So if you didn’t know I have been doing monthly challenges, January was no spend, February was finding good deals on items I needed and March was decluttering and for April I have challenged myself to finish another book I have been writing.
I want it to be finished by end of April,
March’s challenge really helped me to see what I had and I will need to clear out more of my wardrobe as I have items that no longer fit and I just written a blog on my Versatile fashion blog about this: https://carriesversatilefashion.com
For the challenge I did for February a video talking about it and how it has helped me and will be doing this challenge again. It so good to let things go and want to do more.
See video below:
My tips would be to choose certain areas which you can break down and do it step by step. So I did my sons pants and sock draw, then next day I cleared my sons draw where his night clothes are, rather than doing it all at once and once my son’s draws were cleared and then started on mine.
It so good to start a fresh and want a new wardrobe I have decided and will do it as part of my 2023 Project, my Life coaching programme I have done the last to years and because these blogs have been liked, helps me to see that my content when doing this is helping and want to do more.
I hope you have a good Easter and there is more content to come and so please if you are new you can follow (subscribe) and so whenever I post a blog you will be notified.
Hello and welcome and thank you for the continued support on this blog. I today uploaded my first video on my March challenge which is to declutter for an entire month to get some order in terms of clothes and areas of my bedroom that continues to be cluttered.
My enthusiasm is not good. I want to be “Yeah lets this decluttering done” and then I pick up my camera to film and see my battery needs charging and sigh with relief. I know I will get more of it done, its for me not being a natural declutterer, not naturally an enjoyable task but I know it needs to be done and who else is going to do it?
I do watch youtube to get inspired and been watching the programme on BBC 1, Sort your life out with Stacey Solomon but I have to really kick myself up the bum to get it done. Sorry for the rhyme, but How many people can identify with that?
I want to be excited but I am not but seeing the untidiness behind me I just got up and tidied this space but its my workout clothes as I was running again, but looked at it and asked “Do I plan to run tomorrow, this week? I want to but whether I do is another story. I will see, but for now as I am not running so put the items away hanging up in my wardrobe in my bedroom, and if I do run this week, I have hung it together can take out easily and put it on.
I have begun and inventory list of what I have got, this is in terms on food, clothes, toiletries and skin care and going though what still to be used and got plenty of. This is to make sure I use what I have got before buying any more, and seeing I have enough and that actually gives me comfort.
So once my camera battery is charged will be filming more and doing a bit more each day. I have to do it a bit at a time because if try and do all in one go, will make me avoid it, so lets do this together and if you have any decluttering tips please share I am welcome to suggestions, and you can leave a comment below.
So it is the end of the month and I have two videos to be put together and one them is my last what I bought video for my February challenge and need to film my reflection,. which will be on my main Youtube channel that I have linked below @typicallondongal under my name Carrie Holmes. It was good to see what items I needed if I could get a good deal and feel I did, but I had to buy a few items for my son, and not sure if I should take these amounts into his monthly allowance I give him to spend, or as my home products and in my home budget. What would you do.
It has really helped me financially to see my spending habits and if there are other things I can cut back on or cut out.
I would recommend trying it out. I spent more than I wanted so gonna reduce on snacks and this month is going to be declutter month and so this is managing productivity and will include reset videos. and post on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/typicallondongal/) aswell as on this blog site.
There will be areas in which need to be done first and that is decluttering first my son’s underwear and socks, and it is little changes like that, that can free up space and does ease the mind when you see the results and why not when it is now spring time, I know the weather doesn’t match the new season yet at the moment, and for those you live in Australia and it is Autumn and if you are from the land of oz check out my Autumn Reset videos and blogs and sorting out my life to get things completed and tying lose ends.
I do write a blog on google blogspot called Organize4thebetter. and will be posting on there too.
I am late in starting as I did a course this week, but will begin as of next week and so lets get rid of what we no longer want and bring home stuff we do, and it also means sorting out my laptop and phones I no longer use, that are lying around. Even those things can cause or mind to feel cluttered aswell as rooms and homes.
If you have a office the one thing many companies I have worked for, would make sure we cleaned our desks, as it good to work in a clean and tidy environment.
It is coming up to the end another month of 2023 and I have been going through my finances for this year. and I did a video on my channel My Way of Living, about spending Productively. Check out here: https://www.youtube.com/@mywayofliving1602
In this blog I am talking about Things I want to cut out of my life as I continue this year and want to pay off my Credit card, and plan days to take my son on train trips during the summer holidays. This means being sensible with my money and live consciously, and spend consciously and ask myself “Should I give them my money?” “What difference will it make?” and “Are they worthy of my money?”.
