Dipping My Toes Back In

On May 9, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn CookingLeave a comment

Holy bananas, you guys. I’m coming upon four weeks since getting Covid and I’m just now starting to feel like I have the energy and bandwidth to plan recipes and cook. It has been quite the rollercoaster. Some days I feel great, and some days I have no energy whatsoever and it’s a miracle I can get off the couch. I’ve always had a strong reaction to viruses, so this isn’t entirely surprising, but it hasn’t been fun and I look forward to the day I feel “normal” again (whatever that means). Covid keeps throwing surprises at me. For instance, last night I developed a full body of hives out of nowhere. Upon doing some Googling, I found out this is not unusual in the recovery stage of Covid. Seems my immune system is still pretty revved up. That’s fun. As someone who got all the vaccine doses possible, and who took Paxlovid (as recommended by one of my doctors who knows my history), I’m certainly glad I didn’t go through this without those added protections. And now on to more fun things!

Firstly, did you know how easy it is to make a green salad? I used to shy away from salads because it felt like a lot of work and/or I didn’t feel super great about the dressing choices I was making. I finally took a note from some of the yummiest Italian restaurants I’ve been to, who serve some of the simplest but most delicious salads. My go to is a a few big handfuls of arugula, a handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half, several slices of cucumber cut in quarters, a drizzle of olive oil, a drizzle of any type of vinegar you have (or lemon juice), some large flake salt and a few dashes of pepper. It’s so good, so easy, and completely homemade. No emulsifying of ingredients, no fussiness. If you want to add some shaved parmesan or pine nuts or mozzarella pearls, or canned garbanzo beans, go for it! A lot of times for a side to my lunch, I will just have the arugula with the dressing, and it’s still delicious.

Secondly, I bought a big bag of pre-washed kale, and today I am going to be making some kale chips. The whole family likes them, but honestly there might not be any left by the time they come home. They are best when fresh out of the oven, but I keep them in a bowl on the counter and every time I walk by during the day I grab a few.

And finally, I’m a big fan of sheet pan meals. They make cleaning up easy, and I haven’t met one that wasn’t easy and delicious. I’m planning this salmon, asparagus and potato recipe for tonight.

Hope you have a nourishing week.

Pivot

On April 18, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking1 Comment

Remember last week how I said my allergies were SO BAD? It turns out that it wasn’t just allergies making me miserable, it was my first bout of Covid. I tested negative on Monday, woke up Tuesday, wrote my blog, and then tested again. This time it was positive. As Tina Fey’s character on 30 Rock Liz Lemon would say: BLURGH. I immediately went into isolation and started on Paxlovid. Thankfully, after six days of a very mild (by Covid standards) course of illness, I tested negative. I’m still quite tired but hopefully the worst is behind me.

Needless to say, none of the cooking plans I had for last week materialized. Whenever I’m sick I crave Pho and Tom Yum soup, so I started there, ordering in. I moved on to noodles and spring rolls. Then my husband and daughter left for admitted students day at my daughter’s college, a trip I was supposed to take her on, *sigh*. I proceeded to order in a falafel wrap from an African deli and a kale and vegan chorizo salad from a health food restaurant. And once, in a fit of feeling very sorry for myself, I ordered delivery from Taco Bell and a pint of Peanut Butter World ice cream by Ben & Jerry’s. I drank copious amounts of kombucha, Liquid IV, and water. Pro tip: Fill up an insulated large water jug with ice water, sliced lemons and sliced cucumbers. It’ll keep your water icy cold all day and night, and encourage a lot more consumption of liquids. Mine is 40 oz and has a straw, which makes it so easy just to take sips all day long. It is is from Target and you can find it here.

