It’s been a little quiet around here for the past month. I have to admit, I’ve been feeling pretty uninspired in terms of writing and I thought that some time away would be helpful. I’m not sure if it was or not, but I do know that I missed writing and I also knew that I wanted the first day of 2019 to be the day that I restarted. I wish I could pinpoint what led to the hiatus (so as to avoid it in the future), but I can’t. I’m inclined to blame it on the holiday rush and then just wanting to have downtime with my family. Whatever the reason, I’m happy to be feeling re-inspired enough to write this.

I thought it would be fun to review this past year with items that stand out in my mind, the really great ones and the not so great ones.

January

January is a bit of a blur and there is no specific thing that stands out, but it was during this month that the idea of starting this blog was cemented. I had been thinking of starting a minimalism blog for a few years but fear always held me back. But I realized that if I never started it then I would probably look back on that decision with regret. I also told myself that it didn’t matter if anyone read it, which made it less scary to start. But I am so very thankful that you did!

February

February was the month that Uncomplicated Spaces became a reality. I had no idea what direction the blog was going to take, but I knew that I wanted it to focus on consuming less in terms of belongings, and also as a guide to help people get rid of the things that they didn’t want/need. When I wrote my first post, Getting Rid of Stuff is Hard, and the following post on Letting Go of Your Book Collection, I had envisioned a minimalism/organization blog, but it didn’t entirely pan out that way.

March

In March, I participated in my very first clothing challenge, which I wrote about in the Spring 10×10 Style Challenge and My Spring 10×10 Challenge Experience. The challenge really piqued my interest in capsule wardrobes and awakened my previously forgotten love of fashion again. The idea of making lots of outfits out of fewer items of clothing became a focus and I started to incorporate some minimalist fashion posts. This was in part due to my desire to create a wardrobe that contained only pieces that I felt great wearing and loved. I also wrote two minimalism posts: 7 Things Minimalism has Taught Me and A Simple Question To Help Get Rid Of Stuff.

April

In April, most of my writing was about minimalism. There were some topics that were really on my mind that I wanted to write about, such as Minimalism in a Big House, and 6 Common Excuses Not to Declutter . But April was also the start of a dark period for me. At the end of the month, a tendon in one of my hands ruptured and this set up the next few months, where writing was not on the forefront, or even possible at times, honestly.

May

The month of May started off with a surgery to repair the ruptured tendon and to also fix some issues with my wrist that had led to the rupture. I spent the months of May and June in a various array of casts and finally, at physical therapy. The recovery was slow and is still somewhat ongoing, even as I write this. I did manage to put out one post at the beginning of May, that had actually been written just prior to my injury, 7 Steps to a Minimalist Lifestyle.

June

June saw a return to writing, albeit with the use of one hand as the other was casted. My first post back, I Don’t Have Enough Clothes to Own a Dresser Anymore, is a pretty good indicator of what I was up to while I was recovering from the surgery. I didn’t feel like there was a lot that I could do effectively during my recovery but I was able to clean any remaining clothes out of my house that were not serving a purpose and as a result, get rid of a large dresser.

June was also the month that marked my first foray into the capsule wardrobe world, with Project 333, which I wrote about in Project 333 Capsule Wardrobe Experiment. As I mentioned earlier, my interest in capsule wardrobes was born out of the first 10×10 challenge that I participated in. And then the act of decluttering my wardrobe planted the idea of trying to make a variety of outfits with just 33 items of clothing for 3 months.

July

July was the month that I started Project 333. It is also the month that I started focusing more heavily on my Instagram account to document my daily outfits. I wanted to show people that there were a lot of outfits that could be made out of so few pieces of clothing. I also decided to start a shopping ban during the month of July, the reasoning for which I outlined in Why I’m Starting a Shopping Ban Right Now. I had figured that if I was going to be doing Project 333 then I didn’t really have any need to buy any new clothes. I also took a girl’s trip to Chicago with some girlfriend’s which was the basis of my post on Packing for a Weekend Getaway. Some other posts that I wrote in July include the 7 Ways that Minimalism has Saved me Time and How Slow Fashion has Curbed My Shopaholic Tendencies.

August

August saw the demise of my commitment to the Project 333 challenge, which came around the same time that I participated in my second 10×10 clothing challenge. Read about the challenge in Summer 10×10 Challenge – the Plan and Summer 10×10 Challenge – the Experience.

August also marked the end of my supposed 3 month shopping ban. I think I just got bored and was feeling very restricted. I wrote about the end of the shopping ban in I Totally Blew My Shopping Ban.

In August, I was staring to focus more on secondhand shopping as a way to participate in slow fashion, without spending a ton of money. In A Guide to Secondhand Style – Local Shops, I outlined the steps that I find helpful when going secondhand shopping, and in A Guide to Secondhand Style – Online Shops, I outlined some online resources that I like for secondhand shopping for the whole family.

September

September marks one of my favorite months of 2018. Firstly, because it’s my birthday month. Secondly, because it’s the month that marks the beginning of the fall season, which is my favorite season. And lastly, it’s the month that I finally got to travel to Scotland. We travelled to Edinburgh where we spent a few days. Then we travelled up through the lower portion of the highlands to catch a ferry to Islay where we stayed for another few days. Finally, we headed back to Glasgow. It really was the trip of a lifetime and we all have such fond memories. During this time, I took a mini break from writing and posting to Instagram. But once we got back, I wrote a post about Traveling for 2 Weeks with a Carryon Only.

October

In October, I shifted focus more towards secondhand fashion to illustrate secondhand shopping as a great first alternative to get the items on your wish list in Secondhand Style – Fall Edition. I was also interested in showing one item of clothing could be styles different ways with 3 Ways to Style a Skirt for Fall.

November

November had me very focused on the upcoming holidays with holiday outfits (Style Guide – 3 Holiday Looks), some Black Friday shopping alternatives (7 Alternatives to Shopping on Black Friday (Or Anytime) and Slow Saturday and My Intentional Purchases) and finally, how I approach Christmas as a minimalist with kids (A Minimalist Christmas with Kids).

December

December ended up being an unintended break from the blog. Back in November, I had made a commitment to write at least once per week but once December rolled around, I completely passed on that commitment. Instead, I spent the month focusing on preparing for the holidays, decorating, taking care of my kids once Christmas break had started, and just not putting any pressure on myself other than to enjoy the time with my family. After Christmas Day, we travelled to Chicago for a few days. I finally got to visit the Art Institute of Chicago and it was amazing and everything I had hoped that it would be. December was also the month when I cut my hair above my shoulders…something that I had wanted to do for a very long time but that I had been too afraid to do. I have zero regrets about it.

That pretty much summarizes this past year in terms of the blog and some other major personal life events. I am so very thankful for your readership and support, both here and over on my Instagram and Pinterest accounts. Thank you for making 2018 such a great year for me. And cheers to a wonderful 2019 for us all, hopefully filled with a lot of great experiences and few heartaches.

Please leave me a comment and tell me how your 2018 was. I’d love to hear about your highs and your lows.