I have been under the weather this week but Friday, I pressed through to complete a project that I have been wanting to do for awhile. I have been wanting to make some changes to my room and definitely wanted to do it just in time for the school year. So, after seeing my nephew to the bus stop for his first year of high school and cleaning the house, I started my final summer project.
I painted my room and reorganized it to give it an ambience of peacefulness, warmth, femininity and a bit of chicness.
These are my before pictures:
As always it is fun doing these painting and redecorating projects but they are tiring and I make a lot of boo-boos. But overall, I am pleased with the end result. Here is how it turned out:
To simplify means to make something easier or simpler. We live in a work-consumed, comparing and competitive, busy and fast-paced, social-site and cellphone addicted world. Our homes and work places have become even more stressful and we are reminded daily by that tomorrow is not promised.
With that, people are desperately seeking to lead lives in which they can be more present and less stressed. They are determined to live simply in a chaotic world.
People are downsizing their homes, switching careers, resigning from their jobs, decluttering their homes and donating used goods to help organizations. People are looking to declutter and live simply physically, financially, mentally, etc.
So, how do you begin to simplify?
Declutter your homes, office/workspace, even emails, etc. Decluttering puts us in a great mental space as well as helps us create tidy, more organized and inviting spaces.
Stop multitasking or at least much of the time. Many of us are great multitaskers; however, multitasking can leave us stressed and failing to give adequate attention to the tasks at hand.
Subtract first before adding. Yes, in order to make room for something new and that something that should be occupying your time at that moment/season, you sometimes have to part ways with the old. This is even true about destructive relationships. If you are friends with or dating someone that is detrimemtal to your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being, pray for grace to let go and move on. Freeing up that space allows the right person to come in.
Pray & meditate on God’s Word. This should have been first honestly. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things shall be added unto thee. Nurture your relationship with God first and foremost. Noone has ever regretted putting God first. He loves us beyond measure and knows what is best for us.
Prioritize and organize. We honestly don’t know if you can find a 100% balance between everything in your life. But what we do know is that you can prioritize and organize, and make life that much better. Prioritizing also means learning to say no or when to say no.
Delegate and ask for help. Despite the “S” we may feel like we wear on our chest, I guarantee you that even Superwoman needs help.
Don’t be so hard on yourself and don’t overthink everything. Make sure you give yourself enough care. And forgive yourself for not being able to save the world today. We also tend to make something worse than what it is or bring something to doom in worry alone. Trust God.
Laugh alot. Laughter is surely a great dose of medicine and a great distraction when anxious and feeling overwhelmed. Laugh a lot.
Check your thoughts. Train yourself to fight and extract those thoughts that have no place occupying your mental space. Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ Jesus.
Develop an emergency fund. That small cushion of funds saved for emergencies only can eliminate some stress and make it much easier to handle financial difficulties.
Prepare. Prepare for the next day, assignment, trip, project, life changes as best as you can. It frees up your time and allows you to add something, if you must, or take something off your schedule.
Tannika Nikeya 