gina prescott

explorations, thoughts, and musings

Monday Minimalism

Filed Under: minimalism

What do you think of when you hear the word minimalism?

White rooms with sleek furniture? Depriving yourself of things you want? Anti-YOLO mentality?

It took me four years to really claim my interest in minimalism, because I was caught up in my own perceptions of it and didn’t feel like I fit the mold. My home and instagram did not look like what I imagined minimalism to be. I still struggled with keeping my wardrobe small. Toys always seemed to multiply despite my best efforts.

When I really started to think about the philosophy of minimalism, to remove excess to promote what you value most, I realized that there isn’t a final destination point. You are free to claim it in your effort.

I feel like many people avoid minimalism because they can’t imagine only wearing 33 items of clothing or they love bright colors, but I think we would all benefit from adopting the title of minimalism in our lives. From a Christian standpoint, it is a philosophy the Savior himself encouraged. In Matthew 6 he said,

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : 

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  

He promoted us to focus on what lasts, to set our hearts upon those things. There is an implicit promise within these verses; as we set our hearts upon that which lasts, those things WILL last. Not only will they last, they will be strengthened through greater focus and intentional effort.

Of course, to choose minimalism, to claim that title, it helps to clarify what those things are to us. Family, faith, hobbies, nature, service? Consider what brings you that deep and lasting joy in your life and then consider what gets in the way of those things. Cleaning, expectations, exhaustion? All of these are simplified through minimalism.When you have less in your home, you have less to clean. When you start saying no and stop signing up for so much, you have less competition for your time and energy. You end up having more time and energy to give to what you actually want to be spending your time on.

What is keeping you from claiming minimalism and how could your life benefit from it?

A Week Exploring (and Camping) with Kids in Olympic National Park

Filed Under: motherhood

Before the start of the school year we planned a week with the boys in Olympic National Park. Weeks in advance I scoured the internet for tips and must see places to visit. The park is 1,442 square miles (more than 10 times the size of Seattle) and has three distinct ecosystems: glacier, coastal, and temperate rain forest.

I was indecisive and planned our week with the intent to hit all three regions. Heavily hitting the coast, a day in the rain forest, and a quick stop at Hurricane Ridge (which gives you a look at the Olympic range).

Nothing ever goes quite according to plan (we never made it to Hurricane Ridge) but the whole week relishing in the beauty of Washington was a blast and TOTALLY doable with small children.

Two points to note:

All the campsites are first come first serve except for Sol Duc and Kalaloch (which are reserved way in advance). The earlier in the day you arrive, the better odds of getting a great campsite. It also helped we went during the week and avoided the crowds (for the most part) that come during the weekend. (Also! All the sites we went to had bathrooms with running water).

Secondly, camping with small children always seems daunting but the only way to know is to try it out. Yes, there will be tantrums and moodiness and you might be worried to annoy your neighbors when those take place, but I just remind myself (more of a chant) that there is no legal age restriction getting to enjoy nature. It is open to everyone, and little kids need the opportunity to learn to love it too…even if they might whine about it sometimes.

On the the recap of our trip!

We drove up on Monday and stayed at South Beach Campground. It is a pretty bare site with no tree coverings but it is literally right on the coast. You are fairly squished in there but a quick walk down to the beach gives you all the space you need. Get there early for a spot right on the beach without an RV blocking your view (we were not so lucky).

We also were able to see some gray whales swimming along the coast which was so exciting to the boys (the campground host would let us know every time and help Max spot them with our binoculars).

The next morning we packed everything back into the car and headed to Ruby Beach to explore. Another hiker let us know there was a whale backbone on the beach and so we spent a good portion of our time looking for it (and trying to remember the markers she had told us to look for). We eventually stumbled upon it right after giving up. This was probably my favorite beach that we visited. There were so many fun driftwood structures, haystacks, and little tide pools to explore plus the sun was out and it was just so lovely.

After the beach we headed into the temperate rain forest to spend a night at the Hoh campground and explore the Hall of Mosses.

We stopped at the campsite first to claim a spot (park our car, set up some chairs and eat lunch) and then we headed over to the visitor center which is also the start of the Hall of Mosses hike. It was such an easy and fun hike. So green and lush.

 

After spending so much time running around outside we headed back to our campsite to finish setting up camp and rested for the rest of the day.

