Not much to say today.
Can you believe that I did not wreck at all this week? Life was really busy and I just didn't make the time for my creative self to come out and play. And I am having just a wee bit of trouble with letting go of trying to be a little clean with my wrecking. I know I need to get passed the "why are you destroying this book that is full of your thoughts/creations?" in order to keep wrecking. I noticed on other blogs that the books are all tattered and torn and really really wrecked. Uh, mine still looks fairly new. Such a shame that I hold onto some sort of idea that I can't shake. I will though. I know it! There is so much inspiration out there for me that I know I will be able to get ugly with my book and...*gulp*...destroy it.
But....seriously...what about all the pretty creations inside it? They'll all be ruined. That's the point though, right?
Here's to more insane wrecking in the upcoming weeks!
Showing posts with label whine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whine. Show all posts
June 27, 2009
January 27, 2009
{clutter bug}
7 Tips for Beating Clutter Forever
Expert Donna Smallin knows hundreds of ways to get organized, but for long-lasting order at home, these seven simple strategies top her list.
Donna: Most people assume my home is perfectly organized. That's not entirely true. Yes, my house usually looks presentable, because I'm diligent about keeping my kitchen and living areas tidy. And I don't think I could sleep in a messy bedroom, so I never let messes build up there. But just like you, I've got clutter. Why? Because clutter happens. It's a natural byproduct of our busy, productive lives. Luckily, you don't have to stop everything to get organized. You just have to start somewhere. Here's how I do it:
Tip 1: Start with the Easy Stuff
Go through your home room by room in search of trash. Grab a recycling bin and toss outdated coupons, flyers, calendars, old newspapers, magazines, and catalogs. Shred paid utility bills and other statements not needed for tax purposes. Fill bags or boxes with clothing and linens to donate.
Tip 2: Set Small Goals
Say to yourself: Today I'm going to clean out my junk drawer and then I'm going to stop. Or set a timer for 15 minutes and go to it. You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish in these mini decluttering sessions. Seeing each project through gives you confidence for the next one.
Tip 3: Give Everything a Home
A big reason why clutter accumulates is because items are homeless. A good home for a frequently used item is one that makes it easy to retrieve and return. Oven mitts, for example, are ideally stored in a waist-height drawer near the stove, but the best home for a roasting pan might be in the garage, freeing up cabinet space for more regularly used items.
Tip 4: Give Yourself Permission to Let Go
If you had only 10 minutes to evacuate your home, what would you grab? Make a decision to surround yourself with only beloved and useful objects and let go of the rest. Have a garage sale, donate, or post items on freecycle.org, an online exchange.
Tip 5: Deal with Clutter Hotspots
You can't hide all clutter, but you can contain it. Look at where it collects and set up attractive ways to deal with it, like a large bowl on the kitchen counter to collect keys, or a big basket by the door for shoes. Discount stores and office supply houses have everything from patterned folders for storing bills to wicker, fabric, and leather boxes to match your decor.
Tip 6: Declutter Daily
It's easier to keep up than to catch up, so establish a daily routine. Grab a laundry basket and make the rounds, tossing in anything to be put away. Also purge periodically. As you sort through off-season clothing, get rid of what you didn't wear. Clean out filing cabinets at year's end.
Tip 7: Be a Good Gatekeeper
Think twice before you bring home something new. Ask yourself: Do I really need this? Where will I put it? Becoming a more conscious consumer goes a long way toward cutting clutter. Also cancel unwanted catalogs and switch to online bill-paying.
Paper Trail I feel like I spend half my time either filing or trashing paper! Can you relate? Try these strategies:
Perform triage on every piece of paper. Ask yourself, Do I need to save this for legal or tax reasons? If so, file it. Could I get this information again easily? If yes, toss it.Take action right away. File bills in a "Bills to Pay" folder. Respond to an invitation, note details on your calendar, then toss the invitation.Tear out articles from magazines and file them in plastic sleeves in a three-ring binder, then recycle the magazine.Use a notebook instead of random sticky notes for lists and contact info. Then you'll always know where to find what you've written.
Donna Smallin's most recent book is The One-Minute Organizer: A to Z Storage Solutions (Storey Publishing).
**I am currently under a mountain of clutter by my desk/in my office. Everywhere seems to be ok but here, well, I need to get moving with my goals of being clutter free in order to achieve ultimate balance, peace and happiness. I procrastinate this chore for as long as I can and then it manifests into a seriously daunting task that gives me pangs of guilt and makes me ill just thinking about where to start with it. Overwhelmed. I am going to try to follow these steps to simplify my life, my space. It all seems so obvious and common sense-like, I know. But to have it in written form is very helpful to me. *deep breath*...here I go!
