March Recap
What a month! March was such a crazy busy time for us. We moved into our new apartment as soon as the bulk of the renovation was finished. Which has been amazing, but also kind of annoying. We were still waiting for some things to be completed, like the kitchen. So I haven't been able to unpack properly and we've been living on takeaway. I can't believe I'm about to say this, because I love not having to cook. But I'm so sick of eating out! I'm really looking forward to unpacking my kitchen and keep dreaming of all the fresh, yummy, home-cooked meals I can make soon. So, as the month has been a haze of moving, unpacking and renovation finishing, my March recap is a couple of days late. Sorry! Let's have a look at some of the things that brought me joy in March :)
Favourite Apps
Marie Kondo, you have changed my life! Setting up the new apartment has been so much fun, especially because I only moved things that I really love. Back in January I watched Marie Kondo's new Netflix series and went through our entire house, getting rid of, donating or selling anything that we weren't using and didn't bring us joy. We managed to downsize a lot and it's so much nicer not having too much stuff. One of my 2019 goals/intentions was to be more minimalist. I still have a way to go, but even this first step feels amazing. Another of my goals for this year was to be more considerate of the environment and to shop less 'fast fashion'. I've been using two apps this year that I wanted to highlight in my March recap. They've both really helped me with my goal to shop more consciously and ethically.
Cladwell App
The first app that I'm really loving is Cladwell. It helps you keep a track of the clothes in your wardrobe and suggests daily outfits for you. There are so many reasons I love this app, but here are the main ones;
I'm not very adventurous when it comes to fashion. I wear yoga pants most days and when I do put on "grown up" clothes, it's usually just jeans and a jumper. This app uses the clothes I've logged and suggests outfits for me based on the weather. It puts together outfits that I hadn't thought about with items that I might have forgotten about. They say that the average person only wears 20% of their wardrobe. After using this app for 12 days I've already utilised 21% of mine!
It was very easy to set up. There was no need for me to take photos of my clothes as they have a version of almost everything I own (basics in black, grey and white!) or something close enough already in the app. Since I've just cleaned out my wardrobe I only have 85 items. So it didn't take me long to log it all.
It tells me what my most worn and least worn items are. I love that in a few months I'll be able to see if there are items in my wardrobe that I'm not wearing and then I can donate those too.
The app also suggests items that aren't in your wardrobe that would be complimentary to your style. If you like an item you can shop for something similar through the app. It's amazing how many outfit combinations it can build. Even though I only have 85 items, it can build 21,000 different outfits. I could go forever without wearing the same outfit twice.Overall, I love this app. I'll admit it can be a little buggy at times, crashing every now and then. But seeing as I only need to use it for a few minutes a day, it's not really an issue.And, just because I really love my new wardrobe...
Good On You App
The second app I'm in love with this month is Good On You. As well as not wanting to own too many clothes, I also want to make sure that when I do go shopping, I make ethical and sustainable choices. This app was founded by a not for profit organisation in Australia called Ethical Consumers Australia. The app ranks brands on their Labour practices, Environmental impact and Animal welfare. It's very easy to use and has a large database of brands. Even though the app was built in Australia it's very international. There are only a few brands here in Sweden that aren't listed yet and the app provides the opportunity to suggest new brands for them to gather information on and rank in the future.The app gives an overall ranking of either 'We avoid', 'Not good enough', It's a start', 'Good', or 'Great'. You can then delve deeper into each section and see the brands policies on People, The Planet and Animals. It also has some really interesting articles to read in a blog section. If you're interested in starting to shop more ethically and don't know where to start, then the Good On You app is a great place!
Music
I'm really enjoying listening to more music this year. Especially for the few weeks whilst we were moving that we didn't have a TV. I'm starting to feel more inspired and creative when I'm listening to music and find myself more productive when it's on in the background. As well as my 'Cosy' playlist on Spotify my 'Yoga Flows' playlist has been on high rotation this month. Here it is if you're interested in a listen. It doesn't have to be exclusively for yoga, it's also great for hanging out at home, working on the blog or studying. I hope you enjoy it.
Yoga Inspiration
Speaking of Yoga. I often get asked where I get my yoga inspiration from. So here are a few people and resources that are my favourite go to's for all things yoga. Let me know if you'd like more details on these and I'll do a more in depth post about it!
Wrapping Up
Spring has finally sprung here in Stockholm and I'm loving it. You can really notice the change in seasons here. It's not just the weather, animals, and flowers. There's a completely different vibe around the city. More people are out and about, starting to exercise outdoors again, sitting in the sun at cafes and strolling through the parks. I can't wait to finish unpacking the apartment and really start to enjoy our new neighbourhood as the days start to get longer. Also, for the next 10 days, I've joined an Instagram #yogachallenge. Come check it out and join me, it's going to be fun!
Cheers, Jess