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In January my goal was to create more. My three main goals were to create a painting, finish a knitting project, and create something to give away. I'm really proud of myself for finishing ALL THREE!!
I have a whole post dedicated to my blanket as soon as I have the chance to photograph it, but here's a sneak peek. I'm so so so in love with it.
I painted this abstract little fella for my bathroom. The wall was so empty and the poster I had originally hung there was getting ruined by the steamy showers I like to take. I love it because it matches with my shower curtain.
I'm in a letterpress class right now and we have to create prints for the whole class when we do projects. I don't know if this is cheating on my goal but I am pretty proud of the prints I've made so far and I'm happy to share with my classmates so I'd say it definitely counts as my third goal :)!!
February is dedicated to my relationships. I want to spend time with my wonderful friends and experience some new things. My specific goals are listed below and I'm excited to say I've already gotten a jump-start on two of these goals!! I think I might try to letterpress a birthday calendar. Hopefully I'll have the time!!!
-create a birthday calendar for friends/family (or buy one!)
-make quality time a priority (aka schedule "work days" and "social days")
-say "yes" to positive social outings
You might also remember that I made a commitment to quality this year. I'm working on some posts that go along with that goal and I cannot wait to share them with all of you.
Have you set any goals for this year? How are they coming along? Have you been blogging about them? I'd love to read about what you're all up to!!
xoxo
Mal
One resolution I didn't mention in my post the other day is something that's been on my mind for a while. In the next year my life is going to go through some dramatic changes. I'll be moving across the country, graduating from college, becoming financially independent, etc. etc. In this next stage in my life I have decided I want to make a commitment to quality.
This commitment stems from a few different issues that I've come across in my life. I'm tired of owning cheap clothes that pill/tear/fray after only a few washes. I am sick of going out to eat and coming home feeling lethargic from the excessive portions and questionable ingredients. I've grown weary of spending money on trinkets that are supposed to make my life happier when they only create clutter and stress. It makes me sad to think about all of the things in my life that are poorly constructed. In a way, it makes me feel unstable.
So to combat this, I've decided to make a commitment to quality in my life. When I buy clothes I want to shop brands that take care to choose good fabric and construct my garments in a way that makes them timeless. I don't want to own trendy pieces that I will tire of by the time the next season rolls around. I want my shoes and clothes to be classic pieces that I can wear time and time again. I've finally found my style so I feel comfortable buying higher-end pieces that will last years instead of weeks in my closet.
When food shopping I want to steer clear of canned and over-processed foods. When possible, I want to buy local and sustainable products. I want to buy LESS food. Less per-packaged goods like canned beans, pre-chopped vegetables, and instant rice. I want the food I eat to be whole and healthy.
When I move and furnish my new apartment or home, I want to buy quality furniture. Even if that means I can only afford one piece a month, I would rather be surrounded by a strong foundation than broken drawers and chipped particleboard. I'm tired of living in a page from an Ikea catalog.
I also want to commit to quality in my social life. I want to surround myself with people who bring me up. I want my friends to love me whether I dress up or down, wear glasses or contacts, am sad or happy, etc. Life is too short to be surrounded by anything less than unconditional love.
On that note, I want to watch my mouth. I don't want to participate in gossip or negativity. This will be difficult but the reward will be so great. I want to tone down my sarcastic comments and practice being more genuine. I want to speak up when I'm feeling overlooked. I want to find the balance of honesty and humility. When I apologize, I want it to come from my heart.
Over the next year, I will be revisiting this post frequently. There are minor and major projects I want to complete that will help contribute to the overall quality in my life. I would love it if you joined me in my commitment to quality. I'm considering making some blog buttons that can serve as little reminders of this commitment. If I made some, would you take the pledge?
xoxo
Mal
Over the summer I read a truly inspirational book called The Happiness Project. After I was finished with the book I did a series of posts about actions I was taking in my own life that were geared towards making me happier. You can see my book review here and all of my happiness posts here.
Anyways, after summer ended and my life picked up pace I lost sight of my happiness project goals. To be honest, I don't really remember any of them off the top of my head anymore. That's alright because I have completely revamped my project and used the framework from the book to create my own year-long project.
I've been thinking a lot about what principles are the most important to my life and my long-term happiness and how I could translate that into quantitative goals. All of that has led me to the following 12 months of learning, growing, and happiness. Feel free to follow along with the goals I have set for myself or make your own goals and just share the experience with me!
