30's-Something Ponderings

Today was a rare day.  For the first time in as long as either of us could remember, Chris left for the office and I stayed home.  On any normal Thursday, I would have a morning full of emails and to-dos and an afternoon of showings or playdates.   Today, however, I had very little work and zero appointments.  I found myself tackling projects around the house that hadn't been touched since my "stay at home" days: organizing the linen closet, deep cleaning the library, bleaching and ironing shower curtains.  Little tasks that so easily get thrown aside in a busy household but the same tasks that used to bring me simple joy.  As I neatly folded the towels and arranged them Ralph Lauren-style on the shelves, I was suddenly overwhelmed with so much grace and compassion for early 30's Ashley who so diligently kept her home as though any minute Martha Stewart's magazine journalists would be knocking on her door for an editorial.  Early 30's Ashley who managed to keep house, juggle preschool carpool, instruct a full piano studio, AND have the self-discipline and willpower to maintain a fit physique.  I have so much admiration for her and for all of her grit.  She fearlessly lead her household and, above all else, was a fantastic mother.  Always planning fun things for her beautiful children, always making sure they knew how much they were loved.   

As I round out my last year in my 30's, I wonder how much compassion the "Then-Ashley" would have for "Now-Ashley."  Would she have been able to stomach the fact that for the past THREE weeks, present-day-Ashley went back to bed every single time after morning carpool?  Would she have extended grace to the now-me mom who definitely allows too much screen time and too much junk food?  Or would she have agreed that after doing all-the-things for so long, it was OK to slow down, just a bit, and go back to bed after carpool without guilt?

Georgia has had the absolute pleasure of experiencing a true fall this year with chilly mornings and warm afternoons.  As we've heard many times, nature has a way of showing us that letting go can be beautiful.  In her book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Maria Kondo talks about expressing gratitude towards things before letting them go.  As the last autumn of my 30's breezes in, I'm reminded that it's ok to fondly gaze on the incredible woman I was in my 30's while still having gratitude for where I currently am.

In Pursuit of "Sheltering-in-Place" Sanity

We've all seen the memes circulating about introverts' declaration that they've been preparing for self-quarantining their whole lives.  They're pretty funny and I would say most definitely true.  I am a self-proclaimed [outgoing] introvert whom upon hearing of a possible multi-week shut-in began dreaming of all the projects around the house that would be accomplished.  Being married to a very non-introverted outgoing extrovert, I quickly saw how being a homebody doesn't necessarily come as second nature to all.

So, I decided to put together a list of different daily and weekly events that one can look forward to during this quiet and sometimes lonely few weeks.

Learning New Music

With many hours in the day spent at home, this presents a great opportunity to learn that piece you've been putting off for a while.  I've also started looking into new artists that have much of their music available on Musescore, which offered a 30-day free trial.  Additionally, I've started picking up my guitar again (which my fingers do not appreciate) and it's comforting to have the house filled with music.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Organizing

As I mentioned above, I dream of having extra hours to organize. Throughout the year, I like to go through cabinets, closets, drawers, etc. that have become overloaded and disorganized.  During our current stint at home, I've cleaned up the laundry room (and brought it back to its former glory shown here) and cleaned out all of our island drawers (containing flatware, cooking utensils, cooking tools, plastic containers, and the children's plastic dishes).  We also made a drop-off at Goodwill (which was surprisingly still opened) of donation items crowding our guest room and downstairs TV room.  Still left to complete include: 

1. My clothing drawers (I've accumulated about a million and a half t-shirts over the past few years of running in races)
2. The children's dresser drawers (because they're both in a growth spurt and definitely will not be fitting into their current school uniforms when school resumes in the fall)
3. The art cabinets (lesbihonest... I'll probably save this one for last)
4. The game/puzzle cabinet
5. The linen closet (I've done this fairly recently but feel it needs some tidying)

Two books that have really helped encourage me with organizing over the years are Emily's Ley's Simplified Life and Marie Kondo's Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  

Le Tote

Two sisters turned me on to this service a few weeks before schools and such closed their doors.  It's a clothing rental service that offers different packages of clothing to borrow.  Once you're done with the clothes (either after a day or after a month), simply place in the large envelope (shipping's already included!) and stick it in the mailbox.  You do have the option of purchasing items you can't bear to send back.  This has been a little luxury that it's been fun to look forwards to every week or so.  New clothes (without having to leave the house) can definitely lift your spirits and keep you from falling into a "bla" mood.

