Pumped and Ready 2013

So even though I haven't been posting much I finished strong in 2012 living out simplicity and what it meant to me. I have managed to purge several spaces in my home and man does it ever feel great! If you missed my first post of 2012 and why I was living "simplicity" this year. You can find it Here

I have been ruthless in what I keep and how long I keep it for. I wasn't perfect though. I found I still sometimes went back to good old faithful retail therapy every now and then and made purchases that just weren't that useful and had to go back to the store......It's going to take some more work to get me truly rethinking how I live and operate day to day. This year at the very least made me more aware of the stuff I was buying and each time I picked something up either in the store or in my own home I would stop to ask myself if it really was something that I needed. It was a freeing year and I definitely feel less attached to the stuff I own at this point.

My last purge total that I posted in June was 162 items that left via donation, sale, recycle, or garbage from my home. I have continued to keep track from that point and have purged an additional 155 items bringing my grand total for 2012 to: 318! That's nearly 1 item per day which make me pretty happy! I am going to see if I can exceed that for 2013.

I am even ending the year and gearing up for a new year by purging 13 items from my closet this morning. Happy 2013!! What better way to end the year than by saying good-bye to stuff and giving one last node to my word of the year for 2012- simplicity! The best part is that it didn't even take me that long I was in and out within 15 mins. A far cry from the hours I've spent at the beginning of the year debating on whether or not to get rid of stuff. If it hasn't been worn and I don't love it, then it goes!

And stay tuned- I'll be sharing my word of the year for 2013 shortly!

Simplicity of Love

So last week my husband and I watched "the vow" based on this couples true love story. Initally I thought how awful it must be for her to never remember that "first love fever"- you know what I'm talking about- the aching of your heart when you are away, the butterflies in your stomach when you kiss, the smile you get when you think of the other person- the good stuff!

It really got me thinking about love. Hey, I've been married for 10 years so it's safe to say it's been awhile for me since I had the butterflies in my stomach. I was starting to lament the loss of young love until I started counting the things that long term, committed love has over young love.

My "old love" has:

• predictable coffee dates every Sunday morning
• A kiss and an "I love you" every night before bed
• A kiss and a "have a nice day" every morning before work
• Shared jokes that still make us laugh - remember "husband of the year" hun? :) 
• The knowledge that I am the one he comes home to every night without fail
• The safety of being authentically sick, said, angry, hurt, joyful in front of him and knowing that I won't be judged 
• A life mate, soul mate, and helper for the rest of my days on earth

Love isn't about the butterflies although it may start that way. The simplicity of love is that it's a choice. One you make each and every day until the day you die to be faithful, to help, to inspire, to support, to cherish, to hold on to, to encourage to that one person. So in reality the the couple "the vow" is based on, specifically the wife, has never know anything but true love. She knows better than anyone else the struggles, the triumphs, and tests of true love. 

The journey isn't easy, as I know full well, but it's worth it. It's about a journey that you take together full of valleys and peaks. And it's the simplicity of love in it's truest form that I wouldn't change for the world. 

For the Ladies....

I hope you are enjoying the posts so far and have been challenged, just as I have to look at life with a more simplistic lens, and practically have started to purge some of your excess as well.

For today I thought I would address that drawer that men wonder about and women fear.....the BRA drawer. You know you all have one. And I bet you that there are bras in there that you haven't worn in YEARS! You know the ones you buy thinking "oh it's so cute" or "I am sure I can squeeze my ta-tas in here one day because it’s such a good deal”. We've all been there. 

So I decided that since I had so much success tackling my sock drawer previously that I would also tackle my bra drawer.

I have found a really decent bra that I love. I mean absolutely HANDS DOWN LOVE>LOVE>LOVE. It’s available in the states and so my last few purchases have been from that store so I thought- no biggie, I probably don’t have much of anything to deal with in the bra drawer…..boy was I wrong.

