30 Days of Real Living

[TxZen]

In the spirit of all my favorite inspiring minimal/simple/mindful living people/books/blogs...I am doing a 30 days of mindful living with less challenge starting February 1.

My goal is to bring awareness to what is going on around me and where I waste a lot of time. I do believe in slowing my life down on some days, but I also want to spend more time on the things I love, mainly 1. My family 2. My Health 3. My Career development. This is not an end all, but more of a beginning. :)

My rules:
1. 30 items of clothing, including shoes. Accessories will be their own category but I will (try)limit to 6. I am going to have fun and play around with outfits to see what I can come up with. Pinterest has been my best friend in helping with this. :) *
2. I am going to put away 30 items in my home- could be decorative, makeup, bathroom items, dishes, whatever- and not use them for 30 days. Will inventory for y'all.
3. I will walk 30 minutes each day, no questions asked, no matter the weather, how I feel, etc. 30 minutes of yoga. I have been doing this already and will restart after my first 30 days are done. I have been following someone on You Tube and I will link below.
4. I will write down 30 things I want to accomplish/experience/understand, not necessarily this year or even 10 years from now, but just being more mindful and maybe be a bit motivating to me.
5. Challenging myself to a 30 minute quick clean each week. I am going to deep clean this week and see if I can maintain the house with just 30 minutes every few days. I am hoping with putting away 30 items, living with less clothing, being more mindful of my life around me, I am wondering if I can reach a happy medium with myself and my love/hate relationship with cleaning the house.
6. Learn 30 new words.
7. Put 30% of what we bring home away into my "coffee can" savings program :) . This is going to be a challenge on 1 paycheck but I am up for it.
8. 30 days of no shopping in Target, Belk, Hobby Lobby, Old Navy, Nordstrom, etc, including online. I want to see if I can avoid stores like these for 30 days. I started thinking about it and I can get what I need at the grocery store. There is absolutely nothing I can think of that I need right now- even for my family.
9. 30 days of no tv between 5-8 at night. This is huge for us.
10. Find 30 new places to explore in Texas- keep a list. :)
11. 30 days of packing my son's lunch- this is a doozy for me. I got lazy- I admit it.
12. 30 day inventory of needs- We, as a family, have some gaps in our wardrobes of all places. Nothing pressing that we need but my son is outgrowing the last of his still fitting clothes and I had to throw out 2 pairs of pants in a week, 1 with a huge gapping hole after washing and the other does not fit anymore (YEAH ME). My husband tried on his shorts the other day and they are all too big. I have identified my items and would like to keep a running list for Springtime. We have also been inventorying serial numbers and taking pictures of the few valuables we have. I also have a list for household items that are needs, not wants. It's not a large list, but I am going to go back through and see if I can edit.
13. Visit the park each weekend, at least 1x, 2 if we can.
14. Finish a few projects around the house- 1. Bed Headboard 2. Paint coffee table 3. Finish doors in kitchen. 4. Spray paint 2 lamp bases. 5. Swap out lamp shades in living room 6. Hang curtains in kitchen. I think this little list is enough to make me breathe a little easier about getting the house in order.


*Speaking of clothing- my style has morphed a lot in the past 6 months and will continue. I have a very specific look that I am enjoying and right now, I have about 12 items that fit the bill but boy and I am wearing the heck of out them. For now, I will supplement with what I have. I am using Pinterest to create outfits with what I have and blend into what I would like to purchase. So far, my list is only 3 items. :)

I know this sounds like a lot of rules but I am a very visual/task orientated person.

My inspiration:
Be More with Less- Courtney Carver
7- By Jen Hatmaker

Teachings of the Dalia Lama
The Minimalists


Youtubers:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWcyubRxXgn-1WjDTD3JmpA Carrie LeighAnna

https://www.youtube.com/user/sproutandblossom Sprout and Blossom

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5y62toQKJCrF3bMxHYIUkA Well by Mel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFKE7WVJfvaHW5q283SxchA Yoga w/Adriene

[Float On]

I'm such a list junkie. I love your plan.
I always make a list as long as my birthday every year while I'm on my birthday retreat. I crave alone time and that is the best birthday present I've given myself over the last few years - the freedom to go away alone on a retreat. This year I'll put 48 things on my list. Just picked out my retreat notebook yesterday.

[TxZen]

WOOT WOOT!!! I love it Float On!!!

It's been a number of years since I have written anything down and followed it. I feel all out of sorts. LOL

I forgot to add that I eliminated or reduced my social media time/presence. I do have a FB page but I have all of 20 people I keep on there. Down from over 300!!! I was finding that people I used to work with were reporting back to people I don't care for about my going's on in my life. I found out when I was blindsided in Target one day about something I had posted about 3 months earlier. I was NOT FB friends with this person. I found this to be a little childish, as she was coming from a place of just being ugly. :) I also have found that I just have to be real about the relationships I have. Yes, we all have acquaintances but the one's masquerading as "friends" had to go.