January: Create
-paint a picture to hang in my new home
-create something to give away
-complete one knitting project
February: Build Relationships
-create a birthday calendar for friends/family (or buy one!)
-make quality time a priority (aka schedule "work days" and "social days")
-say "yes" to positive social outings
March: Simplify
-purge
-organize
April: Exercise
-Find an exercise regime that suits me
-Try a new form of exercise (or two!)
-Try to incorporate stretching or yoga into my routine at least once a week
May: Eat
-learn a new food preparation technique
-eat out at a new restaurant
-host a dinner party for good friends
June: Experience
-take a class that teaches a skill or enhances a skill
-take a trip somewhere new
-do one thing that terrifies you
July: Indulge
-enjoy a spa day (or create my own spa day)
-take off one day a week and do whatever you want to do..guilt free!
August: Finances
-Create a budget based on my current income
-Organize bill paying
-Set up a "tax station"
September: Connect
-volunteer at a kick-ass organization
-join a group (book group? knitting group? culinary group? bible study?)
October: Be Present
-do one thing at a time
-create a concrete "work space" in my home
November: Learn
-learn a new skill (rope tying? furniture building? crochet?)
-brush up on my French
-watch two classic movies a week
-read at least two books
December: Plan for the future
-develop a better way to keep track of my bucket list
-set goals for next year
Of course, there are a few overreaching goals I'd like to accomplish this year.
One project I want to do throughout my year is a little something I saw over on Bri's blog. Each night before I go to bed I'm going to write down my favorite part of the day. I think it's going to be a really wonderful memory for me someday and a great reminder to focus on the positive in life.
As usual, I want to set a reading challenge for myself. I'm going to try to read 30 books before my birthday. I have a pretty good start so I'm confident that I can do it!
I know I'll end up adding more goals to this list and elaborating on the meaning behind some of them but I wanted to get a preliminary list up so you all can follow along. I'm also sure that this plan will evolve as my year progresses but I'm happy to have the basic blueprint set up and ready to go.
xoxo
Mal
As an avid goal-setter, I can't say anyone will be surprised to know that I set some summer goals for myself. Since it's summer I kept them somewhat minimal, but I'm happy to say that as of last week, I accomplished all of them!
1) Eat at Haute Sausage (or any food truck)
My dad and I ate at Haute Sausage and I'm happy to say I was pleased with my first food truck experience! I got half of a Boerewors Chakalaka (YUMM!) and half of another one that isn't listed on their site so I'm not sure which one is was anymore. I've been really excited about this sausage truck all summer so I'm glad I finally got the chance to eat there!
2) Go to the beach
I went to the beach a couple times and I hope to make it out a few more times before the cold settles in. You can read about one of the beach trips here.
3) Decorate my apartment
I can't wait to start sharing the tour with you! I'm so close to being finished and I absolutely love the new look of my home. It doesn't even look like the same place that I lived last year :)!
4) Get straight A's in summer school
Online classes are a LOT of work. I remember when I first blogged about the idea of taking online classes in the summer and one of you lovely readers warned me that they were very difficult. I appreciate that warning because it was totally accurate. The classes kicked my ass and took an extraordinary amount of work and time but I'm happy to say I finished with straight A's!
5) Get an internship
I love my internship! I get to do all sorts of fun stuff and this job just strengthened my belief that marketing is the career for me. Sometimes I wish I was creative enough to support myself with fashion design (or any sort of crafty career) but it's just not my calling! I'll always be able to explore creativity on the side AND I'll still love my job. That's lucky.
Did any of you set summer goals? Did you accomplish all of them!? I'd love to hear what you got done during the fabulously warm months.
xoxo
Mal
It is not nearly often enough that we count our blessings. I've struggled with depression for as long as I can remember so I often focus on the negative rather than the positive. I also think there is a bit of taboo about sharing joy in our society. By talking about the things that make me happy, it may come off as bragging or narcissism. I think my eyes are just gorgeous, but saying that out loud is a big no-no. I think that's silly. I am glowing with happiness right now so I figured I'd capitalize on my great mood and tell you all about my life. I'm literally going to list the top ten factors in my life that bring a smile to my face when I wake up in the morning. I want to invite all of you to do the same thing! If you're a blogger, share your link in the comments. If you aren't a blogger, send me an email with your list of joy.
