Gifts, Decanting, Pajamas

Welcome friends and readers:

This is my first official post and hopefully not your last! My goal is to share ideas, content and inspiration that can help you simplify and enhance your life. Here are a few things I have been thinking about these past weeks.....

Gifts

Most everyone loves to give and receive gifts. For me, I particularly love the gifting. Trying to figure out what a friend or relative will love, that they may not already have is a puzzle I love to solve. For the past few years, my family has agreed on themes and then bought presents accordingly. Some favorites categories have been: iconic duos, outdoorsy and presents that start with the same letter as the recipient's name. However, since many of us are fortunate to have so much, sometimes we just don't need any more. Inevitably, when I am working with a client, they will pick up an item and say that it was a gift but they don't really use it. They often make a face and say something like, "What should I do- I kinda feel bad giving it away." My answer is that the gift was given to show that someone thought about you and cares about you. It is the act of gifting that is important - not the item. While some things are just too sentimental to give away- (the drop earrings your kids picked out that hurt your ears), others can be let go to let someone else enjoy and clear space in your home. I also think it is lovely to gift items that are consumable like amazing olive oil or a class to learn something new.

Decanting

If you are like me and can waste way too much time scrolling "organizing porn" on Instagram, you have undoubtedly seen pantries with rows of clear jars filled with rice, pasta, cookies- fill in the blank. What you don't always see are the half filled bags that didn't fit in the container that are stuffed in a cabinet. Now the item is taking up twice the real estate. Many of us do not have the time to constantly refill containers or the space to store the leftovers elsewhere. If you love the look, I suggest making sure the container is large enough to accomodate the whole bag. While I do not decant most of my pantry items, I do like my cereal, flour, sugar and brown sugar in containers. I find cereal stays fresher and the kitchen stays cleaner without opening and shutting a flour or sugar bag (As a side note- I like having a cereal container that I can put my hand in multiple times a day). I also suggest decanting your plastic ziploc bags, dish soap, and laundry and dishwashing pods as well. Those few items have a big visual impact when out of their original packaging.

Pajamas

I finally got around to reading Marie Kondo's book and was reminded of the idea that our possessions should spark joy. She states "Through the process of selecting only those things that inspire joy, you can identify precisely what you love – and what you need." I think we all are conflicted at times about keeping things we don't love or being "wasteful" and buying new items. I have always thought of my pajamas as old clothing I would not wear out of the house. I realized my old t-shirts definitely did not spark joy and treated myself to "real" pajamas. Like with most things, I wish I had got them sooner!