Thoughtful Thursday

QUIT MAKING EXCUSES

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Hey friends! I know it’s been a while since I posted here! Life has been busy, and it is just now slowing down! For today’s Thoughtful Thursday topic I wanted to encourage you to quit making excuses. Please know that when I tackle topics like this that sound a little judgy – I am talking to myself too. I have said this before: these posts are just as much to encourage me as it is to encourage you!

I think it is human nature to make excuses for why we don’t do certain things or why we do certain things in life. It helps us to feel better about ourselves and our choices. We rationalize to comfort us when we fall short, and to protect our egos from failure. But one thing I have noticed for myself is that it can be helpful to be an observer of your thoughts (or even what you say) to really determine if you truly are living authentically, or if you are just making excuses to not do things that could help you to learn and grow. I’ll give you an example. I want to read more. I have been wanting to read more for years. Yet when I talk to people about wanting to read more, I tend to immediately make excuses for why I don’t read more. I blame my high energy and how it’s hard for me to sit still, my perimenopause induced ADHD which causes a lack of focus, or how I feel unproductive when I just sit and read. The truth is, I lack the discipline to make reading a more regular part of my routines. It would be one thing if I just accepted that I don’t have the discipline, but instead I make excuses so I don’t feel bad about myself.

Excuses often stem from fear – fear of failure, fear of judgement, or fear of change. When someone says, “I don’t have time to do this or that” what they actually mean is that they don’t want to prioritize it. When someone says, “I’m just not good at this or that” they really mean they don’t want to put in the effort to try that thing and/or they don’t want to risk failure. Excuses can come from a place of victim mentality. We may believe that our circumstances dictate our success or failure. While it’s true that we may have challenges or injustices in our lives, blaming others or our circumstances strips us of our autonomy and the belief that we have the power to change our circumstances.

Making excuses may protect our ego in the short term, but in the long term it sabotages our goals. Excuses prevent us from learning and growing. It can also diminish our self respect. Deep down we may know that we are not being authentic. This inner conflict can lead to anxiety, low self esteem, and lack of motivation. The more someone hides behind excuses, the more they drift from who they truly want to be. When we choose to quit making excuses, it doesn’t deny that life can be hard or that things are not always in your control. It means that while you can’t control everything, you can control your response to things. Taking responsibility instead of making excuses shifts the focus to what you can do instead of what you can’t do.

I have said this phrase so many times: you choose your hard. We often make excuses for why we are not doing the hard thing. But doing the hard thing up front makes the long term easier or at least more enjoyable. Often it’s when we don’t do the hard thing and we make excuses as to why we are not doing the hard thing, that later things actually become more difficult.

Excuses are easy, but progress is hard. If you want to live a life of purpose, achievement, and growth you have to quit making excuses. Stop blaming, stop delaying, and stop doubting. Take responsibility for your choices, your mindset, and your future. It’s not always comfortable, but it’s always worth it. Because the moment you stop making excuses is the moment you start making progress.

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

NO BUY YEAR MAY RECAP

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It is the last Thursday of the month, so that means I am sharing with you my recap for the month of May in my no buy year. And y’all, it was a rough one! I’ve definitely been struggling more as the year progresses. So, I would call the month of May a failure month! I did purchase a few items of clothing this month. Some my conscience could justify, but others I could not really justify. I mean, I have excuses but I felt like it was a failure. As with anything in life, when we fail, the important thing is not that we DID fail, but it’s how you handle the failure. It’s easy to give up when you have a failure. But I think it is important to just keep moving forward with your goals. So, you hit a bump in the road – that is not a reason to give up completely.

Okay, so I’m sure you want to know the details, right? Or maybe I just feel the need to share the details so I can tell you all the reasons why I failed so I feel a little more justified. My first failure was something that I was able to talk myself into being okay. For those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram, I did go to the Malibu Barbie cafe here in Austin with a couple of friends. We were going to all wear pink, as you do to a Barbie cafe. I only own two pink shirts and both of them are very muted pink, not very Barbie like. So I decided I would go thrift an outfit for this occasion. One thing I didn’t think of with regards to the no buy year is different occasions that would come up that would require me (or that I would want to) buy clothes for. I did feel better that I was thrifting the clothes. 