Photo by Belle Co from Pexels

Zoom Happy Hours

You've received your first Le Tote shipment, which encouraged you to actually style your hair!  All dressed up with nowhere to go?  Nonsense.  Set up a free Zoom conference with a few friends and catch up over a glass of wine while safely remaining distanced.  I thought this was going to be super lame the first time around, but it was actually really fun to catch up with a group while each of us enjoyed the beautiful weather.  This will never take the place on live-action happy hours but is a great substitute while remaining socially responsible.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Book Club

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, there seems to be so much more time to actually read for pleasure these days.  While reading in and of itself is entertaining, why not get a few friends together to read the same book then set a date to meet over video-conferencing to discuss it?  Most people would love the chance to join a book club but don't generally have the time to get the reading completed.  Use our extra time to set goals to complete books and make it extra fun by conversing with some pals upon the completion of each book.

Photo by Wendy van Zyl from Pexels

Bible Study

Another activity that I easily put off are Bible studies.  I'll very ambitiously purchase one while attending a conference but (full disclosure) most likely not complete it on my own.  When Chris and I were first married and many of my friends were having their first babies, I suggested a "book club" which focused on completing Bible studies and weekly meetings at each other's homes to discuss chapters over brunch.  It was such a fun time and a great way to stay involved with friends.  As we had more and more children, it became less and less simple to schedule times that worked for everyone.  I've recently started talking about getting together the old group to complete a study together over the next 6 weeks.  These studies will not only provide daily activities to complete but also added anticipation of weekly virtual gatherings.

I hope this list has provided you with additional means to stay entertained during this unprecedented time upon us.  While I realize most of these items listed are introverted in nature, I do hope some of them provide means to engage with others through the vast means of technology that is accessible!

FTC: This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  Links may be affiliate.

In Pursuit of Closet Sanity

As a child, I have very fond memories of an event that happened a few times.   My mom and older sister would come into my and my younger sister's room and COMPLETELY clean it out.  Like, top to bottom, a full-on purge.  The nights after this happened were some of my favorites as our space was clean and so, it seemed, were our minds.  We would take out just one toy and play for hours with it instead of mindlessly rotating through a million toys and ultimately becoming bored.

As a grown-up, I still enjoy a good spring cleaning.  Although a similar concept, I now have a myriad of options of different areas of our home to purge.  Last night, it was the closet.

I have about 50 French Lifestyle books in my library.  24% of them talk about food while 22% of them are memoirs or fiction.  And an astounding 44% of them contain at least one entire chapter on a typical French person's wardrobe.  Over and over again, they each preach the gospel of selecting a few key clothing items that work for your body and make you feel great.

One opinion that they generally tie into this belief system is that "less is more."  Rather than mindlessly accumulating clothing, they often encourage readers to purchase fewer high-quality classic items and create their wardrobe around those core pieces.  While this is not a new concept, I do believe it is gaining momentum through Marie Kondo's Life-Changing Majic of Tidying Up.

Why is this movement becoming increasingly popular?  Read below to see my views on this budding closet-shift.

1.  When you look great, you feel great.  How much easier is it to look great when you only own clothing you look great in and love?  This view doesn't even begin to touch on the whole issue of regard for taking the time to look presentable.  Dressing well (notice I said "dressing well" and not "dressing up") shows that you respect yourself and others enough to put some time into your appearance, even if it's as simple as wearing clothes that fit you.

2. "Change your space, change your life."  Let's just take a look at this picture below.  The first is of my closet before I stuck it to it and did a major clean-out.  Now, keep in mind that I originally adopted the capsule wardrobe concept back in 2012 while living with my in-law's.  We had the largest closet I had ever owned and I had it filled to the brim!  I had always had my smaller closets packed and this larger closet just gave me more room to grow!  Although I had read of the concept of capsule wardrobes for years, it wasn't until I read Jennifer L. Scott's book, Lessons from Madame Chic, I decided to finally take the plunge.  Assessing my closet, I realized it was true- while I had many articles of clothing, there were really only a few items I repeatedly wore.  I started the purging process and that summer purchased a handful of thoughtfully purchased tops (that fit perfectly!) to complete my wardrobe.

