Category: Uncategorized

Many of the women I know can all relate to having a partner who has been manipulative, controlling, and abusive. Some of them are willing to share their stories with me, which I'll share here. While they may never forgive or forget, I do hope that sharing their stories can help my friends take another … Continue reading In her own words: I know what you did and I see you for what you are

Right before Christmas 2017, I started a new job in the marketing department at a greenhouse. Aside from an aloe plant and a snake plant that magically stayed alive through several moves and years of neglect at my mother's house, I really wasn't super experienced with plants. A boss once gave me potted purple shamrocks … Continue reading Six life lessons from plants

I have a tendency to go gung-ho into a new project or organization style only to falter and give up on it a few months later. For instance, I bought a 90-day goal setting planner for $30. Were I to use it annually I would be committing $120 a year to planners. I gave up on this … Continue reading Bullet journaling: The best planner is the one you’ll use

It should come as a surprise to no one that I've used moving out of my marital home and into my own apartment as another period of decluttering and transition. This time, I am really getting down to business. I've sold off items I wasn't using, given things away entirely, and focused on creating a … Continue reading Letting go of what no longer serves you

I believe that survivors of abuse tend to find each other. Or maybe it's that emotional and psychological abuse is such a common side effect of society's masculine ills that many of the women I know can all relate to having a partner who has been manipulative, controlling, and/or downright abusive. Some of them are … Continue reading In her own words: At least he doesn’t hit me

Heading into a grocery store cafe to do some work before my afternoon plans, I was worried about seeing my mother. As I've described before, I cut contact with my mom over 18 months ago and have only seen her twice, when my stepfather died. The process of cutting her off has involved dreams, therapy, and … Continue reading The (lack of) rules of removing toxic people

Part of being minimalist is discarding what you don't find useful or beautiful. However, it's a very privileged position to be able to discard something functional just because you don't quite love it with unbridled joy. So we usually hang onto the functionally imperfect items that aren't totally our style, because sometimes you can't afford … Continue reading When broken is better than nothing (or is it?)