Alright, it’s time to talk about organization items you need now. Is it just me or is winter dragging on and on? I know it’s only the middle of March, but I’m already looking forward to the promises of spring. The sun is starting to peek out a bit longer and the days are getting warmer. For reference, I currently live in Norway, although I’m no stranger to cold weather being from Pennsylvania.
This time of year also has me thinking about spring cleaning and setting a clean slate for the upcoming sunny and warm months. Last year I focused on organizing my bathroom and closet.
Here I will provide you with 10 suggestions for spring cleaning and organizing all parts of your life.
Home – Organization Items You Need
Microfiber cleaning cloths – great for an envrionmentally friendly option to reuse
2. Scrub brush set – Have every size and type of brush you need to get your home sparkling clean!
3. Vacuum cleaner – According to Good Housekeeping, this is the best upright vacuum clearner for 2022. But you can check out their article for other recommendations.
Car – Organization Items You Need
4. Cleaning putty – This nifty putty gets in all those small crevices to clean your car
5. Handheld vacuum – This is awesome for when you’re on the go and don’t have time to stop at a car wash.
6. Car trunk organizer – Start the spring and summer off right by organizing all those loose items in your car!
Office – Organization Items You Need
7. Plastic storage bins – Keep these around to organize your cleaning and office supplies
8. Compressed air duster – Keep the keyboard clear of crumbs and debris
9. Lysol wipes – Use these to wipe down tables and items that frequently get used
10. 5 Drawer storage – A great all-purpose storage unit that can be moved to wherever you need it
For all of my life, my mindset approaching money has been from a lack mindset. Learning how to invest was never a priority. The common phrases I am used to are:
“We can’t afford that.”
“It’s too expensive.”
“Don’t waste your money.”
“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
Yet, at the same time charging things on credit cards was completely normal. Especially to have experiences. And for that, I am extremely grateful. I had the opportunity to do some amazing things in my childhood that instilled a love of travel in me even now.
But…
The decision to go to college and take out student loans is a huge part of my existence now even if I try to pretend they’re not there. I won’t be truly debt free until they are gone.
I wish I would have learned about investing sooner. I remember in 7th grade, we played a stock market game that was really fun. However, much of what I heard about it was that it was risky. And it’s for the wealthy people.
With the invention of YouTube, TikTok, SkillShare, and Coursera, just to name a few, there are more places than ever to teach yourself what you want to know.
And now, I want to know how to invest. I keep hearing about crypocurrencies, NFT’s, and just general bull and bear stock stuff. And I want to be able to understand it and make smart decisions that could set me up for a successful financial future.
A few months ago, I joined Motley Fool. While they send out way too many emails trying to get you to buy other products, I find much of the information useful in learning how to invest.
The reality is that it’s not a get rich quick scheme. It takes patience and long-term commitment to riding out the ups and downs of the market overall.
So, what have I been doing?
For the last year, I’ve been taking the stock recommendations from Motley Fool and other sources to build my portfolio. I follow money Tik Toker’s and YouTuber’s who share practical advice and tips for beginners.
I am building my portfolio by using Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA). Some of my stocks I bought at high prices at the beginning of 2021. Ever since, I have been investing $10-$25 per stock as the prices fluctuate. Hopefully, in the long term this will result in gains as my central price point takes into account the highs and lows.
Now, I still have so much to learn. And I’m eager to keep learning more about investing so that I can travel the world and work from anywhere. This is just one stream of passive income out of many that I plan to develop.
Subscribe to follow my journey and I’ll be sure to share any tips I learn along the way!
We live in an ever more connected global society. This means learning a new language is a huge asset. Learning a new skill is a great way to keep our minds sharp and utilize our time effectively.
I learned Spanish in school and then had the fortune to speak it regularly while I was in college. However, my skills have faded over the last several years and I really need to freshen up. Currently, I live in Norway and I’m learning Norwegian while I’m here.
