• family photo
    DIY,  Family,  Home Decor,  Self help,  Travel

    How to Start a Blog: Tips to Make it Happen

    In today’s fast paced culture, one would think a blog is antiquated. However, blogs are a thriving mode for communicating with a mass audience covering any topic of interest. Read along as I share how to start a blog: tips to make it happen.

    Family Photo
    Family photo at Rosemary Beach

    1. Select a niche.

    I almost hate using this phrase for a subheading. If you spend any time at all online, you will hear the buzzword, “niche”. Honestly, sometimes it is stressful when I hear, “select a niche” or “niche down”. Take a deep breath and do not fear, selecting a niche might be easier than you think. What is it that you want to share? What perspective do you have that you want the world to know? For me, I like sharing about my home and family – our lifestyle. I have selected the niche of “Lifestyle Blogger”. When creating your own blog, select a niche ideal for you.

    Much of my blog inspiration comes from what I share on my Instagram account.

    2. Utilize a host site.

    It is almost comical that I have a blog when being tech savvy is not my forte. The good news is, there are YouTube tutorials that can walk you through a step-by-step process for setting up your blog. These tutorials do a great job of helping you understand the ways to begin to monetize your blog. I decided to use WordPress to create my blog. WordPress has a wide range of templates to use when designing your blog.

    Over and over again as I started my blogging journey, I saw information about bluehost.com. This is my host site for my blog. It allows me to own the name of my blog and its place on the internet. I pay an annual fee for the website name and site upkeep.

    3. Determine a schedule.

    Once you have hammered out the nitty gritty of a niche and have taken the time to set up and create the look of your blog, it is time to determine a schedule. Admittedly, this last one has been my weakness. For the 2024 year, one of my two goals for the year was to write 52 blog posts. I wanted to consistently show up on my blog in a way I had not previously done. Notice, I did not say I would post once a week – ha! I know myself too well and wanted to give myself grace in the event that something happened one week and I could not generate a blog post on a specific day of the week. Currently I am targeting releasing a new blog every week. A bulk of my blog posts have been released on Wednesdays with few exceptions. Determine a schedule that works for you and stick to it!

    My hope is that these tips are just the motivation you need to start your own blog! Please let me know in the comments if you have a blog and what its name is. I would love to check it out!

  • white long sleeves shirts on brown wooden clothes hanger
    Fashion,  Self help

    How to Create a spring Capsule Wardrobe

    I like the simplicity of a capsule wardrobe. I am not a big shopper and enjoy utilizing pieces that have more than one function. Read along for my ideas on how to create a spring capsule wardrobe.

    1. Pull everything out.

    While we did create a walk-in closet in our current home, it is still not a large space and I must utilize each square inch carefully. Having 2-3 times a year where I pull everything out, is beneficial for keeping an organized space. The benefit of pulling all items out of your closet serves as a visual reminder of what you do wear often and what you have forgotten about. Also, this is a perfect opportunity to seperate your clothing items by season. If you have available space, store your off-season items in another location. (Shhh! Don’t tell my husband, but I put my off-season clothes on the backside of his half of the closet 🙂 )

    A closet organizer like this one makes seeing your wardrobe a breeze. This one has over 12,000 reviews! *As an Amazon Associate, I am eligible to earn a commission on any viable links.*

    2. Cull unwanted or unused items.

    In 2022, I attempted to wear a different outfit for every day of the year. You can read all about it , here. From that time on, I have really tried to focus on only keeping items that I enjoy or serve me well. Getting rid of unused or worn out items is essential to keeping a well curated wardrobe. Donate items you longer want or if you are like me and wear things until they fall apart, throw them away. Having a closet that is crammed with items tends to make you overlook what you actually have. A closet that allows you to easily see your clothing options creates an environment where you can choose your outfits with little complication.

    3. Coordinate pieces and seek inspiration.

    I happened upon Clothed in Grace on Instagram and am grateful for the guidance and inspiration she provides. Her site guides me in how to curate a seasonal collection. Below is her latest spring capsule wardrobe. When I have fewer items – tops, bottoms, dresses – then I am able to determine if what I have coordinates with my other clothing items. There is a cool website, combineclothes.com , that allows you to type in how many tops, bottoms, solo outfits, and extras you have then it will calculate how many possible outfits you can create from those items. With my current spring wardrobe capsule, I have enough items to create 1,450 outfits! I think that is plenty to get me through these warmer months.

    This is a great site for inspiration and guidance in creating your wardrobe capsules!

    The benefits of following these tips for how to create a spring capsule wardrobe are: ease of outfit selection, ability to identify what items need to be added to your wardrobe, and a streamlined closet! Enjoy and let me know if you put these tips to use.