My biggest embarrassment of this drawer was the boustier that I bought to wear under my wedding dress….drumroll please…..10 YEARS AGO!!!! Have I worn it since then? Nope. Have I thought about it since then? Nope. Have I hauled it around for more than 6 household moves. Yup! = embarrassing! So that definitely had to go.

I also had a bra that I used to wear pretty much every day but that hasn’t been worn in at least 4 years. That had to go too. Am I the only one that holds onto old favorites? This is definitely a habit that has to go!

Then came 2 Calvin Klein bras. Both in excellent shape, and both only worn likely a combined total of 6 times. These, although they are really cute, had to go!

I was also holding on to a sport’s bra I’ve had for 14 years- that is torn and barely holding on. Time for a new one likely there too.

So in total I started with 12 bras. An assortment of really old and never worn more than once, pretty but not practical, my old favorite, and some that I still wear today. I was able to rid myself of 6 of those bras and keep the other 6 that are still of use to me. I am left with- 4 practical ones in neutral colors so that I'm never left in a panic if one is in the wash, a practical sports bra for running, and one not so practical but fun colored one that hey I use so it had to stay! 

Now when I look in my bra drawer I know exactly what’s in there and everything in there is what I love and use on a regular basis. No “extras” hanging around taking up space. And with the extra space I was able to share the drawer with my belts and a jewellery box- bonus! Amazing what a little decluttering can do for available space. Just when I thought I had none....

So let's go ladies- when's the last time you cleaned out your bra drawer? 

I am not that into sharing my unmentionables with the world so a weird colored quasi photo will have to suffice for this post. 

The Finish Line

So I am a little late on my post for this week. My apologies. I was actually out running "the big race" on Sunday. Yup, I made it through the finish line of my first 1/2 marathon. Que streamers, music, and dancing here.

It's been a weird couple of days letting it all sink in. I worked hard for this race, 9 months of training, special diets, etc. I think I thought that the world would maybe look different after I finished. In a few ways I was a little disappointed. Experiencing disappointment wasn't part of my training schedule.....so why was this happening? It got me thinking about the simplicity of the race.

I was all reved up to have this life changing moment the second I crossed the finish line on Sunday. I even planned the dance I would do once I had "reached my goal". What I didn't realize was that my life changing moment happened over the course of time. It wasn't the race that made me a half marathoner, it was all the hard work and preparation that I had put in over the course of the last 9 months that changed me. I was moulded and shaped by every Km I ran through wind, snow, ice, fatigue, joy, anger, and pain.

When I started the race on Sunday I was already a 1/2 marathoner, the race didn't suddenly define who I was, it was the product of who I had become. I've pushed through when the going was tough. I've bought and stunk up the running gear. I've headed out to run when the rest of the world was wrapped up in blankets with a cup of coffee to stay warm. I've beaten the voices in my head that told me I could never make 14Km let a lone 21Km. I've learned how to balance my protein and carbohydrate intake to maximize my performance. I've had bad weeks where I didn't run at all but got back on the band wagon the following week.

In looking back on my disappointment and reflecting- I thought I was going to be a different person once that finishers medal was draped around my neck but in reality I never realized the simple fact that  I was already a different person when I started the race. In fact- the whoop I let out as I started the race was bigger than the joy I had when I finished. At the start line I was already changed. I held within myself the discipline, determination, and preparation required to cross the finish line and it felt awesome!!!

This week I've learned: It's not always about the finish line but rather it's about the preparation to exuberantly know you can confidently stand at the starting line. Getting to the starting line is sometimes the hardest part. 

What are your goals? What's going to get you to your starting line? I hope that at the beginning of your "race" you can let out the same enthusiastic "whoop!" that I did- knowing you have prepared for your moment and have the ability to finish.