Before I moved here, one resource a friend shared with me was Conversation Exchange. She has been using it for years to practice Italian while living in the United States. Her family is from Italy, and she dreams of living there someday.
Another resource I considered was Babbel. The really cool thing is that they have an app learning tool as well as live instruction. The prices for the app subscription are below. Ultimately, I did not want to pay this much, but they have amazing 5-star reviews. I’m really interested in the live instruction piece and might actually apply to be a freelance English teacher.
Another possible site to help you learn the language is italki. There are several ways to engage with this program. You can choose to have 1 on 1 lessons, participate in the free conversation community, prepare for exams, or help you grow your business skills.
If you’re interested in learning Spanish, then check out Spanish Synergy!
My Programs of Choice
I downloaded Duolingo to help me learn Norwegian faster at my own pace. The owl has become quite the TikTok sensation, so I decided to also keep practicing my Spanish.
Currently, I have the annual plan for Duolingo Plus. It works well for me because I don’t have to watch the ads. I can also fit learning in on the train or bus when I’m traveling. I am on an 80-day streak of learning right now! In that time, I’ve mastered about 40% of the Norwegian course.
Other ways to explore learning a language online are to seek out local language or literacy centers or to contact universities or schools for programs.
If you’re looking for more resources, why not check out your local library? Libraries are great places to find reading and audio materials to support your language learning journey. In fact, a homeschool group of students did their own research and shared this resource from Library Science with me that discusses all the ways Libraries can be used as Language Learning Centers. Check it out here!
There really is something with the power of 22. I am writing this on February 22, 2022 (02-22-2022). This is an especially powerful date because it is a mirror number. What you send out into the universe is sent back to you. I truly believe this is an opportunity to manifest, reflect, and create the life that you want.
How powerful is the number 22?
22 has always had a special meaning for me because it is my birthday. Whenever I see the number 22, I get a feeling that all is well. And I feel fortunate because this is one of the most powerful numbers.
This number is associated with achieving your greatest aspirations. So don’t shy away when you see it. Embrace it and use it.
I decided to write down 22 affirmations for the day. I encourage you to do the same.
If you haven’t added legal pages to your blog, this is your sign to consider adding them today. I started my blog in February 2021 with no experience and no guidance. I found all of my resources through free sources on YouTube or just Google searching for things I needed to know.
Going into 2022, I’m ready to buckle down and figure out how to make this a business that makes money. Little did I know that not having legal pages was something that had the potential to ruin my new business before it even started.
Back on Track
But now, I’m on track by purchasing The Legal Bundle from Amiri at A Self Guru. The bundle contained a template for the privacy policy, disclaimer, and terms and conditions.
Why Should You Add Legal Pages to a Blog?
Reason 1: Protection
Well, the first and biggest reason is that it protects you from potential lawsuits. By letting people know that you are simply sharing information or that you are an affiliate, it creates transparency about what you do as a blogger.
The internet is a wonderful place to find information and connect with others. Unfortunately, it’s also a place where lawsuits can be filed.
You may have heard about the legal issues surrounding bloggers and the law. Whether you’re just starting out or have been blogging for years, you need to know how to avoid getting sued.
One of the best ways to protect yourself is by adding legal pages (affiliate link) to your blog’s website. This way, if someone goes after you for any reason, they will see that you’re serious about protecting yourself legally.
Reason 2: Law
Secondly, privacy pages are required by law in many countries around the world. So if you are planning to turn this blog into a business, then you need to add that in. You can create a page for each of the important legal pages and link to them in a toolbar, header, or footer.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to inform your users about what information you collect and how you use it. You should also inform them about the cookies or other tracking technologies that are used on your website. This way, your visitors know what information about them may be collected and how it will be used.
Reason 3: Trust
And third, having legal pages creates a sense of trust for your readers. You know that feeling when you’re on a blog or website and you see a page titled “About,” “Legal,” or “Privacy Policy?” It’s a good feeling. You trust the site more because you know that they care about their users.
