High Five For Friday!

I can hardly believe that next week is September!  I am actually excited for Fall.  While I love summer, I don't exactly love the super hot temperatures or mosquitoes.  I am looking forward to Labour Day weekend!  Hubby has taken an extra day so we get to enjoy some extra time with him.  He is planning on catching a football game and I am planning on doing some shopping in the city.  Yay!  My next post won't be until Wednesday.  I am going to simply enjoy our family time over the weekend and then get back to my minimalism project and blogging on Wednesday!  Without further ado, here is my High Five For Friday:

1.)  We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my parents at the cabin, last weekend!  The cabin is truly my happy place!  I get such a sense of peace and calm when I am there.

2.)  A good first week cloth diapering!  ***Warning- Poop talk ahead!***  I have started to cloth diaper my daughter and it is going really well.  I had decided to cloth diaper while I was pregnant.  I was not willing to pay the extra money for the newborn size diapers.  This decision meant that I had to wait until the larger diapers fit my daughter.  So far it has been a great experience!  The cloth diapers are great at containing the poop explosions, so I haven't had any of those this week!

3.)  Rain!  I know that the area farmers probably aren't pumped about this, but I like that it brings down the temperatures.  I really love the smell of rain, as well!

4.)  Shopping day with my Mom!  Mom, Miss. E and I are going shopping today and I am very excited.  I am not shopping for anything exciting (basically groceries), but it will be fun to have a day out with my Mom!

5.)  Fun BBQ for Hubby's workplace!  My husband's workplace held a BBQ this week and spouses/children were invited to attend.  We had a great time!  It was fun to get out and to meet new people.  I got to hear about wedding plans (always fun!), summer vacations and found another fan of my favourite football team (I am usually the odd-man out!).  It was good food and good company!

How was your week?  Link up below to join in on H54F!

Becoming (Sort of) "Crunchy"

I learned the term "Crunchy" while sitting in the NICU with my daughter.  Two nurses were talking and one of them mentioned her "crunchy" friend.  I was intrigued.  Upon listening (eavesdropping?), I discovered that her friend leaned toward a natural lifestyle.  "Crunchy", as I learned, was a nicer way of saying "granola-loving, hippie type".  I love this term, although I am sure some people may find it a wee bit offensive.

As it turns out, I am (sort of) crunchy!   When it became clear to my husband and I that we were struggling with infertility, I threw myself into research.  I wanted to know what could aid our quest to become pregnant.  I read everything from the superstitious to the downright ridiculous!  I found a lot of wisdom, as well.  I came across a book called The Infertility Cure by Radine Lewis, Ph.D..  The book is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

In reading The Infertility Cure, I learned how everything that we put into and onto our bodies has a huge impact on the overall balance (Qi) of our bodies.  This, in turn, impacts our overall health, including fertility.  Around this time, I began to see an acupuncturist to help aid us in our endeavors.

I changed my diet and began to "eat clean". * Eating clean means to try to eat food that are in their most natural forms.  Fruits, veggies, rice, lean meat, eggs, nuts and seeds are all part of a "clean eating" diet.  I cut out anything that was too processed or far removed from its original state.  I never restricted calories or foods.  The body has to be properly fueled, especially when creating and sustaining new life.

I did a lot of research on what goes onto our skin in our everyday body care and beauty products.  I was shocked to learn that a lot of common ingredients in these products contain "hormone disrupters" and known carcinogens.  The last thing I wanted to do was contribute to our infertility by using any products that contained these ingredients.  I ran through the house and chucked out any products with the bad ingredients.  My husband and I hardly had anything left when I was through with my purge.  None of my makeup, skin care products or cleaning products were free of harmful ingredients.

With my list of harmful ingredients in hand, I slowly restocked our products.  I use baking soda, vinegar and "Nellie's All-Natural One Soap" for cleaning. **  It is a lot cheaper (woo hoo!) and very effective.  I learned to read labels and try my best to avoid the harmful ingredients.  I love the Rocky Mountain Soap Company and ZuZu Cosmetics.** I try to buy organic when I can.  This can be difficult as I live in a rural community, so choices are limited.

