Lifestyle Archives - JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE

Decluttering is a Challenge in 2021

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 18:30:09 +0000

When I was fond of accumulating, I did not have much to accumulate. Now that I am hoarding things, I am constantly looking for ways to declutter. This year, I realized that decluttering is a major Challenge.

I wanted to be accountable to myself when I worked on each one of my decluttering challenges. Writing has always made me feel accountable. Hence, I am listing everything about my project here.

When I started with just one decluttering challenge at the beginning of this year, my mind was swirling. I had to stick to just one MAJOR question,

Could I survive without this?

Then popped another question. How on earth did I start to accumulate so many things? I am learning how I started holding onto things and why I do it.

Going Way Back in Time

During school (almost 17 years now), all I ever had was one shelf space to arrange my books. Then another shelf space to arrange my clothes we wear at home. Finally, the last shelf space to arrange the dresses we wear when we go out. The school uniforms always had its space in my father’s wardrobe along with his pressed clothes. Everything had its place and it was simple.

By high school, I was given a separate room to handle my studies and my storage. I was gifted a new wardrobe by my aunty for one of my birthdays. All the ceramics(popular in the 90’s) finally found its place there along with the books and one part of my dad’s library. During college, I used to shop for clothes in bulk, stitch them in bulk and wear them on a random basis.

There were so many gifts back then from friends and family. A card sent for every occasion, a cute gift that was friends brought home when they came home. I was overwhelmed and thankful for everything I received and still am because they all stand there in my wardrobe. I was not fond of sharing any of this with anyone else and still don’t. That’s where my collection started.

Imagine living for 22 years in the same house and how much it will hold. The best part was my father lived for almost 50 years there before we had finally shifted.

When I joined work, I had the ability to purchase anything I wanted. I tried to give back in some way or the other, but it never felt enough when it came to giving back to people we love. I also purchased a lot of books. Until college, I borrowed books from the nearby library and used a little from my father’s big collection.

As a Couple

Facebook replaced the humble Orkut and Amazon replaced my innumerable trips to many nearby shops and the shopping experience . It was easier to shop online and saved the hassle of running around in the weekend to buy these stuff.

Weekends then became the time to rest at home. Bathing my pet, spending time with family and majorly spending time over the phone occupied my weekend. Being constantly targeted by sales people for acne products and services was one of the prime reasons I stopped visiting malls, supermarkets and many shops.

The life after marriage was a good accumulating period. Since I already started the accumulating process, it was a surprise to see my husband’s wardrobe. Oh, yes, he had so many things that I could not even count, but everything was in its place. I couldn’t differentiate between two shirts of his which is mostly the same colour to me, but to him its a matter of texture and comfort.

By marriage, I was no longer working, so buying dresses or accessories seemed unnecessary to me. However, the husband loved to gift all of this and some books. Since I did not buy much dresses or accessories, I invested all of them in buying books. Hence, the TBR list grew. We had different interests and we collected things in our own way.

From Children’s Books to My Reads

Now that I am in a different country, the first thing I did after booking the tickets were packing most of the books in newspapers and placing them in the loft. The rest stays neatly arranged on one shelf in the bedroom. I miss all my books and my stationary accessories that I couldn’t bring when I travelled here.

When you are staying in a different country for a period of time, you have this subconscious mind constantly reminding you about the things you buy. Will I be able to take this back home? Do you really need this? We can always donate a few things, sell a few and leave the rest depending on who’s going to occupy after us.

PC: Julia Joppien on Unsplash” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Unsplash

I am trying my best not to buy a lot here, still buying happens. Since libraries were closed due to Lockdown, I had to buy books. There was a whole collection at my husband’s office library which came at a small total.

I asked him to bring about 15 books from that collection. Now, that’s my reading list for this year. I will be sharing my progress of reading this year in my Instagram stories because I have planned only 10-12 books this year.

The biggest challenge with books is the wish to keep it with me after I finish reading them. Now, I am going to learn to give back and make a note of the ones that really touched me. Maybe I would keep a book for quotes that I loved reading.

We’ve been buying 1 or 2 books a month so far for my daughter, but after school opened they sent a book a week and all were interesting reads. So, I am now buying children’s collection because we want to build a good collection and of course I will take it back home.