It means that you take what you do seriously and so should they. And of course, I want that! This might have started as a hobby blog or a way for me to express thoughts. But, I now wish to utilize this platform to continue sharing knowledge with others.
Create that feeling
You can create the same feeling for your users by adding legal pages to your blog. Not only will it make your blog feel more professional, but it will also help protect you from liability if anyone ever sues you.
When you decide to add legal pages to your blog, you could spend hours, days, or weeks, researching free opportunities online and creating your own. But then, you run the risk of leaving out important details or overlooking something because you don’t have the expertise.
Not to mention all of the time wasted that could have been spent developing posts or adding affiliate links to make money on your blog.
Or, you could spend thousands of dollars hiring a lawyer or expert to write everything for you. Personally, I don’t have thousands of dollars lying around right now to spend on this purpose. I will though someday!
Recommendation
I decided that I wanted to go with a trusted source, someone who is a blogger and a lawyer. So I purchased the legal bundle from Amiri at A Self Guru. And now, as I think about incorporating my blog into a business, I’ll likely purchase the LLC template next.
The price was fair and reasonable, and I look forward now to figuring out how to start managing my business expenses in 2022. So what are you waiting for? Add legal pages to your blog now!
You need to value your time like currency. I don’t believe we all have the same number of hours in a day. Everyone has different life circumstances and competing demands on their time.
One Harvard research professor, Dr. Ashley Whillans, noted that the majority of Americans feel “time poor“, where they don’t have enough time to complete all responsibilities.
Recently, I was talking to a friend who turned down a job offer, even though the pay was slightly higher. Why? Well, her current role allows for so much flexibility in working hours, that any small pay increase wasn’t worth compromising that flexibility. And what does time allow her to do? She can adjust her schedule around her daughter’s needs for school and homework. She can take a break in the middle of the day to go to the gym.
So what exactly is time affluence, anyway? I first learned about this term a couple of summers ago when I took a free course online through Coursera: The Science of Well-Being. Professor Laurie Santos explains that we often pair the term affluence with money or wealth, but time is just as valuable. The reason she discusses this is to open our eyes to whether we should be focusing more on valuing time over money to increase happiness.
I highly recommend taking this course (if you have the time) and learning more about how you can become happier and value your time. With more time, we can spend more time with the people we care about, travel or focus on hobbies, and generally have fun and enjoy life.
How do I view my time?
Personally, it’s hard to always prioritize my time when the stress of bills piles on. So, I think people who have the luxury of choosing time over money all the time are in a different category. While we all have control over our schedules, sometimes survival mode kicks in and you have to do what you have to do to make the money.
I think some of my issues around time and money stem from limiting beliefs. Several months back, I wrote about the debate in my time of whether I should get a full-time job or keep pushing on my blog endeavors, which isn’t an immediate money maker. I REALLY want this to be a successful journey, but sometimes negative thoughts creep in and I doubt myself.
My main focus now is thinking of my time like currency. And currency can buy wants, necessities, and leisure. So I hope I can focus on ways to generate passive income, work from home, and free up as much time as possible to do the things in life that I enjoy! So maybe this is your sign to value your time like currency as well!
Revenge bedtime procrastination is a real thing. Lately, I’ve been putting off going to bed for as long as possible. I’m not always tired, but I know I should sleep because I function best with at least 8 hours. However, I read or watch Netflix and convince myself I need the downtime because my brain is always working overtime.
In the modern world, many people are impacted by the consequences of revenge bedtime procrastination. There are several reasons why people procrastinate at night. That is the time when they have time themselves, with the devices and their favorite snacks. Lots of TV shows, YouTube channels, etc. require our attention at that time – it won’t be easy to focus on school or work. It can be really hard to concentrate on what we need to do, especially due to these constant distractions.
For me, even when I try to go to sleep, my brain won’t shut off and I end up getting up to put something away or check an email that I planned to respond to the next day, but couldn’t get off my mind.
