Monthly Goals Update

Obviously I completely failed at this. September is only a few more days long and I haven't yet posted the update for my monthly goals. Double fail for not posting in two weeks. Do I really suck this much? Well, let's see how I did on my goals:

Post on this blog regularly: Absolute fail.

Film and edit videos: Filmed three videos, edited none yet. Editing software is overwhelming. Semi fail.

Read five books: Two non-fiction and two fiction down, one to go. Check!

Walk at least 5,000 steps a day: Check! 

So at least I don't suck 100%. Phew. But let's look a littler at those goals I set, why I set them and how I'm really doing at them. 

I really wanted to make this blog a priority this month but it didn't work out as well as I had hoped. I did think about it a lot but I didn't actually do anything. In part this was because my life was just pretty busy and I just always have a million things on my mind that I want to do and research and learn about and I just get distracted. A lot. Also I think that maybe my goal was set a little high. Maybe I need to start smaller and slowly build up this habit. That also wouldn't make me feel like a loser as much for not reaching my goals. So in (almost) hindsight, I am glad I set this goal, I am glad I failed it and I am glad I am still making this post and not giving up right away.

Next up, the youtube goal. I've been wanting to have a youtube channel for a long time now but I just can't seem to get it started. First of all, editing is freakin' impossible to figure out right now. Also, there are just so many amazing and high quality youtubers out there and since I am a perfectionist, I feel like having to live up to those impossible standards. I know that's stupid and unrealistic but so far haven't been able to convince my entire self of that. But I will also not give up on this one and just keep taking one tiny step at a time. 

A goal I had almost no problem with was the reading goal. I love to read so it is just a matter of finding the time (and space, one of the books I read entirely in the bathroom). If I come across any amazing, life-changing books I will definitely do a review on them, but this month it was nothing super special, so I won't.

And lastly, the walking goal. I work as a waitress right now so on the days I work (about 3-4 times a week) I have no problems reaching this goal anyways. But I wanted to make a point of moving more on my days off and I think I did really well. I just downloaded a step counter app onto my phone and recorded my steps every day. I did an average of around 8,000 steps a day, my record was 13,900 and I only had one day each week where I didn't make it to 5,000. I'm really happy with those results and will definitely continue walking more. The hardest part for me was actually having to have my phone on me all the time.

So all in all, I am pretty happy with how I did, I'd give myself a 2.5 out of 4 so far and I definitely learned something on the way.

Hope you enjoyed this. I am open to any feedback and suggestions!

Read you soon,

Lisa

Minimalism - 10 things I don't buy anymore

Minimalism means something different to everyone and while I would not call myself a minimalist just yet, I try to apply a minimalist eye and mind to my lifestyle. I hope to get to the point one day where I am only surrounded by objects that serve me and/or bring me joy. I am definitely not at that point yet, but striving for a simpler lifestyle has already changed my life quite drastically in the past two years.

One aspect of this has been the decluttering part of it. I have gotten rid of an incredible amount of things over the last months and years. The other aspect of living more simply for me has been to be really mindful when it comes to what I bring into my life now. I have always been a conscious consumer in many aspects, but with everything I know now it has just gotten to a whole other level. With that being said, let me share with you some items or products I don't purchase anymore:

1. Plastic bags

Let's start with an obvious one. Humans produce five trillion Plastic Bags a year. That's 5,000,000,000,000! Or 160,000 bags that are used every second!  I haven't purchased or used free plastic bags in years. I bring my own bags with me whenever I go shopping, I especially don't use single-use plastic bags for produce and if I ever need to get or use a plastic bag, I will use it over and over again until it literally falls apart.

2. Bottled water

Like plastic bags, we use an insane amount of plastic water bottles every year. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that 50 million Water Bottles are thrown away EVERY DAY!  I just have a reusable water bottle and take that with me whenever I go out.

3. Coffee to go

Making your own coffee is a lot cheaper and better for the environment than getting coffee to go in a paper or plastic cup. I make my own coffee at home using a French Press or a simple coffee maker for filtered coffee. If I ever want to get coffee on the run, I bring my own mug and let them fill the coffee in that. Here in Germany, lot's of places even charge less if you bring in your own cup!

4. Newspapers, magazines and paper books

I've had an e-reader for many years now and while I still own a few books, I do not purchase any more paper copies of them. I might pick up a used book at a thrift store a couple of times a year if I've been looking for that one for a while, but in general all newspaper, magazines and books I read are on my e-reader.