1. My internship. Challenging, rewarding, wonderful.
2. Cooking. Creating something that is healthy and fabulous all in my tiny apartment kitchen.
3. The fact that I actually live in the heart of Chicago. I dreamed about this ever since I first visited and now I'm living my dream. What better reason to be joyful?!
4. I am graduating a year early from college.
5. I have some amazing friends; pure gold.
6. My parents support me, both financially and emotionally. I know that this is a huge sacrifice for them and I never take it for granted.
7. I'm really loving my new blonder hair. Blondes have more fun...right? ;)
8. Redecorating my apartment!! I LOVE THIS!
9. My older brother telling me I'm hilarious (maybe not in those exact words...)
10. Boys who call me "darling". Makes my whole world brighter!!
I know a lot of my joyful things are silly, but they bring a giant smile to my face and that's enough!! So what are your top ten? It can be ANYTHING! I can't wait to hear.
xoxo
Mal
P.S.
Something else that brings me joy is blogging. I absolutely love hearing from all of you and writing in this space every day. To show my appreciation, I'm gearing up for a huge giveaway. I'm two followers away from 200 with google reader and my goal for this year was to hit 250 total (some of you are on blog lovin'). When I hit 250 (between google reader & blog lovin') I'll host my giveaway! Anyways, I want to thank you all for being so fabulous and let you know that I plan to spoil you a little bit for being so great :).
As bloggers I think we all like to set about a million goals for ourselves then complete them as a captive audience reads along. Setting goals is healthy, encourages growth, and allows people to challenge themselves in ways they might not otherwise do. I love goals. I have my birthday goals that I set every year and I set smaller weekly and monthly goals for myself as well. Studies have shown that individuals who set goals for themselves and actively work to achieve them (whether or not they succeed at every individual line item) are more successful than people who do not. So, in the spirit of reading studies and feeling good about goal setting, I thought I'd share a bit of information I found when reading my psychology textbook yesterday (yes, I am the student who actually reads the textbook).
A goal is most likely to improve your motivation and performance when three conditions are met:
The goal is specific Defining a goal vaguely, such as "doing your best" is as ineffective as having no goal at all. You need to be specific about what you are going to do and when you are going to do it: "I will write four pages of this paper today"
The goal is challenging but achievable You are apt to work hardest for tough but realistic goals. The highest, most difficult goals produce the highest levels of motivation and performance, unless, of course, you choose impossible goals that you can never attain.
The goal is framed in terms of getting what you want rather than avoiding what you do not want. Approach goals are positive experiences that you seek directly, such as getting a better grade or learning to scuba dive. Avoidance goals involve the effort to avoid unpleasant experiences, such as trying not to make a fool of yourself at parties or trying to avoid being dependent.
So I'm sure you're saying to yourself, That's great mal, but why should I care? Here's why kids...
Are you ready?
Using these three SIMPLE rules can help you make goals for yourself that will catapult you into the goal achieving hall of fame. Let's take some of my birthday goals and analyze...shall we?!
1) Read 25 Books
2) Sell 20 Handmade Items (4)
Both of these goals are fabulous. They are a bit of a challenge and have very specific requirements. I will either read 25 books or I will not read 25 books. I know very clearly how frequently I need to read in order to attain this goal. I know that if I want to sell 20 handmade things that I should really keep my Etsy shop stocked instead of being a busy college student who doesn't have the time to put anything in it. Either way, with the number I know whether or not I have succeeded and I will know exactly how to adjust the goal in the future so it is more achievable (if I fail) or more of a challenge (if I pass with flying colors).
6) Participate in 12 activities that are out of my comfort zone
I had good intentions with this goal. See how I included a number in it thinking that made this more measurable? That's cute Mal. This goal is really not measurable. How can I gauge whether something is truly out of my comfort zone? What if it's just a little bit outside of that zone? Does that still count? I feel as though I've pushed the envelope in terms of trying new things in my creative and social life this year so to me that is an accomplishment but this goal is really ineffective. This is less of a goal and more of a reminder. I should type up "Step out of your comfort zone" and frame it rather than try to make it a goal.
20) Take two cooking classes
This goal seemed so...promising... I will definitely be able to take one cooking class but at this point, I don't think I'll be able to afford a second. I hate setting goals that require money because you can never be sure that you'll have the funds to follow through. At this point in my life, I really don't have extra cash that can go towards learning how to cook better. I'm okay with that but I wish I didn't have to fail my goal because I was unrealistic about my financial situation.
