I am not alone

Results just came in...  remember when I did the Reverse 100 thing challenge?  well other people did it too...  and it ended up that thousands of objects have declutter the lives of many people around the globe...  it's a mini-revolution!!!

This is a GREAT butterfly effect!!!

Never to late to join....

you can see the results here  and get inspired!!!!


Congratulations to all me fellow challenger!!!  We did great!!!! 

More on project 333 - dress with less

on November 28th I updated you guys on my Project 333 ...  as you know after several hesitation I joined it last November...  and I thought I had given it a good thought and that my 33 items would remain all the 3 months...  However, I realise that I am still changing.  I know we are always changing but the changes I am going thru are "forcing" me to adapt my wardrobe furthermore.   So on November 28th I had made correction to my initial list... and I still had to make more corrections... (last edits are in red)


Here's my list:

2 black pants - one straight, one flare
2 1 velvet pants - one skinny, one wide legs - skinny ones I wore once in a year... not worth it as it turns out, my husband HATES those pants... always did! he says I look like a granny in it!!!  So I am giving those away!
1 grey corduroy - jean cut - had already been sized down... cannot do it again...
1 red Cotton skinny pants
3 2 jeans - one skinny, one straight leg - bought another pair of jeans...  really LOVE wearing jeans... but they fit me perfectly and are GOOD quality!
1 black skirt
*1 black/electric blue/white skirt do not wear it!!!  It's NOT me!!!!
1 burgundy pencil skirt - loved it but does not suit my lifestyle anymore - someone can get a good use out of this one
1 tunic - wore once with the velvet skinnies... why keep it?
1 black dress with mustard flowy sleeves
2 sleeveless top (grey, mustard)
3 fancy t-shirts (beige, red, grey/navy/mustard)
1 electric blue short sleeve blouse
4 long sleeve t-shirt (2 beige, 1 black, 1 gray)
1 black long sleeve fancy top
1 green long sleeve fancy top
1 white blouse - no longer "white" enough and too short!
1 pink and purple blouse
3 2 jackets (corduroy- beige, brown, black) - just put away for the season, won't be wearing it under a winter coat
2 cardigans (grey, mustard)
1 electric blue turtleneck
1 LBD - a must very simple and very me!!!
1 purple dress (with fuchsia and grey imprints)
1 navy dress (with mustard yellow and beige polka dots)
1 velvet burgundy skirt - b-day gift from husband - more flowy then previous burgundy skirt
1 old pink fancy t-shirt

so basically I am now up to 29 items...  and this is WAY more then enough!  I have a great rotation of items.... 

I also want to add that I had initially decided to leave out the outside clothing because I thought that living in the north country that would already be too many items...  and I had also left out accessories...  If I was to include these I would be way above 33 items... but I have downsized those too.  Look at what I gave or put away because I am not ready to give or depart from:

One winter coat - gave away - tired of seeing it - it has been 8 years!!!
2 pair of not warm enough boots for someone taking the bus - replaces by Sorel boots
Some jewelry that was hand me down form my mom but that I never wear were carefully put away in nice tissue bags and I will see with time what I do with them - at least I am not cluttering my jewelry box anymore
One corduroy hat that was great with my long hair but not so much with short hair

I also have to take a look at my socks, underwear and scarves, mits and hats... this I might do during my Holiday break.

So as you can see this is a "live" project... I never seem to be done with it...  I am glad I am below the 33 items and happy with it...  I also thought that I would do 3 months (just as an experiment) and that would be it but I think I will stay with the idea of this project...  I will most likely keep my initial rules...  but that's OK! It's a reminder not to get my closet cluttered again!  And honestly it would not be difficult because I love clothes... but I can still love them but be wiser about it!  I love candies too but do I buy and eat all of them???

love and peace,
nathalie

Conclusion on going car less

Hey!

this will be my last post that is exclusively on going car less.. after almost 3 months I have a few points I wand to bring up...

We haven't had a car in almost 3 months now...  basically, the following is what really happened between then and now.

At first, I was lost.  I must admit!!  I had a car for roughly 12 years... and at some point we even had 2 cars!  We managed to go down to one 5 years ago and we had plans to be car less by the time my son is out of high school.  Another 5 years. However, life chose otherwise... as is often the case for great changes! We decided not to fight it... but it was not easy!  I was a little lost.. I had to adapt...  my week end were always planned according to going from A to B using a car!  using public transit or my legs (or my bike in decent weather) is NOT as fast!  Obviously, there cannot be as many A to B in a week end! I was panicking.. how will I get to do everything with not enough time?  until I realized, that I did not HAVE to do all those things all the time... and I could work out a better schedule!  I also changed some of my habits!

So slowly but surely my husband and I came up with new week end routines...

Friday nights are most time spent at home instead of wandering around at the mall not buying anything because we are minimalists.

Saturdays are spent either 2 ways... if my son is there, we rent a car to go to his judo lessons and then perhaps they go play paintball... if my son is not there we go downtown to have a Starbucks and walk around... we enjoy being downtown!!! We get back home early enough to prepare a nice supper and drink some kombucha and chat or watch a movie.

Sundays are early rise and grocery shopping (trust me, you buy much less food when you gotta carry it home walking - no extras just for fun - you get what you need for the week and that's it!  This also means that I throw out much less food - only one small size garbage bag a week for all 3 of us - since wasted food is wasted money this is good news!!!).. by 9 am we are back home, unpack groceries and then head of to Starbucks to meet our best friend...  or go to my parents if my son is home...we get back home early as my husband weird work schedule require him to sleep between 4pm and 8pm on Sunday night...  therefore between the time we get home and his sleep time we can relax, do some cleaning and or laundry, organize a few things.. when he goes to bed, I either catch up on my reading, crafts or I spend some quality time with my lovely son...

so these are our week ends now... and the weeks are pretty much work and home... except for Thursday when we all walk to Sushi (rain or shine) and stop do a little grocery shopping of fresh product to bring us to Sunday.  I have learned to enjoy being home...  first of all it is much more relaxing than being anywhere else...it does not cost tons of additional money (I have to pay rent anyway, whether I am there or not)... I eat better... and overall, not having a car has "forced" me to spend more time outside and hence sleep better!

I also had to come up with new lunch routines...

To me lunch is time spent outside... preferably... because I need it!!!  I used to take my car and go to the mall or Chapters... which were 5-10 min away by car.... take a chai latte on my way back and sip it slowly over the afternoon...
Now there is a Starbucks 15 min walk max from my workplace... so I walk there (rain or shine - REALLY!), grab an extra hot chai in a stainless steel mug, walk back with the chai packed away and sip it slowly during the afternoon.... this allows me a shorter lunch time indeed but I get to leave a little earlier and save public transit traffic!!  (Yes there is such a thing...) My 90 minutes ride is more enjoyable in a less crowded bus!

All this to say that after we got used to it, let's say about roughly a month, it has become a much more enjoyable experience... and I definitely won't buy another car...  Here are the plus side of my life as it is:

More time outside (walking instead of driving, downtown instead of the mall)
More walking (good exercise - at least 45 min per day)
More relaxing (driving was stressing me out so much - I didn't even realize it!)
More reading (3h bus ride every week day all by myself - gotta keep busy)
More presence in the moment (meditation, observation)
More home cooking (better food on our plates)
More crafting (YE!  use to not have time for it!)
More quality time with husband and son (at home or in the bus - I do not have to watch the road!)
More doing what I really care about (instead of just doing stuff to keep busy)
More weight loss (all that walking, fresh air and eating better pays off)
More money to put towards my small debt (will be debt free faster!)

and even if I try to, it's hard for me to come up with a negative side other than it's longer to get to places... but is that really a negative side?  especially when it allows me to spend quality time with the ones I love and  read when I am alone...

So all in all, it has been a positive experience! I am glad we gave it a fair chance before rushing to buy another car!  It may seem weird to not own a car for many people but by the number of people I see every day using public transit, we are certainly not alone!!!

So young and yet so wise

Last week I was lucky enough to have a nice talk with a young smart women...  in her early twenties... and she got it all figured out...  well, figured out what I have been working on for the last few years!

