The #useitchallenge


New Year = FRESH START.

Except...not so much. The detritus of the old year to must be confronted, lest I carry old mental, spiritual and physical clutter into the new. Decorations to clear and pack up, quarterly sales tax, inventory and supplies to sort out, follow-up on sidelined opportunities from in the middle of my busy season.

Then, there's the stuff.

Apparently I'm not alone, judging by the popularity of Netflix's new show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. And yes - thanking, acknowledging and moving on from what is no longer relevant is priceless.

Clutter clearing is good. But what about rediscovered treasure?

Leonie Dawson, an Australian artist, author, hippy and blogger, wrote a recent post announcing a year-long No Spend Experiment. Though she and her spouse went from in-debt to self-made millionaires, a review of their finances revealed  where she was engaging in "unconscious spending that wasn't contributing to (my) net worth or happiness." The No Spend Experiment was designed to "reset (my) financial barometers again."

Leonie's goal was to be more conscious of what she habitually bought/collected, but hadn't used or engaged with (200+ unread books, rooms of crafting supplies and home schooling curriculum, blindly trolling cheap box stores for items she "might" need rather than the specific item she was shopping for, etc.).

Both Marie Kondo's recommendation to only keep what "sparks joy" and Leonie's No Spend Experiment inspired my own "#useitchallenge. Because while I'm fairly decent at weeding out unneeded clothes and books and the like, I do have a weakness for cooking, courses, and soaping supplies.

Supplies to be dealt with

The clutter in these areas was partly due to my love of experimenting, a natural curiosity, or simply needing a supply or ingredient and having leftovers afterwards. And a bit of FOMO - wanting to try a new soap technique, business course, or eating plan, buying supplies, and then life happening and not getting around to the implementation.

Over the next year I'll blog 2 - 3X/month about the products, projects, and recipes designed around some forgotten elements that I've rediscovered.

Some personal guidelines:

1) Anything expired is out, anything not needed/desired will find a new home, ideally avoiding a landfill 'cause I'm a tree-hugger (happily, Courageous Soap products are consumable* - that is, you enjoy using the soap or lotion and - bazinga - it's GONE! Your children won't have to empty these products from your home when you're in the great beyond! Hopefully!). 

Moving on.

2) If a course or book I've paid for is no longer relevant, I'll bid it farewell. Time spent for the wrong reasons can never be recovered.

3) I'll still buy certain supplies - some basics are needed to create (Leonie, the hippie blogger/painter, points out that she still needs canvases). But NO exotic supplies that get relegated to the back of the cupboard - at least not this year. 

SO exciting! My creative process craves some parameters so using ingenuity, being a good steward of resources, investing consciously in new supplies, plus gaining shelf space(!) and eco-peace feels fantastic! A fresh start for the year.

I'd love to hear from you - what do you think of the clutter clearing trend? Are you excited at the thought of rediscovering some buried treasure or does facing your storage stress you out? Do you find the Konmari Method developed by Marie Kondo or Leonie Dawson's No Spend Experiment appealing? What do you think of my #useitchallenge? 

If you have tips or insights to share, I'd love to hear in the comments below!

Rock on, friend - 

L.

*(not to be confuse with "edible." No eat-y the soap, please.) 

 

 


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