Best Laid Plans... Weekly Update No.1

Photo from Quotefancy.com

This was one of those weeks... a lot of interference, unplanned extras, and old habits creeping in. We got thru. And I do believe things got better as the week went on, but as for my wardrobe - that project remains at the forefront of my focus.

We started the week by rehoming our foster kitten, a bittersweet event, and I added an impromptu job interview into the middle of my day. Having taken some time off from work to celebrate our anniversary, my husband and I both struggled to fall back into a decent sleep schedule. It wasn't the busiest week I've ever dealt with, but it was less productive than I had hoped.

Project 333 445 Update:

I started by tackling my

Year of Less... Spending Ban

Starting today (as I type this), and continuing for 6 months, my husband and I have agreed to go on a Shopping Ban. Of course we will still need to purchase essentials, but beyond what is needed, we are going to attempt NOT buying extra junk... Not thrifting, fast-food, frivolous stuff of any kind.

Dates of the Challenge: August 2nd thru January 30th

• Our list of NOPEs:
• Clothing (unless to replace an item we have - one in one out rule)
• Beauty Supplies (hair color, make-up, nail polish)
• Candles or Wax-Melt
• Decor Items
• Books & Magazines, Journals
• Coffee from Starbucks / Gas Station
• Fast food (other than Smoothies, limited to 1x per week)
• Eating out at Restaurants/Carry Out Orders - UNLESS for a Date Night
• Gardening Supplies
• New Tech (except our Cell Phones)
• Lastly... Storage Fee's (Cuz we're planning to get out of our current unit)

These are the areas we feel we need to cut back on, use up what we already have, or minimize our collection of. Personally I'm gonna have a hard time with candles and books/journals. We both depend way too much on eating out for time and convenience throughout the work week, but this just doesn't support our financial goals, plus it's not really healthy.

In support of our personal goals, we have a list of items we can buy in the next 6 months. I don't believe we will get EVERY item on the list, and we may decide to purchase these items used or have them gifted. This list serves as a reminder for what we are trying to build toward, things we actually want so that we won't keep nickel-and-diming our money away on smaller stuff. It also encompasses the "essential needs" of basic living:

Approved Shopping List:

• General Needs - 
• Groceries
• Toiletries
• Cleaning Products
• Kitchen Items - 

Year of Less... Projects

Don't let this title fool you, I will definitely be taking on projects this year... The thing that I am planning to adjust, is just how much I take on. Specifically, how many projects at once, how much time per day am I willing to commit to working on projects, and how to divide a large project into smaller segments that can be easily achieved. - This might sound like a no-brainer, most of this stuff will, but I've had an "aha moment" smacking me in the face for the last 3 weeks!

How it went down...

2 weekends ago, my parents were across town all day on Sunday, so they asked us to check in on their pets. I decided to take that opportunity, in the open space of their living room (with access to a laundry and dryer unit), to Once and for All tackle my absurdly large clothing collection... boy was THAT an undertaking. My husband was dutifully on board and helped me to load up our Trailblazer (TWICE) with boxes and bags of clothing, towels and bedsheets. 

Admittedly some of this collection was his wardrobe, and while we BOTH need to pare back, I'm willing to admit that my half was more like 75%... and with a two-person household, filling a hatch-back SUV twice is really just Too Much Stuff.

The Wardrobe Project:

Items collected:

First car-load (From our spare bedroom, ALL mine, other than what accidentally was mixed in of my husband's):

12 boxes

4 bags 

Second car-load (collected from our bedroom & small scatterings around the house): 

4 hamper baskets
2 extra-large laundry bag
6 garbage/large shopping bags
Various little bags of items from around the house

 

This is a photo from the second trip (not as full as the first):

Personal Update: Life gets in the way

I don't mean to disappear. I'm not trying to be inconsistent with writing and updates, but then 2 weeks goes by, and a month passes, then it's been a few months... and the guilt builds up with every week that I don't publish a post. I have blog entries that are started, but not finished, but it's been so long that I don't connect with the subject anymore - and it's no longer a "recent" update anyway. (sigh)

The Happy Planner
(photo taken of product in store)

There are usually 3 main reasons that updates don't happen for me...

1. I get really busy - Between commitments and work, and trying to throw my time and energy into projects, I just don't give myself time to get my thoughts written down.
2. I'm dealing with Anxiety/Depression - Sometimes I have a bad week, and it's hard to just get thru to the other side. I don't want to post about feeling alone and heartbroken, or overwhelmed to the point of tears and rage. It's not that I'm embarrassed, it just ends up feeling like a "cry for pity" to share when I'm going thru that. It feels like high school drama, and no one wants to be my friend.

Year of Less... Commitments

As I begin this post, I am currently in the bathroom of a Kroger, trying to quell an anxiety attack... It is the morning of July 4th, we are (once again) buying supplies the DAY OF, and I'm staring down a fully-committed weekend for both sides our family.

This is when I tell myself, "I will NOT do this EVER AGAIN. Its Too Much, I'm Too Stressed. This is the LAST TIME!... {Until the next holiday/ family event}"

Why IS it, that this situation keeps REPEATING itself?!...

Answer: Because I let it.

Simple as that. I hate the truth of it, but that's all it is. I LET it happen. I can actually say NO any time I want to... but I don't. Between all the things I WANT to do, the things I NEED to do, and the things I "SHOULD" do, I am constantly overbooked. I have been trained to say "yes", programmed to agree, and raised to have a sense of duty toward both family and commitments.

*****

My weekend went on to have more stressful moments... (totally avoidable with boundaries and limiting decisions about what to take on, but yeah).

Summer Plans

Today is July 1st and I have been busy putting plans together for the start of this month.

...And here we are.
I don't feel ready, or completely settled, but I don't think that matters. These are steps I'm planning to take to help me get to a New Place. A year from now I want to look back and see such a shift in how I live my life, that I find it hard to judge my abilities in the future. I want to say,  "Wow, look at that! You really CAN do something if you put your mind to it! Awesome job!"

So... what's the plan?

Well, as is my style, I have looked over several approaches to decluttering, pairing down clothing, getting out of debt, and I plan to incorporate a bit of each. Here's the the overall picture:

No.1 - Spending Ban

About a year ago I tried to do a spending ban. I had just read The Year of Less (Cait Flanders), and was excited to try my hand at becoming a more mindful consumer - owning less and saving more. This year, in the midst of everything 2020, my husband and I are both on board to see this thru.

New Year, New Track... And the long path to it.

We are two weeks into the new year, and I have yet to get myself on track. I don't mean going to the gym, and eating more salads... Although that is also on my list. What I'm talking about is just the normal flow of things. Life day-to-day, when it's not encompassing holiday plans.

Part of the reason for this delay is because I'm house-sitting for my parents. I'm traveling between my apartment and my parents house to take care of two sets of animals, keeping an eye on food between both homes (to see what will expire first), and keeping myself spread out between responsibilities. The other part, which just wrapped up this weekend, is my transition from my seasonal day work to my work and income plans for this coming year.


My work: 

I have made the scary decision to drop my normal day job, in pursuit of work that is musically inclined. I have a Music Degree, and I have performed in this industry for many years. I've also taught music lessons, and provided music for private parties and events. It has been several years since I have done this as a business on my own, but I feel called to work with music again.