I am by no means perfect with everything we eat and use in our home.  Perfection is a goal better left for someone with more ambition than I.  We did, however, find that it made a vast difference in our lives.  Hubby lost 20 lbs without even trying!  I started to feel far more energetic, happy and strong.  Most importantly, we achieved our goal of pregnancy!

Miss. E has arrived and Hubby and I continue to be careful with our lifestyle.  I feel better knowing that I am doing my best to promote my family's health.

Here are some links that I found helpful in adopting a more "natural" lifestyle:

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals/

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/queen-of-green/2011/04/safe-cosmetic-brands-uncovered/

http://davidsuzuki.org/publications/resources/2010/sustainable-shoppers-guide-to-the-dirty-dozen-ingredients-to-avoid-in-your-cosme/

http://www.rockymountainsoap.com/

What natural products do you like?  Do organic or natural products have an impact on your life?

*  Please note that I am not a doctor or dietitian.  You should consult your health care provider when making any changes to your diet or exercise routine.

** The products mentioned in this post are products that I personally like to use.  This is simply my opinion.  I did not receive compensation for mentioning them in this post.

Minimalism Week #1-A Closet Filled with Coats and Shoes!

I plan to chronicle my journey to minimalism on this blog.  I was grappling with where to start.  With a three month old, my time for minimizing is limited to my daughter's naps, which can be short.  I have decided to go through my home bit by bit.  I won't be doing whole rooms at once, as I don't have the time to commit to that sort of project!

I decided to start with our outdoor closets.  We have two in our home.  The other day my hubby was searching for something in the closet when he turned to me and asked, "Do you really need this many coats?".  It was a question born out of frustration.  I take up more than my fair share of the closet.  Even though I knew he had a point, I got my back up.  I started to defend my different coats, when he asked about my navy blue rain jacket.  I own three rain jackets and this particular one is over 14 years old.  I was in junior high when I got it!  I guess I have a bit of a coat hoarding problem!

Today, I pulled out all of my jackets, coats and shoes.  I lined them up and then began to decide what to keep.  I referred to un-fancy.com, a blog where the author does a "capsule wardrobe".  She only keeps two jackets/coats per season so I decided to follow suit.  She keeps nine pairs of shoes per season, however, which is far too many for me!  For the footwear, I kept only what I wear regularly.

Here are all the jackets/coats I found in my closet:

There were three rain jackets (a little redundant, don't ya' think?), two jackets that don't fit anymore, and more than one khaki coat, among others.

I kept my pink pleather jacket and pink rain jacket for the Spring, my jean jacket and khaki toggle coat for the Summer, orange toggle coat and black pleather jacket for the Fall, and my black winter coat and plaid ski jacket for Winter.  I kept one additional coat for camping and playing with the dog.  I don't like to use my "good" coats for camping, as the campfire seems to always throw a spark in my direction!

Here are my "keepers":

I have stored away my Fall and Winter jackets until those seasons arrive.   I will put my Spring/Summer coats in the storage container when I take out the Fall/Winter jackets.

I thought that I had really purged my shoes earlier in the year.  I had donated close to 40 pairs of shoes and I felt really good about that.  I felt like I had done a really good job reducing my shoe collection.  Turns out, there was still a long way to go!  This is why I think that minimalism is really a journey, not a destination.  I truly thought that my shoe collection had been pared down to my regularly worn footwear.  My "regulars" have changed and my "fun" shoes no longer fit my lifestyle.  (I am not graceful enough to carry my baby while walking in four inch glitter heels!)

Here are all the shoes I owned before:

In that collection I had two pairs of rubber boots (I have a thing for rain gear, apparently!), five pairs of flip-flops, several pairs of boots, four pair of heels, several pairs of flats (two that I never wear!) and three pairs of wedges.  It dawned on me that I own a LOT of warm weather footwear for someone who lives in the Great White North!  Winter honestly lasts six months here and I have an abundance of shoes for the two months of Summer that we get!

I forced myself to only keep what I will and can wear.  It kind of pains me to let go of my "pretty" shoes (the glitter heels and gold wedges) but they deserve to be worn.  Shoes aren't meant to rot away in the closet.  I placed all of my unwanted footwear in the donation pile.

