I’ve gotten a handful of requests to share what the holidays look like for me now, since adopting this mindful/minimalist lifestyle. These are the same requests I have gotten every year, for the past four years. And every year, I sit down and attempt to write something helpful and meaningful, but it never feels quite right. The truth is, I don’t have a good answer—and I can’t tell other people what to do. Every year has looked different since my parents got divorced, and I’m still trying to figure out what I want the holidays to look like for me.

Sometimes, I think it’s important for us (us being bloggers) to remember that we are not experts of everything. Not only does assuming you have to be an expert put an incredible amount of pressure on yourself, but it feels disingenuous which people can read/feel. If it doesn’t feel good, I won’t write it. So, I can’t tell you which holiday traditions you should embrace now with your own new mindful/minimalist lifestyle. Instead, I’ve reached out to some of my readers and asked them to share their holiday traditions with us.

The result was a rough blog post more than 9,100 words in length that I never could have written myself. Some of the responses made me smile, and more than a few brought a tear to my eye. After deleting any duplicates and editing it, this heartwarming post is still 6,200 words long but I wouldn’t remove another thing. To make it easier though, I’ve broken the traditions up into six categories: things you can do alone, with friends or with your partner, and things you can do with kids, with family and for others. (And I’ve bolded a few I love/would love to do!)

I hope you take as much from this post as I did, friends. And thank you again. This is just another example of how powerful a community can be when we all come together. I know this holiday season, and future holiday seasons, are going to be richer for me personally because of you. xo

Traditions You Can Do by Yourself

1. My favourite tradition that I’ve adopted is taking all the working Fridays in December off. It just really helps slow down a month that can move a lot faster. So far, I’ve used one to do my small bit of Christmas shopping and on another I made cards, cozied up on the sofa, and worked on a craft project before I went out to see a friend. – Meghan
2. Every December, I read the book A Homemade Life and cook/bake one of the recipes. – Cait
3. I cut holly, cedar, and fir from parks in my neighbourhood, then make a wreath for our front door from the greenery. I use a wire coat hook stretched out to a circle shape, and a little craft wire. It always turns out rustic and beautiful, and of course, it’s all compostable at the end. I just save the wire and coat hanger for next year. – Shannon
4. For me this year, as I’ve recently become more mindful and minimal, I enjoyed dedicating one full day to making hot cocoa from scratch and watching a really cheesy Christmas movie. It’s still holiday-related, ingredients cost less than $10 (almond milk, unsweetened cocoa & maple syrup) and it gives me a chance to relax away from the chaos that the holidays can sometimes create. – Laura
5. I enjoy drinking from cheap snowmen glasses my parents had and I try to use them exclusively through the holidays. I use a holiday mug for my tea at home and in the office. I tied jingle bells to my purse and feel a little Santa-y as I move about. I sit in my living room and enjoy the Christmas tree lights, and usually a cat or two is close by. These are my traditions and they make up my good and happy life.
6. I have to spend quite some time on the road to get from one family to the other. Instead of taking the car, I choose to go by train to have some down time in between family gatherings, to read, to watch the train to pass beautiful landscape, and to listen to podcasts or music. When I was younger, my sister and I knew the song ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ would come on the radio at some point on our drive to our grandparents. Now, I deliberately put it on to get the same nostalgic feeling. – Pia
7. One of the Christmas traditions I have developed for just me here in the UK is on Christmas Eve. The BBC always broadcasts the nine lessons and carols service from King’s College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve. I like to listen to this and wrap my presents up (just a few gifts for my family). It helps me to reflect on what’s important at this time of year and think of other people who may not be in such fortunate circumstances. The choral singing is beautiful (one of the best choirs in the world) and really helps me to get in the Christmas spirit especially if I’ve been working right up to that point. I think it’s good to build your own traditions, they just have to be meaningful to you. – Vivienne
8. Every year, on Christmas morning, I wake up significantly before everyone else (think 4 or 5am), in whatever house I’m in. I take my book and a cup of tea (and holiday baking if I have it) to the Christmas tree, and just sit under the lights and read and take the time to reflect on my year and be grateful for the things and people that are part of my life. It’s often my biggest moment of quiet and calm during the holidays, which tend to be a little busy and crazy, and I look forward to it every year. – Mallory
9. Some years I have been invited to be with friends [on Christmas Day], and other times I am alone. No matter what my plans are later on, I always make sure to go for a run in the morning, and try to do something special for breakfast. Not something stressful-special, but more along the lines of pancakes or cinnamon buns. – Calee
10. I have two personal traditions. I always go to see a movie on Christmas Day (during the afternoon). I’m going alone. I like this time with myself! My other tradition is reading all the Harry Potter’s book during the holiday. I read all of them every year! – Marie-Michèle

Traditions You Can Do with Friends

1. Years ago, when my friend Kasey moved from Toronto to Vancouver, we decided to do something Christmassy in the city. One December night, we met up and walked through the Vancouver Christmas Market together. The next year, we went to the VanDusen Festival of Lights. And now that I’m back on the mainland, we decided to do something Christmassy again. On Monday night, we met up and walked through Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, then went out for a nice dinner after. For as long as we are both living in the Lower Mainland, I would like to keep this tradition going and visit one local attraction each year. – Cait
2. Every year, I go ice skating with my friend and go for a cup of hot chocolate after. It’s always nice to step away from family just for a bit, and have a chat with a close friend. It’s also so festive! – Hana
3. I have a dear friend I’ve known my entire life, we grew up next door to each other. Our moms used to love to craft together and now we do as part of our holiday tradition. We spend weeks looking for ideas and gathering supplies from thrift stores, and one Saturday in December we spend the entire day laughing and creating while getting glitter literally everywhere. – Patty
4. I live in New Zealand and a tradition I have had for a longtime is a Christmas morning walk or mountain bike or run in the hills with my close friend. We decided a long time ago that in order to cope with the busyness of the day, we needed exercise and time for ourselves. So we get up early and spend an hour together doing what we love. It’s summer here so the mornings are bright and warm. – Rae
5. I had a group of friends who would get together to host an ‘Orphan’s’ Christmas’ for those who didn’t have family, or couldn’t see them, or for whom family Christmas was difficult for any reason. And it was, and is, designed to be utterly stress-free. You come if you want to, but it’s ok if you don’t. You bring food to contribute if you want to, but it’s ok if you don’t. You can bring gifts if you want to, but it’s ok if you don’t. And it’s ok if you want to bring gifts for some people but not for others—there is no sense of a gift exchange, just giving if you want to. Gifts are usually small, and very frequently handmade or consumable (or both). There’s a long table, made up by putting tables together—people bring chairs and crockery and cutlery as needed. It’s all mismatched and no one cares. There are favourite foods that certain people bring, but they may or may not appear in any given year. Every year around the table are people from a range of religious traditions and none. Dietary restrictions are dealt with by letting everyone know what’s in each dish, and people choose what they want to eat from what’s there—and there is never a shortage of food or options. We always have a great time, eat too much, laugh a lot, and all help out with the clear up. Over the years, new partners and friends, and children have been added to the mix, and it’s become accepted practice that family Christmas happens in people’s home in the morning, but that we meet around lunch time for a laid-back, relaxed party that starts in the afternoon. Kids get put to bed or taken home at some time, some people will stay overnight and people come and go as they want. It is always relaxed and happy and welcoming. – Sarah
6. Me and a couple of friends meet in the last weekend of November to make Christmas puddings. There are 3 friends at the core, plus some years siblings and or partners join us, and now one of my friends has had children and they are joining in too. Lots of giggles, stirring, grating, chatting and the occasional badly sung Christmas tune. The puddings get distributed among friends and family (or donated to charity if people have too many!). – Ally
7. When the parents of a good friend of mine passed away just before Christmas, she and I started a new tradition of going skiing first thing in the morning on Christmas Day. We had first tracks, (because most people open presents, etc. before heading to the ski hill), we splurged on a special lunch (not the cafeteria), and it became a wonderful new tradition that allowed her to remember that even though her parents were gone, she would never be alone for Christmas. – Kim
8. We have not exchanged gifts for years now. What my husband and I do instead is have friends and family over for dinner on a Friday or Saturday night between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I wrote about the experience last year (pictures included). This year, it will take place on December 29th and we’ll again have about 25 people. We usually manage to seat them all at tables in one single room and in reasonable proximity. All that is required of our guests is for them to attend and bring the spirit of the season with them. We take care of the rest. – Hélène
9. I moved away from my friends and family a few years back and have started to introduce my own traditions in an effort to enjoy the season. Before Christmas, I’ll host a potluck with my friends in my current town and, on Boxing Day, my friends at home all go out for supper and then drive around looking at lights or head back to someone’s house to just enjoy being together. – Susan

Traditions You Can Do with Your Partner

1. A tradition I inherited once my husband and I met was to watch the 80s film Christmas Vacation each year on the night after the Thanksgiving feast to kick off the holiday season. Now that we’ve lived in other states, we continue to do it just the two of us. And in recent years, we’ve made an effort where we’ve lived to attend the local community tree lighting, as they’re free to attend, pretty, and can help you connect with the area in which you live. – Stephanie
2. My husband and I share an advent calendar. It’s one of those customizable sets of drawers in a shape set ups. We decorated it together a couple years ago, and I get the odd days and he gets the evens. It is mostly filled with chocolate but we try find one or two presents that will fit the drawers to scatter through the days. We both have to be present for the opening of each day and it is a fun little routine for us in the mornings. – Meghan
3. We like to drive just north of where we live where there is a community of homes that all put up the most epic Christmas light displays. The past couple years we left it too long, so it was super busy and slow when we went to look. But it starts on December 1st, so this year we went on the 5th to beat the crowds. So fun! – Dayle
4. We just started doing the local Jingle Bell Walk/Run together. That takes place a couple of weeks before Christmas and people come out dressed up in Santa hats, blinking icicle lights, elf ears, etc. It’s a lot of fun, helps charity, and it ends in free breakfast by the beach. – Sandra
5. In the weeks before Christmas, we plan and save our spare money to cook a 5-star meal together: la crème de la crème! Also, my boyfriend doesn’t eat breakfast, so for Christmas morning, I plan and enjoy some *me time*, which includes cranberry pancakes, maple syrup, a good book and a good coffee, all while listening to a Christmas playlist. – Odile
6. We paint an ornament each to add to our Christmas tree, attend a local play of the nutcracker, exchange one gift each Christmas Eve (pyjamas are the usual), and I still cook a turkey and all the fixings (which we then eat till New Years lol). We also go ice skating and sledding, if we get snow. – Crystal
7. We celebrate our own little Christmas on the 23rd, dubbed Christmas Eve-Eve. We watch old Christmas movies, open the gifts we got each other, and enjoy Chinese takeout for dinner. As a total introvert, Christmas Eve-Eve is my favorite part of the holiday season; it’s the one time when we can just relax at home together. – Laura
8. This year we are living on a boat doing The Great Loop, so I don’t know where we will be for Christmas but I know we won’t be around family. I will be looking for other people in the marina who don’t have plans and ask them to share the day with us. Our one tradition that can travel with us anywhere is ordering takeout pizza on Christmas Eve. We started that when the kids were little and have followed through with it each year. – Mary
9. My boyfriend and I are adopting a tradition from Iceland: to exchange books on Christmas Eve and stay up all night (or most of the night) reading our new books. We are very excited for this new tradition because we have demanding families and it will be nice to just spend the evening relaxing and doing something we enjoy. – Sara
10. My partner and I have spent the last few years with our own, very simple, holiday tradition: We rent a cabin for a night or two in a nearby State Park. It’s naturally fairly minimalist because the State Parks shut off most utilities during the winter, and the cold definitely keeps the crowds out. They usually have electric lights and a wood stove for heat, but that’s about it. We have found, though, that we don’t need anything more when we can spend all day tromping around in the snow, exploring and relaxing. We sometimes still exchange small, thoughtful gifts, but the real gift is spending a few days alone (together) in the woods. It gives us a calm in the midst of the storm that is The Holiday Season. – Ashley
11. Christmas traditions changed quite a bit once we got married 3 years ago. We are still slowly working on making our own traditions, but our favourites so far include playing lots of board games while munching on homemade baked goods. And we love to attempt The Globe & Mail Christmas crossword. We almost finished it last year! – Katrina
12. Every year, my husband and I sit down before we pack away the Christmas decorations and write down wishes for each person for the next year. Then, on Christmas morning, we read the wishes. It’s interesting to see how much happens in a year. It can be bittersweet, of course. But also lovely. – Sarah
13. Over ten years ago, we chose to lead an alcohol-free life, so we don’t “do” New Year’s Eve. We get up early on New Year’s Day and take the ferry to Block Island, which is off the coast of Rhode Island. Block Island is beautiful and deserted at this time of year, so we explore and spend time outside, enjoying the natural beauty. We stop at an overlook, looking out at the ocean, and share our intentions for the coming year. We listen to the silence and sounds. We stop at the tiny grocery store and chat with the locals, admitting that we’d gone to bed at 10:00 the night before! We arrive back home, cold, tired and peaceful. – Anne

