Today is a new day. If you’ve been following me from the beginning, you’ll know that when I started this blog, it was meant to be a DIY/home décor/crafty/lifestyle blog with a little bit of vintage love, graphic design, thrifting, and recipes thrown into the mix. Eclectic, maybe? Yes. All those things are a pretty accurate summation of me – what I enjoy and who I am. Through the few short months that I’ve been posting (since September 2012) I have learned a lot. I’ve learned that working full-time and being the mom of two with a husband in full-time grad school and trying to blog consistently at the same time is tough. Not impossible, but close.
I’ve also learned that there are literally millions of crafty/DIY/home décor blogs out there, and that most of them are much more consistent than me. I started following a lot of these bloggers, mainly on Instagram, and through following them, I started putting this immense pressure on myself to post on the blog more often, to be craftier, to do more home décor/remodeling projects, etc. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
One thing that is true about me is that I don’t respond well to pressure. Not pressure that others put on me or pressure that I put on myself. I sort of go into rebellious, “you can’t tell me what to do” mode, or just “shut down and give up” mode. (I touched on that here.) So, there were days and weeks that went by that I didn’t post anything.
Around Valentine’s Day, I started feeling some of that pressure as I saw all of these talented, creative lifestyle bloggers out there Instagramming about their Valentine’s Day crafts and Valentine’s blog posts. I kept asking myself what in the world I was going to make and post about for Valentine’s Day and how I was going to decorate for Valentine’s Day.
It has to be something different, something that hasn’t been done, something cool, I was telling myself. I thought about this for days. The more I thought about this, the more I started going into “shut down” mode – meaning I sort of just gave up the idea that I would think of some great thing to post about for Valentine’s Day and beating myself up more and more with each passing hour. (Thoughts something like this: Hey girl – you are a lame DIY blogger! You don’t even have one Valentine’s craft post! All those other awesome bloggers have them – at least one – and some even a whole week of Valentine blog posts!)
I even sent myself an e-card. (Not really, but if I had, this is what it would have looked like.)
That whole process taught me something, though. What I learned is that’s not me. I’m not going to create a Valentine’s Day craft just so that I can have something to write a blog about. If the mood strikes in some future Valentine’s season and I have a strong desire to make something Valentine-ish, then so be it. I might even write a blog post about it. But I refuse to create a life that doesn’t exist, just so I can blog about it. And I won’t put this pressure on myself that I have to post something every day, or every other day, or three times a week, or what have you.
In short, this is my blog and I’ll post if I want to, about what I want to, when I am inspired to post.
That’s not meant to be angry, nor is it meant to be a criticism of any other bloggers out there. It’s just my way of telling myself that it’s okay for this to be my blog and that I don’t have to perform or meet anyone else’s expectation of what this blog should be.
I recently posted about moms needing more grace, and I’m embracing this idea. I have a full, busy life. I am giving myself permission to let this blog evolve as it will, and see what it becomes. I’m taking the rules away that I can only post about certain things, or fit into a certain niche.
I hope you’ll be refreshed by my new-found freedom and honesty. I’m feeling refreshed already.
As a sidenote, I have recently been thinking a lot about fair labor, international labor rights, and how the products we buy are produced.
There will be more to come on this topic. Honestly, I don’t know that much about it. But what I’ve learned so far has me reeling, and has me wanting to know more.
As I learn, I’ll be sharing here and processing some of what I’m learning.
I hope you will join me on the journey.
Erin @ DIY On the Cheap
Good philosophy! I feel the same way. That’s why I post less frequently now than I used to. I don’t want to do something just for the sake of posting, nor do I want “filler” posts. I didn’t post a single Valentines Day post, so you are not alone! Just continue to be authentic and everything else will fall into place. Thanks for sharing!
Kristen Ramsey
Thanks, Erin!
Jessica Johnson
High five to you Kristen! I stopped going on to Pinterest for awhile because I felt this weird anxiety that I wasn’t doing even half the crafts I pinned or activities with the kids. We have made quite a bit of food from there but still this weird pressure I felt do be thrifty and awesome was too much with 3 kids, school and a husband who works 70 hrs a week lol. There is a song that says “don’t be so busy making a life that you forget to live it” I had a couple of weeks in my Ethics class last semester where we talked about fair trade. We had to watch this video about the sweat shops and such in China. If I can find the link I will send it to you. Quite interesting. I find myself thinking about it more than I used to.
Kristen Ramsey
Yes, Jessica, I agree about Pinterest. I love it but it can get really overwhelming. I would love to see the video if you find it. I saw one, “China Blue” – I wonder if it’s the same one? It highlights a young girl and her story as she goes to work in a blue jean factory in China.
Jason Wm. Harris
Hey Kristen. Check out my friend Bobbette’s blog. It’s paperandpi.com and she does a lot of DIY stuff too. She’s my black wife. Hope all is well on your side of the OTP.
Kristen Ramsey
Thanks, Jason. I will check out paperandpi.com.
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