So right when I walked into Savers, on the first rack in the front, which was a sale rack, I found a bright pink Barbie shirt! Part of me thought this is perfect. I should just go with this. But did I do that?? No. I thought it would likely work, but I wanted to look for other options. I had in my head an idea of what I wanted. I was thinking of a pink crop top or camisole type top to wear with a skirt. I found a couple of other pink shirts that might have worked, so I grabbed those. Since you can only do exchanges at Savers I decided whatever I didn’t use I could give my daughter to exchange for whatever she wanted because she loves thrifting. I also came across a top that I really loved and it was a good brand in good condition, but also a top I thought my daughter would like so I purchased that as well, although I did end up giving it to my daughter. ALSO, while I was looking in the intimates section for a camisole I came across this slip skirt (really just a slip, but a popular look for skirts right now). It looks very similar to a skirt my daughter has that I have borrowed from her in the past and really love! At the moment I justified purchasing it because I thought I could wear it with one of the tops for the Barbie cafe, but in reality I know I just wanted it! The fact that it cost $7 made it even more difficult to pass up!! I did end up wearing the Barbie shirt, but with a different skirt. I gave the other two shirts to my daughter along with the receipt so she could exchange them for whatever she wanted. I could justify the Barbie shirt, but also buying the skirt I view as a failure for this month. Although, speaking of events – I am going to a concert this week with a friend to see my favorite band perform and I plan on wearing that skirt! Does that justify it??  Probably not, but I like to pretend that it does.

BUT WAIT, there’s more! I will be going to Tucson at the end of June to meet up with some YouTube friends, and I found a couple of things online that I wanted for that trip. Once again, I didn’t make any exceptions for this trip because I actually didn’t know I was going until after the year started. I consider this a failure as well though because I know I didn’t really NEED anything new for this trip. I just WANTED something new. Let me know if you are the type who buys new clothes for trips! But I think the reality is, I am just struggling as the year progresses. I’m finding it more difficult to resist the temptation to buy things. I also think that it is a slippery slope, and this is true for anything in life. When we give into our temptations, I feel like it makes it easier to say yes the next time. Perhaps that is what was happening for me after purchasing the skirt, my inhibitions were lowered.

This is the skirt I purchased at Savers.

Lastly, I did purchase a rug and drapes for my kitchen nook makeover. At first I did not feel like this was a failure because it’s not exactly home decor. But after talking it through with friends, I realized that I was maybe just shifting my spending to items for a makeover instead of clothes or home decor. Which now we know isn’t fully the case since I also purchased clothes this month! I did also want to purchase some dining chairs for the space, but I will not be purchasing those for now. But stay tuned to see that makeover video hopefully coming up this month!

Whenever we get derailed from our goals, all we can do is start over the next day. I failed this month, but I’m going to get back at it starting today! If you want to continue to follow my progress be sure to follow my blog!

The YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

ELIMINATING BAD HABITS FOR GOOD

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday I wanted to share something that I have been processing this week with friends. I recently watched a video which unpacked the idea of why we struggle to eliminate our bad habits. He suggested that we indulge in these bad habits as a coping mechanism. We all have psychological needs that need to be met. When these needs are not being met, we tend to turn to the quick comfort. And unfortunately the way our society is now, there is no shortage of quick dopamine hits!

If you have been around a while, you may know that I am doing a no buy year in 2025. I debrief on how each month is going on the last Thursday of the month, so you can hear all about May next week! Spoiler alert: it’s juicy! You will want to check out that post! But in addition to that I have also been doing another challenge each month. In April I did a minimalist closet challenge which actually bled into the first part of May because I was so busy with travel at the end of April and then the beginning of May. And because I was busy with these trips I ended up not coming up with a challenge for May! But I started thinking about these challenges and even my no buy year. For several of my challenges so far this year I have been eliminating bad habits from my life – no alcohol, no sugar, no shopping. As I evaluated these challenges and the idea behind it, I realized it’s not actually dealing with the deeper issue of these unmet needs. Just removing a bad habit for a month (or even a year in the case of my no buy year) does not deal with the deeper issue. It is just a momentary act of discipline. We can’t just remove bad habits from our lives, we need to replace them with something else. We need to replace them with healthy ways of meeting those psychological needs. 