Traditions You Can Do with Your Kids

1. My daughter’s advent calendar has a little chocolate and something Christmassy and free/cheap to do together every day (e.g. watching a Christmas movie at home, making a gingerbread house, making Christmas decorations, visit Santa at the grotto, etc.). This year, I also added to buy food for the food bank and socks for the homeless as two of the activities. – Virginia
2. We’re just starting to build holiday traditions. This year is the first where our daughter isn’t a baby, so showing her things like Christmas lights at the zoo or going and looking at the fancy decorated trees are the traditions I want to instill. My favorite one from last year was to go downtown, have brunch at a fancy place, dress up for it (or at least dress the baby in something festive!), then go look at the big tree in the middle of downtown. But our traditions are fluid, too. This year, we’re doing “Christmas” the weekend of the 15th because we’re going to Arizona for ten days. – Kathleen
3. I’m still figuring out what our traditions are but some of the things we do include: making Mexican hot chocolate with my daughter at least once a week (I let her pour the hot chocolate from a teapot we love and share); playing Christmas music in the mornings to get the day started; watching my daughter make a dance routine for any Christmas song she likes (this year it’s Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas”); and putting reindeer antlers + a red nose on my car (kids LOVE it). We also put a tiny Christmas tree in her room with lights. My aunt gave it to her and she loves it. – Teresa
4. We take our daughter to the local farm, just on the edge of the town where we live, and select a gorgeous real Christmas tree from the wonderful selection they sell there. Ours is around 5 ft. tall and we know that they grow about a foot a year, so that’s 5 years worth of tree! That’s pretty humbling when you look at it like that. We bring it home, give it a good drink for a day, then drag it into the hallway of our home, where we decorate it with simple lights, plus red and silver baubles. Because it’s at the foot of the staircase, I put the lights on as soon as I come down in the morning, so our daughter can enjoy seeing it when she comes down for breakfast. – Catherine
5. This year we’re going without a Christmas tree, by request from my 11-year-old son who said, “Some people don’t like setting it up because it’s confusing getting the right branches in the right places and some people don’t like decorating it because it’s boring and some people think it takes up too much space and makes a mess. But I really like Easter egg hunts. Can you hide the presents in the lounge room Christmas Eve for us to find as a treasure hunt on Christmas morning?” So we’re trying that this year. – Sharon
6. On December 23rd, when work and school are finished for the year, we spend a night in the city. We live in a semi-rural area outside of Melbourne, Australia, and don’t get into the city much throughout the year. We spend our time checking out all the decorations in the town square, the Myer windows (a department store with amazing Christmas windows usually based around a children’s story), the beautiful buildings which have Christmas scenes projected onto them and generally getting into a festive mindset. My kids bring their money box change collected throughout the year and give this to buskers. We absolutely love to watch the many music, comedy and dance performers. To top it off, we stay in a hotel with a swimming pool which we love as it’s usually very hot here. The breakfast buffet is always a highlight too. – Jacqui
7. I have two daughters (27 and 26) and our tradition on Christmas Eve is to watch Christmas movie classics like: Miracle on 34th Street, Polar Express, Elf (is that considered a classic?), and It’s a Wonderful Life. We sometimes add in a new one and there are times when we don’t get through them all. We always watch It’s a Wonderful Life last. – Sharon
8. I have watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) on Christmas Eve every year since I was 4 years old. I watch holiday movies all month long, but save that one for Christmas Eve. – Cait
9. We have two Christmas traditions with our girls. 1. We make sure to be in our own home Christmas Eve night so we can wake up and have a slow morning with our girls – open presents, eat donuts, and play in our pyjamas! 2. On Christmas night we have a slumber party in the living room with our girls, watching Christmas movies until we fall asleep. We also started a New Year’s tradition with our girls last year. We write down a bunch of fun activities on slips of paper (movies, card games, charades, board games, etc.) and have the girls pick surprise activities out of a bag throughout the night. We made it to midnight and had a ton of fun! – Jaime
10. Since my eldest was 4 years old (he’s 27 now!), each year I have written a letter to each of my children in which I talk about significant things that have occurred in their life that year and ways that I’ve seen them grow. I tell them how proud I am of them and how much I love them and include a special prayer or Bible verse for the coming year. Initially, I put the letter in a box that checks had come in and wrapped it in silver paper covered with clear contact paper and I put the name of that child on the top of the box. Over the years, the boxes have come to be known as the kids’ “Silver Boxes” and they are under the tree each year. My son’s silver box now has 23 letters in it. He has told me that reading my letter is the best part of Christmas for him. This year, I also plan to write letters to a couple of friends as well, just letting them know how much their friendship means to me. The recipients don’t have to keep the letters, but they don’t take up much room if they do wish to save them. And each one is, of course, very personalized. This sort of gift doesn’t take up much room, doesn’t cost anything, and lets the recipient know how much they mean to me. – Susan
11. This year will be my son’s first Christmas and I can’t wait to make them wonderful for him. Something that I am going to do is prep a Christmas Eve box for him. A little box with a pair of PJ’s, a Christmas movie and snacks to have the night before Christmas. – Leonor
12. For Christmas morning, my girls find croissants, shelf-stable juice, and plates, etc. in their rooms with stockings at the end of their beds. It gives them something to eat that isn’t candy, plus a filled “gift” to entertain themselves with before we all roll out of bed. In the toe of the stocking is always a chocolate orange. It’s a nod to those who put the citrus fruit in the toe, and it’s a memory of Little House on the Prairie for me, and a reminder to count my blessings. – Jennifer
13. In my house, there are two of us (my daughter and I) and our loving companion dog Bentley. I grew up in a busy, urban city and holidays were filled with tons of people, loud laughter, and copious amounts of Southern food. After moving away, I grew into a mom who valued silence. Stillness. Peace. I found the joy in that empty blank space. The holiday tradition we hold most dear now is to take hot bubble baths (candles lit), put on our most comfy PJ’s, turn on the electric fireplace, drink hot tea with cream and sugar, and tell stories of dreams. We make up elaborate stories about faraway lands, stories of old, and dreams yet to come. The space then transforms and in those moments we aren’t just sitting with one another as mother and daughter, but rather, as friends, sisters, soulmates on this journey—and surrounding us are one another and simultaneously the versions of ourselves we hope to become. This tradition feels magical and honoring. – Jayna’

Traditions You Can Do with Your Family

1. I want to share a small tradition my family did when my siblings and I were younger. It fills me with joy to remember it. We don’t do this anymore, since we are grown up and don’t live in the same house anymore, but I think this tradition helped us through some difficult times. At the beginning of the month of December, all the family members would put a Christmas stocking at the handle of our bedroom door. We had all month to put small notes, cards or drawings in every stocking of the house. On Christmas morning, we had our “normal” gifts to open, but we would also open our stockings and discover all the nice things every member of the family had draw/wrote to us. It was so special. We started this when we were young (at around age 9) and we continued this until we were adults. It was very special during our teenage years, when we were not as close anymore. Still, every year, everyone put effort into it and every Christmas morning, we read all those nice things and were happy to be with each other. It might be a very small tradition, but it is a cherished memory for me! – Émilie
2. I only require one thing each year though: a day. One day for my husband, son and I to fully DO holidays. We turn on sappy holiday music, make the house smell with cookies baking, our son picks a holiday color theme for everything to be (cards, decorations etc), we make garland (out of folded paper made into snowflakes), decorate our metal tree we bring out each year, make cards and write our list of who we are sending presents to this year. Once that one day happens, the rest doesn’t matter at all. :) – Julie
3. Hugs and more hugs. Our family is Mexican and we traditionally open our gifts on Christmas Eve at midnight. Before anyone can open ANY presents, we go around and hug anyone and everyone in sight, expressing how grateful and happy we are to be with one another. It also serves as a reminder for us that by coming together we are united and honor our family members who have passed. You can literally feel the love all across the living room when this happen and, as corny as it may sound, it feels magical. It is the same deal the following morning. On Christmas Day, another round of hugs before a big breakfast (and clean-up time). When your life is not one of plenty, or you’re privileged enough to live a life of less by choice, a big bear hug from a loved one (or loved ones!) can be a powerful and reassuring reminder of what really matters in the end. – Liz
4. Mine is rather boring and obvious, but I live 1,000+ miles away from “home” so the best part of the holidays is just getting to spend time with family. Sure, some of them come visit me here in Florida, or I take a trip up there in the summer, but Christmas brings everyone together at the same time. All of us “kids” have grown up now, and everyone besides me is married, so they have to dovetail plans with their other half’s family plans. I’m thankful that we can still spend a few hours together before everyone has to rush off to other familial obligations. – Josh
5. One of my holiday traditions was born 20 years ago. My mom passed in the fall, and that Christmas, my brother, my father, and I simply decided we would only spend time with people who brought us happiness (which, thanks to some nearby less-than-pleasant family from my mom’s side, meant just the three of us!). While we missed my mom terribly, it ended up being a wonderful and reflective holiday for us. No one gave us a hard time that Christmas given our loss, and from that point we decided that EVERY holiday should be like that. Nowadays, it’s a firm tradition. If there is a Christmas party with people who will bring us down, we find an excuse. If there are activities with people who don’t make us happy, we avoid them. We host a big group of family members for Christmas, but each of them must pass the test that they bring us (and the other guests) happiness. – Paul
6. Christmas has never been a structured or consistent thing in my family, since we’re what I like to call a Very Portable Family Unit. The one constant for the past three years: cinnamon buns. I refuse to even make them the rest of the year, because when you see how much butter and sugar go into them, oh boy. But once a year, on Christmas morning, I’ll bake fluffy, ooey-gooey, full-fat, full-sugar, full-gluten cinnamon buns for whatever we’re doing, even if it’s just breakfast at home with our parents. It’s not especially mindful in terms of food and calorie consumption, but it is a consistent tradition that can adapt to however many people are involved! – Desirae
7. Half of my family is German and Austrian which means I grew up spending December 24th around the biggest feast you’ve ever seen. My grandfather would unload every German meat, cheese, and pickled vegetable he could get his hands on and we would chow down. Nothing about this feast was fancy and it didn’t revolve around gifts or presents. It was just a way for us to stuff our faces and hang out together. (And it goes without saying that this feast could be done by a take-out menu – cooking skills not required.) – Britt
8. A couple of years ago my parents started a new tradition where we choose a new country each year and cook a bunch of dishes from that country for dinner. – Luise
9. One of my favorite traditions is when we do Christmas with my dad’s half of the family. Every year, instead of doing a big Christmas dinner, everyone brings an appetizer or a new food that they’ve tried in the last year! Of course, there are always some classic favorites, but we try to get people to try something new! We’ve also found that we spend more time and focus talking about where we had this food or our opinions of the different foods, than we do worrying about gifts. – Kasey
10. There are only four of us who are physically together for Christmas so we no longer have the traditional Polish twelve-course dinner on Christmas Eve known as Wigilia. The meals were wonderful but a great deal of work. Now we get together on Christmas Day for a much simpler feast of brisket, mashed potatoes and vegetables. I make the brisket and potatoes the night before so it’s less work on Christmas Day. (Brisket always tastes better the next day anyway.) We start the celebration with appetizers like cheese and olives, exchange stocking stuffers, then have dinner and watch the Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol. It’s a very relaxing and enjoyable way to spend the holiday together. – Annie
11. On Christmas Day, we often sit around the dining room table and work on puzzles. And each year, my mom uses a website to make a holiday-themed word search that includes all our family member’s names, as well as fun words like “mistletoe” and “reindeer”. It’s always a race to see who can complete it fastest. – Emily
12. Every year since my sister and I were very small, my parents have taken us out for a “winter picnic”. I know it sounds bonkers, and when I was 19 and it was on New Year’s Day after a long night of partying, I was in no shape to spend time huddled in Kananaskis Country around a fire while it was -30°C (-22°F). But this tradition has grown to be something I look forward to (and relish sharing it with others who think we’re crazy). Regardless of weather, my mom packs a picnic basket full of chili, smoky sausages, a few snacks and steaming thermoses of hot chocolate and coffee. My dad is responsible for the firewood and blankets. We usually drive into Kananaskis or to another picnic area around Banff or Canmore and get a fire going. If the weather is nice, we linger and maybe even do a brief hike around the picnic site. On years where it’s brutally cold, we’ve done a quick in and out of the car to eat and run. But regardless of the weather, we always reward our bravery and struggle with a dip in the Banff Hot Springs and dinner in town in the evening. It’s quality family time that’s unique to us and a tradition I plan to carry on with my own family one day. – Meredith
13. This year, we are doing something special. I’m a professional photo organizer and we found a box of vintage family slides buried in a closet at Chris’s mom’s that she had forgotten about. We brought the box home – it was a treasure trove of old family slides c.1955-1975. I have a home office and two scanners so we scanned everything and made it into a slideshow with music. We also made a photo book for Chris’s mom, as we know it will be an cherished heirloom she’ll want to pass down. We think everyone will get a big kick out if the slideshow on Xmas day – and it will help the kids see their parents in a different light. And best of all, the slideshow costs us nothing but time (the photobook on the other hand, around $100). – Marci

Traditions You Can Do for Others

1. From November to before Christmas, we go through the clothes (and toys) to sort out those that can be ‘released’ to other homes. These are taken to a domestic violence thrift shop or a program that directly places basics into the hands of the needy. – Coralie
2. I always make Christmas cookies for my neighbors and include a little holiday note. – Kaleigh
3. I am a yoga teacher and I offer all my students the opportunity to give a present to toys for tots vs. pay for their class! I am happy to forgo one class to benefit one more child in need. – Amy
4. My partner and I decided to adopt a new tradition that we started this past Giving Tuesday/Black Friday. Instead of shopping on Black Friday, we decided to donate what the average shopper spends to a local charity. This is something we will do every year now and it’s a lot easier to avoid Black Friday when we think about how our money might better be used helping the community. – Josh
5. My aunt decided a few years ago that once all of the grandkids were out of high school we would no longer buy each other gifts because it was so stressful and expensive. Instead, each year all family members draw a name from a hat and buy a toy that reminds them of that person. We wrap them all up and open them together on Christmas Eve, then my aunt brings all of the toys to a local women’s shelter for their Christmas Day. It’s heartwarming to do something kind while also having a little story around how that gift reminds them of you. – McKenna (*Note from Cait: My office used to do this, when I worked for the government!)
6. This is the first year I have adopted the wish list of a little girl who lives in a women’s shelter in our area. They have a program called Dreams and Wishes that matches the kids list with someone who can fulfill all or part of it. I chose a girl, aged 4, since I only have nephews. – Dayle
7. I take my grandchildren shopping as a group for food for the food bank, and we drop it along with some decorations we have made for the Food Bank’s Holiday Dinner. We also go hiking to collect pine cones, berries and seeds for the animals in our local wildlife rescue centre, drop them off and check out the animals in care. – Nancy
8. The last few years, I have tried to give back in a small way. One year it was purchasing gifts for the children’s aid society, and another it was filling purses with feminine products for homeless women. This year, I am going to do the shoebox project where you fill a shoebox with gifts for a homeless women. You put things in it that you would like to receive yourself. – Laura
9. My family and I put together pretty gift-wrapped packages of socks, gloves, cards with handwritten notes (and a few dollars in the years we can afford to do so) in the weeks leading up to Christmas. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, we take our packages downtown near the mission where homeless people tend to congregate. We hand out the packages with Christmas cookies and hot chocolate to whomever we find on the streets. Everyone is always so happy and really just delighted someone thought of them. Their reactions are the best Christmas gift we could ever get. Each person gives us a big hug! Last year after our trip downtown, my 10-year old-daughter was quick to point out that these may be the only hugs some people get all year. – Lisa
10. We always set an extra plate at the table for the ‘unknown stranger’. Who knows when you meet someone who you could help, or learn from or just spend some time with. It is important to be mindful of others all year long and also focus more on others than ourselves. – Dora-Lynn

And I will leave you with something short and sweet:

The only holiday tradition worth keeping is to love the people you share it with. – Barbara

Do you have any simple traditions you’d like to add?

