Month: January 2026

REASONS TO DECLUTTER

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Having extra stuff in our lives, in our spaces, causes anxiety. Everyday when we walk into our spaces, we must process what’s going on. All five senses are engaged to subconsciously make sense of our surroundings. I think this is true for everyone to a degree, but this is particularly true for people who have been through trauma. Our spaces can be a sanctuary – a safe haven, or they can be a place of chaos, causing unrest in our minds and bodies, which causes anxiety. This was my initial main reason I began my own decluttering journey. To create tranquil spaces in every corner of my home. Spaces that calmed my nervous system, not triggered it.

I have been actively working on decluttering my home for over 10 years now. I have seen a progression in why I choose to declutter. At first it was to calm my spaces. Every room in my home was overcrowded with stuff. I disguised it as coziness, but the truth was it was just clutter. As I continued on this journey, I realized that having less physical possessions gave me extra time to do other things. I wasn’t spending as much time cleaning and organizing my spaces. Having less possessions gave me mental clarity. I began to declutter more because I saw the value in having more time and mental clarity. I could be more intentional with my life.

Down the road, I began to realize the buy/declutter cycle. As I continued my decluttering journey, I saw the value in being more intentional with what I brought into my home. I realized that the impact of all of my decluttering wouldn’t be sustained if I kept bringing new possessions into my home. That’s when I did my first no buy year, back in 2019. I had changed my spending habits after that year, but slowly old habits began to creep back in and in 2025 I decided to do another no buy year to reset my spending habits. I am hopeful as I look towards the future as I feel this had a big impact on me. As we become more intentional with our spending, we begin to see how much money we can save just by eliminating some spending which allows for freedom!

Now I see a new phase on my horizon. I see another reason to continue the decluttering process. I am realizing as I look around my home that I have a lot of things that I use, but I don’t use often. I am realizing that it is selfish of me to hang on to things I don’t use often because these things could bring someone else joy! On one of my recent YouTube videos, a loyal subscribers Jenny, made a comment which really resonated with me. It was a video where I was cleaning out my husband’s office. I had several things that I got rid of that day that I had been debating for a while and I also had a piece of home decor that I decided to display instead of leaving in the closet. She said, “it’s poor stewardship to hold on to something that you don’t use or display when someone else would be grateful to have and enjoy it now.” That really stuck me, and challenged me in a good way! I have upped my decluttering progress to the next level with this idea in mind! I need to be realistic with myself of how often I will really use items.

This month in January I am playing the minimalism game – where you get rid of one thing on day one, two things on day two and so on. I’m not being strict about sticking with the number of items each day. I am just collecting things as I see them and I’m hopeful that I will reach that 465 items number by the end of the month! I know this seems lofty, and even I’m not totally confident in my ability to succeed at this challenge, but check out my YouTube channel at the end of the month to see if I was successful! I will be sharing the process over there. I always have my YouTube channel linked at the bottom of each post. That video will be out the last Sunday of the month.

We all declutter differently. We declutter at a different pace and the amount we own and are willing to let go is different. But with this in mind, I think the best piece of decluttering advice I could give is to know why you are decluttering. Knowing your why can help motivate you to keep making a part of your routines. Can you relate to wanting to calm your space? Maybe you want to save money, or just be more financially responsible. Or perhaps you realize that you can bless others with the items you don’t use as often. Whatever the reason, it is good to know your why! Decluttering can be exhausting, both physically and emotionally. But it is so worth it in the end!

This is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

MY NEW YEAR’S GOALS

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There is something so satisfying about a fresh start. The new year is a great time to think about fresh starts. The new year is an organic fresh start. It seems silly that one day to the next could mark the beginning of something new or different, but the calendar changes to mark a new year, which can be a great time for new beginnings. That is why so many people make new year’s resolutions.

The last few years I have incorporated new habits and really pushed myself outside of my comfort zone.  Two years ago in 2024 I decided to focus on travel and that year I took several trips. Including a solo road trip! Last year I ended up taking several trips as well, and moving into 2026 I already have 4 trips in the works! At the end of 2024 I started a new habit of lifting weights at the gym, and now nearly a year and half later it has become part of my weekly routine. In 2025 I wanted to focus on reading and walking more. Both of these habits I have successfully incorporated into my routines. If you have been around, you know I also did a no buy year in 2025. I was not fully successful, but I made huge strides with my spending habits and I know this will carry over into my future.

I wanted to talk about what I want to do now that my no buy year is over. I definitely want to be more intentional with my spending. The one practical rule that I decided to make for myself is that I can’t purchase more than 3 items each month. This will include items for events or trips. I really wanted to put some boundaries on myself so I don’t slip back into old habits. Something else I am thinking about doing is getting coffee out less often and choosing local coffee spots if I do get coffee out. I honestly don’t get coffee out that often. I only allow myself once a week unless I am traveling. But I definitely want to start trying out more local coffee places instead of getting Starbucks.

In 2026 the main thing I want to focus on is less entertainment. Throughout this year I have been working on “mono-tasking” more often. Not always listening to music, podcasts, YouTube videos, or Marco Polos while I’m doing other simple tasks. I’ve been working on focusing on one task at a time in order to be more present in each thing I am doing. In my paper planner there was space to plan out my year – my goals, values, and priorities. I actually purchased the exact same planner for 2026 because it helped me to stay on track. In this planner there is a space to write a word for the year. I decided my word would be “focus.” I feel like at this time of my life it is easy to lose focus. Not only am I dealing with the effects of perimenopause, including struggling to stay focused mentally, but I also have more margin in my life and it can be easy to fill up the margin with things that don’t make a difference ultimately. I don’t want to keep feeling like I’m wasting my life.

Recently I watched a really great video from Ryan Holiday. I really love his content. It is very inspiring. He does a great job of sharing ideas that come from the Stoics in a really relatable and digestible way. He talked about this idea, which came from the Stoics – Memento mori. This is a Latin phrase which means “remember you must die.” I know, I know, this is rather morbid. But it also is so true, and something I think most of us don’t really want to think about. But the idea is if we do “remember that we must die,” we may be more intentional with our time. I feel like I am a work in progress with regards to truly living intentionally, but hearing this phrase ignited in me a new resolve to truly pay attention to everything that I am doing with my time. I know I won’t be perfect and there will surely be times when I don’t feel well – either physically or emotionally making it more difficult to do meaningful things. But my point is that I can more regularly focus on doing meaningful things. Things that are in line with my values and priorities, like spirituality, physical health, relationships, and personal growth.

I’m going to kick off the new year with this goal in mind to focus on less entertainment by doing a challenge of course! I love putting myself up to a challenge! And this time my husband is joining me in this challenge. I asked him a few years ago if we could do a challenge of removing the tv from our bedroom. Back then he was not keen on the idea, but we decided to do this together as a form of fasting. Our church does a 21 day fast at the beginning of every year and it can be anything you choose to abstain from. We are going to quit watching tv at night, which has become a very ingrained routine for us! I’m looking forward to seeing the difference it makes for us as individuals, but also for our marriage!

With New Year’s resolutions, a switch can’t necessarily be flipped and all things are new. But if you keep making small changes, year after year. These things will become part of your everyday routines and life.

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.