Not Getting It Done: How My Overuse of Technology Impacts Time Management

Last post, I started to talk about technology and how I've let it derail my goal of living intentionally and purposefully.  I wanted to dig into that a bit deeper, to not only share with you, but also for internal reflection.  My hope is to develop some ways to lessen the impact that technology has had on different areas of my life (without completely unplugging).

Probably the most tangible effect of my overuse of technology has been my productivity.  As I mentioned in my last post, I can't even imagine how I would have fared through 20+ years of education if I had this access to technology.

I make a to do list nearly everyday.  It's how I organize my thoughts, keep myself from being aimless, and most importantly, it's how I break things down into manageable pieces so that I don't get overwhelmed, as I'm apt to do so quickly.   What I find, however, is that at the end of the day, I'm not accomplishing nearly as much as I planned.  Sure, I could blame it on the fact that I am a mom of two preschoolers.  And yes, they occupy a lot of my time, and physical and mental energy.  But the truth is, the biggest reason I'm not as productive is because I'm spending too much time on my phone or computer.

I'm prioritizing entertainment.  It's not that I believe we should be in "go mode" 24/7, but I believe that entertainment should not be the focus of life.  Yet I'm living in a way that says otherwise.  My constant "need" to check social media or check out the latest shows to watch is making its way over doing the tasks that keep life running smoothly.  "Let me check this one more thing, and then I'll get busy" has become my mantra.  Rather than taking a break from my productivity, I'm taking sporadic breaks from the breaks.

Analysis Paralysis.  My husband and I talk about this concept often.  We both suffer from this condition in different ways.  For me, one way is that I spend so much time and energy looking up the best or most efficient way to do something and as a result, don't even do the task.  One thing is for sure, the least efficient way to do something is to not do it.  Furthermore, I'll be honest and say that my "research" often bunny trails so far off topic that I end up back at the entertainment focus.

Because I'm spending less time accomplishing goals, life maintenance just isn't happening.  When that happens, we become reactive to life rather than responsive to situations.  I'm sure technology is just one piece of the whole, but for me, I think it's a big piece.  And it's a piece I can take ownership over.

What can I do about it?

Make a "Must Do" list.  So, a goal I'm setting for myself is to continue with my to do lists, but to plan out my "musts".  These are things I will make a priority for the day, and will focus on these items before I let myself spend time on my devices.

Be conscientious in my use of technology.  I think this is going to take some discipline and repetition.  I've caught myself mindlessly picking up my phone, without any purpose or reason.   It's just become a habit of mine.  A habit I'd like very much to break.

I want to be intentional with my time, and a big part of that for me is setting aside time to accomplish necessary tasks first so that I have the luxury of down time later, without feeling like I should be doing something else.

If you struggle with time management, what are some tips that you have?  I'd love to hear about how you prioritize the musts in your life.  Leave a comment!

Next post, I plan to talk about the impact of technology overload on my family.

Until then,
Kelly

Too Distracted To Be Intentional

Eek, over a month has passed since my last post.  It's pretty embarrassing to fall so behind on a blog about being purposeful and intentional.  However, it's a good lesson to me that this is a process, not a bandaid.  And if I don't keep making the intentional decisions, chaotic life creeps back in.

Over the past several days, I've realized just how distracted that I've become.  I let "things" catch my attention away from my goal.  However, let me be perfectly clear when I say that what I really don't want is to become a slave to this ideal of being intentional.  For me, people will almost always trump my own plans.  (Probably will be something to evaluate in the future.)

As a just-barely millennial, my life has been marked by huge changes in technology and communication.  And while the goal of these discoveries in technology is to improve efficiency and communication, in a lot of ways, for me, it has stunted my ability to be as productive.  Or rather, I've let that happen.

Instead of using my phone and computer as a tool and a resource, they've almost become a security blanket.  I find myself picking up my phone the moment I open my eyes in the morning, mindlessly scrolling through newsfeeds throughout the day (that I've probably already seen), and carrying my phone around the house, lest I miss some text or notification.

I'll be honest, it's actually really hard for me to admit just how much I've let my phone take over my daily activities.  It's embarrassing to me really.  I know that the reality is that life has changed, and my kids will never know a time when smartphones weren't the norm.  But that doesn't mean I have to, or even should, teach them that they have to be connected to it.  I'm not showing my kids that I am engaged if I'm scrolling through my phone while I sit with them at the table during lunch.  Yes, maybe I'm physically there, but certainly not mentally.

And for me, it has become a huge stumbling block to my time-management.  I have no idea how I would have been able to focus through 20 years of school if I had the kind of access that I have now.  Each day I try to create a checklist of the things that I need to accomplish.  Far more often than not, my list doesn't even get close to completed.  Sure, unexpected situations come up sometimes, but the truth is, usually it's because I've been distracted by my phone or computer.