Good morning, friends! I read three posts this week that I want to share with you. The first was written by author Matt Haig back in 2015, but I only found it recently and it is still so timely. A note that it talks about depression and suicide, but there’s one quote in particular that resonated with me: “Christmas is one of those times when the idea of something doesn’t match the reality.” It is absolutely worth reading all the way through to the end.

The second post is from my friend Bianca who wrote quite honestly about why it’s time we removed the pressure around Christmas. If you’re seeing a bit of a trend here, it’s true that I’m still not in my usual Christmas spirit. I can echo what Bianca wrote: I love the lights! And the food! And I plan to take some days off! So I feel generally ok about the holiday season. It just doesn’t feel very “special,” and I’m starting to realize that is also ok.

In an attempt to remove some of the pressure around it here on this blog, there is just one thing I want to say before I log off for a few days: thank you. Thank you for being so caring and supportive this year—and not just to me but also to each other. We’ve talked about some heavy stuff here this year, and I am so grateful that this space is one that continues to remain open and safe. Thank you for being part of it.

The last post I want to share was written by Daisy for No Sidebar. In it, she shared 10 questions we could answer to end the year intentionally. This isn’t about goal-setting or trying to come up with resolutions or anything else future-thinking. It’s just a simple exercise that can help you reflect on the past year. For everything that’s happened, that felt right for me, so I answered the questions and am sharing them here.

I’m signing off for a week! In that time, I plan to complete a 1,000-piece puzzle, start and finish a new book, and spend two nights in a house on the ocean with some of my family. There’s no cell service and definitely no internet. If I could wish anything for you right now, it would be to unplug for a day—and just be. xo

1. What makes this year unforgettable?

Admittedly, I feel like I am always going to remember 2017 as the year we lost the girls. But I’m also going to remember it as the year I moved to Squamish and finally let myself settle in. Slowing down and letting myself really “be” somewhere came with its own challenges—namely that I could no longer manage my anxiety by hopping around from place-to-place, and instead had to make the decision to deal with it and do some therapy. But it also came with so many bonuses. On top of the beautiful landscapes, I found a community of creative, honest, and vulnerable women I feel so fortunate to now call my friends.

2. What did you enjoy doing this year?

Oddly, I really enjoyed not travelling much. It felt good to get to know my new home, create some routine and learn a few trails like the back of my hand. I also made time to read more books this year, which felt good too. :)

3. What/who is the one thing/person you’re grateful for?

A few people come to mind right away, but I’m going to say that I’m grateful I had the money and resources available to start therapy. For the first two months, I was going weekly which was costing $520-$650 monthly. That was obviously not a regular line item in my budget, and isn’t something I would currently be able to afford to do for an extended period of time. But having my emergency fund made me feel comfortable enough to make that decision back in April and I am so grateful for it. I never would’ve imagined that having savings would’ve been so important for my mental health, and there is no doubt that therapy has changed my life.

4. What’s your biggest win this year?

Aside from the personal growth, it would be remiss of me to not mention the fact that I wrote my first book this year! A real book! One that will be in stores in just a few weeks! (And that you still have three weeks to get the bonuses if you pre-order a copy!) There were so many lessons to take away from writing this book, but one of the most important was that it is possible to complete a big creative project. On the day I submitted the first (crappy) draft, I had this overwhelming sense of I CAN DO ANY CREATIVE PROJECT I WANT TO wash over me. I can’t imagine any writing project feeling bigger or being more all-consuming than a book. Now, I’ve written one. So, I can do anything . . . right? ;)

5. What did you read/watch/listen to that made the most impact this year?

What an amazing question. I’ll start by saying that, without question, my new favourite author is Matt Haig. The most meaningful book I read this year was Reasons to Stay Alive, which came recommended by many of you when I first shared how bad my anxiety had gotten. So thank YOU for telling me about that book, my friends. More recently, I got my hands on a copy of How to Stop Time, which doesn’t even come out in North America until February 6, 2018! It was one of the most enjoyable works of fiction I’ve read in a long time—and Benedict Cumberbatch is going to play the main character in the movie adaptation! How exciting for the author. :)

Aside from books, I have listened to every episode of a handful of podcasts: Hurry Slowly, Secrets of Wealthy Women, The Slow Home Podcast (I did an interview with Brooke earlier this month that was so lovely!), Super Soul Conversations and Terrible, Thanks for Asking. That last one cracked me wide open, but I needed it.

As far as what I’ve watched that’s had an impact . . . nothing comes to mind. I enjoyed a few shows: 13 Reasons Why, Atypical, The Crown and The Great British Bake Off. But I can’t say that anything had an impact. This is something I’ve thought about a lot lately. Let’s talk about it in the new year. For now, books and podcasts win!

6. What did you worry about most and how did it turn out?

Honestly, I worried about how moving away from Victoria would affect the dogs—and two months later, we lost them both. So, I wish I could say that my worries weren’t warranted, and set an example for how/why it’s important to calm our anxious thoughts. But truthfully, March, April and May were really tough months for me.

7. What was your biggest regret and why?

I don’t regret moving, obviously, but I still feel guilty about leaving the girls. I know that’s something I had no control over. It’s just how I feel; like my leaving somehow prompted the beginning of the end for them. This is something I’m obviously still working through (and might help you understand why I’m still emotional about it).

8. What’s one thing that you changed about yourself?

One of the things that became apparent very early on in therapy was that I had zero boundaries in my life. I basically did anything and everything that would make other people’s lives easier, and put everyone else’s needs ahead of my own. This was true in all of my relationships and it wasn’t healthy. In fact, it was one of the reasons my anxiety got so out of control. Thankfully, I’ve been learning how to set healthier boundaries in all areas of my life. It’s not always easy and I sometimes still let guilt takeover (this article on The Pool is another good read on that topic). But I have set some boundaries, and chosen to put myself first in some ways, and it does feel better.

9. What surprised you the most this year?

Most of this post has felt heavy, so I’m going to share a few fun/random things!

• I was surprised to find myself driving across the US, from Minneapolis to BC, for the second time in a year! (And I never thought I would drive through South Dakota again, let alone twice in one year!)
• I was surprised to randomly meet up with Sarah and spend two days together in Idaho and Wyoming. That’s some travelling big magic, right there. :)
• I was surprised to meet my two closest friends in Squamish on Instagram—and learn that one lives right behind me, and that I can see the other’s house through the trees between our two homes!
• I was really surprised to find Cheryl Strayed followed me on both Twitter and Instagram! I still don’t know how or why . . . but yea, consider me still surprised! (Let’s not jinx it.)
• And I was happily surprised to find myself picking up and reading more fiction this year. It felt really good to fall in love with characters and get lost in a story.

10. If you could go back to last January 1, what suggestions would you give your past self?

If I had known what was going to happen in 2017, at the start of the year, I wouldn’t have believed it—and I wouldn’t have wanted to believe it. I don’t have a suggestion, per se, but more of a reminder: You will never regret telling people/pets how you feel, showing them affection and making sure they feel your love. When they are gone, the only thing you’ll wish is that you’d had more time together. So I would say . . . don’t rush off. Spend your time with those who matter most. Because there’s never enough of it.

 

Well, my friends, I can hardly believe we are days into the new year—and 2017 is behind us. Part of me wanted to let the date change without putting much energy into reminiscing and thinking about all that the year held for me. But I think that’s simply a combination of knowing it will always be the year I remember losing the girls + feeling excited for a fresh start. I can’t predict what 2018 will hold, of course, and I don’t like to put pressure on new calendar years and new beginnings. In saying that, I can’t deny that I’m ready to leave my sadness behind in 2017, and continue to move forward in general. Because even with all the sadness, I do feel as though I made some big steps forward last year—particularly when it came to my mental health.

It’s been interesting to look back at my first post from 2017 when I announced I was going to complete a year of slow living experiments. People still ask why I decided to start those experiments, and the only answer I can come up with is because I felt as though I genuinely needed to. My anxiety was at about a low-to-medium level, compared to what it would later climb to in March and April. But it was high enough then that I knew I couldn’t handle all the other messaging that filled my feeds before that new year had even begun. You know, the ones about how to be bigger (or skinnier), better, faster, stronger and richer. I couldn’t stand to read those messages, because I had enough to be anxious about. So, I decided to opt out of it all and simply slow down, instead.

I didn’t have a plan, before I got started. Instead, I had a general list of the areas in my life that I might consider slowing down and being more intentional about. Before the beginning of each new month, I checked in with myself + the list and considered which area of my life needed the most attention. And then I wrote out a list of intentions—not hard goals I had to stick to, but intentions for things I wanted in my life—and got started.

Things didn’t always go as planned. As an example, my plan was to complete 12 slow living experiments—one every month—but life (and anxiety and grief) took me down a couple unexpected paths, so I decided to opt out yet again. And that felt better. Since I had created this whole experiment for myself, I was allowed to change the rules, or simply opt out. So, that’s exactly what I did for the month of June after the girls died, and again in September when I decided my only intention was to spend 30 minutes outside each day. That’s what I could handle, so that’s what I did. As a result, I (mostly) completed 10 slow living experiments in 2017—and I would like to share some reflections on them all, in the event that it might help you plan for something similar.

Experiment #1: Slow Mornings

• wake up naturally
• make the bed
• eat breakfast
• enjoy my coffee
• read a book (audiobooks work too)

I always knew I was going to start with the slow morning experiment—I just didn’t know it would end up being one of the most important experiments I would do all year. My list of intentions was simple enough. Each day, I woke up naturally (without an alarm clock), turned on an audiobook, made coffee and breakfast, and just relaxed a little bit before diving into work. It was so simple, but it was also such a treat. January was the month I finished the first draft of The Year of Less and it was a complete blur. I holed myself up in an Airbnb in downtown Squamish and was basically in isolation for five weeks, aside from going snowshoeing with Krystal once and having an old friend from high school over once too (and that wasn’t even until after I submitted the book). All I did was work—and enjoy my slow mornings. I’m happy to say this is something I’ve kept up with ever since, including making my bed every day, which was something I didn’t do often before. It feels good to start each day at a slower pace rather than rush into things, and it feels really good to crawl into a fresh-looking bed every night. Oh, and I read 5 books that month, which prompted a year where I read a lot more. :)

Experiment #2: Slow Money

• set new financial goals for 2017
• track my spending / make sure it aligns with new goals
• change my budgeting strategy
• change my investing strategy
• analyze / find ways to reduce business expenses
• bonus: file my taxes (or at least input all the numbers)

The idea behind the slow money experiment wasn’t so much that I would slow my money down (what does that even mean!?), but that I would do one big check-in with my finances overall. The intention was to simply make sure I was happy with how things were going and shift anything that felt like it needed a change. In February, I crossed most of these things off the list! But, as it often goes, things changed as time went on. For starters, I did NOT run a lean business. In 2016, my business expenses added up to exactly $14,000 and I wanted to attempt to cut that in half. Instead, I ended up spending $17,000 in 2017. This wasn’t a surprise, though. I track my business finances (invoices, payments, expenses, etc.) every month in FreshBooks, so I always know how things are adding up. There are only two financial decisions I regret (costing me about $2,300). Otherwise, it was all intentional (vs. impulsive) and I feel good about my final numbers. I’m just aware now that it will likely be impossible to ever spend less than $14,000 on my business. The one money move I’m extremely happy I made was the decision to start investing regularly. In an attempt to adopt an abundance mindset, I setup a weekly automatic deposit into my Wealthsimple account and have kept that going all year! (Though I did decrease the amount in the summer, when I wasn’t earning much.) Nearly one year later, I’ve learned I won’t run out of money—and that was a lesson I really needed.