The next morning we packed up camp once again and headed to Forks for lunch, a new air mattress (our kept deflating completely by morning), gas and ice for the cooler. Afterwards we headed to Mora Campground which ended up being my favorite campground of the week. Each site felt secluded even though they were all fairly close together.

After setting up camp again (if you haven’t been keeping track, we were at a different site each night…) we headed to Rialto Beach to visit Hole-in-the-Wall. Years of waves have carved a hole within the coast rock wall and has created tide pools galore. We forgot to check the tide chart before planning our day and so we were a little rushed on our hike to make it there and back before the tide trapped us but we managed (even with a toddler who was potty training having an accident and another child getting upset for not being allowed to throw sand at the family). The weather was misty and it made all of the rocks on the beach so beautiful. On our walk back, we ended up looking for a rock for every color of the rainbow and we did it! Our rainbow rock collection is now proudly displayed at home.

Thursday morning we headed to Second Beach at the recommendation of another family that was camping. It did not disappoint. You hike through a forest and then down onto a beautiful beach. I was exhausted from Theodore being up all night, so once we made it to the beach Kyle created a sandy lounge chair for me from the baby backpack and Theodore and I took an hour long nap. Kyle entertained the boys by building a sand castle.

And of course there were more tide pools to explore.

After Second Beach we debated calling it a trip and finding a hotel for the night. We really didn’t want to have to set up camp again, but we persisted and found a spot at Fairholme Campground on Lake Crescent.

The lake was beautiful but the campground was overrun with mosquitoes (something we hadn’t dealt with in the other campsites) and was packed with people (it was closer to the weekend). We were exhausted and in hindsight both agreed we should have splurged on a hotel with a hot shower, but once you start setting up camp, you might as well finish. So we cooked up our final meal (spaghetti) and crawled into our sleeping bags one last time.

Our trip ended with us skipping the visit to Hurricane Ridge since it would have added three hours onto our day and instead driving straight to Hood Canal  to spend the night at my Aunt’s cabin. She spoiled us with delicious food, rides on the sea-do, hot showers, and a movie which we watched comfortably under a heap of blankets on a cozy couch.  It was a perfect way to wrap up such a memorable trip. Plus we got a jump start on all of the laundry that needed to be done.

When I planned our trip I was worried that we would be spending so much time traveling in the car that I never wanted to backtrack. What I didn’t fully realize, until we were in the thick of it, was that it is WAY worse to take down and set up camp every single day.

In the future we plan on making Mora Campground our headquarters. It is 20 minutes from Forks if you need any supplies and is centrally located to all of the best beaches (Ruby, Rialto, Second Beach) and the Hoh rainforest. I still want to visit Cape Flattery (the Northwestern most point of the continental United States) and Hurricane Ridge, plus a handful of the other coastal beaches we missed out on.

I am in constant amazement at what Washington State has to offer. We can’t wait to explore more of this wild and beautiful corner of America.

Monday Minimalism

Filed Under: minimalism

This past month, as the rush of our family vacation, birthdays, and the start of school all merged at the same time (or so it felt), I fell into the same routine of feeling like I had nothing to wear and subsequently looking at all the possible items of clothing I could buy that would magically transform my wardrobe (AND LIFE!).

A few items were requested as birthday gifts, and I bought myself a shirt and 3 skirts on my actual birthday (2 were thrifted), and guess what?

Neither my wardrobe or my life was magically transformed.

I was overjoyed to update my closet a little bit, but ultimately nothing magical happened. So why did I find myself trapped in the same habit that I have been trying to change?

Perspective.

I was living with short-sighted goals in mind. Creating events and scenarios that fit my desire for certain items seemed to justify my want. However, even though the items are loved and will be used, they don’t fit my long term goals and dreams. They add very little to my family relationships and do absolutely nothing for our goal of paying off student loans.

Minimalism is a delicate balance; one that can sometimes exhaust our progress for growth as we stumble and trip in our learning. We examine ourselves, worn-down and covered with dirt and wonder if we will ever get it “right.”

I have mentally kicked myself back down plenty of times for repeating old habits, theoretically dragging myself back through the mud, as I wonder if the effort really is worth it.

But once you have a taste for the mental freedom that minimalism provides, you start to understand how much weight that mud actually adds. After enough time you grasp your bearings once more and focus your mind where you actually want to be and how you want to live.

