How to relieve stress during this Holiday season

As magic as they want us to believe this season is...  it is much more than magic!!!  It can actually be quite stressful!  I have rarely heard anyone talk about how magical their holidays were... but rather how busy, demanding, stressful it was...  but it doesn't have to be like that!  It actually CAN be magical!!! Whether you've been a minimalist for a short or long period... or are not even a minimalist, there are steps you can take to make this few upcoming weeks more enjoyable...

1) Clean up you calendar.  More often than not, we are booked day in day out... from morning to late evening...  Clean up some stuff... I am sure not 100% of those planned activities/events REALLY do appeal to you... Be honest with yourself...  what is not appealing is OUT!!!  It is that simple!

2) Make quality time for yourself. Even more in that busy period filled with expectations and "need to look good/interesting/fabulous/etc..." feelings, you need time alone...  quiet time alone... doing something YOU enjoy!  Take a bath... go to a spa...  read you favorite book...  watch your favorite movie... go for a walk in the snow (or not if where you're reading me from doesn't have snow!)... and if what you love is getting your hair/nails done or shopping, please try and figure out something else! You need ME time... not me time in between crazy busy people!

3) Make quality time with your spouse/kids. There is no homework, no lunches... take this time to do what your kids love to do... crafts... take some fresh air... try something new...  just have fun...  be creative

4) Go to bed early and wake up early. It is amazing the benefit you get from getting out of bed before anyone else in your home...  you can take this time to write, meditate, just stare at the sunrise...prepare a nice breakfast for your loved ones... or read the newspaper quietly...  It is like free me time!

5) Eat/Drink reasonably.  I am all for enjoying this period... indulging a little...  but a little is the key word..  if not the next day you'll feel crappie and be upset at yourself... what good does that do?

6) Keep you yoga/meditation/exercise routine as much as possible... this is what will allow you to "recenter" yourself, evacuate any toxins or stress on a regular basis to avoid build ups!

7) Spend only what you have.  This is a time of the year where it is soooo easy to overspend!  Try and avoid it!  You will then not loose countless nights of sleep trying to figure out how to pay the bills.

Basically, this is it... it is not that complicated to get out of this Holiday season without needing months of therapy...  or months to pay off you debts...  I started using those tricks a few years ago and as time passes by, I am actually looking forward this season as it is filled with time for myself, time spent with my son and husband...  relaxing in this crazy winter we have here in Montreal...  time doing stuff we love... rather then stuff we feel oblige too....  At first I was wondering "but what will people say?"... and you know what?  who cares... it is not "people" who have to deal with your stress in January... YOU have to do it... and even better...  those who truly care and love you will understand... and might actually feel compelled to do the same...  You have all year long to meet people you love... why cram everything in one week???

love&peace,
nath
xox
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Project 333 new season

Hello my friends!

This is a really short post on my new season of Project 333.  I am doing it a little early because I already chose what's in or not... and because I want you to be inspired by this post to join Project 333! I have joined it or the first time in October 2012... and it changed my life... even thus I had been at that minimalist stuff for a while, my wardrobe was still an issue... and this project has allow me to:

Find the way I LOVE to dress (resonate/represent me)
Cut down my shopping budget for clothes
Created space in my closet
Created space in my schedule by freeing time required to figure out what to wear
Allow me to be more creative in the way I dress

In a few words... it has done wonders!!!

This season, starting January 1st and ending march 31st, I will have 25 items!!!  Yes 25!!!  The lowest ever...  remember, I started project 333 with 45 items!!!  These 25 items are as per my modified rules of the project 333... technically I should include coats and shoe wear as well as jewelry but I never did... and as I am using this to track my progress in my wardrobe, I do not want to change my rules just yet....  I'll see later...

My list of items are:

Black velvet leggings
Grey leggings
Purple corduroy pants
Off-white velvet pants
Jeans
Red velvet skirt
Beige and navy skirt
Black dress
Dress
Purple plaid shirt
Pink plaid shirt
Jean shirt
Black fancy top
Black long sleeve t-shirt
Grey 3/4 sleeve t-shirt
Navy long sleeve t-shirt
Beige sparkly long sleeve t-shirt
Beige long sleeve t-shirt
White short sleeve t-shirt
Grey short sleeve t-shirt
Jean jacket
4 vests... yes I LOVE vest and wear them all the time!!!

So who's joining???  let me know if you need guidance or help!!!!  I would love to assist you!!!

love&peace,
nath
xox
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the bad side of the Holiday season

 

As long as I can remember, I always had mixed emotions about the Holiday season…

Parts of me LOVE it!!!!  I love the lights… the decorations… the music… I use to decorate extensively but not so much anymore… this too has been minimalized… And I love it even more... there is just a subtle hint of the Holidays in my home!

