Wednesday, February 15, 2012

First tip! Start changing your brain.

Ok, this is really really super simple. Hardly a tip at all. But I find that one good way to keep myself inspired, enlightened, grounded, and sane, is to be sentimental!  I keep things around the house, in my view, that have meaning to me. I've done a major de-clutter job around the house (which I am still in the process of doing and would like to write about in a later blog.) and I make it a priority to keep certain items available that are not only useful, but have a kind of nostalgic value as well. Here's an example: I drink coffee. (I love coffee. And if you have kids you should drink coffee too, and lots of it.) A simple way that I like to enjoy my coffee time and make myself feel a little pampered, is to use special mugs. I have tons of mugs (and also tea cups). I have sophisticated and very modern one, silly ones, seasonal ones, tea cups from antique stores that I found intriguing, mugs from special vacations, picture mugs, etc., etc. So while drinking coffee is routine to me, the drinking device isn't. I like choosing a mug that fits the way that I feel, or the way that I want to feel. I started doing this after watching one of my favorite movies, Breakfast at Tiffany's. I loved that Holly Golightly drank milk from a wine glass, it's like a form of expression. Taking something as simple and common as drinking milk, and making it a personal expression of where your at in life. Or where you want to be.

It's not a magical thing, but I find that when you set aside a moment in your brain to purposely be sentimental, it can really improve your mood and make you feel empowered as well. You don't have to do it with mugs of course, it can be anything at all. Pick an item, think about what time of your life you were in when you acquired item, who were you with, how did you feel, how have you grown since then? What have you learned? Was there some special memory attached to it, does it inspire you to recreate that time or to do something better? It doesn't have to be a useful item either. Decorate your house in a meaningful way, dress yourself in a meaningful way, cook in a meaningful way, make sexy-time in a meaningful way--you can do it with anything.

Don't be too sentimental though and end up being a pack rat. Throw your junk away! If you break it, chuck it. If you are making a mess with your clutter, pack it up and store it away for awhile. You live on and will acquire new experiences and new items to be sentimental about!

What it's all about

I'm preparing my house to welcome a new baby in the next four months. I've recently realized that the style of which I run my home is very efficiently inefficient. Meaning I have found myself in a system where I am just getting by and getting a whole lot of nothing done. But efficiently. Some how I never have time to wash the dishes or do laundry and I'm too busy for house cleaning. It's a routine both for myself, my husband, and my five year old. I don't want it to be like this! My husband is a full-time student and I will also be starting school a month after the baby is born. In other words, life is about to become brutal! Hence, it seems very pressing that I remedy some of my detrimental habits and kick myself into a productive and streamlined routine with efficient efficiency, so that I might still be able to find some enjoyment in life.

I've been super productive for nearly a month now. And I mean FORCING myself to be productive, all the way. I've found, to my surprise, that non of my tasks are really difficult at all, the difficult part is making myself do them. But I'm enjoying my house so much more now that I'm investing more in it. It truly makes a huge difference!

I have discovered a lot of clever and simple little ways to be a domestic bad-ass (if I do say so myself!) and I want to keep record of them because I know when the next little "bundle of joy" comes along I'm liable to crash and burn again. But I also want to share these fun, helpful tips and stories with other young moms who may be in the same situation =)

I'd also really like feed-back. It would be great to have a little community on here, if anyone ever wants to share anything, aaa-n-y-thing, please DO IT!