A New Year - And A New Journey

What?  A new post?  I'm just as shocked as you are.  For months, I've thought "I should relaunch my blog.  I should write something.  I'm on this crazy new journey, and learning so much about myself, and I'm making a lot of changes to make my life better."  So this post is going to be a quick catch-up.  I have so much to post about, so much I've been doing!  And it all started...

Jan 1st.  No, wait.  August 2014.  Hubby was away again, it was my birthday, and I was buying myself things to make me feel better.  Of course, being a voracious deal-hunter, they were all great deals.  An LL Bean monogrammed backpack. A new shirt.  Makeup.  Perfume.  Bath Stuff.  A pair of diamond stud earrings - little ones, I promise!  (They're now my "everyday" earrings, because why not?)

And then everything I ordered came in, and I realized I wasn't any happier.  I hated my Ipsy bag that month, and my closet floor was covered in clothing, accessories, and UNOPENED subscription boxes.  The shelves in my closet were covered in scarves, bags, jewelry.  Nothing was organized.  And yet, I bought more.

So, starting in September, I stopped.  And it was HARD.  The nail polishes at the drugstore called to me when I waited to fill a prescription.  Every makeup website in existence was sending me Sale! Deal! Limited Time Only! emails. And I was just starting to get into indie makeup.  So when I bought makeup, I was supporting small business, and women!  And girl power!  And sparkly things! 

Over the next four months, I failed again and again.  I bought items, then realized I didn't need them, or already had 3 backups (I hear you, makeup removers).  You see, I bought so much I didn't even know what I already had.  

Then I saw a post in a forum I moderated, about starting a "100 Day No-Buy" on January 1st.  My first thought was "That's almost 1/3 of the year! No way I can do that!"  But then I started thinking.  Of course I can do it.  I'm tired of failing.  I'm tired of having so much stuff, and never being able to find things or use them to completion before they go bad.  I started reading the posts, and saw that you could make your own rules.  Some ladies who had birthdays during the no-buys gave themselves a one day exception.  Others wanted to cancel some (but not all) of their subscription boxes.  And best of all, an entire community was created to back each other up, encourage each other, talk each other out of unnecessary purchases.  Yes, I can do this.

So I made a plan.  I had already cancelled Ipsy, now I cancelled Birchbox.  I kept two indie subs (Glamour Doll Eyes' Of The Month and Notoriously Morbid's Vanishing Cabinet) so when I wanted to shop, I could remind myself that I was going to get two sparkly mystery packages per month!  If I ran totally and completely out of anything, I could buy a replacement (so far, only cosmetic wedge sponges and cotton rounds have run out).  That's it.  Oh, and to keep myself busy, I was going to reorganize MY ENTIRE HOUSE.

In December I hopped on Pinterest and started researching.  I found an amazing suggestion to get me started.  And on Jan 1st, I took every single piece of hanging clothing in my closet, and turned them all backwards. Anytime I wear something, I send it through the laundry, and then rehang it, now facing forwards.  Anything still hanging backwards at the end of the year WILL be donated.

That's my first step.  I've taken many since then, but those are stories for another day. (Spoilers:  I'm  creating a capsule wardrobe, and starting Project 333 in the spring!) I hope you'll follow along with me as I downsize.  Simplify. Minimalize.  

Become happier, one baby step at a time.

How is 2015 treating you?