This is certainly not easy or a quick fix. It takes a lot of self reflection, determining what are those unmet needs. Then we must think of healthy habits that can replace the unhealthy habits to meet those needs. It’s also about acknowledging that these quick comfort habits release dopamine in the short term, but often leave us wanting. Incorporating habits that have long form dopamine will be more beneficial in the long run. It’s not easy to think about the long term when you are just trying to deal with the moment and finding comfort or peace in the moment. But we must parent ourselves in the moment and say, “No. This is not what you need now.”

When we try to implement different habits or different routines in life we must think about what is the source of our self discipline? Is it self love or self hatred? If we make changes in life through the perspective of doing it for self love, it is more likely to be sustainable in the long run. In every decision in life we should ask ourselves: Is this good for me? Is this good for my family, my friends, or other people in my life? – then we are more likely to stick to our healthy habits. When we do things out of punishing ourselves, it will perpetuate shame and we will constantly be at battle with ourselves.

Something else I wanted to talk about with regards to this topic is the importance of relationships. The primary way we get our needs met is through relationships. Dr. Mark Hyman, whom I follow on Instagram, has shared data on the importance of relationships in our lives. In one post he stated: “Loneliness is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day – it raises cortisol, weakens immunity, and accelerates aging at the cellular level. But science proves that meaningful relationships lower stress, boost oxytocin, and even activate genes that protect against disease. Connection is truly medicine.” This is evidence that it is so important to foster healthy relationships! I also think it is important to evaluate if you have toxic people in your life and either cut those relationships off, or I know with some people you can’t completely cut them out of your life but you can control how often you interact. If you have problems in close relationships like your spouse, parents, or children, I think it is so important to actively work on repairing those relationships and getting professionals involved if necessary, doing your part to turn the relationship in a healthy direction.

That is all I have for today’s post. I would love to hear your thoughts on this idea of digging deeper and evaluating your needs and meeting them in a healthy way. If you’re still here with me and this resonates with you, type the phrase self love down in the comments. We need to make decisions based on self love, and I think this will truly guide us towards handling things in a healthy way.

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

MAINTENANCE OVER COMPLETION MINDSET

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about an idea that I recently heard about. That is the idea of having a maintenance mindset over a completion mindset. So often we have this mindset that things will be better when something is completed. Or we will feel at peace once something is completed. Once we have achieved that goal we are striving for we will feel accomplished. But the truth is there is always something more. When we live in this completion mindset, we will probably never feel at peace. Instead, we should shift our mindset to one of a maintenance mindset where we constantly have routines or habits that we perform as part of our everyday lives.

I really liked this idea. I think this explains intentional living so well. Mindset shifts are so powerful, and this idea of having a maintenance mindset in life over a completion mindset is such a small but meaningful mindset shift. In many areas of life, especially in work, education, and fitness we are taught to chase milestones: complete the project, graduate with honors, and reach the finish line. This “completion mindset” focuses on finishing tasks and achieving goals. While it can drive short-term motivation and give a sense of accomplishment, it often creates a cycle of burnout, disappointment, and stagnation after the goal is achieved. In contrast, adopting a “maintenance mindset” — the perspective that success is about continual care, improvement, and sustainable habits — leads to deeper growth, resilience, and long-term fulfillment.

The completion mindset focuses on completing something, and then setting it aside. For example, we often think of fitness goals in terms of completing something: losing a certain number of pounds, finishing a race, or completing a workout program. Once the goal is met, many people revert back to old habits or lifestyles, leading to lost progress or frustration. This is because the underlying assumption is that we only need to exert the effort until the task is complete.

On the other hand, if you have a maintenance mindset, it’s not necessarily about achieving this specific goal, instead it is about the process itself. The emphasis is on continual growth, and finding satisfaction in the day to day routine of the process. Fitness for instance shouldn’t be just about completing a goal, but a lifestyle of sustaining daily healthy habits. Learning is not just about retaining information to pass a test, but about cultivating curiosity for a lifetime. Relationships are not about finding “the one” or finding the perfect friend or perfect friend group, it’s about continuously nurturing the connections you have, working through problems, building trust and understanding.

The completion mindset may actually set us up for persistent dissatisfaction in life. After the thrill of meeting a certain goal has been accomplished, there can be a dopamine crash. Without knowing your next steps or coming up with an ongoing system to cultivate continual growth, you may begin to feel directionless. In addition to this, when we have a completion mindset, each task can feel daunting and overwhelming, which with a maintenance mindset it is a consistent journey with manageable steps.