Digital Decluttering is a Big Challenge

When it comes to phone, I prefer to use single SIM phones. That makes it too many. When there’s too many there’s too much clutter too. I have collection of photos of almost 3-4 years now in my phone along with the non-stop WhatsApp photos and videos(some). Since the daughter has started to explore photography with my phone, it gets quickly filled up with burst shots.

Since I left my old phone back in India, which had moments right from daughter’s birth, I do not want to lose more. So, I’m moving my photos on a monthly basis to laptop or a pen drive. Best of all, I am printing some of them and making an album. After all, old ways are the best anytime. My parents had spent a fortune on albums, but it is worth it. We used to view them when cousins come over or during family get togethers.

My mailboxes are nothing but almost close to a elite bin. So many advertisements and promotions that if I want to find something, it takes me forever. I will be doing a deep cleaning this year and unsubscribe from most places and maybe delete a couple of mail ID’s too. Oh, yes, I have one for each work I do! 😐

Somehow, my interest in many social media channels is slowly reducing. I am looking forward to deleting a lot of content from most channels, at the moment, it is Twitter and Facebook Pages. These are my digital cleansing projects.

Home Decluttering Challenge

I’ve always wanted to have a home of my own. We don’t own one yet, but to get the feeling of being on our own is also a big experience for me. I’ve come to enjoy staying on our own and it is comforting in many ways.

Setting up a Montessori shelf has been one of my interests since my Montessori course. Though we manage to tidy up the toys, I wanted to have a theme for each week and learn to interlink it with all subjects. So, this is one of my top priorities in the kid’s section.

Kitchen decluttering is one major challenge project that I am looking forward to this year. This will help me get into weekly meal planning (yes, still not fully into it) and more of taking up a sustainable living project.

Growing plants has always been on the list, but somehow never happened. I have problems with keeping a plant alive and the other is my daughter knocks the whole thing down. My first plant here is a Peace Lily which has survived for almost 6 months now and my daughter has keenly watered it. So, this would be an interesting thing to do this year.

PC: Jessica Kessler on Unsplash" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Unsplash

The main reason to focus on the decluttering challenges this year is to make homemade stuff as much as possible. To reduce my food waste, to move to a sustainable space and make it our way of life from here on.

As of now, these are my major decluttering challenges of 2021. I know that if I decode this here, I will be able to keep up with it wherever I am.

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Suganda’s Antioxidant Face Serum Review

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 07:51:04 +0000

Hello Again!!

I am Jayanthy Govindarajan, author of Jayanthy’s Free Space! Thank you, if you still remember me after being away for some time now. In case you still cannot process my name in your mind, let’s start over again! 🙂

Either way, welcome again to my blog!

I know it has been quiet for a bit now, but I’d love to tell you that I’m working with the design again. It’s been two busy months, and I just changed my host. I had to go through a lot of changes – technically and emotionally, so processing all of it has not been easy for me! I understood the start of the year is not the right time to change the contract.

Well, I wanted to write about an important product here. This is my review based on my experience with the product. I am excited because, after my Simply Pimply story, this is the second post where I talk about my acne journey in my blog. This happened because, for almost 7 years, I did not use any skincare product much and let my skin be. After following Suganda and their journey for 6 months now, I was ready to try them. I received their Antioxidant Face Serum to try and share reviews. Honestly, they asked me to be honest with my reviews. That’s a good start, isn’t it?

Let’s check out the product.

WHY I CHOSE SUGANDA’S ANTIOXIDANT FACE SERUM

After reading yesterday’s post you must be better aware of why I’m raving about Suganda products.

After following them for almost 6 months now, I have read a lot of reviews on this platform and other platforms. I’ve decided by some honest reviews from blogger friends, Krupa and Uma. We have the same skin type, almost.

WHAT’ MY SKIN TYPE?

Oily + Acne-Prone + Sensitive

FOR HOW LONG DID I DEAL WITH ACNE?

I’m 32 now. So, for about 17 years now I have dealt with acne. Right through my teenage years to facing adult acne, I’ve seen both.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME IN THE ANTIOXIDANT FACE SERUM?

First and foremost, it is the ingredient list. After seeing lots of chemicals especially parabens, sulfates, acids, and alcohols which I’m not aware of why it is in it, I’ve found this minimal list entertaining.

The simple ingredient list and detailed information available on their website and all over the Internet, helped me decide easily.

