I'm so happy and excited for 2014! The year of the horse will be full of spirit, vibrancy and rigor.
It's been super busy with wedding planning, taking a break, celebrating Chinese New Year and cleaning....lots of cleaning...
There are several themes I'm focusing on this year to keep an abundant, happy and fulfilling life. All the themes are grounded in two concepts:
Love and curiosity.
Check it out:
Themes to focus on:
Less is more
We've heard this over and over again...though how many of us actually take action and feel the benefits of reducing our stuff/distractions? Over the past few months, I've explored a few places where the idea of less, allows for clarity, contributing to others and productivity.
These guys take it to the max with a laid back and focused attitude. They emphasize a meaningful life while appreciating the essentials. Coming from high paid, fast paced corporate jobs, Ryan and Joshua talk about concepts such as 'packing parties' and living life without needing to buy a gazillion things.
I can't speak enough about Poshmark. The concept of Poshmark is selling your clothes from your closet to a community of fashionistas. The best part is you can sell your clothes from the comfort of your home. Manish, CEO, and his beautiful team has created a dynamic place where you can make some money and attend fun 'Posh Parties'. Did I tell you how amazing their team is? Ck out the fabulous Courtney and the adventures of her adorable felines :)
Papers, recipes, recipes, magazine clippings, wine labels, favorite food labels oh my!...Anything you want to remember - I save to the cloud in Evernote. I can recycle the material clutter while saving my important (or not so important) finds. I recently took pictures of my favorite t-shirts and basketball memorabilia (ahhh the good ol' days playing high school/college basketball). I was also able to donate items to Salvation Army for others to use.
I love Cuyana's products and their 'Lean Closet' movement! The idea is cool and simple - buy quality products produced locally and get rid of stuff you don't love. They offer a donation bag for you to donate unwanted clothes with a $10 credit. I don't know how many times I've gotten compliments for their products or been a spokesperson for their brand.
Organize and Prioritize
Thibault is an amazing source of logic and organizational prowess. I naturally love to organize and prioritize (I get it from watching my mom organize boxes, reuse containers, and more while growing up). Maybe it's my creative nature but I tend to like the messy/chaotic type of organization (Basically I'm ok with mess at times - say clothes all over one place in one area). Thibault however, is not. A motivation for logical placement of snack goods with snack goods, breakfast with breakfast goods, making the bed everyday, you get the picture. The lesson here is Thibault is the master of clean, order and everyday systems. I hope everyone finds their own Thibault :)
Busy? And need to pay and track your bills? Or maybe you need to set financial goals? This is the place to be. And sometimes I feel like Mint is talking to me (Apparently Mint tells me I'm paying 29% more for my auto insurance). Mint is a great place to see all your financial accounts in one place in a graphical, visual presentation.
I love to organize thoughts, notes, plans with a slew of Google docs and spreadsheets. The best part is being able to share with others, iterate on demand and export to PDFs if needed.
Just discovered this awesome uber personal organizer that gives you tips on organizing your space - from your desk, garage, kitchen, you name it. She's a super organizer and really helps de-clutter your space with budget friendly ideas, products and systems. You can find tips here that work for you.
Quality matters
An amazing grocery delivery service that brings local groceries to your doorstep - from Bloomfield Farms (my favorite CSA boxes) to fresh baked Artisan Firebrand Breads in Oakland. Oh by the way, their customer service is exceptional!
Juicing is one of my secrets to good health. From apples, carrots, beets, ginger, you name it...we pretty much juice it. Spud is another grocery delivery service and I love their juice options.
Here's to the new year, keepin' it simple and buying quality goods :)