Experiment #3: Slow Move

• go through all of my belongings again / only pack what I want to keep
• sell / donate everything I don’t want to bring with me
• make a list of things I think I want to buy (like a standing desk)
• settle into my new home, before actually buying anything
• reach out and make plans with new friends :)

March was a tough month for me, personally (you might have guessed that if you read this post), but it finished on a high note when I moved to Squamish. At the beginning, I was definitely living small, having no couch or coffee table or desk or basically anything in my living space. But in June, I bought a couch. At the end of the summer, I pieced together a DIY standup desk (for about $450 vs. the $600-$1,200 you’d pay in stores). And I even commissioned my friend Amanda Sandlin to do a custom painting for me. I still don’t have a coffee table, but it’s not a priority right now (saving for my trip to the UK is). It’s taken almost a year but I really do feel at home here—not because of the stuff, but because of the life I’ve built and the friends I’ve made. For the first time in years, I’m not wondering where I can move to next. I just want to be here, and that feels really good.

Experiment #4: Slow Breathing

• have slow mornings
• do yoga 10x (short practices are fine)
• meditate for 7 days in a row
• listen to audiobooks/podcasts on this subject
• go floating at the end of the month

At the beginning of April, I sat down to write a post about how I was going to do the slow work experiment next, but I couldn’t finish it. It felt impossible to string words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs about things that didn’t actually matter to me then. All I could think about was news I had received on March 28th that shot my anxiety up higher than I knew it could go. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t write or do any kind of work. Some days, the elephant on my chest was so heavy that I couldn’t even breathe. So, I decided to do the slow breathing experiment instead. Only I didn’t end up crossing much off this list. Instead, I published that post then read all the comments that poured in, and took all of your suggestions to heart—particularly the ones that asked if I’d ever considered talking to someone about this stuff. I had thought about it, but I had never taken action on those thoughts. Your comments helped me get the courage to. A few hours later, with the help of my friend Clare, I crafted an email to a therapist. She called me shortly after, and I started seeing her the very next day. I’ve written about this enough times now, I think, but want to make sure I say it again for anyone who is considering doing the same: therapy is the best investment I’ve ever made. It definitely changed—and saved—my life. And I will always be grateful I started it in April, because things got so much tougher in May.

Experiment #5: Slow Technology

• do a 30-day social media detox (April 29th – May 28th)
• figure out the role I want social media to play in my life
• check / reply to email less often (also experiment with not checking on my phone)
• figure out the role I want technology to play in my life (phone, computers, TV, etc.)
• read from a book every day

With how much anxiety I was experiencing, May was the best month for me to take a step back from social media and attempt the slow technology experiment. And I know I’m not the only one who felt like opting out from it altogether this year. But I decided to log off all social media for a month and think about how I could have a better experience with it when I went back—because I didn’t actually want to quit it altogether, I just didn’t want it to always feel so negative. Like any social media detox, it came with the realization that I was addicted to my phone and I knew I wanted to have a healthier relationship with it too. But I ended up quitting early and going back online after Molly died (May 22nd) so I could share the news and also support my family while they shared it too. I don’t regret that decision. Because of the detox, I have kept Twitter off my phone all year, and even deleted the email app from it (until recently because the book launch has required that I be a little more connected). So, I do feel a lot better about how (much less) I use my phone now. I’m not even that great at replying to text messages anymore! The most important lesson I took away from that experiment was that, when it comes to social media (and technology as a whole), you’re allowed to create your own rules on how to use it. In fact, you should. I am continuing to do this, and made another big decision I’ll share with you later this month.

June – No Experiment

After both dogs died (Lexie on May 31st), I decided not to force myself to do a slow living experiment. Instead, I spent the first week of June in Victoria, then flew to Minneapolis to see friends, and drove all the way back from there with a friend + his dog. It was exactly what I needed.

Experiment #6: Slow Food

• eat mostly* home-cooked meals
• *eat out max. once/week at restaurants that use locally-sourced ingredients
• swap out some ingredients for stuff that can be sourced in Squamish or BC
• switch back to a vegetarian diet
• eat slowly :)

After dealing with some of my grief, and then coming home from a two-week road trip throughout the US, it was obvious that my next slow living experiment should involve taking care of myself—and I decided to do that through the slow food experiment. Aside from slow mornings, this was the easiest experiment to complete. I loved walking to the farmer’s market every Saturday, buying local produce + eggs, cooking my meals, and only eating out at Fergie’s once a week. It felt really good to be at home, spend time in the kitchen and fuel my body. So, this one was easy. I even had a little fun and shared pictures of my simple kitchen + minimalist pantry. (I will say though that the contents of my pantry has basically quadrupled, as I’ve been cooking and baking more!)

Experiment #7: Slow Consumption!? Sure, let’s go with that. ;)

• complete a 30-day shopping ban (August 3rd – September 1st)
• do a small declutter/purge + take inventory of some of my stuff
• organize my digital life (inbox, blog post drafts folder, files/folders, pictures, etc.)
• do some values + goal-setting exercises
• get back into alignment with myself :)

The slow food experiment was a huge success, and taking care of myself in one area of my life helped me realize I had to do it in another. See, grief has this way of causing you to shutdown a little. Maybe not completely. But you start to let things go, including some of the control you had. For the first couple of months after losing the girls, I found I was a little more impulsive in most areas of my life—but specifically with my spending. I wasn’t blowing hundreds of dollars or anything. I simply wasn’t being intentional, and that can eventually add up to a lot of wasted money. So, I decided to do a 30-day shopping ban. Not shopping for a month was easy, though I did make two purchases so I could complete projects I had started: some fabric to repair a blanket, and the supplies to finally make a top for my DIY standup desk. But not shopping for anything I didn’t need was easy, and it helped me stop thinking short-term and start dreaming about what I wanted again. The result: I realized I was done with doing small trips, and wanted to finally save and go on a big trip to the UK in 2018! On top of not shopping, I also decluttered my home + my online life, and got to the beginning of September feeling ready for a fresh start.

September – 30 Days in Nature

For this fresh start, I knew the one thing I needed more than anything else was to spend more time outdoors again. I documented this slow living experiment on my Instagram account.

Experiment #8: Slow Work

• track how many hours I work every day (and how many per project)
• set realistic expectations of what I can get done (with timelines)
• explore other creative outlets (this could be fun – stay tuned!)
• share how I slowly grew my blog (incl. dollars + blog stats)
• share plans for what’s next :)

By October, I finally felt like I had gotten back into alignment with myself. The last piece of the puzzle was to find my focus with work again. Unlike April, when I would have tried to force myself to complete the slow work experiment (and really needed to focus on my mental health instead), I actually felt ready—and excited—to do it in October. And it’s not surprising to me that I got to the end feeling like it was another successful experiment, because that’s often what happens when you listen to your body and intuition, and focus on the thing that needs your attention. Anyway, I tracked my hours, and not only figured out how much I was working but also how long it would realistically take me to get projects done (which helped me make some executive decisions about which projects/ideas to let go of). I also started to dream big again and ask myself what I really wanted. I don’t have all the answers, but I know that 2018 will include more in-person, face-to-face time with this community, rather than just hanging out online. I also know I’m going to let go of one social media platform (you might notice I removed it from the top nav bar on the website), and spend more time on the one I enjoy the most. These two things feel really good to me. While my business is going to look different, in terms of how I make my money, all the decisions I’ve made were further examples of how I have grown this blog slowly (and my own way). (And speaking of how I make money, I also shared what it’s like to budget with extremely irregular income—including real numbers! For those who are curious, my total income for 2017 was around $76,000.)

Experiment #9: Slow Travel

• spend a week in NYC (Nov 3-10)
• spend a week in Toronto (Nov 11-18)
• spend a week at home (Nov 1-2, 19-23)
• spend a week or so in Victoria (Nov 24-Dec 3?)
• enjoy downtime in every city :)

For November, I almost had no choice but to do the slow travel experiment—because I was gone for most of the month! In that post, I wrote about why I set travel intentions vs. make travel plans. I also wrote about how every good trip makes you appreciate home. <3

Experiment #10: Slow Evenings

• no work / social media after 7pm
• after work, write down the next day’s schedule / to-do list
• no TV / phone after 8pm (and definitely not in bed)
• read a book every night (probably in the bathtub)
• create / practice / share my new bedtime routine

Finally, there’s one experiment I haven’t updated you on yet, and that’s the slow evening experiment. Even though I didn’t have a plan for which order I would do all of these experiments in, I had a feeling it would come full circle with this one—and I was right. Unfortunately, it didn’t really go as planned. I had a feeling it might not, because I knew how much work I had to do (and how stressed I was) in December. But I wanted to try it anyway, and can now share some of the results.

I will start by saying that while I had the freedom to work slowly for most of the rest of the year, that didn’t feel like an option in December. With my first book launch just weeks away, there was a lot of work that needed to be done. So the to-do list was long, and any extra task that was added to it seemed to double my anxiety. Then I started hearing that Amazon was going to ship it 5 weeks early and my anxiety doubled (or maybe quadrupled) yet again. In the process of trying to get that mistake corrected, I had a full-blown meltdown that I had to quite literally pick myself up off the floor from. (Note that I laughed at myself too, during this particular meltdown. But they are always eye-opening, aren’t they?)

The biggest problem was that I didn’t sleep much, in the first half of the month. I did have slow evenings, long baths, read from a book, etc. And I could fall asleep easily. But then I would wake up between 3:30-4:30am each morning and that was it—I was just up for the day (thank you, anxiety). I managed to get through the week, but noted that the two big meltdowns I had both happened on Friday mornings—likely because I was completely exhausted and my body was just shutting down by then. After a few conversations about this with close friends, I knew I didn’t want to remember the book launch as something that I hated. I was ok with it being busy, but I also wanted to look back and have some good memories from it. With that, I shifted my strategy and decided to cut back on a lot of commitments (and pressures I’d put on myself) and do things slowly. That had been working for me all year, and I have to believe it will work for me now and in the future.

As for the rest, I had good intentions with the no work after 7pm and no phone/TV after 8pm thing, in the beginning. But that also slipped away, as time passed and life changed. When there are only so many hours in a day, sometimes you can’t log off at 7pm, because it means the work really won’t get done. And when your best friend is going through a tough time, you don’t say, “sorry, I can’t talk after 8pm”. I have learned to create boundaries for myself and my relationships, but that will never be one of them. Now, even though it wasn’t a very successful experiment, the one thing I will consider a success is that I think about this every evening now. Just yesterday, I thought about how it was time to shut down my computer and have a bath and read a book. And the experiment is over. I don’t have to do this, but I now have the habit of at least thinking about it—and awareness is often what prompts change. So, overall, I am glad I at least attempted to do this experiment, and I think it’s one I’ll be considering how to bring forward in my future. Maybe after the book launches, haha.

So, that’s it! My year of slow living experiments is complete. And I hope it’s been obvious to anyone reading this, or anyone who was following along all year, but the goal was never to complete each experiment perfectly or cross anything off a list. It was simply to slow down, check-in with myself and consider which area of my life might need a little more attention. At the end of the day, that’s all I was doing: paying attention to what was causing me any kind of anxiety or stress, and then giving it the time + attention it needed to feel better. If you attempt something similar, I hope you’ll come at it the same way. <3

Good morning, friends! And what a beautiful morning it is, even with all the rain we are expecting here. No amount of precipitation will get me down, because today will always be the day my first book was released into the world! January 16, 2018 felt so far away, but now The Year of Less is finally here!

The early response to the book has been incredible. And when I say early, I mean early. Random copies started to pop-up all over the world in mid-December. I heard from readers in Australia, Ireland, Ohio, Indiana, Ontario, and BC who had picked up copies from their local library or bookstore. It made me a little anxious, at first, because I didn’t feel “ready” for it to be out in the world. But I have learned that I am probably never going to feel ready! I just have to be ready enough, and that’s where I am now. What helps me feel ready enough is seeing it in your hands, hearing what it has stirred up inside of you, which parts you’ve related with and why. I’ve seen a bit of this start to show up on Instagram, but I want to hear more.

Aside from the pictures you’ve shared, I’ve also seen some amazing reviews published on Goodreads. And the most exciting news I can share right now is that Vogue Magazine has listed The Year of Less as one of the nonfiction books that will help you change your life in 2018 + CBC Books has listed it as a work of Canadian nonfiction to watch out for in 2018!

I can honestly say I am totally overwhelmed in the best way possible right now. Part of me wants to say something sentimental, like how I’ve always dreamt of writing a book and seeing it in stores—and that’s true! But I’m just going to spend the day celebrating. I’m not usually very good at that, but this is a milestone I want to remember forever. Here are some ways you can celebrate with me. :)

---

1. Get a copy of the book!

Canada: Amazon.ca | Indigo

USA: Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Powell’s

UK: Amazon.co.uk | Waterstones

Around the World: Book Depository | Booktopia

It’s currently available in hardcover, e-book and audiobook! You can also ask your local bookstore or library to carry it. It would make me extra happy to know it’s in more libraries. :)

2. Write a review on Amazon!

For inspiration, you can read some of the things written by the people who read + endorsed the book, but I want to hear what YOU thought of it. Why did you buy the book? What was your favourite part or the most surprising thing about it? What did you learn or gain from reading The Year of Less? Did it inspire any ideas for ways you want to change your life or your habits as a consumer? Whatever comes to mind, I would greatly appreciate you sharing it in a review on Amazon. This helps authors more than I ever realized. <3

Note: When you visit the Amazon page, scroll down and click on “Write a customer review”! Thank you, friend!

3. Share your story on Instagram!

Here comes the fun part. Ever since I started writing it, one of my dreams has been to see The Year of Less out in the wild. I thought about this when I completed the proposal in Squamish in May 2016, and when I was scribbling notes down on the side of the road during my huge solo road trip around the US, and again when I finished the first draft in Squamish last January. The ideas for this book have come from all over North America—and I would love to see where the final product goes around the world.