I have paid lots before for nothing and from my father’s pocket. Now, I didn’t want to simply throw more money again. So, honestly, I thought twice before buying these. Now, I can confidently say it is a wise investment.

So, here’s the list.

Vitamin C:

It helps in repairing the damaged skin cells. It helps in the regeneration process. In simple terms, it aids in healing the skin.
I remember using Vitamin C tablets on my face back in time just because someone told me it will heal my acne. ?‍♀️
After reading a lot, I understood it is one of the most essential vitamins for glowing skin.
Vitamin C increases collagen production, reduces skin discoloration and enhances the repair process.
It could rarely irritate the skin, mine is a sensitive kind. It didn’t irritate mine. So I could confidently say it would be better on most skin types.
This main ingredient in the #antioxidantfaceserum assured me my skin would feel better.
Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate is a stable and water-soluble form of Vitamin C.
Helps in brightening uneven skin tone.

Gotukola

I read a lot about how Gotukola and I want to share my exploration here.
Rebuilds the nervous system and helps reduce anxiety and stress. It helps in healing wounds and scars. Also, it is a cerebral tonic and the perfect remedy for the regeneration of connective tissues.

Relieves skin lesions associated with leprosy and acts as a valuable wound healing agent.

An adaptogen that helps in balancing and harmonizing the mind, body, and spirit.

Turmeric
As Indians, we all know the amazing properties of Turmeric for the skin.

It has natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties and helps to keep bacteria from spreading.
It protects the skin against skin damage, aging and also reduces dark circles and dark spots.

Hyaluronic Acid

It helps retain water to keep your tissues well lubricated and moist.

Promotes healthier skin.
Heals wounds quicker

Glycerin

Good for oily skin since it helps moisturize my skin.
Soothes oily skin and helps reduce inflammation.

Kashmiri Lavender Oil

Known as the best in the world and devoid of adulteration, it is known for a sweet aroma.
A good percentage of Linalool and Linalyl Acetate are present in this oil. It helps in relaxing and soothing the skin and mind.
It helps in skin regeneration.

HOW IT HELPS MY SKIN?

It’s been three weeks now since I started using the face serum. Since I don’t use any moisturizer, I used to apply around 6-7 drops on my face and massage it for a minute. I followed this only in the mornings for one week since I wanted to take it slow. For the next weeks, I followed it two times – morning and night or morning and evening. It’s 3 weeks now, I feel my skin is softer and calmer than before. My forehead used to have deep scars, but now it has lightened.

My cheeks have lots of scars and pigmentation. Right now my focus is on these. There’s a slight difference only, but I know it would take some more time for me. I have deep scars and it needs a lot of healing. For 3 weeks, I feel a nice change in my skin tone and that’s a big hit.

WHAT’S MY TAKE ON THE PRODUCTS?

Love them to bits. I was glad to share my journey with my family and friends. A couple of my family members trusted my reviews and we did a haul together.

So, I honestly trust this product. Though I received the Anti-oxidant face serum for review, I must say I am impressed and that’s why I hauled their PRODUCTS.

I’m not having mixed opinions, I have one straight thought about them and they are genuine products you could trust.

I went ahead and purchased their White lotus moisturizer now to help me with better results.

I love their products, in case you still didn’t figure it out. This works for my skin in a better way and I’m going to carry them wherever I go. I’m not a make-up person, still, this is the first product that had helped me set a skincare routine.

Since it’s easy to apply and easy to use plus it offers results better than my expectations, I’m trusting this product to help reduce my acne scars. I will post skin updates regularly.

HONEST RATING:
♥️♥️♥️♥️ 5/5 – A heartbreaker for sure

A bit expensive is the usual take, but for me, it’s worth the investment. I can guarantee it will last for 6 months easily. So do the math!

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7 Activities I Enjoyed in 2019

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 11:36:25 +0000

When I wrote about my Challenges that I couldn’t complete in 2019, I realized my moments of truth. Aren’t we critical of ourselves most times? So, here’s a list of little things that actually made this year a delightful one. These activities aren’t new to me, but they made me look at them in a new dimension and helped bring a good deal of sanity in me.

