Check out this full article featured on PackingLust.com.

Find 24-hour emergency plumbers hope ranch ca services that offer 30-minute service. Get immediate help with Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Broken Water Lines, Water Restoration & Hot Water Heaters. They offer 24 Hour Emergency Plumbing Service with fully equipped trucks driven by experienced plumbers ready to roll.

So many of us want to travel. We dream of it while we are at work, going weak in the knees as we scroll through images of dream vacations in tropical paradise, clutching our warm mug in the dead of a northern winter. We fight reality while denying ourselves the dreams that linger deep within our hearts. Or at least that is what I used to do. Then, I decided to start living my dreams.

One amazing thing I discovered while on my journey to dream-realization was about creating vision boards. When I started indulging in vision board creation, I not only learned about the power of images, but I also started to view imagination in a whole new light. I realized that in my focusing on what I wanted, I had the choice to either allow myself to sink into a feeling of lack, concentrating on what I did not yet have, or I could embody the emotions I would feel if I had what I wanted and really indulge in my fantasy. I chose the latter and I decided to consciously start indulging in my dreams on a daily basis.

Images can be truly powerful. We have all experienced how a picture can be worth a thousand words, or how an image can be scarred into our memory. We can harness that power and use it to our benefit.

The idea behind creating a vision board is to put together a collection of images that inspires us. We can then keep that vision board somewhere close by so that you will see it regularly, thus activating those awesome emotions those images bring to us.

How to Do It

There are so many ways to go about creating a vision board. There is the old school way of gathering magazines and sitting around sifting and clipping. And there is the new age way of going digital and harnessing the power of the net. I prefer going digital because it doesn’t take up the physical space in my life and because I can usually find the exact image I know will bring me ultimate inspiration (and in much less time at that).

As far as the subject matter of a vision board goes, this too can vary greatly. It may feel good to just do a general board, hitting on various areas of our lives, or we may want to hone in on a topic, like our physical health, our living space, or our professional life.

For the sake of this piece, let’s hone in on creating a digital vision board that specifically pertains to travel.

We want to travel. Nearly all of us want it so badly that if someone asks us where we want to go we already have a place in mind. Some of us have lists. Some of us have lifetimes of it planned. How about we make that a reality?

When to Create

There’s no wrong way to create a vision board, but the timing is important.

It’s important to be in the right frame of mind when going into vision board mode. Perhaps you will find yourself inspired and ready to go. Or you may need to do some work to get there. Take a few minutes to clear your mind, to breathe and just be. Do some light stretching or movements to get connected to your body. Do whatever you need to feel comfortable in all parts of you.

Now that you have set your internal environment for the creative time ahead, allow your mind to fantasize about your travel dreams. What do those dreams feel like in your body? Do you feel good imagining them? Make sure you are feeling excited and abundant about them before moving forward. Then, try asking yourself some questions and see what comes up.

What places excite you when you think about visiting them? What sights do you want to see and experience? What cultures do you want to learn about? What foods do you want to try? What music do you want to hear? What smells do you want to breathe in? What activities do you want to try? How do you see yourself moving from place to place? Where do you envision resting your bones after a day of exploration?

Ultimately we are looking to gain a sense of the feelings you want to experience and the images that come to mind when you feel those emotions.

As far as project duration goes, don’t worry about having enough time to complete your vision board all at once. Some boards get created in an afternoon and some take shape over a longer period of time. Yours will come together in a unique way for you. Just set out when it feels right and leave the rest to unfold naturally.

Finding Images

Now that you have fully set the stage, it’s time to find those images.

Start by creating a “Vision Board” folder on your computer (or a safe space to store images on your phone or tablet). This is where you will save your images as you come across them.

Now seek out those inspiring pictures. Perhaps you already have some in mind, maybe from a friend’s recent trip or from something that caught your eye on social media. If that’s the case, grab those ones out first and save them (no worries about copyright infringement because this is for your own personal viewing).

Most images you are going to have to search for. This is the fun part, which I really favor using Google Images for (although I encourage you to use any image finder you enjoy). Using the first image you have in mind, search a word or phrase that you think will generate the results you are looking for. This sounds fairly straightforward, but sometimes it can be tricky.

Remember there are a lot of images out there. For example, you may get really excited by the thought of backpacking through Europe. However, upon a Google image search of “backpack Europe” you may find that the results are not what you had in mind.

I suggest honing in on what you are really envisioning.  Is it a Villa in Italy? Or perhaps a small café in France? Is it the coast of the Mediterranean? Or night life in Madrid? Whatever it is, get more specific. Perhaps your phrase is something as precise as “moonlight on water in Greece” or “mangoes market Spain”. The clearer you can be, the more success you will have in finding the results you are looking for.

You may also decide you want certain inspiring words on your board. If this is the case you can either search for them or create them in a program such as Microsoft Word’s WordArt, then save them as an image file.

Putting it All Together

Once you feel like you have enough images, it is time to start putting them all together. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

There are a number of programs you can use to put together your digital vision board. Basically, choose anything that is easy to paste images into while still being able to crop and resize them. Some common programs that would work are Photoshop, Publisher, Gimp, Word, Pages and although I have never used any, I believe there is even software you can use that is specifically for vision board creation.