I'm reading about other people's lives rather than truly living my own.  What I'd like to focus on in my next few posts is how I've let technology impact different areas of my own life, and how I hope to make changes to my habits.

I'd love if you'd follow along, and please comment your thoughts - struggles, triumphs, things that work, etc.  Until next time!

Kelly

Frugal February Final Outcome

Sooooo, I'm just a little bit (okay, a lotta bit) late in writing this post.  I'd been planning on making one last post about how the month went for us last week, but we had family in town and a birthday this past week.  Obviously, it just didn't happen.  But I'm here now and wanted to give a brief rundown of how we did.

Overall, our spending was definitely lower than any of the previous months, which was the goal.  Thinking back over the month, I recognize that we hit up the pie truck pretty much every weekend.  The other unexpected expense was signing up for a half marathon since I missed out on my planned one due to getting sick.  That set us back about $200, unfortunately.

Overall spending

I wanted to see where our biggest savings and spendings went over the month, so I also broke it down by the places where we spend the most.

Groceries: We really tried to eat from our supply of food in our pantry and freezer, so our grocery bill is lower than previous months.  Especially November and December (Hello Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts!).  It doesn't seem to be a huge chunk of savings, but I figured that the groceries wouldn't be that impactful since we were eating out less so eating more meals at home.

Grocery

Target: Here's where things start get interesting.  Now, I did make a big trip to Target in January to stock up, but look at the difference in spending!  Again, I think a huge bulk of November and December is related to holiday spending, but the difference even from January is about half!

Target

Amazon: And here's the thing that surprised me the most when I started looking into the details from the month.  We did not have one single Amazon purchase.  Nothing!  Again, I think November and December are huge due to the holidays.  Not really sure what happened in January though.

Amazon

So, there you have it.  We certainly decreased our spending over the month, but this was probably not the most extreme we've been.  A side effect of Frugal February is that I'm finding it difficult to tell myself that it's okay to buy a few things that we were holding off on over the last month.  But, I'd say that's a very beneficial side effect.  It's like we hit the reset button on our spending.  

I'd love to hear how the month ended up for you.  Where did you see the most impact?  The least?  How has this challenged you to change your spending habits?  Let me know in the comments!

Kelly

Frugal February Friday #4

Hey guys!  Another week has gone by, so I wanted to share an update on how things are going.  Definitely slipped a few times, but overall I feel like it was a really good week!

As planned, I did buy some pie, but only went one time!  I know that doesn't seem like a victory, but the week before I went twice in two days. (I'm telling you, that pie is some serious business!)   One afternoon, I took the kids out for lunch but was able to trim the cost by using a gift card they got for Christmas.

My biggest success of the week was, again, our grocery trip.  Last week I spent about half of our normal, but this week our bill was a little over 1/3 of normal.  Yep, 1/3.  We were able to do that because we are continuing to use up what we have in the freezer and pantry.  At this point, we've used up our supply of meat.

I went back to the grocery store today to pick up items to get us through the end of the month.  Again, the bill came out to be 1/3 of normal, but in this case, it's not going to last us the entire week.

My goals for the last 5 days of February are to not eat out (except a pie trip on Saturday), to stay away from Target, and to go to the grocery store only for fresh strawberries for a dessert I'm making on Monday.  We are planning a trip to the store to pick up a few items for gardening this weekend, but other than that, I hope to not spend any more money for the rest of the month.

So how did week 4 go?  Tell me in the comments!

I plan on posting one more time in this series to share our final "results".  See you then!

Kelly

Keep The Clutter Out

So the topic of this post was actually suggested by my husband, which makes a lot of sense because out of the two of us, he is way better at doing this than I am.

One way that we have found to declutter is to take steps to keep clutter from even entering our home.  Prevention is way better than treatment, right?  So I wanted to share a few specific things that we do to keep the influx of clutter at a minimum.

Mail.  Our kids love taking a trip down to the mailbox to pick up the mail, so it has become a regular evening event for us.  One trick that we do is to very quickly sift through the mail to pull out any advertisements, credit card applications, or other "junk" mail.  On our way into the house, we dump those items into the recycling bin.  Then, those pieces of mail never even make it to our kitchen counter, where they used to stay for days before they were tossed.

Kids' meal toys.  You know exactly what I'm talking about parents.  We don't do a whole lot of fast food in our family, but we tend to hit up Chick-fil-a fairly often.  (Not this month though!)  I get it, I used to love all the little toys I'd get from my Happy Meals as a kid.  I still think back fondly on some of them.  And I love the types of items that Chick-fil-a includes; things like books, trivia cards, etc.  But they end up all over my house since my kids are still too young for most of them.  (Except the books, which hang out in our car.)   What we do now is evaluate the toy, and if it's not something that will be well used, into the recycling or donation box it goes.  I know that seems so wasteful, right?  Well, one cool thing that Chick-fil-a does (No, they are not sponsoring this post, I promise!) is allow you to swap the toy out for an ice cream cone.  Voila, no waste and a sweet treat!   Otherwise, I'm feeling convicted to start asking for them to omit the toy when we order.  My kids are at an age where they don't even miss it.

