On blogging, freedom and project 333 - an update

 

I notice it’s been a month since my last blog post here.

It was more of an unintentional break than a planned hiatus. I’ve struggled with the identity of this blog, and where I want to take it. Quite honestly, it doesn’t feel like it represents enough of who I am.

You may be surprised (or not) to know that:

:: I prefer function over aesthetics. I don’t decorate for the sake of decorating. If I decorate, it’s either something meaningful, or functional. For example, I have organised my yarn in colour order on the shelf, which doubles as a decoration because it looks nice.

:: I have an aversion to trinkets, and always have. I try to minimise the amount of dusting I do, because seriously, there are better ways to spend my time.

:: I am a packrat, a messy person or whatever the preferred term is, and I frequently leave things on the floor. I also, ironically, have obsessive compulsive disorder.

:: I have suffered with depression for most of my life, and more recently, in the last 8 years, anxiety. I am glad to say that I’ve found ways to manage the illness better, and it feels like it’s finally improving. Depression is a funny one, because I don’t think it’s really possible to find out if it’s completely gone.

:: I am hopelessly obsessed with self-help and personal development. Self-awareness and growth has done awesome things for my quality of life.

:: I have a secret stash of courage, which I seem to find when I am about to do something really scary.

:: I have been practising the minimalist fashion challenge, Project 333, for about a year. In July of this year, I completely fell off the bandwagon, raided my storage boxes, and just wore whatever I wanted this summer. I still haven’t found the motivation to start the challenge again, and that’s ok. Too much choice in my clothing is getting tiring though. I still have some posts to share with you about the project, because it has taught me a lot about living with less.

:: Remember the no-spend challenge from April? The real reason for starting it was so I could save up the money to quit my job. Only I couldn’t reveal that, and so the challenge didn’t work. I did stick to my promise of not buying clothing though, until October 1st. Also, my last day in my job was October 1st!!!!

:: The freedom gained from quitting is terrifying. I am intentionally staying off the jobsites for a while, because I want to focus on my writing, and creating my shop (eep!!!!). Freedom is the best present I can give myself after working for a year in an office cubicle. No purchase will ever match up to that.

:: I am starting a new phase of my life, in which I intend to show up to my life and dreams with honesty and courage. To document my journey, I have started a new blog, Notes from the arena, where I will be writing about personal development, mental health, random thoughts, musings and anything else that takes my fancy. All with a healthy dose of courage. I’d love for you to pop over and say hi, if those topics interest you.

 

How has your summer been? For the bloggers among you, do you take random/scheduled breaks? Do they help? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

A new elimination method for decluttering (also Project 333 series part3)

I came up with a new method for paring down my clothing last week.

I was struggling with the decision process in decluttering. This is probably something we all experience sometimes, yes? Which tops do I get rid of? Which are my least favourite? Which is my favourite?

This technique works on the psychology of choice. It is designed to limit the choice to one of two items, rather than 1 of 14 or more. The paradox of choice argues that decisions get harder the more choices we have. I was certainly feeling that way regarding my clothing. I tested the technique last week, to see the results. It seems to have worked, and I will continue using it for other categories.

The results from this were:

- I know which of my tops are my absolute favourites, and which ones are good but not great.

- I decluttered 4/14 tanks/strappy tops, and now have a nice round number of 10 (11 counting a winter tank, but I didn't include that in this round) tanks total. Before I started decluttering this summer, I had a total of 23 in this category.

- This method makes it easier to declutter overall, even if it might be a bit time-consuming. I prefer that the end result is a decluttered wardrobe, rather than not deciding at all.



I am going to attempt to explain how it's done! There are lots of photos, of each and every step. I thought it was best to include the whole process so I can explain it via illustration.

Step 1

Label 3 piles:

- FAVOURITES

- PROCESS

- PENDING

Step 2

Choose a single category of clothing, and get them all out. I chose tanks and strappy tops, as I was getting annoyed at the not-so-good ones in my wardrobe.

Put them in the PROCESS pile, one on top of the other, so you have a stack of items.

Step 3

Take the top item from the process pile, and lay it on a flat surface (I used the floor for easy photos). Take the next item from the pile, and lay it to the left or right. It doesn't matter at this point.