As a kid, I also loved the gifts… and I still do… but I prefer non material gifts…  stuff I can do/eat/use up…  but gifts are gifts and when well chosen I still appreciate all of them!

Now, the ugly… I also hate that time of the year… and I have not mentioned that to too many people… so I am really opening up with this post…

As a kid, my parents used to do the Christmas tree the first weekend of December… on a Saturday night when my brother and I were sleeping… they would put it up in the living room… reserved for the visit… and all the month of December opened to us too…  The Sunday when the tree would be up my brother and I would spend extensive period of time just lying there on the carpet in front of the tree looking at each ornaments… and I would do so over and over until it came down… now this may look cute from the outside… but from the inside… it was not just cute… because there was not only lovely thoughts in that little brain of mine…  I remember getting really sad and crying( when  I was alone)… and over  the years, the reasons why  I would burst into tears would change…  but I can’t get away from it…  and as I get older, Christmas actually makes me more sad year after year…  as I see more things… become more aware of the people around me, I can’t help but notice the misery…

So here’s my list of reason for being sad at Christmas

1)      Kids who would not have gifts

2)      War

3)      Kids who had sick grandparents

4)      Kids who had dead grandparents

5)      Kids who would not have as much gifts as other kids

6)      People who were left alone and/or did not have homes

Now some more mature reasons

1)      Suffering

2)      Injustice

3)      Homeless people

4)      Inequality

5)      War

6)      The fact that is has become a race to the biggest gift

7)      Parents with a sick/missing kids

8)      Spouse alone for the first time in years

9)      New orphans – no matter the age

10)   People away from their loved ones and unable to get to them

And I could go on and on… I can’t help thinking about that… of course I still enjoy it… because I am lucky to not be directly in any of those situations…  but the compassionate me hurts… I can’t help thinking about all those people who are suffering and for who that time of the year serve nothing but make them feel even more miserable! For the last few years, I have started doing random acts of kindness as of my birthday late November to the Holidays… it helps a little… but I wish I could do more!!!


love&peace,
nath
xox
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saving money on groceries

 

 

Hello!

 

if you're like me... the Holidays can be a financial issue...  I have one suggestion for this:

the pantry challenge!!!  Melissa first initiated me to this... I tried it a few times and it does allow you to save some dollar on the short term!!!

 

I tried it once in the summer.... this was easy as I eat mostly raw fruits and veggies in the summer... so I didn't find it difficult... but perhaps it was not as rewarding financially!

I also tried it a month before my last 2 moves...  It resulted in having less boxes of food to carry from one apartment to the next!

 

I will do it again now in order to save money between now and the Holidays... because I am planning a few activities during that period and being unemployed makes it more difficult financially... but I still want to have some savvy fun!!!

 

So what is the pantry challenge?   It is quite simple... you actually do not buy groceries except from fresh produce until you run out of supplies...  By fresh produce, I mean fruits, veggies, nut milk, plant based butter and bread... Now you can make up your own rules... but I have items that I cannot run out off for health reason....  so on top of the fresh produce listed above, I never let myself run out of nuts and seeds.... With fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds you can go a long way...

 

For grains, legumes, pasta... I try and use up all I have before I buy more... of course I may eat lots of the same... but because I do not stock up too much, I usually go thru all my produce within a month....  therefore this typically do not run for too long...  and the one time I actually let it ran for longer the next grocery shopping was so expensive because I had nothing left...  to me it didn't make sense... Therefore I have learned.... and now I only use it to typically save about 50$ of groceries for week for a few weeks in order to use this money elsewhere...  it doesn't change much in my eating habit... or eating cost because most of my food is fresh produce but it does help a little...  and if I do it for 2 weeks, I have saved 100$ for my planned activities!!!  And if I can manage a month, it will be 200$!!!

 

The other advantage to doing this is allowing some rotations in your supply... unless you have a very well planned menu at home, you probably end up eating a lot of the same... and have some poor item feeling lonely in the back of your pantry... this will allow them to be used up!!! it will also allow for a rotation in the food you eat which is always good for your health! You will also probably end up creating new recipes... or discover new ones since you'll have to use what you already have!

 

Therefore, unless you are hosting an event during the Holidays, I will invite you to join me in the pantry challenge and share your experience!!!

 

Did you save money? and if so, what did you used it for?

Did you find it challenging to come up with recipes when you might always be missing an ingredients or 2?

Do you think I am completely crazy???  ;-)

 

 

love&peace,
nath
xox
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what makes my world go round...

hello!!!

this is a post I like to do 2-3 times a year... I find it soothing...  I find it a great expression of what minimalism is...  and I like to compare it with the others to see how I change... or not!

I think it is especially important to do it at this time of year... when we are looking to buy stuff...  to please people... and are often times expecting a lot in return...  when really, if we look closely, all we needs is already with us...

So here it goes... 

