Somehow it’s September and with it comes a fresh start! Author Gretchen Rubin says ‘September is the other January—a clean slate, a fresh start, a chance to use new pencils, fresh notebooks, and begin again.” 

So much of what holds us back from using our stuff is the thought ‘I will use it someday when.’ A fresh start gives you a cue that this is the best time to start. A fresh start ushers in novelty, you’re already embracing something new, so why not tack on something you’ve been wanting to use or start, with it? 

I love anything that can be called a fresh start and I believe seeing something as a fresh start can be a great way to jump start using your things. This September I’m ushering in Show Pony Summer Series Method # 11 Fresh Start.  

Now, September can often mean back to school, back to routine, or trying new habits, but there can be other reasons for a fresh start. 

• A change in personal relationships such as marriage, divorce, a new baby, a new puppy, a break-up, a new friend, a death. 
• A change in surroundings, such as a new apartment, a new city, perhaps rearranged furniture or a recently decluttered space.
• Or perhaps it’s a new life change including a new job, a new school, a new routine, a new club, a new habit, or an upcoming trip.

Whatever the change in your life, if you view it as a fresh start it can be a great excuse to wear and use your things. 

For instance, this summer I started a new office job and before my first day, I decided I wanted to be someone who wears dresses at this job. To make this happen, I made sure I wore a dress in my first week. After wearing a dress the first time and realizing they worked well, it became a regular staple in my work attire. 

The reason I am emphasizing the fresh start is that I know what it looks like to miss this opportunity. You see, I had a previous office job, but I didn’t start wearing dresses at the beginning. This meant that when I decided to mix things up and wear dresses I received comments and attention for it. I didn’t like the attention and therefore would avoid my dresses and continued wearing my regular outfits. I had missed the opportunity of the fresh start!

This method is great if you are someone who doesn’t like to draw attention to yourself and often worries ‘what will people think?’ When you change what you wear with a fresh start you avoid this, you see, this new office space doesn’t know who I am, they don’t know that Gill doesn’t usually wear dresses. When I show up in a dress in the first week they believe this is just who I am. 

Now, for me it was dresses, I really wanted to use this fresh start to wear my dresses more regularly.

• Perhaps you’re really good at wearing your clothes, but you struggle with makeup, fancy beauty products, self-care, and lighting candles. This method can be adjusted for all of these. 
• Perhaps you have a new apartment and want to make baths a part of your routine. What if you started taking baths once a week? Put it on your calendar, put out the fuzzy robe and pulled out the bubble bath?
• Perhaps you’re starting school and want to use all of your special pens, pencils and stationery. You bring them on the first day, write on the first page, and open the package.
• Perhaps you have a new baby and want to make lighting a candle a part of feeding or nap time. You put out the candle, make sure you have matches nearby and breathe in the smell of your new routine.
• Perhaps you start a new series on Netflix and decide to always wear your super cozy, super soft PJs?

The fresh start does not have to be monumental, it is just a way to tell yourself ‘we’re doing things differently now, this is new territory with new rules and routines.’

How can you use a fresh start as a way to use your stuff?