Happy new year (and a couple goals I’ve set myself for this year)

Jan 10, 2020 | 3 comments

Hello! Hi! How are we all doing?? The blog has been quiet these past few weeks, and even though I’m generally also putting a lot more work into Instagram and Youtube, my blog will always be a part of me because this is where it all started. I know many people don’t even read blogs the same way they used to back in the day, but I can see that there’s still plenty of activity in here and I love writing. My blog is also a great place to post guides and post that can live on for a long time, more than those “this is what I spend my day doing” type of posts, so it will always be part of the Use Less universe I guess. Oh well. That’s another story.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a happy new year – I took a nice, long break with my husband and family, and I’ve been really excited to get back into the daily grind. It’s so cliché, but the end of a year/the start of a new one is always a perfect time for reflecting. Maybe even set yourself some goals. Or new years resolutions as some people like to call them, loved by some and hated by others. Because if you want to change something, why not just do that any time through the year instead of waiting for the arrival of a new one? And while I partly agree with this mindset, lifestyle changes is hard and will always be a longer process. So writing down your goals is always a good idea in any case, no matter when you decide to approach them. I’ve downloaded an app called “Memo” for the desktop on my computer for my 2020 goals, just so that they are the first thing I see every morning when I sit down by my computer, and wont forget about them.

Hey! Hallo! Hej! Hvordan har I det allesammen?? Bloggen har stået stille i et par uger, og selvom jeg er meget mere aktiv på både Instagram og Youtube og det ligesom er dér, jeg lægger mest af min tid og mit arbejde – så vil bloggen altid være mit helt eget frirum og der det hele startede. Jeg ved der er mange der slet ikke læser blogs mere på samme måde, som man gjorde back in the day, men jeg kan se der stadig er en del aktivitet herinde, og jeg elsker at skrible mine tanker ned sort på hvidt. Min blog er også et godt sted, at udgive diverse guides og posts med lidt længere levetid end “det her har jeg lavet i dag”, så den vil altid være en del af Use Less universet, I guess. Nå. Det var et lille sidespring.

Jeg håber I har haft en skøn jul og er kommet godt ind i det nye år – jeg tog mig en god, tiltrængt pause med min mand og familie, og har glædet mig super meget til at komme igang med arbejde igen. Det er så kliché, men enden af et år/starten af et nyt er altid et godt tidspunkt til refleksion. Måske endda sætte sig nogle mål. Eller nytårsfortsæt som de populært kaldes; en ting der er elsket af nogle og hadet af andre – for hvis man vil ændre noget, hvorfor går man så ikke bare igang? Og selvom jeg på sin vis er enig i dette, så er livsstilsændringer en langvarig proces så det er altid godt at skrive sine mål ned, uanset hvornår på året man starter. Jeg har hentet en app til mit skrivebord der hedder “memo”, hvor jeg har skrevet mine egne 2020 mål ned, så jeg ikke glemmer dem iøvrigt.

Low buy challenge #2020wehaveplenty

Many of you might have already seen THIS video, where I question myself not only as a consumer but also as a so-called “influencer”. And inspired by Style Apotheca’s low buy challenge last year, I’ve started my own, similar challenge this year – together with you guys. I’m facilitating the above hashtag, and it is so amazing to see how many of you are already using the hashtag and joining the challenge! The purpose is not only to learn from our mistakes and become better consumers, but also to get some peace of mind. There’s a lot of pressure on us as consumers these days, and it can be incredibly hard and overwhelming to see through all that greenwashing out there. The most sustainable thing we can do anyway, is to use what we already have (not to mention a privilege) to reach that point, where you feel like “yes, my wardrobe is finally where I want it to be”. You can learn more about the challenge right HERE. I’ll also soon be sharing a post with some tips to making this challenge a bit easier on yourself to get through.

De fleste af jer har måske allerede set DENNE video, hvor jeg sætter spørgsmålstegn ved mig selv som forbruger, men også som såkaldt “influencer”. Og inspireret af Style Apothecas low buy challenge sidste år, så har jeg i år startet min egen udfordring – sammen med jer. Jeg har faciliteret ovenstående hashtag, og det er fantastisk at se hvor mange af jer, der allerede bruger det og er med på udfordringen! Meningen er ikke kun at lære af vores fejl og blive bedre forbrugere, men også at få lidt mere ro på. Der forventes meget af os som forbrugere efterhånden, og det kan være svært at gennemskue ting som greenwashing og hvad der ellers ligger og lurer derude. Det mest bæredygtige vi kan gøre er, at bruge hvad vi har – men det er en proces (for slet ikke at tale om et privilegie) at kunne nå derhen, hvor man er så tilfreds at man synes “så, nu er min garderobe helt som den skal være”. Lær mere om udfordringen lige HER. Jeg deler iøvrigt et indlæg snart, med en håndfuld tips til, at gøre sådan en udfordring lidt lettere for os alle, at komme igennem.