Minimalism can be tiresome in a consumer driven society and it is certainly easier to not think about shopping habits, but pushing against those impulsive thoughts and habits, that is one major way in which we can strengthen the focus on what really matters in our lives. Our family, our friendships, our desires to see the world, these can all be experienced and cherished without perfect wardrobes.

Minimalism strengthens our resolve to live the life we truly want.

One Who Soars

Filed Under: loss, motherhood

After James’ death I started reading a bunch of Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness books. I forget which book, but in her study of happiness she started assembling some revelations and resolutions. One of them was that goals need a mental start/reset date, the most common being New Year’s Day. However, in order to not wait an entire year, we need to start creating our own reset dates. A new school year, a new month, a move, a job change, all of these can help us mentally get into a new state of mind to accomplish a goal or create a habit that we know will improve our lives.

This was ground breaking for me when I first read it because before that I had been working with two mental start dates: New Year’s and New School Year/Birthday (which are one in the same for me having a late August birthday). Thankfully after reading that, I relented and expanded when I can start creating new habits. I started utilizing the first of a month or even Monday as a start date to create or improve upon habits (working out, my Project 333, more consistent scripture study, etc).

I was thinking about this a lot this past month because I realized that James’ anniversary is a mental start date for me. As the date approaches I get slogged down mentally constantly thinking about how I am doing. Am I processing it enough still? What am I doing to heal? Am I living a life that James would be proud of?

These questions weigh on me.

I so badly want to be changed by James and sometimes I want to rush and force that changed. I want a transformation a la Beauty and the Beast. I forget that to become the person I want to be through this life experience, it takes consistent daily change. As Emily Dickinson says, “Forever–is composed of Nows.” What I am doing now is all a part of what my eternal story will be.

I am proud of the path that I am on. The level of self-awareness of my weaknesses sky-rocketed after losing James and I have been consciously working on turning those into strengths. I am trying to be a better friend. I am trying to be a more present mother. I am trying to be a more loving wife. I am trying to be a more sincere follower of Christ.

I am trying.

Sometimes it feels like a wrestle with God, sometimes it feels so incredibly hard and frustrating because I find myself falling into weakness, sometimes I wonder if it really is worth all this effort.

The other morning I came across an old bracelet that was given to me in the weeks following James death at a M.I.S.S. support group. I only went to the group once, but I hung onto this bracelet which reads, “one who soars.”

It is intended as a way to let those around you know that you have a child in heaven. I remember wearing it in my early days, rubbing the words along my wrist with the my thumb. How I desired to feel my heart lift and soar, to be done with the weight that accompanies loss.

I didn’t wish for the finality of death, but rather to be free from the work of grief. I wanted that quick fix, that transformation into a soaring swan, breaking shackles and shrugging off the weight that consumed me. However, the weight doesn’t leave. Nothing is shrugged off.

Instead, I have grown used to the weight. My heart and mind and spirit all have become stronger carrying this loss. My desire to grow and change because of James keep me moving forward and upward. The soaring? The soaring looks so much different than I had imagined. The soaring comes in moments of pure and true connection. Playing and laughing with my children. Hiking with my husband and noticing the way sunlight plays through the branches casting a heavenly glow. Going to the temple and feeling in tune with Heavenly Father and grateful for trusting in His will and seeing the blessings that have come because of it.

After seeing that bracelet again, I realized that it is the effort, the trying, that provides the muscle and momentum to soar.

Each year as James’ anniversary approaches, I reset and figure out what needs to be readjusted and realigned. I try to find that balance of prioritizing my faith and family while pursuing goals and habits that contribute to my self-care. If you haven’t noticed, my writing habit dropped off a bit this summer. I found I wasn’t really missing it as I soaked up the summer days with my children and utilized exercise as my main form of self-care. After self-reflecting however, I realized that my creative muscle is just as important to me and no one is going to force me to use it but myself.

I am the only one who is going to carve out the time, to make the effort, to pursue what I know to be good for my mind, heart, and spirit. What is needed and necessary is different for everyone and is different for us as we grow older and transform through the experiences of life, but I never want to lose touch with the effort, with the trying.

Pushing myself to grow so that I may soar.

Monday Minimalism

Filed Under: faith, minimalism

It’s safe to say that I am pretty passionate about minimalism. Not as an aesthetic but as a way to maximize what is most important in your life by simplifying all the competing distractions.

