Our Decluttering Journey, Part I

Well hello, after my last post about moving... Let's just say, time slipped away. Everything kicked into high gear after little bit of packing here in and there. My husband and I had such clashing schedules most the time, so getting errands done was slow going with just one person doing some of the packing and cleaning. But on the days we were both off, we were on it!

I must admit, I am a little ashamed of how messy our place had become over the years. When we both work so much it felt like we were on this ongoing spring cleaning as I most often referred to it. Throughout the years, I would constantly come home, try to make a vision, start on declutter, take a break....and then everything all went to shit again. Its like I couldn't get it under control. At least no by myself. And again with us working so much, my husband and I were just never in the right mind to clean. We would go home and rest and wind down....Repeat our day the next.

Finding your underlying problem always helps you to start your journey so here is mine...
When I moved up to Washington State, I barely had anything to my name. All that fit in a 4-Door Sedan rental came with me for the roadtrip up. I literally only had a few storage tubs of clothes, a suitcase, and a few knick knacks. My husband and I started with nothing. It was a our first place together...Not even a bed, or couch, or TV, or Dining Table.

Now the way I'm being so vague, we are at no way hoarders at all. We just didn't put things in the right place, as there was no rhyme or reason. It was overwhelming and frustrating at time but it continued on...Up until we learned about our move. Every cleaning project prior didn't have a clear goal. But here it was on a platter, no going back. Learning about our upcoming moved forced us into reality that we needed to get our shit together!!!

And thus, the decluttering began...
THE GREAT DECLUTTERING PURGE OF 2018.

Sorting through everything , one pile at a time really helped us to realize firstly "WTF were we thinking?!!" and secondly, why did we ever keep these things in our lives if its useless. Taking a few tips from the book I read from Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,  we started our decluttering with clothes. Should be easy enough right, since we barely wore half of our wardrobe. We decluttered quite a lot. Some I was afraid to let go because of the "What If" factor but then something in me set in that I should think about the now. What will work for me now. Material items can always be repurchased. Better yet, something better might come along!

We worked our way into the dreaded Paper category. Paper was just one of those hidden nuisance that you don't realize is cluttering up your space. But damn was it everywhere and what for! With technology now a days, everything has a file --so going paperless has always been the best options and my husband and I DO use paperless billing, Yet here I was collecting paper bills from the past. I didn't even know what for! And receipts.... my goodness the receipts. Our first shredding day ended with 3 shred bags...every day that we decluttered our shred became less and less until my husband and I had just one binder of important documents and small accordion file for a little bit of more documents. Going paperless and getting rid of papers in your household is one of the best options you can make yourself if you are on a decluttering journey.

Of course, you can figure out the rest, getting rid of books and magazines we no longer read, getting rid of things that serve no purpose anymore. My husband did such an amazing job getting rid of some of his items and I hope to do a little more myself. Since we began our packing process and started to run out of time, a lot of my items are coming a long for the ride. So my decluttering journey must continue on even though I felt I got rid of a lot. There is always still much work to do.

Journey to Simple.

I've always thought of myself of being a very simple person. I never really needed to spend money unless its on food or necessities. I don't find myself in dire need of shopping trip when there's a sale going on or whatever people seem to like to do all on the same day at the same time (😁). I don't need to update my home decor every season (or week or month like some unmentioned people). I'm content with what I have and that's how I have always been, its the person I grew up to be. Things are not as important as people. We should all remember that. But the journey to living a simple life is much more than that. I find myself realizing I've missed several steps along the way. That in reality, I am actually drowning in chaos in my surroundings.

I don't need anything trending in make up, but why do I have such a big collection of makeup. Because I haven't let go. The box that my family sent me through the mail with goodies, the goods are used but the box is just sitting there, piling up along with the rest of the boxes. Whenever I do get actual down time when I'm not working I realize how much material things I have accumulated over the years than what I had started with. When my husband and I first moved into our apartment, we started from nothing. We had this plan to be together and that was it. I brought as many of my things that I could from California to Washington, that fit into a rental car, that barely filled a corner space in our place. Fast forward years later and now I'm fighting to get a space for anything.

