The Art of Intentional Usage
Author: Michelle
Description: The Art of Intentional Usage is focused on being intentional about what you're doing with what you have
Date: 2014-10-06T10:30:00+00:00

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# The Art of Intentional Usage

posted on 6 October, 2014

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If you’ve been following my twitter feed recently you may have seen the following tweet: #TheArtofIntentionalUsage. You may have wondered what I was talking about? Well, I’m going to tell you!

This year has been a year of profound change for me as I have spent a lot of time focusing on what will make me happy, how I can affect positive change in the world, how I can grow my money and eliminate my debt. I spend a lot of time focused on the way that money makes me feel. I don’t necessarily give a lot of how to tips and the top 5 ways to do things. I seem to focus a lot about how money makes me feel. Money has made me feel powerless, scared, depressed, and recently empowered (good change of events).

As I mentioned in a recent post the following 5 things are my priority in this specific order:

- Health
- TIme
- People
- Money
- Travel

Given these priorities I am now even more focused on eliminating unnecessary spending, using what I have, and spending time with friends and family.

The Art of Intentional Usage is a deliberative process of looking at what you have and taking the time to think creatively about how you’re going to use what’s already in your home. When I decided to call my blog “The Shop My Closet Project” it was a nod to the idea of using what you already have in your home.

The Art of Intentional Usage goes even deeper. Walk in your kitchen go through what you have and think creatively about how you’re going to use that item.

Today I spent $8.81 on groceries for the week. I am doing a shopping challenge this month and the goal is to spend no more than $40 on groceries this month. People will wonder how is this even possible?

I’m practicing the Art of Intentional Usage.

This evening I juiced and made a ginger/carrot/grapefruit/and apple juice using items that were going to go bad by the end of the week. I went through my cupboards and found a small bag of couscous that would pair nicely with my chicken/caper/lemon/chopped green olive/ and canned artichoke dinner for the first part of the week. The lemon was getting a little tired, the chicken was taken out of the freezer, the chopped olives were waiting for some inspiration, and the canned artichokes from Whole Foods added a certain something to the mix.

I have also finished stocking up my home pantry for the winter. I will be using the soap, toothpaste, cleaning products, and every other item that is in my home before I go and buy something new. I have more than enough clothes, shoes, coats, and everything else that I will continue to use what I have and will focus on what is really important.

Being intentional means focusing on every part of your life and making things happen instead of letting life happen to you. It means understand that every transaction that you engage in that includes money also includes time. Being intentional for me means that every time I spend money I want to spend as little as possible without sacrificing quality. Because every time I spend money that money is money that I’ve had to earn in service to others every day. The thing is I have to be in service to myself and the life that I want for myself.

The Art of Intentional Usage has also freed up a lot of time that I was spending on unnecessary errands and other tasks that were taking a way from what is truly important.

This weekend I spent time with my mom, went to a friend’s birthday party, and then hung out with a friend and her baby in the park. Last week I ran into a friend, her daughter, and her sister at a coffee shop. As I become more and more vigilant about embracing these moments with people I am a lot happier. Work isn’t everything. Things aren’t everything. People ARE everything.

So, when you are making a money decision also remember that it is also a time decision. Remember what is important to you and focus on that with laser-eyed focus. Be purposeful and you will have the life that you really want for yourself.

You have enough.

I want good health, people, travel, money, and no debts. It’s kind of crazy how things shift when you become clear about what’s important.

Do you practice #The Art of Intentional Usage? What is important to you? How are Your Spending Habits Moving You Towards The Life That You Want? How Are Your Habits In General Moving Your Towards the Life That You Want?

I also saw my mom this weekend but she will NEVER let me put a picture of her on the blog

The chicken wasn’t finished cooking by the way!

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#### Michelle

I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.

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### Comments

1. Alexa says

   6 October, 2014 at 11:41 am

   I love it. I’ve been trying to be intentional too. Health was also on the top of my list and I’m pretty proud of the progress I’ve made with my eating habits. The problem though is that my grocery budget has drastically went up!