Step 4

Imagine you are in a shop, and you have only two choices; the two items of clothing in front of you. Pick your favourite, and then remove the other one to the pending pile. You always want to keep the favourite on the floor/table.

Step 5

Take the next item from the PROCESS pile, and put it next to your favourite from Step 4, replacing the previous item in the exact same location (i.e. left or right) Again, choose your favourite, imagining that you only have 2 choices.

Step 6

Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have cleared the PROCESS pile. All your non-favourites are in the PENDING pile. The item that you are left with at the end, after you have run through the PROCESS pile once, goes into the FAVOURITES.

Time for an illustration

Round 1

I chose my absolute favourite as the first item, and so it won all 12 comparisons, but it doesn't really matter where you start.

Here is a collage of round one (reads left to right). The favourite of the two choices is always marked with a white star.

Result from Round 1. Blue strappy top goes into FAVOURITES.

Round 2

Move the whole PENDING pile to the PROCESS pile. Do not reorder it or tamper with it!

Starting with the top item in the pile, go through Steps 3-6 from above.

Here is the collage for Round 2. Again, favourites are marked with a white star.

Round 3

Again, move the PENDING pile to the PROCESS pile.

Start again with steps 3-6.

Round 4

Again, move the PENDING pile to the PROCESS pile.

Start again with steps 3-6.

In Round 4, I switched favourites half-way through. It's important that you don't start again with the PROCESS pile, or you'll be there all day! Just keep on taking the next item from the pile until it's clear.

Round 5

Again, move the PENDING pile to the PROCESS pile.

Start again with steps 3-6.

The turquoise tank won most of the comparisons in this round. Another favourite.

Round 6:

Again, move the PENDING pile to the PROCESS pile.

Start again with steps 3-6.

Round 7

Again, move the PENDING pile to the PROCESS pile.

Start again with steps 3-6.

Round 8

Again, move the PENDING pile to the PROCESS pile.

Start again with steps 3-6.

Round 9

Again, move the PENDING pile to the PROCESS pile.

Start again with steps 3-6.

End results:

In the end, I kept 10 (including the top I was wearing at the time), and decluttered 4. I kinda just went with what felt right. At first, I thought I may stop at 6, but then I was still missing some versatile options, and an old favourite. 10 seemed like a nice round number, and I may even repeat this process again in the future.

Note that the decision process isn't always as clean as I make it out to be here. Of course, our minds will be influenced by what we've already chosen. In my case, I chose versatile options as my favourites to start with, a) because I like versatility, and b) because I need them for work. Then once I had my versatile favourites, I was drawn towards the patterns.



As far as I know, this idea is my own, and I haven't unknowingly copied it from somewhere. If you know of something similar, do let me know!

Also, I'd love to find out if you try this for yourself. I realise that if you have more than 14 in one category, it might take a while, but it feels good. Sometimes, a methodical approach works well. Other times, I'm more laid back about decluttering, chucking things left right and centre (albeit rarely).

Any questions? Anything that isn't clear?

I'd love to hear from you in the comments.



Thanks for reading! 

The last of the August break

In true perfectionist style, I ditched the August break challenge at day 11 in the most part (I remembered the odd prompt), because I couldn't think of a photo to go with "far away" or "home". I've struggled with the concept of "home" for a long time, and when I saw that on the list, I was like oh.....

My resident perfectionist declared that if I couldn't find prompts 12 and 13, I wouldn't do the challenge at all. Hmm, naughty perfectionist.

I've since had a word, and we agreed that I would have a look at my photos, and post the ones that I did remember during my adventures in August. Plus, I rooted through my vast collection of photos since April, and found some that fit the prompts. So, bending the challenge a little, here is a rather epic collection of photos from my summer.

 

[caption id="attachment_792" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 13 - home[/caption]

Perhaps the blurred character of this photo fits my concept of home rather well. I don't really know if I've found home, but this is as close as I get to feeling "at home". Sitting in my chair with my journal or some crochet, feeling the fresh breeze on my face.