5. Hardcopies of DVDs, music or games

Just like with books, I don't purchase any hardcopies of CDs or DVDs anymore. With netflix, youtube, spotify and games I can download online, no films, games or music have to occupy physical space in my life any more.

6. Cable TV

I haven't watched TV in years. I do have a netflix account and will occasionally binge-watch some of my favorite shows, but that's all the TV I watch. No cable or pay-per-view necessary.

7. New clothes

Except for underwear, I get all of my clothes second-hand, whether that be at thrift stores, online, through friends and family or at my local swap store. I've been doing this for around three years and so far haven't had any problems finding the items I needed or wanted. 

Pure Waste - Textile Facts

8. Hair dye, spray, foam, gel or hair cuts

I haven't dyed my hair in a few years, I recently started cutting it myself and I don't use any products in it. I've never been someone who styled her hair a lot and I just feel that my hair is healthier and my life easier if I just don't use any of these extra products.

9. Nail polish

This falls into a similar category. I've never worn lots of nail polish, mostly because I've been working in the service industry for the past ten or so years and it's just not that appropriate to wear bright nailpolish in that profession. But in the last few years, I've completely stopped wearing nailpolish even on my toes and it just feels right this way.

10. Period products 
I just recently got a menstrual cup and don't have to buy tampons or pads anymore. It took a while getting used to and figuring it out, but now I love it and would never go back! Saves so much money in the long run and I produce no more trash while on my period. 

These are some of the things I no longer purchase. Ask away if these brought up any questions or if you have any suggestions. I will probably do a follow-up soon, as there are at least ten more things I don't buy anymore, but for now this should suffice. 

Have an amazing day, read you soon,

Lisa

Monthly Goals: September

Don't forget the important things!

Even though we are already quite a few days into the month of September, I wanted to share my first “Monthly Goals“ now. I want to do these posts to remind myself of what I am focusing on that month, as well as hold myself accountable at the end of the month as to whether or not I completed or at least attempted my goals.

Before I formulate my goals for the month (which I actually did on August 30^th), there are two 'concepts' that I keep in mind:

The first one is used in management and is called S.M.A.R.T. goals. It's a tool to help you set goals that are: specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable and time-bound. So a goal like 'I want to read more' would not be a S.M.A.R.T. goal, whereas 'I want to read four books this month' would be one. I think this is a really helpful tool and I try to always keep it in mind, even if I don't end up applying every single letter to every single goal.

The other tool that I use comes from some of my favorite internet people, The Minimalists. They've come up with five categories and if an action does not fall into at least one of them, they will usually not do it. The categories are: health, relationships, passion, growth and contribution. I want to apply this one by trying to set goals that fall into at least one, better even two, of the categories each.

Alright, so after this quite lenghty introduction, let's finally get down to business.

Here are my goals for the month of September:

• Reactivate this blog and post at least three times per week as well as every third day.
• Film and (figure out how to) edit at least two videos for my youtube channel.
• Read five books this month, at least two of which must be non-fiction.
• Be in bed between 12 am and 8 am.
• Walk at least 5,000 steps a day.

I think these are all pretty self explanatory and I will not go into any more detail at the moment. I am planning on doing some weekly and or monthly challenges, but for now I want to keep it simple and give myself a chance to actually accomplish the goals.

I hope you all have an amazing, productive week full of joy, sunshine and laughter!

Read you soon,

Lisa

My blog is a toddler and I've been a horrible mom

South Sea Sunset

Eighteen months ago I started this blog and after just two weeks, I lost my drive and focus to work on it. There were a lot of other things going on in my life (a breakup and a trip around the world being just two of them) and I just didn't have the time or energy to put out regular blogposts. But that doesn't mean I'm not on my journey towards a simpler and happier life anymore. On the contrary, that journey has continued throughout the entire last year and a half. Sometimes it was subtle, at other times a major focus. And now I've come to a point in my life where I've created enough space – physically, mentally and time-wise – that I really want to start sharing my story again.

So, what can you expect from this blog in the future?

I already have a couple of posts in the works that I will be uploading soon. One of them will be my “Monthly Goals“, which I will be doing at the beginning of every month now.

I am also working on a few “Minimalism“ articles, such as “Things I don't buy anymore“ or “How Minimalism has changed my life“, so look out for those soon.

My goal for this blog is to post at least three times a week. I'm not sure if it makes sense to stick to a schedule, because my working hours vary, but I will try to post at least every third day and not do all of my weekly posts in one or two days. If anyone has any suggestions concerning topics, the schedule or anything else, feel free to leave a comment!

