My Journey

So I was just going to add these posts to my original blog but I have decided that in order to really simplify things, if that is what my life is going to be doing this year, I needed to really be serious about it and what is more serious than a blog completely dedicated to simplifying my life? This way I can track my progress and you can keep up to speed on how I'm doing as well!

So why am I here?:

It actually started with a word of the year challenge that Ali Edwards puts on her blog each year. You can read about her journey here I have participated in the two years by selecting a word that I would live by for those years. And one of those years I even created a scrapbook page about it....so this year I decided to participate again and my word is SIMPLIFY

What makes this word so special?:

I feel that I am constantly going in 101 directions every day. Here's a bit of a list of the roles that I am tackling in my day to day life. I work full time at a job that requires me to travel a lot. This means that I am constantly packing and unpacking my suitcase. I am also a graduate student working on completing my masters. I am currently working on my thesis which is an up and down process. I am married to a fantastic husband and I have two beautiful puppies that I absolutely adore. I volunteer and sit on the executive of two non profit organizations which I love. I am also a part of a fantastic scrapbook design team at skrap n chat and to top it all off I love to run and just signed up for 1/2 marathon training to run my first in May of this year.

For me it was a simple choice *insert corney laughter here* I need the world around me- my home- to be simple. It needs to function in a way that supports the other roles that I have taken on. I shouldn't be so overwhelmed with the things I own and how I organize my life that I am prevented from enjoying what I really love.

So how is this going to work?:

I posted twice on my other blog which you can check out here and here to grab a bit of the background. But basically in a sentence- I am going to work at getting rid of the stuff and processes in my life that aren't working for me and that are bogging me down. I am going to focus on one area of my home each month and keep a running total of stuff purged and processes cleaned up as the year progresses.

I expect this year to be a difficult one for me. I don’t expect that I have decided to simplify and that it will all happen in January. Yes, I’ve started making progress already and I am really excited, but I know that this year will be a lot of blood sweat and tears. I’ve already laid awake a few nights thinking “what the heck did I decide to do to myself?” I am realistic in acknowledging that this little word “simplify” may actually take me on a multi-year journey. I have bought in though hook, line, and sinker!

I am excited about the journey and look forward to posting pictures of my newly simplified spaces and processes that surround me.

So what are you waiting for? Jump in with me and hey, I would love to hear your stories too. And when the going gets tough we can cry together as we learn to part with our stuff.

Simply Yours.

-Stacy