Simplifying Beauty

I don't know that I would call myself a girly girl but I definitely like to look presentable when I head out the door in the mornings. At any rate, I discovered liquid eye liner about 5 years ago or so and every since I've been hooked although I wasn't crazy about the potential mess of some eye liners and the fact that I've dumped the bottle of eye lining liquid more than once. Well, imagine my absolute surprise when I went into shoppers a few weeks ago to replace my now used up liquid eye liner and found out technology has taken a step forward in liquid liners! I picked up the new Maybelline master precise eyeliner which is like a felt pen for your eyes and thought I would give it a whirl.  No more over lining or spilling of liner everywhere! Perfect!! I have been in love ever since. It's not only a great product but also simplifies my beauty routine and helps me not waste precious minutes in the morning wiping up spilled liner......That's a win in my books. You can also check out the Maybelline site and some videos of the product Here. I haven't advanced beyond the simple line, but there are definitely possibilities with this product for those that are more artistic!

Alberta Votes 2012- Reminder

I wanted to write a whole post about other things that are currently happening in my life, but the vote tomorrow is too important to not post about again. I promise next Sunday I will be back with something newly organized and fresh!!

But please, please, please.....if you live in Alberta- GO OUT AND VOTE!!!! All the details you need are in my post form last week. I don't even care who you vote for as long as you let your voice be heard. Let's get our voting rate up from last time we went to the polls!

Alberta Votes 2012

So I initially expected this year's word "simplicity" to take me on a journey of decluttering my house. I really saw it in the physical sense. However, as I embark further on this journey I realize how simplicity can really be lived out in everyday life. The word is truly transforming my mind and how I approach my world.

This month is an important one for Alberta. We are out to the polls for our provincial election. Simplicity has taken on a new form for me in this. I am realizing that simply going out to the polls is not enough. I need to become more invested in this election - no I am not going door knocking to complicate my life with additional commitments- but I am challenging why I vote the way I vote and what is the best way for me to vote. Simply- I am doing my part to become an informed citizen.

And while elections are not simple in any way shape or form. You can easily spend all day reading what the newspapers and facebookers are saying. I am not reading every piece of garbage and nonsense that is being thrown about by the election but I am looking at candidates profiles and watching the debates. So in the spirit of simplifying your lives I have put together a few links you may find of interest as you navigate the barrage of weblinks, news coverage, etc. this election time.

1. where do you go to vote? Am I registered to vote? check it out here:

http://www.elections.ab.ca/Public%20Website/index.htm

2. what party do I align with the most? This was very eye opening for me to complete. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/albertavotes2012/features/votecompass.html

3. Live coverage of the last debate: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/alberta-debate/#clip657448

3. and last but not least the parties and what they stand for. They can all be accessed off this site. http://www.elections.ab.ca/Public%20Website/603.cfm

and while I am not encouraging you to vote for any particular party, I am encouraging you to see what's out there and get out and simply get your voice heard! We are so privileged to have this opportunity!

$170

I am working towards making these posts a regular thing on Sunday nights. My Sundays are typically the day that I use to wind up for the week ahead, reflect on what the last week was like, plan my coming week and reflect on life in general. At the risk of making this overly philosophical I will stop there- just know that I do a lot of planning, thinking etc. in my head on a day to day basis with the peak of this planning occurring on Sundays!

So now that I've gotten that off my chest I would like to share with you why this post is titled $170. Well that is the exact dollar amount that I've made selling clothing out of my closet over the past 3 months. Not too shabby hey? I was pretty proud of myself. To think that instead of hoarding clothes for so long I was actually hoarding close to $200. We're not talking a bunch of high end, brand name clothes either. These were your run of the mill everyday, normal people clothes. that's what's so amazing about it!!

I have now "liquidated" that money and can use it on things that I really need or something that I've had my eye on for some time but haven't had the funds to buy. It was pretty easy too, just contacting a local consigner, cleaning and pressing my clothes, taking them over there, and then picking up the $ when my time was up.

What would you do with an extra $170 dollars? How much money do you think you are "holding" onto and not letting yourself access. I would challenge you to think about that and think about selling some of your own clothes.

Things to Do: Simplifying the Everyday

I have been on this journey of simplifying my life for 3 months now. I am behind in posting everything I've accomplished, but that will come. I am not trying to replace clutter etc. with the pressure to post here so you'll have to bear with me! Just trust that there are good things to come.