I also updated my LinkedIn account and cleaned out some people on there. I kept getting hits on my account from recruiters from what I USED to do. I updated my information- sort of a declaration to the world and it feels great.

Instagram- gone, I never twittered because I don't understand it and I have unsubscribed from about 50 monthly emails that I get. PHEW!!!!

[frugal-one]

Think I am getting old.... seems like you are torturing yourself. You have WAY to much on the list IMO. Why not just do one thing for 30 days and (supposedly) if you do that it will become a habit????? Have read recently that in order to make something a habit you must do it faithfully for 30 days. Then next month do another thing for 30 days and so on... you would almost have your list complete and, hopefully, be able to sustain your goal.

[TxZen]

Frugal-one- it's quite a list yes? LOL

This is really more about being mindful for me and not hitting check marks. I will see where I am at after 30 days and re-evaluate. :)

[TxZen]

My rules: UPDATED
1. 30 items of clothing, including shoes. Accessories will be their own category but I will (try)limit to 6. I am going to have fun and play around with outfits to see what I can come up with. Pinterest has been my best friend in helping with this. :) * Done- will post list later. I also purged about 12 more items.
2. I am going to put away 30 items in my home- could be decorative, makeup, bathroom items, dishes, whatever- and not use them for 30 days. Will inventory for y'all. Done along with purging 30 more items.
3. I will walk 30 minutes each day, no questions asked, no matter the weather, how I feel, etc. 30 minutes of yoga. I have been doing this already and will restart after my first 30 days are done. I have been following someone on You Tube and I will link below.
4. I will write down 30 things I want to accomplish/experience/understand, not necessarily this year or even 10 years from now, but just being more mindful and maybe be a bit motivating to me. Have 4 on the list already 1/26
5. Challenging myself to a 30 minute quick clean each week. I am going to deep clean this week and see if I can maintain the house with just 30 minutes every few days. I am hoping with putting away 30 items, living with less clothing, being more mindful of my life around me, I am wondering if I can reach a happy medium with myself and my love/hate relationship with cleaning the house.
6. Learn 30 new words.
7. Put 30% of what we bring home away into my "coffee can" savings program :) . This is going to be a challenge on 1 paycheck but I am up for it. Week 1- paid put away 25% 1/26
8. 30 days of no shopping in Target, Belk, Hobby Lobby, Old Navy, Nordstrom, etc, including online. I want to see if I can avoid stores like these for 30 days. I started thinking about it and I can get what I need at the grocery store. There is absolutely nothing I can think of that I need right now- even for my family.
9. 30 days of no tv between 5-8 at night. This is huge for us.
10. Find 30 new places to explore in Texas- keep a list. :)
11. 30 days of packing my son's lunch- this is a doozy for me. I got lazy- I admit it.
12. 30 day inventory of needs- We, as a family, have some gaps in our wardrobes of all places. Nothing pressing that we need but my son is outgrowing the last of his still fitting clothes and I had to throw out 2 pairs of pants in a week, 1 with a huge gapping hole after washing and the other does not fit anymore (YEAH ME). My husband tried on his shorts the other day and they are all too big. I have identified my items and would like to keep a running list for Springtime. We have also been inventorying serial numbers and taking pictures of the few valuables we have. I also have a list for household items that are needs, not wants. It's not a large list, but I am going to go back through and see if I can edit. On the list so far- Me- 1 pair of black pants, 1 pair of black shorts, 1 linen scarf in purple/pink, 1 pair of black ballet shoes Hubby- 2 pairs of shorts Son- 3 pairs of shorts, 4 shirts, 1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of sandals. House- 12 sets of curtains, 1 chandelier, 4 ceiling hugger lights, flooring, 5 gallons of paint. 1/26
13. Visit the park each weekend, at least 1x, 2 if we can.
14. Finish a few projects around the house- 1. Bed Headboard 2. Paint coffee table 3. Finish doors in kitchen. 4. Spray paint 2 lamp bases- donated- not the style I wanted. 5. Swap out lamp shades in living room Done 1/126 6. Hang curtains in kitchen. 7. Changed out pictures frames- donated 5. Done 1/26 I think this little list is enough to make me breathe a little easier about getting the house in order

[Gardenarian]

Hey, it's not even February yet - no cheating :)

I find your list very inspiring. I'm going to make my own...as soon as I can find some paper and a pen....(still unpacking from our move.)

[TxZen]

Gardenarian---shhhh!!! LOL Don't tell anyone.

It's been a productive week and I know I will get the lolly gags at some point in February. :)