Social Media Break

For the last couple months, I've had the itch to leave Facebook again.  I think when you've left FB before and have experienced the advantages of having a break from social media, you will never forget the clarity & freedom that comes & will CRAVE to have that back!

Some of the things I loved most about my previous 6 month break from social media:

1. I heard 62.35% of what Ivan said instead of 20.55%
2. We communicated more during car rides, at home & restaurants since I wasn't glued to my phone
3. I took time to pause, reflect, & plan each morning & night instead of beginning and ending each day with social media newsfeeds

 

Loki picture

4. I was forced to be more creative when boredom hit
5. I saw those around me while waiting in line at the grocery store or bank, dentist or Dr appointments,  I said hello instead of using my phone as an escape from awkward interactions

6. I felt FREE, free from receiving or passing judgment, free from those annoying addictive social media habits, free from the many facades on social media, free to just enjoy a moment-to not feel pressure to capture a picture as proof of the great things I'd experienced, free to be more present in my life and in the lives of those around me
7. I felt more AWARE-aware of myself and those around me
8. I looked up, not sideways- looked up towards God's opinion instead of others' opinions
9. I began to enjoy the season of life I'm in, instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses on social media
10. I realized there are MANY good ways to live and experience a fulfilling and happy life, many of which are not portrayed on social media
11. I saw my goals, values, and priorities CLEARLY, simply

So why did I ever come back?  On my immediate family's side, I have 15 siblings, 9 bro/sis in-laws, 38? nieces and nephews. On my husband's side, he has 13 siblings, 10 bro/sis in-laws, 41? nieces and nephews.  Keeping up with family is much easier/more convenient to do on social media.  This time around, I'd like to make a habit of calling, using Skype more, & driving to visit them.

I also felt like FB provided a quick & easy way to have my bucket filled. link to bucketfill-osophy Some days I just wanted/needed to hear a compliment from someone other than my husband.  I've noticed it's easier to share a compliment on a picture or post than it is to voice a compliment in person. Wish I didn't feel this need...but I'm human and I'm still learning and growing.

I don't think social media is the enemy.  I do think some of us are better managers of our time spent on social media than others.  For me, it's harder to experience the advantages I listed WHILE participating in social media.  Ideally, I'd like this "break" to be indefinite, but we shall see! 

I will continue to blog, so you can find my latest happenings here!

Minimalist Wannabe

Since my last post, I found Becoming Minimalist on Facebook and have felt so inspired and motivated to make some big changes towards minimizing our belongings.  I decided to start with the worst closet-closet #2.  It was an ugly, but rewarding project! 

I had no vision of what I wanted the end product to look like, no plan for how I would get rid of stuff so it was quite a process.  It took me THREE LONG days to de-junk this space.

In the previous post I talked about reducing numbers by 25-50%, so  I chose to start with what I considered the funnest part of de-junking-INVENTORY.  I took inventory of the jeans in this closet (& closet #1) and slashed the number in half.

It was an immediate reward for my minimizing efforts and just what I needed to keep going!

By the end of day 2 things were looking MUCH better....at least INSIDE the closet was.

  This is my office (where closet #2 is located) during the de-junking phase. NOT pretty!

Here's inside my much better closet by the end of day 2.

  I was feeling pretty accomplished at this point.  I had gotten rid of a TON of stuff but still asked, is there something MORE I could get rid of, condense or combine? Of course the answer was YES.  All of these containers held craft supplies (plus another not pictured from closet #3).  I kept the biggest 3 drawer container  and got rid of all the others

This was a bigger project than I thought it would be.  It would have gone smoother had I actually had a plan of how to de-junk BUT using my common sense got the job done and I've learned a few things I'll do differently on closet #3.

Here's all the stuff we got rid of-gave away.  The black bags are 55 gal contractor bags; they're filled with our CLOTHES.  I was sad to see how much money, effort, and time I have spent of acquiring THINGS just to never use them and eventually get rid of them.  What a waste!

My office is back to order

I should probably just leave on the unrealistic pretty note portrayed above but here's the truth:  a fraction of the junk in my closet migrated to Ivan's office and closet #3. Soooo stay tuned for the closet #3 update!

A Living Oxymoron

I am materialistic; I despise it & want to deny it but my house, closets, and storage are screaming evidence that I am; however, another part of me is an aspiring minimalist who values simplicity.  

I am made up of two completely opposite forces, and I'm seeking to find harmony and balance.

Here are some pictures of my closets.  I have already made several successful purges.  I WISH I had pictures to capture the height of the issue but these will have to do.

The picture above is the closet in our bedroom.  We bought a set of 100 wooden hangers and initially, we wanted to continue to buy more wooden hangers to replace our plastic ones; since I've been getting rid of stuff, I told Ivan I wanted to make a goal to stick to 100 pieces of clothing between the two of us! Yeah, I'm wondering if that's possible for us; may need revision but it sounded like a really awesome goal to work towards.

In college, where I gathered most of my clothing collection, I often got anxiety imagining a fire burning all my clothes and how devastated I would be.  Ridiculous, right?  

My clothes meant A LOT to me.

For YEARS, I made attempts to get rid of clothes I no longer wore or fit; I usually ended up with 5 pieces or less, I was willing to go away or donate.  You know the dialogue, "I might be able to fit this again" "I only wore this once, it's too nice to give away" etc. etc.  I also held onto things I thought I might need in the future even if that meant YEARS in the future. 

Here's our 2nd closet:

Before this purge, all the white hangers were used.  Doesn't seem like much but I did get rid of a good chunk of clothes.

The "chunk of clothes" I got rid of

Bye bye shoes

I had 15 winter coats I gave away, felt really great to get rid of them

Our 3rd Closet

I will post "after" pictures as I continue to whittle down