While I’m negative for Covid now, I’m still dealing with fatigue, so I plan to take it as easy as possible to reduce my chances of long term fatigue. That includes not doing a lot of (or possibly any) cooking this week, as standing up for longer periods doesn’t feel good. I ordered the chicken street taco kit from Costco yesterday. I like it because it comes with corn tortillas (whole grain) and cabbage as a topping along with the cheese. Overall, not a bad choice. I also bought more Rao’s sauce, which has been consistently rated the best jarred pasta sauce available. That on top of some Banza (garbanzo bean pasta) served with the easiest salad ever (arugula, squeeze of lemon, drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of salt and pepper) makes for a great dinner. As for the rest of the meals this week, I’ll play it by ear. My husband works from about 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. these days, but he’s always more than happy to stop by the grocery to pick something up.

If you’re in the cooking mood, might I suggest this whole wheat orzo salad? I’m also partial to this braised chicken with green olives. And if you need some inspiration to let some things go, I still love this blog post from 2016. It resonates especially right now for so many reasons.

I hope you have a healthy week!

Perspective

On April 11, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn Health and wellness1 Comment

We got back recently from a much-needed spring break trip to somewhere much, much warmer than Minnesota. Traveling is always such a good reminder that it’s important to step away from regular life in order to get some perspective on things. Without fail, anytime I leave my home (whether it’s for a quick trip up north to a cabin, or a longer trip to a different country), I am able to see things in a different way. That thing that bothers me so much at home? Space and distance helps me realize it’s not a big deal. Meeting new people from different walks of life? A really good reminder that the bubble I live in is just that: a bubble. It’s important to re-learn this lesson, over and over.

So, I didn’t cook on vacation, and I truly enjoyed being provided with all my meals each day. However, I also realize how hard it is to eat 80/20 (80% health-affirming, 20% whatever TF I want) when I don’t have control over what’s being served. Luckily, the place we stayed had tons of fruits and veggies, really fresh fish and salads, made to order smoothies, etc. On the converse, it also had unlimited open bar and really good churros. I would say I veered more towards the 50/50 or maybe even 40/60, which was totally enjoyable but wholly unsustainable in the long run. I always welcome coming back home to my routine. Here’s a couple of photos of one of my breakfast and lunches, and you can see my plate is filled with really good stuff. On the left is one of my breakfasts and on the right is one of my lunches. I really miss my daily breakfast churro. Not pictured are the very yummy cocktails, the slab of steak and potatoes, the emergency hot dog I had to eat when my blood sugar dropped too low and nothing else was available (at home I would have had a banana, some peanut butter, Triscuits or something similar) and the six or seven mini desserts we would sample from the buffet. And it’s all good.

Plain yogurt with granola, oatmeal with chia seeds and almonds, veggie scrambled eggs, smoked salmon with caviar, and my beloved breakfast churro.

I came home to an obscene amount of snow mold everywhere, of which I’m super allergic, so this week has been rough so far. My throat is scratchy, my eyes are itchy, my nose is runny, and my energy is nonexistent. My meal plan for the week seems like it might be out the window, which is fine. My husband picked up convenience food from the grocery on the way home last night (veggie sushi and Brussels sprouts for me). I will take each day as it comes. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite recipes from previous posts that you might enjoy. One pot pasta is a perennial favorite and so easy. Customizable in so many ways, you can make it your own. And now that it’s warm in a lot of places, it’s time to bring back the caprese pasta salad we love so much. This one is Dr. Jill Biden’s recipe. If you’re looking for something that isn’t pasta, try this BBQ chicken, Spanish style.

Have a tasty week!

The Cooking Continues! This Week/Last Week

On March 27, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn CookingLeave a comment

I hope this finds you enjoying some spring-like weather wherever you are. Here in Minnesota the snow is verrrrrry slowly melting, but the sun has decided to come back out and the promise of spring is there.

Last week’s dinner plan went well, and I continue to lean into pivoting with ingredients and sometimes entire menus when needed. One example is the Kathleen Ashmore salad from Monday. I opened the container of arugula to find that it had gone completely bad before I had a chance to use it. The only other thing I had on hand was half of a green cabbage, so I went with it. Not at all the same taste or texture, but it worked. Yesterday I had a persistent allergy headache from all the snow mold (the stuff that grows under the snow on the grass that is uncovered when the snow melts) so I let myself off the hook and instead of making this penne from Sunday’s plan, I threw together penne with jarred Rao’s tomato sauce and instead of the original plan of warm spinach salad, my daughter made a delicious spinach salad with cucumbers, pine nuts, shaved parmesan and this homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Perfect.