Books.  This one is two-fold.  I love to read.  Like, really and truly love to read.  At this day and age, maybe it's a no-brainer, but as much as I love to read with a book in my hand, I tend to go the e-book route.  I know, that's not super original, but it doesn't have to be.  Also, my kids just love books.  So we go old school and take trips to the library on a weekly basis.  The "new" books keep them engaged, but rather than having our book collection get out of control (and expensive), back to the library they go.  Again, I know it's not an original concept, but it's not something we've always done.  And it may be something you don't normally do.  I highly encourage you to try it out.  It's a fun activity for the kids and helps keep our belongings in check.

Okay, I am dying to hear ways you keep clutter from even making its way into your home.  Please leave a comment and share your tips, because I'd love to try to implement them in our home!

Kelly

Frugal February Friday #3

We are officially more than halfway through Frugal February!  This week we've had some successes and some not so much.

One of my goals for the week was to not eat out at all this week.  Sooooo, there's this pie place.  And they have a food truck.  And they came to the area.  So we went.  Twice.  I regret nothing.

Otherwise, we've done a pretty good job.  I managed to cut our grocery bill in half of what it typically runs.  Yes, half.  I planned our meals around what we already had stocked in the freezer, so only had to buy fresh items, like dairy and produce.  We still have plenty of snacks in the pantry, so I only purchased two non-perishable items: a carton of broth and a box of pasta.  Again, the reason I was able to spend so little is because I'm using up items we already had.  But, isn't that the point?  Spend less, and use up the surplus.

I've managed to go out to the store several times and really only buy the items I went for, rather than purchasing any extras here and there.

Next week, my plans is more of the same.  But this time, I'm already planning on more pie...

Would love to hear from you.  Leave a comment to share how your Frugal February is going!

Kelly

Letting Go of Kids' Crafts

Let me preface this by saying that I am not the most sentimental person.  So, if you find value in holding onto things for the memories, this may not be the post for you.  Or maybe you can modify it to your needs.

Crafts.  Your kid comes home from preschool/daycare/Sunday school with a piece of artwork or craft that they created.  It's adorable, so you keep it.  Next week, same story.  Pretty soon, you have every single piece of paper they've ever even scribbled on.   If you're anything like me, eventually these pieces of paper become just that.  Pieces of paper cluttering up my home.  (Mom of the year right here.)

What got me started on my simplifying journey was the overwhelmed feeling I got when I would look at the kids' playroom.  So I did something about it and significantly reduced the amount of toys, books, and "stuff".   Let me tell you what, if you have kids, I highly urge you to give it a go.  The weight that has been lifted is incredible.  They can take out every single toy in that room, and it can now be cleaned in 5 minutes.  And it's not bare either.  And they play!  (Anyway, I'll save that for another post...)

Initial purge.  Part of the playroom simplification included getting rid of all of the piles of crafts and artwork we had sitting around - on kitchen counters, in the playroom, on our desk in the study.  So we piled it all up, looked through it to see if there was anything we really wanted to save.  If yes, we either kept it or  took a photo of it, then recycled the rest.

I felt like it was important that I explained what I was doing to my 4 year old.  I did not want her to think that we didn't care about her creations.  She seemed to get it.  One thing that helped was explaining to her that most of the time,  the most important thing is the doing of the craft, not necessarily the end product.  That it's about the experience and having fun.

Don't let it accumulate.  When you start to notice pieces of paper gathering, it's time to decide what needs to be recycled.  As I mentioned previously, we had been working on this for the past year, but loosely.  What ended up happening is that we would have a huge stack of art that needed to be scanned or photographed, and eventually we would just say, forget it, and dump it all without even looking at it.   By staying on top if it, we are being more discerning about what we keep and what we don't.

Another tactic we use is having an in/out rule.  We have a set up of kids' art.  When they bring home something new, it takes the place of something already hanging up.  Every week, our kids bring home a lesson from Bible study.  Each week we replace the previous lesson.

Be discerning.  Don't get me wrong, not everything gets recycled.  If it is something generic, out it goes.  But we like to keep things that capture a significant moment in time.    So something that has a cutout or tracing of my child's hand?  That goes to their memory box or gets photographed.

Our plan is not to purge every single thing that our children spend their time creating, because I think that misses the point of what we are trying to accomplish.  We have to be mindful of what has value, and not just what we think.  If my daughter brings in a picture that she is so proud of, it has value to her.  I want to teach my children to help make decisions about what stays or goes.

