Let’s talk containers

Have you seen/heard about the Home Edit? Let’s just say: I’m a fan. If you’re not (yet), the Home Edit is about gorgeously reorganizing spaces in a very practical and strategic way.  

Here are a couple of upgrades I’ve done in my house based on their teaching:

(My son, Oakley and I love it! My husband and daughter are not convinced about the rainbow bookshelf yet. Zoe is dismayed that collections have been broken up. I say to the authors: keep your book series spines the same colour so we can all be organizationally satisfied!) 

And please, check out my pantry and cupboard. (That feels surprisingly intimate… You’re really getting the inside scoop here.)

There are several steps to the Home Edit (and no, I’m not their affiliate trying to sell you anything… this is going somewhere related to self-care) and the one step that has made the most significant difference to me is the Contain step. 

It’s where you take items that are similar, group them together and give them lovely little homes to live in. Like my jars. The labeling takes the whole thing over the top. It makes me oh so very happy every time I look at my labeled containers. 

Why, you may ask? Because it takes all the guesswork out of keeping things organized. There is now an amazing system that’s easy to follow. 

I’ve been thinking about containers in other areas of my life too. Here’s what I’ve noticed. Prior to a couple of years ago, I left many things up to chance. I wasn’t too skilled at planning out my life and as a result, I felt stressed out and overwhelmed very often. I had (almost) weekly emotional blow ups because of said stress. Good times. 

On one of my vision boards, I glued on the words: I am a planner. Apparently some part of me knew there was a better way, but I had no idea what to do beyond the gluing. 

It’s been a gradual process, but I can tell you that for the past couple of years now, my organizational prowess has sky-rocketed. How, you may ask? I gave you a hint before...

Containers. I’ve been able to gain huge clarity in every area of my life by implementing containers. 

For example, every week, I take time to reflect on my previous week in a structured practice that I call the Sacred Success Sunday Review. (See how it has a container and a lovely “label”?) I put a container around the practice, it has a system and I just sit down and do it. No decisions to be made, it just gets done every week because when I see my next week all planned out, it makes me feel oh so very happy, skilled and organized. No more double bookings or cramming in extra activities where there really, truly is no room. The Sunday Review has helped me create much better boundaries and be way more productive with dramatically reduced stress and overwhelm. 

Another example. Last year, I noticed that I don’t tend to be awesome at reaching out to friends. My husband and I have generally been the ones to initiate things, as in if we don’t make the plans, we rarely see friends, so there was a minor rebellion going on inside me. I didn’t want to always have to be the initiator. 

I also noticed that I would still like a circle of support. So guess what container I created this year? A monthly Circle of Support! Once a month, I get together (virtually) with a small group of trusted friends and we share our successes and intentions and then hold space for each other over the month on our most important dreams. It’s easy, strategic, fulfilling… and it works because there’s a container. 

You may wonder: Does a container make things too rigid? I used to think so, but I’ve discovered that it's really the exact opposite. The masculine energy creates the container and then the feminine energy is all about flowing within the container. 

When I first learned about feminine energy, I thought the point was only about flowing through life, but that didn’t work so well. A river with no river banks is just a flood. I was kind of flooded all over the place. By implementing containers, I’ve been able to streamline my energy and get really clear about how I want to spend my time. 

Last example. During my Sunday Reviews last year, I noticed that there were some things that showed up as To-Do’s every week, but took a reeeallllyyyy looonnnggg time to get done. This year I recognized that I needed a container for that. Enter: Show Up Time. Twice a month, I now get together with clients for an hour each time, where we do the things that keep falling to the bottom of our to-do lists. We show up for ourselves, do the things and then feel amazing! The container of having that time twice a month has proved to be invaluable. 

And now I turn it over to you. Where could you use some containers in your life? What are aspects of your life that cause you a lot of stress and overwhelm? Is it with planning? Family dynamics? (I have so many awesome containers in my family life that have streamlined everything from weekly cleaning to celebrating each other’s awesomeness.) Money? Holidays?  

Just like in the Home Edit, there’s no space in your life that won’t benefit from adding a container and then flowing within it.  

Curious about what Courageous Self-Care containers look like? Click here to see the ones that I incorporate into my life every month. These containers are so important to me that I decided to invite clients to join me because these regular practices make the most dramatic impact. With these containers, I’m a better mom and wife, I have so much more inner peace and they also ensure that I have a lot more fun too. 

I encourage you to get curious about containers and see where they would make a difference in your life. 

With contained but expansive love and courage, 

Christina 

Creator of Courageous Self-Care

Compulsive Email Checker (working on that)

Home Edit Enthusiast-non-affiliate