If only I would have known that at her age...  she is saving years of her life trying to work things out!!!

The conversation all started because she thought it did not make sense to work 5 days a week and have only 2 days off...  all year round to get a couple weeks of vacation!!! To spend your evening cooking and cleaning, the week end shopping, and the 2 weeks off trying to escape reality on a nice vacation!!! When actually when you come back nothing really changed...  and she thought it was even more insane to work at a job you do not like.... as it made the 5 days seem even longer!!!

I have to admit I totally agree with her....  but this is how we are "conditioned"... I know some of you will not like the word "conditioned" but this is what really does happen in the end...
Since a very young age we are told to go to school, have good grades, work hard...  be excellent in all we do... and if we are not good at something do something else where you'll be good!  All this to get into University, in the best program (read the one leading to the higher paid jobs) you can get... so that you can buy a house (as big as possible), a pool, cars, nice vacations, fancy furniture, the 56 inch plasma TV, too many clothes, to many of everything... so that you can pack your big house full of stuff!!!! And do not forget to build your retirement plan so that hopefully at 55 (if you did not get ill before) you can enjoy retirement...  which includes even more vacations, time spent into you big house full of stuff... until you find the house is too big because your kids left... and since they are busy building their own huge lives, they have no time to visit! Then you sell the house, buy a condo, get rid of a bunch of stuff you had not used in years or even forgot you had it  (because the condo is smaller then the house)...

All this is if all goes well...  very few people can actually retire at 55 because they still have too many bills to pay!  Therefore they have to wait until later on and then by the time they retire, their body is so used up that they get sick.. so enjoying retirement includes several trips to the doctor per year...  on top of  (or in between should I say) the really nice vacations of course!!!

But WHY really???  Why do we DO THAT without even asking ourselves if this is what we want to do?
I am not judging... Most of us do it...  Because this is what people do...  and we learn from example! I was well into that path myself until I was diagnosed with a chronic disease that made me see the other side of the medal... what if the future may not be just as I predicted for everyone?

What if my disease left me unable to use my body as I wish to do the things I wish at retirement?  Shouldn't I do those things before?  Can I give myself more odds to be well by retirement?

What if working in a job you do not like can actually make you sick?
What if you need to make so much money only to spend it all on junk to make you forget how insignificant your life is?
What if you need that vacation down south because you are running away from your life?
What if you only become a _______ to impress someone? (blank can be anything)
What if there is more to life then 9-5 in a closed office?
What if you can actually figure out how to survive with a fraction of your actual income and actually be happier?
What if working a less paid job made you happier?
What if working part time would entitle you to do what you like with less money but more free time?
What if you suck at _____ but have fun doing it?  Can't you just have fun?
What if you had more free time to enjoy life rather then run through it? What would you do then?
What if you are not in the "mold"?  Not everyone has too... 

Now after asking myself all those questions over and over again...  I did opt out in a way...  I did "unmold" myself to remold as I wish...
I made several changes to my life... and there are more to come...

Started practicing yoga... 6 years ago
I sold my house... 5 years ago - not buying another one
I became vegetarian...  5 years ago - aiming for veganism - need to let go of the cheese!
Opted for minimalism...  2 years ago - work in progress
Got rid of my car... 3 months ago - not buying another one
Got rid of most of my clothes...  2 months ago
Wrote a book...  not published yet

as for what is coming I am not telling yet...  you'll be the first to find out...

so for this Holiday period, if you could only give yourself one gift....  Ask yourself one of the question above... or maybe more... who know where it will lead you!

love and peace,
happy Holidays,
nathalie

Follow up on project 333 - simple dressing

I am now 1/3 done with my project 333...  lots has been happening since I started....  I did even more clean up of my wardrobe and changes a few pieces....  because I realized that some items were not "me" anymore...  I would either force myself to wear them or just not wear them...  and in a few occasions, they were not quite a proper fit for myself...  So I have put back my original list of 33 items.... and edited it....  I also listed the added items in a different color for ease of reading!

Here's my list:

2 black pants - one straight, one flare
2 1 velvet pants - one skinny, one wide legs - skinny ones I wore once in a year...  not worth it
1 grey corduroy - jean cut  - had already been sized down... cannot do it again...
1 red Cotton skinny pants
2 jeans - one skinny, one straight leg
1 black skirt
*1 black/electric blue/white skirt
1 burgundy pencil skirt  - loved it but does not suit my lifestyle anymore - someone can get a good use out of this one
1 tunic - wore once with the velvet skinnies... why keep it?
1 black dress with mustard flowy sleeves
2 sleeveless top (grey, mustard)
3 fancy t-shirts (beige, red, grey/navy/mustard)
1 electric blue short sleeve blouse
4 long sleeve t-shirt (2 beige, 1 black, 1 gray)
1 black long sleeve fancy top
1 green long sleeve fancy top
1 white blouse - no longer "white" enough and too short!
1 pink and purple blouse
3 2 jackets (corduroy- beige, brown, black) - just put away for the season, won't be wearing it under a winter coat
2 cardigans (grey, mustard)
1 electric blue turtleneck
so I was down to 27 items... 

* identifies the next item to go... if any... because I really do not wear this skirt so much... plus it needs dry cleaning... and it really only goes well with my electric blue blouse or turtleneck...  which I thinks look to much put together as an outfit... gotta think about this one! but I am still in the rules so I do not need to hurry up on my decision!
If you go to the Tristan website, and hit "au boulot signe Tristan" in the women collection you can find the skirt I am talking about (the girl is wearing it with an electric blue short sleeve blouse)... and on that very same page, the first top with the yellow front is my "black long sleeve fancy top" and the black dress with the mustard yellow sleeve is also there... 

I added 5 more items after getting rid of the above items:

1 LBD - a must very simple and very me!!!
1 purple dress (with fuchsia and grey imprints)
1 navy dress (with mustard yellow and beige polka dots)
1 velvet burgundy dress - b-day gift from husband - more flowy then previous burgundy dress
1 old pink fancy t-shirt

which bring my up to 32 items...  that I actually wear and feel great in....

I thought before starting Project 333 that I could not get to 33 items...  that it was not enough... well now I am down to 32.... and I actually really wear those items....  and sometimes quite frankly I still think this is too much...  I know!  Who would have taught I would say that!!!  The only thing is I really LOVE all my pieces left... and they suit me really well... and go absolutely fantastic with my lifestyle... and they mix and mathc so well!!!

Quite honestly I first thought I would do that for 3 months and that was it... I would then go back to my regular way of having too many items... the thing is, I know when next season comes up, I will keep doing it...  stick to 33 items...  or just around that!!!

Now the thing is, because I am in Montreal and winter here is really long, it is most likely that those 32 items will remain until end of Mars at least...if not April!  not end of January where my actual 3 months end... so I may not be able to follow exactly the 3 months schedule Courtney  follows but I still thing I can do this 33 items thing...

It is much easier then I anticipated...
very satisfying...
saves lots of time in the morning...
saves lots of $ not shopping...

what do you think?  will you be trying it eventually?  downsizing your wardrobe... perhaps with your own rules? 

love and peace,
nath

Thanks to the seagulls

A few weeks ago, right around the time of Sandy, Montreal got a few very very windy days... but nothing to complain about compared to how other people were hit by Sandy...

On my bus ride back home I was looking out the windows has I had just finished my book.  I love to look out the windows on any ride but on that day, it was quite something...  to see people walking in that wind...  some were pushed by it and others had to go against it...  you could see people taking this inclined forward facing position...  holding their hat or scarf so that it does not fly away...  Pretty much everyone was facing down... looking at the sidewalk... as if it could fly away!!! People at that time around public transit or walking outside are usually getting back home in a hurry to make supper or just chill out...  and they walk fast and do not seem very much relaxed but on that day it was even worse...  it seemed like they were running away from something instead of running to something!  It was very weird!

You could see the odd plastic bag or newspaper being pushed away and dance with the wind...

You could see the tree leaves flying off from the branches... this is normally when the leaves fall of the tree here in our northern country anyway...  but instead of a slow fall down on the grass (which is quite graceful), they were pushed away...  and you could see them flying up in the air, even higher then they could be found while attached to the trees.

