I know I said I was taking an indefinite break—and of course the second I felt like I’d have nothing to write about for the forseeable future, a long-awaited package arrived on my doorstep that also held a big life change inside.… Read More »
What to Feed Your Mind
I write a lot about how we feed our bodies on Just to Claireify… but what about how we feed our minds?
Do you ever find yourself in a funk and you’re not sure why? The days just sort of blend together and it feels like there’s nothing to look forward to? I’m not talking about a clinical mental health problem, although I certainly have experienced those when I was younger. It’s more of a mental rut–sometimes you don’t know how you got there, but you need to turn things around to start enjoying life again.
For me, during these periods, I often realize that the content I’m consuming–whether it’s books, blogs, videos, social media, or even conversations I’m having in real life–is feeding my funk. The tone of this content isn’t inspiring, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s cynical, pessismistic, perfectionistic or extreme. It normalizes a negative attitude towards the world and I end up feeling frustrated and low, too.… Read More »
Five Months Without Instagram
This month will actually mark six months since I deleted my account. Yay! I have less desire to return than ever. I’ve actually been paring down my Facebook account as well; it is now only for communication and groups (mainly Buy Nothing). And while my lightphone dream did not materialize–unfortunately I was unable to get one of the kids’ school communication apps to function on my browser–I am feeling in a decent place overall with my transition to more analog life.… Read More »
Two Months Without Instagram
It’s been over two months since I (somewhat spontaneously) deleted my Instagram account. I’d been thinking about it for over a year, and one day I just went through with it. Annoyingly, Instagram doesn’t permanently delete your account for an entire month in case you change your mind–but February 22nd came and went and finally my account was gone for good.… Read More »
I Left Instagram–Here’s Why

Please excuse the lack of post last Monday–norovirus was wrapping up its stay at our house and my head was in a thousand different places!
I’ve been thinking about this—and other offline-ing life changes—for a while. Finally pulled the trigger this week! So if you’re looking for @justtoclaireifyblog and wondering if I blocked you for some reason… nope! I just don’t exist on the ‘gram anymore.
I’ve written a lot about my tenuous relationship with social media on the blog before (see my social media and privacy tags for my musings through the years). At times, I’ve felt like there’s something wrong with me because I feel like I just can’t handle social media sometimes. Instagram is impactful in particular—although Facebook and Reddit aren’t blameless either.… Read More »
