5 Steps to Declutter the Clutter

 

Ever open the closet, drawer, or even open the door to a room and just think one word? Junk. We all have been in that spot at one point or another, and most of the time you don't even know how it got that bad! Having a space become disorganized isn't an event that just happens overnight. No no, this is the result of a long period of pushing, shoving, and hiding objects. We can all admit that we have fallen for the "out of site, out of mind" at one time or another. Oh well, admittance is the first sign of recovery right? I've found some tricks that help me when I clean or organize a space. Dedicating 5-10 minutes doing the below steps will not only make your home cleaner, but will cut down the deep cleaning time dramatically!

-Pick a spot! It could be room, closet, or even a corner but pick a spot and don't finish until it is completely clean and organized. I like to start in the kitchen and then work my way towards the bedroom.

- Ask the question "does this make me happy?" If it does, then find it's home. If it doesn't? Well then off to the trash, donation, or recycling it goes. After some time asking me the magical question, I developed a list of things that will never make me happy. Once I see one of these unhappy things I grab and toss!

10 cluttering items that don't create happiness:

1. Old receipts

2. Stretched out hair elastics

3. Socks with holes

4. Earring without a match

5. Empty shampoo/conditioner bottles

6. Dried up nail  polish
7. Stained Clothing
8. Un-needed cords or chargers
9.  Boxes
10.  Expired Food 

-Claim a home! I hear many questions about how to make cleaning a faster job. I can only have one main answer and that is to establish a home for every item in your house (first ask yourself the magical question above before making a home for that object). If you know exactly where it goes, then no time will be wasted finding a spot for it.

-Get Rid of the Dirt! Everything may have a home, but what is clean and organized if there is dust and dirt everywhere?!? When you do clean your space remember to wipe off any dust and vacuum so that it is truly clean.

-Keep It Going!!!-Remember that if you do small pickups throughout the week it will help your home not become too cluttered and such a big project once a week. Three weeks make a habit, try to dedicate a portion of your day to do a three minute run through of each room in your house. It won't take much time and everything will look a lot better!

I Need These Things From My Partner

                            

Sometime's people can understandably just be selfish, sassy, moody people. I can easily fit all of those three descriptions in an hour if I ever felt ever inclined. Well when thinking about who I will be in a long term relationship with, it gets me to think, "I need some things out of this person." I am not saying that I need to have material things or to be taken out all of the time (even though every girl loves to be pampered!). I am saying that depending on the person, they need certain help just to get through life! I realize that I can't always have what I want, but could you give these to me? My Partner, just these for me?

I need to be Touched

Sometimes all someone needs is a hug. I want someone to literally hold me together when I can't. Nothing can feel better than letting someone know that you are there for them, and the easiest way to do that is with a hug.

I need my pace

I believe that being with each other is very important, but being able to be alone is just as important. Just having time to myself helps me be able to recheck myself and organize my thoughts. Girls like to be alone where they can pain their toes and watch cheesy reality TV shows. Having your alone time will help me clear my mind every once in a while, and my partner needs to know that I do need it.

I need him to have an opinion

Men...let's just face it, women love to talk. Well I need you to talk back! I want to hear how you feel and be able to go on with my conversation. I want you to not just agree with me if you don't, but understand where I coming from and keep an open mind. Even if we end up getting into a passionate debate, it's better than just staring the wall.

I need you to push forward

I love progress. I have always set goals and work achieve them. I want a partner that also works to achieve their goals too. It doesn't even matter how you want to progress in your life, but just don't give up. This will push both of us into a better future.

I need you to know I screw up...a lot!

I will pick fights, say the wrong things, have my breakdowns, and mostly I will be completely...human. I know I have OCD and don't know how to handle some situations, but I promise I will always work on them to be better. I need a partner who will be able to tell me, "it's OK" every time I screw up. I need someone who will support my decisions and be there when those decisions don't turn out as planned.

5 Tips for Test Anxiety

I suffer quite a bit from test anxiety and was asked a few times about how I would deal with it. My fear of failure has made my test anxiety so bad that I have become very sick to my stomach. Most of the time I will end up not doing as well on a test that I should be doing and it makes me very disappointed in myself. Test anxiety is a problem that many people have to work to overcome and if not fixed can cause long term stress and even health issues. On my other blog I have made a post about how I work to overcome my anxiety or specifically test anxiety. The original blog post can be seen here, or just look down below!

Although being a little nervous during a test is normal, when a person has a certain fear of failure that nervousness can escalate to test anxiety. I suffer quite often from different types of test anxiety. I will quite often know the material very well but during the test find myself going blank, perspiring, or starting to breath unevenly and heavily. Test anxiety is an overwhelming fearful, stressed emotion towards and exam or quiz. Test anxiety can have many causes such as loss of sleep, lack of preparation, lack of organization etc. However sometimes test anxiety's cause cannot be explained. How can test anxiety be conquered? I learned that it is all a mind game, if I can switch certain thoughts then I can improve my overall feelings and performance.

5 Tips for Test Anxiety:

Give Yourself Time
I find that if I start my studying at least a week before the test I will overall have a better score and piece of mind. Giving yourself enough time before an exam can help with organization, understanding, and planning. Plan out what you are going to study, where you are going to study, and who you are going to study with. Also give yourself a day that is during the professor's office hours to go in and ask questions or grab a better concept of certain areas that are troublesome.