This week I’m doing something a little different. I bought ingredients for four different meals, and I am going to let my mood dictate what I make on each day Monday-Thursday. What can I say, I’m feeling sassy (I told you spring was in the air). The recipes for this week are: Kathleen Ashmore Quinoa Glow Salad, this yummy looking Mediterranean vegetable soup, these easy Chicken Sheet Pan Nachos (a request from my daughter), and Simple Veggie Curry. We have salad greens and leftover balsamic vinaigrette, plus some garlic naan in the freezer, so we can have some easy sides to accompany the appropriate dishes.

Here are a couple less-than-ideal photos of what I made last week.

Cabbage salad with white beans and roasted tomatoes

Have a tasty week!

This Week’s Menu/Last Week’s Success

On March 20, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking1 Comment

It’s a sunny “warm” day in Minneapolis and I can just feel my energy levels rising. But fair warning: once it’s golf and “outside” season, my cooking tends to fall off a cliff. When it’s gorgeous here, we make full use of the beautiful weather, which means less time spent around a stove. I’m going to try hard to plan ahead for more slow cooker and Instant Pot meals, plus hearty salads that can withstand the refrigerator for a few days so that we will usually have something healthy to eat. It just might look a little more loosely organized than usual.

So, how did last week’s meal plans go (click here to read last week’s blog and access the recipes)? Great! I mostly adhered to the plan. Monday’s scallops were a bit of a bummer because I accidentally bought the tiny bay scallops instead of the nice big buttery ones. But that family still enjoyed them. Tuesday was a cluster because I was late for everything, and forgot that I would be doing something from 4-5:30. I came home in a bad mood (daylight savings time sucks, and I hate it) and was *thisclose* to bailing on the Sicilian chickpea soup, but my daughter sat and kept me company while I cooked and I’m so glad I did it. The soup was delicious, and cooking usually puts me in a better mood. We did in fact go out Wednesday (happy retirement Mark!) and on Thursday we had more delicious food from Eat for Equity. Friday I made the crock pot corned beef meal, which was so delicious that I ate it for three days straight. Saturday night instead of more Eat for Equity, we ordered in sushi from Ama (so good! We love it there!) and last night I decided to bail on making the casserole because we had Italian Wedding Soup and radicchio salad from E4E that we had planned on eating Saturday. I love it when things work out relatively well. I also realize that committing to something and following through when possible feels great. I did a terrible job of taking photos of my meals, but I did remember to snap one of the Sicilian chickpea soup!

This week is wonky due to a lot of different activities, so I’m going to try to roll with it even if we aren’t all eating together.

MONDAY – This Kathleen Ashmore salad with garlic naan. My daughter has a dentist appointment at dinner time and then I’m going to play paddle, so this salad will be available for whomever.

TUESDAY – This crock pot Mediterranean lentil stew served over brown rice.

WEDNESDAY – My husband is out at a basketball game and I don’t know that my daughter will be home either, so I’m designating it a “fend night”. There will be leftovers available so will probably dig into those.

THURSDAY – Eat for Equity!

FRIDAY – Order in or eat out

SATURDAY – Eat for Equity

SUNDAY – Penne with roasted tomatoes served with a warm spinach salad (from the America’s Test Kitchen Complete Mediterranean Cookbook). Try this similar penne recipe one, which looks delicious. And this similar spinach salad recipe.

And I think that’s it! I hope you have a delicious week!

