A Year Without Clothes Shopping



Last January I made the resolution to not purchase any new clothes, shoes, jewelry, or accessories. The first couple months were tough. I regularly went online and shopped around, sometimes making the purchase, most of the time just filling my basket and then letting the items expire. 

But as the months went by it got easier and easier to forget about that online habit. In fact, it felt really good knowing I wasn't wasting my time looking at clothes I couldn't afford and shouldn't be buying. 

The changing of seasons was a bit tougher. Especially when the new season catalogues came in the mail looking so beautiful and dreamy. Those tempting images went right into the recycle bin. During the summer I ended up buying a new pair of Nikes and a new pair of Lululemon capris. But the difference in those purchases is that I actually threw out the old running shoes and pants. In the past I would have kept them both, thinking that the old shoes might come in handy if I ever went camping or hiking (which I don't do), or the pants for when I'm low on laundry. But one of the main reasons for doing this year challenge was to let go of the old, the things no longer serving me or my wardrobe, and to do with less.


Leaving my steady paying job and bouncing around with work for the last five or six months of the year also helped to curb my shopping temptations. Being broke is actually very helpful in this situation. 

Now, as I head into the new year, my approach to shopping is also new and fresh. I'm sure I'll buy new clothes this year, but I'll do so with better habits:

1. All purchases must be made in cash, not on a credit card
2. For everything two items I buy, one of the like needs to be donated or given to a friend
3. Be conscious of where the clothes/shoes/etc are made, and the materials sourced 




xxo

Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodha

Welcome to 2017, friends. We made it!



I spent New Years Eve at Zuda Yoga with my teachers and an amazing, sweaty community of crazy yogis. It was perfect. The class was two hours, some yin, meditation, and lots of flow. We set intentions and spoke them out loud. I've learned over the years that there is so much power in speaking your truth and sharing your hopes and goals with another. 

By the end of the class I decided my intention for 2017 is to lead a life of purpose, passion, and connection. I think I'm pretty clear on what my purpose and passion is: to work with adolescent girls. But for the last six months I've been searching for jobs that will allow me to act on those passions, and I keep coming up empty. 

It's been incredibly frustrating, on so many different levels. I've also had the majority of the month of December off from substitute teaching, and let me tell you, there is without a doubt such a thing as too much vacation. I have been driving myself nuts ruminating over the things that have broken my heart this past year. At least when I'm substitute teaching my mind is distracted for a good portion of the day. 

Right now I think I'm working on finding that balance between totally shutting down and pushing the uncomfortable away versus allowing myself to completely sit in the much and mire. Too much work and deflecting and I'll never process the grief; too much wallowing and I'll never pull myself out. 

The phrase yogas chitta vritti nirodha comes from the yoga sutras. It means, to stop the mind from turning on end. In 2017 I work on learning new, healthy ways to stop my mind from turning on end. I want to be present. I want to feel. And most importantly, I want to process and heal. 



Namaste

Things I've Learned This Week


I've been watching a lot of HGTV this week while house and cat sitting for my brother. I LOVE me a good renovation or flip. Growing up I remember watching a lot of similar shows that featured renovations and interior design. I had dreams of convincing my dad to buy a house and we'd flip it together and make lots of money and just keep the cycle going.

This week I also put away all of my Christmas decor. As soon as I got the last strand of lights tucked away I started right in on rearranging my living room furniture. There's something therapeutic for me about rearranging and reconfiguring the space I'm in. It makes it feel new again. Over the years I've begun to see a pattern in feeling anxious or stressed about life and the timing of my rearranging/redecorating my space. I think it's a way for me to let go of the old and step into something new...

I've also been on a quest to simplify and downsize for the last year or so. I'm hoping to do one last purge of 2016 before the new year arrives this weekend. Have a happy and safe New Years, friends!!

xxo