blogging Archives - Just to Claireify

Why You Should Start a Blog (Or Keep Blogging) in 2024

July 29, 2024 by Claire Leave a Comment

In December 2013, I went out for fondue with two friends from college one afternoon. One of the girls told me about this website called foodgawker (RIP) that was like a collection of recipes from all around the web. She knew I loved to bake and recommended it as a source for original recipes.

Naturally, foodgawker led me to discover this thing called a blog that I had no idea existed. I returned occasionally to look for something new to bake. Eventually, I started poking around the blogs linked on foodgawker beyond the recipes. My “gateway blog” was Southern In-Law, specifically her banana bread baked oatmeal recipe, still bookmarked on my computer.… Read More »

What’s On My Mind: What Should I Write About?

March 8, 2024 by Claire Leave a Comment

One of my blogger friends used to have a post series called “What’s On My Mind” that I loved. Sometimes you just want to hear somebody’s unfiltered, unedited, not-SEO-optimized thoughts about something.

So, I’m using the idea here. Sometimes I want to chat about a specific topic, and that chat is too long to put in a 2-3 sentence snippet in my Life Lately posts. Today’s topic is blogging as a parent–or more accurately, blogging as a parent when you don’t want to write about your kids.… Read More »

The Art of the Short Blog Post

January 31, 2024 by Claire Leave a Comment

I feel like blogging is about to make a comeback in a big way, and I hope that includes my favorite part of old-school blogs: short, sweet, personal posts.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good recipe, roundup or “10 Ways to Do X” too. But sometimes in trying to give readers all of the information and search engine optimize posts within an inch of their life (guilty! who doesn’t want as many eyes as possible on content you worked hard on?), the blogger’s personality gets lost in the mix.

Some of my favorite blog posts ever are from before blogging became popular and lucrative. Southern In-Law’s “Friday Favorites” series, Oh She Glows updated her blog several times a day (yes–per day!), Fiona Ferris did “30 Chic Days” on her blog which are all quite short and to the point, and Jonna Jinton wrote about random happenings in her daily life.

There’s something delightful about how unassuming those posts are; ladies just trying to add a bit of positivity and humor to the world through writing.

I can appreciate that people wanted to make their blogs–and these days their social media accounts–worth their time by monetizing, advertising, optimizing, etc. Like I said, I frequently return to the most popular posts on my blog to update links and SEO them. But those journaling days of blogging are what got me hooked to begin with, and I hope they make a return as people weary of social media outlets/the monetization of it all and start looking for authenticity again.

And now, the Daniel Tiger episode is over and I’m off to see what the kids are up to!

xx Claire

Summer 2022: Memories & Plans

June 20, 2022 by Claire Leave a Comment

Hello friends! I’ve been very very sparse on the blog lately. We’ve had an absolutely crazy June, so I just wanted to briefly update you on where I’ve been + summer plans for Just to Claireify.

This month so far:

Both kids started summer swim lessons
We saw my aunt who visited from out of town, who we hadn’t seen since we got married!
We’ve been working on a variety of small home improvements, both hiring out and Eric & my dad DIY’ing some
Catching up with old friends over phone and in person
Spending some time at the local pool
Attending our college reunion
Continuing to declutter the house–we brought another trunkload to Half Price/Goodwill over the weekend
And many other things!

That being said, I really miss writing, both on here and my freelance work. I got my first “big” paycheck in the mail today from something I submitted a while back (and by big, I mean more than $10-20 :P). And I don’t do it for the money at all, but it’s nice to think that I could spin it into a career someday when my kids are a bit older and more self-sufficient.

This summer, I’m planning to stick to topics that are a big part of my personal experience/goals right now: decluttering/minimalism, routines, and feminine inspiration. As always, let me know in the comments if you prefer other topics I can add in 🙂 I’m staying away from the personal posts right now since that’s what I’m comfortable with. Maybe they’ll return in the future!

xx Claire