The other day I was sitting in my office aka “Simply Stine Headquarters” and one of the gifts that I got for Christmas was another Ikea Alex Drawer. I was working on getting things moved around and more organized and I had a moment that I wanted to share with you guys. This moment was shocking to me because honestly, I haven’t remembered feeling anything like this before and it kind of stuck with me and here we are.
This post was written on a whim this morning and I’m not going to heavily edit what I’m typing, I’m just going to let the words come out naturally. I want to do more of these posts because I feel like they are the real “me” and what I’m really going through and feeling at the moment. #LetsGetHonest
I saw this picture and felt like I could relate, ha!
I’m going to try minimalism….Yes, really. As I was sitting in my office surround by massive amounts of makeup, skincare and random other things, I had this moment of freak out happen and I didn’t know what to do about it. I just knew that I couldn’t take being surrounded by this much “stuff” and it got me thinking. Why do I need all of this?!?!?
Do not get me wrong, I love a new Beauty launch but I think that I’ve found a pattern that is happening and I want to talk about it. Since I’m a Beauty Blogger, I try to stay on top of new releases. I also get sent PR packages, which I’m super thankful for and not complaining at all. The problem is, I feel like I have to “keep up” with all of the other Bloggers out there and if I don’t get this palette when it launches or other products, I feel like I’m not keeping up with the new releases and I’m almost letting you, my readers, down. I know, that’s probably insane, but I want to make sure that this website is a place that you genuinely like to come to for product information and I want to make sure I’m always letting you guys know about new releases, etc.
I don’t want to be the person who is surrounded by “things” and that’s pretty much what is happening right now. Seeing all of this “stuff” was just so overwhelming to me. It got me thinking “When is enough, enough?” I’m trying to be honest in this post, so I’m just going to speak from my heart, but I’ve got way to many “things” sitting around and I feel like these possessions aren’t what I want my life to be about. I started thinking about it and came up with these questions that I thought I would share.
- Exactly how many purses do I really need? I just got two new ones for Christmas and I was in Nordstrom yesterday and wanted to buy yet another one. WHY????? I did have to exchange one I got for Christmas, but after that one, I’m DONE for a while! Seriously!
- I have four drawers of eyeshadow palettes. If I’m honest, I probably use at most two of those palettes regularly.
- Is having to have every new release even an option with my budget? What is it even doing to my budget? Exactly how much money am I spending on “things” to just test them and not use them again?!?
- I have so many books I haven’t read yet that are sitting around, BUT I’m still drawn to keep buying more when I know that I have more at home. Why???
- I never feel like I have enough clothes, yet I’ve donated tons and I still have a full closet
- My office is seriously stockpiled with tons of notebooks, stickers, washi tapes and I even have not only one, but TWO planners. I found myself wanting to go shopping for more the other day…why???
You get the idea of what is happening and I think the thing I question the most is what does this say about me as a person? I’m not a wasteful person, but there comes a point when I have to wonder what the hell am I thinking? I feel like this whole working as a Blogger thing can become very confusing. While I do get a lot of things sent to me, I also purchase a lot on my own. Now, I’m not anywhere near as bad at spending on Beauty products as some other people I follow, but to me, it’s becoming an unhealthy “addiction.”
I want to change. Obviously I will never stop buying Beauty items because I love them and it’s a part of me and my job. However, I’m not going to freak out about not getting every single new product that is released and placing that guilt on myself if I don’t get them. Yes, I do that. I have to stop that because me being a good blogger doesn’t depend on how many new products I purchase. I hope you guys, my readers, would agree with that?!? Instead, I want to put more effort into only talking about the products that are really, really making a difference in my life and not ones that I just feel like I “need” to share with you because. I want to focus more on other areas of blogging and not just beauty.
I’m going to start this whole journey and I want to talk about it as I continue the process. When I told people about me wanting to do this, even my own family laughed at me and I get it. I’ve never ever been like this before. I just feel like I still have to work on improving myself and improving my life. This part of my life is calling to me to make some changes so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to talk about that whole process on the blog more and share what I’m learning as I go on. Sound good?!?
Even if you aren’t a blogger, maybe you can relate to what I’m talking about. If you’re someone who has made these types of changes, I’d love to know what helped you along the way. I think my main goal is to not feel like my life has to be measured by the amount of “things” I possess. I don’t work to accumulate “things”, instead I want to work to accumulate more memories. I don’t want my happiness to depend on a new eyeshadow palette. Instead, I want my happiness to be more than that.
I’m making changes to my life and I can see things are happening inside of me. Honestly, I just want to live a more purposeful life and I want to do things that bring me happiness. However, I have to explore what happiness means to me and I’m figuring it out as I go along. I get nervous that you guys won’t want to read these types of posts, but I want to be honest and open about what I’m going though because I feel like, there are a lot of you who are going through the same thing. I hope so at least…..
BOOK CLUB READERS: I’m almost done with our selection, You Are A Badass: How To Stop Doubting Yourself and I am loving it!!!! Here’s one of the quotes that stuck out the most from the book so far (and there are tons that I highlighted and wrote down) “If you’re serious about changing your life, you’ll find a way. If you’re not, you’ll find an excuse.” Want to read with us? Click here for more information on the Simply Stine Book Club!
