The Month of Slow was incredible. It was so nice to get back into a groove and really helped me focus on what kind of content I want to create in this little space of mine. I wanted to round everything up into a nice neat little spot so it could be referenced from time to time.

Here we go!

QUIET CHAOS - an essay with tips! about how I deal with those times in my life where everything seems out of control.

SIMPLIFYING - An introduction to my new series about reducing clutter in your house.
PART ONE and PART TWO! I plan on continuing to post sporadically as we declutter our house!*

RELAXATION - Another new series! Thursday night wine nights are saving my soul. Volume 1 is available now but look for volume 2 next month! *

Also this month I added a short essay about the CHANGING FACE OF DOWNTOWN - My take on the revitalization of downtown Salt Lake City.

The HONESTY HOUR this month was about ENDLESS HOPE - how I found hope in my deepest depths of depression.

THE MONTH OF SLOW: SIMPLIFYING PART TWO

I'm back again! I used the same premise, I gave myself 30 minutes to clean a problem area of my house. This time? I'm tackling my junk drawer. I know y'all have one too. That one drawer in your kitchen that just becomes the landing spot for ALL the crap in your house. I thought I would document the process a little more this time because sometimes it is hard to decide just what to keep.

So judgement aside please, here is the before.

It is SO bad. It was getting hard to even close the drawer and there was stuff in there that we could be using and we couldn't even get to. So the first step was clearing everything out. It helps to separate things into piles as you empty it and go ahead and throw away the things you already know are trash.

So here are my two piles. Everything on the left is definitely going back into the drawer and everything on the right I was going to either trash or decided it really needed a place there. 

Our junk drawer also doubles as our candy drawer so that is why you see so much candy but some of it we obviously were never going to eat. So that got tossed. Some of the stuff is gift wrap or bows that a saved for presents but I actually have another place where I put that now, so I rightfully put that where it went. Another thing we had a lot of was take out chopsticks and condiments (mostly ketchup) We actually don't buy ketchup because we rarely it so it kind of makes sense to keep it for the rare occasion that I want it, but I'm debating on tossing it now that I type this out. I do use the chopsticks when I make ramen at home so I kept those too. 

The final result?

  

Whomp, Whomp. Still kind of junky. I keep all of the take out soy sauce even though I have my own giant bottle because I will still use it to keep from wasting it and I keep recent receipts for returnable items in here. I'm doing a lot better about throwing them away after we are sure there is nothing wrong with the item. I wish we had a better spot to put our candy, and maybe one day I'll find one.

But it is progress, not perfection.

Take 30 minutes today to make a space for functional for you. This drawer is working better for us right now and that makes it better.

** So those needless syringes are what we give Simon medicine with! Also, the I heart Orgasms pin came from planned parenthood and it is a treasured possession.  **

THE MONTH OF SLOW: RELAXATION V1

Every Thursday I have my Thursday Wine Night, a night of self care. I spend this time refilling my own cup and recharging for the next week. Since it is Monday, take the steps to plan a wine night this week! Here are five ways I'm relaxing this week. 

1. WATCH A HAPPY SHOW - I have a specific tv show that I watch only on Wine Nights, right now it is Sabrina the Teenage Witch-- free with AMAZON PRIME. I've seen all of the episodes before so it is just a feel good show that is enjoyable. 

2. DO A FACE MASK/BEAUTY TREATMENT - I always pick one special beauty treatment to do on Wine Night, this week I am using a KBeauty face mask. 

3. HAVE A TREAT MEAL - Usually, since my husband has a game night with friends on this night I am on my own. I like to treat myself to GRUBHUB, almost always I have sushi. If I'm not ordering out I'll pick up something extra at the grocery store, if not as a meal as a dessert. 

4. CALL A FRIEND - I try to make the conscious effort to reach out to someone on Wine Night, if I don't call or face time with them, I'll text them or message them to let them know that I'm thinking about them. 