So more than ever this year, I have been really learning to let go. The Journey to Simple for me, is letting go. I have to let go of the things that gave me temporary joy. What I learned is that, all the years that my husband was active in the military and was away on duty, I began to fill that void with a temporary fix that came in the form of splurging for things that I want but never needed. After reading a bit of the Marie Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I began to realize what is of importance to me now. And slowly but surely I have been cleaning away different sections in our abode.

Now, most people seem to start with clothes as that is what is suggested in her books, but I have found inspiration in starting where I know I don't have most of my attachments which have been (of course) my makeup/beauty collection a.k.a the items that I had splurged on over the years. You would think this would actually be difficult for me seeing as to how much I have added to my collection over the years but its the easiest because like I mentioned, I do not have attachments simply because I no longer wear much makeup.

Over the next couple of posts I hope to add in a bit of before and after maybe to serve as inspiration for those of you on the same journey with me. Thank you for reading this post if you made it this far:)

Until next time!!!

-J

2017 Resolutions.

So I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it here but growing up, my family was very typical and standard during the holidays. For Thanksgiving we would all gather and watch the Macy’s Day Parade even though we were not fans, it was “tradition!”. During Christmas it was that exciting time of writing to Santa about all the things we hoped to find under the Christmas tree. On New Years’ Eve we would all be sure to jump at midnight with money in our hands in hopes it would promote good fortune (but thinking back now I’m wondering if this was just a Filipino Tradition). On New Years’ Day it was time to talk about and set our resolutions for the new year. Fast Forward to present day and…I’m pretty sure I might be the only one in my family that still follows these (rather silly) traditions. But for me, setting some goals (okay maybe like 10-15 goals in a detailed list) has somehow always made me feel pretty damn good and motivated. Though the question is… after all these years, have I been able to even complete all of them during the year. The answer is simple: No.

I’ve never been an over achiever and until this day I still seem to try and give myself way more than I can handle. Not quite sure why I do so, but I do. And naturally its taken me years to get to the point that I am at today. My 2017 Resolutions!!! (Lets all clap because this time I think they are quite do-able within the year J). This year I’ve decided to try three main goals. YES, just THREE. Seems easy enough right? I once watched a video about trying to get goals completed and how she (the lady in the video of course) said that she likes to give herself three tasks to complete in day because then she feels its easy to accomplish and by doing so each day you will get a lot done. So I tried it. AND BY GOLLY, it worked for me. SO here I am, looking to complete three main goals this year at which I hope will better myself in the long run. So without further ado, here they go….

MY 2017 NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS/GOALS:
1) Change My Mindset
2) Live Simple
3) Get sh*t done!!! JJJ

Changes, Everything Changes.

I had a blog post about 2013 and I realized that half of the year was one of the worst times in my Life. However, by the 2nd half of 2013 things were definitely starting to look up! I was able to find a better stable job, in turn of making better pay for the benefit of my husband and I. I was much happier than I had been from my previous job. And good things began to surround me. I was thankful and still am for the positive changes in my Life. I left all negativity that I could.

2014, I wanted to start fresh again. Set goals and accomplish them like most people strive for. After my birthday in January, my husband and I bought a new car. I went on a whim by joining the Y (gotta exercise somehow and someway!). And I've also made small changes like renaming my blog/Instagram from rarebliss to elloladyjane (^_-) We're getting on track and I'm really excited for the challenges this year brings us. I've decided I don't want to be brought down by negative energy. What are you up to this year?

"Every day may not be good but there's always something good in every day. "

Ja Mata Ne!
- Jennifer

Inspiration - For myself and for all:-)

October Wellness.