Take personal styling courses

Speaking of nailing your wardrobe once and for all, one of the biggest goals for me personally this year, is to take some courses in personal styling. I want to learn more about body types, materials, fits, colours and so on, so I can offer you guys even more content on building a lasting wardrobe, and with bigger confidence in it too. The plan is to offer these on Patreon, where you sign up for this content on a subscription, and then you’ll get free access to all my courses and material. Of course I’ll still be making free content on Youtube and on my blog too, but the other courses will become much more thorough. I also plan on offering 1:1 styling sessions, both online and physically (the latter will only be offered in Denmark to start off with), so if you need even more guidance, you’ll be able to sign up for that too. I’m super excited to expand my business this way, but it has sadly meant that I’ve felt the need to pause my 2ndhand shop indefinitely. Read more about that decisions right HERE.

I forlængelse af det her med at naile sin garderobe én gang for alle, så er ét af de største mål for mig personligt i år, at tage nogle kurser i personlig styling. Jeg vil gerne lære mere om kropstyper, materialer, pasformer, farvekoder m.m. så jeg, med større selvtillid, kan tilbyde jer endnu flere kurser i langtidsholdbar garderobeopbygning. Planen er indtil videre, at disse bliver tilbud på Patreon, hvor man tegner et abonnement mod et beskedent månedligt beløb, og så får I frit adgang til alle mine kurser. Jeg kommer selvfølgelig til, fortsat at udgive gratis indhold her og på youtube, men de andre kurser bliver meget mere dybdegående. Jeg kommer forhåbentligt også til, at tilbyde 1:1 sessions, både online og fysisk (fysisk bliver til at starte med kun i Danmark) så hvis man har brug for endnu mere guidance, så kan man tilkøbe det. Jeg er super spændt på at udvide min forretning, og det har desværre også betydet at jeg har måttet lukke min 2ndhand shop på ubestemt tid. Den beslutning kan I læse mere om HER.

Work smarter; not harder

Procrastinating. We all know it, don’t we? I’ve downloaded an app called Forest (it’s working it’s magic as we speak), which is a simple app that helps you work more focused. You plant a tree and get “responsibility” for this tree within the timeframe of focused working you set for yourself. If you choose to give up, the tree will die. It might sound a little bit odd but it works haha! If I’ve planned to edit a video and work on nothing else that morning, I’ll put the timer to for example 3 hours and put the phone down beside me. Everytime I feel an urge to pick up my phone (auto pilot you know), all I see is how much time there’s left, the growth of the tree so far and little messages like “stop phubbing”, “hang in there” and “don’t look at me”. It’s really effective for those of us who spend a lot of hours on the phone daily especially through our jobs, and might have a tendency to unconsciously pick it up without any purpose, and before you know it you’re stuck in some sort of deep hole on Pinterest, and you’ve forgotten what you picked up your phone for in the first place. 

Overspringshandlinger. Kender vi dem ikke allesammen? Jeg har hentet en app der hedder Forest (som jeg faktisk bruger i dette øjeblik), som ganske simpelt er en app der hjælper dig med, at arbejde mere koncentreret på diverse opgaver. Man planter et træ og får ligesom “ansvaret” for det her træ i den tidsperiode man sætter sig for, at arbejde koncentreret. Overholder man ikke tidsrummet, så visner træet og forgår. Det lyder måske lidt skørt, men det virker faktisk meget godt haha! Hvis jeg fx har sat mig for, at denne formiddag skal jeg bare have redigeret den her video og intet andet, så sætter jeg tælleren til fx 3 timer og lægger min telefon ved siden af mig. Hver gang jeg så kigger over på min telefon (sådan lidt per automatik) så ser jeg ikke andet end hvor lang tid der er tilbage, og udviklingen af mit træ samt små beskeder som “stop phubbing”, “hang in there” og “don’t look at me!”. Yderst effektivt for de af os, der bruger mange timer om dagen med diverse telefon aktiviteter, og måske har en tendens til on/off at tage telefon i hånden uden at tænke over det, og inden man får set sig om er røget ned i et Pinterest hul – og har glemt alt om, hvorfor man egentlig samlede telefonen op til at starte med.