I'll wrap this up here because this post has gotten a bit long. However, I'd like to encourage you to re-evaluate the goals you've made in your own life. It can be extremely discouraging to constantly set goals that you can't realistically achieve. Start small and work your way up to grandiose ideas. I love the small goals because they're kind of like freebies :). I know I'll be able to achieve them and it feels heavenly to cross them off my list.
This is part of my own little Happiness Project. I'd file this under "keep it clean". Having goals set for myself that are unrealistic weigh on me and end up being emotional clutter. Sometimes its okay to shift your focus and let things go (another one of my resoultions!).
Any updates on your happiness projects? I'd love to hear!
xoxo
Mal
(source)
Do any of you make to-do lists? I know that I do. I basically plan my life around my to-do lists. The problem with my lists is that I get a little overwhelmed by them sometimes. I have a master to-do list that includes tasks that need to be done immediately, things that I need to finish within a week, and things that I'd like to do when I have the time. In order to make my list more effective, I decided to break it down day by day. So every morning when I wake up, I make a to-do list with FIVE goals. They are the five things I HAVE to get done that day. This condensed list is a lot more manageable than my giant list so I've actually been getting a lot of things done!
Today's goals, for example, are as follows:
1) Turn in psychology homework
2) Mop apartment
3) Write one paragraph of my internship paper
4) Mail Clueless back to Netflix
5) Finish cleaning up storage unit
The key to actually tackling your 5 goals is to mix tough goals with ones that are simple. I wouldn't want to put 5 time-consuming goals on the same day because, realistically, I wouldn't be able to cross them all off. On days when I don't have to work, I've found that three bigger goals and two easier goals is the perfect balance. Days with work I flip that ratio and sometimes I even do four easier goals and only one big goal. You have to find what works for you though :).
This is part of my happiness project. Kind of a combination of my "get it done early" and "do it" resolutions. I've had some projects hanging over my head for over a year now and the only reason I don't do them is because I feel so guilty for not having completed them yet. That's dumb. They stress me out and I have trouble doing other fun things without feeling guilty because I know I should be getting those projects finished. AH! It's an awful cycle. So it feels great to finally be conquering my list :).
I noticed after I suggested the Happiness Project that quite a few of you took interest. I wanted to give a shout out to Ashley who conquered her closet, Kate who has started a new feature (Happiness Thursday's) to help keep her resolutions, and Angie who has been working her way through the book. Who else has picked up the book? I love that so many of you were inspired to read it :)!! If you've blogged about it, let me know and I'll link to you as well.
xoxo
Mal
Ah, back to the Happiness Project. As the fabulous book suggests, one should make specific resolutions that are measurable. I haven't quite decided how to measure my goals yet, but I have picked a list of 6 resolutions that are aimed at making me a happier lady! I think that a big part of sticking to these resolutions is sharing them. And who knows, maybe my resolutions will inspire one of you to set some of your own!?
1) Do it
I don't do things. I avoid going out, I frequently bail on plans last minute because I "don't feel like it" and I avoid new situations for many different reasons (lack of money, time, energy, etc.) I get these horrible stomach aches before participating in new activities so I tend to find excuses to get out of doing them. I hate this crazy social anxiety I have because I almost always have a good time when I try new things. So my new resolution is to just do it (thanks Nike!). I've already enacted this and so far its forced me to sew a cuteee skirt and go to a friend's birthday party that I definitely would have blown off otherwise.
2) Keep it clean:
This refers to clutter. I like to keep a lot of objects. I had stacks of old magazines, I can never bear to part with a book, and I have a weird habit of keeping the hang tags from clothing I buy. I also have a huge collection of old craft supplies I'll probably never use. I like to buy things but I don't use these things as quickly as they come in. I'm going to shop less and clean more. I often feel guilty getting rid of stuff that I think is "usable' but really its just taking up space! I'm going to try my best to keep it clean and simple.
3) Let the little things go:
I tend to get pretty worked up over the small things in life. I think that instead of freaking out over these little details, it would be better to take a breath and put it in perspective. This one is pretty self-explanatory :)
4) Get it done early:
I've never been big on procrastination but it's always good to have a little reminder of that, right!? I want to start getting my tasks done as they come at me, rather than putting them off until the last minute. It leads to less stress and less failed commitments!