This month I decided to participate in October Wellness month at my work. Its basically a goal set for the month to enhance/improve your wellness, whether its financially, mentally, physically.... you name it! I thought it would be really fun! Plus, my office is the first thing people see so I figure why not let people get to know a little about me! Here's what I decided to do:

1) To improve my digestive/immune system, I have decided to drink more water and less soda! Drinking 8 Glasses of water per day is the minimum that people should be drinking so that is my goal. (Its not that I drink more soda than water, I just don't drink enough. What can I say.... I'm an eater not a drinker:P)

2) To improve my financial wellness, I am putting away 5% of my paycheck into a savings to help with an "Emergency Fund". To save it for a rainy day, or perhaps to travel:)

3) I've decided to pool in inspiration and start snapping again. Snapping photos that is!!! I am quite a camera/photography/filmography afficionado but the past months I haven't done enough of it! I feel like I've slacked off with trying to just really enjoy life and its moments (before stuff like Myspace and Facebook ruined candid moments). Though will all that said, doesn't mean I cannot enjoy both!!!

So there you have it, my three goals of wellness.
Anyone else have any goals for this month?

To Higher Ground...

I cannot believe how blessed I have been the past month. And I just couldn't help but write about it. It has taken me quite a journey over the past years to finally break out of the mold that people, mainly my family have put me in. The mold to be like them- to show perfection, to show strength, to show that I can do anything THEY want me to do. Not that it was too horrible but the creative ME was just itching to get my own life on. I am my own person, and I have always known that from the beginning but being the youngest sister I have always felt the need to respect others wishes, to put their feelings and such before mine. And here I am. On higher ground... on my own.

So enough of that back story (for now)...SO LET ME JUST SAY THIS, I feel very blessed to have the opportunity, after FOUR long years of hard work and persistence to move up from within my workplace. I thought the time would never come. When I first started my job, I really felt it was just a temporary setback, a need-to-have kind of basis. It was definitely NOT comparable to the two jobs I had back home, one at the corporate accounting level of $23/hr, the other being at $20/hr at a nightclub in SF. Here I am, at the the starter job for most teens making the minimum wage of Washington State. It was a job nevertheless. I quickly climbed my way through the retail food chain, training in many places of the Department as possible. And then finally reaching a comfortable halt within the Photo Lab. MY ULTIMATE LOVE. film, photography, developing... I was all over it and learning it faster than ever. Soon enough I was a permanent member of the Lab. And with every part of life, world, work (not to mention living in a very HIGHLY populated military world)....people come and go, changes arise, and somehow I found myself unhappy AND also being pushed out of my normal workstations and losing hours. I couldn't figure it out... I thought it was personally towards me until I realized half of the store was getting the same treatment and dropping like flies. So I did what I could to change my fate by trying a completely different position and avoiding anything that had to do with my old one.

FAST FORWARD, that didn't work out as I would hoped. So I started back at the beginning, which would be horrible for some people but I for one was just happy to be back to what I knew best! And starting to see some more familiar and friendly faces. Yet here I was again. Stuck in time, stuck going nowhere - neither up or down. 2011 - another new year to turn things around. I was getting more hours, which meant I working more, which meant happy paychecks. But what could I do to get ahead. Get back to living my potential.

And then there was the recommendation, from my previous supervisor. I didn't believe it at first when she asked me if I was interested but the words, "I would love to be trained!" was already flowing from my mouth. March, April, May..... I went from working on the Floor, to working from a desk. Its been amazing! I enjoy every bit of it, even though I'm still trying to remember certain tasks and routines. The even better part, I also got my goal in the works. Before I even knew that I would have the opportunity to train in the Office, I had expressed A LOT of interest in working in the Pharmacy for the B-Tech program. I start my training in a week:) I hope that this it the beginning for greater things.

Even if this recent success could suddenly disappear, I am really grateful for all the new knowledge it has given me:)

Sorry if that was long!