Hello My loves!
As we head into the chilly yet cozy vibes that come with the Autumn season, I always find it to be a fun and cathartic experience to take some time to declutter different areas of my life.
I feel like things can get so hectic during the summer months with various vacations, social events, responsibilities and so much more. And Autumn is a wonderful opportunity to slow down and engage in that true hygge lifestyle.
De-cluttering has been a big theme in my life since moving out along with a whole host of other responsibilities! All of which you can hear about in my latest video on homemaking, if you haven't watched it and need to know a few more secrets on running a home smoothly, I'd give it a watch.
Removing distractions and focusing on slow living can only be done when we live a life that's free of clutter. But clutter isn't just mail that's piled up on your kitchen counter or knick knacks in places they don't belong. There are areas that we can de-clutter that we might have ordinarily not even thought of or considered!
It's these untouched places that really make a big difference in how we feel in our day to day lives. So in today's post, we're going to go through 5 areas of life to declutter, to make room for an intentional and slow Fall.
Friendships
I once heard that we are the sum of the five people we spend the most time with. So I think it's important to always ask ourselves if the people we're spending time with are uplifting us, encouraging us, supporting us, and loving us. Or if they're tearing us down, making us feel insecure, and stunting our growth.
Of course I'm not suggesting that you rid yourself of all of your friendships, but re-evaluating the relationships that occupy your time can be a helpful way to assess what's helping you and what's hurting you. Often times we don't realize that the people who are closest to us, can sometimes be sucking the most out of us. Our energy, our time, our love, and our attention. All of which could be redirected and focused somewhere else. Somewhere beneficial.
Look into your relationships, situationships, acquaintanceships and the like, and really decipher who is helping you be the best version of yourself, and who isn't.
Your Car
Please help a girl feel better and tell me that I'm not the only one who's car is a total wreck right now. I'm not afraid to admit it! When life gets hectic, my car is the first thing that falls to the wayside in the area of keeping things neat and tidy. So don't feel bad if this is you, you're not alone!
There are some very enticing Tik Toks all about car cleaning and organization hacks, but I have to admit, I'm not one to purchase a bunch of gadgets and do-dads for my car. Especially since I really just don't spend enough time in it to do so. But I have noticed that taking the little trash bag out has made it increasingly difficult to keep my car fresh and clean.
Join me in putting a trash bag BACK in my car, so that I can rid myself of receipts, straws, and whatever else is in there far more easily.
Phone Apps and Messages
Does anyone else have a plethora of useless apps on their phone or is that just me? I am constantly discovering new apps that I want to use, I utilize them once, and then never click on their little square ever again.
My theory as to why this happens is because Apple no longer makes it explicitly clear what the price is for apps anymore. Has anyone else noticed this?! Back in the day, when you wanted to download an app it would say, "$1.99" or "$7.99", etc. But NOW, it simply says, "Get". And you don't find out how much you've actually spent until they send you your bill later in the month. It's tricky and sneaky and I'm still not sure how they get away with it.
Nevertheless, they clearly know who they're marketing to and I fall for it every time. It's high time I clear out those applications that haven't seen the light of day in years and allow my phone to be used for its main purpose: communication.
In addition to clearing out apps, it's also a good idea to clear old emails, text messages and voicemails. Unsubscribe from any automatic emails you're getting and not actually opening, and delete those text messages from over a year ago. (I know you like to go back and read your last conversation with your ex but trust and believe, you're better off this way). We're making space to give life to new conversations! So unless it holds some sort of special information, I think it's safe to let it all go.
Your Closet
Ahhh the hardest one of all. Ever since I began renting clothes from Nuuly, I can honestly say that I just don't buy clothes as much as I used to. But even so, I still have items tucked away in there that I don't wear often enough to justify keeping. Don't get me wrong, I'm the complete opposite of a minimalist especially when it comes to clothes and accessories. But even I have to force myself to get rid of the pieces that haven't seen daylight in more than 2 years.
I really love and appreciate Marie Kondo's way of getting rid of clothes by thanking them for the memories and the connection that you have to them, and then letting them go. This ritual isn't meant to personalize material things and give them more importance than they deserve, but in truth, many of our material belongings hold certain feelings and emotions. I know I have certain items of clothing that remind me of different times in my life. And while that's not necessarily bad, it can be helpful to cleanse and make space for new memories and experiences, by getting rid of some of the old ones.
Makeup Collection
And finally, your makeup collection! Why oh why do we keep lipsticks, eyeshadows and blush from SEVEN YEARS AGO?! Where is the logic!? It's like as long as it's still in tact, we're willing to continue using it, regardless of it's true expiration date.
Refreshing your makeup is absolutely necessary. If for nothing else, for your health and the health of your skin. Old makeup can cause breakouts on sensitive skin, and just generally gets pretty icky.
Think about it like this, if you wouldn't drink expired milk, you shouldn't wear expired makeup.
Well dolls that is it for this post! I hope you enjoyed it and that you find some peace in de-cluttering as we head into the beautiful Autumn season.
All my love,
F.
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