Chronic Pain and Clutter

While revamping the minimalism post, I came across a blog that sort of pressed my buttons.  I stepped away from the computer and decided to do something else as I processed the WHY this blog irritated me.

The person writing the blog did not come from a place of a person with a chronic illness.  Her blog was solely aimed at those healthy enough to follow the advice.  I tend to forget there is a difference and not everyone understands what it is to live with a chronic condition.  So once I got that through my head, I sat down and re-read the blog but put a spin on some of the information.

Chronic Pain, Clutter, and Mental Health

Photo by Sasha Freeman at Unsplash

Clutter isn't always a representation of our mental health.  More often than not it is a reflection of our PHYSICAL health or inability to clean and stay on top of our cleaning due to our conditions.  For example, last fall I had a flare.  My joints and back ached so badly that the little bit of pain medication I could take did nothing to stop the pain.  Add to that the fatigue from not sleeping due to pain and it was all I could do to just get out of bed and smile most days.  The chores backed up.  Declutter kid closets and our outside shed, I think not.

Decluttering Isn't A Marathon Session

Photo by Pau Casals at Unsplash

Decluttering takes time and diligence.  We can't just choose a day and declutter every single room.  Experience has taught me that's a sure fire way to bring yourself a world of needless suffering.  You'll be in pain, tired, achey and will probably have a much larger mess to deal with.  Then your mood will follow because you feel like crap and you accomplished nothing.

If you're decluttering to achieve a state of minimalism, you need to take it slowly.  Minimalism is a lifestyle - something you'll be doing...forever.  You've been a clutter bug all this time so expect it to take some time to transition into another lifestyle with different habits.

Don't Go It Alone

For an independent person who suddenly finds themselves limited by chronic illness, it becomes imperative that you reach out.  Ask family, friends, volunteers, charity organizations for help when it comes to decluttering.  Many will be willing to come for an afternoon or two to help.  Offer pizza!

Pace Yourself

Do one room at a time.  If one room is too much, do half the room.  Little by little it will start to add up.  Try to work for ten minutes at a time.  If that is too much, do five.  You can get a good deal done in five minutes.

Use Checklists

Just about any declutterer / minimalist will agree checklists can help focus on what needs to be done.  Go into a room and write down different areas you want to tackle.  For example:

Bedroom

• Bed - Make bed hotel nice
• Nightstands - Clear off
• Dresser - Organize top
• Dresser - Purge drawers
• Closet - Purge shoes
• Closet - Purge pants

And so on!

In no time at all you'll see a major difference.

You Are Responsible For Your Stuff

Photo by The Creative Exchange at Unsplash

Stop cleaning everyone else's room.  That's right.  Your children are responsible for their own rooms.  At some point parents stopped making children be responsible for putting their things away.  Let them clean them themselves.  I worked in a daycare once.  Toddlers know how to pick something up and put it away if you show them.  Make it a game.  Sing and dance and offer a small reward when they do what they've been asked.

Elementary, middle school, and high school kids know better.  Make them be responsible.  You have enough going on without cleaning their room too.  Be old school.  They don't clean - no phone, no tv, no friends, no excuses.  It's okay for them to be mad at us.  They will live.

For more tips, check out the article by Gabrielle Savoie at MyDomaine.com.  This is perhaps the most thorough article I've read on this subject.

Above all BE GOOD TO YOURSELF  

 

Photo by Tim Goedhart at Unsplash

You're already fighting hard against yourself with your chronic illness.  Don't make battles where they don't need to be.  Take your time, focus on what's important, and do what you can. Last I checked, there weren't any competitions on orderliness.

I hope this helps.  Thank you for reading.

As always, keep moving forward!

Bujo Supply Scavenger Hunt List

Bujo Supply Scavenger Hunt

To save money on supplies, take a few minutes to walk around your home and see if you have any of these items.  If you have kids and they aren't using them, ask if you can have them.

• Pencils
• Pens
• Highlighters
• Markers 
• Color Pencils
• Stickers
• Paper
• Binder
• Composition book
• Spiral notebook
• Washi tape
• Stencils
• Stamps
• Scrapbook paper
• Wrapping paper
• Scotch tape 
• Scissors
• Glue

4. Supplies

Supplies

Now we've got all the hard work done.  We know:

• What our journal needs to do 
• How many pages we need and for what 
• We've decided on a layout

If you missed any of that, please click here to go back to earlier posts.

Now it's time to get our supplies together.

First thing's first

Being on disability, we are about saving money here at Generic Soda Money.  Before we spend one dime on any supplies, let's do an inventory of our home and see what we already have that we can use.  A lot of people think you need an expensive binder full of paper and fancy stickers with the word PLANNER stamped on the front.  Not true.  Below is a list of the most essential things you need to bullet journal.

1. Pencil or pen
2. Paper

The end.