A maintenance mindset is rooted in stewardship rather than conquest. It asks, “How can I care for this so it thrives over time?” rather than, “How can I conquer this challenge and move on?” It sees value in consistency, patience, and gradual improvement. It understands that good things, once achieved, still require attention and energy. I’m realizing that living this way is not an easy road, but focusing on continual growth in life will have long term benefits!

Lastly, I wanted to highlight the idea that when we have a completion mindset, we are focusing on chasing outer change to find peace. That is the biggest problem I find with this completion mindset. This peace we are striving for continues to evade us as we keep placing new goals or achievements on ourselves. When we live in this maintenance mindset, we can live in peace as we know in the forefront of our minds that what we are working on and towards is just a continual process.

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

DEALING WITH BAGGAGE

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So for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about baggage. I thought this was an appropriate topic since I recently returned from a trip. As I was walking through the airport with my carry-on rolling bag, my computer bag, and my purse, I was thinking about what a great analogy it was to mental and emotional baggage that we carry around with us. I saw this gentleman on one of my flights and all he had was his phone and a reader tablet. I thought to myself how nice that must be to have so little to manage while traveling. That’s when I got to thinking about how this mimics mental and emotional baggage. How much easier, or lighter, it must feel to walk through life with little baggage.

I actually talked about this idea last fall while preparing to go on a trip. I can link that post here. But I wanted to flesh out a couple of different ideas regarding this analogy of physical and mental/emotional baggage. One thing that struck me on this trip was how much easier it was for me to maneuver my bags through the airport and on the plane (lifting them into the overhead compartment.) I realized my muscles have gotten stronger since last fall with the consistent weight lifting I have been doing. I realized when we deal with difficult circumstances in life and process our feelings around them, “carrying” this baggage gets easier. It doesn’t feel as cumbersome when our emotional muscles are stronger.

The other thing that struck me on this trip is the importance of help or having a community around you when you are dealing with heavy or difficult circumstances. Yes, even strangers have helped me in the past with lifting my bag into the overhead compartment, but my son came with me on this trip and I realized it was nice for one of us to sit in the airport with the bags while the other one went to the restroom, or went to get food or a coffee. It was nice to have someone take the load for a while. It reminded me of the importance of friends and family in life to help us with our mental and emotional load.

The other thing I thought about regarding baggage, is how maybe everything I brought was not necessary. To be fair, I did use everything other than one workout t-shirt, but for the sake of this analogy, I think it’s good to evaluate what mental and emotional baggage we are carrying around and what we could declutter. Y’all know I’m all about decluttering and living with less as I pursue becoming a minimalist. And I can assure you that it takes time! Especially if it’s baggage you’ve been carrying around for a long time and it has accumulated. I have been decluttering and working on minimizing our possessions for many years now! And if you regularly watch my YouTube channel you know that is ongoing! AND, not only do I have to deal with past stuff that has accumulated (like our past emotional baggage) but also deal with the day to day maintenance. We constantly have to deal with things coming into and going out of our homes. Mental and emotional baggage is the same way. We daily have to deal with relational interactions and continual self discovery and growth. It is a constant process.

Recognizing our mental and emotional baggage as something that needs to be “gone through” and processed is the start. Acknowledgment is always the biggest step we can take. And then being aware that it will be a process and not an overnight fix or change!

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

NO BUY YEAR APRIL RECAP

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Okay friends, this is the last Thursday of the month, so I am sharing my recap of how my no buy year has been going for the month of April! I will say right up front that I have continued to have success! Although I will mention again this month that I wonder if I made this too easy for myself.

So the big test this month was going thrift shopping with my son in Portland. There was a skirt that I saw in one of the thrift stores that I was tempted to try on, but I bypassed it! I did buy several things for my son while we were out shopping while I was there. I even bought some things for his cat too cuz I have a grandcat after all! And her new collar and harness look adorable on her! At one point I was processing with him and I said, you know I wonder if buying you things is giving me that same dopamine hit feeling I get when I buy something for myself. I said it in a joking way, laughing, but there might be more truth to that than I would like to admit. Although it is okay to buy gifts for others within my rules, I’m still wondering about what I was processing last month – where it is still a heart issue for me. Even though I am staying within my rules, I still have this desire to purchase stuff.

I will say though, in addition to the skirt I saw at the thrift shop, I have seen other things online that I was interested in purchasing but I refrained and scrolled past! Clothes are definitely still my biggest temptation! But I really want to learn to keep the spending to a minimum after my no buy year is over because I am still trying to figure out a way to minimize my wardrobe!

