how to get rid of clutter

go through your belongings and get rid of what you don’t need. donate books you know you won’t read again, and donate old clothes you never wear anymore. 

in the book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” the author Marie Kondo says to only keep the things that spark joy. otherwise, donate it or throw it away.

find all of your old papers. do you really need all of your math worksheets from seventh grade? probably not. if you tend to hang onto lots of old papers, look through all of them and recycle the ones you don’t want.  

go through your laptop and phone. delete those history readings and old handouts you don’t need anymore, and get rid of apps you don’t use. these things tend to pile up and eat up all of your storage. re-organize all of your files into clearly labeled folders. 

get rid of toxic relationships. don’t keep people in your life who are making you unhappy. find ways to distance yourself from them and you will likely feel a lot better. 

clear your mind. write your thoughts in a journal, go for a walk or a run, or take a warm bath. find ways to calm your thoughts and decompress. 

no matter how hard high school is, it’s important to always take care of yourself. here are some of the ways I’ve found to keep me a little happier and healthier during the school year. 

sleep. getting enough sleep is SO SO SO important, especially in your teens. I definitely struggled to get enough sleep in high school, but I definitely performed best when I was well-rested.

do the things you love! don’t do activities you hate just because you think it will help you get into a good college. sign up for clubs, try out new sports, find volunteer work, play an instrument. find something that makes you happy and stick with it! genuine passion shows through on college apps.

take breaks and give yourself scheduled time to unwind. I find I am able to relax best when all of the tasks I needed to do are complete. take a bath, get some fresh air, spend some time with friends and family, read a book. do things that take your thoughts away from school for a while.

exercise is also a great way to relieve stress. it clears your mind and brings more oxygen to your brain. find ways to get moving that you actually enjoy, whether it’s running outside or playing badminton with friends

make an effort to spend time with people you care about. Hang out with friends, family, extended family. Don’t waste your time on toxic people or relationships-- it will just add more stress and unhappiness in the long run.

save money. it’s easy to feel like you need to buy all these new products because you see people on instagram and youtube using them. just remember it’s part of their job to recommend those things, and you don’t actually need them. 

I hope these were helpful! let us know if you have any more questions about high school and we will do our best to answer. 

hey guys! it’s Hana. I graduated from high school this June and I wanted to share some tips I learned throughout my time as a student. high school can be a struggle and there were many ups and downs, but I definitely had fun along the way and figured out some ways to make it slightly less tumultuous. whether you are just starting out as a freshman or entering your senior year, I hope you can find this post helpful! 

use a planner! it’s so helpful to keep all of your tasks and events together in one place so you can plan ahead. I personally prefer physical planners or bullet journals over digital ones. Here are some planners I like: 

keep all your papers organized. personally, I keep a folder for each class in my backpack. at the end of each unit, I transfer all of the papers that are unit-specific (e.g. not the syllabus, reference sheets or general info) into large 3-ring binders like these. these papers come in handy when I’m writing essays or studying for finals.  

find ways to use time more effectively. it’s so easy to procrastinate or work inefficiently, and those things only make you more stressed.

meet with teachers. ask questions when you are confused. it will show them that you care, and help you better understand the material and their expectations.

one bad grade isn’t the end of the world. don’t beat yourself up for it-- it won’t determine your gpa or college admission. that being said, use it as an opportunity to think about ways you can improve the next time around. 

part 2: health and self-care