My 2019 Resolution…it isn’t what I was expecting it to be!

It took me awhile to figure out what my resolution for 2019 was going to be. I knew I wanted it to be meaningful and to impact my life in a positive way. While I was looking around to see what area I most wanted to change, I realized that my whole life needed a revamping! It wasn’t just that I needed to lose weight, or give up fast food, or give up shopping. I needed to change all of these things and MORE! I was finding myself wishing there were more hours in the day- I never had enough time to get everything done! I was stressed, rushed, spread thin, unhappy with my body, not making important things like self care a priority. I was spending most of my time on my days off “cleaning” my house. Really, all I was doing was moving piles of junk from one spot to the other and most often, it ended up in one of my two spare bedrooms. I was online shopping more than I was making time to work out. Were my priorities out of whack? Oh yeah.

One day a few weeks ago while scrolling through youtube, I stumbled across Sorelle Amore’s channel. Ever since, I have loved watching Sorelle talk about her minimalist, travel-filled lifestyle. Her flamboyant and fun-loving personality is addicting to watch!

For any of you who are not familiar with the term minimalism, here is some excerpts from an article by Joshua Becker:

“Minimalism is marked by clarity, purpose, and intentionality. It is the intentional promotion of the things we value most and the removal of everything that distracts us from it”. He talks about how we have all bought into the lie that happiness can be found by accumulating possessions. He suggests that minimalism allows for happiness to be found elsewhere such as in relationships, experiences, and self (soul) care. He talks about the idolization of celebrities and how their lives, glamour and fame are envied. Here’s something that really spoke to me: “We are too hurried, too rushed, too STRESSED. We work long hours to pay the bills, but fall deeper into debt. We rush from one activity to another- even multitasking along the way- but never seem to get anything done…” WOW. That hit home with me, because this is exactly how I feel! “There are never enough hours in the day, I can never get it all done…” Or, “I need that pretty new thing that she has! That new thing will make me happy!” Becker writes about the minimalist lifestyle awakening our senses to the fact that we are chasing all of the wrong things. He states that minimalism involves reducing physical clutter, which then leads to reduced mental clutter.

Wherever we are, whether it be at home scrolling through facebook and instagram, or at work checking emails, we are inundated with ads enticing us to buy things. These ads show us all of the new stuff that we “NEED” to buy; the latest trendy clothing, new sparkly makeup, that new gadget everyone is wearing, popular home decor. The list goes on and on. My email is flooded with all of these ads and more. Everywhere we turn there is constant pressure to buy buy buy. I have grown accustomed to checking my email several times per day to see what is new and shiny. I would say that 80% of my online shopping is fueled by my inbox. Then, there is instagram. I enjoy following makeup and home decor influencers. Their stories show me the latest and greatest highlighters, foundations, eyeshadows and home decor (to name a few). One of my favorite accounts to follow for home decor inspo is @hartman_haus. She takes her followers along with on shopping trips to stores like Target via her IG stories. She highlights all of the cute new finds and even links the items so that you can purchase them right from her IG story! Talk about dangerous.

Minimalism seeks to combat all of this frenzied rushing around and stress by simplifying, getting rid of clutter, being intentional about the things you surround yourself with and realizing that happiness can’t be purchased. Long story short: Minimalism is a much different concept than anything we are taught in today’s society.

Of course, what we value most will be different for everyone. For example, I LOVE clothes and fashion and that is what I spend (waste) most of my money on. Some extreme minimalists only have a few tops, one pair of pants, one pair of shorts, etc. Maybe they have less clothes, but 500 books because books are what make them happy. Its all about balance. I could NEVER only have a few tops, because clothes make me happy. But, I CAN declutter my wardrobe to include only the items that make me feel good while wearing them. So, while I do not plan on diving head first into minimalism, I do appreciate certain aspects of the lifestyle and believe they will impact my life for the better. Instead of buying ALL of the cute new fast fashion that catches my eye, I will hold out for that ONE PIECE that I fall in love with; the thing that is good quality and will last me for years and not just a few wears. As a result, I will not have piles of unworn clothing in my bedroom. I will have pieces that I truly love hanging in my closet and folded in my drawers that get lots of use. 🙂

This is just an example! What is it that makes YOU happy? What are some distracting things that you could cut out of your life to increase your happiness?

I am so excited to embark on this journey of less is more. My 2019 plan of attack: DECLUTTER MY LIFE OF ANYTHING THAT DOES NOT BRING ME HAPPINESS! This year, I plan to enjoy the things that I already have, wear the clothes that are already hanging in my closet (most of which still have the tags!), unsubscribe from emails that are tempting me to buy buy buy, and declutter my life of things that do not bring me happiness. I plan on only surrounding myself with the items that I use at least every few months. Clutter and spending exorbitant amounts of money on STUFF does not make me happy. I want to use the money and TIME that I save for new EXPERIENCES.

Things I will Keep:

-My cameras!!

-Clothes that I feel beautiful in!

-ALLL of my photos

-Makeup that I use regularly

-Shoes that I plan on wearing this year

-Home decorations that make me happy when I look at them

-Jewelry that I wear regularly

-TRAVEL!

-TIME for the things that MATTER

-My plants

ALL THE REST GOES! This means getting rid of clothes that do not fit, jewelry that I haven’t worn in years, books that I do not plan on reading again, home decor that is stored unseen in my spare bedrooms, shoes that I no longer have a use for (Im talking about you leopard print spiked heels from 2012!) All of these things can be donated for other people to enjoy! 🙂

I am so excited to see the results of this change! I am hoping that by decluttering my life, I will have time and energy for all of the things that truly matter like family, traveling, new experiences and taking care of myself. I want to make going to the gym and eating healthy a priority. Instead of spending hours “cleaning” my house and obsessing about things that don’t enrich my life for the better, I want to spend time with my mom, an hour at the gym, an hour making a healthy dinner. While I will NEVER be an all out minimalist and able to fit my entire life into one suitcase like Sorelle, I CAN downsize so that the things surrounding me aren’t ruling my life and stripping me of freedom, happiness and money. xoxoxo

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