MOVING, VLOGGING AND SETTLING
Hei!
It has been a time of change and a time of getting used to new routines and to a new place.
In September we packed our bags, boxes and suitcases and traveled back closer to Dublin. To the same town we had been living most of this year and end of last year, but this time we were in a new house. I have always kind of loved moving. I get this from my mother who would like to move if not houses at least the furniture. I like getting rid of all the things you no longer need, I like simplifying my life. I still carry quite a lot of memories and bits and bobs with me, but every time I move I try to get rid of something. My favourite part of moving is the unpacking and organizing everything. Placing furniture and finding places for every book and box and knick knack.
As moving is said to be one of the most stressful events that happen in your life, it's good to balance it off with things that help with the stress. Like cleaning, organizing and doing something creative. It's important not to push yourself too much but also to stay organized for an easier move.
1. When packing, pack in categories. First by room and then by what items you are packing. For example pack kitchen items together, and by groups of where they will go. Pans and pots together and dry food separately. This will make the unpacking way much easier!
2. Pack a bag for the first few days. Make sure you have your essentials in an easy carry on kind of bag so once you've moved it's easy to find your toothbrush or clothes you'll need next day!
3. Start with cleaning! Start with the rooms that you'll need first like the kitchen and bathroom and bedroom. It'll be much easier to clean first and unpack one thing at a time. This way if you get tired you can take a break but still be able to cook dinner, take a shower or rest.
4. Do the easiest ones first. When organizing and unpacking, it'll help to start with the easiest things first. Which usually means the first thing will be the furniture. Once you have the biggest pieces in place, you can start with other items that you know a place for. This way you get a bulk done faster and you'll have more space in your home. Easy things for example can be books, games, kitchen and bathroom items.
5. The sooner you have everything in it's place, the sooner your mind can calm down. Try to get as much done as you can, and you'll reduce stress over the time. If you have boxes lying around and it's a month after, they'll become a mountain that you'll find harder and harder to climb as the days go past. BUT if you do not have the time or the energy to unpack everything straight away, at least organize boxes and items so that they are already in the area they need to be unpacked at. Then take time every evening going through a box while watching a TV show and you'll have those boxes done in no time.
6. You can always ask help! This is a tip for before and after moving.
After moving a lot of us might feel like we don't want to have people over when not everything is unpacked and the house isn't as it should be. But I have a feeling our friends know that we are moving and there's a reason why there are so many boxes around! Your friends don't care if it's messy or not, or if there's some boxes and things around when you have just moved. Ask a friend over for a drink or dinner or pizza and even better is to invite over the creative ones in your friend group. While enjoying your evening you can create a gallery wall of your pictures, decorate the bookshelves with all the knick knacks you have, or just craft together different things that would go around the house. Your friend can even make something for their own home. Sometimes company helps give that extra inspiration to finish a task you've been waiting to do.
MOVING
In September we packed our bags, boxes and suitcases and traveled back closer to Dublin. To the same town we had been living most of this year and end of last year, but this time we were in a new house. I have always kind of loved moving. I get this from my mother who would like to move if not houses at least the furniture. I like getting rid of all the things you no longer need, I like simplifying my life. I still carry quite a lot of memories and bits and bobs with me, but every time I move I try to get rid of something. My favourite part of moving is the unpacking and organizing everything. Placing furniture and finding places for every book and box and knick knack.
As moving is said to be one of the most stressful events that happen in your life, it's good to balance it off with things that help with the stress. Like cleaning, organizing and doing something creative. It's important not to push yourself too much but also to stay organized for an easier move.
Here are my tips for moving:
1. When packing, pack in categories. First by room and then by what items you are packing. For example pack kitchen items together, and by groups of where they will go. Pans and pots together and dry food separately. This will make the unpacking way much easier!
2. Pack a bag for the first few days. Make sure you have your essentials in an easy carry on kind of bag so once you've moved it's easy to find your toothbrush or clothes you'll need next day!
3. Start with cleaning! Start with the rooms that you'll need first like the kitchen and bathroom and bedroom. It'll be much easier to clean first and unpack one thing at a time. This way if you get tired you can take a break but still be able to cook dinner, take a shower or rest.
4. Do the easiest ones first. When organizing and unpacking, it'll help to start with the easiest things first. Which usually means the first thing will be the furniture. Once you have the biggest pieces in place, you can start with other items that you know a place for. This way you get a bulk done faster and you'll have more space in your home. Easy things for example can be books, games, kitchen and bathroom items.
5. The sooner you have everything in it's place, the sooner your mind can calm down. Try to get as much done as you can, and you'll reduce stress over the time. If you have boxes lying around and it's a month after, they'll become a mountain that you'll find harder and harder to climb as the days go past. BUT if you do not have the time or the energy to unpack everything straight away, at least organize boxes and items so that they are already in the area they need to be unpacked at. Then take time every evening going through a box while watching a TV show and you'll have those boxes done in no time.
6. You can always ask help! This is a tip for before and after moving.
Before moving you can ask a friend or friends over and they can help you go through things you don't need. This way you can also give things away easier if there's already people around you who'd love to read a book you no longer want, or that has been looking for a dress and you have one you no longer fit into. It'll make the sorting and giving away much more fun! If you don't like having people around at this time, you can also gather the things you no longer need and invite your friends over after for tea and a small garage sale (or a big one!).