And speaking of my wardrobe, I did want to share about my minimalist closet challenge that I was doing in the month of April. I honestly feel like I could have removed even more from my closet for this challenge in hindsight! My plan is to go through the items that I put in my husband’s office closet and see if there is anything I can declutter, then I am going to remove even more from my main closet for the month of May. One thing I did notice is that packing for my trip to Portland seemed much easier than packing had in the past. It might be in part because I have traveled quite a bit over the last couple of years so I am getting to be a pro at packing, but I think it really was also just not having as much to choose from. Which just makes sense!

Honestly this month I didn’t really have any big revelations. I think I am just continuing to see the value in spending money on experiences over stuff. Like I mentioned, I have traveled quite a bit over the last couple of years and it just makes me appreciate those travel experiences. Not only are those life-long memories but I have no physical thing to manage and take care of and one day make a decision about decluttering. For my son’s birthday we went out for a really nice steak dinner at this restaurant in Portland, Portland City Grill. Not only was the food fantastic, but it is located on the 30th floor of a building downtown with beautiful 360 views. I would much rather spend money on an experience and food like that than to have something tangible.

That is all I have to share for the month of April with regards to my no buy year! I am considering reevaluating my rules as I do feel like maybe I was not strict enough with myself. I see to be having no problems with refraining from spending within the rules I had set up for myself! I will keep you posted! Stay tuned for next month’s recap!

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

INTENTIONAL LIVING

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Okay friends, today’s post is a day late! It’s been a busy week over here as I prepare to leave to go visit my son in Portland! For today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I recently came across this quote from the ancient stoic, Seneca. He said, “For the love of bustle is not industry, it is only the restlessness of a hunted mind.” I found this quote interesting and appropriate for those seeking to live an intentional life. It is a reminder that just because we stay busy, does not mean we are living a life of meaning or intention. We can stay busy for the sake of being busy yet not accomplish anything.

The video I shared in conjunction with this blog post was a “Day in the Life” type video. Doing these types of videos is quite interesting because it organically gives me an opportunity to evaluate what I am doing with my time. Granted, I don’t film every minute in these videos, but it does make you more aware of what you are doing. I would really like to do an audit of my time and see exactly where I am spending my time and what I may want to do differently. It’s easy to get sucked into busyness, but we must really evaluate what is essential. On the other hand, it can be easy to waste our free time scrolling or watching things that aren’t even beneficial for us.

A quote that I shared over on Instagram this week, from Jim Rohn reminds us that if we are not intentional with our time, we can get carried away by the urgent or sidetracked by unimportant things. The quote says, “Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” We must prioritize what is important. Assessing our goals and values can help guide us as we determine what our true priorities are in life.

One idea I keep being exposed to more recently is the importance of living in the real world – spending time with friends or family, getting outside, working with your hands, reading, or pursuing other hobbies, versus constantly being online. Creating boundaries with technology is so important, yet also very difficult so we must be aware of how easy it is to get sucked into scrolling or spending mindless hours on technology. There are studies that have proven the addictive qualities of social media, making it really important to set those boundaries.

I know I have shared this idea or something similar several times before, but it’s definitely an idea that I keep circling back to and pondering. None of us are going to be perfect. We will all struggle, waste time, and sometimes spend our time doing things we wish we wouldn’t have done. But the more we expose ourselves to these ideas of the importance of living intentionally, the more we will pursue it!

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

NOT JUST ACTIONS, BUT A HEART CHANGE

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For today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about something more in depth that I mentioned in last week’s post. Last week I was debriefing about how the month of March went for my no buy year. In that post I shared that I didn’t break any of my rules, but my heart was still struggling with the desire to shop for the wrong reasons. Even though the purchases I made last month were all okay with the rules I had set up for myself, I realized that I was still shopping to ease anxiety or to get that dopamine hit to feel better. This week I have been thinking more about this idea of the importance of a heart change and not just a change in actions.

The whole purpose of doing this no buy year, or any of the challenges I choose, is ultimately to change myself on a heart level, not just a habit level. That is the true test! We may be able to muster up enough willpower to change our behavior, but the lasting and sustainable change happens when change happens in our hearts. This is actually a Christian principle, which Jesus talked about in His famous sermon The Sermon on the Mount. He talked about how it is not enough to just follow the commandments, but we must also follow them in our minds and hearts. This is a tall order, which is why we believe as Christians we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to help us follow through.