Not what you expected?  Well it's true.  You need something to write on and something to write with.  If you have several sheets of paper and a binder to keep them in or even a folder, you're already there.  Here are a few other ideas:

• A spiral notebook
• A composition book
• Loose leaf paper and a binder
• Colored paper
• Graph paper

For writing you can use:

• Ballpoint pen
• Pencil wooden school or mechanical
• Glitter pen
• Gel pen
• Fine liner pen 
• Crayola marker
• Micron fine pen
• Color pencil

A ruler of some kind is good but not necessary.  You can use anything with a straight edge like:

• A cereal box
• The edge of a book
• The edge of a dvd
• A plastic card
• A piece of cardboard

Don't laugh.  I'm just saying.  If your kid has made off with the ruler and you don't feel like tearing their room apart to find it, you can use alternatives in the mean time.

Here you'll find a list of other items you can use for bullet journaling.  I want you to take this list and go on a scavenger hunt around your house to see if you already have them BEFORE we go out to buy anything.  Remember, we're doing bujo for the broke, busy, and artistically challenged.  Inexpensive, easy, and quick is the name of the game.  Hightlight the list and print it or screen shot it for easier finding.

Good luck and keep moving forward!

Next edition:  Buying options from ZERO to Twenty dollars.

BuJo Planner - Back to Basics

Last year my sister and I were discussing getting organized and finding more time in our schedules for things and she mentioned how she went out and spent like $40 on a planner.  I looked at my phone like, "Whuuut?"

People seem to go out of their minds with these planners and journals when it comes time to start a new year.  I think it's pure madness to spend that kind of money on...paper.

Put Your Knife Down

Don't get me wrong.  Many of these bullet journals and planners are gorgeous.  However, with a little creativity not only can you save money and have a knock out planner, but you can have one PERSONALIZED just for you and not just some pre-made templates and themes someone else thought was a good idea.  Not to mention, many of these planners are extremely feminine.

Hello.  Men bujo too.  In fact, this trend was started by a man, Ryder Carrol.  If you watch his video on YouTube you'll see that not only was his system simpler, but less frilly as well.

There is nothing wrong with all the extra stuff but it can be overwhelming to beginners when they see all the lists, layouts, fancy lettering, artwork, and the cost of many of these planners.  Not to mention, many of these bujo pros have been doing this for YEARS and forget what it was like to start out with a budget.

Okay.  And?

I thought I'd start a series of posts on bullet journaling.  This series will discuss just the bare bones of bullet journaling for any budget and artistic ability.  This series is NOT for bujo masters with their fancy pants calligraphy/fauxligraphy, fancy brush pens, and forty dollar planners.  This is NOT for people with a degree in art and can do a Monet inspired watercolor painting at the top of their sheets.  This is for those of us who are broke, busy, and artistically challenged.

Whether you have zero dollars or a hundred dollars to spend, we are going to go through the process step by step so we can stay organized and on track for 2020.  My hope is that those following will participate in check-ins to help us all stay on track and accountable and share their tips, tricks, and fails for others to learn and gain some support.  Many of us have failed at BuJo.  This is our support group.

Please subscribe, like, pin, share to stay up to date on this series.

Thank you and keep moving forward!

Next :  What the Heck is Bullet Journaling?

2. What the heck is bullet journaling?

Welcome to my second post in the "BuJo for The Brok, Busy, and Artiscally Challenged." series.  To see what this series is all about, you can read the first post here.  My Pinterest feed has been filled with bullet journal this, bujo that.  The sales flyers and online ads for many stores I shop at have planners and journals galore on sale.  But for the beginner, what the heck is this all about?

What is it?

To put it simply, bullet journaling is a way to keep track of just about anything you need to keep track of.  It combines to-do lists, goals, budgets, wish lists, mood trackers, etcetera into one neat and tidy book.  It reduces clutter since you have everything in one tidy place and can help you stay organized.  It also helps with time management since you can visually see where all your time is going and how much time you have left.

Why do it?  

If you are looking for ways to keep track of things like your savings or moods.  Or if you have a chronic illness like me and need to keep track of your symptoms from week to week or month to month.  If you feel like you have no time and need to find it somewhere in your hectic life.  These are just some of the reasons to bullet journal.

Who is it for? 

Anyone.  Everyone.  If you want to reduce clutter physically, visually, and mentally, this is for you.  It reduces the need for a calendar, a planner, and random lists posted on your walls or in a diary somewhere.  If you want to better manage your time, this is for you.  If you want to keep track of this or that in your life, this is for you.  Busy parents juggling multiple schedules, business folk, small business owners, at home bosses, students of all ages - this is for you.  The broke and artistically challenged (meaning you are a pro at stick figures and crazy squiggles) this is for you.

Read on to the next post to find out HOW to bullet journal.

Thanks for reading and keep moving forward!
Kelli

Second Attempt At Minimalism

Second Attempt At Minimalism

A long time ago I wrote a post about how hard minimalism is.  It was frustrating trying to do minimalism as I had seen and read so many other people doing it and I eventually gave up.

As a person with a chronic illness that affects the joints, I need minimalism in my life.  There are days when the cleaning just doesn't get done because I hurt so much.  Minimalism not only helps clear the unnecessary but makes it easier to take care of the things you choose to keep.

In 2019 I had two hospitalizations - once in March and the other in August.  You can imagine how little got done during those times.  Right before Christmas of 2019, I made up my mind that I was going to give minimalism another shot.  I scoured Pinterest, YouTube, blogs, and the internet until I found minimalist tactics that could work for me and my situation.

