Letting Go Of The Past – TLM Life Week 3
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Happy Independence Day! I hope you are planning some fantastic fun this weekend. We are planning to do some grilling and set off a few fireworks ourselves with some friends. Whatever you plan to do I hope you are safe and make some amazing memories.
This week seems to be a week of “letting go” for me. I’m pushing down my inner Elsa right now, even as I type.
Letting Go During My 21 Day Fix
As many of you know I’m learning the 21 Day fix eating method (Beachbody’s The Portion Fix – Portion Control Containers with Guide
) which is forcing me to let go of some bad habits that I used to have.
- Bad Habit #1- Not appreciating solid weight loss numbers- I’ve been doing this for just over a week and I’ve lost 3 pounds. As a person who has done fad diets in the past, a 3 pound loss seems low to me but is in fact right around the healthy mark for loosing weight. I have to let go of the idea that loosing 5 pounds per week is sustainable weight loss and love my 3 pounds gone.
- Bad Habit #2- Not Making Healthy choices- Prior to starting this change, I wasn’t really focused on making healthy choices and making sure I was getting a balance of fruits, veggies, protein, carbs and fat. Now I feel like I am and it’s not hard to figure out with my little cup system. I did end up having to make my own printable system because the one from their website just wasn’t working for me. I streamlined my container tracking system and now I’m feeling more confident about the next 2 weeks.
- Bad Habit #3- Emotional Eating- I’m starting to let go of emotional eating and I didn’t even realize it at first. I’ve been an emotional eater since I was 14. It’s an automatic response to stress in my life. For the past week I’ve rarely been hungry so it’s hasn’t been my knee jerk reaction. Hopefully by day 21 this is a new habit for my real everyday life!
- Bad Habit #4- Skipping the gym. I know how important working out is for my mental and physical health. I haven’t missed a day of exercise since beginning this journey. Previously I would have skipped if I didn’t feel like going. There were days I didn’t feel like going but I showed up anyway. I go to the YMCA and they have childcare. I don’t have a whole lot of excuses for skipping out.
Letting Go of Sentimental Clutter
One of the toughest kinds of clutter to face head on is the sentimental kind. 3 years ago I had a bad habit of hoarding that sentimental clutter. You know what I’m talking about.
Items someone gave it to you that isn’t here anymore.
Items your sweet little baby wore, played with or was personalized.
Items from a unique experience you had that you never want to forget.
Items someone lent you to use but want back if you ever decide you don’t need them anymore.
If you’ve read my book, The Organized & Efficient House Spouse: Organization & Cleaning Strategies for Your Unique Home, Family & Personality
you know that I talk about this. Now a days it’s typically not hard for me to let go of this kind of stuff. I just do it. But when I started opening storage containers I realized that the old Kim had packed these to the brim with stuff she considered “necessity baby items”.
Do I have a baby right now? No, I have a 3 year old. Do I plan on having another baby? Yes I do. BUT, I can go right back to the thrift stores and consignment sales I went to last time and get the stuff again when I need it rather than piling it in what little storage we have. The old Kim wouldn’t have thought like that. But the new Kim does. So I proceeded to fill trash bags with baby items and queue them up to be donated or sold to Once Upon a Child (I got about $22.00 from 4-5 items). In fact, the most sentimental items I have I placed in a shadow box frame 2 years ago and it’s hanging in my home office.
Beyond just baby stuff we had tons of home decor and furniture that just needed to be donated, consigned or returned to it’s owners. I went ahead and managed the donate and consign stuff. Next weekend we are going to be looking like the Beverly Hill Billy’s taking loads of furniture and decor in the back of our pickup truck to take to family in North Carolina. All I need is a rocking chair back there that I can sit in on the drive up and it will be official.
Habits are simply learned behaviors. The best way to stop doing something you do and start doing something else is modify your action or behavior over and over again. The whole balanced healthy eating thing is definitely a new habit I’m developing. The clutter lady habits in my life are almost totally gone but it’s 3 years down the road. Change started with I started shopping less and getting rid of more- over and over again. That behavior change didn’t happen overnight. Neither will loosing 15 pounds happen overnight.
If we want to change something about ourselves, we just have to take it day by day. Not by obsessing over it, or letting it hold our thoughts captive all day. But simply by making a different choice when the time comes to choose. Over and over. Til’ it sticks.
Do you have anything you’re working on letting go of right now? I’d love to talk about it in the comments section below.
Kim Anderson is the organized chaos loving author behind the Thrifty Little Mom Blog. She helps other people who thrive in organized chaos to stress less, remember more and feel in control of their time, money, and home. Kim is the author of: Live, Save, Spend, Repeat: The Life You Want with the Money You Have. She’s been featured on Time.com, Money.com, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, and more!