And then the next day, I take a nap. So, the whole cycle continues to repeat itself.
Now I don’t know if this is a combination of being in a dark climate at the moment since I moved to Norway in October. Or, if it’s all the traveling I am doing that’s messing up my rhythm. Or, probably a combination of both. Or, it’s just that there is so much I want to accomplish and not enough hours to get it all done.
I wish I could function on less sleep because there is so much I want to do every day. It would be awesome to be one of those people that only need 4 hours of sleep, but most successful people actually do value quality sleep. And sleep is healing and rejuvenating.
So what exactly is revenge bedtime procrastination?
I decided to look up what the definition is of this and came across several different responses.
The Sleep Foundation defines it as choosing to engage in leisure activities rather than sleep. One of the behaviors associated with this is not having a valid reason to stay up. The article goes on to discuss some of the psychological factors behind this phenomenon and the emerging research about it.
Another explanation of revenge sleep procrastination is staying up to get time for yourself after a busy day. Essentially, it’s getting revenge on the day and that is where the term comes from.
Personal reflection
So while I sometimes procrastinate going to bed, I’m not sure I am doing it for revenge. I think my issues stem from the constant movement and travel throwing off any semblance of a routine.
However, it is important for me to be mindful of how this procrastination at bedtime is actually harming my self-care goals.
What am I going to do?
I plan to start my evening wind-down time a bit earlier. Another thing I can do is limit my device or screen time before I go to bed.
In addition to some evening strategies, I would like to keep a journal by my bedside to document how I feel when I wake up each day. My word for 2022 is intentionality. As I reflect on the person I am and the person I’m becoming, every part of my life, including my sleep procrastination, must be intentional. And if it’s not matching my personal vision statement, then I alone have the power to change it.
Let’s do a digital decluttering! We often hear about the importance of decluttering our physical environment. But with the amount of time we spend online these days, the digital environment is just as important.
Decluttering has many benefits, such as increased focus, a better lifestyle, and even a higher view of one’s self. I know when my physical environment is clear, I feel more at peace. This is often why I have to clean off my desk or table before even beginning to work.
Think of the digital spaces as online and offline. So, starting with the desktop offline – Do you have documents saved on every inch of your desktop? Start by making folders and dragging relevant files into the folders. Then, you can group the folders or color-code them. I created a background on Canva that helps me group my folders.
Go through your applications folder
You can either manually remove files and applications you no longer need or utilize a service. Personally, I subscribe to Avast Premium, which declutters the files on my computer and recognizes which ones are taking up a lot of space.
Move to your online space
Email!
When you move to the online portion of your digital decluttering, make sure to spend some time on email. Some initial steps would be to archive all of your current messages. I wholeheartedly believe in inbox zero to the best extent possible. Unsubscribe from everything you don’t need.
Group tabs
Are you guilty of having a million tabs open on your desktop? Utilize resources to make it fewer tabs. One tip is to utilize a chrome extension called session buddy. Another option is to use the grouping feature in the Google Chrome browser.
Online/Offline
Another way I like to complete digital decluttering and organize is by creating multiple desktops. On a Macbook or PC, it is easy to separate your tasks into different desktops.
Moral of the story: as with your home, car, or office, keeping an organized digital space is an essential part of maintaining a productive groove.
How can I know what to achieve if I don’t set blog goals?
First of all, if you started following along since the beginning of this blogventure or joined at any point along the way, many thanks and appreciation to you. I wrote my first post in February 2021 and I published 100 posts by January 1st, 2022. Thanks to my friend for guest writing Dear 2022 and my last push to get out 5 things to focus on for the new year:
The year was full of learning curves as well as inspiration striking at strange times. Through all my research I know I am supposed to “niche down”, but I am still writing posts that are a bit all over the place. Right now I have 25 posts in draft mode with random ideas I have had about topics I’m interested in writing about. So far, my strategy works well, albeit a bit inconsistent (even though I wrote about how consistency is important).