Learn to knit

I think I’ve mentioned this before, it’s just not happened yet! But it’s still something I would love to learn. Either that or crocheting. I think choosing both would be unrealistic for me. But it would be so lovely to be able to knit my own jumpers, cardigans and scarves, also for family and future kids. My mum used to knit a lot when we were little, and she didn’t only make clothes for us – she also made clothes for my little dolls. It’s such a lovely memory and I would love to pass that on to my own children one day.

Dette har jeg vidst nævnt et par gange og det er stadig ikke sket! Men det er stadig noget jeg virkelig godt kunne tænke mig, at lære. Enten det eller at hækle. Tænker, at det bliver urealistisk for mig, at gå igang med begge dele på én gang. Men hvor kunne det være sejt ikke kun at kunne strikke cardigans og trøjer til mig selv, men også familie og fremtidige børn. Min mor strikkede meget engang, og hun strikkede ikke kun tøj til os, men også til mine dukker. Det er et dejligt barndomsminde, som jeg godt kunne tænke mig også at kunne give videre.

Puzzles+audiobooks & podcasts

I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m just not a bookworm. Honestly, I’ve never been. I remember always borrowing cartoons (like Garfield) in the school library, while every one else was reading Harry Potter. I even recall giving one of the books a go myself, but I gave up only a few pages in. I just don’t have the patience (and often I fall asleep), and it was the same thing back then. A thing that works for me though is audio books and podcasts! The last few weeks I’ve been listening to Wardrobe Crisis by Clare Press, which I can highly recommend to anyone who is interested in fashion. There’s lots of fashion history but also some great talks about how incredibly complex so-called sustainable fashion is. We have a tendency to look at things quite one-sided, but this podcast covers slow fashion in all its aspects and it also just has such a good vibe about it. I like listening to it while doing puzzles, cleaning, cooking or even when I work out. It’s a good way to educate myself, but be able to do other things at the same time.

Jeg har sluttet fred med at jeg bare ikke er særlig god til, at sætte mig ned med næsen begravet i en bog. Helt ærligt, det har jeg aldrig været god til. Jeg kan huske at jeg altid lånte tegneserier (Garfield og Eva & Adam var mine favoritter) i folkeskolens bibliotekstimer, mens alle de andre læste Harry Potter. Jeg husker sågar at jeg selv gav én af bøgerne et skud, men jeg nåede kun igang med de første par sider inden jeg gav op. Jeg har ikke tålmodighed til det (og falder ofte i søvn), og det havde jeg heller ikke dengang. En ting der fungerer for mig derimod, er lydbøger og podcasts! Jeg har de sidste par uger lyttet til Wardrobe Crisis med Clare Press, som VIRKELIG kan anbefales til enhver der er interesseret i mode. Der er både masser af modehistorie, men podcasten kommer også ind på hvor flersidet såkaldt “bæredygtig mode” er. Vi har en tendens til, at se enormt ensidet på tingene når vi snakker bæredygtighed generelt, men den her podcast kommer vidt omkring og så har den bare en lækker vibe. Jeg lytter blandt andet til den mens jeg lægger puslespil om aftenen, gør rent, laver mad eller sågar når jeg træner. Det er en god måde at oplyse sig selv og lære noget nyt på, hvis man ikke har tid til, at sidde stille imens.

Yoga in the morning

This is something I’m already doing, and I can highly recommend Yoga With Adriene on Youtube. Her videos are easy to follow and great for beginners, who might need to be guidet through these practises. I only spend around 10 minutes doing it evert morning, but it’s just enough to give me that nice feeling in my body, just as if you just did a workout. Another great way to describe it is “getting the juices flowing” as she likes to describe it, and it’s exactly how it feels haha! I’m following THIS practise every morning at the moment, but I also like THIS one as more an end-of-day “office yoga” exercise. I typically use that one if I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed after a long day in front of the computer. I’ve been doing the first mentioned morning yoga session every day for a week now, and my goal is to continue doing it so that eventually it will become as natural for me to do, as waking up and eating breakfast. It’s just such a great, self-loving way to start the day.