This may be a really weird analogy, but I have thought about how this is similar to our homes. We may have the counters and external space clear; but if our closets, cabinets, and drawers are disorganized and stuffed, we are still not organized and we are still going to have problems finding things. We may have the external appearance of being organized – we may be following the rules and our behavior is correct, but if our hidden spaces are a mess, like our hearts are a mess, then there is still work to do.

I’m not saying this is an easy thing. As a matter of fact, as I mentioned, there are still things that I struggle with that I am working to change at a heart level. But that all takes time. Just like it takes time to clean out the hidden spaces, cabinet by cabinet, drawer by drawer. I am hopeful that if I put in the consistent work of exposing myself to things that are true (like reading the Bible, listening to sermons or other positive content, and praying) I will eventually get there. Usually cleaning out our hidden spaces in our homes does not happen overnight, and I think the same is true as we work to “clean up our hearts.”

The important thing to remember is that no one is perfect. We all have struggles. We all struggle with different things. But we must keep striving towards better. Each day. That’s all we can do! And our growth is not always linear. We will have ups and downs. We may even have a season – a few weeks, a few months – of setbacks. We can’t beat ourselves up for our setbacks and failures. We must view them as opportunities for lessons and growth. And hope that the growth is still a steady progression forward.

The YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

NO BUY YEAR MARCH RECAP

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to share with you about how my no buy year has been going. And also to share with you a bit about my March challenge in which I was walking everyday in March.

So, at the top I will say I have continued to succeed in my no buy year! So yay!! Honestly, I am wondering if I wasn’t hard core enough with myself. There are still a lot of things that I purchase that others may say is a luxury. For example I do still get coffee out. I have put a limit on myself of one per week and I feel good about that, so I have continued that practice. The things I was focusing on for this no buy challenge are specifically clothes, shoes, accessories, and home decor. Maybe for one of my monthly challenges I will get more hard core for that month?

Y’all, I felt like in the first couple of months I was having all of these revelations, and here in March I don’t necessarily have any big epiphanies to report. As an all or nothing sort of gal, I really like that I don’t even have to think about if I will spend money on these categories I have designated as part of my no buy year, I just don’t do it. I like having that firm rule for myself, making it really simple.

I did want to share one struggle that happened this month. Although I did not purchase anything I wasn’t supposed to, I found that there was this one week that was particularly challenging for me, and it was that week that I made some decisions on a couple of items that I have been putting off purchasing. I could feel in my heart that even though I had thought it through and was sure of my decision, I think I pulled the trigger BECAUSE of my emotional state of struggling. One item was new sheets for our bed, which really was long overdue. I didn’t really need to make a decision about this, because we loved the sheets we got last time so we wanted the same ones. But that day I was just processing some tough feelings, and ended up going into West Elm to get the sheets. I think there was part of me that bought them for the same old reasons I have shopped in the past – to ease my anxiety or negative emotions. This was something that was on the list of things I could purchase because I knew we needed them, but reflecting back I just don’t like my heart posture.

The other item I purchased that SAME WEEK was a computer bag. I talked about this in my first post discussing my no buy year, this is something I was going to allow myself to purchase because I was still on the hunt for a computer bag that would meet all of my needs. I had been looking at several different bags, but finally just took the plunge and purchased one. Once again though, reflecting back I might have made the decision just because I wanted that dopamine hit to make me feel better. With that said, I have no regrets and I think I chose the right bag because I love the one that I got! So, the take away from this month is to continue to be self aware and reflective as I do make purchases!

The other thing I wanted to talk about was how I did with the walking challenge in the month of March! So, I have a confession: I skipped two days. Currently it is still the end of March so hopefully it will only be those two days I miss. BUT, I have made it more a part of my routine to walk regularly and that was my hope for this challenge. It was actually a challenge though! There were some days that I really didn’t want to do the walk, but I did it anyway! I think the most difficult days are the days I lift at the gym because my weight lifting sessions are pretty time consuming and my muscles feel fatigued after those workouts. Moving forward, I do want to walk on the days I don’t lift for sure

For my April challenge I will be challenging myself to living with a more minimalist closet. I removed several items from my closet to see how it is living without so many clothes. I have done this challenge in the past, but previously it was more extreme and more of a capsule wardrobe, which I learned I do not like. So this is more in between capsule and what I had in my closet. You can see that process in the YouTube video I created in conjunction with this blog post!

