{2015::do} taking action

I declared 2015 the year of action. I've realized that I've had time to reflect, to savor and appreciate... years of planning, of saying "in a three to five years _____ will happen"... I am now ready for a year to put my passions and dreams into action {as well as continue to dream, savor, appreciate}.  Each day, each week I am accomplishing mini goals, important steps to be more where I want to be.  Living a locally centered life in a relatively clutter-free home while saving + preparing for the future. All of these things are on the front burner now - financially, physically, mentally. I'm feeling very much on top of my goals for 2015. 

This is all happening because I've done some great reflections, pretty in-depth planning and research. Now is the time to start carrying out my carefully laid plans.  Each day I'm reminding myself to just 'do' something. 

A few things that have been important to me as I've begun this year with "do" on my mind... in no particular order:

getting plenty of sleep + rest

scheduling time to "make"

eating well, drinking water + simple menu planning

considering daily rituals

having fun + finding time to play

creating usable spaces in our home

time for friends + family

working on our weekly routine

reading + crafting

healthy movement

making decisions and sticking to them

continuing our budget + financial planning meetings

I'm feeling pretty great about the first few weeks of this year and the momentum that is gaining...

Need some inspiration? Or motivation? Check out my list of goals for this year (already started!):

My 15 in 2015 {3/15}

1. Simplify. 

2. Read.

3. Experience.

4. Taste.

5. Create.

6. Rest.

7. Search.

8. Learn.

9. Photograph.

10. Enjoy.

11. Express.

12. Save.

13. Appreciate.

14. Make.

15. Do.

Or read a few choice words from Leo Babuata + his blog zenhabits on movitation:

Finding the Motivation to Change {+ Make it Happen Actions}

The Ultimate Guide to Motivation

Local Love: Nature's Magic {Athens, Ohio}

Have you been doing some spring-dreaming {+ spring-cleaning}?! Well, I have. I am starting to get that itch for sunshine, hikes, and planting.

It is still winter in Ohio, so I decided that the best thing I can do is clean. 
From decluttering + organizing crafty craziness to dusting the windowsills... I've been busy! 
 After scrubbing the stove-top yesterday I thought - I really should tell someone about this great cleaning product I'm using! It happens to be Ohio Made and squeaky clean!

Last time we were in Columbus we stopped by Celebrate Local and I picked up a bottle of Nature's Magic Deep Clean. To be honest it was a bit of an impulse purchase. What sold me? It was made by the company Nature's Magic which is located in Athens, Ohio and it was well presented {both in the store display and in the overall look of the packaging}. The cleaner is very eco-friendly with completely safe ingredients {think essential oils, castile soap + grapefruit seed extract}. And since cleaning spray is pretty useful... I decided it was okay to splurge. 

Of course I got it home and found that I really liked cleaning with the spray. It comes out of the bottle nicely, no drips during storage and things are fresh + lovely when I'm done. It ends with a sweet scent that I really do enjoy. I typically clean with a multi-purpose spray that I make at home, but every few scrubbings {especially in the kitchen} I find that I want a little something stronger - that is when I grab the DEEP CLEAN bottle from Nature's Magic. I found that it was worth the investment and Nature's Magic gets things done when I have a bit more mess to clean up {think stove top after a major Sunday cooking session}.  I am trusting that this bottle will last several seasons since I do not use it daily. But they carry a multi-surface cleaner if you need a daily cleaner with simple + safe cleaning agents. 


Looking forward to spring this year, but for now my soon-to-welcome spring cleaning will just have to do!

::Please note that this post is entirely of my thoughts. I did not receive any gifts or any prompting to promote this specific product or brand. This blog series is to celebrate the great products that are made in my home state of Ohio. The photos on this post are mine. ::

Cutting Down on Sugar {reflection of my second Whole 30}

Over 30 Days have passed since I began a second Whole 30. This time through was difficult and I wasn't a perfect eater. However, I feel better than I did prior to starting and I lost about ten pounds! So I'm feeling pretty positive about my second Whole 30 experience!