5) Squash the sarcasm and sass..aka..be nice:
I am REALLY sassy. The amount of sarcasm pumping through my veins is out of control. I often use sarcasm as a way to avoid getting too close to people or just to get myself out of awkward situations. While I think its appropriate sometimes, there are just as many occasions when sarcasm shouldn't be used. I'd like to be a little more vulnerable and a little less sassy. I can't let go of all the sass... After all it makes me who I am! I just want to use it more appropriately :)
6) Remember and follow through:
I'm the worst friend. No joke. I often forget birthdays, fail to show up for events, and think too much of myself and not enough of the other person in the relationship. I want to start remembering birthdays, giving gifts for no reason, following through when my loved ones have had a rough day, etc. I also want to try harder to make new friends! It's a lot of work but definitely worth it at the end of the day.
So those are my resolutions. Have any of you taken on a Happiness Project of your own? If so, tell me your resolutions!! I'm so excited about this :)
Hello friends,
Recently I've been having a bit of an internal struggle and after reading a few posts over on Kate's blog, I figured it was time to share.
(I really don't have many pictures of me drinking!)
In the interest of full disclosure, I feel as though I should start this post with telling you my age (20). I'm a Junior/Senior in college (graduating a full year early), live exactly 1,763 miles away from the home where I grew up, and go to a college known for its film program (though I'm studying marketing).
When most people think of college, they assume it goes hand in hand with binge drinking experimentation with drugs, sleeping with strangers that you never call again, and skipping class whenever possible in lieu of more "fun" activities. What most adults and parents of college (and high school) aged kids don't realize is how much pressure young people are under to partake in these activities. And yes, some of the pressure even comes from our parents (you're staying in again tonight? Why don't you go out with your friends?) I feel like sharing my story (I've shared bits and pieces in the past) may help someone else who is struggling with this pressure.
In high school I never touched a drink. In fact, as I found out that each of my close friends had started to drink, I used to cry (yup, dramatic. It's all that teen angst I guess!). My reaction was even stronger when I found out that those same friends were smoking weed and, in some cases, trying harder drugs. In middle school I had a huge group of friends but as they all started drinking on the weekends, my group diminished to almost nothing. I could never understand why underage drinking was such a big deal to me but didn't phase anyone around me. I feel extremely blessed that I met some great people through my church--all of whom I am still friends with today--because they showed me that social gatherings didn't have to surround alcohol. Something about making friends while drunk seemed artificial to me. I wasn't sure that lasting relationships could be built over a stolen bottle of rum. While I knew it wasn't my thing, I still struggled over my decision to abstain. I lost a LOT of "friends" and people frequently made fun of me for being the girl who didn't drink. I also got a LOT of shit for being a virgin (whaaaat?!). In high school the easiest answer was "I've never had a boyfriend". Though that wasn't my reason for holding on to my virginity, it seemed to put a quick end to the taunting. Even though I knew I thought I was way too young for sex (good call mal!) and didn't want to experiment with drinking and drugs, I frequently considered giving it a try. It's difficult to lose most of your friends to a bottle of booze and there's always the part of you that just wants to fit in--especially in high school. I have to credit my ability to refrain from my extremely supportive parents, my best friend Kristina, and my kick-ass determination to just be me. I'm happy to say that I graduated without ever touching alcohol and never sleeping with a boy just because I knew it would make me seem "cooler".
The first time I got drunk was the summer after I graduated. One of the most frequent taunts about my lack of drinking was that I had "never tried it" so "how did I know it wasn't for me". I also knew that I did want to try out the party scene in college so I figured getting drunk with the people I trusted was the best way to go. I have no idea what I drank (it was electric blue and I'm assuming it was some sort of flavored vodka mixed with koolaid or gaterade) but after my first few sips I started to feel it. I ended up getting somewhat drunk and feeling like it was kind of dumb. My head was spinning, I felt pretty sick, and I really just wanted to go home but I couldn't drive so I ended up sleeping at my friend's house till like 5 in the morning then heading home. Really, it was an okay first experience with alcohol. I didn't throw up (woo!), but I also didn't really enjoy myself. I was confident that I had made the right decision by avoiding the house parties of my high school years.
