My journey breaking up with "stuff."
I'm coming clean friends. I admit that I've been a slave to the marketing machine...a victim of excess shopping and the collecting of "stuff"...lots of stuff. I drank the "on sale" koolaid...duped into a consumer centric lifestyle. It was never enough though, and recently I came to realize that my thirst for things was getting a bit out of hand. If you've been following my recent journey on Instagram then you know I've been on a major decluttering mission of my home. Why exactly? Because a life of excess is not what I signed up for. A closet overflowing with things was stressing me out and not bringing me joy. Clearly a consumer heavy lifestyle does not align with my core values.
What brought my "situation" to light was when I finally stopped and took a good look at my home. My beautiful home that I loved so dearly and put so much heart and care into. My beautiful home that was now so full it was cluttered to the max with things upon things and creating a vortex of stress for me. The piles of laundry that no matter how much were done never seemed to have a dent in them. And the toys! Oh the toys. Let's just say I could write a book about em.
With excess shopping and consumerism being at it's highest these days, it's so easy to get carried away and not even notice. It's socially acceptable and even admired to live in excess. To have an ever changing wardrobe and the "latest" things is common place. With fast fashion and flash sales every day, every regular Jo can live like a millionaire.
Judging by the Netflix sensation "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo," it's clearly a common thing for many families these days to feel bogged down by their ever growing heaps of "stuff." Messes are almost unavoidable amidst the mountain of possessions the average person has, and who can blame them for falling victim to the marketing machine? Across all media and social platforms, advertisements and fashion bloggers are telling us about this sale and that discount every day...it's in our face constantly to BUY BUY BUY.
Well....here's the real truth of it.
All that stuff has weight, and that weight will start to weigh you down if you don't pay attention to it piling up. I noticed myself feeling stuck, frustrated and in a rut creatively and energetically. I looked around at my cluttered closet and jam packed home and realized that this was not for me. It was time to make a change.
It was time to ditch the stuff.
I'm lovingly calling this MAJOR purge of my home and my life Project Simplify.
project simplify.
What are the goals of project simplify?
1.Declutter. Get rid of anything that either isn't being used, doesn't bring my joy or is a close duplicate of something else. No...you don't need 10 pairs of jeans.
2. Organize. Create systems that are easy and functional so that home can stay clean and tidy and bring more joy than stress. Organized rooms = a VERY happy ma and encourage organization and productivity in all areas of my life.
3. Make cleaning manageable...not overwhelming. Less stuff = less stuff to keep clean and organized. SOLD.
4. If it's not a HECK YES, it's a NO. This applies to everything... be it clothes, plans, business ventures, thoughts. No more maybes taking up physical and mental space.
5. Thrive and feel peace. Our space is a reflection of our internal environment, if it's messy outside chances are it's messy inside too. Clean to feel at peace and to thrive in all areas of life.
6. Eco Friendly. Shopping less, owning less, buying second hand, reusing items...if it's bad for the planet it's bad for me. Living in excess puts a strain on the environment and that goes against my core values.
I'm grateful for my "aha" moment and am excited and grateful for you hopping on this journey with me. I hope it serves as inspiration to you in your own personal journey towards finding clarity, inspiration and joy in things other than "things." I'm already loving the newfound clarity, creativity and energy I have as a result of this work. By ridding my home of clutter and "things" I'm finding I'm more able to appreciate the few things I truly love and am no longer feeling weighed down energetically by all the clutter. As my physical space opens up, I feel my heart opening as well and I'm open to receiving the abundance the Universe intends for me to receive...the kind that doesn't take up space in your closet but fills your heart instead.
I will be giving weekly updates of "project simplify" every Friday in my Instagram stories so that you guys can follow along AND hold me accountable. This is just the first phase of what will be a long process of breaking old habits, learning new (helpful) ones and growing growing growing! If you happen to have any great tips or resources on the Minimalism Movement please share with me as I'm a newbie at this stuff. Thanks in advance and have an amazing weekend Beauties! Sending you all the love...
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