I'm leaving this Whole 30 focusing on keeping forward motion and making healthy choices just a daily routine. Sure I might have some birthday cake this month for my niece and nephew... but I don't want to make it a weekly habit.

Our family is trying to figure out what we can enjoy as a healthy Whole 30-ish menu that gives us a little wiggle room for foods we love. Foods that are not compliant but foods we can still eat because they do not negatively  dictate our moods or cloud our thoughts {say oatmeal...} . I've just started really poking around the website whole9life.com to see the wisdom shared there and possibility let that inspire our upcoming meal plans and food choices.

I'll wrap up this reflection with a few tips that I thought about during these last 30 days.

Build Momentum + Make Eating Healthy Easier
It is definitely easier to turn down sweets after the first two weeks of Whole 30. Build on that and just keep staying away from all forms of sugar. When you sneak a little something it is very difficult to keep that sugar high off your mind and sweets away from your plate.

Bulk Prep + Stream Lined Planning
The final two weeks of our Whole 30 I really simplified meal planning. As in I made the week's worth of compliant breakfasts {one breakfast item that we ate daily - such as mini breakfast bakes} and the week's worth of compliant lunches on Sunday afternoon {also one main lunch dish that would be enjoyed with a fruit and large salad for the entire week's worth of lunches - such as a hearty soup or stew}. Then Monday and Tuesday I would make dinner, but make enough to eat several times. This meant I was buying in bulk and cooking in bulk and making very few menu decisions. It was automatic and simple and didn't give me the option to stray from the diet guidelines. We were not having loads of choices, but since our foods were based on healthy proteins and vegetables we were getting all the carbohydrates, calcium, and protein our bodies needed from maybe five to six total different meals over the entire week.

Make a Mistake + MOVE ON!
I wrote about my run-in with a bowl of ice cream. I forgave myself and then continued right on. If I would have made a huge deal I would have made more poor food decisions in the following days due to my guilt.

So, how about you? Try any great Whole 30 inspired recipes lately? Or healthy meals without a ton of sugar, gluten, or dairy? I'd love to hear about it!

30 Days of Declutter {Completed}

I am so thankful to write this post! We've survived {triumphantly} our month of the minimalist game. Yes 30 days of declutter. And declutter we did. 

Both myself and my husband decided to take on this challenge. Over 30 days we removed 960 unneeded items from our home. Wow. And it feels great! 

We are really noticing a difference in our house. Especially certain - mostly often used - spaces. We found it easy to identify items to remove from those common places. There is still more work, organizing and letting go to do but much has also been accomplished. We plan to take a little break while we are working on a studio space for me. But we will revisit the idea of maybe returning to the declutter challenge or something that might work for a more daily/weekly routine.

A few things that worked for us during our 30 day overhaul:

Leaving out a container for donations

Having a "catch all" bag or box in a central location was very helpful to aide in quick decisions. If I noticed something during daily life it made it so simple to quickly say goodbye and place it in the box. {We kept a running list to tally up our number to make sure we were on top of the challenge amount each day. We kept that in an obvious space as well.}

Virtual yard sale

My husband belongs to a local virtual yard sale group which allowed us to make a few bucks on some items that I had a hard time letting go. Nice, working items that we just didn't need. {I wanted to know that it was going to be used. Since I had hopes of using those things.} It wasn't a ton of money but it was a nice perk to grow our savings while slimming down our clutter.

Quick drop offs to Good Will

We did a quick trip to our local Good Will Donation Center twice or so a week in order to not have any second thoughts and to keep our pile of goods to a manageable amount. 

Setting a time to bulk declutter 

Two times during our month we got behind {typically during the work week} on our tally. When this happened we decided to dedicate some time on the weekend to get rid of many, many items {one day we completed the goal of finding 100 items to leave our home}.

Short bursts of declutter

Of course, there is the flip side - such as doing a quick walk through the house - finding ten items and then moving on for the day. 

