I haven’t told this to anyone before but I have a life’s theme song and recently I realized that it has changed, the old one still depicts some of my views and opinions but it does not really speaks to me in some level anymore.

My previous life’s theme song was Land Called Far Away by Colbie Caillat from her album Gypsy Heart. Yes, that song. If you knew it then you know that it is about being free of commitment and not being ready to be involved in any romantic relationship (dude, I’m still not haha) unlike other girls my age.

For me, it’s not about hating other girls who pursues relationship. It’s actually me knowing I have more things in my mind, more goals to achieve, and more decisions to make. That simple.

I was in college when I labelled it as my life’s theme song. I have so much in my plate at that time and it was like an affirmation saying I’m normal and doing the right thing. And yes, I’ve never been the princess type so there’s that as well.

Recently I realized a new song now represents my life’s standpoint more accurate than Land Called Far Away and it’s everyday by Jeremy Zucker from his stripped EP.

As I age, I gather that life can be a bitch and by being so I eventually became less hopeful and idealistic. I felt defeated in general. I’ve reached certain point in life where people think I should be proud of but I ended up feeding the hole inside me.

I was living, I earn money to pay bills, to buy what I want, but I was still a hot mess.

And then everyday gave me hope.

It answers my unspoken questions and questions my unspoken answers.

‘If love is the answer, what is the question?’ that line is one of the most highlighted lines from the song. And I agree, what’s the question? I’ve seen memes saying if you don’t know the answer to a question, just put love because loving can never go wrong but what’s the question?

The song lulls me and somehow affirms where I am right now. It gives me hope and tells me that everything is fine.

It open my eyes; that despite being flawed there are things that I deserve and I am worthy.

Life’s a choice we make.

This slump is temporary no matter how permanent it feels like. I know that I can alter this and can do more if I wanted to because I always have a say in my life.

It tells me that I am not lost. That despite my struggles in finding my way and failing at finding where I am supposed to be- I’m not really lost.

It tells me not to fell dejected when the things in front of me are not the things that I am hoping for. I just need to carry on, keep my head up, and continue moving because I will definitely be where I am supposed to be.

I’ll see brighter days.

I’ve written in my previous blog post that I will be taking the Project 333 this year and here it is.

I decided to take on the Project 333 since purging clothes was not enough for me. I started purging using Konmari Method last year and it really help me and then I ended up wanting more. More of less.

If my goal last year is to lessen my belongings and have an empty corner, my goal this year is to let go of anything that I no longer use. Last year while using Konmari Method I was able to identify the things that spark joy and then I realized that some of the things that spark joy wasn’t even that useful, yes they give me joy but I rarely use them.

So this year I will be more strict and will only leave the things that I really use and at the same time sparks joy to me.

RULES:
All clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear, and shoes count towards your number. Exceptions include wedding rings, underwear, sleepwear, in-home loungewear, and workout clothing. 

HOW I STARTED

I decided to use the invisible box method while doing this. When I purged my stack of clothing I went on and dump all the excess stuff inside a cardboard box. Choosing only 33 pieces of clothing is super hard for me because I really am a fashionista wannabe. I enjoy dressing up even though I always end up with my comfy clothes. I even had to let go, or at least put them inside the box, some of my beloved clothing pieces that I am really fond of because I don’t think I’ll be able to use them that frequent, hence the decision to forego them.

THE PROCESS

Actually the process was easier than starting this whole challenge. I think it’s the fact that my chosen pieces were my comfy and go-to outfits so I am most comfortable with them. Most of my 33 pieces of clothing are in monochrome spectrum and I have 3 hoodies that I really enjoy, and the slacks were super helpful too.

When I started this challenge I was just about to return to work after 2 weeks of me being sick which required me to wear long sleeves tops for the following weeks and I survived it.

RESULT

To be honest I only have pros as end results for this.

It actually made getting really a lot easier for me. Looking back, I always spend more than half an hour to choose what to wear every single time but now I can say that having limited pieces of clothing is not a limit at all. Second, the amount of my laundry decreased and I am not complaining although I have to do my laundry every week since I will definitely run out of clothes to wear if I let them stay in the bin that long.