This week I wanted to update on the number of things I've purged from my home in addition to a tool that I've been using to help me simplify how I go about my week.

Here's how I used to conquer my to-do list. I would sit down on the weekend usually Sunday and come up with a long and detailed list of everything I had to accomplish that week. I would even add those things that would be nice to do to the list, but not necessarily things that need to get done. This would result in a long, daunting list that there was no way I would get through every week. I was not simplifying life, but rather making things WAY more complicated for myself. I needed to do something, and fast.

I found this little beauty at Indigo that has really made life easier. I now have a to-do this that captures my entire list by week but also breaks it down day to day. I only put those things that I feel I can accomplish in each day (keeping in mind that I also have a full time job) and then I feel victorious 7 times each week as I complete each days activities and highlight them off.

I can take one day at a time and it FEELS GREAT!!!!!

Here's my copy of last weeks. I knew my schedule was a bit full so some days in addition to work there is only one extra chore. Take a look!

Update of Purged Items:

My last total was 63 items you can find the post here and here's what I have since purged. With the list below I have no purged a total of 162! Woot! That's an average of more than 50 items per month- awesome!!!!

- 12 tops

- 1 pj bottoms

- 2 sweat pants

- 1 sweat shirt

- 4 dog collars

- 1 santa hat

- 6 books

- 3 nicknacks

- 1 paper holder

- 23 pens/pencils

- 13 pairs of socks

- 5 pillow cases

- 1 pair pants

- 2 jackets

- 2 packages muffin mix

- 1 bottle purfume

- pencil case

- laptop carry case

- 1 skirt

- 1 dress

- old makeup

- 1 pair shoes

- pedometer

- address book

- key chain

- 4 plastic food containers

- 4 water bottles

- 2 vases

- 2 bowls

Socks- those wonderful warm tubes you wear on your feet

So I needed a bit of a break from my closet this week. I know I have gotten so far, but the remaining purge is going to be tough on my heart. :) for real! So tonight I started in on my sock drawer. I really should have thought about this when I first started because well, let's face it, while I appreciate the warmth of socks I am not emotionally attached to them. You will never hear me say "remember that awesome day when I was wearing my ________ (fill in the blank with your choice of descriptive) socks". I just don't have the same attachment to them that I have with my shoes or my clothes.

This was my sock drawer at the beginning of this process. Jammed packed and not really all that functional. I had to sift through what I didn't like to get to what I wanted/needed.

So I am almost embarrassed to post this but this but this is what was lurking in my sock drawer. I cannot believe I kept these around and likely have worn them several times as they are in all their "air conditioned" glory! I also found a pair that I've had since Jr. High which I likely haven't worn since that time. EMBARRASSING!!! and to top that off I had several pairs which I haven't worn in forever because while they are functional, they are not my favorites (ie they don't feel good or don't quite fit in my shoes).

This was my solution to help me get through the purge. I bought 12 brand new pairs of socks. That way I didn't have to hold on to any pairs that don't fit and/or are worn out. No excuses for not purging. Thank you to Costco for their $10 sock packs.

I figured I need about 3 weeks worth of socks so that way if we go on a 2 week vacation which we've been know to do I will have enough to not have to do laundry the day before or the absolute day we get back. Also I travel for work so I have to keep in mind that I need some wiggle room so I am not stressed trying to do a bunch of laundry on the run.

Here is what I ended up purging- a total of 25 pairs of socks! Bringing me to a total negative purge of 13. I don't count the 12 pairs that were replaced with new socks. The good ones that I just didn't like have been donated to charity.

And this is my final sock drawer. I now have 19 pairs of everyday socks all in black or grey and 3 slipper socks I wear at night. The back right corner are my running socks- most recently bought and all in good shape. This drawer makes me happy!

Simplicity- functional socks that I will actually wear.

ARGH my closet!