Get Into A Study Group
I never really realized the benefits of a study group until I entered my first Micreconomics class. The intro to the material was very difficult for me to understand, but found that if I was in a study group with others I would walk away with a much higher understanding. Study groups have two main benefits in my opinion: First would be having someone that understands the concept better than yourself; so they can explain it to you. Second is that if someone doesn't understand a concept you can explain it better them and resulting with you both gaining understanding of the material.

Make A List
Many times anxiety has a strong correlation with feeling overwhelmed. Making a list or schedule with times to study and also all the other events that are going during that period can help one feel more in control of what is taking place. Having a list will make you not feel so "scatter-brained" and be able to focus better.

Get Plenty Of Sleep
In college sleep is sometimes hard to come by however, during a exam period it is very important to get a full night's rest. When I lose sleep I find that I lose my patience and focus on concepts and will give up right when I find it getting more challenging. Recharging will help the brain be able to fucus and retain new knowledge better.

It's Only One Test
When it comes down to it, remember that it is only one test. When the test is turned in, you can just put it behind and move forward. Know that you prepared as much as you could have prepared and take a learning experience from it. Future employers will never ask what your score was on your intro to philosophy midterm.

Please tell me what your anxieties are and how you work to overcome them!

In My Opinion: C25K Workout App

So...I'm not a runner. I am one who chooses the elliptical before treadmill any day of the week. Lately, I have noticed that my workouts have not challenged me indurance wise as much as I would like. Well, soon after I heard about an app that trains you up to running a 5k and then 10k. I was definitally intrigued. So I set myself up to the challenge of doing starting the Couch to 5k (C25K) 8 week Program which is free (FREE) through the Itunes app store. I plan to actually run a 5k this summer to celebrate going through the whole 8 weeks.

During the first week I just made the goal of going every other day. I do like how every week on the app is only 3 days. It allows for quite a bit of error out of the week. I don't do very well with an everyday commitment because of being a full time student.

Week 1: Five minute warm-up walk. Alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking with a 5 minute cool down for a total of 30 minutes.  My butt was actually sore after these three days! I know I haven't worked out my gluteus maximus in a while but geeze! I now know that wall sits and squats aren't enough. I liked the 90/60 pattern. It was simple to do and I knew that I could tough out 60 seconds of running on any speed to deserve my 90 second brisk walk break.

Week 2: Five minute warm-up walk. Alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking with a 5 minute cool down for a total of 31 minutes. I liked the longer jogging time for this week. Unfortunately I think the 2 minutes of walking time was too long. It made the run go by faster, but I was looking for the sweat I was building the first week. So on the second day I upped the speed for both the alternations and found that I was much happier with how I felt.

Week 3: Five minute warm-up walk. Do two repetitions of the following: Jog for 90 seconds; walk for 90 seconds; jog for 3 minutes; walk for 3 minutes with a 5 minute cooldown  for a total of 28 minutes. UPDATE TO COME!




Pro:I first downloaded the app and liked how simple it was. Just press start and do what is on the screen.

Con: I can't choose to forgo the start-up of 5 minutes. I walk to my gym and usually it takes about this time.

Pro: You can listen to music or watch netflix etc. and it will notify what speed to do throughout your workout.

Pro: It only requires 3 days out of the week instead of an every day commitment

Would I recommend?
So far? Yes! I love that it gives me enough motivation to add more running to my workouts. The price is unbeatable since it is free. I'm excited to see if there are any changes to my body from adding more cardio. Tune in for more week to week updates!

Does it Ever go as Planned?

So a little about me?

I am a 20 year old who had a dream a leaving her tiny town and seeing a new world. I moved to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah. Oh boy was I in for a shock of what I thought a city was and what it turned out to be. I realized very fast how much I was going to miss my hometown. I never really knew how it felt to be lonely until I was walking around this big place and not recognizing a single face.  I joined Business Scholars and this year am applying to enter the Accounting Program. School is a lot of work and stress, but even mores stressful for someone who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I hate saying I NEED things a certain way, but I 'love' having things a certain way. I 'love' to organize. I 'love' to clean. I 'love' to be the best in everything. However no one can be the best at everything.

Where am I from?

Utah. For all my life Utah has been my home. I grew up in the TINIEST little town of Paradise, UT. A name that fits its description to the T. Oh how I love my little valley. I still yearn everyday to sit on my porch as the sun drops below the Wasatch Mountains. I loved living in a place where everyone knows everyone. I love the roots that run through my town. I could go on about the good reasons I love my little valley and how I would love to stay and build onto my life in Utah. However, I have one reason why I would not continue to make it my home.

I am an ex-mormon.

I am baptized. I studied and went to church a large portion of my teen years, but I could never fully love the religion the way I saw others love it. The more I went to church as I went into high school, the more I saw that I was not myself when with my mormon ward members. I disagreed with some of the teachings. I hated seeing the judgement that followed for those who were not mormon or ex-mormons. Don't get me wrong, I love many parts of the Mormon religion. I love how much they care about family and helping others. I loved feeling a part of something, but how can I be someone I'm not?

 I don't want to start bashing on mormons because so much of that already exists. I'm here to share my life, which includes being an ex-mormon in a very mormon state and if that comes with posts about the differences I have developed with the mormon church then that will be written as well. I want to share about the aspects of my life and how it affects me with the good and the bad. I'm writing this blog to share and I'm excited to do it!