Six Types of Minimalists

At Simply fiercely I came across the line, "Minimalism means different things to different people."  I was like, "Huh?  Isn't there only one way to do minimalism?"

Turns out, that was wrong.

I wanted to see what other people had to say on the subject.  In my research I came across the post Six Types of Minimalists at Simple on Purpose.  Wow!  What an eye opener.  I had preconceived notions of what was and wasn't a minimalist.  I was trying to live an all white, no furniture life when that wasn't really who I am.  I like color and I entertain too many people to just have one chair.  The idea of getting rid of EVERYTHING I own made my blood pressure rise.

All or Nothing

Another thing that made me fail at minimalism is trying to do it all at once.  As a person with a chronic illness, trying to do everything all at once can have negative consequences.  I would yank everything out into a pile and in an hour I'd be exhausted or I would ache.  Then nothing got done and I was left with a huge mess.

This is a lifestyle, not an event.  It is something that becomes part of who you are and treating it like a one and done, all or nothing sort of thing guarantees failure.  Starting slowly is key to success.  After reading 7 Ways To Overcomplicate Minimalism on the blog abundant life with less   I felt validated on that belief.  The other thing that was pointed out was that we can't force our family members along.  Even children.

Any single parent knows trying to wrangle your children into things can be like an uphill battle.  You may win but you'll be exhausted afterward.  For a chronically ill parent, there is more than just exhaustion and frustration to be had.  

The Takeaways

The more research I did the more I realized there are so many people out there struggling to declutter and get to that minimalist life - whatever that means for them.  I realized that I am a frugal-gradual minimalist.  I'm all for saving money and not spending but don't want to empty my entire house.  My end goal is not to achieve the stark colors and straight lines of the ideal minimalist but to be more of an 'Aesthetic Minimalist' with a tidy, clutter free home.

I'm going to keep researching, testing, trying, blogging on this journey until I reach my goal.  We'll see how it goes.

Have you tried and failed at minimalism?  What are some of your tips and tricks?

Thank you for reading.  Keep moving forward!
Kelli

3. How To Get Started Bullet Journaling

Welcome to part three in the series on bullet journaling.  So now we know the what, the who, and the why we need to get into the how.  How do we do it?

Simple, get a sheet of paper and a pen or pencil.  Boom!  Done.

Wait.  What?

I know, not what you expected.

But before we can do the how we need to plan.  Yes, you need to plan your planner otherwise you will fail at this.  Over the years I wasted time and money because I had no clue what I wanted or needed my planner to do.  I would waste pages writing stuff on it then crossing it out or even tearing sheets out.  I'm not one for messy planners and eventually I would stop using it.  The last thing we want is to waste time and money on something we're going to get frustrated with and stop using.  So let's take five minutes to plan.

1-What do you want to keep track of?

Some ideas

• Menu planning
• Weight loss
• Birthdays
• Moods
• Monthly money flows
• Budget
• Schedules
• Pain
• Medications
• Passwords

  and on and on.  For an idea of lists you may want to include, check out the links below.

Crystal at Bullet Journal Addict has a nice list of 15.

 Joanna Rahier has a decent list of 20 pages for your journal.  

Whitney at Life By Whitney has an incredible 379 item list you can print or watch the video.

However, to keep from being overwhelmed before we even begin, I recommend sticking with one of the first two links.  Also, this is YOUR journal.  Just because someone else says these are 'must haves', 'essential,' or 'the best' doesn't mean you have to have them in yours.  What works for one, doesn't necessarily mean it works for all.

2-Decide if you are going to do a monthly, weekly, or daily spread (layout).  

You don't have to do one or another.  You can do a combo.  Many people do a monthly calendar as a divider and then have weekly or daily spreads after.  Weekly spreads help you see your entire week all at once.  A daily you only see one day at a time and it uses more paper.  This means you'll run out of pages faster and might need another journal/planner before the year is out.  This means more money out the window.

Pinterest is a fabulous resource on different spreads.  You could spend all day lost in a sea of journal pins.  For the purposes of this series, we are only using the most basic, fuss-free layouts possible.  Check out the links below.

This link to Nikola Kosterman's website has 10 basic journal layouts.

Need more inspiration?  Claudia at The Fab 20s has 35 layouts including trackers.

3-Decide how you want it to look.  

Do you want art?  Do you want color?  Do you want a specific theme like comics or mid-century atomic?  Do you want flowers or cutesy?

Here's a secret: you don't have to choose just one thing.  I constantly switch themes in mine.  I've seen many bujo masters change their themes weekly or monthly so don't feel you have to be stuck with one thing forever.  It's YOUR journal.  Do with it what you feel.  If you want nothing one week and want to do unicorns or Harry Potter the next week, then rock on!  There are no limits here.

Notice how we still haven't spent a dime yet.  Now that we've got an idea on what our planner needs to do and how to set it up, we need to gather materials and set up the first pages.  That'll be discussed in the next post.

What are some of your thoughts so far?  

Thanks for reading!  As always, Keep Moving Forward!
Kelli