Alright so if you are following along, you know that I have committed to purging some stuff out of my life and that January's focus is my closest. In hindsight I should have started with something that was a little less close to my heart. I LOVE my clothes. They invoke great memories for me and I will often remember an event or a time in my life when I look at a certain top, pair of shoes, or dress.

I have committed to getting all my clothes into 1, yes 1, solitary closet. I have been using our spare bedroom closet for the last 6ish years to store some of my clothes. Now you may be thinking two closets is a bit excessive and let me assure you that I agree. However, I would like to be clear that they are neither are walk-in closets. Saying that makes me feel just a bit better about myself ;)

I've been spending time every day thinking of one thing I can get rid of and then either throwing it in the garbage if it's too old and abused to do anything with, putting it in the give away pile, or putting it in the sell pile. A few non-closet things snuck in as I was on a roll and things came to mind, I added them to the list and purged.

To date this is what has left my home:

2 overalls

5 sweaters

11 pairs of shoes

lamp

6 placemats

4 envelopes of craft stuff

2 Jackets

6 Shirts/t-shirts

2 skirts

5 scarfs

bathing suit cover up

8 tank tops

2 vests

PJ pants

1 purse

1 small suitcase

2 pairs of socks

bread mix

cookbook

belt

Running Total: 63

Some of it is in a holding pattern as I have it ready to go to consignment when I drop off on February 4th- Yeah me!

so are you ready for it.........reveal time! with all this purging this is what I have left from the second closet. I'm getting really close to being down to just one closet. I count 34 items which I hope is doable. Any tips for making it there by the end of the month, the last part is going to be the hardest!!

My Journey

So I was just going to add these posts to my original blog but I have decided that in order to really simplify things, if that is what my life is going to be doing this year, I needed to really be serious about it and what is more serious than a blog completely dedicated to simplifying my life? This way I can track my progress and you can keep up to speed on how I'm doing as well!

So why am I here?:

It actually started with a word of the year challenge that Ali Edwards puts on her blog each year. You can read about her journey here I have participated in the two years by selecting a word that I would live by for those years. And one of those years I even created a scrapbook page about it....so this year I decided to participate again and my word is SIMPLIFY

What makes this word so special?:

I feel that I am constantly going in 101 directions every day. Here's a bit of a list of the roles that I am tackling in my day to day life. I work full time at a job that requires me to travel a lot. This means that I am constantly packing and unpacking my suitcase. I am also a graduate student working on completing my masters. I am currently working on my thesis which is an up and down process. I am married to a fantastic husband and I have two beautiful puppies that I absolutely adore. I volunteer and sit on the executive of two non profit organizations which I love. I am also a part of a fantastic scrapbook design team at skrap n chat and to top it all off I love to run and just signed up for 1/2 marathon training to run my first in May of this year.

For me it was a simple choice *insert corney laughter here* I need the world around me- my home- to be simple. It needs to function in a way that supports the other roles that I have taken on. I shouldn't be so overwhelmed with the things I own and how I organize my life that I am prevented from enjoying what I really love.

So how is this going to work?:

I posted twice on my other blog which you can check out here and here to grab a bit of the background. But basically in a sentence- I am going to work at getting rid of the stuff and processes in my life that aren't working for me and that are bogging me down. I am going to focus on one area of my home each month and keep a running total of stuff purged and processes cleaned up as the year progresses.

I expect this year to be a difficult one for me. I don’t expect that I have decided to simplify and that it will all happen in January. Yes, I’ve started making progress already and I am really excited, but I know that this year will be a lot of blood sweat and tears. I’ve already laid awake a few nights thinking “what the heck did I decide to do to myself?” I am realistic in acknowledging that this little word “simplify” may actually take me on a multi-year journey. I have bought in though hook, line, and sinker!

I am excited about the journey and look forward to posting pictures of my newly simplified spaces and processes that surround me.

So what are you waiting for? Jump in with me and hey, I would love to hear your stories too. And when the going gets tough we can cry together as we learn to part with our stuff.

Simply Yours.

-Stacy