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Fun Ways to Organize

Simplicity Challenge 2025

Hello everyone! 

Happy, happy Wednesday! I don’t know about you, but it feels like February is blitzing right by us. I know I wasn’t alone by feeling that January took forever, but February is certainly moving by quickly, which I’m not complaining about.

I got away for the long weekend and the change of scene was so nice!

I am ready for spring, to get outdoors, and for blue skies and sunshine! But we still have a little bit more time until we are in the clear of the cold and snow. The light is near and end of winter is hopefully near.

Last month, I participated in the Simplified “Simplicity Challenge”. I have been doing this for the past several years and done posts every year on it.  For 2024, click here, for 2023, click here, for 2019 click here.

If you are new to me blog, here’s a bit of the rundown of the 31 Day challenge.

Simplified’s Simplicity Challenge is 31 days of little tasks to complete every day in January to simplify and organize your life. Team Simplified posts the daily challenge that typically takes less than 15 minutes to complete. These are ways to organize your life without getting overwhelmed and stressed by completing daunting projects.

An example of a task is cleaning out your fridge

I successfully completed every task and shared them on my Instagram stories, some on the day of and some in the days following if I didn’t have time or was out of town.

Here’s a look at some of the tasks that I completed.

Declutter Junk Drawers– These were my desk drawers and an easy task to get done. 

Sheets– I successfully got rid of sheets that were old and stained and only kept the best ones.

Organize Dresses– I didn’t get rid of any dresses, but I did get them sorted.

Edit Jeans and T-Shirts– I had so many jeans and tried them all on and only kept the ones that fit best. As far as t-shirts go, I refolded them and kept my favorite and most worn ones.

Simplify Jewelry- I got an earring organizer for Christmas and this has been a huge help when it comes to keeping my jewelry all together and organized.

Sort Bottles and Cups– I didn’t get rid of any mugs or cups, but I did sort them but type. I have SO many mugs that when I move out, my family will have a lot more space back.

Clean Out Tupperware– This was clean and organized and it has by and large stayed that way, but I don’t know how long it will last.

Pantry Clean Out– This wasn’t too hard of a task since I keep it pretty organized and sorted especially after I unload and sort things after I go grocery shopping every week.

Clean Out Car– I love a clean car, but the winter months means lots of snow and ice, so a car clean out and car refresher was necessary.

Towels Purged-We have so many towels, especially beach towels. They are folded now, but it won’t last for long, especially once summer hits and we go through towels left and right.

Med Cabinet Cleaned– A clean out and restock was necessary especially right before flu and cold season hit. 

Books Sorted– As a reader, I have lots of books, but I do make weekly library trips. I did get rid of some books that I didn’t like or wasn’t a favorite.

It felt so good to get my life in order after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. I also liked how it gave me something to do each day. I appreciated how the tasks don’t take too long to complete; you don’t get overwhelmed by the daunting things like attacking your whole house in one day and it really has you stay focused on one area at a time. Plus, they all take only a short amount of time to get done.

Cleaning out cook and bakeware

If you didn’t participate in the January challenge, you can still start it whenever you like. 

Tell me, if you did complete the Simplicity Challenge, what did you think of it? 

If you haven’t tried it yet, are you willing to take the plunge? Let me know in the comments below! 

Happy Wednesday! See you back here on Friday for another edition of Friday Favorites!

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Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites #127

Hello everyone and Happy Friday! Have things finally settled and back to normal for you after the holidays or are you still in the season of craziness? Things are back to normal for me which always makes me a little sad since I enjoy the holiday season so much, I’m planning finding the joy in every day to fight the post-holiday blues.

It may be a new year, but Iā€™m still here linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favorites.

Hereā€™s whatā€™s on my radar this week of things Iā€™ve been loving as we come down from the holiday high. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some gifts I got for Christmas and some new items and tools I will be using in the new year when it comes to organization in addition to my favorite things from the week. Let’s jump right in!

