For those of you who have followed me for a while, you will know that I love a bargain. I don’t see the point in over spending when it’s unnecessary, BUT I also don’t understand compromising your health for the sake of a few dollars.
 
Because of this outlook that I have, I have somewhat perfected the art of shopping to a budget whilst still eating healthy, nourishing food. I will share this wisdom with you in the form of my top eight tips to shopping savvy without compromising on health.

I just returned from a trip back home and this was one of the first trips in a long time that I haven’t had this negative vibe about being back there. Normally I have this overwhelming jumble of negative emotions just follow me around while I’m home, which normally leads to some sort of breakdown and me wanting to get on the first flight back to Melbourne. I guess I’ve finally learnt that I am who I am, no matter where I am. I am finally grateful again for the beautiful place I was lucky enough to grow up in. This did take me a few years though…

Three years ago, I had a moment. In this moment, I thought ‘my life has been on repeat in a vicious cycle. I need change and I need it fast’. I decided that I would move from a small city of 160,000 people to a city with upward of 4.6 million people. That city was Melbourne.
 
There were a few reasons that lead me to this decision and to be entirely honest, most weren’t good. I was in a habit of doing things that I knew I would regret, but doing them anyway and dealing with the backlash by pretending I didn’t actually care. In hindsight, I didn’t like the person I was and my solution for that was to change everything around me. Although, at the time I didn’t realise this; I thought it was all these other reasons that made me want to leave.
 
Once I decided I was leaving there was no changing my mind. I kept the decision to myself in the beginning while I planned how I was going to drive across the country myself, to a city I’d been to once, without a place to live. Most people where I’m from talk about leaving all the time, yet few people follow through with it.

When I do return home, I always have multiple people tell me how proud they are of me for leaving and achieving things. They will tell me again how this wish they could do what I did. How they would love to get out but ‘just can’t’. I simply keep my mouth shut and internally call BS.
 
This brings me to this post. I wholeheartedly believe that if you want to do something, whatever that something is, you WILL do it. No ifs, buts or maybes. And it honestly is frustrating sometimes, hearing people speak words that mean nothing and make empty promises. It’s frustrating because anyone can do anything! If you want to start a business, you can. If you want to live completely off the grid, you can. Even small things like wanting to talk to someone for the first time, you can do it.
 
All it comes down to is one simple thing: do you actually want to do what you say you want to do?
 
If someone says to me, I want to run a marathon, the first thing I will ask is ‘what are you doing right now to achieve that?’. If their answer is non-existent, or something along the lines of ‘well I want to train for it but I haven’t had time’, or ‘I wouldn’t be able to do it this year so I’ll start training later’, I don’t even entertain the idea of discussing it with them because I can already tell they most likely won’t do it. Steps towards something are what count, even if they are baby steps. Talking about taking steps isn’t the same as actually taking them.
 
Although this post is sounding a little negative, I promise I don’t mean it in that way. All I am trying to say is if you want something, go out and get it. It is totally okay if sometimes you think you want something and then it turns out not to be right for you, as long as you try it first. Just don’t be one of those people that others treat as the boy who cried wolf by continually coming up with empty promises and being in the same place all your life (physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally).
 
Work towards something, but most importantly, love whatever it is you’re doing because if you don’t, you won’t enjoy it and it will more than likely fail. Just step back, evaluate your values and work out what’s important to you, then go for it. Life is too short not to take risks and try new things.

On a final note, I consider moving away from home the best thing I have ever done. I have grown and changed so much, I am doing something I absolutely love as a career, I met my boy and most importantly, I have learnt to accept that who I was three years ago wasn’t a mistake. Where I was then was exactly where I needed to be at that time. Who I was then was exactly who I needed to be at that time. I will always be grateful for the good, bad and ugly aspects of my past as they made me who I am and brought me to this point in my life.
 
Just remember: being true to yourself will help you in whatever you choose to do. If you can live with your decision to do, or not to do something, then that is all that matters.
 
Georgia xx
 
Ps. How gorg are the photo’s of my home town!

Let’s be real for a second…. LIFE IS HECTIC! Since when did we all turn into adults and legitimately need to say, ‘let me check my diary’ before committing to plans?!
 
I know I never thought I would need a schedule or alarms or future planning just to get through the week but I am 100% serious when I say I would be more lost than Nemo if I didn’t have my wall planner and diary.
 
Going to uni, living out of home, working, volunteering, exercising, having some sort of a social life, writing my blog and finding some ‘me time’ would not happen each week without a little organization. So, without further ado, here’s my tips and tricks to get me through this crazy life we live:

1. Have a wall planner that shows the whole year
   My wall planner is my life. I have everything on mine – uni assignments, work times, payments coming in, payments going out, reminders, birthdays, flights – EVERYTHING!
   
   Having a wall planner that shows more than one month at a time is super helpful. I have been lucky to get them quite cheap through my uni, but they can be a bit expensive at some places so you may have to search a little bit to get one that shows more than one month.
   
   Having a diary or planner can also help with keeping track of money if you’re trying to save or just need some help budgeting. Check out my Ballin’ on a Budget blog post here to see how.
   
   
2. Wake up at the same time everyday
   This may not sound like it has anything to do with organization but it really does help. I always try and wake up around the same time each morning, even when I don’t have to be up early, except Sundays…. Would it even be a real weekend if we didn’t sleep in at least once?
   
   I find that if I get up around the same time each day I find that I not only can establish a morning routine, but I am super productive when I first wake up so I can get a few things done before ‘starting the day’. I use an app called Sleep Cycle which I HIGHLY recommend using! Basically, the app monitors your sleep cycles throughout the night and allows you to set an alarm that will wake you up when you’re in a light sleep phase, making it wayyyyyy easier to wake up.
   
   Through using this app I learned that I usually am in a light sleep phase around 5:30am, so waking up at that time – although it sounds crazy because it’s so early – actually makes my day flow so much smoother. I feel better when I wake up around 5:30am every day, I am so productive and most days can tackle just about anything life throws at me.
   
3. Plan ahead for just about everything and prioritise!
   

Using your trusty wall planner or diary, spend half an hour or so on a Sunday looking at your week ahead. Work out what you have on that week, at what times and where.

When I plan my weeks I usually look at things in order of commitment, so for example:

Work goes on the calendar first (I work the same days each week so that makes that easy)
Then days/times I need to be at uni (also the same days each week)
Time allocated to study
Volunteering time
Work out times (this seems low on the list but that doesn’t make it a low priority! It’s not hard to find half an hour to an hour to work out each day so I slot this in where I can, depending on my other commitments that week)
Anything extra fits in around all of the above

I try and leave my weekends free. Not because I don’t do anything on weekends, I still go to the markets and clean the house on weekends, but because I like to use this time as my time to do whatever I want/need to do. Whether that be going to the beach, hanging with my boy or watching three movies in a row in a pillow fort (or being responsible and studying), I just like to have a day or two where I can wing it.

So there’s my three go to organization tips! I love being organized and knowing what’s going on, at what times and where… Having said that, spontaneity makes life exciting and fun, so as with everything I say, don’t take this too seriously and beat yourself up if one week your less organized than another.

I hope this has helped you in some sort of way in keeping your organization on point. Life can always be crazy but don’t forget that little bit of craziness is always a bit of fun.


Georgia x