After James died, and my heart was aching, I really studied how I had been living and prioritizing my life. I had striven to live a Christ-centered life and suddenly my efforts to follow Him felt shallow and self-serving. In searching for comfort from my Savior I developed a deeper desire to live a life more in tune with what I believed. I began to understand that in order to follow Him, and be changed by Him, I had to sacrifice the superficial.

So I started searching for concrete ways to do that. I read books on happiness and living debt-free. I did an online course that had me asking serious questions about what brings joy in my life and discovered my faith and family rank at the top of the list. Talking about all of this with a friend she suggested I might like the blog Becoming Minimalist, and I dove into the archives immediately recognizing how the principles of minimalism fit in with gospel principles I was striving to live.

I grew more and more excited as I felt it actually help me to align my life to be more in tune with His. My enthusiasm for the subject started coming up in nearly every conversation I had. Decluttering, simplifying schedules and wardrobes, getting out of debt, all of these things help us to live a more full and vibrant life filled with service and substantial joy.

I want to start sharing more of the concrete things I have learned and am still learning, how I am applying them, and what kind of change it has made in my life and home. It’s an ongoing practice but one that has brought more joy and love into my life and I’m excited to start sharing how.

My Yoke is Easy and My Burden is Light

Filed Under: Uncategorized

With the birth of Theo something shifted in my heart. At one point in the early weeks of his life I stared at him. I petted his head, stroked his skin, stared at his teeny toes completely in awe of this tiny life that held such potential and a thought flashed into my mind.

This could be James. This could be his soft skin, his teeny toes. Cherish this time and this child in honor of the one you lost. Make the most of these years with not only this baby but all of your precious boys.

The loss of a child can carry such a weight of using the time we have correctly. It is a constant thought on my mind. It is also something that I am most critical of towards myself when I happen to not live each day perfectly (which happens to be every day).

This is the James effect. The constant reminder of living and creating the best life I can in his honor.

Tomorrow marks four years of me constantly feeling his gap in our family. Four years of remembering him daily. Four years urging my mind to recall all the details of a few hours; his hair, his skin, his toes. Four years of feeling the phantom weight of him in my arms late at night. Four years of regret for ever setting him down. Four years of questioning why I did not cling to him for every second that I had. Four years of staring at a single blurry photo taken by a kind nurse on an outdated camera.

Four years ago was a day that compelled my spirit to humility, pivoting my heart to choose a more intentional life. A life of purer love and empathy, of increased grace and mercy, of greater self-awareness and peace. That is what James has done for me. Four years of living onward in his honor.

A year ago I decided to change the story of his anniversary. Instead of it being a day of sorrow and grief (walled up and hiding from the world), I asked for friends to do an act of service in his name and let me know about it.

Last year I wrote,

“It can be as simple as returning a grocery cart, picking up litter as you play Pokemon Go, giving a compliment, holding a door open for someone, or writing a note to a friend. It can go as far as tipping 30% to your waiter, making a meal for a family with a new baby or someone going through a hardship, you can send flowers to someone who might be sad or lonely, donate blood, write random notes of encouragement and put them under the windshield of cars at a grocery store.

I would love it if you could share with me what you do. You can leave a comment, send me an email, write a message on facebook or take a picture and post it on instagram (#thejameseffect). Whatever you do will be perfect because no matter what it is you choose to do, you are extending that ripple in the water a little further. You are bringing joy and light on his behalf. You are helping me to see that this heartache has purpose and that the world is a better place, even just a little bit, because of James.”

It was incredibly wonderful and empowering to see my grief and sorrow transformed into action as friends and family sent me messages of their kind deeds throughout the day. I was giddy by the days end as I realized so many were taking the time to think of him and be impacted by him. My heart swelled knowing I wasn’t alone in remembering him that day.

I hope you will participate again this year, remembering that service doesn’t necessarily need to be grandiose, but that even the smallest of acts, like the smallest of lives, can make a difference.

That together the weight of the James effect may be easier and the burden lighter.

 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

 

Eight

Filed Under: faith

Kyle and I were speaking to a friend recently about marriage and trends we sometimes see around us and our friend remarked, “I wouldn’t call marriage easy, but it’s not hard.”

We nodded in agreement, understanding what he meant.

