So I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions (in elementary school, I would always write "do well in school" as my mandatory resolution, which is about all I had been focusing on for the past three years anyway), but this year, I'm feeling a little more inspired.
Though 2014 saw me through a plethora of changes, mostly for the better -- getting my first job, and then a second one, developing a sense of style, focusing on colleges and my future -- it left me feeling weighed down and cluttered by all this stuff that I didn't really care about but was afraid to let go.
So as you've probably already guessed by the title, my resolution this year is to simplify. Simplify my space, my wardrobe, my life...
When I was little, I took such pride in my room. Every few weeks I would reorganize and clean up, leaving only the bare essentials out, Ikea-catalog style. And I would actually throw out the stuff that I didn't use.
This year, I want to go back to that.
Last night, I stayed up obscenely late cleaning my room, as elementary and uninteresting as that sounds. But it wasn't just dusting and vacuuming, it was taking all this crap that just lays arounds and getting rid of it, or, in my often overly-attached case, moving it into a big box of stuff in my cabinet.
I think we all have one of these -- a pile of souvenirs and well-intentioned gifts and half used products that we never touch but can't bear to throw away because we might use it someday. Someday soon, I pledge to throw out that box of crap (actually, it's three boxes). I haven't touched any of it in over a year, even two, so what the hell is it still doing around?
Nevertheless, I encourage you to take the time to truly clear out whatever space you spend the most time in. It's honestly so refreshing to be able to sit down at my desk and focus on my school work or art or whatever it may be in what feels like a brand new room.
2. Simplify my wardrobe.
I started this one off last night too, sorting through my tiny, tiny closet and taking out all the clothes that I hadn't worn in ages. (As you can see, though, there's still quite a lot of stuff, but I'll get to that in a minute.)
I realized that the reason I had been so scared to get rid of those ill-fitting shirts and colors that didn't really go with anything was because keeping them around was free. As in, would I rather have less clothes or more, slightly useless clothes, for free? Since money is honestly a big concern in my life, and I'm a sucker for "what ifs," I kept those clothes around.
But what if it wasn't free?
Not only were those clothes costing me space in my closet, but it could, in a sense, be costing be money to keep them, if the alternative was selling them for money to fuel new fashion endeavors. So I've downloaded a few of those clothes selling apps and I'll update you on the results in a week or so.
On top of that, I've been thinking of taking an even bigger step -- starting a capsule wardrobe, which means I'd have 30-40 pieces of clothing to wear for a season and that's it. It seems scary, but I think I've already been doing it in a sense, because I have less that 30 pieces that I wear 90 percent of the time anyway. And honestly, out of my entire wardrobe right now, I don't know whether I have a whole season's worth of different outfits that I love. But we'll see about that one.
3. Simplify my life.
In this day and age, it's incredibly easy to get carried away in the thousand distractions available at you fingertips. Some of these "distractions" are good -- a TV show that makes you laugh, a blogger who inspires you, shopping online for something that you'll feel confident wearing. But the true distractions can be corrosive -- social media that only ever shows you what you weren't invited to, a mind-numbing show that you're not really sure why you watch, articles that tell you useless facts about celebrities.
And it's not just the internet and television that clutter our lives, but people. If there's one thing I've learnt over the past year, it's that people who don't make you feel good about yourself are not people worth your time.
Simplify.
That's the motto I'm going to stick to this year. Simplify to leave room only for the things and the people that I'm most passionate about.
Life isn't simple, but I'll try.
Happy New Year,
xx Ashley