   Spending $8.81 for a week of groceries? You’re my inspiration now lol. I’m went grocery shopping yesterday and I’m gonna try my hardest to make everything last at least two weeks! We’ll see how it goes.

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     6 October, 2014 at 1:04 pm

     I love grocery shopping so I have to really work hard at using what’s already in the house. This week I will be using up the kimchi, some noodles, and frozen vegetables. Will keep you posted on what I create.

     Reply

2. Tonya@Budget and the Beach says

   6 October, 2014 at 12:29 pm

   I like the use of the picture slide show! Nice! I do something very similar but without having everything all stocked up. I buy what I need in small amounts so nothing goes to waste.

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     6 October, 2014 at 1:06 pm

     I love including photos but I find the slide show a lot more affective! I am really trying to use what I have a lot more intelligently.

     Reply

3. Michelle (@BudgetBloggess) says

   7 October, 2014 at 7:43 am

   Wow, $8.81 on groceries! Great job! I’m getting there but the lowest I’ve gotten to is $22 for the week. Part of the reason to start the no clothing spend for me was to stop wasting time online shopping. I need to use my time more wisely to further my career, my writing and my life. This year I’ve spent more time connecting with family, I had a cousin visit from Scotland with his wife and baby, now why would I want to miss that?
   Fantastic post Michelle 🙂

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     7 October, 2014 at 10:53 am

     Ten dollars was my limit and I actually had to put an item back on the shelf (a box of mueslix cereal). When I got home I discovered that I already had a brand new box of mueslix! It is amazing how much time you save when you aren’t shopping. Right now I am really dealing with not having enough time to: manage my health, clean the house, meet family and friends, date, or to have time to myself. Anything that keeps me from focusing on what’s important I just want to eliminate from my life.It’s taken me a long time to get this point Michelle! LOL!

     Reply

4. Genevieve says

   8 October, 2014 at 2:24 pm

   This is pretty much my priority list as well. I’d add Interesting Work/ Intellectual Engagement on there. I’m doing my best to live to those values.

   Good luck on your grocery challenge! That sounds super tough! All the power to you.

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     8 October, 2014 at 3:28 pm

     Thanks a lot! I’m trying to rock this challenge. I think what you value changes throughout your life but I think this list will be in this order for awhile.

     Reply

5. Nell Casey says

   19 October, 2014 at 1:34 am

   I love this Michelle. It’s something I’m working on too. I’ve started menu planning, which sounds so bloody nerdy to say, but I love being really intentional about what we buy each week and we’ve reduced our wastage and saved money in the process.

   Reply

6. PJ says

   4 November, 2014 at 3:04 am

   Hi Michelle, I applaud your Art of Intentional Usage concept! I have a little question though, so you aim to spend $10 on groceries each week to top up – but there certainly has to be a time you need to replenish the staples? No? How will you budget those?

   Reply

   - Michelle says

     4 November, 2014 at 6:10 am

     I wrote a wrap up where I talk about the restock process. You have to understand that my place is VERY well stocked 🙂 (I blush) But, I will spend $250 every other month and then eat through those staples during the $40 a week months. Check out the October Link Love post and I detail that. I am being very intentional about what I buy at this point and discovered that there re things that I currently have that I just don’t want to eat. So, I’m giving those items away and I won’t buy them again. Waste of money.

     Reply

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1. […] Michelle from The Shop My Closet Project: The Art of Intentional Usage […]

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2. […] The Art of Intentional Usage – The Shop My Closet Project […]

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3. […] The Shop My Closet Project – The Art of Intentional Usage – I love what Michelle’s doing this month, with using up what she has and appreciating things that matter to her. Bravo, I say! I always boggle at people who struggle to have one or two “no spend days” a week. Probably a side-effect of poverty, I guess! lol […]

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4. […] Mindful, Be Intentional, and Be […]

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5. […] The Art of Intentional Usage – The Shop My Closet Project […]

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