I completely agree with you, I have so much stuff I have tested a handful of times to never use again. So glad we came to this realization at the same time so we can inspire each other lol
YES!!! I know we just talked about this on our podcast so I’m excited to see what happens!
Can I like this a million times?! Girl I have been going through the same thing. I am donating some makeup and products and just did another closet clean out. We have a 3 bed, 2 bath home for two people and I feel like we don’t have enough space. Why? Because I hoard all of this stuff. And honestly I can no longer “make it” as just a beauty blogger. We have mortgages and bills and want to move and I can’t keep spending hundreds of dollars on new products. Sorry for the rant – just know that you’re not alone!
Keep “ranting” away!! It makes me feel so much better that I’m not the only one over here feeling like this!!
YES!!!! ?? Stine, I can speak only for myself here but I’d much rather learn how to use and maximize what I have rather than see every new thing that comes out. If I can’t decently apply eyeshadow (I can’t…) and I’m not certain how to pair colors, why do I care about the 18 new palettes just released? If so much rather you share YOU then hear about every new product launch because if all I really cared about was a launch, I’d subscribe to the brand instead of your blog.
I so needed to hear that!!!! THANK YOU!
Yes yes yes yes! I will say that when it comes to beauty blogs, while I do like hearing about new products, I love even more when they teach me things-tutorials and the like. So don’t get into your own head thinking you’re letting anyone down by not buying the brand-new-EVERYTHING.
Also, I’ve been on somewhat of a spending freeze (just a very strict budget) since Christmas because I want to save money for a vacation this summer. It has been shocking to me how much my mindset has changed in less than two weeks…how many things I would have bought that I would have been over just a week or two later.
I’m going to get more back into tutorials and things like that! While I love makeup, my huge passion is skincare and sometimes there’s only so much I can show of a product ,ha! I’m going to be more creative!!!
I’m on a total spending freeze! It’s hard right now, but I’m doing it! Thanks for your support and encouraging words!
Love this! I often get really overwhelmed with my collection, and am looking to donate a ton of stuff. In terms of always chasing new launches, I gave up on that a long time ago, and I did not see any dip in pageviews! So, don’t feel pressured to always get the latest and newest of everything. In fact, I actually dislike featuring LE items now, because they sell out so fast, that by the time I can photograph and get the post up – they are sold out, and then what’s the point of the post. Trust me, you’lll love not caring about LE anymore, it’s freeing lol
I’ve donated so much and I still feel so overwhelmed by it all. This is a new feeling for me because honestly, I’ve never ever felt like this before. I just know I have to be more creative in my blogging work and less about trying to buy everything that comes out. At the end of the day, I have to give up that “need” to get all the new releases and I need to go through, again and again, my “stash” and make better use out of what I have already!
Yes, yes, yes, YES! Girl…this is SO me! Lately I’ve been looking at all of my things and while I feel super grateful to have it all, I also feel terrible for having so many “things!” It got me thinking about how much money I could have saved rather than just have it sitting there collecting dust.
I honestly need to purge and minimize to things I NEED and not have so much or buy so much. I actually have made a goal that I will NOT buy anything I don’t need for the rest of this month and February…and see how it goes. And maybe I can continue to do that for the rest of the year.
I love this post and I’m excited to see your journey and I’m glad you are sharing it with us. Wishing you all of the best, Christine. We can do this together!
xo, Lily
Beauty With Lily
I could not agree more, I have recently gave away a ton of my makeup and beauty items and some purses. Now I am down to 3 purses and thats all i need. I kept my new Mk bag, a cross body and my backback. So one of each type of style. I think we are all guilty of this behavior but some are probably way worse than others. I can’t keep too much because we live in an 1100 square foot house. But it is still say to pack drawers full of stuff. I’m proud of u girl!
Thank you!!! I’m going to try my best to stick with this and follow through with it. Even if it helps me a little bit and I can help understand this whole “must have everything” mentality, then I’ll be happy!
So proud of you for deciding to do this! It’s going to be hard but so worth it (i hope!). I personally couldn’t care less about new releases. I just want to know what the good stuff is that’s out there, even if it’s older, if it’s great i’d rather know about that than the new MAC line of limited edition items… ya kno? Definitely keep us/me updated on how this is going! I’ve been literally going through every single thing I own and tossing it if I don’t need it or didn’t remember I had it. It feels sooooo good.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I know that this won’t be easy, but I feel like it’s something I HAVE to do. I hope that I can be successful!!
Absolutely loved this post, Christine! I can relate to a lot of what you’re saying. My granny was the queen of minimalism, and after losing last month, I told myself that I want to be more like her. There was never any clutter at her house, everything was just so simple, clean, organized. So was her style. I don’t know why we sometimes find it so hard to part with all the “things” but recently I had a major clean-out as well and it felt so good to throw away a bunch of things I no longer had use for.
Paula
Thirteen Thoughts
Minimalism was just never me, but recently I’ve just felt more and more drawn to it and I’m excited to see what happens once I really start making some changes! I did go to Nordstrom and walked out empty handed so that’s gotta say a lot, ha!!!
This sounds a lot like my post I did earlier this month, so I’m glad I’m not alone with this! Best of luck with the minimalist movement! xo