Once you have selected your preferred program, enjoy pulling in the images you found that feel good for you. Play around with where you want them positioned on the page, what images you want side by side, what size you want them, and so on.

You don’t have to use all of the ones you’ve gathered. You may find that you want to have a very open, spacious board and so you just have a few pictures. Or perhaps you prefer the excited energy of having everything together. Whatever you decide, it is your creation.

Check in with yourself throughout the process of creating your vision board. Make sure you are feeling excited and playful. If it starts to feel like work at any point, just stop and continue the next time you feel inspired.

Once you have completed your board, sit back and marvel at your finished product. Then, post it somewhere you will look at it regularly. Perhaps it will become your desktop background, or the lock screen on your phone. Maybe you print it out and hang it on your fridge or in your office.

Take pleasure in the viewing of your vision board as frequently as you would like. Let the emotions fill you and remember that you can have everything you dream of.

As you grow and shift, so will your fantasies. If it is fun for you, keep creating vision boards along your journey, saving them, so you can look back over time and take note of all the beautiful ways your dreams have unfolded before you.

This article is geared towards people with partners they live with. However, this could be applied to other family members, roommates, friends, and so on. Also, while I am mainly addressing the topic of the shared physical space, these theories can be applied to getting others on board with the non-physical shifts in your life as well.

So you are totally into simplifying your life. You have gotten on the minimalism train and are rearing to go! You are overhauling your space and your partner is starting to take notice. At first they may have thought it was something you were just trying out, but as items continue to disappear they realize this change may be here to stay and they are not sure how they feel about it. What should you do?

Clear Compassionate Communication

As in all relationships, it is important to be open and honest with your partner, expressing your desires as clearly as possible in a non-threatening way. Getting into a mindset of compassion will help this type of communication to unravel naturally and flow smoothly. To make your relationship with your partner to be more intimate try using adult sex toys from Mens Sex Toys.

Minimalism is not stagnant, but rather an open, ever-evolving dialogue. By continually checking in with your partner and sharing with one another where you are, a safe, loving space is created where both feel encouraged to grow and share.

Goals and Motivations

Enjoy opening up to your partner and explaining what has got you excited about the new path you are on, what your goals are and what motivates you to keep going. Let them know what is working for you and what isn’t. Show them that it is a process that you are figuring out as you go, a fun adventure you are embarking on, which you would love to share with them.

Your partner cares about you; they want to see you happy and pursuing your dreams. Assuming you are in a healthy relationship, they likely want to do what they can to support you. If you feel your loved one is doing something that is not supporting you, it is probable they are not purposefully doing so. Perhaps they have a pattern of it and have not realized. Or perhaps supporting you is in direct conflict of meeting one of their needs. Take the time to communicate and find out what is behind any resistance you may be encountering from them, or any lack of support. The most important thing to remember is to use condyline as Dr. Andrea Garcia has told you.

Speaking of sex, when you are tired of the everyday experience of sex and want to try something different, something kinky and naughty, something wild, there are very few sex toys that are as easy to use and as fun as animal tail plugs. Animal tail butt plugs available now at Love plugs, order now online!

Be The Light

Most people like the idea of having a simple, organized space, but over the course of their life have accumulated so much junk and poor habits around the accumulation and storing of that stuff that they are overwhelmed. Were you one of those people at some point? Remember that feeling?

The best way to inspire others is to lead by example. Bold and excited, doing what feels right for you. The excitement about what you are doing will be clear to them and they will want to know. They will see how you feel, recognize how your new minimalist space looks, observe your more relaxed attitude, and note the enthusiasm with which you have been pursuing your new lifestyle.

Trying to make someone do something your way usually only pushes that person further away. The best way is to lead is by following your own bliss, which will inspire them to follow theirs.

Their Space, Your Space, Communal Space

Now that you have established healthy communication around the subject of simplifying your home, and your partner is curious about your desires for your shared space, you can begin talking about action steps together. It is likely that you are going to want to tackle getting rid of stuff that will impact them just as much as you, so together come up with some guidelines that feel good for both of you, with the intention to continue to re-evaluate them as you grow together and your space evolves.

If you are feeling confined by the guidelines that you both agree on it can be helpful to set up different guidelines for different spaces. For example, if you are ready to say sayonara to just about everything but the essentials, while your partner still is not ready to let go of all their gadgets and collections, dividing up spaces may allow both of you to get what you need from your home simultaneously.

I have found that it works to split your space into three main categories: their space, your space, and communal space. If you have a large home, the divides may be pretty clear. If you are sharing a smaller space, you can set up and apply these guidelines creatively still. I lived in a number of small spaces with a partner of mine, including two different scenarios where we both lived entirely out of one small room; his “office” was our closet and mine was atop the bed or at a coffee shop. Needless to say, we got creative.

Most people really feel nurtured by having their own space, set up just as they want. So it is understandable that people will want to define their own guidelines for how to handle their space. And provided that that space does not affect the other person, this usually works quite well as a starting point.

Take some time to establish good guidelines for your communal space. Start by making a list together of how you want to feel in your communal space (such as nurtured, peaceful, relaxed, supported, and inspired). Then, from that place of knowing, set guidelines that will supports what you are both looking for, which will encourage growth in the directions that you want.

