I am participating in the ZonePerfect Blog It Forward program, and am receiving complimentary products as a thank you for my participation. I am encouraged to provide honest feedback, be it positive, neutral or negative! So just like always, all thoughts and opinions listed here are my own.
Four months ago, almost to the day, I wrote about the word Tim and I chose as our focus for 2014: sanctuary. I talked about how we were seeking refuge from the over-scheduled, hyper-stressed lifestyle that seems to be the norm in America. And I talked about some key things that needed to go (lots of junk in our house) and a few things that needed to be added to our schedules (like working out) in order for stress to no longer have a grip on us.
So, how’s it going? Well, overall I’d say very good. But slow.
De-Cluttering
It actually wasn’t very slow, at first. We hired a professional organizer, just as I said we would, and we had an incredible 4 hour long session with her where we got MANY great ideas about how to change our current habits into ones that would serve us better, about how to get our children used to the idea of order in the home, and about the critical importance of using vertical space in our (quite small) home.
Just before and just after her visit, Tim and I were ON FIRE about getting stuff out of our house. Looking over our tax donation forms for the year, I count 11 trips that I have made to the thrift store, each time with a trunk full of items that we realized we would be happy to live without…even happier than we were to live with. 🙂 After ridding yourself of 11 trunk loads of stuff from a house that is just shy of 1400 square feet, I can tell you that we most definitely feel a little less burdened with stuff. And I don’t miss a thing (not even the ironing board…totally got rid of that visual reminder that I hate ironing!).
But we aren’t out of the woods, yet. We still need to find homes for the things that remain, and that has been a slower process. It takes time to really think through where something should live, and time is something we are still short on. But we are at least able to start thinking about these things because we’ve removed the distractions.
And by the way, if you are also trying to declutter and don’t want the process to take a year, you should check out fellow blogger Becky Mansfield’s fantastic ebook called Freed from Clutter that will walk you through how to free up space in your home by letting go of clutter in just 30 days.
Healthier Living
The other element of sanctuary had to do with creating time and space for healthy decisions for our bodies (yoga classes, outdoor activities, and eating food that is good for our bodies, and not just our taste buds). I’m happy to report that thanks to having helpful resources on hand like my essential oils for weight loss and breakfasts I can easily make for myself at 4 am (shout out, ZonePerfect bars!), I’m down 13 pounds! I have cleared a good bit of clutter in a very physical way, I suppose!
But getting myself to the gym for those yoga classes has been slower going. But I’m feeling so much more motivated since my eating choices have helped me have some successes. It won’t be easy to get back into shape, friends, I have no illusions of that. But I know it will at least be easier with some of that weight already off, and I’m so proud of my progress so far.
How are your goals for 2014 going so far? Don’t give up on them if they are going slow, friends! Sometimes the hardest work is the first few steps. And sometimes you have to be ok with pacing yourself after beginning the race with a mad dash, like I did. Either way, I promise you can find your groove if you just don’t give up!
Hmm, I didn’t make any goals. But I love that vertical space idea. I need to get rid of SO MUCH stuff…got any ideas on making my family move out for about 3 days so I can purge?
I hired a babysitter for a few different sessions this year just so I could declutter in peace. It wasn’t as fun as a date night, but in the end, it was worth the money I spent so I could work quickly! 🙂
this is also my bucket list item that i *finally* started working on in the past couple weeks. it’s been so successful. and has involved a lot of spending. a lot of reuse, but a lot of spending. i have put off purchases like… a headboard (seriously, i don’t have one), new bedding that isn’t 10 years old cheap stuff, etc. and it was time. i also gave some serious thought to purchases for organizing my space and making it work. one of my FAVE purchases was a gorgeous wooden bathroom organizer that goes above the toilet. i’ve had them before but this one is dark wood and just transformed my bathroom. i’ve replaced my towels with turkish towels and wow, it’s a sanctuary!
again, glad i came here before going to safeway, that bar looks delightful!!! i have had GD with every pregnancy and i am always looking for a balanced snacky!
I want to see a picture of your organizer? My father-in-law made wooden shelves to go above the toilets in both of our bathrooms and I absolutely love them! And getting a new mattress is a big one on our list this year. Ours is 10 years old and totally saggy. Time to upgrade!
Great post! Hurray for lightening the load, giving yourself more space and giving others the opportunity to locate what they want and need now that you have set it free.
For what it’s worth, when you’re trying to decide on the ideal “home” for an item, thinking about where you use it, where you’ve located other items you use with it, and how often you use it. If you store something too far from where you are when you need it, you’ll likely put off using it or, just as likely, put off putting it away after you’ve used it.
If the item has a lot of situational cohorts, keeping it with them makes sense to keep you from taking lots of extra steps. (So, while you might separate “coffee” (a food type) from “coffee mugs” (a container type) from “coffee filters” (a resource/tool type) into different cabinets, putting the mugs, coffee, sugar substitutes and filters, all in a cabinet just above the coffee maker’s spot on the counter, will save you lots of extra steps. But you have to give yourself permission to use categorize by use and not type, and that can feel like a mistake to some people. It’s not.)
And how often you use something really determines how close it needs to be to you, and how “on display” it should be. The more often you use it (or, in the case of everything from moisturizer to vitamins to old-school dictionaries, how often you SHOULD use it) determines whether it should be front-and-center in your “prime real estate” or tucked away in less convenient spaces. But remember, frequency changes throughout the year. It’s OK to keep your crock pot on the counter from November to February and then store it under the stairs or in the basement for the rest of the year.
Yay for the Zone bars! (I love the peanut butter version — it’s the closest to the Carnation Breakfast Bars that were the college dorm staple of my era.) As for the gym, it’s easier to keep your commitment to yourself when you have accountability to others. Make a date with a pal to meet for an exercise class, and I bet you’ll manage to find the time to get there. (We’re all better at serving the needs of others vs. our own. So, if we have to trick ourselves with a little outside accountability, who’s to say that’s not the ideal motivational tool?)
Enjoy achieving your sanctuary. It sounds like you’re making great decisions and sharing the efforts and the successes. Yay, you!
Thank you, Julie! You are always so helpful!