My social media fast ended just over 2 weeks ago on Easter Sunday, and since then I've slowly returned to Facebook and Instagram. I haven't taken that long of a break from social media since I joined the sites long ago so I thought I'd share my thoughts on how it felt.
Pros:
- I spent way less time on my phone. This was one of the biggest benefits of taking a break from social media. Before the fast I found myself mindlessly scrolling Facebook and Instagram. I think it's ok to do that occasionally but it can become a really big time suck, which was the case for me.
- It took away the comparison game. As I've mentioned before, I sometimes struggle with comparing my lives to others. Without social media, there was less temptation to compare my lives to others.
- Less exposure to all things political. I'm so over this year's election even though we aren't in the heart of the campaign season yet. I've pretty much completely disengaged myself from it because it only frustrates me to see a party that I typically would side with (Republicans) have such asinine people in the running for the candidacy (I'm looking at you, Trump and Cruz). It was easier to disengage without Facebook because I didn't have to see all the political articles and such that people share. I'm sure some will think it's awful that I've disengaged from the election process but it just frustrates me to follow the news. I'll still vote on election day but I will most likely not vote for a presidential candidate.
Con:
- I felt disconnected from far away friends. I do not enjoy talking on the phone so one of the primary ways I keep in touch with faraway friends is by social media. I missed being able to see what they were up to and seeing pictures of their kids or furr-babies.
Overall thoughts:
As you can see, I had 3 pros of staying away from social media and only one con, which is eye-opening. I am back on social media but my presence going forward will be different than it was before. The biggest change I am making is not adding Facebook back on my phone. I will look at my feed in the morning on my laptop when I am eating breakfast and maybe in the evening, but besides that I don't think I really need to be able to check it on a more regular basis. This way I'll still be able to connect with far away friends. This approach ties into my theme for 2016 being "the year of less" as I'll spend less time pouring over the latest news and status updates on Facebook and more time being in the moment in my very own life.
Have you ever taken a break from social media?
Showing posts with label year of less. Show all posts
Showing posts with label year of less. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Monday, February 29, 2016
The Year of Less: The Completion of My February Purge
Happy Leap Day and greetings from Chicago! I'm here for a couple of days for work, then head to Madison for a couple more days, and return to Minneapolis late on Thursday. It's going to be a whirlwind week but it's good to be traveling again as I enjoy conversing with clients and changing my schedule up!
As I mentioned in January, I spent the month of February focusing on getting rid of things in my house that I no longer need or use. My goal was to get rid of 435 items. When I started the month, I knew there were a lot of things I could get rid of but I ended up getting rid of more than I thought I would, mostly because I had soooo many books to get rid of. The total number of items that have left my house is 550 items! I actually ended up getting rid of a bit more than that as I stopped keeping track after I counted all of the books I would be getting rid of and had exceeded my goal.
I kept a detailed list, with columns totaling what was donated, sent to thred up or thrown away. I also kept track of what area of the house the items came from. The majority of my 550 items were books (272), but here is a breakdown of the rest of what I donated:
- 175 articles of clothing/jewelry/bags/shoes
- 46 items from my kitchen
- 23 office/organizational items
- 18 bathroom items
- 11 decor items
- 5 miscellaneous items
Of those 550 items, 392 were donated, 137 were thrown away, and 21 were sent to thred up.
Phil helped me load up my car with the 392 items I donated. I was shocked that we managed to fit 2 book cases, allll the bags of books, and 2 boxes of household goods/clothing into my little Honda Accord. Phil said it was a real-life game of tetrus. He wins boyfriend of the year for helping me schlep all those items to my card and bringing them to goodwill - and for standing in line at the post office on a Friday night to drop off my thred up bag while I sat in my packed car with a heavy box of donations on my lap.
It was surprisingly easy to get rid of all of these items. I thought I'd have a harder time going through my bookcases, but once I got going it wasn't very hard to determine what to keep and what to get rid of. This post on book riot really reflected how I approached my decision about what to keep or what to get rid of.
Truth be told, there's probably still more things I could get rid of as I didn't even get to the bins under my bed but I'll tackle that at another time over the next couple of months. In the mean time, I feel good about getting rid of a car load of stuff as it will make my next move so much easier!
As I mentioned in January, I spent the month of February focusing on getting rid of things in my house that I no longer need or use. My goal was to get rid of 435 items. When I started the month, I knew there were a lot of things I could get rid of but I ended up getting rid of more than I thought I would, mostly because I had soooo many books to get rid of. The total number of items that have left my house is 550 items! I actually ended up getting rid of a bit more than that as I stopped keeping track after I counted all of the books I would be getting rid of and had exceeded my goal.
