Crisis don’t often define a person, it is the day to day grind. It is the frustration of forgetting baking soda and you wanted to make pancakes. The way your life feels is about whether or not your house is welcoming to yourself and others. It is about whether you take the time to find pleasure for yourself.
So this is a odds and sods collection of tips. Each and every one of these has been tested by me and approved by life.
1. Most people shop once a week, anything you can do to stop it from going wrong is a good thing. For this reason, write your food shopping list in the order the grocery store is in. This allows you to check everything off efficiently and once you are done with a section, you are done. No having to leave your cart to go get the pineapple, you know you grabbed it along with the garlic.
2. Put a (really) high price on the real estate in your brain. This means that if you dislike a person, stop thinking about them. Only think about things that are productive, such a wrestling with a problem mentally. I don’t recommend wrestling them physically, there is a very wise saying about not wrestling pigs. Don’t do it. You get dirty and the pig enjoys it. Following on valuable real estate, realise that something that gives you mental pleasure, reality shows, pop music, gorgeous intimates, are worth it if they make you happy. Don’t have guilty pleasures, just have pleasure.
This is one of my favourite points so I will belabour it a bit more. If you really want to value your mental real estate, stop procrastinating. You will stop having to talk yourself out of doing the task again and again. This actually making your more efficient. You won’t have to think about making that icky phone call 3 times, only and then you do it.
3. You cannot tidy clutter. It just doesn’t happen. I am not a clutter bug myself and it makes keeping the house a lot cleaner much easier. Grab a grocery bag and fill it up with stuff. Do one a day until you are truely happy with the level of knick knacks. Keep in mind that electronic photos frames, scanners and mp3 players really do change how much space we need to keep things.
4. One more thing to think about on the cleaning front- you cannot keep it tidy unless you have proper infrastructure. This means desks with drawers, shelving units, plactic contains (I buy Klip it -always go kiwi), and jars. Trying to keep a clean home without places to put things is like building a sandcastle when the tide is comes in, location matters. On that note, don’t be afraid to put things in ‘odd’ places if that is where you use it more. My hairbrush lives in my rolltop desk, because thats where I usually am when it is about time to brush my hair.
5. Get whiter eyes (looks much more youthful), clearer skin (because acne does not makes you look younger) and better nails by eating fish oil. Nothing easier than making sure you take a few tabs a day.
6. Keep a diary. I am not talking about writing like and angsty teenager, but writing down what you need to get done, where you need to be, and what time you need to be there. The faintest ink is better than the sharpest memories. This adds to you happieness becase you get the satisfaction of knowing that you have accomplished all you set out to do that day. Means you sleep easy, no nagging feelings that you forgot something.
So there you have it, alot of being happy is making sure you are the one running your life and not letting the little things run you. If you know what the little things are (diary, mental real estate, decluttering and grocery lists) , and keeping yourself happy (fish oil and lingerie) life becomes far more managable.
Kisses,
