The Spark Notes
Good Morning and Happy Labor Day Weekend! Wow, it’s been a while since my last blog post – between school, working full time and driving LA Ahern, it’s been tough to find the time to even catch up with friends!
BUT GUESS WHAT! School is essentially over, I finished all of my classes up with a near perfect GPA - special thanks to Kevin (my boyfriend) for the endless support: together we had late night papers, early morning coffees and loads of sassiness on my end. I take an exam on November 12th which essentially determines if I learned enough about HR to be awarded my masters – so everyone say “good luck LA!” Then, I walk the stage for commencement next May since I finished up early – you’ll of course see some photos on social! Now, I know that I said I’d post pictures of my new apartment, but let’s just say it’s not as Pinterest worthy as I had hoped with living in a tiny studio with an abundance of clothes, purses, shoes, the list goes on….so let’s just say it looks very….”lived in.” So how about….when I eventually move into a house, I’ll post some pics for you then ;)
Okay so, I’ve never been much of a reader…..and by that I mean, I’ve finished one book in my entire life front to back. I was always more of a spark notes skimmer growing up (if you’re an English teacher of mine at any point in my life reading this, I truly am so sorry). So, rewind to about a week ago when I was walking the aisles of the Sea Isle Public Library while working from home since the wifi was down at the shore house. All of a sudden, a hot pink (of course) book stood out to me. So, I picked it up and needed it immediately. I actually proceeded to check out four books from the library (all of which are hot pink). So, I started the book, Grace not Perfection by Emily Ley, last week and boy has it helped me out. If you’re a woman in your twenties and up and you haven’t read it, I cannot recommend it more! To help you out though, if you’re more of a spark notes skimmer like me, I made notes on my key takeaways to free up space in my life for more time doing the things that I love with the people that I love.
1. On Sundays walk around the entire house with a hamper and anything that looks out of place, throw it in that hamper. Then, take the hamper to the living room empty it and do a pile for each room, throw the items in the pile then take them to that room.
2. Meal prep if you’re younger and on your own or have just your significant other. If you have a whole family to feed, plan out your dinners for the week on a calendar placed on your fridge. This way it frees up all of that space in your brain of “what am I going to cook or have to eat later?”
3. Make a scrapbook with your significant other to look at and share some smiles at any time.
4. Have a basket at common drop offs in your house so that at least when it’s chaotic, it looks a bit more organized.
5. Keep all shoes that are worn often in baskets at the door (especially if you have little ones!)
6. If you’re having a dinner party, all you truly need to impress is a cute charcuterie board – use a wooden board, cut off a few pieces of about four cheeses, knives at angles then a few extras in small dishes for things like honey, olives, nuts, or jams.
7. If you’re spending a lot of time deep cleaning – consider outsourcing it if you can afford it. Time is money and it will alleviate more stress from your life than you can imagine!
8. Try out grocery delivery – send your list and have them deliver it to your house.
9. OK SO THIS ONE IS A MUST AND IT’S CHANGED MY LIFE! UNSUBSCRIBE, UNSCUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE. Download Unroll.me and go through, decide which subscriptions you want to keep, unsubscribe, or roll up. I woke up this morning and my inbox was glorious! Only emails that I cared about.
10. Now lastly, if you don’t have one already – buy a planner, mine is my holy grail it has everything in it for me to stay on track. My social events, to do lists, appointments. Honestly, I’m not sure what I would do without it.
I have a newfound love for self-help books after this read, so certainly stay tuned for some more tips and tricks that I learn! Surprisingly, I also have a newfound love for golf, which is where I’m headed now. WHO AM I? So, talk to you guys soon!
Xoxo,
LA