I know a lot of shops like Paperchase for example I closing and I loved that store and was going to buy some items from them and may still do so as I would like to see if I can get a better organized system on my desk and it is cluttered and want it to be clearer.
I want to use what I have got and that is notebooks, clothes, skincare and toiletries and have a clear and get rid of items that no longer have any purpose in my life, like buying certain foods, like crisps and want to lower my sugar in take, and focus on doing long walks again and running.
I am no longer going to spend a lot on fitness equipment because when I was living in Epsom we had a lot of items that we saw on info commercials and now are gathering dust but do use the Crosstrainer that has been put in the living room and want some bands to do my floor exercise, and do want to pay as you go in a gym, when I feel I want to do more, and may think about paying a membership, depending on costs. There are gyms where you can go at anytime like The Gym and Pure gym, but I do also got points from the leisure centre I take my son to, and take him swimming, and so will be thinking about this and if it is logical. As writer this I am asking myself in my head, “What will I get out of it?”.
It is to be around other people not necessarily to know who they are but to see I am not on my own and we all have a reason to be there and I do like the gym environment.
This is not forever, as I still need clothes, but at the moment I have enough and so this year is a big challenge but one I know I wanted to do, to be wise with money and concentrate on other things, like going out and taking my son up London and would like to go to more shows and take him to watch a rugby match as he is a sports lover and take him to football matches too, so I am enjoying the challenge and will make a difference in how I shop for clothes. “If I don’t need it why have it? “.
Then there is crafting. I was really into making cards and I enjoyed it but no longer got space for those items and so until these items get used and want to give some to my nieces but keep some for my son to do, am I going to buy anymore, because these items can lead to clutter, but keep my stickers sets, it’s different type of paper, and have some use for them.
To make changes in your life you do have to let areas in your life go so you can continue to grow, and it doesn’t have to be long time but for now. “What is important to me now?”
So you know I do have three Youtube channels and do write other blogs. and I have created some pins on my Pinterest on financial living and planning my life, check my Pinterest site below:
If you’d like to keep updated of my blogs on this site then please remember you can follow me and subscribe and like it so I know that my blogs are helping you and I’d like to know what you are cutting out this year. you can leave a comment below.
Thank you once again for liking my blogs on this site. If you didn’t know I am doing a monthly challenge where I am finding deals of items I need for the month and have two new Reset 2023 videos up too, so please check my channel to see them: https://www.youtube.com/@typicallondongal
This blog I am talking about goal ideas to set for spring and I have created a new printable.
When it comes to Spring we begin to have longer days and I find it makes me feel I have more time to do stuff and that means a good spring clean, take on a spring challenge if you haven’t begun challenging yourself. It is all about being SMART which I am sure you have heard before, but is important. example when the weather gets nicer to have a meal outside a local pub or restaurant with friends or join an outdoor exercise class. When my son was a baby I would go to Buggyfit and it such good fun, and it is good to spend time outdoors and not something you don’t always can do in the winter time.
Setting goals for me is important to help me grow and learn. I set them quarterly and make them realistic and reachable. For example: I want to do more runs.
Where would you like to run?
How far you’d like to reach?
So put, build to doing 5km of running and around my local park or common. I do write a sports and fitness blog, see the link here if you’d like to read these blogs too: https://sportsandfitnesspassion.wordpress.com
It is a good season to decide on what you want to let go of and what you want t let into your life now we heading into a new season to start a fresh for the Spring. I am doing more RESTS because I want less and continue my goal for this year, which is not to buy anymore clothes, and concentrate on paying off my Credit card and so where I can save I will. I am continuing on having no spending days too. I feel good not buying things everyday.
I do have a printables page on this site if you wanted to check this page out: New Printables Page
Being the week of a UK school holiday (so kids are off from school: February 2023) and my son is at a holiday club called Youngstars I planned the week before of what I will be doing whilst he is at the holiday club. Today I did a reset and went through my make up and toiletries cleaning the shelf I use to store these items, I then cleaned the skirting boards, went through my son’s books and vacuumed and went for a walk as I needed some bread and sat in a local park whilst listening to music and then came back, and worked on my EBook called How I like to live, and updating it and make it into a bigger book and worked on my new Novel When mothers are real and now watching Gillian Perkins on Youtube where this idea of this blog post was created.
