Tag: how to

Fashion, organization

5 Questions To Ask Yourself When You Have Nothing To Wear

mindbeautysimplicity

I’m sure a lot of us have had those I have nothing to wear moments as we are staring at our closets. Even though there are hangers & hangers of clothing, nothing seems to speak to you & you are slowly entering a style rut. Lately, as I’m entering the spring cleaning era, I found myself so uninspired by my fashion sense. I don’t know if it’s due to the pandemic & leaning into the altheisure wear trend. But now that we are three years out, I’m wanting to get back into fashion & experiment with different looks. This means, I’ve been going against the minimalist lifestyle of owning a certain number of clothing pieces & instead, allowing myself to be less strict with living with less. I’ve felt deprived & honestly – a bit frumpy.

As I am decluttering my closet once again for the rest of the spring & summer season, I have come up with 5 questions to ask yourself to create the perfect capsule wardrobe.

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Do I Have The Basics?

When it comes to your closet, being basic is actually a good thing. Those basic t shirts & tanks are the bones to your outfits. Case in point – the classic white tee & jeans. You just can’t go wrong. As you are going though your closet, be sure you have those essential shades of black, grey & white as well as the colors you love best. I for one am excited to add a few brighter colors to embrace the warmer seasons.

When I Put This On, Does it Make me Feel Confident?

Every single clothing piece you own should make you feel confident & your best. There’s no need to hold onto those just in case items or those maybe one day pieces that will simply collect dust. And as you are decluttering & find yourself lacking confident boosting outfits, it might be time to treat yourself to a shopping trip.

What Am I Lacking?

I tend to discover the clothing pieces I’m lacking to create the perfect outfit. I realized I would love to own / experiment with different styles of jeans & pants. I find shopping for tops easier, so the bottom half of me seems to suffer.

What Do I Need To Stop Buying?

Clothing declutters enlighten me on what I waste money on. As I see the piles of clothing I no longer want, I take in mind & remind myself to not buy those types of items again. It’s important to be smart with your purchases & not buy tons of clothing all at once. Creating a wardrobe you love takes time.

Am I Being True to Myself?

There are times where we dress to impress. But sometimes we need to remind ourselves, our style is our own. And we shouldn’t be choosing clothing based on other people’s opinions. It’s fine to take style inspiration. Believe me, I do it all the time. But it’s important to understand the difference of completely copying someone & wearing something that truly makes you happy. If you feel yourself in your clothing, you are on the right track.

As you create your seasonal wardrobes & let go of the pieces you no longer want, I feel like these 5 simple questions will help you establish a wardrobe that defines you in the best way possible. In the comments below, let me know of your favorite styles & what piece that makes you feel the most confident.

-B

Lifestyle, Self Growth

5 Simple Ways To Jump Start Spring

mindbeautysimplicity

There’s something refreshing about the days getting a bit longer, brighter & the air becoming warmer. Opening the windows & allowing the warm breeze to refresh the home, embracing extra spring cleaning & displaying florals for a sense of nature. Being someone who has been practicing the simple life, I find spring to be the perfect time to reflect, refresh & regain a sense of control of our clutter filled baggage. Luckily, there are tons of simple ways to refresh your life for spring & possibly start a new. Here’s how…

Refresh Your Home From Top to Bottom

This is the perfect season to conduct a full blown sweep of your space. This means vacuuming as well as cleaning the baseboards. Go through every single drawer & corner of your home & ask yourself if anything needs shifting. I always tend to find a few unwanted items to donate, trash & even sell. It’s important to cycle through your items & make space for the new.

I tend to downsize my decor at this time after the sweep of holidays that occur during the winter. I’ll even go one step further & downsize any decor that is placed in storage like from previous holidays.

Formulate Your Style

I love decluttering my closet & creating seasonal capsule wardrobes. This spring I plan to incorporate more bright colors & floral prints to embrace these warmer days. In the spring, I tend to take everything out of my closet, hold each piece up & ask myself if I still wish to own the item. More bulky items like sweaters & coats are put away in storage or a spare closet within our home.

This way, I can make space for pieces that coincide with the season at hand. I also love to experiment with my style at this time & determine if there are new items I’d like to add. I don’t necessarily like to over shop, but I do like to treat myself to a few fresh items.

Change Up Your Digital Aesthetic

Digital declutters are just as important as declutters within our homes. I tend to refresh accounts I’m following, creatively brainstorm photo ideas & even delete or clean up ones I no longer want shared. I try to stay rather intentional with my digital space these days by posting less frequently & even living more so outside the world of social media. This is a perfect time to establish healthier screen time habits. Our mental health is strongly affected by social media whether we want to believe it or not, so if you find yourself drained of certain social media platforms, this may be the season to delete or cut back on these apps.

Plan A Few Fun Adventures

One of my goals for this year is to travel more often. My husband & I have already brainstormed a few beach vacations for the summer months as well as a Caribbean cruise. I’d also love to travel to a few other places with my brother & family including Chicago, Salem, & Europe.I believe it’s important to plan a few adventures to look forward to & to break up our humdrum routines. You can even choose more simple adventures like local hikes, sport activities or bed & breakfasts.

