SAY CHEESE!

I used to tear pages out of magazines of things I found inspiring or simply wanted to buy.  Just trust me that I can shop like a pro and leave it at that.  My tear sheets quickly started getting out of control though.  They started piling on top of my bureau and I’d move them from one spot to another, convincing myself that the new spot was less in the way, but I wasn’t fooling anyone.  I didn’t want to put them away because then I wouldn’t see them and, you know what they say, out of sight, out of mind.  Kind of defeats the purpose of “getting inspired”.

I decided to take these sheets and make them into inspiration boards to hang on the inside of my closet door.  You’ve seen what I’m talking about in magazines (like a collage)…or think Pinterest (that’s right, I basically invented Pinterest).  I loved it!  These photos were giving me motivation to change things up every time I got dressed in the morning.  And yet, this was turning into a real project and I started to dread putting these boards together.  I had all these tear sheets coming (I wasn’t going to stop my favorite obsession) but I didn’t have the time to put the actual boards together.  In fact, it got to the point where I didn’t want to keep up with my boards anymore.  It was too much of a stresser and was becoming work.  Buzz kill.

Then I had an epiphany…years later.  Take photos of the things I love in magazines, in stores, anywhere I go.  I then organize my photos by category and what I intend to do with them.  Things I’m going to buy soon I keep on my phone so I can reference them in-store and on the go.  Things that I’m working toward (like the pic of the desk that will replace the bookshelf once the ex gets around to moving it out of here) live in iPhoto.  Maybe it’s digital clutter but hey, it’s not taking up any space in my world so I’m OK with it.