I kept a detailed list, with columns totaling what was donated, sent to thred up or thrown away. I also kept track of what area of the house the items came from. The majority of my 550 items were books (272), but here is a breakdown of the rest of what I donated:
- 175 articles of clothing/jewelry/bags/shoes
- 46 items from my kitchen
- 23 office/organizational items
- 18 bathroom items
- 11 decor items
- 5 miscellaneous items
Of those 550 items, 392 were donated, 137 were thrown away, and 21 were sent to thred up.
Phil helped me load up my car with the 392 items I donated. I was shocked that we managed to fit 2 book cases, allll the bags of books, and 2 boxes of household goods/clothing into my little Honda Accord. Phil said it was a real-life game of tetrus. He wins boyfriend of the year for helping me schlep all those items to my card and bringing them to goodwill - and for standing in line at the post office on a Friday night to drop off my thred up bag while I sat in my packed car with a heavy box of donations on my lap.
It was surprisingly easy to get rid of all of these items. I thought I'd have a harder time going through my bookcases, but once I got going it wasn't very hard to determine what to keep and what to get rid of. This post on book riot really reflected how I approached my decision about what to keep or what to get rid of.
Truth be told, there's probably still more things I could get rid of as I didn't even get to the bins under my bed but I'll tackle that at another time over the next couple of months. In the mean time, I feel good about getting rid of a car load of stuff as it will make my next move so much easier!
Monday, February 15, 2016
My February Purge: Half-point Check-in
Greetings and happy Tuesday! As of today I am half-way through my February purge in terms of days. I've gotten rid of a total of 120 things as of yesterday. Of those 120 items, 65 were thrown away, 38 were put in a goodwill donation box, and 17 will go to thredUp at the end of the month.
I've done plenty of purging in the past, especially leading up to the moves I've made, but this purge is different than others as I've been more critical of what I own and why I own it. For example, I've packed and moved my collection of coffee mugs numerous times without giving thought to whether I needed all 16 of them. When the February purge rolled around, though, I thought about whether I truly needed 16 coffee mugs when I am the only coffee-drinker in the house (Phil doesn't and will never drink coffee). The answer was no. So I kept the 8 mugs that match my dishes plus 2 gifted coffee mugs that I love, and brought 1 other gifted mug to work to replace the worn out mug I've been using for the last several years.
Aside from mugs, I've gotten rid of a range of things such as expired spices, saute pans that I no longer use, clothes, jewelry, and shoes. I've tried to go through my house room by room and I usually choose the items I want to get rid of and put those items in a pile versus deciding which items to get rid of each day. Right now I am working on my bedroom closet. I feel like I will be in there for many days as I have a big stack of clothes to get rid of as well as a box of jewelry and shoes.
While I still have 315 items to get rid of over the next 14 days, I'm feeling confident that I'll be able to make it through to the end of the month because I know that there are many books I am going to be getting rid of. While I got rid of a lot of books last January, the truth of the matter is that my bookcases don't really reflect my current reading interests, so many of them will be donated so someone else can read them. At the end of the challenge, I will own far fewer books, but they will be books that I truly love.
I haven't been good about taking before and after photos, but I did take one of the area where I hang my necklaces.
It feels good to see multiple spaces in my house look like my necklace rack - less cluttered and reflective of what I use and need!
I've done plenty of purging in the past, especially leading up to the moves I've made, but this purge is different than others as I've been more critical of what I own and why I own it. For example, I've packed and moved my collection of coffee mugs numerous times without giving thought to whether I needed all 16 of them. When the February purge rolled around, though, I thought about whether I truly needed 16 coffee mugs when I am the only coffee-drinker in the house (Phil doesn't and will never drink coffee). The answer was no. So I kept the 8 mugs that match my dishes plus 2 gifted coffee mugs that I love, and brought 1 other gifted mug to work to replace the worn out mug I've been using for the last several years.
Aside from mugs, I've gotten rid of a range of things such as expired spices, saute pans that I no longer use, clothes, jewelry, and shoes. I've tried to go through my house room by room and I usually choose the items I want to get rid of and put those items in a pile versus deciding which items to get rid of each day. Right now I am working on my bedroom closet. I feel like I will be in there for many days as I have a big stack of clothes to get rid of as well as a box of jewelry and shoes.
While I still have 315 items to get rid of over the next 14 days, I'm feeling confident that I'll be able to make it through to the end of the month because I know that there are many books I am going to be getting rid of. While I got rid of a lot of books last January, the truth of the matter is that my bookcases don't really reflect my current reading interests, so many of them will be donated so someone else can read them. At the end of the challenge, I will own far fewer books, but they will be books that I truly love.