Expert Donna Smallin knows hundreds of ways to get organized, but for long-lasting order at home, these seven simple strategies top her list.
Donna: Most people assume my home is perfectly organized. That's not entirely true. Yes, my house usually looks presentable, because I'm diligent about keeping my kitchen and living areas tidy. And I don't think I could sleep in a messy bedroom, so I never let messes build up there. But just like you, I've got clutter. Why? Because clutter happens. It's a natural byproduct of our busy, productive lives. Luckily, you don't have to stop everything to get organized. You just have to start somewhere. Here's how I do it:
Tip 1: Start with the Easy Stuff
Go through your home room by room in search of trash. Grab a recycling bin and toss outdated coupons, flyers, calendars, old newspapers, magazines, and catalogs. Shred paid utility bills and other statements not needed for tax purposes. Fill bags or boxes with clothing and linens to donate.
Tip 2: Set Small Goals
Say to yourself: Today I'm going to clean out my junk drawer and then I'm going to stop. Or set a timer for 15 minutes and go to it. You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish in these mini decluttering sessions. Seeing each project through gives you confidence for the next one.
Tip 3: Give Everything a Home
A big reason why clutter accumulates is because items are homeless. A good home for a frequently used item is one that makes it easy to retrieve and return. Oven mitts, for example, are ideally stored in a waist-height drawer near the stove, but the best home for a roasting pan might be in the garage, freeing up cabinet space for more regularly used items.
Tip 4: Give Yourself Permission to Let Go
If you had only 10 minutes to evacuate your home, what would you grab? Make a decision to surround yourself with only beloved and useful objects and let go of the rest. Have a garage sale, donate, or post items on freecycle.org, an online exchange.
Tip 5: Deal with Clutter Hotspots
You can't hide all clutter, but you can contain it. Look at where it collects and set up attractive ways to deal with it, like a large bowl on the kitchen counter to collect keys, or a big basket by the door for shoes. Discount stores and office supply houses have everything from patterned folders for storing bills to wicker, fabric, and leather boxes to match your decor.
Tip 6: Declutter Daily
It's easier to keep up than to catch up, so establish a daily routine. Grab a laundry basket and make the rounds, tossing in anything to be put away. Also purge periodically. As you sort through off-season clothing, get rid of what you didn't wear. Clean out filing cabinets at year's end.
Tip 7: Be a Good Gatekeeper
Think twice before you bring home something new. Ask yourself: Do I really need this? Where will I put it? Becoming a more conscious consumer goes a long way toward cutting clutter. Also cancel unwanted catalogs and switch to online bill-paying.
Paper Trail I feel like I spend half my time either filing or trashing paper! Can you relate? Try these strategies:
Perform triage on every piece of paper. Ask yourself, Do I need to save this for legal or tax reasons? If so, file it. Could I get this information again easily? If yes, toss it.Take action right away. File bills in a "Bills to Pay" folder. Respond to an invitation, note details on your calendar, then toss the invitation.Tear out articles from magazines and file them in plastic sleeves in a three-ring binder, then recycle the magazine.Use a notebook instead of random sticky notes for lists and contact info. Then you'll always know where to find what you've written.
Donna Smallin's most recent book is The One-Minute Organizer: A to Z Storage Solutions (Storey Publishing).
**I am currently under a mountain of clutter by my desk/in my office. Everywhere seems to be ok but here, well, I need to get moving with my goals of being clutter free in order to achieve ultimate balance, peace and happiness. I procrastinate this chore for as long as I can and then it manifests into a seriously daunting task that gives me pangs of guilt and makes me ill just thinking about where to start with it. Overwhelmed. I am going to try to follow these steps to simplify my life, my space. It all seems so obvious and common sense-like, I know. But to have it in written form is very helpful to me. *deep breath*...here I go!
January 1, 2009
{...to belong}
I've got left over pain that runs deep inside me and I am having a very difficult time tonight dealing with it. I want so badly to rid myself of the scars, the terror, the anxiety, the loneliness it causes me. It isn't a new issue. It is ongoing, ever present. It sits on the edge of my heart and taunts me like a playground bully.
I've tried to work past my inner pain, to let go of the insecurities that inhibit me from being fully approachable, fully likable. Yet, I find myself incessantly wondering what the hell is wrong with me that I am constantly finding myself on the outside of the social circles? I am just always on the outskirts, in the suburbia arena, as I watch everyone else journey to the city. No one looks back to see me standing there, alone.