How do you manage arts and crafts that come into your home?  I'd love to hear any tricks or things that work for your family.  Leave a comment to share!

Kelly

Frugal February Friday Part 2

Happy Frugal February Saturday!  Good thing it's not Stay-on-top-of-everything February because I'd be failing miserably.  We are almost halfway through the month already, can you believe it?  Now that we are more than just a few days into the month, I figured I'd have more to share.  And I'm going to be honest here.

This past week:

In terms of grocery spending, it wasn't significantly different than usual.  Part of that comes from the fact that I had to buy a few extras this week as I was having some friends over throughout the week. Another big part was that I was signed up to run a race on today, so wanted to make sure I spent the week eating a little less adventurously.  That meant lots of chicken, veggies, and quinoa.

On a trip to Target, I reevaluated the shopping cart before going to the checkout.  I managed to put back over $20 worth of stuff that we didn't really need.  Seriously, I would have spent an extra $20 without even thinking about it!  If I did that every time, imagine how quickly the savings would stack up.

We did not eat a single meal out this week.  For us, we tend to eat at least one meal out a week, usually in the form of a quick stop to Chick-fil-a.  We managed to even resist temptation when picking up a meal for a friend to drop off.  (And let me tell you, resisting steak kabobs was not easy.) Because food tends to make up our biggest spendings, I definitely call this a success!

Goals for Week 3.  This coming week, I am going to plan my meals around what we have stocked in the freezer, and only purchase the must haves.  Still have no need to pick up any snacks for us or the kids, since our pantry still has plenty in it.  We are planning to have a date night, but otherwise my goal is to not eat out any other meals for the week.

Tip for Week 3: Here's a tip to try over the next week to see if it makes a difference.  When out at the store, whether grocery or Target/Wal-Mart, before checking out, look over your cart to see if you really do need everything you picked up.  Chances are you can find at least one or two things to put back.  Make a note of how much you saved by putting things back, and let me know!

How did week #2 go for you?  Do you notice any differences in your spending habits?  Would love to hear about your experiences in the comments!

Kelly

Decluttering My Clothes: Why I'm Not Doing A Capsule Wardrobe

When I first began thinking about tackling the clothes situation in our home, I looked into minimalist wardrobes.  I found a ton of pages, blogs, and articles about capsule wardrobes.  I assumed that would be the route I would go, since that seemed to be the minimalist way.  This week I dug more deeply into what a capsule wardrobe really is, and while it may be ideal for some people, I don't think it will work for me without some modifications.

What is a capsule wardrobe?  The current idea is that you create small subsets of your clothes by season, putting away any out-of-season items in storage.  Each seasonal capsule has a bit of a color scheme so that a number of combinations of outfits can be created out of fewer pieces of clothing.  Another important aspect to the capsule wardrobe is that the items contained should be of good quality to ensure that pieces will last over time.  When the season is over, you pack up and take out your next capsule.  The goal is to spend less money over time, since the idea is quality over quantity.  I am definitely intrigued, but here are a few reasons why I can't embrace this idea fully.

While I do tend to stick to shades of teal, blue, grey and black, I have no desire to make sure all clothes coordinate.  One of the key concepts of the capsule wardrobe is choosing a color scheme so that you can mix and match your pieces to make a variety of outfits.  I do like this idea in theory, but I also love having the choice of different colors depending on the day.

I hate seasonal storage.  As a mom of two little ones, I already do a bit of capsule wardrobes for them.  One of my least favorite tasks is pulling out the next season of clothes to see what does and doesn't fit, and putting away the previous season.  I end up putting away and pulling out too quickly, so I end up in a weird purgatory where nothing is quite appropriate.  Not to mention, I live in Texas, where really there are only two seasons: hot and not as hot, with a few cold days splattered throughout the winter.   Having to rotate my clothes is not something I want to spend my time doing.

Furthermore, my goal is to be really intentional about what we keep in the house, making sure that we find value in each item, and simplifying our lives.   I don't want the appearance of less by putting away half my clothes in storage boxes.  I really do want to keep only the essentials in my closet, the things that make me feel good when I wear them.  I want to be constantly evaluating what I have so I can figure out where I have a need or where I have too much.

 I know that the ultimate goal of a capsule is having fewer good quality pieces that will last.  However, from the research I've done, I see that I would easily fall into the trap of purchasing additional pieces in order to make my wardrobe "just right".  Eventually I do anticipate replacing worn out items with good quality, but for me, a capsule wardrobe would tempt me to do so before it's really needed.