2025 Journal-Journaling is something I enjoy doing every morning. I like to take the time before the day gets busy to reflect on the day before, the highs and lows, what Iā€™m grateful for, and whatā€™s on my mind. This is my journal for 2025 and I have been loving it already. Thereā€™s space to share your thoughts at the start and end of your day and thereā€™s a mix of open and close-ended prompts too. 2025 has just started and this has already become a favorite of mine!

Daily Reflections– I mentioned last year that one of my favorite things was a podcast called ā€œThe Simple Sophisticated Podcast with Shannon Ables. In addition to her podcast and blog, she has also written a few books including this one, The Road to Le Papillon, it was released in 2022 and itā€™s a book of daily reflections. I have really enjoyed starting my day with my journal and a daily reflection in addition to my quiet time. Starting my day in a calm way has made such a difference and I canā€™t wait to continue it through the year.

2025 Planner– I have teased this favorite a few times over the course of the year, but with a new year comes a new planner. I purchased my 2025 Simplified planner in September and Iā€™m finally able to use it!!! I love the pattern and the message behind it and details. I am still getting used to the spirals and the larger format, but so far it has been working out great. One of my favorite days of the year is getting my planner all ready to go to use. These pages will soon be filled with lists, to-do, plans, and memories.Ā 

Dress from Ann Taylor- This is another recent fashion favorite of mine. I purchased this dress from Ann Taylor just before Christmas and have already worn it a handful of times to work and out and about. There are so many things that stand out about this dress. I love the colors, the style and the material. It gives off a very elegant look, but itā€™s so comfortable. It doesnā€™t hurt that I got this dress on sale too! Although it has short sleeves, I have worn it in the winter and it can be layered with a blazer too. I love a dress that can be worn in different scenarios.

Virgin River New Season– The new season of Virgin River came out just before the holidays, but I was wayyyyy too deep into holiday movies and shows to watch. Now that things have calmed down and are back to normal, Iā€™m excited to get back into the series and catch up with all things Mel and Jack and Virgin River. This will be a good show to watch in the cold, winter months. Iā€™m looking forward to what this season brings. If you have already seen it, here’s a great article to follow up with the season.

I love the holiday season and are always sad when they come to an end, but these list of favorites has me something to look forward it.

Although, the holidays are over, what are you looking forward to in the next few months? I would love to hear from you. 

Happy Friday! I hope you have a cozy weekend.

Categories
Fabulous living

2025 New Year’s Resolutions

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year! 

I hope you have had an enjoyable holiday season. For many people, itā€™s back to work and reality, but others have a few more days to relax and unwind. I hope these past few days or weeks brought you rest, family and friend time, a good recharge, joy, love and memories. I know my heart is full after this holiday season.

I like to use the time between Christmas and New Year to reflect on the past year and look forward to whatā€™s to come. 

I did my annual planner prep this week!

I accomplished a lot in 2024, you can read all about it here.

Before I get to my New Yearā€™s Goals and Resolutions for 2025, I wanted to give you an update on my resolutions from last year. You can read about them here.

My motto of the year was to ā€œBe Open and Aware of Changeā€ while it was a challenge, I certainly embraced the change that was thrown my way. I grew a lot this year, I became more independent and confident in myself and my decisions. 

This year, while I leaned into my routines, I worked on being more flexible when it comes to schedules. Flexibility is something I have always struggled with and Iā€™m constantly working on and itā€™s something I want to continue to improve on in the new year.

My 2024 Resolutions for 2024 was to donate blood, do an 8K or 10K, Relearn Piano, Learn how to Braid Hair and Cook One Meal a Week. 

I accomplished all of these goals minus learning to braid hair, that was mostly because I have short hair and itā€™s not conducive to braiding right now. Once I grow it out, I plan to learn how to braid it. 

I donated blood for the first time this summer and I have continued to donate every time I am eligible. 

Donating Blood

I ran two 10Kā€™s this year and broke my personal record during my second one.

First of Two 10 K

I attempted to teach myself piano and practiced almost every day, but I donā€™t know if I will continue with this hobby in the new year.

Learning Piano

I have continued to make one meal a week and tried lots of new recipes and even mastered some too!