Marriage isn’t easy, in fact we then discussed how it required a lot of work. But what our friend was really getting at, was that, for us, it is fortunately not difficult.

It is certainly something we devote time and thought to and it isn’t without uncomfortable moments. Hurt feelings, misunderstandings, or disagreements happen, but they aren’t unending.

At the end of the day, when I sometimes feel VERY lonely and unlovable, I have the unwavering support and love of a devoted man. Our relationship buoys me up and adds joy and peace to my life.

Eight years have passed since the day we were sealed together and promised to support one another in our most vulnerable moments. We had no idea what lay ahead but our love for one another lifted both of our spirits and because of that, we took what felt like a small step of faith (in our limited understanding) in promising to always commit to each other, to make life choices as a team, and to carry each other in times of weakness and struggle.

I see now how that small amount of faith has yielded a massive amount of fruit.

Beyond bringing four precious boys into this world, everywhere I look I see the efforts of our marriage.

Love and joy in our home. Strength and diligence in our labors. Service in small and unspoken moments. Laughter. Trust. Vulnerability.

What a joy it is to be married to this man, for when it seems like the world is crumbling around me, I feel his hand at my back, steadying me.

Isn’t that what pure love is? Finding ways to show love despite our weaknesses or their weakness. Being vulnerable and open enough to be dependent on the support of another person, trusting that while it won’t always be perfect, it will always be there.

I am endlessly grateful for my marriage, for the foundation we have set and for the home we are building.

Playing Catch Up

Filed Under: home, motherhood

These past few weeks I have reached a level of exhaustion that I have yet to experience. The reality of raising three beautiful boys caught up to me when they all contracted pink eye a few weeks ago and I still feel like I am recovering from it physically, mentally, and emotionally.

It gave me a ton of time for self-reflection (which really was too much time). Self-reflection can be a tricky business because you tend to mainly address your weaknesses and when you spend too much time doing that without remembering your infinite worth, well you can get pretty sad. It seems so counter-intuitive that you can be sad while surrounded by so much to be grateful for, but it happens. You get wrapped up in your own thoughts that it is like a dismal cloud cover over beautiful rays of light.

However, I remembered a favorite talk of mine from a few years ago, A Summer with Great-Aunt Rose, and it was just the reminder that I needed to pursue the bright moments of life. I love that reminders of Heavenly Father’s love are plentiful and his confidence in us as we walk in faith is endless. It fortifies me.

There are a few other links from around the web and an idea that I have been wanting to share but haven’t figured out how to yet….so I figured I would just number them off here for you to enjoy.

  1. Simplify Magazine is out and it is wonderful. The first issue is on the topic of happiness (how fitting!) and essay #4, in particular, was incredible. Definitely check it out since the first issue is free. They are also running a deal until the end of June that you can get a lifetime subscription for $20 (after that it is $20/year).
  2. The Sweethome has solved so many of my issues with making decisions about big and little purchases. The best way to describe it is a free consumer report website run by the New York Times. They select their choice of what to buy for all items that have to do with home life (and beyond, really). They explain how they test the products, professionals they talk to, and why they make their final choice (all while giving options for different pricepoints!). We have purchased everything from pens to a vacuum at their recommendation and have yet to be disappointed (but seriously, I am obsessed with those pens).
  3. Last August, I attended BYU education week and took a ton away from it. The biggest thing, however, has been advice given in a class on parenting with screens in our modern day. The professor made a remark that we need to be forming positive relationships of self-regulation between our kids and screens. Simply put, we need to prevent them from building an addiction or a dependency by teaching them to recognize those feelings we get after too much screen time (lethargic, cranky, whiney, brain-tired) and making choices accordingly. Then she offered up the stoplight rule she uses in her home to aid in that effort: when a child is given screen time and they get off on their own, they receive a green light. A green light is a reward of some sort (for Max it is staying up five minutes later than usual). If you need to remind them to get off and they do, that is a yellow light. A yellow light is no reward, but no consequence. A child receives a red light if they need to be asked multiple times to get off their device or turn off the television, and a consequence is given (Max gets an extra chore to be done immediately). This has been adopted into our own home to great success and with summer coming, I can’t help but think others might benefit from it too.
  4. If you haven’t seen the show, Random Acts, go watch it ASAP! It’s slogan is “The heart of hidden camera,” and they have transformed the hidden camera reality show into the most feel-good television you will watch. If you need a pick me up from what seems like a really sad and scary world or if you want to teach your children what it means to be kind and serve in big and little ways, watch it. I cry every episode and I am NOT a crier.
  5. Came across this post on instagram from my favorite yogi and had to share it. It reflects a lot of the thoughts I have been struggling with lately and addressed them so beautifully. Also, her yoga videos on YouTube are the best.