Please don't get me wrong; I think there are some really great ideas with the capsule concept, and I plan to utilize those as I declutter.  I think a capsule wardrobe is a wonderful option for a lot of people I love the concept of a streamlined wardrobe, so I just need to modify it in order to fit what works for me.  This week I have been working on my clothes, so I plan to post next week on how I did it, what worked, what didn't, etc. Stay tuned.

Do you have a capsule wardrobe?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on how it works for you, or how you've adopted the idea to meet your needs.  Let me know in the comments.

Kelly

Decluttering My Junk Drawers

One of the things on my decluttering checklist is our junk drawers.  (Yep, drawers, as in more than one.)  It's not something that causes a huge amount of stress in my life, but it is something that is used on a daily basis, has gotten out of hand, and took a relatively short time commitment to remedy.

We recently had to put a child lock on the drawer because the kids kept digging in the drawer for stuff, especially chapstick.  My kids are obsessed with chapstick.  Drives me crazy.  I digress.  Anyway, on Saturday I decided to spend my hour working on this project.  My goal was to get rid of anything we didn't need, relocate things we don't use on a regular basis, and pare it down enough to fit in one drawer.

Here is how I did it.

Before - 2 drawers

Threw away trash.  First I took out anything that was actually just trash.  Bits of ripped paper, a random tiny piece of ribbon from who knows what, pens that were out of ink... Once I got rid of those things, I was able to see what was left, which was still quite a bit.

Got rid of extras.  Did I mention that my children love chapstick?  I managed to throw away 3, yes 3, tubes of chapstick.  Some were missing lids, some were old, some were so disgusting I don't even want to talk about it.  I relocated a number of pens to our study (which will be addressed at a later date), and left behind a pen, a permanent marker, and a highlighter.  I moved a few flashlights, and left just one small one.

Relocated items.  Some things weren't trash, but aren't used on a daily basis.  I feel like those things didn't really need to be so readily accessible.  Those things I relocated - a roll of twine, a wrist support (Why was that even in the drawer?!), etc.  Also I managed to sell two luggage tags that we weren't using, so I actually made a few bucks during this process as well!

Okay, so after all that, this is where we are now.  I feel like it is much simpler, far less cluttered, and definitely more usable.  I've read that some people don't have junk drawers, but have "utility drawers".  I think this could be classified that way.  (By the way, I realize the clothes pins seem excessive, but my husband loves them, and we actually do use them constantly, so for our lives, it makes sense to keep them accessible.)

After - ONE utility drawer

Now the key is to keep maintain what we have so we don't end up back where we started.  That means making sure that the pens don't migrate themselves back to the drawer, scraps of paper are recycled rather than stuffed in the drawer, and that we treat it as a functional drawer rather than a catch-all place for stuff that doesn't have a home.

If you have a junk drawer (or two or three), consider overhauling them.  It really doesn't take too much time, and it's amazing at what a difference it makes, even though it seems like such a small thing.  Decluttering is awesome, my friends.

If you have an awesome "utility" drawer, or decide to declutter, I'd love to hear about it and/or see some pics.  Maybe you could help inspire someone else!

Kelly

Frugal February Friday Part 1

It's February 3rd, which means it's officially Frugal February!  Since we are only 3 days into the month, I don't have a whole lot to report back on, but I did want to share some of the tactics I'm employing so far.

Stocking up.  I managed to pick up a few essential items last week that will last throughout the month, like paper towels and mouthwash.  Remember, it's more of a shuffling of money, since I did stock up, but it will save trips to the store this month.

Using what I have.  With being quarantined over the weekend and through the first half of the week, I didn't really have a chance to meal plan for the month yet.  I am planning to take stock of the freezer and pantry to see what we have to work with.  Since the beginning of the week technically was still January, I haven't yet done a grocery trip while trying to be frugal.

Using rewards/gift cards.  I tend to accumulate gift cards and then forget about them.  Now is definitely the time to use them if you have them!  One tactic that I'm using this month, which I haven't done before, is cashing in some of my earnings from my Ibotta account in the form of gift cards and cash to our PayPal account.  I just started using this app within the past year, and I love it.  It's a super simple way to get a few dollars here and there on items I already purchase.  I use it after I shop, rather than before, so that it doesn't influence my buying habits.  All you do is select the item, snap a picture of the barcode, then of the receipt.  It takes me less than 2 minutes each time I shop.  Sometimes I don't get anything, other times I'll get $5 added to my account.  If you're interested in trying the app out, here is the link: https://ibotta.com/r/fxbkkhb.  (Disclaimer: This is a referral - you will get $10 bonus added to your account, and I will get $5 when you earn your first reward.)

Alright, well that's what I've got for this week!  Tell me, how have the first few days gone?  Do you even notice a change in your lifestyle?  How have you prepared for the month this week?  Feel free to leave a comment telling me about your experience so far!

Happy Frugal February everyone!