Cooking a new meal each week

I was pleased with how much I accomplished this past year whether it was trying new hobbies or continuing with old ones.

My mindset going into 2025 is to approach my days and schedules in a calmer manner. I found myself overbooking last year and want to leave more room for flexibility every day and focusing on doing one thing at a time and not always multitasking. Flexibility is something I want to be better at in the new year. Itā€™s something I say every year and each year I am getting better and better at it.

I want to continue with some of my habits that I started from last year including daily meditation, donating blood, making one meal a week , and paying attention to my budgets. 

When it comes to new goals or resolutions for 2025, I want to:

-Run a half marathon (something I have been working towards over the past few years)

-Read 70 Books (I read 68 this past year, so I think this is doable.)

-Learn How to Bake Bread (I know this was very popular during the pandemic, but now I am jumping on the bandwagon and want to learn as well.)

-Learn how to iron (I know how to iron, but I want to get better at it this year.)

-Get more involved in my community (whether this is through joining a fitness class or club, I want to meet new people in my hometown.) 

In addition to these new goals for the new year, I want to work on spending more time outdoors, especially when it comes to being with my dogs. I want to continue to spend time with friends, go on a family trip and visit a new state. 

I have a few other personal goals that I want to work towards in the new year. I love the feeling of a fresh start and new beginnings that each year brings and I canā€™t wait to see what 2025 has in store for me. Happy New Year! Welcome 2025!

Categories
Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites #89

Hello All!

Happy Friday! I hope you are having a great day as we gear up for what’s hopefully a spring-like weekend. I’m seeing more and more signs of warmer weather which makes me extra giddy for April and May and everything that comes with it.

I have some exciting weekend plans with friends that I’m looking forward to and a fun date night, in other words, let the weekend begin!

Before we get to the fun, I want to share some of the things I’m loving this week as I link up with with  Erika and Andrea for another edition of Friday Favorites.

Simplified Launch Day-It was launch week over at Simplified. They had their cover reveal last week and they launched their new products on Wednesday. I am in love with their patterns for the new season. I always go for their yearly planner, so I wonā€™t be purchasing mine until the fall. I am a weekly girl through and through and I love how they are going to have a coil as opposed to a bound one. The hardest part is going to be choosing a pattern. Hereā€™s some of the ones I have my eyes on. 

New Leggings– I mentioned last week that I did some browsing at Old Navy and picked up a few items on the clearance rack. One of the things I picked up were these light pink workout leggings. Whenever I head to the gym, I prefer leggings due to shorts, even in the summertime. I also like leggings that have slim pockets in them, so I can put my phone in them when I am out on a run. These leggings checked all the boxes for me. The best part? The can be mixed and matched with tops, and they were on sale! 

Chocolate Covered Orange Sticks- Continuing with my Trader Joe’s haul from last week, I picked up chocolate covered orange sticks to try and they are the perfect treat at the end of the day. I have been enjoying a few of them at night to satisfy my sweet tooth. I love anything covered in chocolate and these are the perfect mix of sweetness without it being too overpowering. I’ll be on the hunt the next time I’m at a Trader Joe’s for any other flavors.

New Apple Watch Band– I’m an Apple watch lover and recently got a new band for my watch from Amazon. I typically wear the same band every day, unless I have a special occasion and I want to dress up my wrist. I got a new lighter blue band which is perfect for spring. It’s also a thinner band too, which I really like since it looks more feminine and not as bulky. It’s always fun to switch things up when you wear them all the time and Amazon always has such a good selection when it comes to inexpensive Apple Watch bands.

Bridgerton New Trailer– The new trailer for season three of Bridgerton dropped this week. I have loved the first two seasons and I canā€™t wait for season three. From the casting, to the setting and storylines, Bridgerton is the perfect show to escape with. The first set of episodes drops on May 16 and the second set drops on June 13. I canā€™t wait to learn more about Penelope and her love life this season.

There you have it, keeping it short and sweet this Friday morning (or afternoon) depending on when you are reading. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and are doing something enjoyable and fun!

See you back here on Wednesday!