How to Organize Yourself & Live a Sustainable Life

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which reward me in the event of a subscription or sale at no extra cost to you. I use these funds to feed my dogs. Thanks for the dog food

One of the biggest keys to living a sustainable life, is organizing not only your home and workspace, but also your mind. Think about it; you’re in graduate school, you’re constantly being bombarded by upcoming texts, homework assignments, you’ve got bills to pay in your personal life, people to keep in touch with, etc. Without proper organization, how can you truly succeed? We are all only human; we forget things, we miss deadlines, we sleep through our alarms, we forget to text people back. Can you relate? I certainly can. As most of my viewers know, I’m about to start PA school, just snagged a new apartment in Philadelphia, I have two dogs, and often work more than one job to make ends meet. I travel and hike during my free time, and run this site on my own. How do I make this work without losing my mind? Two words: Life Organization. I’m going to share some of my tips on How to Organize Yourself. These work for me, and you may find that they can help you too!

1) Healthy Morning Routine
This one is so important. The first few hours of your day can literally set the mood for the rest of your day. Have you ever noticed that you tend to feel more relaxed on the weekend? (I mean, obviously Crystal, it’s the weekend). But, have you ever thought about why? (other than the obvious). We sleep in, we’re not bound by a schedule. We take more time for ourselves (this is the key).

When you start your morning, set the mood for your day high. Wake up an hour earlier than you need to (and go to bed earlier the night before). I always start my mornings the same exact way. Wake up, have an ice cold glass of water, take my daily vitamins, and meditate. Meditation doesn’t have to mean criss cross apple sauce, palms to the sky, and humming to yourself like you’re on the verge of a mental break. Just take some time to sit, reflect on what you want to accomplish for the day, and just BREATHE. Make this a habit, and you’ll start every single day feeling refreshed with a clean slate. This sets us up for success.

*My favorite daily multivitamin is Nature’s Way Alive! Women’s Gummy Multivitamin. They taste great, supply me with 16 different vitamins and minerals including B complex. These really start my day off right, supplying me with all natural energy and nutrients needed for your everyday diet. I also like that these are keto-friendly, supplying only 6 g net carbs per serving.

2) Buy a Planner and USE IT
I swear by this one. Without my planner, I would miss nearly every deadline and due date. Find a planner that makes the most sense to you. I personally use a planner where each month section starts with a generalized calendar and separate sheets for each day following. On the calendar, I mark down due dates for bills, assignments, holidays, birthdays, and any other important events. I use the separate sheets for each day to write down specific goals that I want to accomplish for each day of the month. This method allows me to keep track of what’s coming up, and allows me to prepare when those dates do come. I update and check my planner religiously, and bring it with me everywhere. As a result, I pay my bills on time, I always know what I need to pay. I never miss an assignment, and am always studied up for an exam. My planner outlines my life in an organized manner that I could never accomplish by simple memorization.

There are so many types of planners available online, in office supply stores, or even apps that you can download on your phone. I’m a visual person, and receive personal satisfaction from being able to check things off of a list physically, so I choose to use a physical planner. My current planner is designed by Lily Pullitzer. It’s adorable and comes with all sorts of fun stickers to bring some life to a dull/boring process, and is set up and drawn out very well. Kate Spade has some great ones too. You can find some ideas for planners below!

3) Make Time for Self Care
Face it, we all need a “treat yo’ self day”. This doesn’t have to mean you spend all day in a spa and eliminate your entire wallet. Self-care comes in so many forms. I think ultimately great practice for this, is to set aside 15-30 minutes each day where you just do exactly what you want to do. For me, this usually comes in the form of reading, taking a hot bath, watching television, or playing with my dogs. For you, this could be anything else. Ultimately, the idea is to spend some time every day, doing something that relaxes you, and makes you happy.

Sometimes those 15-30 minutes really just don’t cut it. Maybe you’re at a point in your life, where things just feel out of control and you really need a day to just unwind, and get your s*** together. I’m a complete advocate for mental health days. If you’re not afforded the luxury of taking one of these from work, then take a mental health weekend. Spend a small amount of time doing absolutely nothing, and then snap to it, and start organizing your life. Make a list, clean your house, what are your goals? We can’t start putting our lives into a workable order until we know what it is that needs to be done. Simply thinking it will only overwhelm us more. The power in writing down your thoughts is stronger than you could imagine.

*What I’m currently reading: Hidden Unknown Truth: A Guide To Consciousness, Spiritual Awakening, and the Joy of Living by Edward Scott. This book has been incredibly eye opening for the most part. I’m learning how to live a more relaxed and sustainable life through Scott’s advice. (Actually, this book sparked the inspiration for this article, so thank you Scott). This book also lists a great how-to on the art of meditation. So if you’re interested, the link to purchase is below.