Sorry if that tires you out, this blog is not supposed to cause fatigue or make you feel like you haven’t done anything, but it is possible for everyone and who has kids off from school too, and when we get some hours to ourselves.
This is no way showing off, as you should have seen my room, it was a mess and could have easily gone back to bed, but no, there was no time like the present. So I chose today whilst I had the chance and more in the next two days. Time is precious and if I don’t do it today, when will it get done? This is a question I ask myself a lot when I think of others things I could of be doing. This question stirs me on to get my stuff together. I don’t like living in a mess, and I know if I was in bed I know that guilt of not doing anything would sink in, and then comes my negative thoughts, so being productive helps with my thoughts and anxiety.
Now being 2023 there is a lot of resources like different cleaning products and organizing digitally and using APPS, but lots of these new items come with cost and how functional are they? I could put it all on Notion, which I did use but already had OneNote on my computer and works well with me rather than paying to use Notion. Just say that is having an issues with it, I just trying not that works, but may still use Notion in the future, but not right now. OneNote is free I use it, like Notion to make lists rather than a notebook, but my question is, what if they stop working which my laptop does crash at time? It is technology and means losing all my lists and notes, so I still convert to paper, because I still find this method more resourceful and I don’t need to clog up my phone with a loads of APPs or have the latest appliances, they can cause clutter and be counter productive because they take up so much space, so in 2023 is keep it simple and still have a written plan and to do lists and for working on projects. I know we need to save on paper because of the environment, but I find it better to jot down rather than type all of the time, and what if I lose my phone and that means not having the APPs to help me, so for me, being productive in 2023, always have a back up plan written and stored so you can see it and notes for books is important because it helps me keep on track of where I am and brainstorming. I do like using my laptop but I like writing things down especially for when I write a journal and creating stories. I find it relaxing and great for on the go and save the space on my phone. Its not what an item can do but how resourceful it is, does it make life easy?
The items I do like are the cordless items, like I bought a wireless keyboard and mouse, and I do have access to a cordless vacuum which I did use, but don’t need tones of appliances, and so it is using what I have already got and this saves me money and time.
So, lets get productive and take that time to sort our lives.
So my last “No spend January” video is up on my main Youtube channel https://youtu.be/Ree9adtj7YM and it really helped me to look at my money in a different light in that it not about not spending, but cutting back on things and looking at all the stuff I already got and not buying anything more until I used everything up.
It made me see that there I things I like to enjoy, and that is no spending days which I began last year. I enjoy making my coffee, rather than someone else do it and I like instant coffee. I did want to buy some clothes, as I have decided that this year I won’t be buying any and wear what I have got and the same with skincare, and so would say to myself “I have enough”.
My February challenge is to look for deals on the items I plan on buying this month. and I have filmed one video already for this and will be posting videos on my Instagram and my main Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@typicallondongal once a week.
I like buying sensibly now and the part of a reset is managing your finances if you have debt like I have and it can really affect your wellbeing and cause anxiety. My financial goal for 2023 is to pay off my debts and have a target amount on what I want to save and I love hunting for deals and if I can find a product that is still as good, but get it for less than I normally pay for, I know that this is a good deal.
Building a life is investing on what you care about and I have had a bad relationship with money, because when I began working up in London I would be out in the evenings a lot, near Oxford Street in London and became a bit ruthless. Now I feel I am managing my money well again and think about what it is going to help me and feeling happy with spending money, but not gonna cause me to get stressed. When it comes to money it is good to have a plan and have a list. With the internet it is good to go through how much different items cost that you need and what you are willing to pay for items. Budget for me in very important and that has really helped me to get my good money habits back on track.
If you’d like to join me in this challenge then you can do and let me know how it went for you, and see how much we can save, and use it to buy what we have always wanted. I have a what I want to call, a Financial Wish, to take my son on a holiday and would love to take to Disney in Florida.
It is also good to get your kids involved to if you have children and why not have your friends and family involved too.
Are you ready to make some changes in your life? I am and started a Reset for 2023, starting with tidying my desk that I use for writing, doing courses and as a dressing table and so needs to be functional and has everything placed at arms length.
So check out my video and remember if you Subscribe to my Youtube channel you will notified of when I put up a new video and currently put up 2 to 3 videos a week.
This means sorting certain areas of my life and really helps to get different projects and tasks done and really helps achieve my goals.
I hope you like this video and there is more content to come.
Everyone can build a castle 