January: Less scrolling. Well, thanks to Lent, I am mostly off social media. I log into Facebook daily to check birthdays (because I like sending greetings) and a few times a week to update my blog page. I occasionally find myself scrolling, but try to hold back.
I am on Instagram only to check the Yogi See Yogi Do Crew pose and make sure no one has hacked my account. For some reason, I have not been as tempted to scroll there. Having the apps off my phone really does help!
I am accessing my pins on Pinterest, and still have that app on my phone so I can save things I find on the Internet, but otherwise, I am not scrolling there.
But what am I doing? I realized that scrolling Reddit might be breaking my (mostly) Lenten abstinence. I also have a problem saving way too many possible books to read in the library Libby app. And I like to scroll podcasts and read snippets, just to see what's up. It's like my brain is always looking for "that thing." I guess it's good to recognize that my brain wants little dopamine "snacks." I just need to have enough self-control to stop scrolling after I get that (or find otherwise to get that "high").
February: Less picking. I am really a sensory person, and I am realizing that a lot of things about my skin bug me. So for starters, I am trying to take better care of it. This month, that looked like breaking into my new (expensive to me) Avon face cream. While I didn't expect to see results, man, do I! Although I am still having some breakouts, my skin is smoother and seems glow-ier (if that's a word). Props to my amazing Avon lady for this recommendation.
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And in other news, I have been reading a lot of books about minimalism--probably too many at this point, as they are all starting to run together, and I now have, as Kendra Adachi (2026) puts it "big black trash bag energy." While I cannot throw everything away, I did make a goal to declutter at least one item a day this month. Sometimes that looks like shredding old documents. Sometimes it is contributing items to the big brown donation box in the corner of the bedroom. I am trying to declutter my own stuff and not drive my husband crazy. I don't know how much I am really simplifying, but I am looking at things with new eyes. If we have duplicates we are not using, or I have not used something in a while, it is going away! And hey, at least I can fit the potato masher in the bin on the counter now, instead of fighting with the drawer into which I'd wedged. That makes my weekly potato mashing easier.
As Rachelle Crawford reminded me with her book, Messy Minimalism, the goal of less is to be more present. The goal of less is to live more of life, and not just fill it with more stuff. At some point, sorting ends and a person has to sit with some hard stuff. I am not sure I am there yet, as I think I overfilled myself this month by setting too many daily goals (declutter, do yoga, read, etc.) as I saw a little space opened up in this season of "less." May God continue to guide and provide, and may my attempts at less always point to Him!
References:
Adachi, K. (Host). (2026, March 16). How to better channel your big black trash bag energy. (No. 460) [Audio podcast episode]. The lazy genius. https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/lazy/bbtbe
Crawford, R. (2021). Messy minimalism: Real life strategies for the rest of us. Broadleaf books.
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