It’s time for a monthly check in with my word for the year: minimize.
The Great Clear Out Continues
My first goal last month was to finish cleaning out my office. I can tell you right now that didn’t happen.
My second goal was to clean out the main bathroom. That goal did happen! Yay me!
I have whittled down my nail polish collection to just 10 colours. I think I had over 50 bottles. Me! The person who only wears polish on her toes! In summer!
I also got rid of a ton of old, expired, medications and the like, tons of bath stuff, hair bits and bobs and so on. By the way, if you have expired medications you can take them to your local pharmacy and they will properly dispose of them for you! And then I started going through my bedroom dresser and have an ever growing donation bag by the front door. The bedroom is going to take a month or two I think!
And then last week, there was a small accident involving newly brewed red wine that had just been picked up from the u-brew place. Two bottles crashed and burned in the crawl space under the stairs. There was red wine and glass all over everything. It wasn’t easy to clean out such a small, cramped space but it did mean getting rid of quite a bit of stuff that had been in storage. Some of it was ruined by the wine and some of it was just stuff that there was no use for anymore. So that was a bonus clear out that probably wouldn’t have happened if the wine hadn’t smashed! Having said that though, that’s not a way I would recommend doing a cleanup!
So for March I really do want to make a bigger dent in my office. It really needs it and I know it will make me happier because just cleaning up these other small spaces – sometimes only a drawer or shelf, has been like taking a huge weight off my back.
Doing More of Less
Part of choosing minimize as my word for the year was because I wanted to “do more of less”. This is a tough one – it really does require being very intentional with how I spend my time, which means really thinking about how I’m going to spend my week, day, hour, even 10 minutes.
Here’s a few things I managed to do this month to help with this goal:
- carved out thirty minutes at least three times a week to read for myself (eventually I want to get up 7 days a week)
- take a day off on the weekend where I only do things I want to do (which may, or may not include work!). I did well with this except for one weekend where I had some deadlines and had to put in a full weekend. But I made up for it by taking a Monday off where I totally disconnected
- get out for 1.5 – 2 hour walk 5 days a week
- start doing weight training again (yes, I can barely move this week)
- take Sam out in the car at least once a week for a fun hike or beach walk – I did this two out of four weeks this month. And, unfortunately, he has hurt one of his legs and is now on day 1 of 14 days of “being kept quiet”. So that will make the walks and trips hard for March! I hate walking without my buddy!
- take time out to make art at least 3 days a week – I did this!
I know I’ve gotten much better about this since January 1st but, I still feel like I’m not even close to having a handle on this goal! I’m not sure how to go about it other than writing down small goals of where I want to focus my time and checking in with them. But that feels like adding another task and “doing more of more”!
But, then I think if I write down small goals it will make me be more thoughtful of how I spend my time and if I make sure I do these things regularly by checking off a box, then hopefully, it will become a mindset and habit.
So, for March I want to figure out a way to become more intentional in this goal and get even better at it! How are you doing with your 2016 goals? Do you make time to check in with yourself to see how you’re doing?
You are doing so well!
I keep eyeing my nail polish collection. Many of the bottles are old. And I hardly use them. Maybe once a year, I do my nails. Yet, I’m storing a big case of them (probably about 50, like you!). I just need to let go.
yeah it was getting a bit ridiculous and some of them were so old that it would take an hour of shaking them before I could ever have used them. So, I’ll keep paring down!
You are doing wonderfully with your goals and I love that you took the Monday off when you had to work on the weekend. So sorry to hear that Sammer has a sore leg and I hope he is healing well. I’m enjoying your IG pics of your outings. The office will get cleaned so try to minimize the stress you put on yourself about it not being done yet. Bummer about the red wine mess. It’s hard enough to clean up busted bottles of wine let alone in a cramped space.
I started doing a bit of weight training in January and really enjoying it. Seeing results which just motivates me more to keep at it. Have a great week Melissa 🙂
Sounds like some impressive progress to me! I really need to do some decluttering of my own–particularly in the kitchen and my study.
I’m very glad to hear you are working on making more time for yourself. That can be such a challenge when you are your own boss. It’s something I struggle with, at least, which is why one of my goals for the year is to take a week off here and there. The first one is in April–recovery time after the national sci-fi convention. I’ve been doing well with preparing for the break.
Good luck with your goals! I’m looking forward to hearing how you go with them.