 

[caption id="attachment_793" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 14 - stillness[/caption]

Stillness in the deer sanctuary (no entry to the public), on the outskirts of my city.

 

[caption id="attachment_794" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 15 - books[/caption]

I have begun to amass a rather large collection of non-fiction, most of which are unread. I'm looking forward to digging into these, one by one, and journalling my way through them. Some of them I've read, but they deserve re-reading.

 

[caption id="attachment_795" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 16 - floral[/caption]

A day out with a good friend.

 

[caption id="attachment_796" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 18 - looking down[/caption]

I found this stashed away in an old frame. My foot and hand-prints from when I was 4. Unfortunately, the paper was covered in mould, and had to be chucked. But, I saved it on an SD card instead.

 

[caption id="attachment_797" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 19 - white[/caption]

I will have the cottage in the background, thanks.

 

[caption id="attachment_788" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 20 - taste[/caption]

Also my birthday. These were birthday pancakes with maple syrup, banana and strawberries. Divine!

 

[caption id="attachment_789" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 21 - something old[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_791" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 29 - your fave thing[/caption]

I'm pretty sure I have a pretty notebook-pen-pencil-washi addiction. I love them.

[caption id="attachment_798" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 30 - sign[/caption]

Found on a solo walk at the reservoir

 

What does "home" mean to you? Where is home?

I'm very much interested in your responses. I'd love to know what the concept of home means to you.

 

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to subscribe to my posts by RSS and connect with me. You can also follow me on Twitter. 

 

 

 

My minimalist food experiment

My fellow UK minimalist blogger Claire at Just a little less linked to a blog that she’d recently discovered. A girl called Jack. The name had me hooked, and so did her writing. Hunger hurts is a particularly poignant post, and one that went viral. It was Jack’s turning point where she realised she could no longer feed herself or her son on her very minimal welfare/benefit budget. She sold most of her material possessions, and kept only 2 of each item for the kitchen. Then she scoured her apartment for all loose change, went to the supermarket, and bought ingredients from the value range and started testing recipes.

She has been an inspiration to so many, and has now lifted herself out of poverty, but it is a shock to read how many people here in the UK rely on foodbanks for support, reaching crisis point where they cannot feed their families. We spend a lot of time and effort advertising for food aid for developing countries, but we must also remember to address the poverty on our own doorsteps. Jack is an inspiration to us all, a campaigner, an “austerity” chef, and I will most definitely be supporting her work by buying her book coming out in February 2014.

Jack’s website led me to an article in the Guardian, on how to eat on £10 ($16) for a week. The recipes looked do-able, and edible too, so after a chat with my partner, we decided to get as close to £10 as we could for a week of food. We continued with our own breakfast and lunch, sometimes eating leftovers, but focussed on the main meals.

We priced up our shop, according to what we needed from the list, and any necessary extras. I have a low weight/high metabolism, and therefore need to take in more calories each day than the average (2000) for females.

We went to the supermarket, and bought (prices in brackets):

Items with an asterisk are extra

 

Peach punnet* £1

Apples £0.90

Bananas* £1.77

Lemon £0.30

Carrots (fresh): £0.24

Cucumber* £0.65

Cheese sub*: £0.75

Value Pitta bread: £0.22

Value Streaky bacon: £1.04

Fresh milk 1pint* £0.49

Value natural yoghurt (for cereal) x 3: £1.35

Value fruit yoghurt: £0.33

Value cooked ham*: £0.75

Value tuna chunks x2* £1.60

Value kidney beans x2  £0.42

Chick peas: £0.45

Value baked beans: £0.28

Canned spinach: £0.55

Value canned peaches: £0.32

Soya milk: £0.75

Rice cakes* £1

Value Fruit&Fibre cereal* £1.39

Peppermint tea* £0.99

Red wine vinegar: 0.80

Value toilet paper*: £0.67

Total price: £19.01

We then bought extra pitta breads for £1.40. Total price for a week’s food: £20.41

Given that we normally spend between £40 and £60 ($63 and $93) per week on food and household items, spending just £20 for a week instilled the fear of being without in us, that we wouldn’t have enough to eat. This fear was clearly irrational for us, but is a very real fear for too many families in the UK.