What We Ate Last Week & What’s On The Menu This Week

On March 13, 2023March 13, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, Health and wellness, mediterannean, Nutrition, Recipes1 Comment

Remember how a few weeks ago I said that most of the time my meal plans go awry for some reason or another? This last week was the perfect example. Monday and Tuesday went great, when I made farotto and a salad (risotto made with farro) and Tuscan bean soup with bruschetta, respectively. Wednesday things went off the rails when I found out the rest of my family had things going on and would not be joining me for dinner. So, I kept the scallops in the freezer and ordered myself Crisp & Green for takeout. I love C&G salads, but I’m a little irritated that probably 50% of the time something is wrong with my order. Still, they are really yummy and healthy so I keep getting them. Thursday, we had Eat for Equity as planned, and Friday my husband got us reservations at Martina, one of my favorite places to eat and have a cocktail. We had scallops, pasta, and Brussels sprout salad, with a delicious banana caramel crepe for dessert. Our plans Saturday were foiled because our paddle party was cancelled due to weather, so we punted and had more Eat for Equity. We tried watching Jurassic World Dominion but it was just meh so we switched to our daughter’s high school’s championship hockey game, which was super fun to watch, and they won state! Sunday I heated up the lasagne from Eat for Equity and we had that and a salad while watching the Oscars. My daughter put together this fun snack tray below. Yes, there’s candy and cookies there! And microwave popcorn. These are all ok (we practice moderation). I lost the Oscar’s ballot competition by a mile.

Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and garlic

Moving on to this week’s plan!

MONDAY: The scallop recipe from last week’s post, along with some leftover roasted vegetables from Eat For Equity.

TUESDAY: Sicilian chickpea and escarole soup with whole grain bread dipped in olive oil.

WEDNESDAY: We have a retirement party to attend, so we will be out (on a school night!)

THURSDAY: Eat for Equity

FRIDAY: Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve been told this is not an actual traditional St. Patrick’s meal, but I love corned beef and cabbage and eat it once a year, at most, on this day.

SATURDAY: Eat for Equity

SUNDAY: French onion soup casserole. My daughter and I are big fans of French onion soup, and this just looks cozy and delicious and I love the addition of white beans. Sadly, winter is far from over here, so this recipe just spoke to me, and it came highly recommended.

I hope you have a delicious and restful week! I will need some extra zzz’s thanks to Daylight Savings Time.

The Goal: Better Sleep

On March 12, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking2 Comments

Daylight Savings Time started today, which means the vast majority of people in the US “sprung forward” one hour in the middle of the night. It feels like one hour shouldn’t make a huge difference, but the fact is, heart attacks, strokes, and car accidents all increase in the days after DST.

Aside from DST and its effects, I’ve been thinking a lot about sleep in general lately. As a 48 year old woman in perimenopause, I’ve noticed sleep changes in the last couple of years that affect how rested I feel the next day. And I’m not alone – so many of my female friends tell me they are up at all hours of the night, suffering from night sweats, insomnia, and general feelings of exhaustion. I’m so tired some days it’s hard to function (which, admittedly, could also have something to do with the incessant snow and cloudy days we’ve been enduring this winter). While I’m hoping this will all work itself out over the course of this hormonal shift I’m going through, I feel like there are some things that I am doing recently that have been helpful. And there are some things I’m going to try this spring that I’m hoping will also help. I’m not a doctor or a medical professional, so if you want to try any of the supplements or modalities I’m discussing below, please make sure you consult with one before you start.

MAGNESIUM: I’ve been taking magnesium at night for years. I generally take 250 mg a night of Magnesium Citrate. Known as the “relaxing supplement”, I have noticed it really does make a huge difference. On nights when I forget to take it, my sleep is much worse. That being said, actual evidence is thin. Read this for more info.

EYE MASK: I started using this eye mask recently, which blocks out all light from my eyes. We live in a more urban setting which includes city lights making the sky brighter, street lights, security floodlights on neighbors’ houses, planes flying overhead, ambulances speeding down our street, etc. Plus both of our digital clocks are bright. Using this mask has helped me to sleep so much more deeply. It has an adjustable nose piece that lets you pinch it shut to your liking. At just about $10, it’s affordable and effective.