This past week has been so much brighter as I have prayerfully sought to notice more of the joys in life. My baby’s preference to snuggling as much as possible, the way my toddler scrunches his whole face to smile at me (and then when he sees me trying to rest on the couch, strokes my face saying “close your eyes, mommy”), the kindness that I see evolving in my nearly 6-year-old son as he is recognizing his role as the oldest brother (it’s a tough spot to be in, and he is doing remarkably).

It’s going to be a good week guys, I can feel it.

Halfway Through Project 333

Filed Under: minimalism

I am halfway through my project 333.

Remember when I said I would try to document it? HA!

Turns out I feel really awkward taking pictures of myself….

But I have been gathering a lot of thoughts about the process and how it has been shaping my feelings towards clothes and getting dressed.

But first here are some updates about my 33 items.

Remember when I said I was going to buy a new pair of nude flats. Well I did but instead of getting nude flats I went with a blush pink and as much as I like them…they aren’t as universal as nude….so they are sitting in their box until I can return them (#smalltownproblems). Along with replacing nude flats, I bought a pair of flip flops since mine broke last summer and after staring at them for a month I decided to just start wearing them since I was already down a pair of shoes.

I love jeans. They are my go to comfort pant. They can withstand all the bending and crawling that take place as a mother. But two of the jeans that I selected have ripped. One was a new pair and the crotch gave out. Thankfully I bought them at Nordstrom’s and so they will be returned/exchanged as well. The other pair ripped in the knees after nearly 5 years of use, so I would say they held up pretty well.  But currently that leaves me with one pair of unripped jeans (the black pair) and they aren’t as universal. So that has been frustrating.

I have only worn the floral skirt once because I realized that it shrunk in the wash and is now too short. I really wanted to find a nice chambray skirt before this project started but nothing panned out. My plan (if I can find the time) is to sew one myself but in the meantime, I received a beautiful nursing friendly dress for Mother’s day that will fill the void.

Here is what I have learned so far.

Loads less laundry, for myself. But it has highlighted how much laundry my husband and kids create. I have been playing around with making a kid capsule for the little ones (and maybe forcing Kyle to do one as well). It sounds VERY appealing.

It has also made me really aware of how I want to feel in my clothes. Like I have said before, I think clothes have a big impact on how we feel about ourselves. I think they are a great form of self-expression. The clothes I selected are very mom-friendly and comfortable, but I have realized that I want my clothes to feel more than comfortable. Comfortable is still number one priority, I don’t want to be fidgeting and adjusting constantly, but I want to feel beautiful and playful in my clothes as well. I want to worry less about I think is stylish and wear more of what makes me feel confident and joyful. I want to feel bright and happy. Basically, I want my clothes to reflect how I feel about life. Right now, I feel they are missing the mark a bit.

I have been pondering a way to reconcile my feelings about simplifying and my desire to explore my style and transform my wardrobe. I don’t want to fall back into fast, cheap fashion only to fill my closet back up with a bunch of items that I don’t love. I want to love and cherish what I own and build my closet thoughtfully. Luckily, this project 333 has given me the catalyst and time to really think about my next step.

I want things to fit and feel good. I want items to be thoughtfully made and good quality. I also really don’t want to waste money. So here are some of goals for the future.

  1. Create a wish list of items I would love and that I feel are missing from my wardrobe (like a pair of these beautiful clogs) and limit myself to five items per season.
  2. Develop my sewing skills by creating items myself (simple skirts, tops, and dresses).
  3. Thrift occasionally for unique pieces making sure to thoroughly vet them. Anything less than “I love this!” does not get purchased.
  4. Occasionally shopping from small, local boutiques and women-owned online business.

This was all heavily influenced by this post on reddit, which I stumbled across one day. I love that it really encompasses a lot of the principles found in minimalism, but leaves room for personal growth. I like the structure of five items per season (the seasons being spring/summer and fall/winter) because the reality is that you still have to buy clothes as they get worn out (hi ripped jeans!) and this, for me, answers how to do so thoughtfully and with purpose. It reflects my goal of living with intention and serves to add joy to my life as I seek to bring more of myself into what I wear.