Determined to see it through, we soldiered on and started cooking the recipes. The fear of a new diet combined with a sense of excitement about completing the challenge made me enter the kitchen with renewed enthusiasm. In the interest of full disclosure, we decided to use any ingredients we already had in storage. This would technically make this more expensive, but we were focussed on the price of new food purchases.

Here are our meals for 11th-15th August

 

Breakfast all days: cereal and tea.

Mid-morning snack (me)- banana and flapjack, or digestive biscuit. I made flapjacks from ingredients I already had, tasty (pic below)!

Lunch was a mix of pitta sandwiches, or leftovers. I will note on the day if we ate leftovers for lunch.

Afternoon snack (me) - tea and a biscuit (or two).

 

Sunday:

dinner- chicken, chickpea, peach curry. Added roast chicken (from freezer), curry paste (found jar in fridge).

stuff already at home: curry paste, rice, chicken, onion, veg stock cube, chopped tomatoes

 

Monday:

lunch: leftovers from Sunday, plus 2 pitta breads.

dinner - cheating tomato and bean soup. Fresh carrots x2 instead of canned.

already had: chopped tomatoes, stock cube, onion, thyme, salt/pepper.

*froze half, and had the rest with pasta, roast chicken, mushrooms yesterday!

 

Tuesday:

dinner - Sausage bolognese, spaghetti (leftovers, + stored pasta)

dessert - yoghurt - peppermint tea.

*we need a thawed meal on Tuesdays, as I arrive home at 8pm. This was leftover from the previous week’s food.

 

Wednesday:

dinner - chicken, kidney bean chilli (roast chicken from freezer)

already had: chicken, cumin, rice, chopped tomatoes, dark chocolate.

 

Thursday:

dinner: bacon casserole

already had: chopped tomatoes, veg stock cube, rice, dried thyme, onion.

Since we didn’t complete a full week of the challenge, we still have canned spinach and kidney beans left over from the £20 shop. We have now tried the soup as a pasta sauce (yum), and are cooking the carrot, cumin and kidney bean burgers tonight.

I also have a confession. We planned this week’s meals and I went food shopping for it on Monday, and spent £60 ($93). I was not impressed, and rather embarrassed about the jump from £20 to £60. A combination of “treat-withdrawal”, access to “luxury” or branded items, and something likened to a binge eating session after a strict diet. A pendulum effect from one extreme to another.  Hopefully we will find an affordable middle ground, while still paying attention to the food we are eating, and reducing the amount we throw away. Yep, I admit it. The experiment helped us “reset” our habits, and we are much more conscious of food waste now (but that’s another post).

 

Over to you:

Do you have any tips for frugal eating? Any tips on reducing food waste? Ideas for cheap recipes? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

 

27 lessons in 27 years

 

 



 

Today marks 27 years since I was born. Hot damn I'm getting closer and closer to 30 and just the thought scares the crap out of me!

For my birthday, I thought I'd join in with the blogging prompt and list some things I've learned, mostly in the past year.

1. I am a multipotentialite . I thrive on learning new techniques and crafty ways of making new things.

2. Experiences are better than stuff. The best birthday present ever was a trip to the Eden Project and a night in a B&B.

3. Time is better than money. I've recently reduced my hours at work, and it has made a massive difference to my daily life.

4. I am a natural born packrat....

5. ....And an aspiring minimalist.

6. Forgiving doesn't change the past, but lightens my heart in the present and changes the future.

7. Change is the only thing that doesn't change.

8. Imperfection is beautiful. I don't think I fully believe this lesson yet, but I'm practising all the time with dropping perfectionism.

9. I have high empathy - and carry some traits of a highly sensitive person (HSP). I don't particularly like that term though. But I'm comfortable with being an empathic introvert.

10. I am a self-help, spiritual and personal growth glutton. I can't get enough of books and blogs on these topics.

11. Finding a tribe that I can relate to is a good way to be comfortable with certain aspects of my personality. Susannah Conway's journalling course made me less embarrassed about my incurable stationery/art supply/paint/felt tip/pencil addiction. I bought new felt tips for my birthday.

