Tag: life

Decluttering Doesn’t Have to be Hard

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So we’ve all seen those beautiful homes where everything has a place. It’s cozy and warm and delightful. My secret to you about those homes is this- there is absolutely a closet of thing chaotically filled to the brim somewhere in that house, hidden from sight.

For those in the United States, we live in consumerism and materialistic tendencies. The sizes of families have gone down but the size of homes have increased. Long story short- it’s hard to get a handle on our houses!

I first learned about Minimalism when I was in college. I was watching a YoutTuber named Matt DeAvella. He talked about using minimalist lifestyle to simplify he day to day life, clothing, even his budgeting so he could pay off his student debt in less than ten years. Since then I was hooked on the idea! But it takes more than just liking an idea for it to work.

However, flash forward three years and I’m living with my boyfriend who does not live this lifestyle at all. So how do you cope? How do you declutter when it’s his things? I have a few tips on that:

I took on a 30 day decluttering challenge where on the first day you decluttering one item. Then the second day, two items. This goes on until you hit 30 days or you tap out because you’re out of items. Personally, I never saw the 30th day, but I did get the amount of things in my home reduced significantly and I maintained it for the most part. Per the Marie Alonso method. All of the items in my home bring me significant joy and light. In fact, I was able to move all my items into a small studio apartment without needing to reduce any personal items (with the exception of a kitchen table.)

Ask about the item

Do you see that old magazine or broken glass that’s just existing but you’re not sure why? Keep your communication aboutz as it open and see if it’s something that they still want to keep. And if they do? Respect that! It brings them joy so why would you remove that?

Not one of these things are mine, but don’t worry! We will find a good home for them soon!

Declutter Your Things Too

You can always see someone else’s mess from a mile away, but have you checked your own closet lately? Or that junk drawer? Or cleaned up your mail pile? Focusing on your items is important. Besides, by decluttering your items, you inspire your partner to do the same.

One Item a Day

My partner has never been and will never be focused on clutter or having a super tidy home. And that’s okay! But I am and we agree that we need to meet in the middle on this issue. So our solution is this:

One item to declutter a day. Whether it’s being thrown away, donated, sold, whatever! It’s one item a day. We don’t purchase a lot of excess things so when it comes to decluttering, the one item rule works for us because the ratio of items being declutter Ed is higher than the items entering our home.

And always, always, ALWAYS ask about it first if it doesn’t belong to you!

Decluttering can be helpful or extremely overwhelming depending on the person. Never be afraid to go at your pace! You deserve to live in a home that brings you nothing but peace and joy. Hopefully decluttering some of the misc items that you no longer care about can help.

Until Next Time,

Dana

Blogging From Bed

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I’ve gotta say, it’s nice. It’s Saturday evening, my boyfriend is playing some video games beside me and life is good. Im sitting in bed with my water and some low light while I write this up and muse a bit.

My view, while a bit messy, is definitely my happy place!

When I first started this blog, my objective was to share my story. At the time, my biggest life story was my cancer journey and I wanted to share that with you all! But being that I’m better now (don’t worry- I’ll write up my story from the last few years with that), where does that leave this website? Pretty much exactly the same- kind of.

I think the name still holds true- My Bright Corner. And I’ll be keeping it just as that. This is my bright corner and right now that’s in my bed, enjoying the rain outside and the peace in my home. Where is your bright corner? Where do you find yourself at the time you have the most joy?

That’s what made this such a difficult project to come back to time and again in the last couple years- I didn’t have joy when I worked on it. When I started this blog, it was a hobby. I liked writing. I liked musing about my day, the dogs and good recipes. But as time moved forward, I moved to a more business structure and it sucked all the fun out of it. And you know what that means!

I’m trying something different! And if I’m being honest? Hopefully you won’t notice because it’s all behind the scenes.

WordPress (the site I use to host my blog) has a phone app I recently downloaded. This is excellent because that means I get to write this entire post from my phone texting style. Mind you, I’ve still got some work I need to do on a computer and I’ll get there, but texting out these posts are something else.

And it has reduced the pressure to write tremendously! I’ll let you know how it goes and I hope you let me know too. Let me know if you see a difference, positive or negative, in what you find from my page. This was always supposed to be a relaxed place of peace and I’m working to keep it that way.

