"Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down"

You would think that after living here for almost 4 years, that I'd be totally settled in. And by totally settled in I mean that everything I own would have it's own place where it was supposed to be. But that's just not the case. Over the last couple years I've hauled of A LOT of stuff to donate so I've definitely made a lot of progress. I'm almost there but my second bedroom is constantly stuck in a struggle. I'd like to think that for the most part my place is very nice and put together. But sometimes all I see is chaos. Sometimes all I want to do is get rid of things, just to get rid of them. Not because I don't need them or want them... just to get rid of them and make more space. For instance, as crazy as this sounds, sometimes I wish my second bedroom closet was just completely empty. Empty. How nice would that be?! But it isn't. It's the home of my wrapping paper, photo albums, scrapbooks, scrapbook paper, art supplies, random supplies, all my big jackets that take up a lot of room, and all my summer dresses. What can I say. I'm a girl with a lot of interests/hobbies and a lot of those interests require items, and those items require space.

I'm in one of my moods again where I just want to get rid of things. The sad part is that most of these things are things I've been wanting to take care of for a long time but require more energy than I care to use up. I know I'll be able to breathe a little easier when it's all done though.

TO DO

1. Sell my wedding gown. As beautiful as it is, clearly I don't need it. I might as well sell it.

2. Sell my wedding veil. Just like my dress, I don't need it and have no desire to keep it.

3. Sell my Kawasaki leather riding jacket. I've only worn it a few times in the 12 years that I've had it. I might as well get rid of it. Or at least *try* to sell it. Since it is old, there might not be any takers.

4. Sell the 4 Mary Kay mini compacts that I still have in leftover inventory.

5. Sell the Tinkerbell scrapbook with all the Disney scrapbooking stickers. It was supposed to be for my honeymoon scrapbook since we went to Disneyworld, but since that relationship was a bust, might as well let someone else use it to preserve memories.

6. Copy all my vinyl albums and then only keep up to one crate worth (right now I have 4 crates). This will be hard because the albums are my dad's. I plan on keeping the ones that I love to listen to and mean the most to me and then figure out what to do with the rest after. I figure by getting rid of most of them though, it'll clear up floor room in my second bedroom and help it feel less cluttered.

7. Find out a wonderful solution for my jewelry storage. Most of what I own is just fashion jewelry, but it'd be nice to keep it all in one place instead of in three separate places all sitting on the ground. I doubt this will happen anytime soon because it more than likely involves buying furniture. But if I start thinking about it now.... okay. fine. I need to just figure out a cheap alternative for the time being. Even if it's buying a very short and thin table to set my small jewelry trunk on top of and another jewelry container beside it.

8. Get rid of my extra jewelry box that currently houses random bits and pieces. I need to just empty it and do it. I can just put the items in a baggy in the box in my closet with the rest of my random stuff. At least then I can donate it and get if off the floor of my second bedroom.

9. Read the 14 remaining books on my bookcase so that I can donate them.  I'm not sure why I'm in such a hurry to do this because all it will do is clear off the last two of my shelves. I have items on the middle shelves and books I want to keep on the bottom two. Somehow I know it will help though.

10. Get rid of more clothes! I can't tell you how much clothing I've already gotten rid of. Partly because I've lost enough weight that I didn't need the larger items anymore. And partly because I just didn't wear the clothes. But I'd love to just have the items I'm in love with. I'm not even sure if there is much more to donate. It's time to go through closets and dressers one more time though. I'd love to not need as much room as I do, for my clothing. Not that I don't want to have options. But do I really need to keep the business suit that I wore 8 yrs ago to get the job I now have? I'll never wear it again. Do I really need to keep the dress I wore as maid of honor at my friend's wedding? I keep saying I'm going to wear it again, but let's be realistic. Even though I can fit in it... what are the odds I'd wear it again? It's just taking up room along with other things in my closet. It's time to put my closet on a diet.

11. Get rid of anything unnecessary. This is the hard part. A good portion of that are items that for one dumb reason or another, I might have stupid sentimental attachment to. But if I want to continue to declutter, I need to do it. It's not like I'm holding on to old movie ticket stubs or anything, but I know there are plenty of items that just sit in a box because I don't want to get rid of them for whatever stupid reason. I need to just get over it and get rid of them... whatever they may be.

12. Donate my old running shoes to the local store that collects them. This part is easy, I just need to do it.

13. Transfer photos in old photo albums to scrapbooks in the hopes of taking up less pages or just take them out and put all the photos in a box. I'm just trying to come up with ways to regain space on my closet shelf. Maybe if I consolidate in a more efficient manner, I can get rid of a little bit of room. I dunno. I might have to sit on this one and really give it some thought.

Fortunately I've been really good about not buying a lot of unnecessary things. And I've been doing good about keeping my closets organized with what's in them. It'd still be nice to downsize just a little bit more... and on my own terms and timeline.

January Birchbox Review

 

January's box consisted of:

Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk - I was actually eager to try this. I generally wash my hair every night since I go to the gym and sweat my butt (and head) off. And I think we've all had one of those days when we don't plan on taking a shower one day and thus our hair doesn't look it's best. This would be a nice alternative for the times. I followed the directions and sprayed in it, brushed it out. And I did not like the results. It left white film in my hair and where it soaked up the oil, it just looked dirtier. I'd rather suffer with non-washed hair for the day than use that stuff. I gave it to my sister to try. Maybe she'll like it. It got a lot of great reviews, which actually surprised me. When I was 15 I was in the hospital for 12 days and wasn't allowed to shower during that time. I had my hair washed with dry shampoo and I can honestly say that it felt clean afterwards. This stuff though.. not so.

Juicy Couture Couture La La - It's no secret that I'm sensitive to scents. So while this perfume wasn't for me, it doesn't mean it wouldn't be nice for someone else. It wasn't horrible. I just couldn't tolerate it. This sample also went to my sister.

Coastal Scents Revealed Palette Set - I rarely wear eye makeup. IF I do, I only wear it on the weekends. I was eager to try this sample though. The sample was of four colors, and while they might not be my first pick of shades, there was one that caught my eye. I decided to wear it to church one Sunday. After church I went to my parent's house and asked my sister what she thought of it. Then my mom saw and she instantly LOVED it. I liked how it went on. It lasted all day. And while I wasn't interested just yet in purchasing the palette it was for, I DID end up purchasing a larger color palette of eye shadows by them. I just got it in the mail this week and I can't wait to play around with colors!

Nail Rock - I received the navy velvet nail polish in my box. The concept was nice, but the execution wasn't. The polish went on streaky, and the velvet didn't have full coverage. It simply looked like fuzz was growing on my nails - not a look I'm trying to achieve in my early 30's. This might be perfect for someone in jr high when you don't care about quality and you want something very unique. Just make sure you're careful - the fuzz gets messy when applying. For now I'll stick with my regular brands of Julep, OPI, and Sally Hansen.

And as an extra special bonus it also included a sample of:

Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion with Clary Sage - I love Burt's Bees. I use the lip balm and the body butter, so I was happy to see this small sample in my box. As expected, the product is nice. The lotion smells fresh, though I wish the Clary Sage was a bit lighter in scent because I actually prefer unscented lotions. (I'd much rather smell like the perfume I choose to wear.) I'll definitely use up the rest of the sample, but I'm not sure I'll go out and buy it. Maybe one day. Who knows.