12. My unofficial internet/blogging mentor is Andrea Schroeder. She is an amazing woman, and I love her work. She inspires me to continue on my creative journey.

13. Letting go is hard, but worth it. I get to say bye to the old, and hello to the new.

14. Photography is my new passion. It grounds me in simple beauty.

15. Personal growth and the development of self awareness never stops. There is always more to learn.

16. I doubt my ability to be accountable, and that is why I practise. I'm currently doing a push-up challenge with my partner, and we are accountable to each other in not giving up. I'm also practising with a new writing project. So far, being accountable and following through with something is a great boost to confidence.

17. My essentials are: writing, creating and photography.

18. Recovery for me is a lot about discovering who I am and being comfortable with it, embracing it. Hence the big list of "I am's" above!

19. I've only ever known the voice of my inner critic. My inner wisdom is still a faint whisper, but I can hear it if I listen carefully.

20. Meditation is not about achieving an empty mind. It's about noticing what happens, being aware, and then letting go.

21. Drawing mandalas helps me challenge my perfectionism and be comfortable with the creative process.

22. My purpose in this life is to help people in any way I can.

23. Mornings are quiet and beautiful. I never used to be a morning lark, but a night owl who never saw the possibility of change. Now I know that change is possible, and long held assumptions are open to challenge.

24. Self-belief is the most important thing for driving change.

25. We are all in this together, and can share our stories so others feel less alone.

26. Everyone has a voice, and everyone is unique. Your story is unique because you are telling it. Here's my TUT note from the Universe for today:

In fact, there's never been a single one like you, nor is there ever ANY possibility that another will come again. You're an Angel among us. Someone, whose eyes see what no others will EVER see, whose ears hear what no others will EVER hear, and whose perspective and feelings will NEVER, ever be duplicated. Without YOU, the Universe, and ALL THAT IS, would be sadly less than it is. 

27. Vulnerability is not a weakness. A quote from Brene Brown's new book "Daring greatly":

Yes, we are totally exposed when we are vulnerable. Yes, we are in the torture chamber that we call uncertainty. And yes, we're taking a huge emotional risk when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. But there's no equation where taking risks, braving uncertainty, and opening ourselves up to emotional exposure equals weakness. 

 

I've made pancakes with maple syrup and banana, gone blackberry picking, eaten too much chocolate and dessert, was given beautiful flowers and am going out to dinner tonight. Reflecting on the above lessons suddenly makes getting a year older a bit less scary.

I hope your week is filled with beautiful moments :)

 

 

 

44 days without TV

On 14th June, we got this reminder:

Renew your licence before it expires on 30 June 2013

to remain legally licensed.

Like last year, the licence fee is £145.50

Last year, I would not have hesitated to pay the bill. That’s just what you do, right? TV is normal, and it’s just a fact of life in the UK that you pay your TV licence.

Or is it? When this reminder popped into my inbox, we were having some financial worries, and I wasn’t keen on seeing that amount disappear from my bank account. After some thought, and a discussion, we decided that we wouldn’t renew our licence. This meant that we would not be able to watch any live TV, as it was being broadcast. Catch up services would still be available to us.

 

We asked questions such as:

- do we need it?

- my partner asked how he would watch the world cup, next year.

- what if the licencing authority doesn’t leave us alone?

- what will we do without TV?

 

I knew that we could pay our licence at any time and start watching TV again if we wanted to.

On July 1st, our experiment of living without TV began.

The first week or so, while we broke the habit of our nightly TV watching after dinner over peppermint tea, it was odd. It came up in conversation.

Take note of the last word in the above sentence. Conversation. Switching off the TV allowed us to talk over our peppermint tea, rather than mindlessly watching whatever remotely interesting programme we could find.

We are independent people, and don’t spend a lot of time in the same room. When we did (with TV), we ate our dinner, had our tea and watched TV. Then we would disappear into our respective rooms, one to study, the other to faff about online (me).

Now, it is different. We eat dinner, chat about our days, and then sit down with our peppermint tea on the sofa, and talk. Like, talk about our days, plans, happenings. We engage in meaningful conversation about news, world issues, our thoughts of the day.