But I don’t just want to see the book on Instagram. I want to read your story. Maybe you include some of what you put in your review. Or maybe it’s a story that is much more personal, but one that will help you connect with other readers who are on similar journeys. I have always believed that the more we share, the more we can all learn—and the more we can inspire each other, too! When you’re ready, we’d love to see where you are and learn more about you. Add the hashtag #theyearofless to the end and we will find you. :)

Fun fact! So far, I know people have placed orders in 21 countries: Canada, USA, Mexico, Ireland, England, Scotland, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. How cool is that!?

---

Before I finish this post, I want to acknowledge everyone who has helped bring this book to life. On top of the people you’ll read about in the acknowledgments, I want to thank Tantor Media for turning it into an audiobook (which I narrated!), Raincoast Books for helping me share it with more Canadian readers, and everyone who has taken the time to interview me and share my story with their audiences. I have learned so many things about the publishing industry, especially in these last few weeks leading up to the launch. Being a first-time author, I am continually surprised and delighted to hear just how many people are working on making the book a success. It takes a village, friends, and I am grateful for mine—and for all of you. <3

Hello, my beautiful friends!

I know it’s been a little while . . . 7 weeks, to be exact! But 7 is my favourite number (my birthday is 7/7) so it felt like as good a time as any to make a return. :)

There are so many things I want to share right now. I’m a big believer in only writing blog posts when you feel like you have something to say, rather than forcing yourself to stick to a strict schedule. I have also taken enough short periods of time off from the blog to learn that distance always helps me generate new ideas—and after 7 weeks, I now have an abundance of them! But first, I want to share some general updates on what I’ve been doing, consuming, and thinking about so far this year.

What I’ve Been Doing

As you probably imagined, I’ve spent the majority of the past 7 weeks promoting The Year of Less. I knew I would have to leave a couple weeks of my calendar open for any possible press opportunities, but I was not prepared for how all-consuming this launch would become. The week before it came out, Raincoast Books (my Canadian distributor) told me they were making it one of their lead titles of the season, which also meant they would be setting up a bunch of Canadian press, etc. That’s when I learned that book launches are a HUGE TEAM EFFORT. I honestly feel like I won the lottery, and have no idea how I got so lucky to have an entire team of people working on this for me. I mean, I know now that this is how they make a living too! But up until a week before the book came out, I genuinely had no idea how this part of the publishing process worked. It’s all been so fascinating, and I’m just extremely grateful to be part of this experience.

So for the past 7 weeks, I have been doing A LOT of press. In the first week alone, I did 30 interviews (more than half of which were radio). I also got to do my first live TV interviews in Vancouver, and am now in Toronto to do more (I talked to Ben Mulroney yesterday! And was a guest on THE SOCIAL!). I was SO overwhelmed by how many friends in the personal finance + minimalism spaces reached out and offered to have me on their podcasts, spread the word, do giveaways, etc. (Thank you, thank you, thank you, my friends!) And then a couple big things happened I still can’t really believe!? Like Vogue listed TYOL as 1 of 7 nonfiction books to change your life in 2018. CBC Books listed it as a work of Canadian nonfiction to watch out for. And then there was this little article in The New York Times . . . yep, I’m still pinching myself about that one.

It has been an incredible time, friends. And something I can’t imagine I will ever experience again!? I mean, I guess I could write more books and have more launches. But TYOL will only come out once, so I have been trying to soak it all up! As such, I haven’t been doing a whole lot of, you know, actual work!? Whenever I have downtime, I’ve been trying to get some quality time in with family/friends, and also going out for walks/snowshoe adventures (and sharing pics of those on Instagram). I’m so grateful for the interviews, but they can also drain my usually-introverted self. But after this little Canadian book tour, I am guessing the press will die down and things can go back to business as usual. I’m still not sure what the “usual” looks like, because it feels like a lot has changed, and the book has opened up some doors I didn’t even know were an option for me before!? But slowly and surely, I will figure this stuff out.

The one thing I have been working on is a new season of the podcast! We’re already three-quarters of the way through season 5, which wraps up at the end of March. You can catch up on all eps here!

What I’ve Been Consuming

Ok, so aside from doing all the things related to the book launch, there’s one thing I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about + trying to change this year, and that’s how I’m consuming information. It started with my decision to cancel my Netflix membership. That’s something I was toying around with for a month or so, then pulled the plug in early January and have been living without it ever since. I will write a full post about this soon, but for now I will say that it is not my intention to never watch Netflix again. I just entered 2018 knowing I wanted to spend less time watching television—and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Here’s a list of the books I’ve read, podcasts I’ve been listening to, and blogs/newsletters I’ve been enjoying this year.

Books

1. Rework by Jason Fried + David Heinemeier Hansson
2. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
3. Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi
4. Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
6. Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
7. Indestructible by Allison Fallon – my fave, so far!
8. Harry Potter #1 by J.K. Rowling

As you might notice, a lot of them have been on the topic of creativity (although Ally’s memoir has definitely been my fave). I’m also in the middle of reading: Meet Cute, Let the Elephants Run and Scratch.

Podcasts

• Hurry Slowly – new fave!
• Note to Self – how to use technology more intentionally (she’s the author of Bored and Brilliant)
• Terrible, Thanks for Asking – warning: will probably make you cry
• Real Talk Radio – discovered Alli Owen, who is a new FI blogger! also, some very real talk in this ep
• Being Boss – an old fave I have been listening to since they first launched in January 2015

I’ve also been listening to basically every interview Ruthie Lindsey has done (just search her name in iTunes and you’ll find some) and I think I read she’s starting a podcast!? Fingers crossed that’s true.

Blogs/Newsletters

At the beginning of this year, I deleted my Feedly account and decided to change the way I find/read blogs. Instead of scrolling through hundreds (even thousands) of blog post titles each week, I have started signing up for people’s newsletters again—and I am loving getting the updates and inspiration delivered right to my inbox. Here are some of the ones I’ve been enjoying. If you have any faves, please tell me about them!

• Weekly Letters from Jen Carrington
• Sunday Dispatches from Paul Jarvis
• Teacup Owls from Elin Lööw
• all emails from The Fresh Exchange
• and I support my friends Tammy + Nicole and love the newsletters for their members

(As a side note: this is the exact opposite of how I have been consuming content for the past few years, so here’s a reminder that you are allowed to change the way you do things.)

What I’ve Been Thinking About

Aside from cancelling Netflix, one of the other reasons I’ve been able to change the way I consume information in 2018 is because Jay and I both stopped working on Rockstar Finance at the beginning of the year. For the past three years, it has been my job to read as many blog posts published in the personal finance space as possible. That was an incredible privilege, and I am so grateful that we were able to help so many bloggers by sharing their amazing content on the site! But it wasn’t until walking away that I realized how many hours I would get back each week—and that I would have so many other interests and ideas for what to do with them!

I have become obsessed with the idea of finding inspiration from other sources. That means not consuming as much of what’s created by people in the same space, but instead consuming content created by people who are in entirely different fields. I’ve been reading about design (and following more designers/makers on Instagram), writing, baking and what it means to live more seasonally. I have also thought a lot about creativity, and some of my fears (and also big ideas!) around what it means to live a more creative life. I don’t know what all of this means for me yet, but it feels really good to be exploring new topics and thinking outside the box.

One thing I know for sure: I’m so happy to “be back”! I have missed writing and missed you. And I’d love to hear how 2018 has been for you, so far. :)

When was the last time you listened to yourself and paid attention to the words that were coming out of your mouth? Have you ever noticed a pattern? Is there one thing you talk about (or complain about) most days of the week? Maybe it’s a concern about money, or trouble in a relationship, or an annoyance at work. I can look back and think of examples for all of these things, at various points in my life.

A few days ago, I finally noticed I was saying the same few words over and over: tired, exhausted, blur. I was managing the tired/exhausted feelings for a few weeks. It didn’t feel good, but I knew it was temporary. However, “blur” was a new one—and that is the opposite of why I live a slower lifestyle. I prefer to act with intention, so I can create (and actually remember) the life I want. This lifestyle is also a preventative measure for me, because I know what happens when I am tired/exhausted/feel the blur for too long (increased anxiety + panic attacks).

My anxiety hasn’t crept in too much lately, but I do feel like I’ve been operating in a way that is not sustainable for me personally, so I know it’s time to change what I’m doing. And that’s something I have learned many times now, after paying attention to what I’m saying and how I’m feeling: if it’s within your control, you should absolutely make a change and move yourself in the direction you want to be going.

Personally, I know I want to get back to work—slow, intentional work—the work I love doing, and the work I want to remember doing. After listening to this episode of Hurry Slowly, I wrote down my list of work priorities, then matched it up to my existing calendar and realized I wasn’t doing any of them. I wasn’t writing or creating anything. I also had no time to do either. Instead, my calendar was full of things that were draining my energy, and taking up more time than I could afford to spare (think: 3 hours out of the house for a 4-minute interview).

I will never regret taking a step back from work and doing all of those interviews. If anything, I’m starting to see that it was short-term work for long-term success of the book. So, I won’t regret it, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunities. But I genuinely want to do some real work. I want to write and sketch and create! Not so surprisingly, I’ve decided to setup a challenge (with some intentions/rules) to make this happen.

I’m calling it the Season of Work Challenge!

It starts today and ends on April 17th. For the next 30 days, I’m going to:

• write every day (this is my top priority)
• work Monday-Friday and attempt to take weekends off
• track how many hours I work (and how many per project)
• try to work 40 hours/week or less, including:
  • 20 hours of writing/creating (4 hours/day)
  • no more than 5 hours of interviews
• and complete at least one new project!

I wish I could say that I thought this was going to be a walk in the park. Every part of this challenge feels like . . . well, like it’s going to be a challenge. I have journaled a little this year, and wrote 750 words/day for about two weeks. But I don’t have a schedule, and I don’t know how many hours I’ve been working. I also haven’t created—much less completed—a new project in months. So yes, this is going to be a huge shift.

Even though it won’t be easy, I haven’t felt this excited about work in a long time. I’m excited to write! I’m excited to have a schedule and structure! I’m excited to attempt to take weekends off! My intention for the weekends is to have 1 adventure day + 1 full day off. This feels sooo exciting! (Are you excited yet or sick of the word? Sorry! Too excited to care!) Spring is here, and I am ready for a change.

Aside from committing to writing one blog post each week, I don’t know what the new project I start/complete will be yet. All I know is that I’m done with the words tired, exhausted and blur—and I’m ready to take back control of my calendar and my work life. I want to finish this challenge and find myself saying three new words over and over: creative, energized and accomplished.

Is anyone else itching for a season of work?

PS – I’m going to stay accountable to this challenge by sharing updates via Instagram Stories! Every day, I will show you a behind the scenes look at whatever I’m working on. I will also tally up the number of hours I have worked each day, share the final number on Fridays, and let you know how my weekends off are going. ;)

PPS – I’ll be hanging out at the Squamish Public Library + Chapters in Victoria this week! Come say hi :)

I started this blog (for the first time) on October 1, 2010. I say “the first time” because I also deleted it once—in March 2011, when I was temporarily living in Toronto, wasting away the last few thousand dollars I had. But I started it up again in June 2011, shortly after coming home and realizing I was maxed out.

If we use the original date, I launched this blog 2,736 days ago. That’s:

• 7 years + 5 months + 28 days, or
• 390 weeks + 6 days, or
• 65,664 hours!

You get the idea. It’s been a long time! And since The Year of Less came out, I know there has been an influx of new readers stopping by to say hi or sign up for the newsletter. I haven’t done anything like this before, but I think I’m going to take an idea from Jillian and share some of the highlights from the last 2,736 days!

I’m going to attempt to put these in (semi-)chronological order, but I also want to have some fun with this! So you’ll find links to old posts, notes about what I was thinking during a few situations, and maybe even a song or two to listen to. I will also share some thoughts about “what’s next” at the end.

Highlights from the Last 2,736 Days

• started/restarted this blog (haven’t stopped since June 7, 2011)
• published a lot of weekly spending reports that looked like this, and a lot of monthly budget updates that looked like this
• got my first freelance writing job + first (unpaid) editorial assistant job (at LearnVest) in 2011 (wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t writing about my own personal finances here)
• decided to stop writing anonymously and share my real first name with readers in 2011, so I could actually share some of these new articles I was writing elsewhere
• finally decided to tell my family and friends about this blog in 2012, for some of the same reasons (looking back, this post is so dramatic—but that’s how I was feeling)
• got a full-time job offer that I promptly said yes to and moved to Toronto three weeks later (behind the scenes: my heart had just been broken by my best friend of 14+ years, and there’s part of me that knows I was trying to run from my problems)
• thought about quitting drinking, quit for a few weeks, drank more, finally stopped
• decided Toronto wasn’t the place for me, moved to Vancouver (and worked remotely)
• paid off the last of my debt in May 2013 and wrote about how (I can still remember having the biggest grin on my face that day)
• thought I was going to delete my blog after that because I didn’t think anyone would want to keep reading (to everyone who told me not to, thank you!)
• signed on with my first literary agent (but we didn’t complete anything together)
• went on my first solo trip in July 2013 (age 28)! I spent 5 days in San Francisco where I met my friend Shannon (who I now visit in NYC regularly)
• got in a car accident in July 2013 that I would ultimately do years of physiotherapy for and still end up needing to get hip surgery (in February 2016)
• moved a gazillion times (real numbers) until I found a place in Port Moody, where I lived for 2 years
• went through a stage where I was obsessed with bringing financial literacy to schools (and forgot about this one, wow!)
• hosted my first meetups with readers in summer 2014!
• started and completed my first yearlong shopping ban (and travelled A LOT that year!)
• decided to do it for a second year (and completed that too)
• decluttered/got rid of around 80% of my belongings
• launched Mindful Budgeting (which has been a profitable side hustle for me)
• built up enough savings + freelance work that I quit my job in June 2015 and have been self-employed ever since (considering I was maxed out just 4 years before, I never thought that would happen)
• signed on with a new literary agent! and got a book deal! (didn’t think that would happen either!)
• moved back to Victoria for 2 years
• went on a solo road trip throughout the US for 7 weeks, where I basically just drove around, stopped in 18 states and visited some of the blogging friends I’ve made over the years!
• moved to Squamish! I have been here for a year now, and it’s the first place I’ve moved to where I haven’t wondered: where to next?
• lost our two family dogs nine days apart (and still miss them every single day)
• finally did some therapy and completed a year of slow living experiments, which I needed <3 (and now zen out with this song daily)
• published my first book :)

When I wrote my first post in October 2010, I was just a blonde who wanted to be on a budget and get my financial life on track. I wrote anonymously (as “LC”) because I didn’t want anyone in my real life to find this blog. All I wanted to do was track my spending and stay accountable throughout my debt repayment journey. That’s it!