Everything seemed to be disturbed by that wind... so powerful! The natural order of things seemed deranged... 

Everything but the seagulls!

As I looked up the sky to follow leaves that had escaped from a tree, I came across some seagulls that were letting themselves being carry by the wind...  Their wings were spread out, high in the air and they would just follow the wind...  go where it would carry them...  they looked free!!!
They were not battling against it and trying to go in any one direction...  and it was just wonderful to watch...  it looked as thus they were carried by the wind... and they did not seem to be afraid...

And it just struck me...  how they go with the flow...  they take advantage of the wind to experiment free flying.... they are free...  they have no worries... they have trust and faith.  Whereas we try to battle against everything that comes our way... even wind! How silly is that?  Why can we not be trusty like a seagull?  Why can we not just go with the flow?  And what good does it do that we go against the wind?  It is stronger than us anyway... and we can't control it... it is nature!  Why do most of us have to try and control everything?

Yoga and meditation have learned me to let go years ago...  have faith in life...  like a seagull...  but I do have moments of weaknesses...  it is not always easy...

So on that day, when I got out of the bus, I stopped...  stood still and took a deep breath looking up at the sky to look at the seagulls.... and I let the wind carry me...  it was an amazing feeling... this moment of quietness in all that business and in the middle of strong wind... my moment of peace... my own realization that life is good if you let it happen...

thanks to the seagulls for that important lesson they reminded me on that crazy Sandy day!

love and peace,
nath

Turning 40

I am turning 40 TODAY!

Now last year when I turned 39 I said that it was the last birthday I would celebrate... that no one was to wish me Happy Birthday when I would turn 40!!!  but stuff happened in between...  and honestly I am in a great place in my life.... I am happy to turn 40 now!!!

1) I have a lovely husband. We're been together for 10 years and we're clearly heading in the same direction
2) I have a lovely son! 12 years old is an amazing age... as any other age as a matter of fact... but I find he's growing into a fine young teenager...
3) My health is great - even thus 9 years ago I may have assumed the worse with the diagnosis I was faced with
4) I live the way I wanted to live - a minimalist life... in a small apartment, no car, no cluttering... 
5) I am vegetarian
6) I have great people around me
7) I just submitted my first book to be published.  One of my goal in life was to help people... this book will do just that...

Honestly I do not care so much for big accomplishment... and what other's think... but I needed to do all the changes I made over the last 5 years.... and to write this book.... I needed to do it for ME! It was very therapeutic for me...  It helped me move to another place in my life... helped me realize what is important in my current life and put aside was is not so much anymore.... as well as  be grateful for everything that happened to me... good or bad as this actually made me who I am today!

Every birthday I like to look over my shoulder and see how much further I made it in my life... not just in a matter of time...  after all it is always 365 days...  but in terms of where I stood, where I am... and where I wish to be...  and this year especially is a big step further!!!

I like to set my resolutions or goals at my birthday... not the new year...  this is how I am...

Now last year was writing my book... and I must admit it was not easy.. a roller coaster of emotions...  going over all those years where I was sick brought back much stuff...  but it helped me healed further...  Objective has been reached as I submitted it on November 11th to my publisher!

Now this year is actually launching the book... and selling it.... 

This year will be an amazing one I can feel it!!!
I deserve it!!!
and I will make it happen!!!

Holiday shopping

Hello!

the crazy, spend more than you can afford shopping season is just about to start.... it is believe that people spend roughly 700$ in Holiday shopping each year... 700$ they, most of the time, did not budget for...  700$ to impress people...  700$ more on their credit card....

I would like for us to spend that money, or much much less, on stuff that is worth it... so I have come up with rules over the last 2 Christmas seasons that I wish to share with you...  these are my own rules... you can pick and choose or just ignore them...  it's up to you!

1) Buy stuff that people will consume like food items ( home made jams or cookies for example), gift certificate to a restaurant, show tickets, gift certificate to a SPA...  this way you do not "create" more stuff that will end up in landfills... sometimes sooner than you may think or wish for!

2) Buy stuff that people need...  having something that you really need as a gift and won't have to save money to buy it is a really nice gift...  and for sure it will be used!

3) Buy local... now as I am in Canada, I like to try and buy stuff that is made in Canada... and if I cannot find, I go to the next best choice as proximity for us: made in the USA...  I try and avoid anything made in China...  for reasons I will not go over here... I have found this great website where you can by stuff made in Canada on line if you like to shop online.... http://www.buycanadianfirst.ca/  This way, you give a decent, well made quality gift and your money stays in our country!  Plus you save the environment by not having stuff shipped by airplane all around the world!  If you need an outfit for your parties and dinner, I know that Tristan and Jacob have lots of stuff made in Canada but they also have made in China so read labels...

4) Buy fair trade - often times I try and buy fair trade items....  my 2 best places to do so are Dix milles Village  or L'Heureux Boudha.  You can visit their website for more information but basically, all they sell is made in foreign country in an environmentally conscious manner and people are paid what they deserve...  no exploitation!  In the case of L'Heureux Boudha, the owner actually go to eastern country and select all the items one by one and get them shipped here in Montreal. By buying fair trade you give a gift to your love one, one to the environement and one to the poor people who hand made the item you bought. Plus it weill be unique!  OK another one might ressemble, but not 2 can be identical as they are made by hand!

Now I know those rules are not always easy to follow...  and I must admit that sometimes I don't follow all of them...  I also must admit that finding stuff not made in China is not very easy...  but I am working on it... and trying to find options whenever I can... important thing is not to beat you up over buying somtehing that does not follow your rules....  but work on them!  Improve yourself! Rembember that every little step count!

I also have a hard time following those rules with my son... he's 12 and he knows about fair trade and "China" and how buying locally makes much more senses environmentally...  but he's still 12!!!  He likes to have what his friends or kids his age have... but I am teaching him slowly and every Christmas he gets something fair trade... and he enjoys it... and quite frankly, he sometimes ask me to go to Dix milles villages because he loves the store!!! I also recently started teaching him the value of less... but appreciate what you have...  so over the last 3 Christmas he has been getting less and less  in monetary value and he understands that too...

So for children, it might not be as easy to follow the rules but if you do not wish to suddenly make them unhappy or look like the bad one who does not gives Christmas gifts (kids do compare between themselves), go slowly... introduce them to the idea and the concept...  explain.. they are quite smart and genuinely nice so they will get it eventually...

What are you doing for Christmas presents?  Any idea on how to make it different?

Amendement to my Project 333 list

I know it just started a few days ago but I need to make more changes to my list of items...  in order to get more versatility and really wear my stuff I had to put away 1 item and gave 2 items that I replace...

Gave:  skinny velvet pants and tunique - I only wore this outfit once in a year... and I do not see when I can next wear it...
Put away:  my burgundy pencil skirt... I love it but for the next 3 months I will do without... it is getting too cold anyway and I can't see myself wearing it in the bus with the upcoming weather...  we'll see at the end of January... and remember this was bought before the whole carless thing.. it may not fit my lifestyle anymore... I;ll have to see...

Replaced by:  1) a versatile LBD (little black dress) - can work for going out or work or going for coffee... 2) a mustard and white spots navy dress...  mostly for work and hanging out...  dress are fun cause it's really is just one piece to put on!!! 3) a fancy old pink t-shirt - works with my blank pants, black skirt, jeans and even over my LBD... 

so 2 pieces that were orphan and could really only go with each other, and one item that I could not see myself wearing over the next few months have given room to 3 more that I will find myself wearing over and over again!!!  That is a smart move!

love  and peace from Vancouver,
nathalie

Hello from Vancouver

Hi everyone...  I am in Vancouver writing this post... 

I left Montreal Sunday night and will be returning on Thursday... I can't wait...  This trip is for business...  not leisure...  and it was not something I was looking for... but as I always try to look at the bright side of things, I decided to take those few days out here to actually finish my book...  and I really think it's gonna happen... but I will get back to that once I return and let you know how it turned out. 