We don’t miss the TV. We watch the occasional show on catch up, and I have indulged in a bit of 90210 for some mindless TV watching. The big difference is, we don’t let it rob us of meaningful time together. Our occasional TV watching is mindfully done; a show that we like, and can enjoy together.

We mindfully invite TV into our lives, rather than the other way round. We do this by asking why, and if it is a good use of our time. If it’s our favourite show, it passes the test. If we are desperately searching the catalogue of catch up shows, then we notice and turn the laptop off and start talking instead. TV doesn't rule our lives anymore, and I love that.

The TV is staying unplugged, and unlicenced.

 

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to subscribe to my posts by RSS or follow me on Twitter. 

August break days 5-11

I'm back with the second instalment of my August break challenge. Taking these photos is a fun way to notice my surroundings, and look for photo opportunities that fit the prompts. I've also really enjoyed taking photos in general, and then discovering to my surprise that they fit the prompts!

Enjoy!

 

[caption id="attachment_757" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 5 close up #1[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_756" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 5 close up #2[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_758" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 6 diagonals[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_760" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 7 skyline[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_749" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 8 - a selfie[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_750" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 9- taste[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_751" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 10 red #1[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_752" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 10 red #2[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_753" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 10 red #3[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_754" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 10 red #4[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_755" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 11 play[/caption]

 

You can join us in the August break at any time!

 

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to subscribe to my posts by RSS or follow me on Twitter. 

 

 

Leaning in

 

 

Move closer, lean in, get curious; even for a moment, experience the feelings without labels, beyond being good or bad. Welcome them. Invite them. Do anything that helps melt the resistance.   

-Pema Chödrön

Here’s the truth; life is pretty difficult right now. One challenge after another presents itself, and I’m struggling with the sky-high anxiety I’ve experienced as a result.

Job stress, home stress, life stress, career (what is that anyway?) stress, will-I-ever-fulfil-my-purpose-stress.

Yes, those have all happened recently, and now I’m back at job stress. Uncertainty over rules, regulations and how long I will be in my job for.

I’ve been meaning to get the hell outta here, run away, give up and escape, anything-but-this, go live as a nomad somewhere. Sounds good to me.

I’m pretty good at convincing myself that escape is the only solution. Yet, the wisdom that is a barely audible whisper compared to my screaming inner critic, says that to develop strength and resilience, independence and stamina, to figure out what this life is all about, I must stay. Stay, learn from the experience and come out stronger.

Hardship sucks. But in the face of all this, messages of “lean in” come along*, reminding me that running from these feelings won’t solve anything. They’ll most likely pack themselves in my bag, putting themselves on the list of essential items. Thanks dad for the awesome analogy!

Avoiding these feelings, running away from struggle, will only make things more difficult. If I pretend that things are easy peasy, refuse to listen to the voice of wisdom that says “slow-the-f*%* down and rest”, I will run myself into the ground and it will be a mighty endeavour to pick myself up again.

In the interest of developing confidence and trust in my inner wisdom, I’m going to listen. Listen carefully. The Universe is conspiring along with me, as from my recent note:

Those little things that you alone see, Linda, aren't by chance. The sign, the squirrel, the dragonfly; the whisper, the song, the lily. It's me. I'm always with you. I'll do anything to reach you -- to give you hope, keep you on track, answer your questions. Look even closer,    The Universe

If you’re interested in your own Notes from the Universe, sign up here. Lovely messages, delivered to your inbox.

and another:

When you tough it out, hold the line, and stay the course, Linda, I promise you there will soon come a day when you look back over your shoulder, shake your head in dismay, and seriously wonder what all the fuss was about. Just like all the other times,    The Universe

And so, I lean in. Be with the discomfort, aware of my tiredness, fatigue, exhaustion and I execute a most divine self-care plan. Plenty of crochet, reading, journalling, photo-taking, and sleep.

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’” – Eleanor Roosevelt

(borrowed from Sandra Pawula’s excellent collection)

 

-I believe in you all

Linda

*I'm not a Christian, but the message conveyed here is still a good one.

 

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to subscribe to my posts by RSS or follow me on Twitter. I'd love to hear from you in the comments. You can also connect with me privately by email.

