So close.

All I can say is that this summer has been shaping up to be nothing short of wonderful.  I've been lucky enough to see my great friends and family and enjoy this summer to the fullest that I can.  Do I work a bit more than I would like to? Sure, but that's life.  Isn't it?  

I finally feel relaxed and somewhat on the track I feel I am supposed to be on.  Everything is slowly getting accomplished.  I also know these posts may seem repetitive, but I need to keep writing them to reinforce to myself that I am in fact on track. I feel like my never-ending struggle to get things organized is slowly starting to come to an end.  The final organization is near.  Thank god.  This past week, I managed to conquer both of my closets and the tip of the laundry iceberg.  I even found a home for all of my shoes.  I just need to move them into it.  It's scary...the thought of being organized.  I'm afraid I won't know what to do with myself once I don't have that goal looming over my head.  

That being said, I cannot wait to get free time back.  I have all of these incredibly dorky things that I would love to occupy myself with.  I miss reading.  I miss scrapbooking.  I want to try about 1 million things I've found on Pinterest.  Amazingly enough, I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be able to do some of this before the end of the summer too!   Updates to come.  I swear someday, you'll get pictures of everything...once it's fabulous.  

Operation Use Down "The Hoard"

Throughout the course of my existence, I have amassed an alarming amount of "stuff."  Everything I've gathered throughout the years can be sorted out and neatly placed into 3 categories, however.
They are as follows:
1) Things that can be consumed/used - These items include huge amounts of hair care products, cosmetics, body lotions and shower gels, perfumes, and in my case candles.  I know the grooming products are pretty standard, but let me explain the candle hoard.  I was never into that sort of thing, until I working in a candle store and now I can't seem to get enough.  So now that I am actually trying to use what I have, I'm also  trying to buy less.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.  I have a girly hoard.  I'll admit it.
2) Clothing and Accessories - This is just what it sounds like.  All of my clothing as well as the shoes, bags and jewelry are in this category.  This only further perpetuates the girly hoard.
3) Things that occupy space - This includes all of my photo frames, games, knick knacks and anything else you can think of.  These items are all mostly girly and some also outdated.  I'm trying to pair down the outdated items.  Really. I am.

So this is my goal.  I want to use down the hoard that I have oh so carefully gathered and stashed away.  The reason for this is twofold.  The first component is that I ran out of space and organizing solutions.  The second component is that I cannot afford my old ways still.  I just have too much and the only way I see to fix the problem is through using up the items.  As I write this for all of you, I have a votive burning. One more way to attack to hoard.  I get a warm ambiance and a soft orange smell and I'm using up the things I have. I've been working on this scheme for awhile though, really.  My hair products and body lotions, etc. are also slowly thinning out.  I use them everyday and this helps.  I also use make-up and perfume daily now(or as close to it as I can remember to get).

I'm actually doing good with this endeavor too.  Thank God.  I'm slowly using things up and each product I use up and throw out leaves me with a liberating feeling.  It's incredibly empowering to feel like you are gaining control of something and working on yourself in the process.  I also did something else incredible today.  I did a wardrobe edit and got rid of three pieces of clothing.  I know this is the theme of all my posts, but I need to keep this up to motivate myself. The end.

Organizing and Purging - The most difficult resolution possible to me

So I may not be a hoarder, but I'm definitely a bit of a pack-rat.  I'm not going dumpster diving and trying to convince everyone that a rusty coffee can is a treasure, but I definitely  will admit how difficult it is for me to let go of my things.  All of my "stuff" is fabulous in my opinion or else I wouldn't have it (with the exception of a few sad items).  So when the time comes that I need to organize everything and possibly downsize, I get panic stricken and freeze up a bit.  The thought of throwing out things that I've definitely gotten a good amount of use out of, still cripples me.

That being said, I'm actually doing just that.  Painstakingly slow as it may be, I'm finally lightening the load.  It's actually ironic too, since when it comes to work and filing and all other areas of my house, I'm super organized.  Something happens the minute you step in my room; however, and it's like a bomb exploded.  I don't know why, but it's just fair game for things to be everywhere in there.  I'll admit, part of it, is the sheer excess of how much I own, which is something else I'm trying to contain.   

The next step is also truly refining the decor of my room.  While all the parts are there and nice, they need some fine-tuning still.  This is because I decided to be a bum and never did anything to update/ keep up with how a normal room should look. Expect photo updates.

PS: I hope this blog winds up being more interesting in 2012.  I think it has potential, which is at least a step up from 2011.

Maintaining Some New Years Resolves

So as I'm sitting here telling you all about my resolves, I have to actually admit feeling a bit better about myself.  I'm doing a few things a day differently and it's actually going to make a difference in my life.  Here are some of my lovely changes:

I took some time while I was getting ready today.  I actually looked through my accessories and decided on some to wear.  I also actually have make-up on today.  This very little thing takes about 5 minutes in the morning and makes me feel a million times better throughout the course of the day.  It's also a fabulous opportunity to use the obscene amount of make-up I've amassed, which is a lovely lead into item two.  I'll admit these may seem like small things, but when you work in a small office as I do, they're often two things sacrificed for sleep.

Purge! Purge! Purge!  Last night I spent about 20 minutes just going through some old health/beauty items and threw out the ones that were expired as well as a few I simply knew I would never use.  It's a refreshing feeling, I must admit.

Actually use the things you have.  As was a theme in the past two items, I have entirely more "stuff" than I need, but some of it is actually usable products and not things that can be given away.  I've now vowed to use all of these products before buying any new ones (also a great way to save some cash).  There's just no need to be that excessive and it costs money to boot.

substantive post

Well here it is. A post with some actual meat.  I'm sitting here, unwinding(after a nap and a long day at both jobs) with pumpkin spice coffee and my room smells like vanilla.  This actually is pretty nice for a change.  This isn't a mad dash to get a post done so that I can move on to my next task.  It's this, then sleep. Well and maybe seeing how this episode of Project Runway ends.

My life, sadly, isn't that exciting at all.  It's comprised of two jobs and my traveling to each one mainly.  Then, I come home, pass out and repeat.  Sadly last night, passing out occurred earlier than expected, which is why I am finishing my post now.

Adding to the joy of getting things under control is that it is now FRIDAY!! Something I didn't think could come fast enough.  This week seems like a blue and an incredibly fast one.  Aside from working, I'm thinking some winding down and re-situating of life is greatly in need.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend, I'll things back under control.

This weekend does prove to have a slight bit of promise at least.  Aside from working entirely more than I'd care to think about and being abandoned by most people I enjoy come Saturday, Friday night at least, should be good.  Getting taken out on a date downtown followed up by a close friend's birthday festivities.  I like this game plan.  And even more excitingly, I like the bar we're going to.  Somehow, in one of the nicer bars in the city, we can manage to still have things get a little out of control ( see dancing on bars) and drink pretty inexpensively.  This is all good news in my book. So here's to a hopefully partially productive and fun weekend.