Vancouver Lion's gate bridge

 

I know most people say Vancouver is a really nice place...  and it seems really nice...  but I really do not feel like I want to venture into town...  I will spend most of my free time in my hotel room working on my book and this is just fine! I have this big project I am working on and this, to me, is more important than walking around Vancouver...  I will have other chances to do tat... hopefully with my husband! I will keep a few hours on Wednesday night to go out and walk around a little and perhaps try the sky train.

Being here made me realize a few things...  that I want to share with you guys...

1) I remember why I decided not to fly anymore years ago...  unfortunately, when I signed up for this job they forgot to tell me that I would have to go to Vancouver once... in which case I would not have taken the job but I would have missed out on a great opportunity... working for this amazing women...  and with a great team to develop soft skills (so in a way I am glad they forgot to mention it)!   So about the not flying thing, it messes up my chakras...  being so high in the air and going at such a fast speed really is not good for them!   It causes big time dehydration...  the energy in the place is really bad...  and I just really do not care much for it and do not see the point!!!  If we would have been made to withstand those conditions, we would have wings... like birds!

2) About my cie forgetting to tell me about this trip...  well everything happens for a reason... would they have not forgotten to tell, I would not have taken the job...  and developing soft skills is really in tune with my one's a Buddhist yoga teacher...  she "gets" me...  and she is making me move forward with my career as well as my spiritual life...  this is just perfect and quite honestly, I needed someone like that cause I was kind of stuck in my spiritual development not knowing how I could move it further... 

3) Being vegetarian is still not the norm!  I have been for 5 years and people around me know it and do not react to it all the time anymore... but when I am asked to go to a business dinner and asked if I have allergies or restriction to my diet and I mention that I am vegetarian I get the usual surprise look... and the habitual questions...  but do you eat fish?  is chicken OK? can you have pasta?  what exactly do you eat?  so it makes me smile... I no longer get upset by those questions... and i am happy to instruct people about vegetarianism and why I am doing that...  it's become a passion!!!

4) I am not like most people...  on top of having a plant based diet, I have many other differences with most people that when I am with my close friend of my husband I do not realize... because we talk about the same things...  I do not have a house or a car...  so anything that has to do with those 2 subject is pretty much out...  I do not do house repairs or renovations...  I do not need to pick up fallen leaves do my garden or mowed the lawn...  I do not change to winter tires... or bring my car to the garage... I do not watch much TV... so I basically have no idea what people are talking about when they discuss their TV shows...  unless they are talking about CSI... I do not shop more and I do not own much stuff...  especially nothing very expensive...  I do not have electronics or high tech stuff...
I do not listen to music very much...  unless it is for my yoga or to relax...  but it's not music you can hear on the radio...  and I do not watch the news...  especially not watch the news...  stopped doing that years ago!!!  Therefore, in a group setting, unless the discussion is about anything that has to do with vegetarian cooking, yoga, energy, health issues from a natural approach, public transit improvement, environment issues, walking or biking to places or minimalism I have got nothing to say...  I can listen...  it amuses me... I like people's compagny once in a while even thus I very much like my privacy! but I can't relate...  and I do not want to relate...  this would be going back to who I was...  I do not want to do that... I am happy with who I am...  and I don't care so much for not participating in conversation and mostly listening but some people find it odd!!! But unfortunately I cannot say something for the sake of saying something...  I am a minimalist... even when it comes to talking... I choose my words...

In summary, this escape into the "real world" made me realize that I am happy with my current life...  much more then I thought at first... that I do not want to go back... and that I do not want to pretend that I am someone I am not just to be part of a group...  people have to accept me for who I am... and I really think they do (most of them anyway)  Even thus I sometime get the feeling that I destabilize them, but that is actually good.  Every time I made a huge step forward in my life, it was because someone was there to kick me in the right place and destabilize me!!!

This trip, up to now, has been very enlightening and made me realize that the choices I made years or months ago are still valid for me...  it is very important to question yourself and sometimes you need "help" to provoke the questioning...

"Never look back unless you are planning to go that way" Henry David Thoreau

love and peace from Vancouver,
Nathalie

My project 333

I've decided to join the Project 333 group created by Courtney Carver. 
I long hesitated before joining it... and I 've been contemplating the idea for a year now...  Seriously....

First let me tell you what Project 333 is about... then I'll explain (for those who do not know me) why I hesitated for so long... for people who know me, it will be self explanatory!  :)

Project 333 is an experiment with living with less...  The purpose is to clean up your wardrobe and see how you can do more with less...  using only the clothes that reflect your lifestyle, who you are... clothes that are in good condition and fit you well...
Technically, you select 33 items (including accessories and jewelry and outdoor wear) but excluding sporting goods, lounge wear and underwear...  and you wear those over and over for 3 months.  The rest is packed away - not accessible...  you can keep it, but you can also choose to give it away right away...

I long hesitated because I had a wardrobe full of clothes for years....  some fit me well.. other not...  some were in good condition and other not...  some were worn only once or twice and I even had some with price tags on them...   Years ago I started cleaning up my wardrobe but only to use it as an excuse to buy more clothes that were more trendy or fashionable...  Over the years I gave tons of clothes...  and bought more... always a little less then I gave but still...  I have to confess:  I was a shopaholic!!!

Since my last move, I have a tiny bedroom with a small closet and one one 5 drawers chest... so I really had to declutter my wardrobe...  but I was still too far from 33 to join the project in August.  Over the last few weeks of so, I took a close look at my wardrobe... tried most items and really separated what I could wear over the next 3 months....  I came up with 40 items...  but I excluded jewelry, accessories and outerwear because where I live we have bizarre winters that require many items... and in the last week, I have either gave, got rid (a dress was not in good condition anymore) or put away (for milder temperature) more items so now I actually have only 33 items to wear between November 1st and January 31st. 

Here's my list:

2 black pants - one straight, one flare
2 velvet pants - one skinny, one wide legs
1 grey corduroy - jean cut
1 red Cotton skinny pants
2 jeans - one skinny, one straight leg
1 black skirt
1 black/electric blue/white skirt
*1 burgundy pencil skirt
1 tunic
1 black dress with mustard flowy sleeves
2 sleeveless top (grey, mustard)
3 fancy t-shirts (beige, red, grey/navy/mustard)
1 electric blue short sleeve blouse
4 long sleeve t-shirt (2 beige, 1 black, 1 gray)
1 black  long sleeve fancy top
1 green long sleeve fancy top
1 white blouse
1 pink and purple blouse
3 jackets (corduroy- beige, brown, black)
2 cardigans (grey, mustard)
1 electric blue turtleneck

* means that this skirt doesn't really fit my lifestyle anymore since pencil skirt are not very practical on public transit and for waking a lot but I still decided to keep it for now...  I may eventually replace it...

So here they are my 33 items... I will see what happens... but honestly, this is more then enough to get me until the end of January!!!  And the color coordination will be quite simple to do as most items are in black, grey, mustard and electric blue...  and tghere is the odd red or green that fits with any of my bottom....

One rule I got on a TV show I watch (in French) is that for every bottom, you should have 3 tops and that aside from neutrals, you should have only 3 different colors - that will allow for mix and match more easily!!!  I am using tis as well as What not to wear rules in order to find clothes that fit me well and are versatile!   This is saving me a lot of money and trouble to get dress in the morning!!!

What do you think of project 333?  would you try it?  maybe your version of it???

Almost a month with no car

Almost a month ago (on October 3rd) my car died.... and we decided to give it a try to go without a car! We gave it a fair try....  essentially we did not change doing stuff we like to do... but we stopped going places because we were bored and had a car to drive us there...

In that month we have been on a car in 5 occasions only... 2 were to go for my son's judo class which is too far to reach by bus that early Saturday morning... one was when a friend picked me up at work to go for lunch... one was for my son and husband to go play paintball with my brother and then all of us having dinner at his girlfriend's place...  and lastly, my mom drove us back from her place once.  I do not think we have been exagerating... 

We still go downtown like we like too over the week end... obviously still grocery shop...  not starving yet! We met friends... actually I realize that we only really do what we really care for! The rest of the time we spend at home... in the quietness of our small apartment!