Dette er jeg allerede godt igang med, og her kan jeg virkelig anbefale Yoga With Adriene på Youtube. Hendes videoer er lige til at gå til, og er især gode til begyndere der har brug for at blive guidet igennem træningen. Jeg bruger kun ca 10 min. på det hver morgen, men det er alligevel nok til, at give mig den der lækre fornemmelse i kroppen, lidt den samme fornemmelse man har når man har trænet faktisk. Eller en god måde at “get the juices flowing” som Adriene beskriver det, og det er virkelig sådan det føles haha! Jeg følger DENNE korte video om morgenen p.t., men kan også godt lide DENNE, som lidt mere er en form for “office yoga”. Den bruger jeg typisk, hvis jeg har haft en lidt hård dag eller hvis jeg føler mig lidt overvældet og blæst i hovedet efter en hel dag foran computeren. Jeg har lavet førnævnte morgen-yoga session hver dag i en uge nu, og målet er at forankre denne rutine som en helt naturlig del af mine morgener. Det er bare en skøn måde, at starte dagen på.

Join a local choir

Last but not least, I’ve been wanting to pick up on a hobby lately, that is nothing else but a hobby that gives me a peace of mind. A lot of the activities I do otherwise, mostly have some sort of a connection to my interest in fashion but music and singing is something I love just for the sake of it, and it doesn’t have any roots in my work. I’ve been wanting to join a choir for some time, and I’ve actually joined one in Aabenraa! I was at a try-out session last Wednesday, and got accepted to join. It was such a fun experience, and I can’t wait to do this out of pure interest and nothing else. Give myself some head space. The class is every other Wednesday which is totally doable. Besides that, the age diversity in the class is quite big and I love that.

Sidst men ikke mindst, har jeg længe tænkt på, at fordybe mig i en hobby der giver mig et frirum og ikke er andet end blot en hobby. Mange af de aktiviteter jeg ellers fylder mit liv med, har alle én eller anden forbindelse til min interesse for mode, men musik og sang er noget jeg bare elsker, og som ikke har noget at gøre med mit arbejde på nogen måde. Derfor har jeg længe godt kunne tænke mig at starte til kor, og faktisk er jeg blevet optaget i et rytmisk kor her i Aabenraa! Jeg var til en prøvetime i onsdags, og det var så fedt at lave noget af ren interesse og intet andet. Ligesom give mig selv og min hjerne en pause. Timerne er hver 2. onsdag, så det er til at overkomme. Udover det er aldersgruppen meget blandet, og det kan jeg ret godt lide.

So there you have my goals for the year of 2020 – maybe a bit optimistic to reach all of them, but I’ve stepped back and tried to find out how I wish to live my life moving forward. Maybe I wont have time to learn how to knit anyway, and maybe the choir is enough hobby to give me that peace of mind I’m looking for. We’ll see how everything goes.

Have you set yourself any goals for this year?

Der har i mine mål for 2020 – måske en anelse optimistisk at nå dem alle på én gang, men ikke desto mindre har jeg ihvertfald forsøgt at tage stilling til, hvordan jeg ønsker at leve mit liv fremadrettet. Måske når jeg ikke at lære og strikke i år, men så giver kor timerne mig forhåbentligt det samme frirum og head space jeg har brug for, som fordybelse i at strikke også kan give. Det må vi se.

Har i sat jer nogen mål for i år?


3 Comments

  1. Cathy

    Happy new year Signe! These are great goals and a good attitude to do what you can, see what sticks. Thank you for the yoga with Adrienne link – it’s perfect, especially the one for the end of the day xoxo

    Reply
  2. Susan

    Hello Signe,

    unfortunately I discovered your blog and videos only last week (by coincidence). I wished I had done this already years ago. I love your style, you wear all the things I love, too. You are exactly the same body type as me, even applying make up in the same way as I do. If I had discovered your chanel before I could have saved so much money (spent on items I never wear) and time (thinking about how to wear the item…haha). I also like all your other blogposts as we have several things in common (even if I am a bit older). I spent all free mintues over the past days watching all your videos and reading your posts, now I have a much better idea how address my capsule wardrobe and “let things go” as well as feeling more confident in my clothes. Thank You so much!!!
    As you shop in the same shops as I do (Arket, Other stories, Levis, Armed Angels,H&M,….), I have at least the basic wardrobe almost complete. so I do not have to start from zero.
    Can’t wait to get your inspiration for a spring capsule wardrobe and perhaps you could also think one day about a kind of a “business style wardrobe” as I have one or two meetings a week where I need to dress up (ideally the basics I have), the other days I dress casual as you do (and that’s my preferred style in any way).
    So, All the best for 2020 and I am looking for all the new posts and videos to come:-)
    Take care
    Susan

    Reply
  3. Matilda

    Happy New Year (maybe a little bit late ;))

    I found the application Forest I think a couple of years ago when I got distracted at work all the time. Now I use the application again more frequently when I study. Mostly at home. Thank you for my reinvited routine!

    Reply

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