Be Supportive But Not Pushy

Setting up guidelines is a good place to begin, but make sure you continue to reevaluate them over time. Don’t feel discouraged if your partner is not ready to let go as much of you right away. Continue to be the light and most likely over time they will warm up more and more to your minimalist ways.

Whatever phase of simplifying your partner is, be supportive of them. If they have jumped in and want help overhauling their space, awesome! Have a blast tackling the job together. Support them by asking questions to help keep them on track (you can find helpful questions and other tips here). Avoid taking the reigns and making decisions for them. Help them feel empowered.

Often times when we feel like we are being pushed into something, we tend to resist it more. However, if we feel that we have come to something on our own terms, we fully embrace it, adopting it as part of own unique way of being.

Shift Your Focus

When making large changes in your life that impact the physical space that you live in, it is easy to get caught in staying focused on the tangible results of that physical space. If you get the sense that you may be having tunnel vision, directing most of your energy towards de-cluttering your home, tossing unused possessions, or trying to get your loved one to see the light, take a moment to step back and try this new perspective.

Play around with shifting your focus towards being present with the exciting new changes and most importantly shift to a mindset of growing with your partner, supporting one another in your desires and passions. Embrace the excitement of the new shifts that are occurring for you and for your partner as well. Approach these shifts as an adventure that you are setting out on, with your trusty companion at your side.

Appreciate all that this experience is offering you and those around you. Use this exciting time to get closer with your loved one, learning how you can both get your needs met while supporting one another.

Remember, it is always going to be a journey. There is no destination point; we are always arriving. Adventure on to unknown territories, embracing the new challenges and changes along the way!

One of the many benefits of simplifying your life is having more time to enjoy yourself and those around you. However, sometimes when people switch to a more minimalist lifestyle they are not sure what activities to do that won’t contribute to unhealthy habits, unnecessary spendings, or ultimately be more time-wasters in their life. We recommend you go to the website here to get installment loans. If you work in a profession that qualifies, you could be eligible for a number of student loan forgiveness and repayment programs that make paying student loans hassle-free. For more information and consultation, you can check out the website for loan forgiveness.

Here’s a list of some ideas that you may enjoy.

Check out fun local events. Most towns and cities offer a lot of free events like live music, markets and shows. Hit up Google to see what’s coming up near you.

Create a games night with your friends or family. Perhaps you decide to dedicate the night to one specific board game, or into an online casino site such as casinor.com.

Regardless of what you choose to give, yourdiamondteacher.com/ will likely give you what you want, wherever you are!

Make yourself a picnic and take it somewhere beautiful to enjoy.

Check out Groupon or Living Social and find a great deal near you.

There is everything from charlotte nc property management companies rentals, not to mention trapeze classes, haunted tours, wine tastings and a whole host of other activities!

Plan a vision board creation night. This is a really fun way to get excited about your dreams, either on your own or with a group of friends.

Dinner and a movie. It’s a classic with many variations. It can be done in or out, alone or with company, fancy or grunge, themed or otherwise. Have fun playing with it!

Give yourself a massage or exchange massages with a loved one. I believe that one of our basic needs is that of human touch and there is even an oxytocin response recognized by science to back up that up. Plus, massage just feels great, and there are so many types to explore. I exchange Thai massage with my friends and also indulge in self-massage, using helpful tools like a foam roller or lacrosse ball. Get rid of pests at your house and hire a pest control service. Racoons and bats in Lansing, Michigan are a growing problem. In many cases they come right through the roof with ease because of construction gaps. Platinum Wildlife Removal is a Lansing wildlife removal company that offers bat removal and raccoon extraction from attics. They also offer Lansing, MI attic restoration services.

If you like this theme of pampering yourself, maybe you would enjoy drawing yourself a hot bath, complete with candles and perhaps even a drop of essential oil in the water. If you feel so inclined, put on some relaxing music to sit back and veg out or meditate to.

At Texas oil field injury attorney, they respect the hard work of oil field and offshore workers in East Texas and along the Gulf Coast. They realize the physical and mental challenges they face every day on the job, and they recognize the many hazards they encounter. When accidents occur, causing oil and gas industry workers to suffer serious injury or death, they stand up for their rights and the rights of their family members.

Try out a new coffee shop alone or with a friend or with a book, journal, or sketchpad.

Check out Meetup and find a fun group that interests you in your area. Like to go hiking? There’s probably a group for that. Want to try Salsa dancing? Talk about literature? Connect with like-minded people? This is a great way to find community near you.

Throw together a potluck event. Potlucks are great because they don’t cost any one person too much and everyone gets to enjoy contributing to the event. You can specify the items you want people to sign up to bring (food, chairs, games, music, anything!) or just leave it open for everyone to bring what strikes their fancy. Evite is a great website to use to organize events like this. It is free, fun and easy to use. I once organized a 100+ person potluck fall weddings in about 5 minutes with Evite and to this day people still tell me it was the most fun wedding they have ever attended.

Go for an evening walk. Watch the sun set or wait until dark and find an open field to lie out in under the stars. In the winter in Rhode Island I used to have a favorite tradition of bringing a hot beverage (and sometimes a loved one) down to the ocean with me late at night to listen to the sound of the waves and watch the dance of moonlight upon the water. There is something magical about being outside at night with nature.