Kelly

My Checklist To Declutter Our Home

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up, I managed to come down with strep the day before my half marathon (so didn't get to run it, boo!).  I'm finally feeling better and feel like I can rejoin the human race again.

While I've made a few (very) baby steps towards simplifying our home, I know that I'm not going to get very far without a plan.  I know that there are different strategies out there for how to declutter. You can go room by room, category by category, etc.  One concept that really resonated with me was to prioritize based on what takes up the most amount of my energy or causes me the most stress.  I love that idea because once those big ticket items are taken care of, I'll have more time and emotional freedom to dedicate to the smaller issues.  I think it will give me the motivation I need to keep going if I see a lot of bang for my buck right off the bat.

Personally, I know that for me to stay focused on this process, I'm going to need to break things down into manageable portions.  I tend to get overwhelmed pretty easily, and once I'm overwhelmed, I get paralyzed.  So, in order to circumvent that, I need to prioritize based on amount of energy spent, and then further break it down.  I'm a paper girl, so I like lists written down on paper.  I want to physically check a box or cross an item off.  Here is my checklist based on my priorities.  I'm obviously still working on it, but wanted to share what I've got so far.  I'm also including a blank document in case anyone would like to use it for their own checklist.

My Declutter Checklist

To download the blank checklist, click here.

In addition to my checklist, there are a few other components I feel are extremely important to my success.

Dedicate time.  While I'd like to believe I'm going to spend so much time doing this, I really want to be realistic.  To start, I'm planning to set aside 1 hour on Monday/Friday/Saturday to declutter.  If I'm able to do more, that's great!  But I want to make sure I'm spending at least 3 hours per week.

Set weekly goals.  I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew, and I while I dive head first into action, I often burn out quickly.  I don't want that to happen, so I want to spend about 20 minutes on Sunday coming up with realistic goals for the week.

Set deadlines.  There are some things that I may try to sell before donating them.  I need to set deadlines for each item, so that if they don't sell within that time frame, I go ahead and donate rather than letting them sit in my house for an indeterminate amount of time.  With that, I plan to make a donation trip every Saturday to get rid of whatever items I came up with that week.

I know that this will likely change as I figure out what works and what doesn't, but I feel like this is a great place to begin.  What's on your checklist?  Let me know in the comments.  Also, please let me know if the blank checklist I linked helps you.  See you tomorrow for the first Frugal February Friday post!

Kelly

Frugal February

Pretty early in our marriage, my husband and I realized that we were spending way too much on our groceries every week and noticed that our pantry was beyond full.  We came up with a challenge to reduce our purchases and to use up the things we already had for the next month.  We expanded this beyond groceries and into our general spending.  This challenge became known as Frugal February, and it has become an annual tradition in our family.  (By the way, it's no coincidence that this happens on the shortest month of the year.)

For that first year, we cut back our spending so substantially in February that we were able to pay for a trip to San Diego with our savings.  Talk about incentive!  Since then, we have had some Frugal Februarys be more successful than others.  

Typically, these are the general rules of Frugal February that we try to follow:

Use up the stuff in the freezer and pantry.  For the most part, we only buy meat and fruits and veggies during the month.  Otherwise, we make due with what we already have accumulated.  You'd be amazed at how creative you can get for meals.  Here's a glimpse at our pantry today.  I definitely think we have plenty to choose from for 28 days.

Only buy things that we need.  If we can get by without it, then we do.  It gets us evaluating every single thing we put in our cart.  It's convicting to me how often I say I need something, when in reality, I just want it.  

No eating out.  Generally, eating out costs more than preparing your food at home.  That especially holds true if you are using items you already have and aren't making special trips to the grocery store.  For the entire month, we make sure to either eat at home, or prepare food and take it with us if we know we won't be home during mealtime.

Don't be a slave to it.  We make sure that we don't stop living just to be frugal.  Relationships are important to us, so we aren't going to turn down the opportunity to spend time with our family and friends for Frugal February's sake.  Also, Valentine's Day.  

Some benefits to Frugal February seem pretty obvious, but there were some that surprised us.

Save money.  Saving money was definitely the most obvious reward at the end of the month.  As I previously mentioned, we were able to fully fund a trip with what we saved that first Frugal February.   Obviously, that was pre-kids.  This year, we will probably put those savings towards something less glamorous. (Minivan anyone?)

Save time.  Something we didn't anticipate was how much time we would save.  Maybe this is cheating, but we typically will do a big trip at the end of January to make sure we have the essentials to last us the month.  However, with being so intentional about every purchase, we don't constantly run to the store to pick up that one item we may or may not actually need.  Now that we have kids, trips take a whole lot longer, so the time savings are even greater now.  

