Random Acts of (Self) Kindness

Since our move, there are still boxes unpacked. I sometimes think, what if I just dropped off this box at goodwill - no idea what's in there, but obviously not important enough to use or need within our first 6 months in our home? At first, it sounds freeing. Just done with it!

Then the anxiety sets in. I'm a hoarder. I hoard clothes, shoes, and makeup. Luckily I don't hoard books and mail like my husband. We're a good balance!

So now - I'm on a quest to get rid of things. A typical new year's resolution: declutter, clean, minimalism, etc. However, my resolution isn't just to get rid of junk. And let's not kid ourselves here: I will never be a minimalist. My resolution is to be kinder to myself.

You see, by holding onto junk - I'm really doing a disservice to myself.

For months, a body scrub that was half empty sat in the corner of my shower. It was pretty old, but it was a nice brand, smelled good and felt great...when I used to use it.

While that old one sat in the shower getting grosser by the day, a brand new scrub my mother gifted me more recently sat in my medicine cabinet. I never wanted to use the old one because it was gross - my hair was caught in the lid, the label was peeling off and there was dust from being on the top shelf. But I felt like it'd be a waste to dispose of it. Just another thing to add to the plastic patch. And since I had a scrub already, I didn't want to open a new one.

So in this scenario, there's no winning: - I have spent entirely too much time concerned with body scrub - During this time, my skin is not getting ANY scrub; old or new - The waste I am worried about creating already exists, just currently in my shower - The old scrub was probably expired and if I had used it, would've been bad for my skin - The new scrub is now turning into waste as it inches closer to its expiration date

After deciding how ridiculous this all is - I just threw out the old one. I haven't opened the new one yet because I found a half-empty face scrub that was not expired but too gritty for my face. So I used it as a body scrub. Then, once that was done - I threw it out!

I know throwing out two scrubs (both not completely used up, btw) is a silly accomplishment for most. Trust me - I get it. But this is just one example. I have so much makeup, sunscreen, tiny sample bottles (no more Birchbox for me) littering my bathroom.

I'm now at a point of use it or lose it. And usually, there's a great reason to lose it: Expired! Not my color! Clogged pores!

I'm putting myself first. However, I still care about the environment and don't want to be wasteful - so I'm not buying anything new to "try" for now. I'm using what I have or finding the exact products I've used or vetted (I have a few Instagrammers I trust) and only purchasing those.

A small step - but it's a big deal to me. Next step: clothes and shoes. On second thought, I'm staying at this step for a bit.