You’d be surprised to know them as much as I was when I figured what helped me this year. I couldn’t really believe I liked some of these until this year. It’s during sadness and low times that we find great interests that lie deep within us. It’s the happiness within us of finding the unknown, we get the power to accomplish them.

So, here’s a small list of my activities that I enjoyed in 2019.

Bullet Journal

If not for my bullet journal this year, I would have felt another year just went by. I tracked so much about everything. About what I could acomplish, what I couldn’t, what I liked about myself, what I didn’t really like about me. I tracked about Ilakkiya’s growth and milestones, her doctor appointments, her first words, her sentences, the little books we got from the library, etc., I tracked my disappointments and my happy moments in this journey. I’ll tell you now that I’d write down things to know what I think about a yearly challenge – can I make it or not?

I learnt about journals this year and have put mine to good use. I was gifted MatrikaS dotted journal by Dimple, my Santa last year and this year I am on cloud nine for receiving TinyChange Journal from Tulika. I’d be forever thankful to her for gifting me a treasure.

2. Writing

There was too much chaos at the beginning of 2019. What helped me get it all out and go about getting things done was writing. Some of my posts stated my emotional turmoil so clearly that my blogger friends came forward to help me, I am thankful for these souls. I realized acceptance and the process of healing can do that to us. Though I couldn’t bottle my emotions anymore, I also didn’t feel the need to. I needed the courage to cross that line to write about the not-so-shiny things about my life and I am happy to share my thoughts here.

I managed 32 posts this year and I am happy that writing was something I could always fall back on.

3. Reading

What this year did to me was bring in some brilliant choices of books. I’d be forever thankful to Shailaja V for introducing Atomic Habits by James Clear to the entire blogging circle. I think back to that book every single day. I read some good collection this year, even though I didn’t complete my reading goal. It is good that I managed 15 books this year and I enjoyed most of it.

I started with

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
The Wrong child by Patricia Kay
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Deep Work by Cal Newport
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer
Atomic Habits by James Clear
When Strangers Meet by K. Hari Kumar
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman
You Beneath my Skin by Damayanti Biswas
The Courage to be Disliked by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi
Ikigai by Hèctor Garcia and Francesc Miralles
Man Friday by Sundari Venkatraman
Unexpectedly Mine by Stephanie Rowe
The Bestseller she wrote by Ravi Subramaniam
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

4. Doodling/ Step by Step Drawing

Funny, right? I cannot draw a straight line or a circle. I am not a free hand drawing person. Somehow I always thought I missed a good part of art because I cannot draw. I let it be. I never expected that my daughter will enjoy to draw. Luckily she takes it from my mom, grandmother, sister and mother-in-law. Thanks to step by step drawing tutorials. I can appreciate myself for taking the effort to learn the skill.

My husband and I had a great time this year learning this skill. He learned to draw bicycles and swings, while I learned to draw better Monkeys among other animals.What I appreciate more is, my daughter is learning to draw with me. Earlier I couldn’t convince her with my animals. She’d look at me wondering isn’t that a dog, but you’re saying it’s a wolf. I’d say both look alike( atleast to me)

5. Binge Watch/Movies

For almost two years, I have only watched 2-3 movies. Even with Netflix and Amazon Prime membership, I had hardly watched anything. This year I watched so much. I watched 20 movies and 4 series in a span of 100 days. This finally happened when the husband realized what it’s like to have the little one tagging along all the time. So, when father and daughter started spending time together, this movie marathon was possible for me.

6. Travel

This was the best year when it came to travel. The year started with a trip to the Queen of Hills – Ooty and ended with the Seven Hills – Tirupathi. ☺️ Though I couldn’t visit everything I had set on my list this year I managed to visit some places as a good start.

I was mad about England for long, I still am. Finally when we traveled there, it was like a dream come true. London will always be close to my heart. I wish a long stay there, keeping fingers crossed, so I get to explore more of it and it is a place I cherish.

In 2018, Bangalore trip was special and in 2019 it is our stay in London.

7. Parenting

Don’t laugh. Isn’t it a full-time thing? So to enjoy parenting is actually to enjoy the time I spend with my daughter. It’s not always possible to spend quality time with my daughter. When we spend time together, it’s really like two girls discussing everything under the sun. In reality, I don’t let her stay under the sun for long. If I feel blessed for just one thing in my life, it would be my daughter. I’m amazed at how fast she is growing and yes, I want to hug her many times nowadays. I’m fond of her so much, I could just sit and watch everything she does without telling a word. Well, I’m not a OCD parent, but something tells me my daughter will be one. Let’s see.