Use up the excess.  We manage to use up a lot more than just our non-perishable pantry items.  How many times do we think we ran out of toothpaste, just to find that one extra tube in the cabinet?  During Frugal February, we scavenge the house to find and use up our back-up supplies.  No more tiny travel-sized dental floss from the dentist that we throw in the medicine cabinet every six months, only to completely forget about during our next trip to Target.

This year, I'm hoping that Frugal February will really help kickstart our efforts to live simply by using up what we already have.  By putting this Frugal February mentality into practice, we can declutter without throwing things away, plus avoid bringing more into the home.

Even if you aren't interested in minimalism or simplifying quite yet, let me urge you to take the Frugal February challenge, if for no other reason then to have some extra cash at the end of the month.   Post a comment if you want to join us for Frugal February.  I plan to check in on our status throughout the month -  Frugal February Friday!  (Blame my husband for the alliteration.)

Kelly

What I Seek To Accomplish (And What I Hope To Avoid)

Now that I've shared my main reasons for simplifying our home and our lives, I thought it may be helpful to outline my goals for this process.  I know that sometimes I can lose sight of the big picture while I'm working through something, so I'm hoping that this will help keep me from veering off track.

First, I think it's important to define what are not my goals, so that if/when I find myself going down this path, I will hopefully be able to catch myself.  It's also important because I want you to know what this blog will not be about.

NOT GOALS:
To purge my house of stuff.  I find that when I make a life change, I go one of two routes; I either hit it hard and furious and burn out, or I really focus on making it a way of life.  That's what I'm hoping to accomplish.  I don't want to be unrealistic in my expectations, and I don't want to think of this as a one time purge of my home.  We've all been there.  We overhaul some area of our life, then once the emergency response is no longer needed, we slip back into our previous habits.  I want this to be a lifestyle, something that is incorporated into how we live life.  Otherwise, you'll see me back here in six months with the same exact problem.

To become legalistic.  When I first started getting acquainted with minimalism, I kept thinking to myself, "but I don't want to get rid of my [xyz]."  I've heard that if it doesn't bring you joy, you get rid of it.  But I recently watched a documentary, and one of the things that really stood out to me was this idea that if something has value to you, by all means, don't get rid of it.  Sure, maybe those two things mean the same thing, but for me, this second way to describe it really changed it for me.  There is no right way to go about this process.  I need to find and implement what works for me.  And the same is true for you.  Don't take my process as gospel.  I've read a lot of blogs and articles that all have different ideas.  I'm working on synthesizing them in a way that it makes sense for our family and our life.

Getting rid of things only to repurchase them.  One key concept for simplifying and minimizing is to evaluate the usefulness of the item.  A good question to consider is when you last used/wore said item.  I know people of both extremes: those who are totally content getting rid of something, knowing that they may need to buy it again, and those who will hold onto the smallest paperclip "just in case."  I'd say that we fall somewhere in the middle.  At our stage in life, we don't know yet if we are done having kids, so there's a whole category of just-in-case items that we will not be getting rid of.  I also believe in the quality not quantity ideal, but that doesn't mean we will get rid of stuff just to buy something new and nicer.  I think this is going to be and has to be an ever-evolving process.

So, then, what are my goals?

GOALS:
Declutter the home.  While purposeful living goes beyond the material stuff, it really is a huge goal of mine to get rid of the excess in our home.  I recognize that we have far more than we really need or even use on a regular basis.  Even with the small amount of decluttering I've done so far, my husband and I have noticed a huge impact on how our house looks and the amount of effort it takes to keep on top of tidying.

Be intentional with family.  I know I keep saying it, but this is not just about getting rid of stuff.  It's about being intentional in all aspects of our lives.  For me, a huge part of that means being intentional with time.   It means choosing to spend our time together as a family doing things that bring value to our lives - spending time outdoors, going on adventures, and spending time with our extended family.

Rediscover my interests.  I understand that no matter how much simplifying and decluttering I do, I'm still going to have responsibilities.  As a wife, as a mom, as an adult.  But I fully anticipate that this process will bring about more "me" time.  There have been moments in our marriage where I have told my husband, "I used to enjoy doing things.  I used to have interests and hobbies, and I used to be good at some of them!"  I look forward to rediscovering some of those interests, and perhaps uncover some new ones.

I hope this helps you better understand what I really hope to accomplish.  Tell me, if you would like to simplify your life, what would be your goals?  Feel free to comment below!

I'm going to take a quick change of pace for my next post, and share an annual tradition that my husband and I started over 5 years ago.  It definitely ties into the concept of simplifying, and it may even help you jumpstart the process!

Kelly

5 Reasons Why I Am Pursuing A Purposeful Life

In my previous post, I basically introduced the blog and my purpose for starting it.  In this post, I wanted to share my reasons for this lifestyle change and for documenting it in a public place.  I really could go on and on about why this concept has tugged on my heart for so long, but today, I'll give you the five big ones.

