Katie Has Hobbies

Trying to Keep My Life On Track 

[katiehashobbies]

MY 3D SMILE IS HERE

Below are my before and after computer-generated pictures of my teeth:

***get $100 off your aligners!! use http://fbuy.me/nAgHf***

Before Top View:

After Top View:

Before Bottom View:

After Bottom View:

Before Left View:

After Left View:

Before Right View:

After Right View:

Before Front View:

After Front View:

Stay tuned for an update after I wear my aligners for 1 whole week!

[katiehashobbies]

My Visit to The Smile Direct Club Salon

***get $100 off your aligners!! use http://fbuy.me/nAgHf***

I made my appointment right after work and drove straight there. I was so excited for my new smile! Their location was inside a salon. They had their own private rooms and it looked like a new dentist office. I sat down in the chair and the girl there, Sarah, helped me every step of the way. She explained what the process included, the cost, and what was going to happen over the next 6 months. 

I filled out a form basically just stating that I do not currently have any cavities, gum disease, or any other medical issues that would make me ineligible for the process. After that, she took pictures of my teeth and I could watch the 3D model be formed on a screen as she was doing this. 

After my model was complete she went over what would be included in my smile box. This was each set of aligners I needed, some chapstick, some whitening gel, a case for my aligners, outie tool to help get out the aligners, and a booklet that included everything I needed to know logistically. 

At the end of my visit, she sent me home with a little goodie bag with another little chapstick and the whiting kit! This whitening kit is super easy to use and, with my experience so far, it really works! You use the whitening gel, apply this to your front 6 teeth on the top and bottom, plug the tool into your phone, wait 5 minutes and ta-da! This is to be repeated according to the instructions on the gel and you are not supposed to eat anything for 30 minutes after. 

What my new smile should look like will arrive in 24-48 hours and my aligners should ship 2-3 weeks after!

Stay tuned for my new smile pictures! 

[katiehashobbies]

Smile Direct Club Intro

***get $100 off your aligners!! use http://fbuy.me/nAgHf***

Hi Everybody!

I have wanted straight teeth for as long as I can remember. It seemed like everyone but I had braces in middle school. I remember begging my mom for them. Now I am an adult and wearing metal braces everywhere was the last thing I wanted to do. So began my search for invisible braces. 

I originally talked with my dentist about starting Invisalign. I found out at that office visit, after a few photos, that I was a candidate. Some follow up questions were: Can I do this with my wisdom teeth? and How much is this all going to cost?

The answer to the first question was simple, my dentist told me yes! I could do the treatment without having my wisdom teeth removed. The second question is when it became apparent that Invisalign was not right for me. It was going to cost me over $4000 with a $2000 deposit. I could not afford this. I left the dentist that day with a new hunt. Cheaper aligners. 

After Googling, reading Reddit posts, and watching Youtube videos, I decided to order a kit from Byte. It does the same thing Invisalign would do, but cost about $1500 rather than $4000. 

After about 48 hours I received my impression kit in the mail. It is pretty specific in stating the sooner you complete your kit, the better do to something about the dental putty. So that’s what I did. The putty hardened quickly, and although they gave you two tries to get it right after the company received my returned package, they stated that my aligners were not good enough to use. They offered to send me a new impression kit, but I decided that I just wasn’t going to be able to do it right. 

I kept seeing things about Smile Direct Club. Even during my hunt right after my dentist visit, their name kept popping up. I kept away from them because for the longest time I was just trying to find then cheapest option, but then something changed the game for me. They had a store about 20 minutes from my house where I could go and instead of an impression kit, they had an impression camera! This was a camera that would take pictures of my teeth and create a 3D model right on the computer. Oh, and did I mention the visit was free?! And came with a free whiting kit?!

Stay Tuned for my next post about my visit to the Smile Direct Club location!

[katiehashobbies]

Living Room

Hey guys! Sorry it has been awhile since I've last posted. I've been working crazy hours at my job and then, unfortunately, got the flu.

After a lot of hard work, I have finished (to this point), my living room! I like to think of minimalism as a journey and not a destination; so I believe that, in the future, there will continue to be work to be done.

I will attach pictures below, but it is important to note a couple of things:

-The closet in my bedroom is so tiny and so I use the closet in my living room for my clothing. You can see how many clothes I've gotten rid of based on the amount of hangers I still have.

-I keep my decorations for holidays in this closet. I have two bins, one is for Christmas and one is for every other holiday. I have gone through these, but I did not take pictures of the insides.

I hope you enjoy these pictures. I am so happy with how my living room is now!

[katiehashobbies]

Kitchen

Hey everyone! 

I have read countless things online recommending that decluttering should be done by category and not by room. I have decided to not follow this and to instead go room by room. Once I remove a lot of the unwanted things I can then go back and do it by category, but right now I just have too much stuff. It seems overwhelming to take everything and move it into one location. 

Last night and tonight I am working on the kitchen and dining room area. I have successfully packed up 4+ boxes of items I am donating, as well as, thrown away a lot of trash. 

It is wild to me how, in such a small space, there were so many items. 

On top of getting rid of things, I am also cleaning along the way. The kitchen is taking some time, however, I am excited to show you the progress and semi-finished product. I am not calling anything complete because I can always continue to get better.

Holding each item in my hand I have asked, “Does this spark joy.” If I answer yes, I have kept it. If I have answered no, I have placed it in either a donate pile (if it is in good condition) or in a trash pile (if it can no longer serve its purpose).

Because I do not have any before pictures the ones posted below might not look like much to you. I have done a lot of work. Everything that you see is organized. Nothing is really behind anything (with a few exceptions), everything I own is clearly visible, I have minimzied my decorations and appliances, and.....EVERYTHING HAS A HOME. Scroll below to see the progress I have made so far on my kitchen.  

[katiehashobbies]

Introduction

I am a 22 year old girl living in Cincinnati, Ohio and I am a messy person.

A couple of months ago I got home from work, opened my front door and decided that this was no longer the life I wanted to live.

I was so overwhelmed with all of the stuff that had cluttered my home. You should feel relaxed when you come home and I felt the opposite. I decided that I wanted to change.

My whole life I have been a little bit of a hoarder. I love stuff. I have a hard time throwing things away and I have too much of everything just in case I might need it one day.

I began watching videos on YouTube and Googling endless amounts of ways to declutter your home and how to live a minimalist lifestyle. I was really inspired so I began organizing my home and filling boxes with things I was going to get rid of. I felt like this was easier than I thought and that in no time my house was going to be free of unwanted things. I was feeling so free.

But it wasn’t that simple. I stopped working as hard, time got away from me. My life became busier and I became lazy when I got home. Things started to pile back up. Boxes I had filled to be taken to the thrift store were now apart of my decor. Even worse, the things inside of the boxes were being implemented back into my home. I was using things I was going to get rid of. Things I was sure I no longer needed.

The holiday season came and went and I started to feel overwhelmed again. I started to feel like I was failing at something I put my mind to. Something I was doing so well at. 

Here I am after the new year sitting and thinking about how I want 2018 to go. I don’t want to give up on this and I want to continue to declutter my house and be more of a minimalist.

I have started this blog to help keep me focused. A place where I can document how I am doing so I can visually see the progress. I want to be able to share my experience with all of you so you can hopefully learn from my mistakes and maybe be inspired to also try something like this. I am not claiming to know what I am doing. I am not an expert. I am just a determined young lady who wants to feel free of her clutter. 

I will continue to update this blog regularly with the progress I am making so stay tuned!