a cleanse

{cred}

i'm moving. well, i'm trying to move. my building isn't making it easy on me. they pushed me back until the end of december-annoying, but manageable since i don't have a place set in stone yet. my move will look nothing like that picture because i will be in man sweat pants, and freezing my ass off in a foot of snow-but, a girl can dream of a happy move-can't she!?? :)

moving always makes me want to get rid of everything. clear it all out. start over. that's WAY too expensive. BUT, i can find some things that i've been putting off getting rid of for a while now.

i put all of these things on craigslist and am hoping for a whopping $300 out of about 6 large items, including my bed.

i've been dying to get a new bed for about a year now, and i think a new apartment calls for a new bed. it's gotta happen. maybe if i make $300 on all my stuff and find a bed for somewhere around $600 i will lose the guilt of the purchase. that is, until i buy all the new bedding and accessories that a new bed calls for.

damn it, i'm doing it again.
xoxo ashleycolean

material girl

{cred}

i've been going through a bit of a phase lately. i have this urge to get rid of everything. all i want to do is clear out virtually everything i own and live in a simple, plain, (preferably) white space. it's like a calling to minimalism. i've shaken it, of course, but in some ways i've started on the path to minimalism.

(note*** i mean minimalism in the most broad form ever. i would never be an actual minimalist. it's not in my blood. more power to you if you are-but for the purposes of this post i literally just mean declutter and rid myself of everything that isn't obviously useful to me.)

i spent two days recently cleaning out my 2 closets and 4 dressers of clothes. no one human needs as much clothing as i had. it's a bit absurd really. the fact that i was living in that space (with all that shit) and still couldn't ever find anything to wear. it was outrageous. so i cleaned. with my mom's help we threw out 1 bag of stuff they couldn't even get use out of at the homeless shelter-then SEVEN additional hefty bags of clothes got donated. i also sold about 6 items to buffalo exchange in boulder for $36.00.

now i'm trying to focus on using what i have, keeping my space cleaned and organized, and staying away from anything that i don't need....especially in the clothing arena.

when you are thinking of making a frivolous or unnecessary purchase-no matter what it may be think about 3 things:
1. all the good stuff you already have!
2. you're always going to want more-it's just the way we're built.
3. it's for your own benefit to pass.

how does materialism have such a crazy firm grasp on us?? especially, if deep down, we know that true wealth is much more related to things-other than money-like love, family, friends, happiness.

focus on what's really important.
xoxo ashleycolean

beauty product blowout

so, i thought, for my first money saving activity i would go through the drawers, and tupperwares, and even tackle box i have filled to the gills with beauty products, hair stuff, nail polish, makeup, etc etc etc...

i figured, if i have an idea of what i have, and use it up, i won't have to spend money on much of that stuff for, well, a long time.

this is my before-i warn you, it's like my friend sarah told me 'hoarders: bathroom edition.'

seriously.
so after a couple of hours of organization. i came out in much better shape.

i have 4 additional bottles of perfume. excellent. super savings.

 i have about 10 bars of soap. a few extra face washes (including exfoliating wash)...and enough first aid supplies to get my clumsy ass through (at least) the summer months!

 an entire bag of good nail polish-and another bag for my purse of day to day...

 8 body washes, crest whitening strips, 3 sunscreens and 1 aloe in case i forget the sunscreen. and the entire right side is lotion...oh i don't know...looks like about 25 bottles. (eye roll)

 face products and blush.

 and the whammy...lip sticks at the bottom, lip liners, lip glosses, eye products (mascara, eyeliner, brow pencils, etc) and then eye shadows at the top.

 finished product on my tiny cabinet-

and the bonus...i had 6 empty mac foundation containers. at mac when you use 6 products and you take them in you get a free lipstick, gloss or eye color. lord knows i don't need any but...it was free!!

i went with impassioned for summer. i'd post a picture but i look like a vampire (got my eyes dilated on my lunch (by a super hot eye doc(who i plan to ask out on friday when i go back))).

moral of the story. organize.
it's like shopping-for the saver.
xoxo ashleycolean