MELATONIN BODY LOTION: I tried out this lotion on my lower back/SI joints before bed, and holy cow. It made me sleep HARD. It also gave me incredibly vivid and imaginative dreams. I’m not sure the effects the day after are desirable, as I do feel like even though I slept great the night before, I felt some “hangover” effects from the melatonin. I’m one of those people who is sensitive to melatonin though. If you aren’t, this could be really useful for you.

BORING PODCASTS: I started listening to the podcast called Boring Books at Bedtime last month and it works like magic. A woman with a really soothing voice literally just reads super boring books. The benefit of this is that it allows my brain to shut off and I usually fall asleep within a few minutes. Otherwise, my brain goes into overdrive and sometimes won’t shut off. I also do meditation apps, which are super helpful. I like Calm and Headspace.

WHITE NOISE: I have tinnitus (that annoying ringing in your ears all. the. time.) To cover up that noise, we keep a fan or humidifier going all the time at night.

KEEPING MY ROOM COOL: I have started cracking the window at night, even in the dead of winter. When I don’t, I wake up sweaty. When I do, I sleep much more peacefully.

WEIGHTED BLANKET: I love mine, and when I travel and don’t have one, I can tell the difference. Mine is old and out of stock, but there are tons of options out there.

There are some things I do that are huge no-no’s in terms of sleep hygiene, such as looking at my phone up until the minute I put it down to go to sleep, having a TV in the room, and drinking caffeine in the afternoon. We cannot be perfect, and up until recently I didn’t feel like those habits were detrimental to my sleep. I’m willing to revisit those if my sleep quality tanks.

What I am willing to do right now:

BLUE FILTER GLASSES: These were recommended by the New York Times and are under $10. Easy.

ABSTAIN FROM ALCOHOL MOST DAYS: I have started recently reserving Fridays and Saturdays (and occasionally Sunday) for my favorite cocktail or glass of wine, and staying “dry” the other nights. I am committing to doing this through the spring to see if it helps my sleep. I know it’s healthy in a lot of other ways, too!

What do you use to help you sleep at night? Drop a comment below! For those dealing with a time change, I hope this next week isn’t too painful!

What I Cooked Last Week/What I Plan To Cook This Week

On March 6, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, health, Health and wellness, high cholesterol, mediterannean, Nutrition, Recipes1 Comment

I have been really enjoying having my meal plan set each week, as well as having the time and energy to actually adhere to it. That wasn’t alway the case, so if it’s not in the cards for you these days to stick to a meal plan, don’t worry. I’m in a season of life where it’s possible and also fun for me to cook a lot. We’ve gone through seasons where we were doing a lot of “fending” for ourselves, or scraping together whatever, or picking up dinner on the way home. The best way to ensure you hate cooking is to hold yourself to some arbitrary standard that doesn’t fit in with your current life.

So, if you’ll remember from last week’s post, I planned to make roast cod with chermoula and broccolini on Monday, peanut and veggie soup from the freezer on Tuesday, pasta with zucchini and tomatoes with a salad with Marcona almonds and manchego cheese on Wednesday, Eat for Equity on Thursday and Saturday (we got hot pot! Some beef and some vegan with tofu), over to friends on Friday and Crappy Dinner Party on Sunday. How did it go? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday went according to plan. When I went to make the pasta on Wednesday, I realized I didn’t have enough fresh tomatoes, so I broke out a jar of Rao’s (seriously, it really is the best tasting jarred pasta you can get, and it’s available at Costco) and did a little riffing. It turned out delicious. Make sure to check out the post from last week if you want recipes. So, what didn’t go according to plan? By Saturday we had eaten most of the Eat for Equity food, our daughter was out, and we had hosted friends for cocktails and bites (olives, cheese and crackers, veggies and hummus) so we didn’t need a full dinner. I had a bowl of Trader Joe’s O’s cereal. Sunday, our Crappy Dinner Party was postponed so we pivoted and ordered from one of our favorite places, Edina Grill. We got two Thai chicken and brown rice bowls (so delicious) and a chopped Italian salad. Here are some photos from dinners last week.