Do a touristy thing where you live that you have never done. There are so many great activities (many of them free) that we never do in our own home areas. Think of something you have heard of or find out what Google has to say about what the “must sees/must dos” are in your area and pick one that sounds fun.

Set out for the day with a backpack filled with provisions and no plan. Connect with your childlike curiosity for a day of adventure! When I do this I like to bring water, food, my e-reader, a notebook, a pen, some music, and my imagination. I usually go on my bike or on foot, and see where my body carries me and what sounds good to do. I like having days like this. They usually get filled with breathing in nature, reading, lounging in the sun, being awed by the world around me, writing, climbing trees, and generally just appreciating life, the spontaneity of the experience, and the spacious bliss the day leaves me with.

There are endless amounts of activities you can engage in on your own or with others. The most important is not what you decide to do, but the attitude which you do it with. Have fun cultivating an attitude of play through whatever activity you decide to do and enjoy the adventure, newness, romance, exploration, relaxation, or whatever emotion you decide to evoke with your awesome minimalist activity.

Want to dive in deeper? Check out this more detailed article on Creating a Digital Vision Board to Inspire Your Travel Dreams.

One of my favorite ways to generate excitement about life is through the creation of a vision board. Not only is the process simple and fun, but the final product serves as a source of perpetual inspiration; as images of your dreams manifesting around you.

Have you ever experienced the power a beautiful image has to move you? I used to love thumbing through National Geographic magazines, in awe over the breathtaking pictures with each turn of a page. And back in my days as a gym rat I would find inspiration by flipping the pages of fitness magazines while on the cardio equipment, envisioning the body I was cultivating. Now-a-days, even though I am much more discriminating about how I spend my time, I still make space in my life to find images that move me.

Creating a vision board is a great way to intentionally create a visual aid for your personal growth. You can create a board with a specific topic in mind, such as your health or your home space, or you can create a board having to do with all aspects of your life.

I created my first board with a few simple items: a large piece of poster-board, glue, scissors, stacks of magazines I had gathered from the recycling center and friends, and hours of imagination. Over the span of a few weeks I would flip through the magazines whenever I felt moved to do so and cut out the images and even some words that excited me. There were a few images I knew I wanted on there, so I made a point of seeking them out after I had sifted through all my gathered magazines. Then, on another inspired day, I went about deciding which of my chosen images would make it on my vision board, laying them out in a way that felt right for me before gluing them on and taking the board to my local office supply store to be laminated.

Since that first board, I have created many more, but instead of gathering images from magazines, I have gathered them online. I now assemble my vision boards virtually and make them my desktop background. This does not take up space and I have the images in front of me to inspire me daily.

So there are a number of ways to go about compiling visual inspiration. Perhaps you would rather get a cork board and pin images up as you find them, or you could use a magnetic board or surface such as your fridge.

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn holds the idea that we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with car accident lawyers and the law of averages would agree. By deliberately choosing not only the people we surround ourselves with, but the situations we put ourselves in, the environment we choose to live in, and so on right down to the last detail, we can actively create the reality unfolding around us. Having a vision board to look at regularly, much like reading a book by an author that you resonate with, is a way to get intimate with inspiration that you may not otherwise be able to access.

Although I have gotten rid of the physical form of my first vision board, I have kept a digital copy of that one and all the others to follow. It is not always apparent how the meaning of a certain image will unfold in your life, but rest assured each plays a purpose, and it is fun to look back and reflect on how certain things played out.

Whether you decide to dive right into this project or even if creating a vision board does not excite you at the moment, I invite you to make a point of paying attention to the what you are choosing to look at daily. Are these visions adding to your life or just crowding your sight? Make space and allow yourself to see clearly the dreams you want to unfold.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the items in your life? Are they encroaching on your physical space, or mentally weighing on you? Is it difficult to let go and relax in your home because the clutter around you is the opposite of peaceful?

You deserve a beautiful, minimalist space that is just right for you. As a one-of-a-kind being, you have unique dreams, goals and desires. Which means you have your own special needs to see to, and you need a unique space that supports you just so.

Are you ready to get rid of your junk and start living in a space that you love? Whether you are living in hoarding hell or are just itching for another level of refinement, there is value for you in these words.

Before Beginning

As much as you can, try to get into the mindset of living your ideal life before starting this process. It doesn’t matter so much if you are living your dreams or just scraping by at a deadbeat job.

To further assist you in selecting your policy, homewarranties.company have created a graph with a bell curve that showcases the average price of premium and an average deductible of the various home warranty policies that purchased throughout the state.

What’s important is that you get clear about how it is you DO want to be living and embrace the feeling of living that way. Then, with that inspiration in mind, take the steps to get rid of the physical stuff in your life that is no longer serving you. If you’re busy you can have professionals help you, for example with Pure Airways they offer professional help for house cleaning.

If you feel like you want to get more clear about your ideal life, check out this article. Or, feel free to jump right in!