4) Journal
Journaling has helped me to discover parts of myself I never knew existed. It’s human nature to hold things in and bottle them up. But we all know what happens when we do that, and it’s important that we learn how to let these things out. Journaling offers a safe place to spill your thoughts and feelings without the guilt of burdening friends or family with your issues/thoughts. I use my journal to vent, to brainstorm content ideas, to reflect on my trips, and so much more. That’s the best thing about it. You can write about WHATEVER you want. It’s YOUR space.

You can start with a blank journal, but if that’s too intimidating, I’ve found some fun journals that give you a head start on inspiration. I’ve had journals that offer prompts on each page, a friendly quote or poem, or even just a journal that was created for the sole purpose of being destroyed. Find one that suits you. Make it yours. Have fun with it.

5) Healthy Eating and Meal Prepping
Eating healthy is greatly important to mental health, and mental health plays a huge role in healthy life organization, so as you can see, healthy eating is a great step towards organizing yourself. My personal diet preference is a low carb/keto diet. This diet does wonders for maintaining a healthy wait, providing a large source of natural energy, and keeps me alert and cognitively present throughout the day. In addition, it is incredibly easy to follow and cheap to maintain. If you haven’t heard of keto, or aren’t well informed of the guidelines, keto centers itself around low carb foods such as meats, cheese, and low carb veggies. Essentially I stay away from sugar, fruits, and grains, and do very well. Atkins offers a multitude of sweet treats, shakes, and supplements that help curb my sweet tooth on my struggle bus days too.

Meal prepping as most of you are aware is another great way to schedule out your week. Planning your meals allows you to keep track of what you eat, prevent overeating and unhealthy snacking, and also save time slaving around the stove on busy work/school nights. I like meal prepping especially during finals week or when I know that I’m going to have to stay late at work to catch up some weeks. Meal prepping for me was a huge source of stress relief and a time and mental space saver. When I wasn’t worried about what to make for dinner, I could focus more on the things I needed to accomplish throughout the day and what needed to be taken care of when I came home at night.

*Keto cookbooks and guide books are a great way to introduce yourself into this diet and lifestyle. In addition, I’ve also attached some pre made meal planning prep sheets and some of my favorite Atkins treats!

6) Clean out your closet
This one resonates with me particularly well right now, considering I’m about to make a pretty big move from Alabama up to Pennsylvania. However, even if you aren’t moving, the fall is a great time to start to clean out your closet. We accumulate a number of unnecessary items as the year progresses, and it’s healthy to purge your junk every now and then. My recommendation? Once a year. We outgrow things, our interests and style changes, and you never know who may really need, like, or want your “trash”. Remember; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

I find it helpful and also fun to re-sell old clothes online in stores such as Poshmark and Mercari, or to consignment shops like Plato’s Closet, and Uptown Cheapskate. You make a couple extra dollars, and you can choose to use that money to purchase an item you may need for the upcoming season (i.e. sweaters, jackets, boots, etc.) or to store in a piggy bank/rain day fund. Either way, you’re getting rid of things that take up unnecessary space in your home, and I find that it additionally frees up space in my mind.

If you are looking for some fall items to store into your closet, feel free to shop my store on Poshmark or Mercari. If you sign up for Poshmark using code CGEMP you will receive $10 off your first purchase, or sign up for Mercari for $10 off your first purchase by clicking here. You can find the link to more stores below. Even if you don’t find anything in stock that you like right now, give me a follow because once again, I’m moving and I’m going to be purging like a motherf***er. You can also find my items here on the Shop My Looks page.

My Poshmark
My Mercari

All of these tips combined are only a sliver of how I self-organize on a day to day basis, and as you employ them, you will start to feel things seemingly fall into place. I recommend trying out one thing, and then adding in others one at a time slowly. You’ll find your own pattern, and tweak these tips to find what works for you, but overtime, follow some of these steps and I truly believe you can live a more organized and sustainable life.

Make sure to subscribe to this page in the left upperhand corner to recieve updates when I post new content, and follow me on instagram @unfriendlyadvice to follow my upcoming roadtrip across the east coast to move into my new home!

If you have any questions regarding my life habits, feel free to send me an e-mail or reach out to me on social media. I’d love to help out in anyway that I can.

Share below some of your favorite habits and tips that help YOU self organize. I’m always open to new suggestions, and I’m sure other viewers are too!

Until next time,
-C