“It’s not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. What’s hard, she said, is figuring out what you’re willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about.” Shauna Niequist
From the minute I read this line in one of Shauna’s books, it stuck with me. As I get older, I realize how important it is to prioritize, to be intentional with my time.
It’s okay to say No, to not do things just because someone else does them. They are living a completely different life than you. Say No and feel okay with it!
Here are some things I don’t do:
- I don’t wash my hair everyday. It’s curly, which means it doesn’t get oily, therefore I can go about 2-3 days without washing it and it still look okay. This saves me at least 20-30 minutes some days. Plus I’m good with a ponytail.
- I don’t deep clean until things are noticeably dirty. Other than sweeping the kitchen and keeping the sinks/toilets clean, the gap between deep cleanings is large.
- I don’t comment about public events on social media. I’m passionate, but I’m not one to air out all my thoughts on the internet.
- I don’t purchase gift bags for every present I give. The bag you open is usually recycled from a past birthday or Christmas. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you!
- I don’t go to everything I’m invited to. Sometimes it’s because we’re tired or busy, other times it’s because I simply don’t want to. #honestytime
- I don’t iron. Ever. I hold shirts and dresses up to my sister and ask “Would I have to iron this?” If the answer is yes, the shirt goes back on the rack.
- I don’t Snapchat. I don’t check-in when I arrive somewhere. I don’t play trendy iPhone games. It’s just not me. But no judgment.
- I don’t wash my jeans until I’ve worn them for about a week. I don’t even wash workout clothes after each use. Especially if it’s yoga or a walk, I’m re-wearing that tank top and sports bra again.
- I don’t watch live tv. We have an antenna, and we watch television via Netflix and Amazon Prime when we want to watch.
- I don’t balance my checkbook.
- I don’t drink soda. Never have, probably never will. Carbonation is not for me.
- I don’t do yard work. That may change if we ever get a garden or flowers that I enjoy, but I’m happy keeping the inside of our home happy and clean. J handles the outside.
- I don’t leave the house without a watch. I usually only take it off to shower, and feel disconnected without one.
- I don’t go out after 9pm. At a certain point in the evening, I’m not leaving the house. I’ll stay out late if I’m already out, but besides that, you can find me at home.
A handful of Nos which lead to some sweet Yeses:
Quality time with my husband. Hosting friends and family. A more generous life. Set aside time for reading, prayer, writing, or creating. Making our home a warm and peaceful place. Laughter and grace when things don’t pan out perfectly. Letter writing to friends. Focus on people instead of objects. Margin for rest. Daily exercise.
I randomly clicked over to your blog and I’m so glad that I did. This is a beautiful post. I don’t even have an iron, so if it has to be ironed, I’m not going to buy it. I also like your idea of wearing things a few times before washing them – I’m going to give that a try. Letting go of things like this, things that don’t really matter, makes more space and time for things that do. I recently got rid of a lot of stuff and I realized how much time I save by not having to clean up/take care of it all. My husband and I used to live in a tiny, cluttered apartment. Things didn’t really have places so I found myself just moving everything around, endlessly cleaning up and never feeling like our apartment looked calm. There is a beautiful quote that I always come back to. It says “guard your time fiercely. Be generous with it, but be intentional about it.” I love this post!
Totally with you on the not washing clothes after wearing them once and going out after 9pm. That’s bed time!
I wish I didn’t have to wash my hair so much, it does waste a lot of time!
I’m the same way with cleaning-what’s the point if it’s not noticeably dirty??
Haha, it’s almost a home-life motto for me, Chelsea. ;)
My husband laughs at me because he knows days I’m not planning to shower because I get out of bed and go get my book. More reading time = not washing my hair, going ponytail, haha.
I’m so glad you found your way here, Carolann! I love that quote you shared, I might even have to doodle it on something. :) Thanks for commenting!
Yeah, I’m with you on almost all of these (although not on the soda one…yet. I’ve been trying to wean myself off of it finally, but it’s putting up a beast of a fight). And I think fewer and fewer people actually do watch live t.v.–I was reading a stat the other day that said that over 50% of American households with televisions used Netflix or some similar subscription channel rather than using cable or watching live t.v. It’s becoming a thing of the past! (And a life without commercials? Heck yes!)