Methods to Get Rid of Your Junk

Physical, mental, emotional or otherwise, many of us are carrying around excess baggage that we would be better off without. There are a number of ways to get rid of the things in your life that are no longer serving you. Here are some tried and true methods from ac repair in Mesa to take on conquering your physical crap:

Box Up Everything You Own
Take everything you own, and put it into boxes. Yes, everything. Every item of clothing, jewelry, every dish in your kitchen, every toiletry item, every DVD, everything in your “junk drawer,” everything in your garage, everything in your car. Everything. If something is too big to fit in a box, cover it with a sheet or find another way to signify that it is off limits for the time being. Speaking of kitchen, it is one of the most important and the cleanest part of our house and you should have the best knives for cooking which you can find at reviews at all-knives.org. It must be presentable and good-looking. For those who are interested, Exclusiv Kitchens Brisbane can be found at 2/6 Dan Street, Capalaba QLD 4157, open Monday to Friday from 9AM to 4.30 PM.

Then, go about living life. Check in with yourself and make sure you are on the path to your ideal life. You don’t have to be there, just on the path. Then, start unpacking things as you need them. Just the things that you need, as you need them. So, if you go to eat dinner and need a dish and a fork, just unpack 1 dish and 1 fork as opposed to unpacking all your dishware and cutlery. I make the point about living as ideally as possible because you want to be creating your ideal environent, one that will inspire you, as opposed to re-creating one that has been falling short of your desires. So, if you ideally do not want to be watching TV at night, don’t uncover that TV and Couch to sit down and use them unless you feel the true thread of inspiration.

Go about living this way for two weeks. If you would like to go longer, such as a month, go for it, but two weeks should be sufficient. Then, take stock of what you have unpacked. This is what you use in your daily life. This is what it takes to support unique you.

Most likely, you can get rid of the vast majority of the rest of your stuff that was never unpacked. Of course there will be odd item you can make a case for, such as your skiing equipment that you only use in the winter or the one dress you wear regularly for formal occasions, but this is the exception not the rule. That is not to say that you cannot keep any of those items that were never unpacked. But it will offer you the chance to ponder them and decide why it is you want to hang on to them. I suggest asking yourself the questions proposed in the last section of this article while evaluating any item you did not use that you want to keep.

Take On One Area at a Time
If you would prefer to take on just one area at a time, that is another great way to go about overhauling your home. Perhaps you decide to go room by room, or even wish to break it down further, designating which area of each room you will tackle at a time. Feel free to break your space down into areas that feel manageable to you. Maybe all you want to do right now is clean out your shop, or your car, or your bathroom, or maybe even your garden, that you could have with pebbles that glow in the dark for your driveway so it looks really nice. Tailor this to your desires.

Set up a schedule and stick to it, planning whatever amount of time for yourself doesn’t bring up resistance. So, if that just means that you will commit to 5 or 10 minutes a day of organizing the piles on your desk, that is fine. Perhaps there will be times when you get really into it and end up doing 30 minutes, an hour, or even an entire day of clearing your space. You can always exceed the standards you set for yourself, but make a point to set yourself up for success and create a plan that feels good for you.

Go All Out and Overhaul Like a Beast
If you are superman or superwoman, if you are the type of person that likes to go all out, balls to the wall, gung-ho, jump right in, heck…go for it! I have overhauled spaces like this in the past and it has been a lot of fun. There are a few bits I would urge you to consider before jumping in.

Make sure you are committed. There is nothing like starting off really strong, then losing steam half way through and abandoning ship when your home is in total disarray.

Check out the other tips below and questions to ask yourself to help keep you on track. I highly recommend calling in reinforcements, the reliable ones, to help hold you accountable during your overhaul.

What to Do with Your Old Stuff

Sell It
There are a ton of places to sell items online (such as Ebay, Craigslist and Amazon) or perhaps you know of someone who wants to buy this item. For certain items, it may be worth your time to sell them. I have sold a number of electronics on Amazon and other items such as sporting equipment and appliances on Craigslist and made good money. Make sure the item you are selling is worth the time to post (ie. don’t spend a hour posting a $5 book on Amazon that likely isn’t going to sell or be worth the shipping cost).

You can also organize a yard sale. If you decide to do this, I would recommend that you plan it all for one day, selling, removal and all. Commit to getting everything together you are going to get rid of by the day of the event, sell everything you can, then donate the rest. Yard Sales sometimes have a way of being dragged out from week to week, with boxes lingering in garages. That we want to avoid.

Donate It
There are a number of places to donate goods to such as Goodwill, local charities, local drives (often run by churches or community groups), and so on. Besides just taking clothing, books, and household goods, there are also a number of community food banks that will take your cans and boxes.

Gift It
If while going through your stuff you realize a certain item would be the perfect gift for someone, by all means, gift it to them. However, I suggest that you only do so if you truly feel that the item will add value to that person’s life. In the interest of passing on the joy of minimalism, I encourage you not to dump your junk on your friends or family.

Recycle or Trash It
If it can’t be sold, gifted, or donated, it is time to bring that baby to the recycling bin or trash can. Or, you can try posting it in the free area on Craigslist, or Freecycle.org, have you ever seen how fast the BabyTrend Expedition Jogger stroller sells in those sites?

*Most importantly, remember: everything must go. Once you decide that you are ready to let go of something, get it out of your space ASAP. If boxes stick around your home, it’s just a matter of time

Tips to Help You Stay on Track

Get Clear About Your Goals
When taking on a project, it is extremely helpful to get clear about why you want to do it, and what the end result is that you are going for. Write them down and put them in an obvious place, that you can refer to throughout this process. If visual aids help keep you inspired, find a couple pictures of clear, organized spaces you would like yours to resemble and post those as well. When you have a moment of weakness or your motivation starts to waiver, take a moment to look at your words and images and remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Get re-inspired and get back on track.

