simple progress

September has officially begun and I’m finally feeling like I’ve made some progress with my simplicity goals!!

Simplifying my living space: I wrote a week or so ago that I would focus more on this in September, which is still the plan. BUT yesterday I cleaned out, decluttered, simplified, and organized my dresser (yes, I get the whole dresser to myself…lucky me!)!! There were t-shirts in there I’d forgotten all about that I absolutely love! There were also plenty of my husband’s running shirts (oops), a pair of my dad’s pajamas bottoms (long story, also a size XL in men’s which means they didn't even fit), one of my mom’s t-shirts (again, long story), and more unmentionables. I enjoyed taking inventory of all the workout clothes, pajamas, undies, socks, etc. I got rid of plenty and still have more than enough to be comfortable.

Simplifying my work space: I really hit this one hard before school started up, so I haven’t had much to do this past week. I cleaned out another drawer that was full of old programs/units another SLP in the building used to use. Those things were so far off the mark from how I do my therapy that most of it ended up in the trash. I think I have my caseload figured out, and I’m all prepared to start seeing groups tomorrow. Overall, I’m feeling organized, simplified, and ready to take on a new year!

Simplifying my lifestyle: Oh bother, this is the one I continue to struggle with, at times. I’m such a people-pleaser that when I feel like I let one person down, the rest of my day (and even week) is ruined. But I’ve been sticking to my guns and saying ‘no’ if I feel the need to. My personal To Do list continues to grow (e.g. just for today, I need to buy some school supplies, clean the house, do the laundry, take the car in to get registered since it was due last month, stop by my second job at the hospital for some training, and grocery shopping…all before a family barbecue at 5:30) but it’s also manageable. I’ve really had to pull the husband in for some back-up since I am the one working weekends now (we’ve switched roles in that respect, and I don’t think he realized how much I did while he was working weekends). He’s been a good support and much more assertive about things than I expected, which is a huge help! I’ve continued my nightly runs, making them longer if I am especially stressed or overwhelmed. I cannot begin to explain how good these make me feel! An hour or so of just being outside with nothing to listen to but my own thoughts has done wonders for me! If I am struggling with a particular problem, this hour is all it takes for me to assess the problem, work out a solution, and feel like a weight has been lifted. Basically, if you don’t have some sort of time for you to just think, make time for it…I promise you wonderful things will come from it!

Now I’m really going to tackle my living space! If I’m being honest, I don’t think I will get it totally done this month, but Imma try! I’ve been researching this concept for some time now, and read quite a few books. In the next few posts I’ll share my tools (aka checklists) for how I’m going about simplifying my living space, as well as some book reviews. Stay tuned!