When you buy things, it is related to self care. Not having so much stuff is about self improvement. I think I am buying more stuff because of my anxiety about the direction that the country is going, at least in part. I know I make jokes about our president paying for my fake nails, but that is a factor. Anxiety causes me to shop. Lately, I have been investing in essential oils, and they have been helpful in the self care area. This is what I read from Jessica Ortner's book on self confidence and body image; loosely she says that it is natural to seek ways to improve yourself, and while the intention is positive, we also need to be aware that it can work against us. Self development is not self care, too often our emphasis on SD goes one step further into self punishment. We can rob ourselves of the experience of feeling good about the steps we have taken and the way we move forward. You are doing that with going to the library and looking for ways that you can move forward.
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