A WELL ORDERED LIFE

 Are you feeling stressed and overwhelmed because of too much to do? Too much to even think about? And then there's Covid! That and other things just add  stress to an already busy life. The initial Covid lockdowns brought significant changes to the lives of my son and daughter-in-law just like many other people. My son who works in the IT department at the Mayo Clinic had to work from home. My daughter-in-law, Monica, a teacher, also began working from home teaching online to kindergarteners ( how does that even work ?),  their daughter, a college student had to come home and finish through online learning, and their 12 year old son, Charlie,  also started online learning at home while also receiving help from Mom and Dad. So all four of them had to find their own space to do work and school. They figured it out as many people had to do but it took a lot of creativity.  This was Charlies first year in middle school with many changes such as having different teachers instead of one

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion." Henry David Thoreau   We had a short stint of unseasonably cold weather this Fall but it has been lovely this last week! I hope this nice weather keeps up before the snow hits! Right now I need to take a break from hearing about politics and get out there and enjoy this beautiful weather!  I hope you can take time off before the cold and snow arrives ( if you even have snow in your area ) to enjoy the more milder weather!  la det skje Sandy

                      It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. Eleanor Roosevelt  When I began this blog, I was focusing on "ordering"  my life and I was including my whole life here, not just organizing my "spaces". But I really was not thinking about my health and wellness.  Well, now I've decided to expand this blog a bit to include ALL areas of my life, including my body. Yeah, I'm trying for the whole-shebang! You see it's fairly easy for me to order my life in most areas ( I love organizing and planning ) but the troubling areas for me... getting in shape, losing weight, exercising more, eating less sweets...these areas are my big  downfall. And after adding extra Covid pounds its even more  an issue! So I'm ready to conquer this area of my life as well! I know it's a couple of months away from the New Year when most people make resolutions to make changes in their lives but I'm working on the planning part now, making c

First forget  inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're  inspired  or not.   Octavia Butler If one of the goals of your life is to live a well ordered life, there are new habits you will need to develop. As the above quote tells us, habit is more dependable than inspiration. So let's start developing those habits that will lead to the life we want! We all have times when we get really inspired by; pictures of neatly organized homes, the dream  of living a more calm and serene life, being able to slow down, the peace offered by a decluttered home, etc. Many things such as this can inspire us to begin to want to make some changes in our lives. But then we have a day where we don't feel such inspiration. Maybe we're tired, unmotivated, whatever it is, it keeps us from the inspiration we first felt. So we give up and go back to old habits! And there's that word... Habits! It all goes back to habits! And that's what it's r

So it's been awhile since I've written on this blog post. In attempting to simplify my life I had to let it (the blog) go awhile! Really, how can I take time to WRITE about living simply when the writing about it just adds more busyness to my life and making it more complicated! Hah! I'll share more about what I eliminated from my life, besides taking a break from blogging,  in another post. For now I just want to welcome you to the blog and let you know how I will continue to move forward here in this space. As you can see on the front page I will be sharing about: living simply, mindfulness, decluttering, a balanced life. Maybe with a little nature and gratitude thrown in. These topics will help us live with less stress in our lives while adding more happiness.             I hope you'll follow along on this journey to a well ordered AND balanced life! It's January and we live up North. In MinneSNOWta! But we have four seasons to enjoy so I"ll

  If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life. Qu-men     Many people, when thinking  of simplifying their lives, think about de-cluttering, downsizing, and getting organized. And those are, in fact, activities related to living simply. But one thing that is sometimes overlooked is how our "minds" and "thoughts" play a very important part in this whole endeavor.  You see, everything begins in the mind. Your thoughts create your life in almost a literal sense. Since your thoughts create your life, if your thoughts are unfocused and directionless, then your life will be also. Don't let your thoughts be clouded by unnecessary things. If in the past you made impulse purchases and now choose to make "experiences" a bigger priority over "buying more stuff", you would now need to be intentional in your thinking. You would have to learn to keep your thoughts focused on this issue and train your mind