Life doesn’t need to be too serious, so why not write some blog posts by texting? I’ll tell you something- it makes me want to write a whole lot more. I’m realizing I have a lot I want to share. But I’ll leave this post where it’s at. Thanks!

Until Next Time,

Dana

Three Years Add Up

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It ‘s been three years since I was declared cancer-free! Three years and I’m still left speechless by the thought. Did I really have cancer? Am I in remission now? Am I sure about that?

Don’t worry. I’m still cancer free (got the clear from the doc back in April). I’ve been trying to plan what I was going to say for this post for, I don’t know, months? A year? Every step I’ve taken forward has taken me in a new direction that changes what I’m going to say, what I want to reflect on and even what I want to share with you.

And I know. It’s been a very long time since I’ve shared anything at all. And I know, I made a promise before that I was going to be back. No more promises. I’m not a perfect individual and I can’t promise anything. I use this platform as a way to share my own life experiences so that I may be able to help the next person down the road who finds themselves in my shoes. Regardless of the impact it makes on the universe around me, I want to write right now for my sake.

So, I’m going to write.

Here I am, sitting in my bed, staring at my screen wondering how I’m going to explain what I’m feeling. For the last couple years, Halloween has haunted me. And not in the cool, hipster “yeah I was totally haunted by a ghost,” sort of way. I mean in the “gross, waking up from a nightmare and vomiting in my toilet at 3 in the morning” kind of way. I mean in the “having an anxiety attack while sitting in a classroom learning about the naumachia in Ancient Greece and excusing myself to the hallway so I don’t have a public meltdown” kind of way.

For me, the treatment process is done. Chemo is done. It’s been done for a very long time. But healing is a lifelong process that I’ve been actively working on day in and day out. Each day is better, but I would get to those anniversary dates and all of my work reverts and I feel like I’ve taken 15 steps backwards in the process. And I can’t place my finger on it, but this year is different for some reason. I’m not reverting the way I typically expect.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still struggling- I won’t lie about that. Do I still have some nightmares? Sure. Do I still catch my anxious, wandering mind drift to the insane idea that a cold I have is covering up more severe, underlying symptoms? Absolutely.

I’m also really, really, REALLY proud. I look back at the last three years and I think about all that I’ve done. Come with me for a moment in my small time capsule:

I got cancer, underwent chemotherapy, and SURVIVED.

I went from this:

To this:

And now to this:

My love and respect for my own body has never been so strong.

I went back to school, during which time I stage managed two dance productions, assistant directed a fringe festival and a mainstage production and directed my senior project which I received grant funding from the university for. AND THEN I GRADUATED. Even more I graduated with honors. This past summer after college was a bit weird. Long story short: I moved home, did an internship at a library, a directing residency at a theatre and worked at a retail store for… kicks? (Money. It was for money.)

Then my super cool residency and internship ended and I was stuck in that lost sensation of not knowing where my life was headed (side note: young adult life is just a cyclical process of feeling lost, finding your bearings, getting yourself in order, then getting the rug pulled out from under you. Rinse and repeat).

I felt this way, that is, until I got a call asking me to come work for a local theatre and I said yes. I would walk into a beautiful building with such historic grace and elegance every day and I was getting paid to do it!

And then I made the decision to walk away. A decision that is heart-breaking, but I don’t regret. I’m eager for what’s to come and who gets to come on my little life journey with me wherever it may take me.

If there’s anything I can offer to you it’s this: YOU are so much more than one event in your life- good or bad. You aren’t loved for what you’ve done or what you’ve experienced, but for who you are. You are loved because you exist.

So has it been three years since I was diagnosed? Yes. Did I really have cancer? Yes. Am I in remission? HELL yes.

When I get those nightmares or I feel my breath quicken, I look at the apartment that I’m now living in, or the office I work in and I remember I am more than that singular experience. It’s one piece of a very confusing culmination that is me: Dana. A young individual learning how to be an adult and maintain a loving soul in a world that forgets it’s okay to be happy.

But if there’s anything that I could have possibly learned from my cancer experience and from the cancer experiences of people around me is that I cannot live in fear of a date or an anniversary. I cannot live waiting for the next bad thing to happen. I know I didn’t mention them, but the last three years have brought a lot of negative experiences as well.

But they don’t matter. They don’t matter because I processed, learned and moved forward, carrying it with me to the next experience- good or bad. I lived through them. I lived.

I’m living.

Until Next Time,

Dana