I have save countless of $ because of that... I even managed to open a saving account and really start adressing this last tiny debt I have that is now driving me insane! I have been much less stress when I get back home from work - I can actually enjoy my evening with my son and husband! We are eating better because I cook more...  and use the food that is already in my home...  so I waste less food!  I shop a lot less at the mall because getting there from my place is a pain in the ass...  I have more time to express my creative self in coming up with new ways to combine my clothes, finish decorating my kitchen (I will eventually put a picture once I am completely done), knit... sew (I wanna make cushions out of left over material)....  all those things I like and did not have time to do because we were out and about!  I also enjoy tasking my early morning walk to the grocery store on the week end... good start to a day!!!!

A while ago (in January 2012) I read a book about called Living the savvy life and I try applying Melissa's principles... I did manage to apply most of them...  but some I could not figure out.. for example, using the food I have... shopping less...  saving money in an savings account... going car less has help me master the few ideas I could not get around... Now I will take this book again and reread it... see if there is more I could apply! 

All in all, it was a GREAT decision....  and we are quite happy about it! 

How about you?  Have you even been "imposed" a change that actually turned out to be a wonderful thing?

Challenge of living with less... continue

Well... as I announced in my last post, I was gona try and do the Reverse 100 thing challenge ... so this week end I have been working on that!  and my huhsband too...  we really did put our place upside down to find 100 things...  we looked everywhere...  honestly!! But I am still short of 45 items..  I can only find 55... I think this has to do with the fact that I have been decluttering for years now... and I am getting to that comfortable zone where I really love and use and need what is left...  I could find 45 more items.. and then go shopping to relace them.. but that would defeat the purpose!  Plus I no longer like to shop...

So here's my list of items...  that I will give away...

Brown boots
Stipe navy pants - they are too big - I lost weight...
Stipe navy jacket
Beige pants - they are too short - I did not grow... just hemmed too short....and cannot be fixed!
Navy sweater - navy is just not my color!!!
Zip up kangourou vest - never wear
Green pants - to skinny - I am not a teenager anymore...
2 knives - no longer cut....  but I have been postponing getting rid of them
2 old cell phones - to recycle
wide legs jeans - too big - note to self: do not buy online!
wide legs velvet orange pant - too big - not planning on getting the weight again
2 car brushes for snow - no longer have a car!
car shovel - you get the idea!
grey cami
tea bad box - use loose leaf tea
over shoulder bad - no longer use
kids purse
2 yoga belts - no longer need them for my yoga practice
belt - my husband no longer uses it
strap form a bag I no longer have
sleeve for a hot drink paper cup - I have my own tumblers now
pair of mountain boots - my husband no longer uses them
pair of slippers
2 pairs of flip flops
2 necklaces - trying to keep only meaningful jewlery - not cheap bulk made stuff
6 pairs of earing - same reason
pendant
watch - I do not wear watches... stresse me out!
shooter glass - left over from a set - n o longer has a use... I do not drink alcohol anymore!
screwdrive - we have enough
6 pair of underwears - uncomfortable
earphone - no use
pillow - one too many!
2 pillowcases
2 pair of never used shoe lace - but no shoes to go along!
winter jacket
set of replacement jean button - my husband thought we might use them - but never did in years!

so that is it!!!  unfortunately I did not get to take a picture before they were brought out of my place (I am really bad at taking pictures...

With this last clean up, I can officially say that I am done decluttering.... I will now only have to maintain the place... but with my rules of not buying unless I really need something or to replace something I have used up it should be easy...

Obviously, this last decluttering experience has help me going to another project in my closet...  but this will be in my next post...

What about you?  have you tried the Reverse 100 thing challenge?
How did it go?

Challenge of living with less

The reverse 100 thing challenge is a challenge that was just initiated by a virtual friend of mine...  she came up with this idea in reaction to the 100 thing challenge by Dave Bruno.  You can read about their adventure using the previous link...  but I like to say that I wish to embark upon that Reverse 100 thing challenge. 

For having read David's book... I know I could not do that... not now and maybe not ever...  but that doesn't matter...  you have to live minimalism to your own comfort zone... if not it becomes a punishment and I do not believe we are here to be deprived or punished!  Nor do I believe that we are here to be over consuming stuff!!!  There's gotta be an in-between! Living with ONLY 100 things is way to minimalism for me... but I am happy for him...

I have been decluttering for roughly 5 years now... and I am getting close to my comfortable minimum...  All in all, I have (including any items that "sits" on the floor - chairs, bed,...) 25 pieces of furniture...  that includes 7 regular chairs, 1 rocking chair and 1 Ikea comfy chair, a couch, a one  place chair that can turn into a bed, 2 beds, 2 working desk, 2 drawers sets, 2 night table, 1 coffee table, a wall unit, a TV unit, a table, a electric fire place and a food cabinet... My kitchen cabinet, really not many of them, are well aerated... our closet still have much room.... My book, CD, DVD collection is at a minimum.... but I still wish to try and do this reverse 100 thing challenge Courtney is putting me up to!

There are still some area of my kitchen I may be able to look into... maybe a few more CDs...who needs CD anymore?  I have an iPhone!  a few more clothing items...  getting to my Project 406 (which I will blog about next week) I had to get rid of yet more clothes... and definitely a few jewelry... I am getting to a point where I like to wear jewelry that is meaningful to me.. stepping away from commercial jewelry...  I prefer jewelry that comes form a loved one, or that has a spiritual value or is fair trade... so I should eliminate most of my cheap bulk made stuff...

So this week end, and for the few weeks to come, I will be looking for 100 items to donate... Once I have them all, I will be listing them on this blog...  I have until the end of the year to get this done!

Who else wants to come on board with this reverse 100 thing challenge?

On going carless...definitely

Hello!

first I would like to say that I am sorry I have been out for so long...  I really missed writing this blog... but I was concentrating on my book... which is almost done by now!  Just a few more minor revisions and I submit it! I will then be able to go back on writing more often here... which I really truly enjoy! 

There are tons of things I would like to write about now... having been out for so long!  I would like to let you know about my jobless summer in my new area, my new stimulating contract with a long commute, my son adaptation to high school, my adaptation to  project 333 , fall (which is one of my favourite season) and much more... but first and foremost, I want to talk to you about our decision to go car less!!!

On October 3rd, when I got to work my car broke down....  seriously!  It made a funny sound when I stopped it and it would not ignite again... not even try...  not a single light coming on when I put the key in...  I had to get it towed to the garage across the street...  I know!  not too far but there was no way I would push it and it would refuse to do anything!!! Even the towing guy said it would be faster for him and cheaper for me to push it across the street... but also said he might be tired after and the day was just starting (and probably like the easy $)!  Now the garage called me sometimes after lunch... and had bad news... they were no longer even able to push the car if it was on neutral...   so it was probably engine...  jammed!
We were looking at a minimum 3000$... if lucky...  probably more!  Now technically this car (according to book value, when working, is worth 3000$).  We had to make a decision!!!

Now before you start asking question... this is a 5 years old car... 130000km... no more guarantee of course!!!  And before you assume otherwise, I did EACH and EVERY single maintenance on that car... replacing things when they needed to, changing oil, filters and what not... I even just had a break job done!!!  I LOVED that car....  it was the first car I really chose in all my life...

So when I got home my husband and I had a good long discussion...  assessing what we should do!

Now keep in mind that at the time of making the decision, this was the underlying goal we had in mind:  trying to be debt free and going to a simpler less expensive way of life as well as having money put away for an emergency fund (trying to get 6 months of expenses) - this would enable us to do what we truly love.  We have been working at it for a few years now... one thing at a time... but we were so far... it can't happen overnight! We are almost there...  We live in a small apartment my husband my son and I (800 sq.ft.).  No outside storage or locker...  closet not even packed, almost no storage furniture...  we are getting really close with that goal possession wise...  Living expenses, going from 2 cars to one, from a house to an apartment, cooking more, eating out less, thinking before buying stuff.. has been decrease by roughly 40%...  We have a small remaining debt on our credit card mostly due to me not having a job for 3 months and having to replace bikes (2 of them) that were stolen and going away for a week end with all 3 kids or ours... and a Starbucks addiction (which is quite expensive when you are out of a job - auto refills are nice bu you just don't realize it as much!) not much thus... will be taken care off shortly...