This is what I was left with:

I also kept my winter storm boots (good for deep snowbanks and frigid temperatures) and my running shoes.  I didn't show them because they have pretty specific uses and I had no intention of getting rid of them.

It feels so good to have those closets cleaned out!  I know my husband will be happy to find more space in our outdoor closets!  I love getting rid of the items I no longer use or need.  It makes me feel lighter and happier.

I like donating the items that are in good shape to a local second-hand store.  The profits from this store support the local women and children's shelter.  I just want to give a quick word about donating items.  Please make sure that the items you are donating are clean (they should go through the washing machine!) and in good repair.  You don't want to burden the donation places with items that they have to throw in the trash.  I once bought a box of second-hand maternity clothes.  When I got home I found deodorant all over the armpits of some of the shirts.  Ewwww!  Knowing the seller, it didn't bother me too much but I threw the items in the washing machine before I wore them!  Don't be that person!  Take the extra time to wash and clean items before they go to their next home!

Have you gone through any of your closets lately?  Have you been surprised at what's in there?  How do you decide what to keep and what to get rid of?  Let me know!

A Return to Blogging & High Five for Friday!

I am back at blogging!  My daughter arrived in May.  She was late and arrived in a rather scary fashion.  After a week and a half in the NICU, she came home with us.  It took some adjusting, so I just forgot about the blog.  Now I am back!  I am also looking to simplify my home and life again.  The amount of "baby stuff" is overwhelming!  Recently, I have been looking at the house and thinking that I could definitely go through it again and purge.  Minimalism is a process for my husband and I.  We just keep scaling back more and more.

I have decided to take part in "High Five for Fridays" as done on Lauren Elizabeth's blog.



The idea is to list five good things about your week!  So here goes!

1)  A few "free" hours to tackle my garden.  My Mom graciously agreed to watch my daughter (almost 3 months old!) while she had her afternoon nap so that I could finally get into my garden.  I planted my garden in a futile attempt to bring on labour at 40 weeks.  I haven't touched it since.  It was chock full of weeds, which I yanked out with fervor.  I got to see the fruits (er... vegetables?)  of my labour.  I have onions, green beans and potatoes to my heart's content.  I also have flowers to enjoy over the rest of the season.  It felt so good to get rid of those weeds!  I was cursing them every time I walked by the window.

2)  Camping!  We enjoyed a wonderful weekend of camping with my husband's family!  It was a ton of fun!  I really enjoyed seeing everyone with our baby girl.  It is nice to know that she is surrounded by people who love her.

3)  Our new fridge.  My husband and I purchased a new fridge.  We love it!  Our old one wasn't big enough.  We have company quite often so it will be nice to have the extra space!

4)  Baby girl smiles!  I love it when Miss. E smiles up at me.  It is seriously good for the soul.  Miss E. is becoming more and more animated as she gets older.  She is pretty free with the smiles these days and I can't get enough.

5)  Time with my hubby.  My hubby has been very busy at work the last few months and has been getting home pretty late.  He had a few extra days off this week and it was awesome to spend time with him!  He is wonderful with Miss E. and I don't mind being off of diaper duty from time to time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

My Year of No

Last year I found myself completely overwhelmed by all of my commitments.  I was working a full time job in health care, volunteering to run employee programs, the President of my professional association and in a social club.  My husband and I were also trying to keep up with one another and our families, while going through exhausting infertility treatments.  I felt like I was hardly keeping my head above water.

I love to volunteer.  In doing so, however, I sometimes forget that I need to carve out time to recharge.  Finding "balance" is extremely difficult and it looks different for everyone.  Some might view my activities as manageable, where others would find them overwhelming.  I think that when one starts to feel resentful of their activities, it is time to re-evaluate.

I decided that I would begin my year of "NO".  I would say no to any commitment that would take up too much time or any commitment that I no longer enjoyed.  I told my husband about my plan and asked him to help me stay accountable.  Our main focus was to start our family and it was important to eliminate stress.