Asking the hard questions

+Would I buy this again? (As inspired by this Pure Green Magazine Podcast)

+Can I find a replacement for this?

+Do I have time to fix this right now?

+Do I love and use this regularly?

+How many copies of this do I need?

It was amazing how as the month grew I would find myself picking up things thinking 'this is not worth the clutter it makes in our home' or 'I would rather be one item closer to my goal than keep this'. It was invigorating!

So, how about you? Any tips for declutter and managing the madness that we may unnecessarily keep in our homes?

Homegrown: Garden Dreaming

It may come as no surprise. But I've been doing a bit of garden dreaming these past few days. Making 'Garden Resolutions' and considering a schedule for this year. Last year I had a poor garden display. Partly my {lack of} doing, partly lack of sun, partly who knows...

In 2015, I'm moving on and hoping for a better year. I'm claiming a fresh start and making a few Garden Resolutions {as inspired by this post}

2015 Garden Resolutions

::grow fewer types of produce and more of what we actually eat {such as}::

• tomatoes
• peppers
• onions
• lettuce, spinach
• zucchini
• cucumbers
• potatoes
• sweet potatoes
• carrots
• garlic
• herbs: basil, thyme, bay, cilantro, rosemary, sage

::spend time on our food or garden everyday {cooking, prepping, menu planning, gardening, etc.}::

::grow flowers::

::make plans for chickens {and possibly carry out those plans - I've been just dying for a few layers}::

::plant a fruit tree::

::find ways that work for us to preserve some of our mushroom harvest::

I'm using January to read some gardening books, lay out my garden plan, and consider the year's schedule + flow. How about you, up to some garden dreaming? I'd love to hear about it. Just comment below!

Sew Lovely::Infinity Scarf

This year we've begun placing weekly "maker time" on our family calendar. It is awesome and allows us to get to a few projects that both my husband and I've been trying to get to. You know, the projects that are continually deemed not-really-important. {Isn't it funny how we can find it difficult to make time for doing what we love? That is something I'm working on this year...}

Anyway, one of my projects this month has been a simple infinity scarf. There are tons of tutorials on the internet, I'm sure you've pinned a few yourself... I just looked at a few DIY blog posts, dusted off the ol' sewing machine and went with it. 

Some of my favorite tutorials:

Infinity Scarf - Tutorial with H is for Handmade

How to Sew An Infinity Scarf 30 Minute Project with SewCreative

DIY infinity scarf tutorial with I Heart Nap Time


Let's hear it for stripes, time management, and just making!

Hope your Monday is lovely!

Local Love: Hen Pen Paper Co {Columbus, Ohio}

Oh dear friends! I have to tell you. I'm a bit giddy. 

About these darling winter-love greeting cards I've found. 

See it started with not finishing my winter holiday cards... and realizing that I didn't want to lose sleep or happiness level when it came time for this year's holiday celebrations. So I decided it was okay. 

It was okay to just stop. I would stop where I was and send a different winter wishes card to my friends and family who had not received a card from me yet. I would write them a card that didn't connect with any specific December holiday. I surely was not able to meet that deadline. 

I hoped for a greeting card that could share a little winter wish or pass for a simple valentine. You know, incase I could not finish writing all my notes prior to mid-February {procrastination meets practical, if you will}.

And Hen Pen Paper Co. provided just that! I love these sweet cards and wanted to share my excitement with all of you. 

These beautiful {blank inside} cards are assembled in Columbus, Ohio and printed in the great U.S. of A.! They are four and a half inches by six and a half inches and are printed on 100% recycled white cardstock {80 lb for you cardstock lovers out there}. Included in the purchase, of course - recycled kraft paper envelopes. 

My experience was great with Hen Pen Paper Co. and look forward to checking them out for other stationary needs. Because, truth be told - I'm a sucker for sweet, paper + local!

::Please note that this post is entirely of my thoughts. I did not receive any gifts or any prompting to promote this specific product or brand. This blog series is to celebrate the great products that are made in my home state of Ohio. The photos on this post are mine. ::