1.  I'm overwhelmed.  I think this is probably my biggest motivation for overhauling our home and our life.  I'm constantly feeling stressed out and overwhelmed.  Everywhere I look, I see stuff.  Stuff on the counters, stuff overflowing the drawers, stuff scattered on the floor. I feel as though I just can't keep up.  One of the things my husband and I have noticed is that we are constantly reacting to life.  It's as though life keeps happening to us, rather than the other way around.  This is absolutely not how we want to be spending our time.

2.  I'm tired of cleaning.  I admit it, I really like having a clean and tidy house.  I just don't enjoy the process of cleaning it.  And also, kids, so my clean house lasts approximately 0.0003 seconds before it's a mess again.  These people who have adopted a simple life have ensured me that if I have less stuff, it won't take nearly as much time or effort to keep things picked up.  Why didn't I think of that?

3.  I want to engage my kids.  I feel that this one ties in with the previous reasons.  If I'm constantly running around cleaning to keep on top of it, then I'm doing it at the expense of spending time with my little ones.  Secondly, and I believe is even more important for me, is because of the very fact that I'm overwhelmed.  I'll admit that I find myself losing it over the smallest thing, and unfortunately, that's not an irregular occurrence.  (Okay, it's practically daily.)  How can I engage my kids if I'm wound so tightly that I can't enjoy this stage with them?  I want to sit on the floor and build towers with blocks.  I want to play pretend, and dance around, and do puzzles.  I want to do life with them, and not just send them to the playroom while I struggle to keep up with the mountain of laundry.

4.  I want to invest in my marriage.  By the time we get the kids in bed, (Are they born with this innate ability to delay bedtime?  Is there a class that they take?) we only have about 2 hours of adult time if we want to go to bed at the time we would like.   Right now, we are spending at least 45 minutes of that time just trying to get our house back in order for the next day.  And back to reason number one, I want to have the emotional and mental capacity to spend quality time with my husband at the end of each day, rather than complaining about how stressed I am and then collapsing into bed feeling defeated and exhausted.

5.  I want to teach my kids.  In a world of more is better, I want to teach them that a simple life is a beautiful life.  I want to teach them to have grateful hearts, even when the world around them shows them that in order to be happy, they need this toy or that pair of shoes.  Sure, I can tell them these things, but the truth is, they will trust me more if they see that my life reflect my words.  To cultivate a spirit of contentment, I need to show them that we are content not only with our words, but with our attitudes and our actions.

So, I've shared why I'm embarking on this change to simplicity.  Why am I blogging about it?  Two reasons.  I'm looking for accountability.  If I'm going to put these things out there, then I need to put my money where my mouth is.  By being open about where I am and what I'm working towards, I'm going to be serious about it.  Secondly, I believe in lifting one another up.  I know that I'm not alone in feeling overwhelmed by all this "stuff".  If I can encourage even one person by sharing my struggles and successes, then it's totally worth it.

In my next post, I'm planning to share what my goals are and what they are not.

Until then,
Kelly

If any of these ideas strike a chord with you, then I encourage you to look into simplifying.  I'd love to hear your "why" - please add a comment.  What would be your reason(s) for joining me on this journey?

Ready for Living Purposefully

Ever since I was first introduced to the concept of minimalism, it appealed to me. I'll be honest, at first, it was because all of the photos I saw were of beautifully decorated rooms. It seemed as though these minimalists all had amazing design skills, which I so very do not. Then, in 2014, my husband and I got a taste of what it was like to live with less. We put our townhouse on the market, and when we met with our realtor to discuss how to stage our home, we found out how much "stuff" we needed to get out. So we did. We packed up it up and put it in storage. I cannot even tell you how that experience changed us. When you sell a house, you have to be able to show it at a minute's notice. Guys, when you take out more than 50% of your stuff (seriously, it was that much), it's easy to clean. My husband and I kept reveling in how nice our house looked, and how much less stress we felt. It was incredible.

Fast forward to now. It's 2017, and we have gone from one child to two, and a townhouse to a larger single family home. Despite wanting to live on the side of less, we've found ourselves with more. We took a step back recently and asked ourselves, "how did this happen?" and "how do we fix this?". The answer, I believe, is that we weren't being intentional with what things we let in our lives, and the solution is to truly live on purpose.

I have found that, even if you want to live with less, unless you are intentional, it just won't happen. And the stuff accumulates. Boy, does it accumulate.

So, this is my journey. From a hectic, frazzled mommy of two littles who feels like she is always cleaning, to a joyful, stress-free probably still a bit frazzled mommy (because, let's face it, kids are hard, y'all) with less to clean, less to worry about. This is not a "how I did it" blog, but almost like a documentary of how I'm doing it. I'd love it if you'd come on this path with me.

Kelly