So here what we concluded:

Keeping the car:  Puts us further away from being debt free or having the emergency funds we want, most likely looking at further repair, maintenance, etc...  One thing to take care of... one more thing away from the freedom we aspire too... Faster to get to some places...  More convenient for week end away ( maybe 2 per year), more convenient for family vacation (1 week per year).
So in the next year, 3000$ repair minimum, 600$ in maintenance, 400$ insurance, 4500$ gas for a total of : 8500$ at a minimum we do not put toward our debt and or emergency fund. Basically for convenience on week end away and family vacation (roughly 15 days).

Letting go of the car:  More freedom... getting exactly where we want to be on our goal of not owning a car eventually, commute by bus ( 2340$ bus pass for whole year for all 3 of us), using Communauto (about 1200$ per year maximum), walk more, bike more, be in better shape, enjoy being outside more, save money because malls  and stores won't be as easily accessible, save the trouble of parking the car on the street during our wonderful Montreal winter... no more parking ticket... or stress because of traffic...  able to read while commuting to work (already 2 novels in 2 weeks), no more leg pain because of driving manual in traffic... maybe less freedom to go some places... but no more garage appointment to fit in my schedule...

All in all, financially, in the next year we are saving almost 5000$ (this is assuming there would be no further repairs, tires to change... and no need to buy a new car that would come with lovely car payments!) - Good financial decision.  Stress wise:  Great decision... I am much more relax when I get home... and quite frankly I save $$$ on Starbucks...  on shopping and on groceries... and probably on week ends away too...  I think twice before going out to buy a specific item... Do I really need it?  Is there a way around it? I will also think twice before organizing a week end away... There is so much to do here in Montreal... but living here made me blind to it!  Now that I have to think outside of the box, I see all those things!

So we decided we would give it a try... a good try... I know it may take time for us to adjust...  but we will give it a fair chance... and if it really does not work (which I sincerely doubt - the first 2 weeks have been quite easy and we are not even member of Communauto yet)) I am sure someone at a dealer will be very happy to sell us a car!!! 

What do you guys think?  Would you consider going car less?  Or maybe just down one car?

Another of life's surprises

Well Hello everyone...  sorry I have not write in so long...  I was lost!!!

On June 7th I lost my job...  was laid off because they did not need my position anymore... so they say...  A couple of weeks after I moved to my new appartment...  nothing to do with loosing my job, it was already planned.
We had decided to move to get closer to my son's highschool...  of course it would have been further from my job but Icould do it... it was not that far...

Now, comes June 22nd...  I am officially moved...  unemployed... in a new area...  It was a shock...  more then I imagined! Technically I was moving in the same city...  still in Montreal... but this city, as many major cities I imagine, have multiple side to it...  I went from the West Island where I had been living for the last 10 years to Ahunstic.  Those to areas are day and night!!! More then I suspected.... and since I no longer had to go to the West Island for my job, it was a whole new life for me... First language wise....  here we speak more French then English... actually I hardly ever hear English anymore aside from TV and a few friends! The ''food'' in the supermarket is not the exactly the same... of course the basics are... but being vegetarian and most times vegan and buying mostly organic products, I had to find new places to get my usual stuff...  now for those who've been reading me,or know me,  I am very specific about my diet so this was a huge deal!!!  I did find everything I was use to buy but I have to run 3 differents places...  so I have to plan ahead...  People who were asking me how I was a few days after the move were told that I may as well have move to France and it wouldn't be a bigger shock...  and I was not exagerating so much...

Now a month later, I have learn to LOVE my new area...  as I thought before moving, when we chose the area it was much more in sync with who we are... we do most of our things by bike or walk hence we save on gas which is great since I have no job! Neighbours are really nice...  my son loves the place and so do my husband...

I am getting adjusted to not working in an office... I have my routine which involves my almost daily yoga practice, my daily meditation, I do bike rides to get back into shape 3-4 times a week on top of running errands by bike or walking...  I also started reading again and knitting. This is working out just great!!!

I am also just about to finish my book...  and this is what I mean by the title of this post... I had trouble getting time in a busy schedule working 40h per week to get it done with... now I have time...  I had ask to get time to get to it... and I was given it!!! You know how they say ''be careful what you wish for you might just get it''?  Of course many people see loosing a job as a huge obstacle...  but I see it as an opportunity... to finish this book which will help many people... an opportunity to figure out the rest of my life...

I am about to turn 40 in a few months...  I will have a book coming out this automn... I have overcome my fair share of obstacles over the last 15 years...  job lost, business loss, bankruptcy, chronic disease, spouse having mental problems... I overcame all this... and I have learn to trust life and figure out that there is always something better awaiting us... even thus sometimes it may not look it!  Now I like to see life's surprises as opportunity to grow... a chance to get closer to your life big goal!  Maybe this is why I get so much of them...  cause I overcome them... or because I do not ''get'' the message fast enough so the universe need to send me more of it...  I know everyone has their problems...  and honestly I am not even sure anymore the can be called problems...  they are just life happening...  for better and for worse...  but it always turn out just fine!!!  No matter what!!!

So I will try and post more often...  include this blog on a more regular schedule... I realise it is great to write it!!!  I hope you guys enjoy reading it!!!

namaste,
nathalie

I know my objective is reached

For those of you who have been following me, you may have realized that I had a shopping ''addiction'' and that I have been working really hard or resolving it...
Now I tried several ways to quit...  and I was always gettign back to it...

However, I am now glad to share that I now KNOW that I no longer have this problem!!! 

Why one might say? Why is this time the good one?

Well for starter, I have been following my shopping rules over the last 3 months!  I am still debt free!!!

But more importantly, there were 2 incidents this morning who proved to me that this addiction was over with!

First incident:  My husband will be working overtime quite a lot over the next few weeks.. in the past, I would go shopping when he did overtime cause I knew money would come in... Today when he annoucned he would have to do it, I immediately thought ''well what a great opportunity to work on my book'' and study for my course!  And also, he even offered me that money to go shopping and buy somethign nice for myself and I turned him down saying that we would put it aside for a nice trip to SPA Eastman later on this year!!!  COMPLETELY unlike me before!!!

Second incident:  On the radio this morning, I heard that our government has increase the amount of $ we can spend in a foreign country before having to pay duty fees on it!  That amount went from 50$ to 200$ for a 24h trip.... my instinct was to say to my son (who was in the car with me), that we could go shopping to Burlington and get stuff from stores we do not have here... only to realized as I was saying it that I do not buy stuff anymore... that after an hour at the mall I am fed up!!!  So what would be the point???  And here comes the really nice part...  even him said ''but why would you drive 2 hours to go shopping an hour and then come back? you don't shop as much now..  it doesn't make sense!''... he even realized that I don't shop as much!!!

And this is how I know my goal is REACHED!!!

I have no shopping addiction anymore!! I can move on to a better place in my life!!!

p.s. when setting a goal, it is important to set an event or an emotion that will show you your goal is reached!! If not what is the point of goal setting!!!

peace, love,
nath

Decluttering clothes

A couple of weeks ago I started decluttering my clothes...  to one of my friend's daugther delight!!!
I was trying to get to this Project 333 stuff...  however I realized that I am not there yet.... But it's good.... I come from far....

To describe my wardrobe 3 years ago (I do not have a picture), try and imagine this...  I had a double closet full of stuff...  plus an armoire just as full... and a 6 drawers chest jus as full as you may have guess... And some stored away underneath my bed!!!  Basically I could have dress myself and a couple of friends for a few months without wearing the same stuff twice!!! I had TONS of clothes... Totally did not make sense!!! (why have more then what you can make use off?)