Moving right along to college... I drank a lot my first semester of college. I was 18/19 and you wouldn't believe how easy it was to get alcohol. All of my friends were underage (except for one) but many of them had fake ID's. I went out pretty much every weekend (Thursday-Saturday night) and drank enough to be staggering on my walk home. Thinking back now, I really can't pinpoint any one particular night that was a ton of fun. None of my favorite memories from that first semester involved alcohol in any way. In fact, I often went out with my friends and didn't drink anything except for water. I hated that when I got drunk the whole next day was spent sleeping and feeling groggy. I hated wasting my money on alcohol (which was SO SO expensive). I got to a point in about November when I realized that I genuinely wasn't enjoying these parties. There was constant pressure to try weed. I made the mistake of telling my friends that I had never done it before and it became a challenge for them. I was also taunted MERCILESSLY about my virginity. My new group of friends didn't care that I had never been in a caring relationship. One exchange I had concerning this topic will always stick with me...
"Yeah, my family went to Church every Sunday...But let's be real. None of us are virgins."
"I am"
"What? Really? Wow...that's kind of...pathetic"
The pressure to sleep around is INTENSE, people. The idea of abstaining is a great big joke to the vast majority of young people and as women are trying to close the gender gap, they're taking their sexuality with them. Many of the girls sleep around "without feelings" because that's what men do. Why is making a decision to be a virgin not considered strong? I think it takes a lot more strength to say no than to say yes. It became a game to my friends whenever I liked a new guy "Malori! Would you have sex with him!?". At some point, it got easier to just say yes so the questions would stop. Am I the only one who thinks that's sad? Anyways, it got to a point last year when I decided I was done giving the party scene a try. I was confident that I had seen what it was and experienced it and knew that I was not interested. I started staying in a LOT more. I got a gym membership and when I was bored I would go ride the bike for a while. I started knitting a LOT and blogging more consistently. I put a lot more effort into school and made friends with the people I met that weren't really into drinking. Not too long after that, I started spending a lot of time with a cute boy that I met and I was happier than I'd been during my party phase (as short-lived as it may have been). I put some pictures of my favorite parts of freshman year below--none of which involve alcohol.
(building a fort with my roommate)
(road trip to the Grand Funk Railroad)
(My brother's rugby games)
(Cookie Monday)
A year later and I still rarely go to parties. When I do, I have one or two beers and call it a night. And you know what? I'm really happy with my life. I have a ton of hobbies, I get straight A's in school, I'm graduating a FULL YEAR early, I keep up with my blog, I have time to write and exercise, I've learned how to cook (still learning!), I save my money, I read a ton of books, and I am exactly the person I want to be. The friendships I've made that don't revolve around parties and alcohol are the ones that have lasted. I don't have a huge group of friends and the people that are closest to me are scattered across the U.S. but that's alright too.
This has been a LONG post, so if you've made it this far, I commend you! All of that writing brings me to my point. I struggle with my decision to stay away from the party scene. With that choice comes a lot of lonely nights. I spend a ton of time by myself and I really do have trouble meeting people. But, I know that the friends I make when I'm not drunk out of my mind are generally going to stick around. The relationships I have will be more meaningful and my overall satisfaction with life will be much higher. I guess I just want to say that even though its been a struggle for me, that being "malori" has been the best thing I've ever done. You should do it too. Be who you want to be. If you aren't the girl/guy who likes to go out and get drunk on a Tuesday night, then stay home. If going to clubs and bars makes you uncomfortable, there are other social gatherings. You'll be lonely sometimes. People will probably make fun of you, call you boring, refer to you as a grandma (my friends call me Phyllis), or tell you that you're "missing out". But if I've learned anything in my 20 years here on earth, I've learned that the only things you miss out on are things you actually want to do. When I go to a party and get wasted, I feel like I missed out on a night of reading or sewing or painting. Do what makes you happy.
I'll be back later today with my weekend update. This week I'll be sharing my Happiness Project resolutions and doing some projects that will hopefully cross a few goals off of my 20 before 20 list. I also have some pictures to share with all of you :).
xoxo
Mal
I loved all of your feedback on my post yesterday! It's comforting to know I'm not the only one with a ton of clutter. I thought that today I'd extend on the topic a bit and give you some of my own clutter-clearing strategies and show you some of the progress I've made. Maybe it'll help one of you kick the clutter!
(my closet)
tips and tricks
1) Get rid of the garbage first: Sometimes cleaning out a really messy area can be overwhelming. To sidestep that feeling, I look for any garbage and get rid of that first. If you're cleaning out a drawer throw away miscellaneous papers or old candy wrappers (are those just a problem in my drawers..? moving along...). If you're working on a closet, get rid of stained clothes or garments that have holes in them, are ratty, or are falling apart. It's a great place to start because you don't have any emotional attachment to the trashy things!