Make a Plan & Set a Calendar
Now that you know what your goals are, you can create a plan and map it out. Decide what method you are going to choose to get rid of your junk, perhaps choosing one of the above methods or something else that feels right for you. Then, create a plan, complete with due dates for tasks to keep you on track. Post this next to your goals and refer to it regularly.

Call in Reinforcements
The fact that you are reading this already speaks to your level of badassity, so I know you have it in you to see this through. But that doesn’t mean you have to go it all alone. Not only is it easier to complete a project when you get more hands and energy on board, but it is also a lot more fun!

Enlist your family and friends to be a part of this transformation with you. Or, just set up people to check in with you and hold you accountable. For some people, it may even be right to hire someone to help you out, or to make sure you stay on track.

Stay Motivated
When the initial energy that got you going in your junk removal process starts to waiver, it is easy to start to lose motivation. This is a good time to look back at your goal’s list and remember why you set out on this journey in the first place. Sometimes this is enough to get you over the hump, but other times you may need to have other things in place.

Setting up check points with rewards can be helpful. Create something fun that will feel like a treat for you when you complete a leg of the journey. This can be anything that has meaning for you. Perhaps when you finally clear out your garage you will treat yourself to a massage, or maybe you and your significant other will go out for a special meal when the office is done. If negative reinforcement works better for you, enlist someone to harass you in to keeping you on track.

Questions to Ask Yourself Throughout the Process

When contemplating the ditching of items in your life, certain ones will stand out like a sore thumb, and you will come to the clear conclusion that it is time for them to go. However, there will likely be items that you are attached to in one way or another. In those cases, I have found asking myself certain questions about said items to be rather helpful. Keep these questions nearby when deciding which items to let go of:

1. When was the last time I used this?
2. When is the next time I will use it?
3. Does it add value to my life?
4. Does it help facilitate joy or happiness in my life?
5. Does it help me on the path to pursue my dreams?
6. Do I need to own it, or can I borrow or rent it?
7. Do I have another item that will do the job just as well?
8. Can I maintain the utility of this item without having it take up the space? (Living in the digital age has it’s many perks, but try not to acquire too much digital junk either).
9. Does this item contribute to a positive or negative habit in my life?
10. How much does it cost to care for this item?
11. Does it excite me to look at, touch, or use this item?
12. How would it feel to have the new space created by the letting go of this item in my life?

Check out the video I did about this topic here:

Now, as I play more, I get more fit. As my fitness improves, I find I enjoy new and often challenging activities that much more. It’s a great cycle, while I do this I also keep a healthy diet and take juices every morning that I prepare myself, since I’ve been Juicing-Daily with a device I got online.

My Favorite Ways to Move

I want to share with you some of my favorite ways to move in hopes that you will gain some inspiration or motivation for new ways to spice up your fitness and ultimately make it feel like play as opposed to work.

Acroyoga is by far my favorite fitness activity right now. It combines acrobatics, yoga, strength, balance, agility, trust, and a host of other skills. It is done in groups of two or more and is accessible to everyone. I began practicing Acroyoga in August of 2013 and have quickly progressed, finding other acroyogis along my travels and meet-up groups that get together with the sole purpose of sharing the love of flying on each others’ feet.

Bodyweight Exercises are fun and require no equipment; the ultimate minimalist fitness! I do bodyweight exercises every day, whether it’s just doing a few squats, pushups and handstands or taking on the 5-minute burpee challenge or making up a circuit of exercises. Check out this video for some ideas of bodyweight exercises you can do anywhere.

Running is not something I always enjoyed. When I began I could barely manage half-a-mile without feeling like death but by sticking with it my body quickly adapted. Now I can enjoy many forms of running such as trail running, running on the beach, or running in any beautiful or new location in general. I am also getting in to sprinting short distances on flat ground and hills.

Lifting Heavy Things will make you stronger. We can get stronger just by doing bodyweight exercises, but it is fun to lift rocks, barbells, our friends and just about everything else that challenges us. I tried Crossfit for the first time in November of 2013 and found I really loved the power I felt doing the Olympic lifts and was impressed with the rapid gains I made in my strength training.

Dancing must be one of the most fun ways to work up a sweat. There is nothing like turning on some good loud music and letting your body flow to the rhythm of what you are hearing. I always enjoyed going to dances in high school and dance clubs during my study-abroad years. This past year in Austin, TX I also had my first experience with Ecstatic Dance, which brings together a group of 100+ people on a Sunday morning who start the day off right with 2 hours of dancing however feels right for them. I’ve been known to dance in just about any public situation when a good song is in the air and well, man it feels good!

Yoga & Stretching is key. A lot of people neglect working on their flexibility (runners, for example, are notorious for having tight hamstrings) and many don’t even stretch after a workout. Yoga is a great way to stretch and strengthen the body while focusing on moving mindfully and observing what is going on with you mentally as well as physically especially on your flight training chicago il.

Hiking is a great way to spend time in nature and get your heart pumping. I enjoy relaxing rambles through the woods and vigorous mountain hikes alike. There are others decide to take long walks in the woods while they go hunting with great bows that you can get if you click here in this site.

