hey guys ~ it's been a while
welcome back ~
I was home in Los Angeles for a month and a half to spend time with family
I took my mom to Hawaii with Hyundai
and I just got back to New York City to a super dank fridge
cause I didn't know I was going to be away for as long as I was
the past couple of months have been like dream
and I'm so grateful for all the experiences and opportunities
but change, in any form, be it positive or otherwise
is one of the bigger causes of stress
and let's just say there's been some oscillation between the good and the not so good
my life has been more of a mess than I'd like to admit
so here we are again..
needing to get my life together for nth time in the form of organizing and cleaning
because I've learned over the years that our outer world is a reflection of our inner world
and that tidying and cleaning usually almost always without fail
instantaneously propels me to greener pastures and happier times
so here we go ~
all right ~ let's go
the first thing I do is change into something comfortable because comfort is key
especially trying to get comfortable with the uncomfortable
but in this case, is just really no one to impress
and you want to be comfortable in your own space, right?
and doing something like changing is way less daunting than tackling that pile of clothes
so when overwhelmed, start with the easiest thing..
the key is to start!
then I make a matcha latte because overwhelmed and procrastinating
and I don't know where to start
but wait.. I'm actually making a matcha latte
because I know I'm gonna have to wash the milk frother
and if I'm gonna get my hands wet, I might as well do all the dishes
and if I'm gonna do all the dishes, I might as well clean the kitchen
by the transitive property of 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie'
so you've been you for all these years
I've been me for all these years
for my whole existence, your whole existence
we definitely know by now how to outsmart ourselves
and stay one step ahead of ourselves
so we can use that to our advantage ~
now that I'm making my way around the kitchen
I start inputting little reminders and note-to-selfs in my brain as I clean
for example: do the thing you're supposed to do when you're supposed to
instead of putting it off and procrastinating
Exhibit A: taking apples and pears out of plastic bags
right when I get home from the grocery store
and putting it where it belongs instead of letting it sit on the counter for days
and this train of thought leads me down memory lane
to reminisce on the good old school days
of how I would have graduated with much better grades
had I just did my homework the day I was given the assignment
even if it wasn't due for another week
and had I studied days before tests instead of cramming the night before
but this is all in my past life
and I pull myself back to reality
and count my lucky stars that I'm no longer living that life
and don't need good grades to do what I'm doing now anyway
but in all seriousness, this can be applied to various facets of our lives
to make us more responsible like responding to that text or email as soon as I get it
especially if I can respond to it within two minutes
and hanging up clothes right as I take it off to avoid piles
but.. I digress
now that we're in my living space
these books on my couch and on the floor
look kind of orderly and kind of not
because I try - emphasis on the *try* - to tidy as I go on a daily basis
but I really just couldn't be bothered to organize completely
since I knew I was going to do a deep cleaning tidy sesh anyway
so, piles of stuff overwhelming? just start somewhere
even if it's turning a pile of stuff into a few more piles of stuff
or moving a pile of stuff from one part of the room to the other part of the room
eventually you'll get to where you need to be
and figure out what you're meant to figure out
for me, this is figuring out which books to keep on my bookshelf
which books to keep by my bedside
and which books to tuck away
those piles respectively..
books I want to read, books I'm currently reading, and books I will read
my mom used to always ask me..
"how do you eat an elephant?"
the answer is piece by pieces
okay, now translated in English..
how do you tackle a daunting task?
by breaking it down into smaller bite-sized pieces
in this case, for me, the daunting task started as my life is a mess...
I didn't know where to start
I broke it down into bite-sized pieces of..
start by tiding and organizing your space
and then with that, daunting task became my whole apartment is a mess
I don't know where to start
broke it down into bite-sized pieces of dividing my apartment into sections
and start one section at a time
so I did the kitchen, living area, and the closet in that order
from the easiest to hardest
and you can honestly keep identifying daunting tasks within daunting task
and continue to break it down into smaller and smaller bite-sized pieces
until you are comfortable
or until there are no more daunting tasks left
~ magic ~
now the thing I've been putting off for eternity
~ dun dunn DUNNNNN ~
can you tell I get overwhelmed easily?
again, just start with the easiest task
the first thing I did was to centralize all the clothing related bags
so I'd have a good idea what I'm getting myself into
and how to plan my next move
I know there's a bag of laundry somewhere in there from two months ago
(hey ~ no judgment)
I really wasn't here for a while
and laundry as in freshly laundered laundry
that's been laundered already
so I start with that to get the gears turning..
get myself in the groove
and the rest will fly by on autopilot
because the hardest part is always starting
and lastly, I remind myself often that it's ok to take breaks
or even pause and resume the following day
this should be fun and therapeutic and relaxing
if I treat it as a chore, it's gonna seem like a chore
and I'm going to be epic hesitant on starting
as with all things in life, mentality and perspective is key
also, getting the tidying and organizing done sooner would of course be ideal
but there really isn't a right or wrong way to clean and get your life together
remember, you know yourself best just like how I know myself best
so do what you know will be most efficient and effective for you
whenever I finish tidying up, the most important takeaway I'm left with is that
by taking care of my environment
I'm really, in turn, taking care of my physical, mental, and emotional health
because tidying your space also tidies up your mind
and the processes and ways you tidy and organize your space
can also be applied to the ways you tidy and organize
your work life as well as your personal life
as the tidying master..
(I've been saying so many "tidying's")
as the tidying master, Marie Kondo said best
in 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up'
"From the moment you start tidying.."
"..you will be compelled to reset your life."
"As a result, your life will start to change."
so take that first step and start with the easiest task
find ways to outsmart yourself
focus on bite-sized pieces and see where you'll go from there
by just taking one small step..
you're getting that much closer to changing your life forever
maybe not forever, but for.. for this cycle, for this season
and with that, thank you guys so much for joining <3
here's a voice hug ~
I'll see you guys in the next video
baaaii ~