It was hard at first to say no.  I live in a small community and belong to a small workplace.  People come to expect the "usual" volunteers to keep giving.  When I started saying "no", I was met with a lot of resistance.  People try to tell you how wonderful you are at a certain volunteer position.  While this may be true, it is important to remember that you are not the only one who would be good at that position.  Sometimes, there is someone waiting in the wings who would excel at the position.  It is also good to remember that it is not your sole responsibility to be the volunteer in your community or organization.  Volunteerism is something that should be shared among everyone.  If everyone took the time to contribute, responsibilities could be shared among many, instead of falling on the shoulders of the few.  I assured myself that I had given my best to my commitments and that it was now someone else's turn.  I currently have no commitments, besides my husband, family and full time job.  I don't plan to sit back forever, but I took a break when I needed it most.

I do believe that the release of the stress of my commitments helped immensely in our efforts to start a family.  I also believe that it has been extremely healthy for my pregnancy to cut back on stress.  I look forward to the birth of our first child and I am extremely relieved that I will be able to simply concentrate on my new family life.

Weekend Recharge

I love weekends.  I am one of the fortunate people who works Monday to Friday, so the weekend means a lot to me.  I work in health care in a small town.  I find my job extremely rewarding, but also emotionally draining.  It is hard to watch friends and acquaintances battle illness.  Usually by Friday, I am more than ready for the break from my work.  Taking time to recharge is very important to one's sense of peace and stability.  We are not created to run from activity to activity with no rest in between.  In recharging, we find our balance, strength and happiness.

As a person who works full time during the week, there is always work to be done at home.  I have to get some laundry done, clean my house and work on my minimalism.  These tasks are not my favourite things to do, but I do like that I don't have a specific timeline in which to complete them.  I get to create nice meals because of the extra time.  My husband and I can linger over them and not worry about rushing to get dishes done.  We like to watch a movie or catch the latest Saturday Night Live together, allowing ourselves to rest from our chores throughout the day.

As a couple that is soon welcoming a child, my husband and I have discussed the importance of traditions.  Most of my fondest childhood memories are linked to simple traditions that my family used to do.  My husband has similar memories with his family.  My husband and I already had the practice of attending church every Sunday morning.  We enjoy connecting with our faith once a week, bringing us back to center. We have started the tradition of eating crepes after mass, a tradition gleaned from each of our families.  Shaun's family would gather for lunch each weekend after Sunday services.  The crepe recipe is from my father.  He would make them on weekends when he wasn't working and we loved to eat them.  My brother and I each enjoyed different toppings, but we both had a strong enthusiasm for the meal.  I suspect that my mother, who did almost all of the cooking, enjoyed the break from playing chef as much as the meal.  My dad would even "dye" the crepes with food colouring to match holidays.  Pink for Valentines day, green for St. Patrick's day and so on.  The first time my husband ate a crepe in front of me, I actually gasped.  He was doing it all wrong!  He was eating the crepe as one would eat a buttermilk pancake.  I showed him our crepe eating "technique".  You put all the toppings on the crepe, roll it up and eat small sections of it with a fork.  My hubby thought it was hilarious that I took such offense to the way he had eaten the crepe, but has happily converted to the roll-up technique.  As we eat, my husband and I use the time to really talk and reconnect.  I cherish this time immensely.

It is important to make sure that you schedule in time to recharge.  I am aware that a lot of people don't have the luxury of a weekend to spend recharging.  Many people are required to work weekends or spend weekends rushing their children to tournaments and competitions.  Often, other obligations take up our "free" time, until we no longer feel that our time belongs to ourselves.  Like all other aspects of our lives, we must be vigilant in scheduling in time to recharge.  It could be simply having your family sit down once a week to share a meal and catch up with one another.  It could be walking your dog in the park.  Many harried mothers I know love just being able to take a bubble bath without interruption.  One must simply ask themselves when they truly feel peaceful and happy.  When you discover the activity that allows you to find that sense of calm, schedule it in!  Make time to recharge yourself.  You will find that doing this will give you a much more peaceful outlook on your busy life, giving you the feeling that you can tackle it all.