So far project 333 has been far more helpful than I imagined. It has provided what feels like a blank canvas to really consider what I put on my body and what kind of message I am sending not only to others, but to myself as well. I believe that investing in yourself is only selfish and vain when it takes up the majority of our time and finances. But when we thoughtfully and intentionally seek to understand ourselves and build our confidence in healthy ways, it has an impact beyond ourselves.

When we build up our selves, it impacts our relations with those around us and that is why this has so much power. We want to develop those relationships in healthy and positive ways and it is hard to do that when we feel unhappy about ourselves, when we hide behind our clothes and schlep about to face the daily grind.

Clothes aren’t everything, a lot of that work must come from recognizing our self-worth behind material possessions, but clothes do have power to reflect the inner light that shines in each of us. When we focus on that purpose, reflecting our truest self, I believe our lives as a whole will feel brighter and more beautiful and we will have greater capacity to spread our light. Our clothes don’t have to be fancy or expensive or superabundant to achieve this.

I have loved doing project 333, namely for the purpose of figuring out more about myself, even in the superficial ways.

Taking My Own Advice

Filed Under: faith, motherhood

My elementary school growing up came with a merry-go-round. Each recess kids would flock to the spinning metal, clinging to its bright yellow poles for safety. There were always too many kids fighting for enough real estate to stay safely on when it would inevitably pick up speed, centrifugal force threatening to throw you off.

I avoided it as much as possible.

I didn’t like that feeling of being out of control; the world spinning so fast that you are running on adrenaline to keep you upright. Pushed round and round you only see in blurs and hazy blobs repeating themselves over and over and over. A few times I watched kids thrown off because of a slippery grip or dragged in circles after tripping over their own feet trying to jump on.

The adrenaline rush was fun for a moment of course, but inevitably I would feel sick afterwards. It would take a couple of minutes of focusing on a single point to remind my brain we weren’t still spinning.

However, during the summer my siblings and I would venture down to the school and play to pass time. When I knew that I could safely hold on to a pole and firmly plant my feet, I would ask my brothers to push me around. They always wanted to push me fast but I loved it most at an even pace, a sweet spot that left me happily spinning with my eyes closed tight.

It would revive my senses and I would hop off, my body a little more aware of its own balance.

I believe in a slower, simpler life but for the past month, I forgot to take my own advice. That spring energy had me organizing too many projects and planning all the fun events that turned me into one very un-fun individual.

That’s when I know I am going too fast.

I am cranky and exhausted and impatient. I am so mad at my own over-scheduling that I become increasingly selfish over whatever is leftover. I escape to solitary confinement looking for a recharge that never happens because of the natural interruptions of family life.

So what do you do?

You have to slow down. If there is little time to recharge, you have to stop doing so many things that require your energy. You focus on those top priorities that keep your grip tight and your feet planted. You follow the Spirit’s guidance through prayer and scripture study. It will remind you of what is essential, of what gives energy, of what fuels a joyful life.

It is natural to want to explore and pursue ALL the dreams you can imagine, but the pace might pick up to an unbearable speed and you might get thrown or dragged through the pebbles.

Trust in the Spirit to lead you to what you need to be doing. Heavenly Father wants you to have a happy life. He wants adventure and success for you. He knows what will make you learn and grow so that life will still be thrilling, spinning with childish glee.

That excitement is built into this earth with so much to explore and see, but it will pass in a blur if you push too hard and move too fast and risk finding peace in the balance.

This past week I made a list of my what I love to do and what I need to do. Items in both columns received an automatic priority status. Items that were still necessary were given a note to seek help for; from my husband, from friends and family.  Then I focused on choosing two items that I love doing but aren’t totally necessary. I pondered over them for days and prayed to know what to choose.

 

I received an answer through a talk given by a local church leader. His words spoke directly to my heart, reminding to focus on this time of my life; motherhood and family. I knew that whatever I chose should not detract from it, but build upon this beautiful life I already have.

“And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good” (D&C 11:12).

You have to slow down enough to be able to focus and hear that direction, a reminder that I need again and again.

This life is always changing becasue the earth is always spinning, like a big organic merry-go-round.

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