I am seemingly left out of every social network circle that I try to wedge myself into and it is cumbersome and heartbreaking to feel unworthy of attention, time, care and well, the reciprocity of what it means to be a real friend. I still don't have many of those. I don't really have a "bff" or someone that considers me their "bff." I have very few friends that I even trust with my heart...very few. I feel this guard has sucked my very last breath out of my body and I have nothing more to give. I find myself wondering why...why, God, why in the hell do I continue to share myself with the web of the internet with very little in return? Is it all about receiving? No. But let me tell you, I am sure it feels very good to be on that end on a consistent basis. I spill open for the world to see and watch silently in the shadows as people gawk and pass me by, every time, as if what I have to say or share-whether it is a photography, a blog post, an update- does not matter and is not worthy of their time to comment as they do with everyone else. Sure, let me not discount the wonderful people that do not. There are a small handful that are present because they genuinely care about me. But I am talking more about people who claim friendship and then treat you as though you are nonexistent.
I don't care how old you are, it still stings as if you were 8 and you are always the last chosen for teams. It still hurts no matter how hard I try to work through it. I really would love to know why people don't stick around or why people gawk and continue to walk away from me all the while they are swooning all over common "friends" right before my very eyes. It's heartbreaking to be left on the sidelines all the time. The circles are present. The cliques never really go away. Neither does the pain of feeling less than worthy. But this is something that I will work through this year. With diligence. I will do my best not to be kicked while I am down and better yet, I will work hard not to let being on the outside hurt so deeply. Because, after all, what makes being in some of those circles that special?
At 36, I hope to find my own circle that loves me the way I love them. I mean, isn't that what life is about any way? Surrounding yourself with positive, uplifting people that enhance your life? I don't want to hurt like this any more. Rejection, isolation, abandonment... they all are just too painful. I am just an ordinary woman who wants what most people do, acceptance...to feel like a part of something bigger. To belong. I don't know where I belong.
I've tried to work past my inner pain, to let go of the insecurities that inhibit me from being fully approachable, fully likable. Yet, I find myself incessantly wondering what the hell is wrong with me that I am constantly finding myself on the outside of the social circles? I am just always on the outskirts, in the suburbia arena, as I watch everyone else journey to the city. No one looks back to see me standing there, alone.
I am seemingly left out of every social network circle that I try to wedge myself into and it is cumbersome and heartbreaking to feel unworthy of attention, time, care and well, the reciprocity of what it means to be a real friend. I still don't have many of those. I don't really have a "bff" or someone that considers me their "bff." I have very few friends that I even trust with my heart...very few. I feel this guard has sucked my very last breath out of my body and I have nothing more to give. I find myself wondering why...why, God, why in the hell do I continue to share myself with the web of the internet with very little in return? Is it all about receiving? No. But let me tell you, I am sure it feels very good to be on that end on a consistent basis. I spill open for the world to see and watch silently in the shadows as people gawk and pass me by, every time, as if what I have to say or share-whether it is a photography, a blog post, an update- does not matter and is not worthy of their time to comment as they do with everyone else. Sure, let me not discount the wonderful people that do not. There are a small handful that are present because they genuinely care about me. But I am talking more about people who claim friendship and then treat you as though you are nonexistent.
I don't care how old you are, it still stings as if you were 8 and you are always the last chosen for teams. It still hurts no matter how hard I try to work through it. I really would love to know why people don't stick around or why people gawk and continue to walk away from me all the while they are swooning all over common "friends" right before my very eyes. It's heartbreaking to be left on the sidelines all the time. The circles are present. The cliques never really go away. Neither does the pain of feeling less than worthy. But this is something that I will work through this year. With diligence. I will do my best not to be kicked while I am down and better yet, I will work hard not to let being on the outside hurt so deeply. Because, after all, what makes being in some of those circles that special?
At 36, I hope to find my own circle that loves me the way I love them. I mean, isn't that what life is about any way? Surrounding yourself with positive, uplifting people that enhance your life? I don't want to hurt like this any more. Rejection, isolation, abandonment... they all are just too painful. I am just an ordinary woman who wants what most people do, acceptance...to feel like a part of something bigger. To belong. I don't know where I belong.
June 1, 2008
junk in the trunk.
I am in desperate need of new clothes. Desperate.
Unfortunately, for my size, I have to shop online. Not really fun. But I will say that the stores in which I have to shop are getting some really cute stuff. I just wish I didn't have to shop at big girl stores. Hell, I cannot even shop at brick and mortar big girl stores. I did a dry run of adding things to my cart and at the first store the total was $460 and at the second store it was $150. Just ouch. Seriously OUCH! That is just wishful thinking. I will probably only be able to order around $200. Sigh. Hard to decide what to get when I need so much. I always feel sick after I order though because I hate spending more and more money on big girl clothes when I want to desperately lose this weight. But I need clothes now, at this size, so I have to do it.
I wish I had insurance to cover WLS. If only.
(and will that shirt design even look right on a big girl like me?)
May 22, 2008
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