2) Does it fit?: All of us have clothes in our closets that don't fit us. I have clothes that have NEVER fit me. If you get rid of the things in your closet that don't fit, you'll have more room for adorable things that DO fit. And I'm not just talking about that pair of jeans you bought in a size zero in hopes of losing enough weight to fit into them. If you have clothes that you never wear because you don't feel comfortable when you wear them, then its time for them to go! I also have "fit" issues in other cluttered areas of my life. I have craft supplies that I will never use, tools from my days as a fashion design major that are taking up space, more yarn that I'd care to admit that I own--go through these items and decide if they still fit you.
3) Keep your memories: A lot of times its difficult to get rid of out things because they have special memories attached to them. While it might seem difficult to get rid of the dress you were wearing on your first date with your beau, if it doesn't fit your life anymore, its time to let it go. I've read in a lot of places (The Happiness Project included!) that it helps to take a picture of the item then let it go. That way, you'll always be able to look back at it, but pictures take up MUCH less room than actual objects.
4) Sometimes, you should keep it: This completely contradicts my last point. Sometimes, you really should hold on to a sentimental item. I keep a big memory box for those items for a few reasons. First, all my important items are stored in the same place. Second, they aren't taking up place in the day-to-day places of my life. Try to limit the amount of items you keep (this is where a box comes in handy) but you should definitely keep some things.
5) Do it again!: Once you've done your first round of clutter-clearing, do it again. Sometimes just the act of getting rid of things will make you realize you don't actually need all of the things you decided to keep. It gets a little easier the second time around! Trust your gut, if you think its something you don't want then let it go.
6) Have fun: This is the most important tip. Put on some music, watch a sappy movie, or do it with friends. Whatever you have to do to have some fun with it, make that happen. Then it feels less like a chore and more like fun :).
So that's my strategy! But, what about you?
When I asked for your strategies in the comments yesterday, one of my fabulous readers suggested the One Year Rule. If you haven't used something in a year, its gone! This is a great way to get rid of clutter. Sometimes I can't remember the last time I used something and that's generally a sign that I can let it go. Thanks so much Amanda.
If you keep leaving your tips I'll keep adding them to this post.
What tips do you think I should add?
If you follow me on Twitter, you probably noticed my incessant tweets about The Happiness Project. As I was reading this fabulous book, I wanted so badly to get started on my own happiness project but I thought it would be best to finish the book first :). I also could hardly wait to share the book with all of you!
First things first, my review :):
I truly enjoyed this book. I found it to be completely inspirational (as you'll see here on the blog) and a really easy read. The book chronicles a year in Gretchen Rubin's life where she set resolutions for herself that led to a happier life. This book is really similar to many of the other one-year-project books out there (like eat, pray love) but I connected with it SO MUCH MORE. Why? You ask. Because Gretchen didn't go on an exotic journey, sell all of her belongings and live in a cardboard box, quit her job and travel to a remote location for an extended period of time, or anything else drastic. Each change she made to her life was small, quantitative, and occurred all within the confines of her already-established life. I love the idea of using what you've got and making yourself happier. After all, not all of us can afford to leave our lives behind and take a long journey to find ourselves...right?
So that brings me back to my own little happiness project :). I was so inspired by her book that I decided to give it a try. I'm not particular unhappy, but I'm also not living every day to the happiest! I often let bad moods consume my day and I frequently make the choice to be sarcastic and closed off instead of being vulnerable. I'm still working on my own list of resolutions but I thought I'd kick things off in the same way as Gretchen did in her novel! So, I've been clearing out the clutter in my life! I started in my closet, moved to the hall closet, then took care of my bathroom. Next I'm tackling my book shelf and my desk. I'll probably finish off the clutter-clearing with my computer. It's surprising how hard it is to get rid of the clutter in your life! Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but I tend to get really attached to objects/clothes/books/etc.
What are your best clutter-clearing tips? Do you have trouble getting rid of things too? I'd love to hear about your experiences!
I also wanted to see if any of you have read this book. If so, how do you feel about it? Have you ever implemented resolutions for happiness into your life? Please share!!
It's back to cleaning for me...
xoxo
Mal