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


NO BUY/LOW BUY FEBRUARY INSIGHTS

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Hey friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday, it is the last Thursday of the month, so I want to give a recap on how my no buy/low buy year has been going so far. I did want to report at the top that I was successful for another month! Well, I know we still have a few more days in February as I type this, but I don’t anticipate having any slip ups the next few days.

The first realization I had this month was noticing my tendency to overbuy multiples when I like something. I guess I kind of already knew this. But going through the process of decluttering on a new level and not bringing in new items, I see it more clearly. My leather earring collection is a perfect example. Now, to be fair, I have been collecting these earrings for over 10 years, and there was a time when I was wearing them everyday. But, I don’t need as many as I had. I think before decluttering I counted around 30 pairs? Which is really quite ridiculous! I could wear different earrings every day of the month! I did declutter a handful of them, giving them to a friend who also really likes that style, but honestly could probably declutter more. The earrings are not the only category of items I have this struggle of overbuying. I know I have several pairs of shoes that all look very similar as well. I need to be more mindful of this when purchasing items moving forward after my no buy year. I think this was just a sign of the habit of shopping, and always wanting the new and shiny! 

I know I have shared this in the past, but I will share it today as it is relevant to this conversation. There was definitely a time when I had unhealthy spending habits and used shopping as a way to cope with anxiety and stress. Early on in our marriage I was very frugal and a lot more intentional about what I purchased because my husband’s income was modest, and we were living solely on his income. But looking back, I see that as he progressed in his career and his income grew, our spending just kept creeping up as well. Regardless of how much we make, I want to be very intentional with how we spend our money, and in particular what comes into our home. It’s honestly not just about the money anymore, it’s about my desire to live with less. I shared a Joshua Becker quote over on Instagram this week that said, “We don’t buy things with money. We buy them with hours from our lives.” And this really resonated with me. As someone who has primarily been a homemaker for most of my adult life, I am weary of taking care of stuff and I am just wanting to simplify!

Another thing I have been thinking about this month is wondering if this no buy year has been a springboard for me to implementing other healthy habits. I mentioned in last month’s recap that I am also doing a challenge each month this year in addition to the no buy year. Honestly, the challenges seem so simple because I know it’s only going to be one month as opposed to the entire year! In January I chose to eliminate alcohol and I decided to roll that into February. And then in February I chose to give up sugar for the month (which has definitely been more challenging!) But overall, I feel like doing this no buy challenge has given me more of a desire to make healthy choices in life all around. In March, instead of eliminating a possible vice from my life, I am going to challenge myself to walk every single day in March. I have been walking more often, but I would like to make it a daily habit. Walking more is one of the goals I wrote down for my year, so this is a way to build that habit into my daily routines. We’ll see how it goes!

But I did want to talk about something that surprised me a little even though it should not have. In February with the  no buy year, no alcohol, plus no sugar, I realized I had eliminated a lot of my go to vices if I was having a rough day. It was a good thing that I was almost forced to experience those negative feelings without covering them up with something else. It forced me to choose a more healthy or positive way to deal with these feelings – like talking to friends, journaling, or taking an Epsom salt bath at the end of the day. It has been good to learn to replace these negative coping mechanisms with more positive ones.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I did not fail this month BUT I did experience some temptation. Remember last month when I said I told myself to scroll past the ads on Instagram. Well, I have not been listening to myself! Those Instagram ads just get me! They are always showing me ads for clothes and that is for sure my main vice as far as spending goes. So I need to get back to being disciplined about scrolling through ads!

The last thing I wanted to share is that I really feel like my creativity is in overdrive! I think this is because I have that extra time and bandwidth that is no longer focused on shopping. I have been working on fixing up our home and while I should be getting some practical things done around our house, I just can’t help but come up with different design ideas! Last month I shared a little makeover in our back entryway, and I have some other ideas for other areas of my home, so stay tuned if you like that sort of content!

Okay friends, that is all for this month’s recap! I am shocked and also so thankful for all of the insights I have had so far this year, month two into my no buy year! If you are doing a no buy year, I would love to hear how it’s going for you! Or just let me know your thoughts on my thoughts today!

The YouTube video I created in conjunction with this blog post.