So what’s next for me in blog goals?
The first thing I need to define is my goals. What are my top blog goals for year 2?
Continue to share content and write about the things that interest me
Grow my blog to 10,000 monthly page views by learning marketing strategies and search engine optimization (SEO).
Start earning money so that I can turn this into a full-time gig at some point in the next few years
Before I get too far into new content (which I will definitely keep putting out there), I need to go back through old posts. This is important to do because I have added many new posts that could be linked to older topics. Internal linking is something that is helpful for SEO.
I also plan to take an SEO course, either a free one I can find or pay for one that is highly recommended in the blogging community.
One of the tools I’ve been using for marketing is Tailwind App. I will continue to utilize this tool to create pins on Pinterest and easy to use visuals to share.
I think one opportunity to grow the blog that I need to utilize a bit more is the power of LinkedIn. As someone who enjoys talking about productivity and time management, I believe there is a strong market of people who may be interested in what I’m writing.
Affiliate Marketing
One of the easiest ways to earn money on blogs besides advertisements is through affiliate marketing. I already joined the Amazon affiliate program and regularly suggest products I like.
Because I also have a growing following on Tik Tok, I am eligible to apply for other affiliate programs. Recently, I applied for my favorite iPad accessory, the PaperLike screen protector. Anyone can join, but if you have 5000 followers or more, you can request a free item to try.
Another lesson I learned was to add legal pages to my blog. I didn’t realize initially that I needed them, but if I’m going to continue to grow this as a business then it’s a must-have. So if you are in need of some as well, I recommend the Legal Bundle from A Self Guru. And now, I’m part of the affiliate program for them as well.
Final Thoughts for Today
There is so much to learn about blogging and I’m ready to tackle the next steps and reach these blog goals! You might see some changes in design or advertisements and upgrades to some old posts. Thanks again for reading and the support!
This is part 5 in a 5 part series of posts to start the new year (building healthy relationships). The first four parts were time management, self-love, learning a new skill, and expressing gratitude. And the 5th part (I’m not going to say final because I’m sure I will be doing a lot of reflection in the coming weeks on what I want this year to focus on) is building healthy relationships.
If you know me in real life, then you know that I am a collector of friends. I’ve moved around a lot in my adult life and as a social person, I like to make friends everywhere I go. But, the hardest part for me has always been losing touch with people I once spent a lot of time with. It took me the better part of a decade to realize that that’s normal. That’s life and it doesn’t mean that people in your past don’t care about you or you don’t care about them, but priorities have shifted.
I also learned that it’s okay to let people go when it’s not best for either of you. Whether it’s a friendship or relationship, it can be difficult to accept that it’s best to part ways. So the key is building healthy relationships.
Why is it important to build healthy relationships?
People who have close friends enjoy greater satisfaction in life. And that number varies between 3 to 5 close friends. Also, the CDC recognizes loneliness as a contributor to premature death and a higher risk of dementia.
Personally, here are some steps I am going to take moving forward in 2022:
Continue to improve upon myself and work on the self-love that’s necessary to build healthy relationships with others. Building my confidence inside and out has been the work of 2021 and it will continue in this coming year.
Show gratitude and appreciation for the very important people in my life who have always been there for me. I often write it down in my reflection journal, but I don’t always speak it directly to the person. And it really makes other people feel good to hear that you appreciate having them in your life.
Be more mindful as I meet new people on how quickly I let them into my life. I have tended to befriend people right away, but I can be friendly without making them my best friend. This is part of building healthy relationships and taking your time to get to know someone.
Let people go or limit interaction with negativity. Some negativity is normal, because we can’t always be happy and positive all the time. But, constant negativity is an energy I don’t want moving into 2022. And that means I need to work on my own attitude and notice if it slips in too much.
Communicate and re-evaluate. I don’t want to feel stuck or like I can’t make a change. And live by this quote:
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.
Tracy Dee Tips 