5. MEDITATE/ PREP FOR WEEK - I like to take ten minutes to meditate every day, but I always do a little extra meditation on Wine Night and then I immediately get up and prep at least one thing to get jump start on the next day or week. Never anything that takes super long but it does save me and extra second later if I commit to doing one thing to help future me now. 

I'll try to be better about sharing what I'm doing for Wine Night, I don't always drink wine, I just like that name, but I do ALWAYS take time for myself. Self care isn't selfish. 

THE MONTH OF SLOW: SIMPLIFYING PART ONE

I have a confession to make, sometimes our house is a mess. I know SHOCKING, right? I know y'alls house has never been messy either. I do keep our house pretty clean but our coat closet is often the dumping ground and it drove me crazy every time I needed to get something out of there. 

I was always TOO BUSY to do something about it, but this month I'm taking the time to slow down and simplify! I'm by no means perfect, I mean honestly, that blue tote is full of Christmas decorations and that brown box is full of our 3D printer that got damaged in our move that my husband will "someday" fix. Oh and that white box? It is FULL of comics! We love them, or we did when we lived right next to a comic store, now, we just have a box full. 

The hardest part of simplifying is getting started, trust me! I gave myself thirty minutes to clean this closet and I was realistic with everything I touched. That cart thing to the side of the broom, I had planned to fix it, but it sat in the closet for MONTHS and I finally just threw it away. Could we have fixed it? Probably, would we have? No. 

I also collect FUNKO POPs and when I decided that I wanted plants I had to pick my favorites and store the rest, so I threw them in this mess of a closet. I decided that I after they've been put away for months, I'm willing to get rid of them, so they will either be sold or donated to a thrift store, but they aren't going back into that closet! 

Now it is so much easier to reach in and grab my reusable bags or my broom. 

If you're curious about the baby hangers, they are what we hang Simon's clothes on and recently I found dark grey ones that matched what we use in our closet so we just have these extras. I plan on offering them to a friend who has a baby boy. 

It really is something to slow down and declutter something to make even the busiest days run smoother! What can you declutter today? 

THE MONTH OF SLOW: QUIET CHAOS

Since going back to work my days of have become busier and when things get busy, eventually they erupt into what  I like to call QUIET CHAOS. Can you relate, you're over tired on your day off but you still have to do laundry and you throw a load in, rush to the grocery store and it takes a long time to get everything and get checked out and you get home and you still have to finish laundry, meal prep for the week and the day is practically over and it feels like everything is moving at a million miles per hour.

QUIET CHAOS.

I have three little secrets to dealing with quiet chaos.

TIP #1 - Get a plan
Plan everything. I started keeping a much more detailed calendar because I started forgetting little things (write down the fun stuff too!) that way it won't be family photo day and you won't be unprepared. I keep a calendar on my phone for appointments and a paper one with a complete breakdown of everything, down to when we plan on grocery shopping.

TIP #2 - Be realistic and say NO
You can't do everything! If you are constantly over booked and miserable then maybe you should reevaluate your commitments. We started saying no to some family events (even though it upset some people) so that we could still have time to buy groceries and do laundry!

TIP #3 - Embrace it!
This realization came to me when I was walking walking Simon, about two hours late from his schedule, with my hair a mess, he's pooping, I realize I don't have a poop bag. I'm panicking and everything feels like its falling apart when I realize that I actually shoved them into my bra, I just needed to take a deep breath and be thankful that I have this beautiful life. I'm busy because I have money to buy groceries, money to pay rent, I have the luxury of being free.

So if you can't completely calm the chaos, be thankful for the moments that remind you that you have so so much. Besides, tomorrow is a new day.

INTRODUCING: THE MONTH OF SLOW

So I just started back to work, and things are getting a little hectic and I thought it would be really nice to share this month how I'm dealing with this big change, because honestly, my life is about to SLOW down! As crazy as that seems, when stuff gets the craziest, I always like to hit the PAUSE button and let myself take a breath. So I hope you're up for breathing with me this month! 

Posting schedule will be the same, but the content will be a little different and will return to the new normal in September! Thanks y'all :)