Cod with chermoula, white beans with herbed oil, and broccolini.

On to this week’s plan. All recipes are from America’s Test Kitchen Complete Mediterranean Cookbook, but I have found the same or very similar recipe links elsewhere. As you can see, my pattern is to make dinner Mon/Tues/Wednesday and then the rest of the week is sort of loosey goosey. We are so lucky to have Eat for Equity to fill in some gaps, and I keep stuff in the freezer and pantry that we can make meals out of.

MONDAY – Farrotto with pancetta, asparagus and peas, and an arugula and pear salad with goat cheese

TUESDAY – Tuscan bean soup with bruschetta

WEDNESDAY – Seared scallops with orange lime dressing and skillet-roasted cauliflower with capers and pine nuts

THURSDAY – Eat for Equity

FRIDAY – Either more Eat for Equity, or go out

SATURDAY – Pizza and paddle (click here if you’re wondering what paddle tennis is. We play it in the winter here in Minnesota).

SUNDAY – TBD, not sure if we are doing Crappy Dinner Party. It’s the Oscars so maybe we will do something fun around that.

I hope you all have a great week ahead and feed yourselves well, whatever that means to you.

What I Cooked Last Week/What I Plan To Cook This Week

On February 26, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, Health and wellness, Nutrition, Recipes2 Comments

I got a lot of interest in my meal planning post last week. And it makes sense. There are some weeks when I sit down to plan the menu for the week and I think “What do I even cook?” My mind just goes completely blank. It’s nice to see what other people are doing with their cooking lives and get new ideas.

First things first: how closely did my actual cooking life last week resemble the plan? I give myself an 9/10. The only change was that on Wednesday I made homemade chicken noodle soup out of the leftover roast chicken because my kiddo wasn’t feeling well. (FYI, if your celery is looking anemic and bendy, throw it in some soup instead of tossing it in the garbage or compost). So I punted on the coconut curry until Thursday, which punted the Eat For Equity meal until Friday. Which means on Friday instead of going out or ordering in, we assembled the most amazing shrimp po’ boys topped with coleslaw made with miso dressing and collards with raisins. We were supposed to go out with friends Saturday but that stupid cold that’s going around foiled our plans, so while our daughter was out, we ate Po’ Boy leftovers and watched the Yellowstone prequel 1923. This time we also ate braised butter beans along with it, also from Eat For Equity. And tonight, we are going out, an usual plan for us for Sunday evening. Anyway, maybe I should give myself an 11/10 for cooking an additional meal this week. Here are some photos of the things we ate. As I keep saying, I’m not a professional blogger who curates amazing photos. I’m a real person who doesn’t have the patience to stage a photo, so you’ll see real-life depictions of what food actually looks like.

This week, I plan on making the following (they are all from the America’s Test Kitchen The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook so I’ll provide similar recipe links. OR you can buy the book or pay to have access to the recipes online):

MONDAY: Roast cod with chermoula (a sauce made with cilantro and other delicious things), and broccolini with garlic and red pepper flakes.

TUESDAY: I’m chaperoning my daughter’s Model United Nations conference and then playing paddle (if you don’t know, definitely watch the video link. It’s such a fun winter sport!) Tuesday late afternoon, so I’ll be pulling out a peanut stew with winter vegetables from the freezer that I ordered from Eat for Equity. The recipe is from Bryant Terry’s Afro Vegan Cookbook. I plan on serving it with toasted sourdough.

WEDNESDAY: Pasta with zucchini and tomatoes and pine nuts, served with a green salad with Marcona almonds and manchego cheese.

THURSDAY: Eat For Equity

FRIDAY: Out

SATURDAY: Eat For Equity

SUNDAY: Crappy Dinner Party (if you don’t know about this yet, read about it here). It’s our turn to host, and I’m thinking maybe my husband can smoke something in our smoker, TBD).

I also plan on making a chopped salad with chickpeas along the way for lunch. Something like this but with my leftover goat cheese instead of feta. As usual, I will also probably eat avocado toast with an easy salad once or twice. Here’s a photo of what my lunches look like most days.

