Fresh Start

 Christmas is over. New year is coming!

My search for an organised life is underway. My first step was to identify which part of my life to focus on at the beginning. Which part takes priority? Well, I think I found it. 

Where to Start?

General tidying is where I begin my mission. I basically live in one room. Not even a big room. This small space is my home and I have a lot of stuff. My belongings aren't at hoarders level, but I sew which comes with a lot of equipment and obviously, I own a lot of books. Not to mention notebooks, cooking equipment, shoes, makeup, clothes in general. It all fills that small area quickly. 

Christmas:

It's a wee bit early to be packing up Christmas, given that we've not even reached New Year yet, but even with this, I'm looking for order. Christmas jumpers boxed away together. Tree decorations together. Ornaments, candles, tinsel... everything has its own place even in storage. 

Books:

I love books and I own a lot of them, but this year, I'm planning to use my local library a lot more, to save myself buying them all the time. My books have different categories. 

There are the ones that I like to own and display on a bookshelf like a trophy - these are usually from my favourite authors like Nalini Singh, Kresley Cole, Johanna Lindsey and Gena Showalter. 

Then there are the favourites that I keep on my Kindle or reader, but I'll need them all. These are from authors like Eve Langlais, S.E. Smith, M.K. Eidem. 

I often buy Mills and Boon books from market stalls and charity shops because authors like Betty Neels, Emma Darcy and Patricia Wilson are often found there and I love them. 

There are the obvious classics that you have to own too. So I have my copies of Jane Austen's books, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Little Women. They're also shelf trophies. 

That's my Keep-Forever collection. 

There are a lot of books on my TBR pile that I know I'll read once and not go back to but I've always kept them just in case. I'm trying to change that. Now I'm trying to clear my reading decks of these books. Here's how:

• Local Library: The library in my area has an ebook app that supplies books I can easily read on my phone or tablet. And if I'm feeling in the mood for a hard copy, the nearest library is a ten-minute walk. 
• Get Rid: Sometimes when it comes to disposing of books I won't read, I just haven't found the ruthlessness, but this year that changes. Or at least, it changes a little bit. I've already started passing them on to friends. I'll donate to charity shops, and I've found an app where I can sell some. Not for much, but at least it helps me feel like I'm not just discarding them. 
• TBR: I own a lot of books I haven't read. It will make such a difference if I can make my way down this pile, which is in fact, many piles. 

Hobbies

I'm a crafter, particularly sewing and knitting; supplies can take over any empty space. I've started using toolboxes for tools of the trade. I've got tubs for works in progress. Bags for projects. Baskets of wool. But the main way to reduce the crafting chaos will be to use the materials and fabrics that I already own. Make them into clothes. 

Which brings me to...

Clothing and Makeup

I have a lot of clothes. And a lot of shoes. And a lot of makeup. Through 2025, I need to buy less. I could try selling some of what I own or that I've outgrown, but I've tried that through one of the clothes-selling apps and it was like a full-time job that made me very little money. I would post a belt for sale and people would try and haggle it down to a pound, then to send it, the nearest place was a five-minute drive away. With petrol prices, I'm pretty sure that ended up costing me money. 

So I'll try and buy less, try and make some from my fabric stash. I'll use the makeup I own. Utilize what I have. 

Office

I don't have an office. I have a laptop and a tablet and a phone and an epic stationery collection. That's my office. But it's spread everywhere, there is no order to it, so for the next year, I'll dedicate a section to writing. That's my goal. Even if it's a box or a case or the corner of the dining table. 

And so it Begins

Those areas are my initial starting point. That's the mess that needs order, and I have to find that order around my family, general housework, cooking dinner, the day job and writing. So... I'm going to be busy. 

The trick will be to stay motivated throughout sleepless nights (because I have a baby) and get my s*#t  together when I'd rather sit and watch Teen Wolf for the 6th time. It's my ultimate hobby. 

Getting my belongings in order is where it all starts. It's my January. 

If you liked reading this blog then take a look at some other posts or follow my Resolution journey on my website. 

Time to Write

These aren’t the easiest times we're living in right now. Financially, it seems like there are nothing but obstacles. Stability is a goal.

It takes a lot of hours at work just to get by, which can make being a romance writer an extra challenge. I’d love to spend all my free time editing, but I guess the trick is finding free time when I have a burning desire to eat and have a roof over my head.

Priorities

I read somewhere that ‘if it's important to you, you’ll find the time.’ Well, whoever said that wants to take a closer look at the high cost of rent and groceries and car insurance, and they’ll understand why my priorities are the ones that pay.

Except, they’re also kinda right. Being a writer doesn’t pay me much, that’s why I have the day job, but I still manage to find scraps of time to scrawl words on paper.

Even this blog. It's 11pm, my baby is sleeping in his cot beside me, the house is quiet and I’m writing this with my phone. It’s important to me, so I’m finding the time. This week, anyway.  

Day in the Life

A lot of my writing actually gets done this way. In bed with my phone, or a notebook in the kitchen while I prepare food, even in the shower. Whenever I can. It may take me a long time, but I get there in the end, even if it cost me a bit of sleep. Too much sleep. I love sleeping.

Being Vigilant

I do try my hand at time management but it’s never been my strongest skill, and I’m such a fan of procrastination. Organising my bookshelves just seemed so important when it came time to write a synopsis.

I do all the things that are supposed to help. Things like to-do lists and drinking coffee and forcing myself to open the document and not wait for inspiration.

It all comes back to prioritising what’s important, but this is also real life, so there are often times that I open the document and have to abandon it to make dinner, take my dog out, or settle a tired baby.

Someone once asked how I have time to write and the truth is I don’t. But I do it anyway.

I’m a Romance Writer

Maybe I have a little more expendable time than others because I keep my romance fictional. It’s all on the page, and it means my time is mine. These really are hard times though, and it would be nice not to have to work all the time just to stay afloat.

Hey, at least we’re in this together, right? In the words of Brandon Lee in The Crow, ‘ It can’t rain all the time.’

In the meantime, I’ll be working on my next book in bed on my phone.

If you liked this post then take a look at some of my other articles, or visit my website.