It’s wild to look back and see how different my life was 2,736 days ago. If you had asked me then, I would have told you that my goals were to pay off my debt, continue working for the provincial government, save up a down payment, buy a place and continue to climb the “corporate” (public service) ladder.

We could curl up with tea and blankets, and talk about all the little things that made some of these big changes in my life possible. But honestly, I know that a lot of it comes back to three things: tracking my progress on something, asking myself how I’m feeling about it, and being willing to try doing things another way.

There were also a lot of big decisions + calculated risks that made some of it happen. Opportunities that surprised me and I felt “lucky” to get, but ones that required me to give up some stability and/or came up with no promise of a payoff. And don’t forget: it’s been a slow burn (think of a candle that lasts for 65,000+ hours).

I joined the personal finance community 2,736 days ago. In that time, I have:

• published more than 600 posts on this blog (and countless more via freelance work)
• worked for two financial startups for over 4 years total
• worked on Rockstar Finance for 3 years
• recorded 64 episodes of a podcast with one of my best blogging friends
• created a product that has helped people pay off $500,000+ of debt (that I know of)
• spoken at a handful of blogging conferences/financial literacy events
• attended 6 (of 7) FinCon’s in a row
• wrote/published my first book

I know it’s not “mindful” to always be thinking about what’s next, but that’s exactly what I’ve been doing this year. Because something happened in January that I can’t quite explain. I got that same feeling you experience when you start the last chapter of a great book. You know it’s going to be good, but you still don’t want it to end, so you try to savour every minute. Admittedly, I wasn’t savouring every task I had to cross off the list. But now, as things are settling down and I’m starting to prepare for my trip to the UK in May, the feeling is getting stronger. Like one book is about to end, and then I can walk over to my bookshelf and pick out the next one I want to start.

I know that’s an incredibly vague way to end this post, and I’m sorry for that! I also don’t want it to sound like this is the end of the blog, because it is absolutely not. I just know that I’m ready to make a shift. I feel like I’m finally settling into myself as a writer and creator. And something I’ve been reminding myself a lot lately is this:

---

Just because you’ve done something for a while doesn’t mean you have to do it forever.
Click To Tweet

---

So instead of this being a post about the last 2,736 days, maybe it’s about the first 2,736.

I’ll be back next week with more thoughts. :)

---

Photo by Rana Sawalha on Unsplash.

If you haven’t listened to our latest season of the podcast, Honest Money Conversations wrapped up again last week. In the final episode, Carrie shared a question she had been grappling with, and I have been thinking about it ever since: what would you do, if you weren’t already doing this?

What I love about the question is that you could apply it to so many different aspects of life. What you do for a living, how you budget your money, what your habits are, and so on. If you weren’t doing it this one way already, and had the chance to start over, would you still do it today? Or would you do something different?

Personally, I have been applying the question to my work. Carrie’s question is what sparked me to write this post and document what I’ve accomplished since I started this blog 7+ years ago. It felt really important for me to take stock of this stuff, before making any big decisions about what to do next. And that’s not to say a single blog post is what helped me come to any conclusions! I’ve been asking myself “what do you really want to do?” since last year, and have more than enough messy notes in my journal to prove it’s taken many months to figure it out. But that blog post felt like the last page of one chapter, and this post is the start of a new one. :)

Going back to Carrie’s question, here’s what I know: if I started a brand new blog today, it wouldn’t be a personal finance blog. I don’t have $30,000 of debt anymore. I’m not doing a shopping ban. And I don’t have any big financial goals that I’m working towards (just retirement). I will always care about my own personal finances, and I will also always want to create space for us to have open and honest conversations about money. Have a question? Ask me anytime! I mean it. Because I know that the more we share, the more we can all learn from each other—and the better off we will all be. So I will always be open to having those conversations.

But I’m not a personal finance blogger anymore. I have known that for a long time, and thought making the switch from “blondeonabudget.ca” to “caitflanders.com” was enough to prove it to myself. But I was still working on Rockstar Finance, which sometimes made me feel like I was (or like I should be). And the fact that I was working on Rockstar also meant that I was basically only consuming personal finance content. I love that my job was to simply read your blogs and find the gems we could share with the world. Without that job taking up 6+ hours/week, though, I’ve been able to spend more time thinking about what’s next.

If I started a brand new blog today, it would probably be called something like “themindfulconsumer.co” (and yes, I own it, lol) and that’s a lot of what I would write about. I am completely obsessed with the topic of us, as humans, being consumers of everything. And I love talking about how what we consume affects our lives, our work, our mindsets, our habits—and yes, our wallets too. This includes thinking about our digital lives vs. analog lives, finding information + inspiration from spaces outside of the ones we work in, and so on. I am simply OBSESSED. (Want to hear a bit more about what I mean by this? You might enjoy this episode of our podcast.)

And I’m not surprised by this. I completed my BA in Communications in 2012, and some of my favourite papers and projects were on this exact topic (specifically, social media and technology). But then I found myself maxed out financially, and my only priority was getting out of debt. We all know where things went from there. :)

So, that’s where my interests lie, and what the blog will be about going forward: a space where we can talk about how to become more mindful consumers (with a big focus on digital vs. analog). And I actually don’t think this is too far of a stretch from what I’ve been moving towards, anyway. At first, I was worried that writing a memoir about a year where I didn’t shop would pigeonhole me into that space. But when I really think about it, my intention for that book was to start a conversation around how to stop binging and start being a mindful consumer—and that was a great place for me to start.

Now, the beautiful thing about having a blog with your name as the URL is that you can write about anything, and I also see the topic of adventure coming up a lot too. Specifically, I want to bring the outdoors into my work. If you look at my Instagram account or read this post, this should come as no surprise. I want to talk about what the word “adventure” means to me; that includes tiny adventures (like my Adventure Tuesday’s) and big adventures (like my trip to the UK next month). It also includes the topic of challenging myself, both outdoors and in all the ways I have attempted to create change in my life.

I’m still working out some of the details of what all of this will look like, including a new project I want to launch alongside it this summer. The best part (for me) is that nothing really needs to change on my blog, aside from my “about” page. My URL will stay the same, and I already have a logo that fits with this new direction. :)

Before officially “signing off” as a personal finance blogger, I want to go out with a bit of a bang. Since it’s Financial Literacy Month (in the US), I thought I would spend it sharing every last bit of personal finance-goodness that is currently bottled up inside me. I have a handful of money-related posts in my drafts folder that I would love to publish and nearly a dozen personal finance books to share via giveaways (woo! multiple giveaways!).

I don’t think it’s possible to show you just how excited I am about these changes, especially the new project I’m going to launch this summer! I was afraid to say “I don’t want to write about money forever” out loud, because a hard pass or “no” always feels like you could be closing a door and losing out on opportunities (including money). But since doing therapy last year, I have slowly been adding more and more boundaries into my life. And after opening up and being honest with a group of women (at one of Nicole Antoinette’s events!) in Seattle last weekend, I knew I had to give myself permission to do what I REALLY want to do—and this is it. :)

So, that’s it for now, friends! The first book giveaway will be on Friday, and then I’ll be back next week with two money-related posts. Until then, I’m curious:

What would you do, if you weren’t already doing “this”? (Whatever “this” means to you, right now.)

Happy Friday, friends! And I am feeling extra happy this morning! Of course, I’m here to share my first giveaway of the month with you. But I have to tell you the incredible news I received last night: The Year of Less hit the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list! Ahhhhh! Even in my wildest dreams, I didn’t think that would/could happen. I am so grateful to everyone who has read it, shared it with others, and supported me throughout this journey. It takes a community of people to make this type of thing happen, and I’m so thankful you are part of mine!

Since we’re on the topic of community, I have to tell you that this giveaway feels like the most important one I’ve ever done here. Over the years, I’ve given away more than a dozen books through the site, but this bundle is special because they have all been written by women I know in the personal finance space. Erin paved the way for us last year, and then Chelsea, Lauren, Liz and I released books earlier this year. I’ve just been anxiously waiting for Kristin’s book to come out, so I could put us all together + share our work with one lucky person!

So here’s what’s up for grabs:

• 1 copy of Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry
• 1 copy of Get Money by Kristin Wrong
• 1 copy of Meet the Frugalwoods by Elizabeth Willard Thames
• 1 copy of The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan and Lauren Ver Hage
• 1 copy of The Year of Less (not seen in pic)

All you have to do is answer the question below and enter your info to sign up for my newsletter! And you can get some extra entries if you follow me on Instagram and/or share the giveaway with friends. :)

While the messages within these books are fairly universal, I’m limiting the giveaway to North Americans only—partially because of the financial content, and also because shipping is expensive y’all!

I could go on and on, and gush more about each of these ladies . . . but I know you want to get to the giveaway, so I will leave this message to them: I am so grateful for your friendships. Our blogs/websites/freelance work helped us connect for the first time, and our books have taken those connections to another level. (Because omg, how does publishing work!? I’m so confused/stressed out. Please send help!) Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned, opening up about your struggles, and putting your best work on these pages. xo

Now get that money, friends!

In the first quarter of this year, I did 85 interviews about The Year of Less. By the end of April, that number will have crossed the 100-mark. More than 100 interviews in four months about one book. First, let that sink in for a minute. Take a deep breath and imagine talking to more than 100 people (most of them strangers) about your book and your personal life. How do you think that would feel? Strange, right?

Now, imagine if you were asked the same handful of questions in the majority of those interviews. It’s actually not surprising that it happens! People naturally want to know a few things: What was the hardest part of not shopping for a year? (Changing habits.) What did your family/friends think? (Most people didn’t care.) Did you regret getting rid of anything? (Nope.) And I’ve shared all of that stuff here with you before.

But there’s one question that keeps coming up that I don’t think I’ve written about. It’s asked in a few different ways, but essentially comes back to this: What is it like to shop now, after not shopping for two years?

I almost always start by saying that I hate it. I hate shopping. I don’t like any part of it, even when it’s for something I need. The only thing I like about buying stuff I need is how it feels to actually start using that thing once it’s in my possession. But I don’t like having to physically make the purchase. And that’s not because I hate handing over my money (I don’t mind spending money). It’s because I simply don’t find any joy in shopping.

Before going further, let’s break this down a little and discuss what my definition of “shopping” is. And this is actually fun for me to write about finally, because I’ve also found myself saying another thing over and over again in interviews, which is that I wish I had called the shopping ban something else. If I could rebrand it, I would probably call it a “browsing ban,” because that more accurately describes what it was. The goal of the shopping ban wasn’t to buy nothing and spend no money for a year. It was to stop mindlessly buying things I didn’t actually need and become a more mindful consumer. In order to do that, I had to stop browsing.

---

If you choose to browse, you will almost always find something to buy.
Click To Tweet

---

Browsing, as an activity, can be done in person or online. It’s easy to describe why I hate in-person browsing so much now: it is physically exhausting. When I enter shopping malls and/or most stores, my senses feel overwhelmed. There are too many lights, too many people, too many smells, and too many sales signs and promotions. It’s simply too much. (Case in point: I nearly had a panic attack at the Toronto Eaton Centre, while trying to find a shirt to wear on TV.) And if I have to spend time trying things on or testing things out, I’m usually ready for a nap after. So, we’re all clear on why I genuinely really dislike browsing in stores now, right?

The feelings I have around online browsing are a little trickier to describe, only because it can sometimes be more difficult to notice that’s what you’re doing. Choosing to not browse stores in person is easy. You literally just don’t go inside. But we are connected to tools at almost all hours of the day that make it so online browsing is always at our fingertips; that makes it a little more difficult to walk away.

I’ll take one step backward and share what online browsing looked like for me before the shopping ban (which began in July 2014). It would usually result from hearing about a book, product, or brand that piqued my interest. From there, I would either click through the links placed in articles I was already reading or do a Google search, then find myself scrolling through a website for the next 10-20 minutes. This almost always resulted in making a purchase (at least, with books). And if I didn’t buy something right away, I often bookmarked it and looked at it a few more times, before finally entering my payment information and clicking “submit order”.

I want to riff off that last sentence and say this is one of the reasons I don’t save bookmarks anymore and it’s also why I don’t use Pinterest: because the more times we look at a product/offer, the more times we think about buying it. And the more we see/hear about something, the more we believe we either really need it or might get value from it, and then we will ultimately make the purchase. (Likewise, the less often we see/hear about something, the less likely it is we will ever think about buying it!) So, no to online bookmarks, too!

