I know many people wish 2020 would be over already, and while I’ll admit, it certainly isn’t my favorite of years―I’m still trying to stay mindful of my days and make the most of them. This year and all that is happening will go down in history books, and one day, we’ll be on the other side of it, looking back at how we handled everything coming our way.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I want to look back on this time and see how I grew to be a better person.
While it’s hard for me to see all the lessons I’m learning amid a situation, I know that I’ll see them more clearly one day.
A Lesson Learned in Quarantine
One lesson I can already see I’ve learned during this season of quarantine is that I’ve been a bit more wasteful than I should have been. By that, I mean that I tend to prioritize convenience in my life instead of resourcefulness. Because of that mindset, I find that I waste more than I should, whether it’s food, money, or material objects, for convenience’s sake.
For example, we have food in the fridge, but I don’t feel like cooking, so we spend money going out to eat. Or, instead of saving leftovers, I dump them. Or, instead of wearing what’s already in my closet, I shop for something new because I want something fresh.
Ten years ago, when I first left my full-time nursing job, our income was cut in half, so I had to be more resourceful to make the dollar stretch. However, over the years, as we’ve built our income back up, I’ve been blessed to be in a position to spend more money in order to save myself the time it takes to be resourceful and do things on my own or even make do with what I already have.
However, during our time of quarantine (mid-March through early May here in East Tennessee), I had plenty of time to think about how quickly our lives can change and to see in a first-hand sort of way that nothing in life is for certain or even lasts long-term.
That time away from all the usual to-dos of my life allowed me to really focus on what was a priority in my life, and in turn, helped me to see that instead of having a mindset of convenience, I should be continuing to focus on being resourceful. I mean, you never know when you’re going to need the resources you’ve saved!
Moving Towards Minimalism
Since this realization, I’ve been doing some of the following things to be a bit more minimal in my life.
- I’ve reprioritized a lot of things in my business, focusing on what is most important and what makes me happy over trying to do everything! This means I’ll be trying to create content that I enjoy making, and this content will be used in a variety of ways instead of creating new content for all the different ways I communicate with people (newsletter, blog, social).
- I’ve simplified our homeschool lessons a bit further and have tried to be a bit more involved in the boy’s independent school lessons. I’ve also tried to find ways to do more of our subjects together as a group to make things easier. I’ve also been trying to reuse books we have it keep from buying new ones. I already try to buy books used when possible, but I’d like to start using our libraries more.
- I’ve also been meal planning and cooking from home more. This means we’re eating out less, which is beneficial to our wallet and my derrière! We’re also eating leftovers or freezing them to use in later meals. I’ve been trying out batch cooking to simplify breakfasts, and that is working SO well!
- I haven’t been buying new clothes that aren’t needed―in stores or online. If I go shopping, I’m looking for used or secondhand clothes first and shopping sales instead of heading straight to what’s in season. I should also say that, for the most part, all of the above goes for household decor and projects as well.
- Lastly, I’ve also cut bills and subscriptions that aren’t really necessary. Oh, my word! Do these sneak up on you!
So these are just some areas I’m trying to be more resourceful in and waste less.
If you have any tips or suggestions or know of any great YouTube channels or Podcasts that can help in this area, I’d love it if you shared them with me!!
Again, while 2020 probably isn’t anyone’s favorite year―I am grateful for the time it brought me to slow down, evaluate some things in my life, and begin making some changes for the better.