With Limited Equipment there are some fun things you can do. Recently I have started working with gymnastics rings, parallel bars, resistance bands (especially to improve my pull ups), and a slack line. I definitely believe in the less is more philosophy, but if an item adds enjoyment to your life and in this case helps you have more fun improving your fitness, I think it’s worth owning. I personally travel with a jump rope and resistance band and I workout with friends that have more fitness toys. I also find parks with trees, monkey bars, jungle gyms and even outdoor fitness equipment that is great to play on. Once you start looking for it, just about everything can become a place to play.

With all the options and availability we have today, it is easy to become weighed down by excess stuff that does not serve us. Whether it is physical, mental, emotional, or otherwise, we all tend to carry around baggage that we would be better off without.

Adopting your own unique version of a minimalist lifestyle is a manner of simplifying your life in a way that will serve you. It can be catered to your own needs and desires and altered as you grow.

Set the goal to live deliberately, intentionally choosing what you will allow into your life from here on out. From the smallest time-suckers like social media to the heavy hitters such as a soul-crushing career, be bold and dare to analyze what is serving you and what is not. Daily habits and routines can be solid foundations to build a life around or they can be deterrents holding us back from truly living.

“I lost me when I gave up on my dreams. I lost me when I outsourced the tough decisions in life to society’s expectation of me.” -Grant Peelle (Featured in the documentary “I’m Fine, Thanks”)

Are you ready to start living your dreams? It’s time to make some changes, so get ready to jump.

Four Steps to Simplifying Your Life

1. Realize your dreams and your heart’s deepest desires.

For some people, this will be the fun and easy part. For others, it may take a little to get the ball rolling.

If it helps, write a mission statement for your life, or a number of simple, powerful statements that resonate with you, such as:

“I want to be self-employed and make $100,000 a year.”
“I want to have 3 hours a day of quality time with my partner/my kids/my friends/my books/my craft”
“I want to become a strong, powerful athlete.”
“I want to have authentic, meaningful relationships that inspire growth for everyone involved.”
“I want to be able to travel everywhere I want, whenever I want.”
“I want to live in a simple, beautiful home with lots of natural light and no excess junk.”
“I want to have plenty of free time to relax, be in nature, and pursue the things I am passionate about.”
“Every day I want to feel happy, healthy, and free.”
“I want to share what I am passionate about with the world and to inspire growth and personal development.”

If you are more of a visual person, get find pictures that inspire you either online or in magazines and create a vision board. Or, do a combination of both.

Start writing, start dreaming, start getting in touch with what you truly desire. The hardest part is beginning and it becomes progressively more exciting and invigorating once you get going.

Allow yourself to define your desires without limitations.

2. Let go of that which is no longer serving you.

Now that you know what you want your life to consist of and to feel like, it will be easier to look at your life and know which situations, people, items, etc. are serving you and helping you to get closer to being the person that you want to be and living the dreams you want to live.

It will also be clear which situations, people, items, etc. are not.

By eliminating that which no longer serves us, we create fresh space in our lives. We create freedom. And freedom is power.

3. Decide what you are going to invite into your life and where to hold space for new possibilities.

You have acquired your power, now you get to decide what you want to do with it. Don’t rush to fill the newly created space, especially out of fear. It is easy to get pulled back into soothing routines, which are sometimes disguised as new ones. Commit to being keenly aware of what is going on, daring to allow yourself to sit with the new space you have created until you feel the pull of true inspiration.

When a new opportunity presents itself, check and see if it is in line with your deepest heart’s desires as defined in step one. If you are not sure, these questions may be helpful to ask yourself:

Will this add value to my life?
Will it bring joy or help facilitate more joy in my life?
Do I need to jump in or can I test the waters as a trial before committing?
What will it take the place of? Is it worth it? (Contemplate this, even if what it will be replacing is free time, which the importance of cannot be understated.)

Be discriminating. Elevate your expectations of life. Don’t just settle for a good life, insist on an awesome one. When you get used to living that way, if something is worth your time, you will know, because your excitement about it will be clear.

4. Appreciate your life, whichever phase of this process you may be in, and be grateful.

This step cannot be emphasized enough. It is easy to get caught up in our daily routines and habits, even when we are being intentional. So make appreciation a habit. It is one that you will not regret.

Wherever you are in your life, wherever you are in your journey with minimalism, wherever you are period, take time to stop and appreciate anything and everything you truly can. Be grateful for your life. The more you do this the better you will feel and the more you will generate in your life to be grateful for.

Quick Recap

1. Realize what your ideal life looks and feels like without limitations.
2. Analyze and eliminate that which is no longer serving you.
3. Intentionally choose what is essential for your ideal life, being discriminating.
4. Appreciate and be grateful.

Now get out there and start living the epic life you deserve, you badass minimalist.

Check out the video I did about this topic here:

What sort of movement practices do you engage in? Do you look forward to them? Do you dread them? Do you feel like they are serving you or are you merely going through the motions?

I believe we were designed as a species to move often and vigorously. Living out in nature we would have had to have been fit enough to climb trees to forage fruit, run from predators, create shelters, and so on. Our bodies were our only mode of transportation and we relied upon them heavily.