Now, I avoid visiting online stores unless I actually need something (and we can talk about what that looks like). I also avoid reading articles that I know are filled with lists (and links) of things I could/should consider buying. Product reviews? No, thanks! Makeup tutorials? Never. Haul videos? I wish these didn’t exist. I won’t even look at lists of which books I should read in a season anymore (but that’s mostly because I have enough at home + more on hold at the library). And that’s not to say any of these things are bad! Every product has a purpose. But if you spend your time learning about the purpose of each object, it’s easier to talk yourself into buying anything.

Unfortunately, even though I avoid visiting online stores, I still see ads all over the internet. The trick is to look past them, and that’s also easy (after lots of practice). I think the one thing that still “gets me” is seeing friends share pictures of the books they read/loved on social media. I always add those to my “want to read” list. But I don’t feel bad about that. As a writer, you should read—A LOT—especially in the same genre you want to write books in. What I have changed is my habit of buying books the minute I hear about them. That doesn’t happen anymore. I only buy a book when I know I’m going to read it right away, and only if my library doesn’t have it. (I’m also really good at decluttering my “want to read” list, which is a lot cheaper when it’s just a title written in a notebook vs. an actual book that I paid money only to let it collect dust on my shelf.)

So, those are some of my general thoughts on what shopping looks/feels like now, nearly four years after I started this journey to become a more mindful consumer. I’ve realized “shopping” could be swapped for the word “browsing,” and removed that from my list of hobbies. I don’t go into physical stores, unless I absolutely have to buy something. And I only visit online stores for the same reason. It’s never to browse. It’s always to buy a specific item. If I could sum up what the shopping ban did for my actual shopping habits, I would say that’s it: it taught me how to take the emotion out of it, so shopping is strictly a transaction now (as it should be).

The reason I added “as it should be” is because I want to make sure that when we talk about shopping bans, we acknowledge that we still have to buy things sometimes. And that’s ok! We don’t need to add more shame around buying stuff or spending money (there’s enough of that elsewhere in the world—and holy moly has there been a lot of it during this press tour). So, buy your stuff! I don’t care! I want to be really, truly, and crystal clear on this: buying stuff isn’t bad and spending money isn’t bad! So you are allowed to buy stuff and spend your money on whatever you want. I have just learned that it feels so much better to only buy stuff when you’re actually going to use it. Because the value of an object comes out when we actually use it—not simply because we own it. And that is how I shop now.

Since the shopping ban ended in July 2016, I have bought lots of stuff. Are you shocked!? Don’t be. That’s life! I bought some camping gear, a couple backpacks, snowshoes and poles. When I moved, I bought a new couch and rug for my living room (but I’m still living without a coffee table lol). I also bought a coat rack, and then got all the parts and put together an awesome DIY standup desk. I’ve bought lots of books! And I’ve even bought a few candles, along with an essential oil diffuser. The difference between the way I used to shop and the way I shopped for these things is that now I wait until I have genuinely felt the need for it. (And I’m a firm believer that something you want is also a need, if it fits in your budget.) So I have learned to live without things—and then when I’m done “living without it,” I buy it. No questions asked. No shame. I just buy it and start using it.

What does “living without it” look like? Well, sometimes it means living without a couch for three months or a desk for six months, while figuring out what you really need and want. Other times, it means living in a new home for four months, and eventually seeing that it’s not setup to give you easy access to a front closet, but a coat rack would help you get your wet rain jacket off the floor. And I just realized I haven’t said anything about clothing. In the past year, I have bought exactly five pieces of it—and only two were for regular daily life (a sweater + new hiking shoes). The other three were for a wedding + something to wear for TV interviews/book tour stuff. So, to this end, I don’t stockpile or buy multiples of anything. I simply buy what I need, when I need it.

The beautiful thing about the way I shop now is that I genuinely appreciate all of the things I buy. It was really easy for me to write that list of things I’ve purchased since the shopping ban ended, because I can look around my home and see everything—and that’s because I use them regularly, and am grateful for what they do for me/help me do. Old me didn’t appreciate most of the things I bought, because I did so for all the wrong reasons. The most common mistake was that I used to buy things for a more aspirational version of myself, but then never used them because the real me didn’t want to. In waiting to feel the need for an object, I know it’s something worth buying—and when I have the money, the real me buys it and uses it. There are no justifications and no shame. I just buy it and use it. Transaction complete. :)

What’s your relationship with shopping/browsing right now?

This is a follow-up to Chelsea’s initial post reflecting on her six-month spending cleanse. Based on the title, I can tell you it’s not quite the story you might think it will be. You can read the backstory here.

---

My first real temptation came six weeks into my six-month shopping cleanse. The first weeks were simple. Smooth sailing. Then came July, and Amazon Prime Day. This was it, I thought. My first test.

In the days leading up to the big day, I ignored the banner ads following me around the internet (damn you, cookies!). On the day itself, I didn’t falter. I didn’t even look at what Amazon was offering. I took advantage of the beautiful weather and took a book up to the rooftop of my co-op. Good job, I thought to myself as I settled into my lounger. Amazon who?

A few minutes later I looked up and—no joke—there was an airplane pulling a flying advert for Amazon Prime Day streaking across the sky. I had never seen that before, and I haven’t seen it since. But I didn’t cave. I laughed, and kept reading.

My next real temptation came in September, when I was back in New York City. I had spent six days in the city in June and departed with my resolve intact. But this September Sunday, I found myself on a subway car completely skinned with Madewell advertising. Madewell—home to my favourite jeans. A U.S.-only retailer that I visit religiously on visits to the States. But I didn’t need to!, I reminded myself. I had resisted in June, and I would resist again today. I stepped off the subway, walked up the stairs to the street, and was immediately confronted by a Madewell store, right in front of me.

Did I go in? Heck no! I marched right past, and carried on with my day in the Big Apple. And then I breezed right through the rest of the summer—no slips, no justifications, no problem. This is easy, I thought and said many times. I got this!

But then winter came.

Months of sunshine, barbecues, camping weekends and road trips behind me, I entered my annual season of hibernation. The Vancouver rains arrived, days got shorter and I found myself spending more time on my couch with my dreaded trifecta of consumerism—Netflix + wine + my computer.

In October, a boy disappointed me. Within an hour, I had ordered myself a shirt from Madewell. Just one! Not the end of the world. I shook it off and kept going. But by November, I’d slipped a couple more times. And on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it was game over. I bought two white sweaters, and raised the white flag.

I realized that it had been so easy to avoid shopping for those warm, adventurous weeks and months because I was happy, active and fulfilled by my life. There were no holes to try to fill with stuff, no spirits to lift. That, I realized, was the real root cause of my idle online shopping habit, and my occasional junk food habit, and my binge-watching habit, and probably some other habits too. I was using all of them as therapy, but inevitably ending up feeling worse, not better.

I don’t think I’m an addict, but I do know that I’ve continuously, despite my best efforts to change, behaved in a way that’s neither made me happy nor gotten me closer to achieving my goals—not unlike like an addict. And effective addiction treatment addresses not just the problematic habits and behaviours, but the psychological issues underlying them. That’s what I’m doing now, and that’s why I think this time, finally, something’s actually going to change. In fact it already has.

So, given my slip-ups, was my truncated shopping cleanse a failure? Absolutely not. As many people who have done a shopping diet, ban, cleanse—whatever you want to call it—will tell you, it becomes about so much more than money and stuff. Through this challenge I’ve achieved for the first time in a long time a level of genuine clarity about what I really need and want in my life. And guess what? None of it is available on Amazon.

I want less clutter—in my home and in my head. I want to feel in control of my finances, and my career, and my health. I want to feel well and balanced and strong again. I want to take a year-long round-the-world trip. I want to spend less time looking at screens and more time looking at people’s faces. I want to read more books, and finally write my book.

And the best part is that all of that is entirely available to me—not just some day, but by the end of this year, if I keep my eye on the prize. That realization has become a source of inspiration, and—even better—gratitude. I am so very, very, very fortunate to have the life I have, and the opportunities that open up to me on the regular. On January 1, I started a daily practice of writing down at least one thing I’m grateful for: big things, little things, sometimes material but mostly intangible. My promise to myself is that in moments when I feel like there’s a hole that needs filling, or my spirits need lifting, I will refer to my notebook of gratitude, not madewell.com.

Before I Leave You: A Few Pearls of Wisdom

It feels like a flip has been switched for me—something deeper has shifted that I’m confident will curtail some of my less functional habits. But I’m not relying solely on willpower.

Here are some things I’ve learned, and tactics I’ve adopted, to act as back up should my willpower ever falter, or in case I’m ever disappointed by a boy again (I will be).

• For 2018, I’m no longer banning shopping. But I’m not online shopping for a full year. I’ve decided to make an exception for a few functional items. I had to order a new battery and charger for my camera, and knock-offs on Amazon are way more affordable than going to a camera store. I can buy gifts online. And though I’ve resolved not to buy any more books until I’ve read the stack of unread ones on my bedside table, I’m making the odd exception (like, when your friend Cait writes a book, obviously you’re going to order that). But absolutely no clothes. A big problem in my previous life—you know, way back in 2017—was idle online shopping and ordering clothes that maybe would look good on someone’s body, but definitely not mine. I ended up spending way too much time (and I bill by the hour; time is money!) going to Pacific Centre and to the bricks-and-mortar shops of my favourite online retailers to return clothes, only to end up getting other stuff while I was there. Even worse, for stores like Everlane and Madewell that don’t have locations in Canada, I would convince myself that the clothes were ‘good enough’ and keep them, even though I didn’t particularly like them, just because returning them by mail was a (sometimes expensive) hassle. This year, I can shop for clothes, but only if I go to a store and try them on. Since I despise malls, chances are I will only go when I really need something.
• Adding to my ability to shop idly was the fact that Google Chrome knows my credit card number and would AutoFill it anytime I wanted to purchase something. I didn’t even have to get up to grab my wallet—a moment that may have shaken me out of my hypnotic consumer state. I’ve removed my credit card number from Google Chrome.
• But why not go even farther? I’ve used a Chrome extension called StayFocusd to block the sites that are my kryptonite. I literally can’t visit those sites on my Chrome browser. I can visit them on Safari, but having to switch to a browser I never use will definitely serve as a reminder that I’m going out of bounds.
• I got rid of well over half my wardrobe—another (somewhat counterintuitive) Cait Flanders suggestion that has proven so helpful to me. It’s amazing how much easier it is to get dressed when everything in your wardrobe is something you like, and that fits you.
• I’ve never been a thrift shop person. I’ve admired other people for their ability to find great things in thrift shops, but I’ve never been so lucky. But consignment stores are a different story. There’s a great consignment store within walking distance from my flat, with a style that’s very aligned with my own. When I wanted something pretty to wear for my Christmas party, I found a sparkly sequined top from Club Monaco (something I would never want to spend CM prices for, given that I do not have a sparkly-sequined-top life 364 days of the year) for $20. And you wouldn’t believe the compliments I got! I told every one of them that it cost twenty bucks, cause that’s just the kind of person I am.

---

In 2015, Chelsea (somewhat impulsively) quit her agency job to be a freelance writer/strategist/digital nomad, and she hasn’t looked back since. Her home base is Vancouver, but that’s just where she gets her mail. You can read more of her work at chelseaherman.com.

PRE-S: If you’re in London, I’m doing an event with Psychologies Magazine on May 8th and would love to see you there! This will likely be the only event I do while I’m in the UK, so I will happily stay to hangout afterwards. :)

---

Well, my friends . . . the time has finally come. This afternoon, I’m getting on a plane and flying to the UK for six weeks. That’s right: SIX WEEKS!

This trip has been a long time coming. I’ve been wanting to go to the UK since I graduated from high school, but immediately started my post-secondary education, then dropped out, moved out, got my first credit card—and you know the rest of that story. I had debt for most of my twenties, but started travelling (solo) as soon as I finished paying it off. Since 2013, I’ve gone on a lot of small trips. But aside from the road trip I did throughout the US in 2016, I have never gone on any BIG trips. After the girls passed away last May, I did a short 30-day shopping ban that helped me realize I needed something to look forward to. So I decided to save up and go to the UK for 4-8 weeks in 2018—and that’s exactly what I’m doing now.

I arrive in London on May 2nd and fly back to Victoria on June 13th. I don’t have much of an itinerary yet, because I prefer to travel with intentions rather than strict plans. That’s not the cheapest way to travel. Sometimes, it also causes more headaches or stress, because you don’t always know where you’re going to be (or where you’re going to sleep lol). But it gives you the flexibility to travel slow and say yes/no to whatever opportunities come up, and that’s usually my intention for most trips: to move slow and do what feels good. So I don’t know exactly where I’m going or what I’m going to do . . . but after pushing through the busiest 5-6 months of my life, I’m really looking forward to not knowing what my every move has to be.

Some other things I’m looking forward to:

• enjoying slow mornings (sip coffee, read, and journal in new cities)
• exploring bookstores and reading some books written by local authors
• walking + hiking everywhere my feet can take me
• but also, driving a car on the other side of the road! I’m determined to do this!
• taking pictures (and sharing some on Instagram)
• and making new friends :)

Oddly enough, I’m also looking forward to being outside of my comfort zone. Being able to travel by yourself is an incredible gift, but it also comes with unique challenges. I’m prepared for there to be a few tough days, or at least tough moments. I’ll probably get lost or lose something, crave normalcy/routine, and even get homesick once or twice. And knowing me, I’m sure I’ll cry a few times too. It always happens, so I’ve learned that’s just part of the experience. But if the road trip taught me anything, it’s that I also feel like my best self when I’m travelling. I feel lighter and more open (to new people + opportunities)—and I always come home feeling like a new person. I don’t know what the UK holds for me, but I’m excited to find out.