What are the ways that you like to recharge?  What moments of peace get you through your week?  I would love to hear from you!  Thanks for reading!

Eliminating the "Extras"

My husband and I have wanted to live much more simply.  It is amazing what we have been able to accumulate in our three year marriage.  After visiting a friend in the city, I was in awe at the clean, simplicity of her home.  I went home and excitedly told my husband how much I loved her minimalist condo.  I told him that there wasn't a thing out of place and none of the cupboards were overflowing!

I have always been a bit of a neat freak, but I also like to hold onto things for sentimental reasons.  This is not a fantastic combination, as I have spent a lot of my life "organizing".  My husband isn't a lot better.  He also has a tendency to accumulate.  We each accumulate different things, but our collections take up valuable space in our small home.

When my husband and I got married, we were blessed by the generosity of our family and friends.  For a couple that had mostly hand-me-down dishes and dollar store items, this was like hitting the jackpot!  Our loved ones truly went all out.  We were so fortunate to receive a really good set of pots and pans, baking-ware and bed sheets.  We also acquired an assortment of kitchen gadgets, towels, utensils and cookbooks.

Our first home was a 525 square foot mobile home.  We could not squeeze even a quarter of our gifts into our tiny home!  We stored most our gifts in my childhood bedroom at my mom and dad's house.  We bought our next home six months later and it felt like a mansion!  925 square feet and a basement!  My mom was as excited to get our items out of her home as we were to use our new treasures. And so began a whole new level of accumulation.

A lot of what we keep is out of guilt.  It is so difficult to let go of items that people you love have spent money on.  It is also difficult to get rid of something that is useful.  We received many duplicates of baking-ware, but I decided that it was best to store it all in the cold room.  There is no way that I would use fifteen baking dishes in my lifetime, but the dishes were brand new.  I thought that I may need them "just in case".

Over time, our mountain of stored objects grew.  I started to run out of room in our cold room.  Instead of cleaning it out, I asked my handy hubby to build me some shelves.  I quickly filled those shelves. I managed to take over the closets in our spare room, as well.

I will say this: I am not a hoarder.  You might think so from my descriptions, but I am actually on par with a lot of my friends and family.  In some instances, I own a lot less than those around me.  My husband and I were just beginning to "outgrow" our two bedroom bungalow.  Or so I thought...

Several different "moments" led me to want to adopt a minimalist lifestyle.  My husband and I decided that we wanted to start a family.  I started to consider the fact that the spare bedroom would someday belong to a little person who would need room for his or her own things.  My visit to my friend's condo left a spark, as well.  I was astonished at the calm feeling of her home.  Our things were starting to suffocate me.  I was lucky that around the same time, my husband started to feel the same way.

We began to purge.  I was not prepared for the feeling of freedom that accompanied our elimination.  We took two Jeep loads to a second hand store in a neighbouring town.  The profits from the second hand store supports a women's shelter in the town.  We are on our third sweep of the house and it has come down to only keeping the items that we truly use or love.  Those are the criteria.  Pair of shoes that I like the look of but can't wear for more than an hour?  Donate.  Three extra spatulas? Donate.  Awesome DVDs that we no longer watch?  Donate.

My husband and I have pared down our items, considerably.  I only own one spatula and one cheese grater.  I have downsized my shoe collection and nearly eradicated my C.D. collection.  I have donated my books to my local library where they will be read and enjoyed.  My closet only holds clothes that I wear on a regular basis.

The things that we own are not supposed to weigh us down.  No one has ever given a loved one a gift, hoping that it will collect dust in the receiver's basement.  Once my husband and I realized that our unused items still may hold value for someone else, the guilt that we felt lifted.  We all know the old cliche "money can't buy happiness".  I am not one for cliches, but this one holds true.  True happiness lies in our experiences, our relationships with one another, our ability to help those around us and our belief in something greater than ourselves.  It is a disservice, not only to ourselves but to those around us, to allow things to take up too much space in our lives.

 I hope to explore our foray into minimalism on this blog, as well as the other ways that my husband and I try to maintain a peaceful lifestyle.  I would love to hear your ideas and experiences.  Thanks for reading!