I haven't been good about taking before and after photos, but I did take one of the area where I hang my necklaces.
Monday, January 25, 2016
The Year of Less: My February Purge
Since the start of the year, I've seen many posts from fellow bloggers about their one word mantra for 2016. It's always interesting to hear the word that others choose and how they go about turning that one word into action. After thinking about it, I decided that my one word for 2016 is less. Less saying yes to things I don't truly want to do. Less feeling guilty about saying no to things I don't want or truly need to do. Less accumulation of physical possessions. Less worrying about things that are out of my control. Hopefully by focusing on less, I will make room for more. More time to invest into the relationships that matter most to me. More time to invest in the hobbies that bring me joy. More of a sense of enjoyment and fulfillment. Throughout the year, I plan to share how I am incorporating my one word into my everyday living.
Sometimes these one word mantras are a bit philosophical and not exactly measurable. But there are aspects of my one word mantra that are measurable - like looking around and seeing less physical possessions. Which is why my focus for February will be on possessions. I've moved quite a bit over the last several years which always results in a purge when I begin the packing process. But I look around my small 1 bedroom condo and know that more can be done. Then earlier month I was listening to The Minimalists podcasts and they mentioned a minimalism game. Here is how it works:
"For a month, you must get rid of one thing on the first day. On the second, two things. Three items on the third. So forth, and so on. Anything can go! Clothes, furniture, electronics, tools, decorations, etc. Donate, sell, or trash."
Sounds a little bit extreme, right? But also kind of fun if you are the kind of person who is looking for a fun and unique way to get rid of possessions you don't need. I decided that February is going to be my month to play this game. If I make it through the entire month, I will have shed 435 items. I told another friend about my plan to do this, and her and her husband were so excited by the idea of this that they started that very day and are now on day 14. It's nice to know another person that is doing it as we've talked about the kind of things we are going to get rid of and she's talked about how good it feels to get stuff they don't need/use out of the house.
I've already had a couple of people tell me that this is so extreme and impossible and that no one, besides a pack rat or hoarder, has 435 things to get rid of. Anyone who has been to my home can attest to the fact that I am not a pack rat or hoarder, but I still think I can come dang close to finding 435 things to donate or throw away. So in February, I'll be checking in mid-month and at the end of the month to share what exactly I've gotten rid of.
I'm really excited to take on this challenge. I find that the older I get, the less "stuff" I want and this will provide an organized way to get rid of some of that stuff. If this has sparked your interest, I challenge you to join me! Maybe you won't make it through all 29 days but at a minimum you'll end up getting rid of some things.
Where do you stand on the accumulation of things? Do you find yourself wanting less as you get older or is the opposite true for you?
Sometimes these one word mantras are a bit philosophical and not exactly measurable. But there are aspects of my one word mantra that are measurable - like looking around and seeing less physical possessions. Which is why my focus for February will be on possessions. I've moved quite a bit over the last several years which always results in a purge when I begin the packing process. But I look around my small 1 bedroom condo and know that more can be done. Then earlier month I was listening to The Minimalists podcasts and they mentioned a minimalism game. Here is how it works:
"For a month, you must get rid of one thing on the first day. On the second, two things. Three items on the third. So forth, and so on. Anything can go! Clothes, furniture, electronics, tools, decorations, etc. Donate, sell, or trash."
Sounds a little bit extreme, right? But also kind of fun if you are the kind of person who is looking for a fun and unique way to get rid of possessions you don't need. I decided that February is going to be my month to play this game. If I make it through the entire month, I will have shed 435 items. I told another friend about my plan to do this, and her and her husband were so excited by the idea of this that they started that very day and are now on day 14. It's nice to know another person that is doing it as we've talked about the kind of things we are going to get rid of and she's talked about how good it feels to get stuff they don't need/use out of the house.
I've already had a couple of people tell me that this is so extreme and impossible and that no one, besides a pack rat or hoarder, has 435 things to get rid of. Anyone who has been to my home can attest to the fact that I am not a pack rat or hoarder, but I still think I can come dang close to finding 435 things to donate or throw away. So in February, I'll be checking in mid-month and at the end of the month to share what exactly I've gotten rid of.
I'm really excited to take on this challenge. I find that the older I get, the less "stuff" I want and this will provide an organized way to get rid of some of that stuff. If this has sparked your interest, I challenge you to join me! Maybe you won't make it through all 29 days but at a minimum you'll end up getting rid of some things.
Where do you stand on the accumulation of things? Do you find yourself wanting less as you get older or is the opposite true for you?
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