Happy and excited to be back, I'll read you soon!

Lisa

How Minimalism can change the world

Over the last few days I haven't really gotten a whole lot done when it comes to decluttering, organizing and getting rid of things. Neither have I felt like writing about it. Nor any of the other topics that are on my list. 

So before just not writing anything, I thought I'd share a comment I left on youtube the other day. It was a video of The Minimalists and I got into an “argument” (it actually turned out really friendly in the end) with another user. She'd said something about The Minimalists coming from a privileged perspective and not going far enough, not looking at the big picture etc. (if you want to read all our comments, go check out the video, I don't want to post her comments without permission). My answer pretty much sums up one of the big reasons I think minimalism is so awesome, not just on a personal level.

"But it [consumerism] cannot be transformed by "lifestyle choices" that do not acknowledge justice above personal satisfaction.” (She said this. I quoted her and answered:) I agree. But what I was trying to say (maybe badly) was, that I see this more as a matter of a "shift in consciousness". The Minimalism movement represents just another "sympton" and the "disease" is people waking up to what's really going on in this world and what really matters.

    I believe we all have our roles in changing this world into a beautiful and just place for everybody. Some of those roles are directly addressing certain problems at their root and trying to change certain realities. Other roles might be more subtle. There are still so many people out there who are still so wrapped up in consumerism and materialism and trying to pay the bills or just trying to survive. Those people might just not be ready for the big picture and the grand scheme of things. So their role will be smaller, more personal, in just trying to live a more conscious life. Eventually, those ideas of being more conscious will transform into higher ideas. And even if they don't, that's okay too. 

   Everyone has a "trigger" for waking up to reality. So we need people at all stages of consciousness, doing all sorts of different things and talking about all sorts of different stuff, because they can all trigger someone. And that someone is going to start thinking critically and reflectively about that certain area of his or her life. And eventually, they will extend those thought processes beyond that area.

   And before you know it, everyone is finally woken up enough to take your path of destroying the evil at its root and we'll get to our utopia in no time. But minimalism will have helped.

Hope this makes it more clear.

Love and peace. 

What do you think? Is minimalism more than just something personal to you?

Read you soon,

Lisa

Another day, another unhaul

I've been pretty busy with school over the last few weeks and I find that decluttering is the perfect way to unwind. It gets me away from my computer, it gets me moving and it gives me a freeing feeling. Usually I feel bad about the fact, that the only time my apartment is ever really clean is when I'm supposed to be writing papers ;) But this time around, I decided to embrace it, not waste time on youtube (which I'm still doing) or facebook (not so much) but focus all the energy that I don't need for the papers on decluttering. 

Yesterday, I brought another 30 or so books to the charity shop. I walk them there so I don't take more than that at one time. I also contacted an old English professor of mine who's in charge of our department's booksales. She was very happy to receive donations, so I dropped off about 40 books there today. Most of them were classics (Wordsworth, Penguin etc.) which I know will come to good use in the English department. She was so grateful and that made me very happy.

My last stop today was at our local animal shelter, were I dropped of two big bags full of old blankets, sheets and towels.

So basically, I feel really good right now, another big load of clutter is gone and I've made some people (and puppies) happy. 

Time to get back to writing my papers.

Read you soon, 

Lisa

Decluttering Books

I'm purging my books and I've thought of some questions to ask myself so I end up with a collection of true favorites and very special books that I love and actually read. (Read here) By asking myself those five simple questions, I can determine for every book whether it should stay or go. At least in theory.

Over the past few weeks, my books have been a big focus of the decluttering process. My questionnaire is helping me a lot with letting go of books I know deep down I'll never read. But I still have a really hard time letting go of books that I think I might read at some point. And books that I SHOULD read but know I won't. But it is getting easier with every book I let go. And I love my bookcases slowly clearing and actually being able to see all those books that I really really love and am happy to own.

So far I have gotten rid of around 80-100 books. Many of those came from my TBR shelf, which used to hold over 200 books. They have all gone to a charity bookstore right down the street. Yay! And I've already stacked up another 130 (!!!) books that I'm ready to let go. Most of those are mystery/suspense/chick-lit/YA that I've read already and know I won't reread. They will be going to a woman's outreach clinic which is coincidentally also right around the corner from my apartment.

I've realized it's just ridiculous to hold on to more unread books than I could ever read in several years. I read an average of around 60 books a year, so that'll be my limit for the TBR-shelf. Maybe if I have few enough books, so that I could theoretically read them all within one year, I'll be more inclined to read them at all. Right now my TBR is so overwhelming that I'll rather just pick up a new book than try to decide on one from that shelf. Let's fix that.

