Dec 28, 2016

It’s kinda crazy that 2016 has dwindled down to a mere few days. I remember everyone telling me that the older I get the faster the years will go and soon five years ago will seem like maybe just a year… and they couldn’t be more right.  I feel like 2016 just started.

It’s a bit ironic that I’m talking about my year of ‘less’ with a photo of something I bought in 2016.  B U T  I love this photo not just because of the gorgeous vintage find (thought that certainly helps), but because of how I see this photo.  There is an entire jewelry rack I haven’t touched in the last six months and there is a watch I need to find a new home for.  I now see how I can make less  e v e r y w h e r e.

I spent the majority of year on the weird cusp of practicing less and trying to break bad habits.  And it really started to stick towards the end of the year.

But let’s back up….

My year was inspired by the book “Live more, Want Less” and for some reason it was a book that shook me up a bit.  Listening to the author list out the symptoms of buying just to buy was a bit of hard look in the mirror, as I was a Queen shopper who let no 50% sale go by as,  “I t’ s  o n  s a l e.”

Whoops.

Clearly this meant I wound up with quite a lot of discounted items… though they simply turned to just more and more stuff.

Now don’t get me wrong.  My year of less hasn’t made me someone who doesn’t appreciate a good sale anymore, it just has made into a person who knows that another one will come along.  It’s just good business. More discounts, more sales.  SO saying “no” to a discount doesn’t mean “no never,” it just means I don’t need anything during this sale. Maybe next time 🙂

Get it?

Want less… live more.

My last travel of 2016 could not have been a clearer sign that wanting less in the end can pay off.  When I was offered a super last minute trip to Jackson, WY, the only thing that stopped me from saying  HECK YES right away, was time away from work.  I was no longer doing quick math to try to figure out if I could swing it after spending half my account at Sephora. (Exaggeration, of course, but Sephora can collect quite a bit of my $$ if I’m not careful.)

But enough about me… let’s talk about you and your possible year of less.

Declutter

Get ready to become your neighborhood’s crazy cleaning lady.  I had amassed so much ‘stuff’ simply because “What if I need this again” or “I don’t have money to get another one,” that I found myself with bags and bags of unwanted goods.

The book goes through each of these excuses and breaks them all down.  When was the last time you touched those dirty flats you destroyed in your local college bar? And do you really need to keep every sentimental knickknack you have collected? Most likely not. Through different de-clutter scenarios you start to understand how you can look at your own closet, room or entire house and find  l e s s.

Lists

This was key for my year of less! I kept literal lists around of my “wants.” And surprisingly/not surprisingly the more the year went on the less stuff showed up and the more do’s did.  Travel to California, build new closet (coming soon to a blog post for you), start my own art print shop, etc.  With my wishlist laid out in front of my I was able to resist those ultra cute, yet not necessary fall booties.

Guilt Free

A big part of my year was me be able to look at my past frivolous purchases and learn from them, rather then see them as piles of regret.  I used to ignore my mistakes or try to overlook them, but I slowly learned that not looking at a hastily bought shirt meant I was doomed to buy another unneeded item, sooner rather than later.

Now anything in my closet that isn’t used gives me guilt, not my mistakes.

For someone who always swore off giving one year, one word I certainly changed my tune throughout 2016.  Most likely because I always saw words that I never really felt very attached too or ones that would maybe see me through a couple months, but never through a whole year.  Less was something that intrigued me from the get go, as it’s always seen as a negative not necessarily a positive.

Have you ever tried one word for one year? I’m thinking I already have mine for next year, but I’m also thinking of not pushing my luck and just enjoying less for a bit.

xo Kelsey