Now, twice a year I take the time to evaluate my wardrobe: what's working, what's not.  What fits and what maybe no longer fits me or my lifestyle.  I change it out for the season, and then try to fill any holes with high-quality items that I know I will wear for a while.

So why was my closet SO full of SO many clothes if you do this twice a year?  Well, last season I didn't take the time to change out my wardrobes properly.  We were in a crazy busy season of life and so I just threw all of my other warmer-weather clothing in with my fall/winter wardrobe.  I didn't go through and evaluate anything, I just crammed.  And look at the result!  I kept forgetting about clothing I had and constantly had to weed through heavy winter coats just to get to what I wanted!  It was very frustrating and completely uninspiring to get dressed in the morning.

Now the after picture:

Everything is orderly, "sell and donate" items are removed and there's even a little place to showcase some artfully placed Chanel wrapping and a pair of my favorite shoes of Fiona's from when she was little!

3. Plan to succeed.  This last one can take on so many facets.  I'll give you three:

• When your closet is in order with a condensed wardrobe of what you actually wear, you will probably be able to see everything.  Being able to see everything helps you KNOW what you have (or don't have) and can help prevent unnecessary spending.
• When your closet is in order with a condensed wardrobe of what you actually wear, you will also be able to see what is clean and what is not, which will save you time in getting dressed and looking for that *one* shirt.
• When you have a condensed wardrobe of items you actually wear, you'll probably not have as many clothes as you have now (obvs, right?).  Well, guess what chore is directly related to the amount of clothing you have?  The ever-present-will-never-go-away-no-matter-how-much-you-do-it-chore of laundry.  Have hundreds of articles of clothing?  You'll probably be able to go a whole week (but probably more!) before you MUST do laundry.  I know in our household, laundry piles up pretty quickly.  I attempt to wrangle the piles by doing a little bit of laundry, every day.  And since there's a finite number of clothes in our possession, the odds of it piling up to unbearable heights are very slim.

So there you have it.  That same feeling that came as a child having a clean room carries on now into my adult life in many ways, especially in my clean and decluttered closet.   For me, the same satisfaction from taking out one article of clothing and knowing it will work and make me feel and look great will always outweigh the other option of having loads and loads of clothes (and laundry) that I may or may not actually wear.

Update: Completed Books and Purchased Books

The book I finished first was The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing by Marie Kondo.  Marie introduces her KonMari method of organizing, which basically has you "tidy" your entire home by organizing in a category-by-category system.  Within each category, she has the reader hold each item and ask the simple question, "Does this item spark joy?" If it does, you keep it.  If not, it is discarded.  The result is a lot less stuff.  She then goes through the process of deciding where to keep these items and how to store them.  Her second book, Spark Joy: an illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up is considered the "Companion" book to the first, and contains illustrations on her organizing and storage methods.  I keep this book with me on-the-go, as it is easy to open and read a paragraph without needing to remember a previous story-line.

       

In keeping with my goal to complete the 14 started-but-never-finished book on my 2016 reading list, I now keep ONE book on my nightstand (to discourage switching from book to book and loosing interest again), and ONE TWO books in my car.  Slight confession: I completed the ONE book (see above) that was in my car- I would read while waiting in the car pool line, bank line, Starbucks line, you-name-it-line- and was so encouraged when I finished it that I *may* have picked up the sequel at Costco.  So, while I have completed the first book of my 14, I have now started another, which keeps my number of books to read in 2016 at a solid 14.

Just in case you were wonder, the book kept on my nightstand is Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell.  I read this book at night when I have a larger chunk of time.  I am not sure how historically accurate it is, but I am enjoying it, nonetheless.

The second book I am keeping in my car is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  This book is broken into months, starting with January.  I am currently in the middle of April and being motivated and challenged every time I pick it up.

In all honesty, I can see how I so easily accumulate books.  Last Saturday I even attended a symposium session called, "The Piano Teacher's Bookshelf," and highlighted at least 10 more books to purchase.  The promise of wisdom and knowledge promised by books make them so irresistible to me!