P.S. How many times did you literally change 2018 to 2019? Oh yes, I guess I almost did it every time in this post. ? Jet speed 2019, I’m still lurking in 2018 waiting to welcome 2019 ?

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Much Love Monday: Why I love to detangle Wind Chime Strings

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 10:13:38 +0000

I am half mental. Wait, I know it’s not a nice way to start the post, but truth be told before I begin, right?

Aren’t you wondering why would someone ever sit down and discuss about untangling some random wind chime strings?

I can talk to you about it. This question actually came to me recently when I untangled the wind chime strings at home. Until then, it was merely a task I enjoyed. Maybe it’s just the focus and the flow that I enjoy when I detangle each string from the other. Or it could also be the fact that I am a confused soul who has lots of things going on in my mind and this helps me relax and see one thing at a time.

Approximately in the last twenty years, we’ve had almost 10 wind chime strings at home. Yes, most were gifts. If I remember right, my sister bought one from it. I love the serenity that surrounds as they chime against each other. It’s so calming at the same time it breaks some walls within me. Most times I am soothed easily by them that my ears and mind opens to their sweet sound when I visit places. Have you noticed the strings, the balls and other props used to make these? My sister was gifted one sometime in the last couple of years. It had an Eiffel tower and two giant balls and lovely bells. Not sure if the chaos within made it the sweetest sound or if it’s the sweetest I’ve heard in a while. I demanded it be close enough so I hear it as I sleep.

Image Courtesy: Google

Much to my surprise, she tied it in a strong string inside the bedroom and right above the bed. I still remember the tune. The bad thing though is that my daughter was the first one to jumble this whole structure. Yes, you read that right. I never wanted to believe it. A 2.5 year old who is growing up everyday and I didn’t have the slightest idea she’d reach it by now. Tada, it happened within my reach and I couldn’t do anything but watch with shock (I don’t mouth wtf words anymore out loud, but wtf was on my mind). The grin on her face like she achieved something on her own was inevitable. Only I couldn’t explain to her that it is supposed to make that noise on it’s own and it does not need someone’s help to make it.

Forget it, I am there to detangle it! I looked at the tangled chime. I just couldn’t do anything there at that moment. Later, after days, I was upset about something and wanted to throw everything out. That’s when this tangled chime caught my eyes. I was chaotic and so was she.

Terribly tangled,

unable to enjoy the moment,

almost unable to perform her concert,

her purpose long gone.

I just sat and started to detangle the string one by one. It was like I spoke with my own struggles, those which lay underneath with no answers, to find again some of my own decisions left behind without knowing a way to go, to find the next step, just one step forward and closer to something I always wanted. These strings were nothing in comparison to what’s going on in my life, but they helped me see things differently. Just detangling from my own web of fear, discomfort, misfortune, guilt, to a place where I can just let my doubts settle down with time.

To detangle the strings and hear them wind chime strings again is like getting connected with some part of me I lost during a race to please/impress others. Finding myself is like finding an old memory covered in dust. You just don’t worry about the dust, the photo is more precious and still etched deep within you. Sometimes I think it is just some random strings attached to one another, connected by something equally weird and making some noises that cause annoyance. However, I cannot. It’s not the screechy noise that comes when we mix with a spoon in a stainless steel vessel. Phew, that’s horrific, though it’s a everyday noise. This is the sweetest of dreams that you’d like to remember.

I think once in a while why I never bought a wind chime if I like it so much. Maybe there was always one around or I never really felt I had a perfect place for it in the house. I’ve never made a place for it around too. It would hang in the living room for a while and then it would get entwined with the webs. That’s when I would notice it. I don’t want to have mine jumbled like this. So, someday I’ll buy it when I feel there’s a place for it. Until then, I’d do it with the ones we have.

Do you enjoy the wind chime tunes? Do you have one at home? What calms your mind?

Much Love Monday is a series I am hosting in my blog about how each of us look at Mondays. This will be hosted on the 3rd and 4th Monday in this blog. You can share your experience about your Monday or an experience worth sharing on Monday in your blog. You can add this badge to your post and comment here so we can follow each other’s posts.

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