5 Questions for A Better Year

YOU.GUYS. It’s freaking September today, SEPT.EM.BER. How did we even get here? Wasn’t it just May yesterday? I swear the time goes by faster every year. We are officially in the last part of 2019, but it’s not too late to make the most of the year that you have left. We often get so caught up in living the day to day tasks and responsibilities of our lives that we can forget to stop and take a step back and ask ourselves if we are really living our best lives. (And not the Instagram version of your best life. Your ACTUAL best life). 

As I am taking some time this week to get clear about my plans for the end of the year, I thought I’d challenge you to spend some time thinking about creating the life you want as well. 

Here’s five questions to ask yourself: 

1. What do I wish I did more of?

2. What things make me feel the happiest? How can I do these things more?

3. What constitutes a life that I am proud of?

4. What is draining my time or energy?

5. What kind of people do I want to surround myself with?

Literally take out a piece of paper and write down your thoughts. And most importantly, use what you’ve learned from this exercise to plan your September. Pick a date. Plan the time. Make it happen. I know you can! And your future self will thank you for it.

Have a great week ahead, 

Meghan 

Hey, I’m Meghan

I’m here sharing content all about pursuing your own version of more and loving how you feel doing it. If that sounds good to you, stick around and let’s be friends!

Lists that Make My Life Easier

I’m a list person. Hands-down, no questions about it, I love making lists. I think more specifically, I like checking things OFF of a list, but you get the idea. I easily forget things if I don’t write them down, so lists are a practical way to remember to do everything that has to happen. Aside from your standard to-do lists, here are some lists i keep to make my life easier:

1. Gift Idea List- I keep a list in my phone of gift ideas for people so that when their birthday, Christmas or Mother’s Day rolls around, I don’t have to struggle with ideas. If you are with someone and they mention something that they need or love, put it in your list so you can give them a perfect gift when the time comes.

2. Errands List - Have you ever gotten home from a trip to the grocery store and realized that you forgot to pick up a prescription from the drug store that is LITERALLY next to the grocery store you were just at? Keeping an errands list on my phone reminds me to run all of my errands on one trip so I’m not wasting time going to the same area twice.

3. Address book- I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been ready to address an envelope at the post office or at work and been like, “Crap, I don’t have their address with me!”. Having a list of addresses in your phone that use frequently makes sure that wherever you are, you have those important lists with you everywhere. You could use a notes app on your phone, but my list is in Google Drive, which I can access from my phone as well.

There’s three lists that I find super helpful to keep. Tell me in a comment below- what lists make your life easier?

Hey, I’m Meghan

I’m here sharing content all about pursuing your own version of more and loving how you feel doing it. If that sounds good to you, stick around and let’s be friends!

Book Review: The Home Edit

“As we always say, you can have the item or you can have the space, but you can’t have both!”

— The Home Edit by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin

Why I picked it up: So many reasons! 1. I’m a bit of an organizational enthusiast, so I nerd out over this stuff in general all the time. 2. I follow them on Instagram and they are hilarious and 3. The book came out a perfect time for me, as we moved into our new house and spring cleaning season hit.

What I Learned:

1. In the book, the authors emphasize that their combination of organization combines function and design in a way that makes spaces not only look great, but stay organized for the long term. “Sprinkling this extra layer of pixie dust inspires people to maintain their organized spaces. Which is the whole point!”

2. It’s okay to get rid of things. I’ve discovered as I’ve tried to clean out our belongings before and after our move that I do feel a lot of guilt about getting rid of things that I don’t want, either because it was a gift, or it was expensive, or because I personally bought something that I shouldn’t have. When looking at an item you feel you bought by mistake, they urge “Don’t double down on the mistake by keeping it!”

3. Not every item will fall into the keep or discard pile. I loved that they spent time in the book to point out that there are some items that won’t fall into the binary choice of keep or toss. Something that is sentimental, but you don’t use everyday should be stored away in a basement or attic. That way it’s safe, but it’s not taking up valuable space elsewhere.

4. Label, label, label! As stated in the book, “We believe that this [labeling] is actually the secret to long-term maintenance.” This could be especially helpful in my case, as I’m the one doing all of the organizing. How’s my husband supposed to know where things go if I don’t tell him somehow? The thought of labeling things seems a bit too permanent for me, so I might look into labels that can be erased/changed if needed.

Do I think having a perfectly organized home is absolutely necessary? No, I really don't’t. But I do see the benefit in getting spaces organized if you have the time, brain space, cash and resources to make it happen. Getting the containers to organize every closet, cupboard and drawer in my house sounds daunting, so I’m going to try to break it into small pieces. Hey, they recommend starting with just one drawer.

BUY THE BOOK ON AMAZON (affiliate link- thank you!)

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Hey, I’m Meghan

I’m here sharing content all about pursuing your own version of more and loving how you feel doing it. If that sounds good to you, stick around and let’s be friends!

Spring Clean Your Life Challenge! Four Easy Things

Ah- there’s nothing like a new season to make you feel refreshed and renewed and excited for the months to come. There’s definitely something special about spring, especially for us Midwesterners who have just survived winter, that makes you feel motivated to get life moving again.

This is likely why spring is often associated with cleaning, organizing and decluttering. Those activities are my favorite all year round, but even I’ve been hit with the extra urge to get my life and my spaces together. Here’s some things I’m looking forward to sprucing up:

1. My fridge- You know what happens here. There’s likely some expired food in your fridge, and likely some spills and stains on the shelves. If you want extra credit, you could totally organize your food into clear storage bins a la The Home Edit, but I’m saving that for another day and just discarding and cleaning it up.

2. My car- UGH my car! Sometimes I feel like I live there. You too? Spring is a great time to get your ride all spiffed up. The warm weather is the perfect excuse to run through the car wash (or wash it yourself), vacuum it out, get all of the shoes, bags, and miscellaneous junk out of the car and back to where they belong.

3. My closet- This is an intimidating one. I’m sure many of us have tons of clothes and nothing to wear. The change of season means you’ll be wearing some new items that you haven’t in awhile and maybe there’s some winter stuff that no longer fits, is in good shape or is something that you like to wear that you can donate or sell. It’s a good time to go through all of your clothes and discard what you don’t want and then reorganize all the stuff you do want.

4. My purse- I actually like to switch my purses out every couple of months, so spring is a good time to clean out my wallet, clean out my purse, replenish my hand cream, lip balm and hand sanitizer and reorganize everything. Your purse is a lot easier to carry when you’re not lugging around a ton of extra receipts, coupons and random change.

Are you ready to refresh your life for spring? Take on this challenge with me and handle these four things right along with me! I will be posting all week on Instagram with my progress on the challenge so you can follow along and spring clean with me!

Hey, I’m Meghan

I’m here sharing content all about pursuing your own version of more and loving how you feel doing it. If that sounds good to you, stick around and let’s be friends!