TIPS

1. In choosing the 33 pieces make sure that it is something you are comfortable and that you really use them frequently.

2. Make sure that you have at least one kind of item that can be used in different occasions.

3. Plain pieces will always be a safe choice and it’s great for mixing your clothes.

4. Add a simple accessories that will hype you up.

In conclusion, I think this is something you need to try to further your learnings and experiences.

To help you start the decade strong and keep the minimalism ideology with you throughout 2020, I listed some of the things you can practice this year that I might dive in as well.

PROJECT 333

This is all about having limited number of clothes for a certain period of time. In this you have to use a total number of 33 pieces of clothing for 3 months. You need to choose a total of 33 items, including your accessories, that you will use but undergarments is not included in your 33 items. The goal of this challenge is to make you see that you only need few things to survive a long period of time. I will take this challenge so stay tuned for updates.

INVISIBLE BOX

After purging you’ll have some items that you’re not sure if it’s still useful or should be thrown out so to help you solve the problem get a box designated for that kind of item. After done pilling those item together, put them in a box and keep it away for the next 3 months. If, after 3 months, you didn’t have the need to use any of the items inside the box then you can now let go of the box all at once. If you didn’t need it in the last 3 months then probably you wouldn’t be using it in the next couple of months or so.

CLEAR CACHE

Clean your phone for unused apps. Open your email address and unsubscribe to unuseful subscription lists and clean your email. I am guilty of letting my email drowns with many subscription emails that is usually sent to me on a daily basis.

Cut loose of all your social media platform subscription especially those shopping sites! After cleaning your inbox it will be much easier for you to maintain the cleanliness of your email if you will be deleting messages weekly or regularly.

DETOX

Social media detox schedule. Read or etc.

Take a step back from social media world and breathe in the life around you. Allow yourself to drop toxic friendships and relationships and just enjoy the real life. You can schedule a specific time of the day for you to be able to tend your social media tasks or be strict and limit yourself with certain amount of time.

We’ve seen people cutting off their toxic relationships for their own sake and I think that is one of the biggest sign of moving forward.

In this post I would like to ask my friends to cut me off if they think I no longer make them better.

We are aging and part of aging means growing up. We have to grow up and sometimes it also means leaving the people around us because we have to grow separately.

Really, cut me off. I won’t mind.

If I no longer make you feel better, if I no longer inspires you, if I no longer make you do the things you love, then by all means walk away from me.

Remember that I can only be an effective comfort zone for a certain period of time, and if I no longer have the power to make you have that push or reach that goal then what’s the reason of me staying?

If walking away means growth and giving you a better chance in life then I am running away.

If I am a true friend, which I want to think I am, then it only means that I want the best for you and being a hindrance to your growth is something I cannot let myself become.

They say tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.

And if someone asks me that question I want to give them your name.

I want them to know that my friends are strong enough to know what they want and deserve. I want them to know that my friends won’t settle for less. And I want you to be just like that and more.

Why is it easy for me to let go of my friends, you ask?

Well sometimes cutting of friends is not enough. Sometimes realizing that you no longer contributes to one’s success speaks more than you cutting them off.

I think cutting off people is a sign of moving forward but realizing that you have to run away because you are no longer bettering someone is a sign of maturity.

It doesn’t matter who cuts your friendship first, what matters is that at the end of the day you will both grow. Unfortunately, separately, but growth nonetheless.

The only path I want you to see you go is towards success, and I believe that’s where we both want to end up so don’t worry, we’ll meet again. Running away doesn’t mean we can no longer be friends, it only means that we are letting ourselves grow the way we have to with the people who can better us.

Just always remember that even though I’m not there for you, I’ll always support you and I will always root for you. Doesn’t matter how, just know that I am rooting for you.

Just because we no longer better each other means that we have to invalidate our previous growth and it doesn’t mean we have to separate in a negative manner. I want to treat this as if one of us is about to go somewhere in year 1980. We won’t be able to communicate that much but upon meeting we’ll meet and click just like the old time.

I’m running away if it means grow not just for me but for you as well, I hope you are running towards success too. See you at the finish line…or maybe at the 2^nd or 3^rd lapse? Basta, we’ll see each other again.

Let me be a better person so I can be a better friend for you.