Do you have trouble keeping your library in check? How do you decide which books to keep and which to pass on?

Read you soon,

Lisa

Getting Rid of Book Guilt

Oh books, beloved books. What happened? How did I miss the moment in which you went from being beautiful and helpful friends to being stressful and guilt-ridden clutter? 

Guilt for having bought a book knowing I would probably never read it.  Guilt because of books that I will never read but feel bad getting rid of because they were given to me as presents. Guilt for intending to read a book but never doing it, despite owning it for years and years. Guilt about all those unexplored worlds and all those unknown characters. 

I don't want this guilt tarnishing my love for books any longer. This needs to stop. Right now. In fact, I am already stopping it.

At last count I had around 900 books. I've been an avid reader from an early age and have always owned a lot of books. I love looking at books. I love holding and touching them. I love being able to research things even when the power goes out. But I'm realizing that my love of books isn't expressed through the number of books that I own. On the contrary, how does random and indiscriminate accumulation of a certain item show one's appreciation of it? It doesn't. Simple as that. 

So I've decided that I'm going to downsize my book collection. Big time. I don't have a fixed number that I want to arrive at, I'll just see how it plays out. But I do have an objective for the books I will eventually own. In the process of decluttering my books, I've come up with five questions to ask myself to end up with a collection of true favorites and very special books that I love and actually read.

The five questions are:

1. Have I read this book? If yes, proceed to question 2. If no, proceed to question 3.

2. Did I like this book? If yes, proceed to question 4. If no, GET RID OF IT.

3. Do I want to read this book? If yes, proceed to question 5. If no, GET RID OF IT.

4. Will I read it again? If yes, KEEP IT. If no, GET RID OF IT.

5. Will I read this in the next 2 years? If yes, KEEP IT. If no, GET RID OF IT.

In one of the next posts I will tell you how I am doing working with these questions, how many books I have already gotten rid of, what I've done with them and what I hope to do next.

Read you soon,

Lisa

Healthy Makes Happy

I strive for both and I think one cannot exist without the other. To be happy, you have to be healthy. And by healthy, I don't mean the absence of illness, as western culture has come to define it. I don't mean to say that if you're not sick, you'll automatically be happy. I don't think health is defined by how often you get a cold or whether you need a wheelchair to get around or how high your cholesterol is. I don't think it's as easy as eating five servings of fruit and veggies a day and going to the gym once in a blue moon. 

What I am talking about is true health. Physical, mental and spiritual health. A state of mind in which you realize that your body, mind and soul are connected. That your body is your instrument and it will become what you put in it. Your organs and cells will eventually consist of the atoms that once were your food. Your mind will eventually think in a way that is in harmony with the information you are receiving. Your soul will eventually adapt the energies you surround yourself with. All these areas need to be healthy and then happiness will find you.

If your body is healthy, you will have the energy to do the things you love and to strive for achieving your dreams.

If your mind is healthy, you will know that you deserve to be surrounded only by people who love and support you.

And if your soul is healthy, you will never be afraid to express yourself and always have the comfort of knowing who you are.

Knowing who you are, doing what you love and being loved and supported. That's what you need to be happy. Or rather, that's what I believe it takes to be happy. 

Read you soon,

Lisa

Finding My Way

Hi, I'm Lisa and this is a blog about my journey towards a healthier and happier life.
It's an attempt to become more conscious on my journey. I want to clear mental clutter, define goals and dreams and hopefully find a community of like-minded people. I will write about:
Physical health

- as in nutrition, yoga and such. An area of my life I am not very happy with yet.

- as in simple living. Another area I just started working on. I will be talking a lot about decluttering, organization and minimalism.

Mental health

- as in High Sensitivity. I'm an HSP and it will come up regularly, because it kind of pervades every aspect of my life. If you don't know what High Sensitivity is, check out Dr. Aron's work at hsperson.com. 

- as in books and language, because I love them and feel like I need them for my mental health. I love studying languages. I also read a lot. And I love to think and talk about language. So it'll just come up.

Spiritual health

as in I'm-not-sure-what-will-happen-yet. As a de-facto atheist concerning all major religions, I am just finding out that you don't have to be a religious person to be a spiritual person. 

For now, I am happy to get started and would love for you to join me on My Way to Happy.

Read you soon,

Lisa

PS: Wonder why I focused on the health aspect although the blog is called My Way to Happy? I'll explain how I link health and happiness in my next post.