After moving a lot of us might feel like we don't want to have people over when not everything is unpacked and the house isn't as it should be. But I have a feeling our friends know that we are moving and there's a reason why there are so many boxes around! Your friends don't care if it's messy or not, or if there's some boxes and things around when you have just moved. Ask a friend over for a drink or dinner or pizza and even better is to invite over the creative ones in your friend group. While enjoying your evening you can create a gallery wall of your pictures, decorate the bookshelves with all the knick knacks you have, or just craft together different things that would go around the house. Your friend can even make something for their own home. Sometimes company helps give that extra inspiration to finish a task you've been waiting to do.
VLOGGING
Moving to a new house also meant moving to a new area in the town. It meant finding new routes to the shop and to town. This time the walks are really beautiful and I enjoy them much more. This has inspired me to walk more and I even started doing zombie runs. There is an app where you listen to a story as you run and it really makes the time fly as well as pushes you to have sprints when zombies are right behind you!
I have really wanted to keep making videos and writing blogs, but when I'm busy and stressed I have had to prioritize my mental health and well being. So I've tried to take videos of my everyday life and take pictures of things I've been doing. I feel like I have become slightly more aware of my surroundings by doing that, although it isn't the most interesting to watch me walk the same routes again and again. I have truly enjoyed my walks and I am happy with all the green around us. I am also drawn to water and I like to live near lakes and rivers. Luckily we have a tiny river here too that I can follow from our house and through out the town.
A big part of my days have been getting used to a new place and getting back to a routine. The routine has changed a bit from before but in a good way. Earlier in the year my tracker in my journal included drinking water, but that has now become a normal part of my days that I don't need to mark it down. The new addition in September was walking. I have not been perfect with my routines especially when I've needed to take time for resting and lately getting over a cold. Still the tracker inspires and reminds me to get tasks done that I wish I did more. I do also use the Fabulous app to help me create new habits and stay on top of them but sometimes I like to have something more concrete that I can write and colour in what I have been doing. It is also nice to go back to previous trackers and compare and see progress!
My tips on creating a routine:
1. Start small. Habits take time to create and especially if you take too big of a bite that you cannot chew. Start with adding one thing at a time and start small. If you would like to start waking up earlier, set the alarm 15 min earlier than usually. Then when you get used to that, another 15 min.
2. Make it easy. If you want to start drinking a glass of water every morning place a water bottle or a glass of water next to your bed before you get to bed. This way when you wake up, you have it there waiting for you. If you need to get up to get the glass of water it's less likely you'll do it.
3. Track your progress, set reminders. Create a tracker or download an app to your phone, that will help you track what you're doing and remind you when you need to do it. This way you get a reward by ticking a box when you get the task done but also will be reminded to do it!
4. Don't be too hard on yourself. It's ok to have days when you don't do all the tasks on your routine. Sometimes we need rest or sometimes we just forget. That's being a human and that's ok. Also if you have added a task to your routine but after a long time of trying, you're still not enjoying it or it doesn't suit you, you can always take that task off! Don't force yourself to do things that just don't fit you. Find another way of doing it or take it off completely for now.
SETTLING
Part of moving and changing a house into a home is to decorate it. I always have the need to make a place look like my own. This time I placed my deer head above the bead and added some origami birds we created with my girlfriend. The origami birds were to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. I also freshened up our fairylights by adding some paper leaves on them. To complete the foresty look I also created a lampshade with paper leaves that I thought looks pretty nice considering it was made from scrap papers! Creative outlets help with stress and creating parts for the room has also made it feel more like home.
I also received a package from Finland that helped make the room more cosy. My mother crochet grandmas squares (that's what we call them in Finland) from wool and collected them into a blanket. As it's made out of wool it's really warm and the colours are a nice contrast to our black and white sheets. I've especially appreciated the blanket now that I am recovering from a cold and need to stay warm.
Tips on how to recover from a cold:
1. Eat well. Make sure that your diet always includes lots of essential vitamins. I take supplements too, just in case! Also during your sickness, it's important to have as much energy you can, and good food can provide that. Sometimes you might lose your appetite, but then eat in small snack size portions through out the day and eat things that you enjoy. When you have a cold or a flu, you might not always be able to taste what you're eating.This is why it's the perfect time to make the spiciest foods. This way your airways clear up and you might be even able to taste the food!
2. Rest. No matter what, get enough rest. What ever you might have that you need to get done, it's better to rest and get the sickness out of your system and work when you're feeling better. The sickness will only drag on if you don't rest and let your body do the healing.
3. Drink, drink and drink some more! For the bacteria to flush out from your body you need to drink lots of liquids. Also hot drinks like herbal tea help warm up and sooth your throat. When you're sick your body can get dehydrated easily, so remember to drink even more than usual! You should pretty much feel like all you do is pee!
I hope you have gotten some inspiration or found the tips useful, even though they are kind of just common sense!
Here are links to fun things:
Fun and inspirational youtube channel for those who like to DIY their homes to look more personalized!
Fun app that motivates you to go running (or jogging or walking) more!
Here is a link to make your own origami birds!
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