August break days 1-4

I'm participating in the August Break challenge set up by Susannah Conway for this month. I plan to post every few days with my photos, as I'd like to continue with some of my planned posts for this month!

This challenge is an exercise in dropping perfectionism - I'm hoping to outrun my perfectionist tendency!

 

[caption id="attachment_722" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 1- Breakfast[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_723" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 2 - Circles[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_724" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 3 - Yellow (inside)[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_725" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 3 - Yellow (outside)[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_726" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Day 4 - Love (best friend's wedding favours)[/caption]

 

 

You can join the challenge at any time! It's fun to look for photo opportunities that fit the prompts!

 

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to subscribe to my posts by RSS or follow me on Twitter.

Project 333 Series - part 2: More numbers

As I go into the 4th season of Project 333, I’ve decided to get well acquainted with the decision process, thoughts, lessons and introduce a challenge or two to spice things up a bit. There’s nothing like a bit of discomfort to get us out of our ruts and learning some more about ourselves.

For new readers, I’ve taken part in a challenge to wear 33 items for 3 months, including shoes and accessories. I’ve been doing this for 4 consecutive seasons, since October 2012, and informally since July 2012 before that, so I have been dressing with less for a year now. It’s become a way of life for me. More details about the challenge can be found on the Project 333 website.

I have a few posts lined up on the topic, and am looking forward to delving deeper.

In the first post, I took photographs of EVERY.SINGLE.ITEM I own. Pyjamas, bags, jewellery, everything. I’ll save you the joy of looking at pictures of my underwear though. That stuff belongs firmly in my dresser ;)

I counted and categorised. I made a detailed spreadsheet. I colour coded and analysed. All inspired by the awesome Debbie Roes at Recovering Shopaholic (check her out, she’s good!). Specifically, this post.

Next, I want to look at how many items have made it into seasonal selections and how many haven’t, across all 4 seasons of Project 333. I’ll also break it down into the items I’ve worn most frequently, and those that haven’t seen much light.

 

You in?

Let’s get started.

Total number of items 1st July 2013: 191

If I combine all the collages from part 1, into one mega collage, it looks like this:

 



 

 

Ok, so that isn’t the best photo, but all those individual collages can be seen here. I just wanted to get an overall feel of my entire wardrobe. Overwhelmed yet? No? ok good!

So, to do this logically, I will go from general to details. So as not to confuse anyone, including myself.

Total number of items owned, 1st July 2013: 191

That number includes shoes, bags, jewellery, pyjamas, workout gear and all regular clothing.

Total number of items owned, that count for Project 333: 130

Total number worn from Seasons 1-4 : 125

Total number included in Seasons 1-4 of Project 333: 78

 

The higher figure includes all items not included in the count for the project: workout gear, pyjamas, jewellery and some bags.

This means that I have worn (or selected to wear) 65% of my total wardrobe in the last year, and selected 60% of eligible items to be included in Project 333.

This surprises me, as 40% of my “eligible” wardrobe has not been selected for Project 333 for 4 consecutive seasons.

This is out of choice. Not because I didn’t have options. I chose to select the items I loved out of the massive pile, and 40% didn’t make the cut for various reasons. I preferred my trusted items. I developed a colour palette that works for me in colours that suit me. I wore my favourite pieces a lot. It felt good.

It still feels good to have less to choose from.

 

I decided to make yet another spreadsheet, to see the distribution of items across seasons. There was significant overlap. See the full table here: Project 333 Season lists , but this is what it looks like:

 

 



 

 

Number of items in all 4 seasons: 8

Number of items in 3 seasons: 17

Number of items in 2 seasons: 17

Number of items in 1 season: 36

 Total unique items: 78

 

Most of the items that only occur in one season are experimental  - an attempt to get them into daylight, to see if I love them or not. That’s certainly the case for Season 4, as I decided to give my usual items a rest and test drive all those pesky tanks that I had stacked in the box, plus some new trousers/skirts etc. Debbie came up with a great term for these: wardrobe benchwarmers

Remember, I had 130 eligible P333 items as of 1st July, and to date only 78 of them have been selected. What to do with the remaining 52?