Upcoming road trip with my brother to New-Brunswick

Heidrun Karin, from Germany, mentioning Life Happens to her followers on Pinterest

Warm footless thigh

Claire giving me "Vivre en paix" from Thierry Janssen

Geen tea with Spearmint

Homemade vegan cookies

Clementines

Soaked almonds

My son opening up to vegan options

Minimalist Christmas decorations

Writing

Knitting

My friends

Candles

Books

this is about it for today...  have you been thinking about what makes YOUR world go round???
It is very interesting to do...

love&peace,
nath
xox
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Exercise to find a better version of you

Hello lovely readers!

In this post, I would like to give you some piece of advice I wish I had got when I decided to turn my life around…  it would have help to find myself again to do this exercise…  To remember what was important to me before…  what my dreams were all about… before I graduated from university…  before I got into this big machine that is our society and forgot who I was… before I listened to people telling me what I should do, who I should be…  before I became a mature responsible uninteresting adult… Who was I before that?  Who were you before that???  I can’t answer for you, but I can give you an exercise to help yourself find that young innocent person and his/her dreams again… 

Steps to follow to do the exercise:

1)      Sit in your favorite room by yourself – no noise, no distractions

2)      Close your eyes

3)      Imagine a huge white screen in front of you

4)      Now imagine, someone is showing small pieces of your life on this screen, moments, events… it could be anything…  It will be like the movie of your life… when you did not know you were filmed.  Take it all in… good or bad…  you will see flashes from any and all points in your life… you will see people (still by you or gone), you will see emotions…  you will see your life in all it’s good and bad side…

5)      Once movie is over, keep your eyes close and let the emotions out…  all out… you may laugh, you may cry, you may be frustrated… let it all out

6)      Once done, open your eyes, still staying in the same quiet room, take a pen and paper and start writing… what comes to your mind.

7)      Once done, go back to those places where you were proud, happy, satisfied and analyze those… what were you doing, who was there… and this is the beginning to finding who you were before… this is finding what was making you happy, what was driving you, what was making you proud… it may have change in it’s finality but the essence is still there… find that essence and work from there to build yourself over… to reinvent yourself!!!

Now this exercise is not easy… and you may have to do it a few times… but it’s allows you to dig in… it makes you think about yourself… about what you value, what is important to you… about your essence... who you truly are...   

You will see things you’re not proud off… time to let it go…  You will see things you miss… time to find them back… you will see dreams… time to realise them!

Now go… do the exercise and reinvent yourself… become a better version of you!
 

love&peace,
nath
xox
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Questions answered....

Hello my friends!

today I thought I would answer 2 questions I get asked often... even if I write a lot about it...  it seems to be creating some confusion still.... perhaps I am not simple enough in my way of explaining it... you know the simplest things in one mind might be the more difficult to explain...
 
Here are the 2 questions:
What is minimalism?
Why do you do it?

What it is?

A way of life...  therefore it's a process... a commitment... and it is never over!
It allows you to:
- create space in your life to welcome new things, people, opportunities...
- create a life (your life) in order to then create a living
- find yourself again
- have more time
- go debt free
- it allows you to choose quality over quantity

That's it, it is no more complicated than that... I am not saying that the process is simple...  because it is not... but the general idea behind it is simple... and believe me it is so worthwhile of the exercise!!!

And do not be confused by popular misconception... minimalism is NOT about living poorly...  not about wearing old rags, living with cockroaches and eating anything that is on special at the grocery store...

Minimalism is about choice!  YOU choose what is important to you... and you start off from there... You set your priorities and you slowly eliminate anything that is not part of that!  It won't happen over night and what is a priority today may no longer be 6 months down the line while you go thru the process... this is why it never really ends...  but after a few months, you'll get to a point where you breathe easily and where you are happier, less stressed and have a sense of direction with you life... and this is when the magic happens!!!!

Why I do it?

I started when I started practicing yoga years ago as it is essentially a more yogic way of life...  I started it to help manage my stress and address my financial situation in order to deal with my health!
It gave me less stress, better finances, better health in only a few months... so I kept going...
And I am still doing it because it is bringing me to a point in my life that is very satisfying... to a point where I sometimes wonder why I didn't do this to myself earlier!!! 

I am free....  I have this immense feeling of being free... of not having those preconceived ideas about how my life should be... when you let go of material expectations, you can let go of all other sorts of expectations... and this is when you can experience being stress free... relax... truly happy.... and in the present moment...  there is nothing more satisfying than that!!!!

if you have question about the process or where to start, I would be glad to answer them... do not hesitate...

Now if you live in the Montreal area, I hold workshop on minimalism every now and then in French or English... if you are interested just let me know and I will tell you when the next one is! In the workshop, I go into more details about the method to live in a minimalistic way... where to start... what to do... hints...

love&peace,
nath
xox
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