I hope you all have a delicious and healthy week ahead.

My (Obsessive?) Organizing Life

On February 24, 2023 By Cultivate WellnessIn Health and wellness, self improvement, Uncategorized3 Comments

Sometime in the fall, I got the insatiable urge to start organizing and decluttering my house. Maybe it was the cleaning Tik Toks I’m so fond of (they are so relaxing and satisfying), or the fact that our only child is leaving to go far away to college in the fall, or being irritated constantly that I didn’t know where things were or what we even had. But one day I just decided to make a list on the notes app on my phone of all the spaces in my house I wanted to address. Nothing was too big or too small to make it on the list. Sock drawer? Yes. Pantry? Hell yes. Take everything out of the home office, every paperclip and cord and blank cassette tape (omg) and look through every piece of paper in my personal files? Yuuup.

As a person whose motivation comes when it comes, and if I don’t take advantage of it who knows when it will come back, I leapt on this sudden energy. At least several days a week since I started, I’ve woken up, looked at my list, and gotten a jolt of energy and anticipation over that day’s project. Likely it’ll disappear just as suddenly as it came, but I’m hoping to get as much mileage out of it before that happens. I just completed my 52nd project (!!!) yesterday. I’ve been flabbergasted by how much lighter I feel by doing this. I no longer have the same feelings of being weighed down by my possessions and clutter the way I did before this. There’s also a lot more space mentally, to ponder and think and contemplate. Even though our clutter was mostly contained in drawers and cabinets and closets, I still felt its presence. Hiding it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Here are some things I’ve learned from this project that might help you if you’re thinking of embarking on your own project:

I’m much more organized than I thought I was.
But, I have too much stuff (we all have too much stuff).
You don’t need fancy canisters or bins. The companies selling you fancy canisters and bins want you to think the fancy canisters and bins are the key to lasting happiness, but they aren’t. Start with what you have. Use containers you already own. Shoeboxes work great. You can always fancy it up later. Don’t buy more stuff in order to get rid of more stuff (see how crazy that sounds?)
Start with a small project or two first. It will give you immediate gratification and a jolt of energy, and it’ll hopefully help keep you inspired.
Take photos as you go and send them to people who will cheer you on. My friend Catherine has been my biggest cheerleader. As a person whose love language is words of affirmation, this is a huge motivator for me. If having a cheerleader isn’t what you need, figure out what *will* keep you feeling proud of your progress, and ask for it.
If you need help getting motivated, another trick that works for me is using the “pairing” technique. Save a podcast or an audio book or your favorite music for when you are doing your projects. It’s like a reward.
Have a list of go-to places where you can get rid of the things that no longer serve you. I have made huge use of our local Buy Nothing community on Facebook. Literally you can get rid of opened cereal that you realized you didn’t like. Or a beautiful pair of shoes. Or some twine. It’s amazing what you can keep out of the garbage with this community. I also have donated to a local organization that operates a thrift store to raise money to provide vital funding for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I’ve taken two carfuls of stuff there. I took two large tote bags of books to Half Priced Books. Food goes to our local food shelf (please no expired food).
Don’t let perfect become the enemy of good enough. Those Tik Tok and YouTube videos are compelling, but it’s easy to think that your house also has to be perfect and idyllic for it all to count at the end. It doesn’t.
Get ready to discover some gems you haven’t seen in a while. By clearing out a bunch of jewelry I never wore, I uncovered several pieces that felt new all over again and that I’m excited to wear.
Keep a running list of your projects and check them off as you go along. Periodically go back and admire how far you’ve come.

I plan on embarking on a spring clean of the house as soon as warmer weather arrives. I’ll keep you posted!

	Dipping My Toes Back… on NEW RECIPE! Kale Chips
	Annie on Pivot
	Pivot – Cultiv… on Under Pressure
	Pivot – Cultiv… on Braised Chicken With Green Oli…
	robinhartwell on Perspective

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