What is going on

I have this urge to write but I have not specific subject in mind...  I do know that writing is very soothing to me... and as my Vata nature is quite active recently, perhaps writing will somehow tone it down!

I have lots going on.. nothing really major but lots of thing in my mind.... and lists for many things to come...

To give you an idea... 

As you may know I am moving soon....  it will be the first time I move after going car less.  At first I did not think it would make things any different but it does!  I have moved a lot over the last years (and I hope I can settle at this place!).  I am not the type to pack up everything in boxes and put in a truck and go... I usually spend the week before doing a few car trips for stuff I'd rather transport my self in order to make sure the are not broken during the move.  Unfortunately, this will not be an option this time as I do not see myself doing several bus trip with fragile stuff.... or rent a car so often!  So I will have to pack more diligently my stuff!
Yes I did hear of bubble wrap - but it is plastic... and I'd rather stay away from it!  So I am left with "silk" paper used to gift wrap... I have quite a few of those as I refuse to throw them out... my mom also gave me some... I did use some of those! I can also use Scott towel... but then I feel like I am wasting paper...  but then again it is always useful once you get to the new place and you are looking thou boxes to find clothes to wash stuff!  I started putting some frames in between blankets and towels...  this should work out! 
I should be doing more packing this week...
Packing also gives me an opportunity to do another round of all my stuff and see what's a keeper or not!
This move will be my most environmentally friendly yet!!!  Smaller truck, less car trips...  not buying any furniture but rather figuring out ways to use what I have in a different manner if need be!

I have to finalize plans for spring break for my son... it is coming rather quickly...

Need to find someone to sublet my place!

My friend Yasmin is launching her new Yoga DVD series soon - can't wait for that to go and see her!!!

I am working really hard on my finances to streamline them... I have big projects coming up (more on that when the time comes) and I need to be in good financial shape to attack them!

I am also working on the final draft of my book which is due to be out somewhere between end of February and mid-March!

All this is keeping me really busy... and my mind too...  It's a good thing I have my yoga and meditation practice if not I could go insane!!!

What do you do to keep yourself calm in time of business?

love and peace,
nath

Moving - again

Well...  point #2 on my previous list has already been checked off!!!

Lass week I was actively looking for a place to live as where I am now is not working out at all!!!
I won't go into details here but our mental and physical health were at sake so I needed to urgently find something...

Last week I was also going back to work after the holidays.... so in the morning before work I would surf the web, send emails to make appointment...  lunch time would be dedicated to confirming or not appointment... asking question or getting answer to the questions I had been asking in regard on an apartment.  After work I would meet my husband some place and we would visit apartments.

It  seemed like a long week but finally on Friday we came to an agreement with the owner of a duplex in an area we like.

Here's a list of criteria we had and were met by this apartment:

Top floor
Washer and dryer installation
Duplex building
Old construction for the building itself
Within our price range
2 Closed bedroom each with a window
Accept cats
Close to public transit
Room to store our bicycles during winter
Non smoking apartment
Clean
No carpet

Here's a list of criteria that are not met:

Closer to my son school - but we are not further either...  same time to commute
Big terrace outside to enjoy summer - planned by owner to be done in 2014!
Includes appliances - will need to buy my own

Here's a list of criteria that exceed our expectation:

Newly renovated kitchen
Newly renovated bathroom
Hard wood and ceramic floors
Clothes line
Access to backyard to make compost and a garden
Freshly painted white all over so I have nothing to do when I move in!

So all in all...  this is like hitting Jackpot!!! 
Honestly I did not think I could find something like that in that price range so I am really exited...
Plus owner is really nice... 

So now I have to plan my move...  change addresses, reserve a moving truck, make boxes (not that there is so many - but still need to be done!)... decrease my food supply so that I do not have too much food to move...

But I have been moving so much over the last 5 years that this is not complicated at all anymore!!!

Honestly both my husband and I REALLY hope that we can settle down there for a few years...  to catch our breath and concentrate on other projects we have!

All those move have allow us to narrow down what we like or not and be more strict with our choices....  thus allowing us to find a very nice place to live! It also has allow us to further decrease our number of possession.... each move we seriously consider everything we pack or not... every furniture we bring or not... making it easier each time... 

This time we do have more storage but the place is even smaller in square footage but designed differently... so we will be able to keep everything - and I think I am pretty much at a minimum now anyway for a family of 3 anyway.  All in all it would look more aerated... 

I will be moving in 25 days and will let you know how it goes moving during winter!!  That I never did yet!

What is your take on moving?  Do you enjoy it?  Do you do it a lot or not?

Going from 2012 to 2013

Hello all!!!

I know I haven't wrote in a long time...  I was taking a real Holiday...  it felt good!  I got to enjoy time with my son and my husband!!!  It was great.

Obviously, there was the obvious Christmas and New Year's day...  but besides that we had plans... which where turned upside down by the snowstorm we had here in Montreal....  nonetheless... we had a blast!    Plans are there to be turned upside down aren't they? 

Not being as busy as we expected (not that we had packed our schedule...  we had 3 planned activities in 7 days!) has given me time to reflect on 2012...  boy a lot did happen on that year!

1) I have finally resolved my habit of over consumerism
2) I have downsized even more - I should be done by now...  but somehow I am not quite sure... everytime I think I got enough stuff out of my house I get surprised a few weeks later with wanting to get rid of even more...
3) We moved closer to downtown
4) I have lost my job and found another one
5) Husband started a new job
6) We gave up our car
7) My son started high school
8) I wrote a book
9) I was completely vegan for 3 months - and then back to vegetarian

and, I cannot forget that I had to put my dear Zoe to sleep... 
and I lost a lovely aunt unexpectedly...
but these cannot be numbered.. the were THE 2 events that touched my the most...

Now one cannot reflect on the past year without thinking of the upcoming one...  I do like like to make resolution as they are more likely vanished by the end of the month if that...  but I like to make plans...  I am a big planner... 

So for this year my plans are (and there are not set date for all of them - these are just things I would like to work on for this year):

1) Get my book published
2) Find a decent place to live - my current apartment doesn't suit me anymore
3) Take my first car less vacation
4) Spend a week with my husband at Spa Eastman
5) Increase my yoga practice to at least 1h per day 5 days a week
6) Decrease time spent in front of TV from 2h per day to 1h per day
7) Go debt free finally - I only have a small amount of one credit card left
8) Increase juicing
9) Increase my vegan diet from 75% to 90%

hey guess what? without even thinking about it, there was 9 items last year... and I am planning 9 for this year...  we'll see what happen!!!

And you, my readers, what are you planning for this year?  You can put it down as a comment...  I would be curious to see...  and sometimes when we tell people we are working on something, it makes it even easier to commit to it... or makes us more accountable for it!!!

We could work on this together as a team...

Happy New Year 2013!!!!

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