Then we moved into a smaller place and I had to basically fit all my clothes into double closet and my 6 drawers chest....  remove the armoire and the equivalent of it's content (no room to put in into that smaller room)!
Then we moved yet into a smaller place...  I mean as we were decluttering everything else, there really was no point in living in such a big expensive place...  downsizing was allowing us to save money and on cleaning time!!! So I had to let go of more of my clothes yet...  this was a ''forced'' process...  I did not have enough space..  but I was still ''Attached'' to clothes... so what I would do while decluttering those past years was getting rid of stuff to make room to buy more current fashionable stuff...  Not exactly the point!

I had to stop and question why I was doing that?  Why was I able to declutter everything but my closet? And come to realize the my clothing are what people ''see'' of me...  and I was afraid of being judge...  and not looking good enough! (However, when I look at it now, most would probalby think that I was an air head wasting all her money on clothes!)
So about a year ago, at the time where I started this blog I came up with an idea... to not buy anything for a whole year unless it was absolutely essential!  Quite a huge goal for me (coming from a place where I would spend hundreds of dollars every month on clothes only!)!!!  And I managed to do it for 6 months ( and pay off some debt with the money saved!)!!!  I was proud of myself but realize the forbidding myself to buy would not work...  I eventually give into my old habit!!!

Beginnning of this year, I made another resolution (but kep it to myself)... that by the end of this year I would have found a ''cure'' for my problem... my clothes addiction! I started looking into books (by Anna Johnson and Melissa Tosseti) and then this go into me looking at blogs (by Melissa Tosseti and Courtney Carver).. and I think THAT worked...  I finally managed to come to the conclusion that buying so much clothes was a way for me to hide from who I really was....  I use to have clothes that would no suit me because they were not my style, not fit my body properly, no the right color or pattern... and most of them were orphans!!!  And many were NEVER or hardly ever worn!!!  That did not make sense to me!!!

I then started looking at who I was, what I wanted people to see from my clothing, what I wanted to reflect...  and who I was inside so that I could reflect it on the outside!!!  And that worked!!!

I now have clothes that fit me well, go togheter (no more orphans), that are versatile, of better quality (I only kept and am allowed to buy good quality now - no more cheap stuff so that I can get more), can be worn in more then one season and most importantly reflect the REAL me!!!  Who cares what other people think?  And it I am truly comfortable with what I own and wear, they will only think good things of me cause I am not trying to be someone I am not!  Nor am I trying to impress people for what I am not!

So for the last couple of weeks, I can say that I really managed to get rid of loads of clothes... I now only take a single wardrobe and a 5 drawers chest... and my clothes can still breathe (there is still romm - but not to add more!)!!! Winter stuff is paked away! I may not have only 33 items to wear over the next 3 months... but if I look at my work wardrobe I have about 25 items!  And if I look at my not at work wardrobe I may have 30 items.. but some of those fit into both category so in total I may have 45 items!!! No to bad for now!!!

I will continue working on this...  I still have a few more months before end of year anyway.. we are only end of May!!!
Some items still need to by tried and tested to see if they past the test...  so I may end up giving away a few more items!!!

I am happy I managed tho deal with this issue.. it was a big deal for me.. I felt like I was not on control of that part of my life and it was not good for me.. all that money and time wasted!

A VERY good side to having less clothes is the ease of getting dress in the morning!!!  It use to take me a long time just to decide what I would wear.... now in five minutes if not less I am settle down on my choice!!  So I still wake up at the same time I use to, but now I can manage to do my 45 minnutes yoga practice, take my shower, enjoy my breakfast and still be ready on time!!! No more rushing!!!  What an amazing increase in quality of my time!!!

Have you looked into decluttering your wardrobe?  How are you handling it?

Rain in Montreal

It is raining today in Montreal. A continuous flow of rain... sometime light and sometimes abondant.

Montreal having a very particular climate rain is seen very differently depending on the time of year it comes and how frequent it is.... 
Rain is winter is not appreciated...  sure it means a mild temperature but it also means snow melting and ice everywhere the next morning.
Rain in the spring means grass becoming green, flower blooming...  of course if it is not a week in a row... like we sometimes get...
Rain in automn mean cold and bad weather is coming for several months.. summer is over...  leafs are falling from trees...
Rain in the summer means a cooler day....  or a bad wek.. it all depends!

But today's rain is a break...  a cool down day... a today's time to watch a movie, do some shopping or clean the house!  We had an AMAZING long week end!  Sunny and warm...  our first summer long week end...  This long week end in May usually signifies the beginning of summer and the arrival of nice weather...  althus techinically summer arrives in a month!  We are expecting a very nice week after today's rain... and it is still not cold...  very enjoyable.... you can leave windows open and refresh the house.....

I like the smell and the sound of rain...  waking up in the morning with rain falling is nice...  quiet.. it sets the tone for a ''take it easy'' day!

Needless to say I like rain.... especially in the middle of 10 days or warm sunny weather.. it's a break for the skin... the eyes... it allows me to turn within...  rain has always had this very reflective effect on me... I find it romantic...  soothing... I very rarely take an umbrella... expecially in summer rain...  I like the feel of rain on my bare skin...

I remember when our kids wer younger, we would go gor a walk under a summer rain... and get in our pajamas when getting back home...  we would encourage the kids to play outside in the rain... run, laugh... This is a very good memory of a few years ago...
We would also even go to water park (hey you are getting wet anyway!)  and the zoo (animals are different) under rain... there are much less visitors!

What about you?  How do you enjoy your rainy days?

Moving

I am moving on June 22nd. 

The first 23 years of my life I spent in 1 home.. my parents do not move!  They still live at that same place. 
I like to move...  In 16 years, this will be my 6th place.  I move for many different reasons...  but mostly becasue I want my home to fit my lifestyle...

This time I am moving because my son is off to highschool next year and the school he chosed is too far from where we live now.. and I want him to be able to use public transportation to go to school without having to commute 3 hours for a round trip.
Also, I always wanted to go back to that area... it's more in synch with who I am... but I'll let you know more about that once I move....

Now I am planning my move...  obviously, after a few moves, you learn stuff..  practice makes perfect!  or almost...

So now, when I sign a lease, I am always taking room lay out and measurement upon signature and I also like to take the current occupant email or phone number so I can contact them if I need some extra info... who better to answer them then people who live there?

This week end, in preparation to moving, I was trying to figure out what we bring with us and what we leave behind.. we are moving in yet a somewhat smaller place.. so some stuff may not have room....
So we layed out the rooms and organize furniture how we would like to have it and saw what would fit or not...  so now I am clear for furniture. 

 The next step will be going to the post office to make change of adress so that my mail may follow if I forget to advise anyone... Then make the list of where my adress needs to be change and comunicate this info to all those people.  I also send an email to my friends and family with my new adress and phone number a few days before.

I will also need to reserve my moving truck. Now that I know what I bring with me, I know what size truck I need.  And lastly continue making boxes...  I started them when we had the fire incident as part of cleaning up...  but I am not done...  When I do my boxes, I now clean up as I pack stuff...  instead of when I am unpacking... makes organizing new place faster but it means starting packing boxes earlier..  so I start doing that a month before... and get rid of stuff I have not use since I unpacked them! I label every boxes with the room they go into so we can bring them direclty there...

Another thing I do to make things easier is choose paint color ahead of time...  it save times.. and as I like to paint fearly neutral, it can be done before and I can always add dash of colors afterwards.  I get my keys a week before I move in, on the Friday night.  By then, my cleaning schedule is prepared and my team (my mom, dad, husband and I) are all well advised of our chores (list is made ahead of time acording to each one strenght)...  makes stuff so much easier.. then we'll start painting room by room...  my husband and I are a wonderfull paint team!!! 

I take a vacation day before the move to make sure all cleaning and painting is over with... then I also take the moving day off to make sure everything goes smoothly.  My brother and my husband take care of furniture and my parents and I of boxes..  usually goes smoothly...

By supper time, pizza is there...  and after supper everyone gets to go home... and my husband and I usually finish organizing our bed room so we can sleep comfortably...  The next Saturday, we fix the rest.... and by the time I go get my son at his dad's place, everything will be done...  and we can enjoy Sunday night and Monday as that Monday is a Holiday for us in Quebec!!!

