Hullo people,
Long time no see!
As always, I've had a ton of things to do. This busy spring gave me an idea to make a post about "keeping it clean". And I mean keeping everything clean. So, life overall. Here are some tips to keep your life simple, happy and clean.
GO BUY A CALENDER
This is for me one of the best advices to remember. With a calendar (with enough space!) you can write everything down and that way avoid days when you're supposed to do five things at the same time. It also organizes your head, when your thoughts are nicely written down on a list instead of just being a huge mess in your head.
+ decorate your calendar! You will probably need it a lot, so if you've decorated it with inspiring texts and pictures, instead of giving you the "ugh the pages are already too full"-feeling it'll make you smile
LEARN TO SAY NO
Unfortunately the days last only for 24 hours. And no, you can't keep traveling from time zone to time zone forever. So it's just not possible to do everything. I still find this hard to believe as you may have realized from my 'busy busy' notes on the beginning.. But trust me, that makes me the best person to give this advice. My mom always says , "you have to say no every now and then" , and it's one of the best (and hardest) lessons she has taught me. Sometimes the things you'll have to say no to will be hanging out with friends or doing something what you really enjoy, but saying no is worth it, because you can't really enjoy anything if you keep thinking where you have to run in 5 min or where you should have been instead.
The same tip goes also for the things that 'you have to do'. It's great that you do what you're supposed to do and don't let people down, but too much is too much and even thought the others wouldn't get it that time, you have to take care of yourself more than from jobs etc!
DRINK LOTS OF WATER
Everybody knows it, but everybody forgets it. WATER WATER WATEER! It literally keeps you clean. From the inside and the outside, and it also helps you to stay awake. As most of you know, water's good for your skin and also body overall. Plus it gives you a nice refreshing feeling! And sounds weird but is true, Finland has got the best tap water so it's actually really good! ;)
EAT FRUITS ETC, AVOID SUGAR AND FAT
First of all this will keep your body healthy and your skin clean. But if you've ever eaten too much greasy food or chocolate or something, you know the kind of dirty feeling it gives you. I would Never say that people shouldn't eat anything sweet or greasy! No, not at all. I myself couldn't live without chocolate for example! But the point is with this one as well, that too much is too much. So if instead of ordering fast food you'll take a salad and instead of candies you'll eat for example grapes, you'll feel a lot cleaner. I don't know where it's based but it's true! The same works when you'll make for example banana pancakes (1 banana, two eggs, smash the bananas and mix with the eggs & fry) instead of s mufcake. If you really need it you'll have to eat some sugar, but you can choose which kind of sugar.Also when there's free dessert served, just because it's good -and free- shouldn't mean 'eat as much as you can'.
+ BUT don't forget the sweets and stuff, if you tell yourself it's all forbidden you'll just want it more and you'll just lose a good time of your life by missing the chocolate and Ben & Jerry's , and also it'll easily make you a bit angry.
DON'T USE THAT MUCH MAKE UP
It'll keep your skin a lot cleaner. You gotta let your face breath sometimes! Try not to cover your whole face with all kinds of foundations and powders all the time, trust me you don't need it, you're naturally beautiful! There's nothing bad at using make up , at least I love to add something to my face on special events or just when I feel like it (and even thought I don't wear mascara every day, I couldn't live without eyebrow fixing gel). But just make sure to wash your face properly and let it be free for some time!
GO OUTSIDE
You need fresh air! Step outside the door and maybe just take a walk and everything will seem a lot better and simpler. Your body needs it and your mind needs it. Specially when the sun is shining, take all out of it! If you have to stay inside for a long time, try to keep a window open occasionally.
DO SPORTS
The basic tip, but oh so important. The sports you do don't have to be running a marathon or going to the gym for 4 hours, but try to do a little something at least 5 days a week. Or maybe make a short walk outside everyday for example with yours or your neighbour's dog, bike instead of using car and choose the stairs over escalators. It all makes a difference. If your more the sports 24/7 type, you have to remember to keep free days! Don't stuff yourself with sports.
When your room is clean, your head is clear. Seriously, all the extra stuff on the table and the clothes lying on your chair also make your head messier. So try to keep it tidied up. Take off the dust and vacuum when need to, but in a way even more importantly put your things where they belong! And try to do it right away, so you'll save yourself from the huge cleaning operation. Small things matter, like putting your clothes to your wardrobe right away, rubbish to rubbish pin (be harsh!) , papers to their maps or in a fine pile and keeping your desk clear. I know that the stuff just comes from somewhere, but it'll also have to go somewhere and your desk/chair/bed doesn't have space endlessly.
+ if you just honestly can't put all your things where they belong right away, try keeping a secret space inside your wardrobe or a drawer or maybe a nice bag or box on the floor (or both). Keep it always empty and fill with stuff you just have to get hidden somewhere. But remember to empty it often enough! For example every second Sunday, so you'll remember to do it.
KEEP YOUR WARDROBE ORGANIZED
Us girls spend a lot of time staring at it. And trying to find something to wear. And most of the days it just feels that even thought the shelves are stacked up with clothes, there's nothing to wear. well a good tip for that is simply keeping your wardrobe organized. Keep for example t-shirts in one pile, summer shirts in one (or take them to the storage for the winter if that's possible) , sweaters in one pile, jeans in one pile (maybe even in order by the color) trousers in one pile and so on. This way you know where you can find. Plus by organizing your wardrobe you'll see how many lovely forgotten clothes you have! And maybe also how many not-so-lovely pieces you have -> the flea market awaits.
DON'T OVERTHINK
Nononono. Don't do it! Don't make your head one huge mess! It doesn't do anything good, you'll just use all your energy and happy mood in it. And it'll make you crazy. Things are a lot simpler than what they seem after overthinking everything. Don't make it all harder, let go of what's happened and keep all the thousands of options of what might happen only in you dreams (in the good ones).
BE OKAY WITH THE FACT THAT IT'S SOMETIMES COMPLICATED
Sometimes life just isn't so clean. (Like while reading this post, my word choices must be pretty annoying.. ;) ) Room is a mess, skin doesn't stay clean calendar's been too full since last year and most importantly everything just doesn't go how it was supposed to. And it'll make you crazy if you blame yourself for how everything's wrong. Things aren't that messy! And if they are, you just have to do something about it or do the even harder thing: be okay with it and move on. You don't have to be perfect and anything around you doesn't have to be perfect either. When you see that, everything becomes perfect.
So hopefully you'll find these tips useful! :)
Have a great week everyone!
Love, Anna
