Your Aesthetic Style BLOG
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 Want to know one of the easiest ways to be more environmentally friendly this Christmas? Use less gift wrapping paper. Or if you’re up for a challenge, you can try not using any wrapping paper ;)
Fortunately, wrapping with less doesn't have to mean less beautiful or less fun. Here are our favorite eco-friendly ideas to keep the garbage at minimum and still be thoughtful and festive. Here are some tips for gift wrapping alternatives this holiday:
Think beyond paper. Its good for the environment but it's also a fun way to personalize your gifts and save money. It’s kind of crazy to think we spend billions each year on something that is forgotten in minutes and needs to be cleaned up after it is tossed everywhere around your living room. If you’re curious, and want to know more about wrapping paper and the environment you can visit www.use-less-stuff.com. Visit the website and use the checklist to reduce your waste this holiday season! Written by Orjana Hysenaj
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 Zero waste gift giving is one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season. As much as I love gift giving, I prefer gifts that will be used rather than gifts that will be sitting in a box in someone’s closet for months or even years and contributing to the mountain of waste we already have. But what is zero waste gift giving? And how can we achieve it when we barely have time to sometimes shop for ready made gifts? I define zero waste gifts as handmade, homemade, secondhand, experiences, or reusing/regifting something that you already have and never used and is just sitting in a box in your closet but you know someone else will love it. We can focus more on gifting items that are better for the environment and for the recipient rather than feeling we should spend money on gifts that may never be used again just because we have to. Some zero gifts ideas are:
 Don't you love the warm fuzzy feelings around the holidays? We take extra time to make our home cozy, adding little details with decorations and special food. When I was thinking about what to share for the last post of 2018, it hit me - this happy holiday spirit is how we should live all the time. Of course this time of year is special because it's only once a year BUT there are certain habits we have around the holidays that we could adapt more into our everyday life. For example, that little extra effort to turn simple moments into something special. I've started trying to do this is with cooking..  Have you ever noticed how we relate to TIME kind of like a one-sided relationship? We use phrases like "I wish..", "If only.." ,"When I..." that are loaded with expectations and more often than not we're left feeling frustrated because "There's never enough". The problem is that TIME doesn't respond. There's no making amends or an "Oh I understand, here, have some more." My unhealthy relationship with time was all about imagining 'one day' in the future where I'll get all my time back and be able to do everything I want. "When my sons' start daycare, then I'll have more time..". That day came and I'd already decided to start my own business, so I changed it to "Once I get this online business up & running, then I'll have more time..." And wow did I get good at squeezing every drop of time I could get.  You know it well, the never-ending to-do list. No need to even write it down, the reminders are everywhere … the laundry piles, dishes in the sink, incomplete fixer-upper projects etc. Seeing these reminders all day, every day really wore me down my first two years as a stay-at-home mom. Mess and chaos is part of daily life with small kids. The secret is to redirect your focus by decorating your home in a way that inspires you. Here are three practical ways you can start doing this right away!  During my last year in college, I took a class called Gender and Development where we studied women's’ lives in different countries. My professor always emphasized how everywhere, in every country, women’s work in the home is undervalued because the home is a private space. Therefore it's difficult to ‘quantify’ or measure all the skills involved in managing a household in comparison with other lines of work. When I became a stay at home mom myself, I thought about this class a lot. Suddenly it wasn't someone else's life anymore, it was mine.  I had a BIG and really DEEP epiphany recently. And guess what? It all starts with DESIGN, yup yup. Balance and Harmony are both principles used to make something aesthetically pleasing. Somehow in everyday language we tend to confuse the two words and this has led to some MAJOR struggles and stress. The words we use have an impact. If you don't believe me, Google: Tim Ferris -- he talks a lot about 'using the wrong words' as the source of most problems. When I think about balance, I think about time, especially as a mom. How to find enough time for my relationships and my responsibilities?  The secret to buying less is buying only items you really LOVE and will continuously enjoy. There's a process to this. Practice it and you'll feel more confident about finding décor that resonates with you. Here are 3 steps to fine-tune your 'intuitive shopping' skills!  Here's a typical scenario that used to happen to me ALL the time. I’m walking around a shop with my husband, I see something I think is perfect for our home. I point it out to him and he just shrugs his shoulders like whatever or shakes his head "NO WAY".
Ugh. Now I'm frustrated. Not because of the "No" but because I want to have a real conversation about home decorating and that's hard when he doesn’t seem interested at all. What I didn’t know, was that the real issue wasn’t with him but that I was asking the wrong questions in the wrong situations!  I think we can all agree that whether we like it or not our home influences our mood. When our home is messy or disorganized it makes it harder for us to concentrate (#momlife lol). It's easy to think of the negative ways that our home affects our mood, but what about the positive? At the end of the day, we all just want to be happy, right? So it's important to think about how to create an environment in our home that encourages that. Doing this is a lot easier than sounds (don't you wish more things in life were that way?! ) That's why I consider these three of the BEST KEPT SECRETS to creating a home that makes you HAPPY! The BEST part is that all of these tips you can start doing right away without buying more decor. So here we go! Three ways you can create a happier environment in your home TODAY! |
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I'm Yun-A (rhymes with 'fun' 'Ah'). I'm originally from MD but I currently live in Oslo, Norway (hello scandinavian design!) with my hubby and 2 toddler sons. A GIFT: up level your home!
A GIFT: up level your brand!
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Family Health Tips Latest post: 3 Simple Ways to Encourage Your Children to Clean Up More to Mum Topic: Simple Home Decoration Ideas that will create more quality time Archives
December 2019
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