It may seem like a lot... but I assure you that it is not exhausting... we plan this well and use time efficienlty... never working untill late at night...  and relaxing after supper... taking some fresh air and walking around our new neightbourhood!

I have improve a lot over time.. my first few move were horrible.. tiring... but I still iked it!!  However, I do not want to be exhausted for weeks after moving anymore and I do not want it to drag for weeks!!!  I want to enjoy my summer!!!

namaste,
nathalie

Vegan Khichdi

A friend vegan friend of mine who's dad is from India, recommended I try this recipe... as it is her favorite comfort food...  It is healthy, complete...  and has many different flavors to it...  I am not a big fan of Indian cuisine as my taste buds are not particulary used to the spices they put in...  and I am not use to cook with spices!  However, I know that using them is quite healthy and I am try to incorporate more in my cooking. So having a friend recommend something authentic and saying that is was really comforting, I gave it a try!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of basmati rice (rinsed)
1/4 cup of lentils (any colour would do, rinsed)
2 tsp of Garam Masala (or to taste)
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 medium potato diced
1 medium carrot diced
3 cups water
Oil
Salt to taste
you can also add cauliflower, green peas or try any other vegetables that are slow cooking... do not be afraid to experiment!

Directions:

1) heat the oil and fry the onion until it is transludent
2) add Garam Masala and mix with onion and spices
3) add rice and lentils and fry a few more minutes
4) add water, salt, and other vegetables
5) lower heat and let simmer untill rice is cooked

Please note that I had to add more water during cooking... so stay close... texture should be ''runnny'' when serving!

It took about an hour all in all....  inclulding vegetables preparation and cooking....

I was amazingly surprise by this recipe!  It tasted GREAT!  and it was really comforting!!!

I have left over... so I will have that again tonight!  See how it taste when you reheat it without a microwave (which I do not own). 

If anyone tried to freeze some, let me know how it turns out!  I am pretty sure it would still be great!  Next time I make this, I might try cooking a big batch to freeze some and have it ready for ememrgency dinners, I never eat any manufactured frozen meals... so I do bulk cooking and freeze left over for another week when I have less time to cook or simply do not feel like it!!!

namaste,
nathalie 

Perfect timing

There was a fire in my building a week ago... Nobody was hurt which is the most important thing... No human or animal were harmed aside from the few elderly who had to be rushed to the emergency room for panic attack but they are fine...
One appartement which was occupied by 2 children and their parents was completely destroyed!!! They have nothing left (but themselves which is not too bad!)!!! Two other appartments were damaged but not everything is ruined...
Thanks for concrete walls and closeby firemen, the damages were controlled quite well....

However, going back into a building filed with smoke, black walls, broken windows and doors, no electricity is quite devastating...  When you enter your appartment and all you see is your cat crawling on the floor and smoke everywhere, and this horrible smell, no matter how much yoga and meditation you do, you have no more sence of material security!   So we opened the windows even thus it was quite cold and there was no electricity and took time to breathe.. and figure out what our next step should be!

We conclude quite fast, that sleeping there was not a solution for that night.... First we did not know when the power would be back... and it was already 7pm and sun was going down... and smell not going anywhere! So we opted for a hot comfortable hotel room!  Where we took a hot shower, nice meal and tried to sleep!

The next morning, I had organized my thaught and made a plan!!! We would go back home, take all that needed to get cleaned and go do laundry at my mom's (the laundry room was quite dirty still as it was on the same floor as the fire). Then in late afternoon we would come back home, open the windows again and clean the couch and bedroom as well as vacuum all the floors so at least we could sleep there on that night...
And on the monday my mom would come and help me do the rest... It was a good plan... and I was exhausted for a few days after... but all in all it went well...  and boy was I happy I am trying to live in a minimalist way!!! 

We have quite a lot of stuff still for pure minimalist... but we do not have much compared to what we used to have... over the last 5 years we have give away bags and bags of stuff...  if there was a time to get as close as we wanted to  become minimalist, NOW is a GREAT timing!!! And when I was cleaning we took the opportunity to start packing up stuff as we are moving in 7 weeks! 

After the cleaning was done and our place back to normal, then was the time to take care of myself... so I went back to my yoga....and meditation... to redo my roots... and not be so airy anymore!!! As my body really missed only one day of my practice, it got back to normal quite easily...and I would say that on the Thursday ( the fire was on Saturday) I was back to my old calm, centered self....  and happy about how all this went well...

namaste,
nathalie

Project 333

Hello all!

it has been a while... I know...  but I was on to something...  I have a new found interest for savvy living and I did read a few book about that over the last couple of month...  ''Living the savvy life'' and ''Savvy chic: the art of more for less''.  In those 2 books I found countless information on how to live a siple life... not be in debt, be happy...  it's not about being cheap but rather live according to what you make and budget accordingly.
I have done my homework, not that I was far from that since I went banckrupt a few years ago, but it made me stop and look at everything and budget... and STICK to it!!!  after a few months, I can honestly say that this worked out pretty well..  not saying it is always easy.... but I can see where this will ultimately lead me...

I strongly suggest that you look into those book and see what they are about... see if they suit you...  There also is a website and a blog for ''Living the savvy life'' which is awesome!

All this brought me to Project 333 (google it, it is a popular movement on the web).  Project 333 is about having 33 pieces of clothing that you'll wear over the next 3 month!  And those clothes need to fit you well, be the ones you absolutely LOVE and go with each other to create multiple outfit!  This exclude lounge wear, pyjamas, sport wear...  for obvious reasons!

So I have been cleaning up my closet!!!  Believe it or not!!! I went from someone who never had enough room for clothes in a double closet, a chest drawer, 2 shelves in the closet, an extra medium size ''Armoire'' and borrowing a huge amount of space in the entry closet to someone who can actually see all her clothes, dresses easily in the morning, have clothes I LOVE and WANT to wear!!!!
I feel liberated!!!!  And I love that feeling!!!!!!

So back to more cleaning out of my closet... I am almost done by now!!!!
In the meantime I hope you take a look into that Project 333 and try and do some cleaning up!!!

peace,
nathalie

Good bye Carol

Earlier this week, my aunt Carol, 70 passed away.... on the same night spring was getting here she left us...
She was in Florida so I did not get to say Good Bye properly...  this post will serve as my Good Bye to her.

During her trip she went to the hospital because she was not feeling good... and was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease (which I will not go about into detail here) but basically the doctor told her that she would have about a year left (so I was told)...  A few weeks later, on the eve of being transferred back to Montreal, but still in Florida she passed away...

Now this is very difficult for me, since I had seen her a few days before she left for Florida and she was really happy... and doing great! They were leaving soon for their annual trip to Florida (her and my uncle), they had decided to sell their house and buy this wonderfull condo by the water... We lived close so I would randomly ran into her and my uncle at the mall, coffee shop, bank, market...  And those encounters were always the sunshine of my day. We were always happy and smiling!

Now I always had a difficult time dealing with death... it has been present in my life all too early...  Now, with my yogic background, I see things differently... of course it still makes me sad, and angry... but not in the same way...

I now belief in karma and reincarnation (notion present in the yogic philosophy since it is strongly inspired from boudhism and induism)... I believe that people come on this planet to improve their karma... and that we all have a goal to reach in each and every one of our lives... Once this goal is reach, we can leave and wait for our next life...  Obviously it is not always consciously done...  but once it is time to move on, we know it deep down..  somehow... and we accept it...  so we can somehow choose when it is time to let go. This notion may not be easy to accept...  but I truly beleif that this is what it is!

I understand that there are many different beliefs and I wish not to judge any of these.... they are all good...  beliefs are just what makes all this easier to live with... but these are mine.... and this is what helps me deal with the departure of my aunt...

I like to believe that she decided to leave while in Florida.... because she loved that place so much!!!  Because she knew it may be the last time she would be able to go.  Because she wished not to have us see her sick...  and hence keep a good memory of her...

The last time I saw her, she was at the mall with my cousin Kim and we were talking in front of the Bay... and she was smilling and happy and this will forever be the last memory I have of her.

Good bye Carol,
rest in peace,
love,
nathalie