Well, I went through all of my clothing, made ruthless decisions based on various factors outlined in Part 1. Counting them again, I now have 108 items eligible for Project 333.

Now there are 30 remaining that are eligible, but have not been selected. I will be thinking hard about what to do with these items, as I won’t have worn them for over a year once I finish Season 4...

 

Over to you

Do you have favourite items that you keep returning to? What do you do with the rest? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

 

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to subscribe to my posts by RSS or follow me on Twitter

On travelling solo

As I mentioned in my last post, I went on a solo adventure to Hope Valley and the Peak District last weekend. My best friend was due to get married, and I decided to travel the day before. It had been a difficult week emotionally, relationally, and at work. I needed thinking time and head space. I seem to need a lot of head space these days.

Thing is, it sounds easy, but I was TERRIFIED. Driving alone 180 miles and camping somewhere? After a hard emotional week? Really?

I haven’t done anything of the sort for over 2 years, and I was worried about all sorts. Who would help me pitch the tent? Who would help me cook? What if the car broke down? What if I got lost? And so on. I am a natural born worrier. (I wish that spelt warrior! I’m working on it  )



 



 



 

These photos were taken with my HTC Sense phone camera. 

Once I'd pitched my tent, I sat down with my take away wood fired pizza (nom!) outside the tent and wrote in my journal. It felt good to be outside, and savour the opportunity for alone time.

What I learnt:

1. Listening to my worries, and knowing my little quirks helped me deal with the scariness of the trip better. I worried about the route, having adequate directions, getting lost and what to do when I got there. Knowing my worries meant that:

• I intentionally chose a campsite close to a village that I know. I researched it on the website, and was glad to know they have wardens there.


• I planned a stop in the village to get my bearings, i.e. set the SatNav (GPS) to take me there, and not direct to the campsite.


• In addition to having a SatNav, I wrote down all addresses, post codes, and figured out directions on Google Maps. I “drove” down the winding country lane in Street View to find the entrance to the campsite. I am a visual learner, so I recognise landmarks easily.


• I thought through all eventualities before I left. If I got lost, or the SatNav broke, I had my phone with internet capability and a paper map in the car should all else fail. If I broke down, I would call up the breakdown assistance and pay them directly (I don’t have breakdown cover).


• I checked the oil levels in my car, and was reassured that it had recently passed it’s annual MOT (safety test).

 

2. Decisions based on fear don’t lead to much growth. Had I decided against going alone, I would not have experienced the immense benefits of travelling solo, and would have delayed learning that I CAN DO IT.

3. Going alone helped me regain confidence in my ability to do something difficult that I’d set my mind to. I tapped into my inner strength and that felt empowering.

4. Too much choice is a bad thing. We know that already from the paradox of choice, but I now have a concrete example. It took me a while to decide where to pitch my tent. And I felt pretty self-conscious wandering around the campsite aimlessly.

5. It’s good to start small. I started with a short weekend trip where I knew I’d be seeing my best friend and lots of other people at the wedding. Maybe next time I can go alone for a full weekend, with just me, my camera, journal and thoughts.

 

Going away alone gave me some much needed time to reflect, gather my thoughts, and write in my journal. I was pretty busy from Saturday morning until I left on Sunday, but even the car journey was therapeutic – singing (loudly) to myself to my favourite music.

 

Over to you:

Do you travel alone? What have you learnt? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

 

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to subscribe to my posts by RSS or follow me on Twitter

Adventures in Hope Valley

 

I went on a solo adventure this weekend, to the rather aptly named Hope Valley in Derbyshire, UK.

There are lots of changes going on in this house, and I feel the name captures my feelings around these changes rather nicely. It was a beautiful weekend. I went to my best friend's wedding, alone, 180 miles away. I camped, soaked in the view, and indulged in some photography while I was there.

I wanted to share some photos from the weekend with you, but couldn't choose between them! So here they are.



 

These photos are taken with my Canon EOS 1100D DSLR. 

 

I am working on a post about travelling alone, something I haven't done in over 2 years. It was incredibly refreshing and empowering, and I'd like to capture that in an essay soon.

 

What adventures have you been on lately? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!