Check in With Yourself & Your Goals

Since we are a few months into the year, it’s a great time to reflect on those new year goals & determine if anything needs to be tweaked. With each season, I like to have a self care moment with myself, see how I’m doing & determine if there’s growth needed to be down or not. In most cases, there is always room for improvement. But I also like to reflect & celebrate any wins I may have had along the way.

-B

Self Growth

Feeling Burnt Out? | 5 Mindset Shifts To Consider

mindbeautysimplicity

I’ve been experiencing quite the burn out lately in all aspects of my life. And I’ve touched on being creatively drained quite a bit on the blog; but when I found myself drifting into this feeling with my personal life, I knew it was time to reflect, make a few changes & of course write about it. My life has changed a lot in the course of the year – with battling grief & coming to terms with the changes of my dad no longer being here & how certain milestones & life has been because of that hurdle. But along side all of this, there has been the usual “new year new me” mindset of setting healthier goals, establishing better routines & focusing on self growth. In general, I want this year to be a time where I really evolve as a person & gain happiness in more authentic ways. In today’s blog post I want to share a few ways I’ve been managing my burnout & actively making changes in my life to better my mind & soul.

Change Your Surroundings

One of our goals for this year is to at least start the process in finding a new home. Whether it’s driving through different towns & new neighborhoods or searching the web, I want to start manifesting a new home for ourselves. For the time being, we have rearranged our furniture in our living room, decluttered a few items & added some new decor to spruce up the place. I’m really loving how the space is more open & appears larger. It’s funny how a simple change such as this really brightened my mood & gave me more motivation. Sometimes although you may be wanting to make a more drastic change like move to a new town, you need to first start with your present location. Ask yourself what would make your space more cozy. For me, decluttering sessions & reorganizing can really make a difference.

Take Social Media Breaks

I’m trying to learn how to be more present. This means spending less time updating my Instagram stories & more time away from my phone. I love documenting my life & sharing my interests online. But I think we all can get caught up in our digital personas. I can’t tell you how much time I waste scrolling through my feeds & other people’s stories. It has gotten out of hand. Ever since I started making the habit of hiding the app or putting my phone down, I’ve found myself being more productive & in a general better mood. Whether I want to admit it or not, I tend to play the comparison game or feeling the pull to constantly update people about my life for validation. And I’d much rather establish a healthier social media mindset where I post for my enjoyment only & allow myself to spend a few days a week unplugged. You don’t have to share every photo or moment of your life. You don’t need to post things right away either. You can practice digital mindfulness. Most importantly, spend time away from technology more often & give yourself a break from that world.

Don’t Forget About Yourself

You can be equally there for others while also prioritizing yourself. It’s not selfish. It’s crucial. Make those doctors appointments, go on that walk, take a nap, eat a balanced diet, reflect on your passions, apply to that job & learn something new. When we put time & energy into ourselves, we can actually be more helpful to others. When we are all one sided, we immediately feel off kilter & that’s when burn out can rear it’s head. I’ve been making small changes of making to-do lists & sticking to them. I no longer push things to the side & say “I’ll get to it when I get to it”. I’m more proactive in my day to day errands & business tasks. And in the process, I’m growing more as an individual. I’d also like to mention, if you need to rest – let yourself fully rest it out. I think we all tend to make ourselves feel guilty to take a break. We confuse this word with laziness & that mindset needs to stop.

Don’t Overfill Your Plate

When I’m creating to-do lists, I try to keep to the saying “I need to get these done, but not all at once.” Sometimes I get lost in the idea that being productive means being very busy, have a packed schedule & no time for anything fun. This is not the way to be. I have actually became more productive & motivated when I slow down & take my time. Even though I take things slow doesn’t mean I’m being lazy. I am teaching myself not to rush & that tasks can be taken care of in a timely manner. As someone who can get overwhelmed & anxious, I have mindfully taught myself to slow down on purpose. I choose a few tasks per day to complete & try not to make them feel like the end of the world. Easier said than done, I’m sure. But I have seen a positive difference in myself with these subtle shifts.

Declutter Your Space

It wouldn’t be a Mind Beauty Simplicity blog post without the discussion of decluttering would it? I strongly believe your space reflects your mind. When my home is disorganized & cluttered, I immediately feel out of control. As a practicing minimalist, I have successfully downsized my life in half. This removal of literal baggage is one of the main factors to my overall well-being. I tend to conduct seasonal decluttering sessions where I take inventory of all aspects of my life: my belongings, my home, my digital space, my social circle & my habits & ask myself “what is no longer serving me?” If you are feeling overwhelmed & burnt out, maybe this would be a perfect moment for you to do the same. And you don’t need to be heroic about it either. Start small & choose one area of your life that may need sorted. I can guarantee this small realignment will make a difference.

Have you been feeling burnt out lately? Let me know which tips you found helpful in the comments. If there are other ways you combat burnout, please feel free to share.

-B