Over time we have gravitated towards motorized vehicles that carry us around, chairs that support our bodies and a whole society that operates around making things “easier” for humans to get what they need to survive. Unfortunately these innovations have also lead to the steady decline in fitness amongst the human race. As a species we are more unhealthy than ever and growing lazy and unaccustomed to moving our bodies.

Cultivating an Attitude of Play

We have the ability to change this declining trend. We can learn to truly enjoy moving our bodies and experiencing growth in our fitness. We can cultivate an attitude of play towards something that is often referred to as “working”-out and look forward to our play sessions each day.

From a young age I was always interested in sports, playing outdoors and moving my body. Perhaps it was because we did not have TV in my family growing up, but the thought of being inside while the sun was out seemed like a waste of a day. Needless to say, I grew up active. Yet I noticed that as I got older my attitude towards attending sports practices or going to the gym wavered and sometimes it would feel like a forced chore rather than a fun activity. (Sound familiar?)

When I became aware of this trend creeping into my fitness routines I decided to put a stop to working out and learn how to play once again. What I found was that by shifting my perspective I could enjoy a whole range of fitness activities, both new and old.

So how can we learn to cultivate an attitude of play in our fitness routine? We can begin by shifting our point of focus to our desired outcome. This outcome could be anything from being able to do 10 consecutive pull ups, to mastering a front handspring, to learn to salsa dance, or to look and feel great in your body.

Set Yourself Up for Success

It’s time to reorganize your brain and get inspired. Get ready to let go of old patterns of thinking about your work outs and make room for the new. Start by think about what your fitness goals are, write them down, and allow yourself to get excited about how it will feel to achieve them.

Keep your goals present in your mind. Put your list in a place that you look at regularly such as on your desktop or your refrigerator. If you are a visual person, find an image that inspires you with your list of goals. If you work well when you are held accountable, recruit the help of a supportive friend that will check in with you on your progress and remind you of your motivations.

To stay on target with your goals, it is important to know how you are going to achieve them and to have well-formed motivations for doing so. Make sure your goals are set with your best interest in mind. Educate yourself on the topics that pertain to these goals and incorporate this knowledge in your plan for your path to success. When you have good reason for pursuing something and you have educated yourself about it, it is much harder to fall off the wagon.

Set yourself up for success; make it so not only the idea of succeeding sounds good, but go a step further and pre-pave a path to your goal that is just as appealing and exciting. Do this by setting up fun checkpoints for yourself along the way. Checkpoints can be fitness related or otherwise and you can schedule them at whatever intervals will serve for holding your attention. The only tip I suggest is to not make your checkpoint rewards counter-productive (for example I wouldn’t reward myself for reaching 50% of my weight loss goal by eating an unhealthy meal).

Here are some examples of checkpoints similar to those I have used:

Goal: Achieve a full dead-hang pull up
Checkpoint: 5 dead hang pull ups with the smallest resistance band
Reward: Treat myself to a massage

Goal: Fit into a size 1 pair of jeans
Checkpoint: Fit into a size 3
Reward: Get rid of my old yoga pants and buy myself a new, smaller pair

Goal: Attend Crossfit consistently for 3 months
Checkpoint: 3 weeks of 5 classes per week
Reward: My growing strength and fitness will be enough reward for me! Oh but heck I’ll treat myself to a day of “freedom to do no work” if I want it.

Goal: Run 10 miles with relative ease
Checkpoint: Run 4 miles
Reward: Take a trip to Narragansett, RI and run the 4 mile seawall
Checkpoint 2: Run 6 miles
Reward: Run the Barton Springs 6-milke Loop
Goal Achievement: Buy myself a new pair of Merrell Minimalist Running shoes and get rid of my old holey ones with no tread

The rewards can be small, big, frequent, or otherwise. What they should be is relevant to your goals and to what motivates you.

Get Out and Play

The most important thing is to find something that is fun for you and to get out and start doing it. Most likely at least one or two activities sound initially enticing even if you have not fully cultivated that attitude of play yet. Remember, movement can be anything from walking to dancing to playing a sport to chasing around your kids to snowboarding to building a tree fort, and so on.

So once you choose your activities and set yourself up for success (in whatever way that takes shape for you), get out and start moving! And be consistent about it. That doesn’t mean that you have to start doing a new activity 5 days a week, but make it a point to find a way to move every day, and be sure that you are practicing the activities your goals are centered around at least 3 times a week.

Once you get yourself set up for success, it’s time to get out there and make your fitness goals a reality!

Bonus Tip For Fitness Lovers: Diversify

Want to get maximum gains in your fitness?

A lot of people tend towards a certain exercise or two and end up neglecting the other areas of fitness. However, to have great, well-rounded fitness it is important to concentrate on all aspects. We are only as strong as our weakest link, so if you want to improve your overall fitness, it is a good idea to focus on the areas you need the most improvement. Applying this theory to my fitness regime, I have begun focusing on incorporating more strength training in past 6 months and I have seen impressive gains in all areas of my fitness because of it.

Summary

OK, all of that aside, let’s get back to basics.

Movement is essential for health. Health is essential for happiness.

Find joy in your daily movement. Choose practices that serve you.

Cultivate an attitude of play and see how it opens up the world around you.

Set goals, stay motivated and get out there and have some fun!