For those who live there, or who are simply curious, I do have a few plans/ideas:

• I’m not a huge fan of tourist attractions, but I’m going to the Making of Harry Potter studio tour on May 4th and I am SOOO RIDICULOUSLY excited about it, haha.
• I’m heading down to Brighton for the long weekend.
• I have an event in London on May 8th!
• I don’t really have any plans from May 9th-18th yet, so I think that’s when I’ll map out a road trip (maybe to South West England? or Wales?)
• After that, I’ll start heading north and visit friends in Manchester, the Peak District, Leeds and York.
• I think I’ll rent a car and do another road trip to the Lakes!
• . . . and then I still need to figure out where Scotland and Ireland fit into this. (And yes, I know Ireland isn’t in the UK. I just want to go, while I’m there!)

As per usual, I’m still travelling with just carry-on luggage. In fact, for this trip, I’m somehow packing even lighter than I did for a road trip last year. Everything fits into my Gregory Compass 40L backpack. And that was really important to me for this trip, in particular, because I won’t have regular access to a vehicle and don’t want to be weighed down at all. So it’s just me and my backpack. :)

I still have a few work tasks to complete at the airport today, before I sign off and get on the plane. However, the closer I get to my departure time, the happier (and more emotional) I start to feel. I booked this flight on January 9th and have used it as motivation ever since. Whenever I felt like I couldn’t keep working at the pace I was, I reminded myself that I only had to push through for a few more months or weeks—now hours—until I could go on this trip. It then became the marker for things I could say yes/no to. And it all worked! The Year of Less is out in the world! It was a WSJ bestseller! I have done 101 interviews about it and connected with so many incredible people this year! And now it’s time to take a break.

So I’m signing off, friends! I have a handful of incredible guest posts to share this month. (Think: incredibly honest and vulnerable. I’m so grateful to the writers for wanting to share their stories with us.) I will also pop in when I’m inspired to write. If you don’t hear much from me, though, you can always check my Instagram account and see what I’m up to! And know that I’ll be back this summer with new posts, new ideas, and a NEW PODCAST!

For now, I’m curious: Is there ONE thing you would recommend I do while I’m in the UK? I’d especially love to hear from locals, because I would much rather do something a local would do. Visit a certain coffee shop or bookstore, walk a particular trail, and so on. Just one thing. Thank you, my friends! I appreciate you all. :)

This is a guest post from my friend Britt. :)

---

The first time I truly interrogated the idea of abundance was when I was in graduate school in 2012. At this point, I had stumbled across tiny houses and the minimalist movement and it all made so much sense to me. Maybe it was being saturated in a higher education environment that urged critical thinking, but when I projected forward to what I thought my life would look like in 20 years, it did not include the traditional markers of success.

But when you tell your family (who generously helped pay for a portion of your education) that you want to essentially abandon any call to a high-powered (i.e. high-paying) career and want to build a tiny house, you can probably imagine what their reaction was like.

Of course, a high-powered career and living in a tiny house are not mutually exclusive, just look at the CEO of Zappos. But, in my case, I knew I wanted one because I didn’t want the other.

On the whole, or on the surface at least, my family is supportive of my ‘alternative’ lifestyle aspirations. Sometimes though, small comments here and there make me wonder if my dreams are good enough.

• “You’ll get sick of each other in that small a space.”
• “I don’t think you realize how small it will be.”
• “It’s not going to be a good investment.”
• “Do you even have plans or designs for it?”

My quick rebuttals to these comments are normally “No, we won’t”, “Yes, I do”, “That’s not why I want one” and “Exhibit A: My Blog”. I could write much more detailed posts dedicated to refuting each of these questions and comments, but that’s not a meaningful use of my time (nor would my family read them). If you have any sort of dream that is counter to the mainstream (a simple life, early retirement, a nomadic lifestyle, etc.), you probably know at least one person who has a knack for making your dreams feel small and not quite good enough. Even if, and sometimes, especially if, they mean well.

For me, ‘enough-ness’ has been something I’ve struggled with for years (or at least since elementary school). If there is a society upheld ideal, I’ve never quite felt like I’ve achieved it. I’ve never really felt smart enough, fit enough, strong enough, pretty enough, etc. This isn’t a pity party, it’s just the truth. I don’t really know where the feeling of lack came from, and, at this point, it honestly doesn’t matter.

Actually, that isn’t entirely true. I know exactly where my lack of enough-ness came from. My childhood, while wonderful in many ways was, oftentimes, filled with parental alcoholism and mental illness. As a young child, it’s hard to process those situations in the moment. I’m 27 now and I’m still coming to terms with all of it. And I’m sure I will be processing it for years. However, I’m not looking to lay blame. Ultimately, that won’t get me anywhere. What my childhood did leave me with was the sense that you might as well believe in your dreams, because no one else will. Obviously, this is easier said than done. Especially when there are entire industries that have been designed to make money off your sense of ‘enough-ness’.

It will likely come as no surprise to you that consumers in North America are sold the same version of what success and abundance look like. There may be some variation, but the general recipe looks something like this:

big house + fancy car + high-powered job = happiness/success/abundance

I want to make it clear that there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these things. If they are what you truly desire, that’s great! I think everyone should have a chance at the life they want, whatever that looks like for them.

However, since you’re here, on Cait’s blog, you are probably questioning this formula for abundance. Something about it might not sit right with you. You might not be able to put your finger on it, but you know it’s not for you.

What is more problematic than this equation, is the mindset that we are supposed to buy into. If we don’t want the ‘things’ in the equation, we’re not good enough (or we are made to think we’re not good enough). Our dreams don’t matter if they don’t fit into that narrow view of what abundance looks like.

But where does that leave you? If you aren’t buying (figuratively and financially) into this equation, what’s the next step?

Redefine it for yourself.

A dear friend and mentor of mine gave me this question to ponder during a retreat a couple of years ago. I think it sums up the idea of enough-ness perfectly.

“Others will tell you who they think you are, but if that doesn’t align with your gut or internal truth, how do you proceed in a way that is healthy for you?”

‘Others’, in your reality, can be family, friends, colleagues, or society as a whole. If any of what I’ve written so far has resonated with you, you can probably think of at least one person who imposes their idea of who you should be, onto you.

I can honestly say I’ve been pondering this question for years. What it has led me to is a reworked understanding of what abundance means to me (and no one else).

In my mind, ‘abundance’ are the things that bring you joy in life. I’m sure that’s different for every person reading this. It could be family, friends, experiences, health, etc. But, the fact remains, we can redefine it for ourselves if we want to —if our current definition no longer serves the view of what we want in our life.

What would an abundant, successful life look like to me?

• Being able to contribute something meaningful to the world.
• A modest home, filled only with things I truly love.
• Being able to spend my time doing what makes my heart feel full.

The bottom line I’m trying to get at here is that your dreams matter. Period. Whatever you want for your life, I promise you that it’s good enough. Not ‘good enough’ in the sense of settling. No, I mean ‘good enough’, in that your hopes and dreams are important.

No matter how big or ‘tiny’ they are.

---

Britt is the blogger behind Tiny Ambitions—an online space dedicated to documenting her journey to simplify her life with the ultimate goal of building her very own tiny house!

This is a guest post from my friend Jennifer. Thank you to Penny from She Picks Up Pennies for inspiring it! :)

---

I’m a first-generation American. My mother was born in Hong Kong and she came to America with my grandparents when she was just seven years old. Like many immigrants, my family came in search of a better life and they were willing to work very hard to make it happen.

And work hard they did.

By the time I was born, my grandparents had opened a small Chinese restaurant, where they worked from open to close every day, 365 days a year. Almost every childhood memory I have of my grandparents is of them in the restaurant, my grandfather cooking in the back and my grandmother serving in the dining room.

There were no vacations and no holidays for my grandparents. They would even work on Christmas Day; I remember watching them get up from our family dinner to cook and serve the paying customers seated nearby. To this day, I’ve never known anyone to work as hard as my grandparents—except perhaps my mother, who raised three children while going to school and juggling two jobs.

With these role models, it’s probably no surprise that I learned the value of hard work early. By age 10, I was spending most of my free time at my grandparent’s restaurant, and by age 16, I’d picked up a second job while studying full time (a trend that continued throughout my college years).

I was proud of myself and being a hard worker became an important part of my identity. I was always the first to volunteer for extra work and the last to leave the office each night, and I lived this way for most of my adult life.

I’m sharing all of this because I want it to be clear: I know what hard work looks and feels like.

But as I’ve grown older, I’ve started to question the way our society values hard work. Too often, it’s not viewed as a means to an end. Instead, it’s considered a virtue in and of itself. Those who work hard are “good” and those who don’t are not.

Many of us, myself included, have prioritised “hard work” over our relationships or even over our own health and as a new mum, these beliefs don’t feel right anymore. My daughter is only seven months old, but of course, I’ve already started to think about her future.

Here are four things I won’t teach my daughter about hard work and what I want her to know instead.

I won’t teach my daughter to always “give it your all.”

There was a time when I would write “I’m a hard worker and I put 100% into everything I do” on all my job applications. I thought it was an admirable quality and from the positive nods I used to get from recruiters, I’d say I wasn’t alone in thinking so.

But a lot has changed and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that always “giving it your all” is not sustainable. We have limits to our time and energy and we must be intentional about how we invest ourselves, or we risk unintentionally sacrificing the things that matter most.

Instead of teaching my daughter to put 100% into everything she does, I’ll tell her that everything in life comes with tradeoffs. (As the saying goes, you can do anything you want but you can’t do everything.) She’ll need to learn to prioritise and make mindful decisions about what’s really worth the investment of her time and energy, and not blindly devote herself to every task or project in the name of being a hard worker.

I won’t teach my daughter that being busy and exhausted is normal.

Growing up, all the adults I knew were busy and exhausted, so I thought this was simply part of being a successful adult. I actually couldn’t wait to be “busy” and once I started working two jobs at 16, I’d tell people how tired I was with a smile on my face because I thought it was something to be admired.

Of course, the novelty wore off pretty quickly, but I continued to take on as much as possible and push myself to the brink of exhaustion. (I remember driving home at 1 am, after working two long waitressing shifts back to back, and physically holding my eyes open with my fingers to stay awake.)

As ridiculous as this sounds to me now, I had normalised this lifestyle. I truly thought it was the only option (when in reality, I was a victim of lifestyle inflation and could have easily worked less by reducing my cost of living).

Unfortunately, working less never crossed my mind because, as an impressionable young adult, this isn’t what I saw others doing. No one I knew was choosing to intentionally slow down but I’ll make sure my daughter knows this is always an option.

I won’t teach my daughter to “work hard, play hard.”

One of my biggest gripes with how our culture views hard work is the implied message that more is always better. The expression might be “work hard, play hard” but let’s face it — the underlying message might as well be “work hard, so you can afford to spend more.”

I’m not anti-spending and if my daughter wants to own or do nice things, that’s up to her, but I’m going to teach her to be a mindful consumer. I don’t want her to be an emotional or reactionary spender as I once was, buying expensive shoes after a long day because “I deserved it” or splurging on expensive holidays because I was desperate to escape my life.

Instead, I’ll tell her it’s ok to prioritise rest and self-care when (or even before) she needs it. She doesn’t need to push herself to her limits before she deserves a break.

And finally, I won’t teach my daughter that hard work leads to success WITHOUT also having a conversation about defining “enough” and what it means to be successful.

I know this post might lead you to believe that I’m against hard work, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. I truly believe hard work is necessary for success, but I take issue with the way we spread this message.

You can’t have a discussion about hard work leading to success without also talking about defining “enough” and what it means to be successful. Without this balance, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of discontent.

I’ve been there myself; in my twenties, I had a good job, I owned my own townhome, and I lived a comfortable life—but I never felt satisfied. A voice inside of me kept telling me to work harder and whenever I stopped to rest, I felt guilty.

Looking back now, I can see I’d set myself up for failure. I’d never defined what success meant to me, so it didn’t matter how hard I worked, I was never going to achieve it and this is the problem with how we discuss hard work. I want my daughter to know that hard work is a means to achieve something that matters to you, not a constant state of being.

On a final note, I couldn’t end this without acknowledging how grateful I am for how hard my grandparents and mum have worked to give me a better life. Of course, it’s a privilege to be able to consider the role hard work plays in our lives and for some, it’s a case of survival, not choice.

Just make sure you’re not giving away your choice when you don’t need to.

---

Jennifer is the blogger behind Simply + Fiercely and author of Mindful Decluttering, a free guide and workbook to help you finally clear the clutter for good.

Hi friends! My trip to the UK is already halfway over! I’m learning so many things that I want to share, but am going to keep exploring the topics until I return in June. For now, here’s another guest post—this time by my friend Rachel. It is open and honest and deeply personal. But I also think it’s something many can relate to—and it includes some great questions to ask yourself before buying clothing, at the end! x

---

Seven years ago, I was a brand new high school graduate incredibly excited to start my next adventure at university. I had decided to live on residence in my first year and tried to prepare myself for independent living. I couldn’t wait for a little sanctuary of my own. I thought I was ready to take care of myself. Unfortunately, like many first-year students, living alone my eating and lifestyle habits changed for the worse.

I couldn’t be bothered to find time to eat well between classes, papers and keeping in touch with friends both old and new. Over the next six years of my education, I found myself using food as a tool to procrastinate, a treat for doing work I didn’t want to do or as a comfort when I felt alone or stressed out. I was so focused on doing well in school that I didn’t take time to exercise or sleep. Self-care was put on the back burner while I focused on grades. Unsurprisingly, the pounds slowly packed on. When I graduated from my post-graduate program, I was 90 lbs. heavier than the girl who was so excited to start university seven years ago. I was about to embark on the next phase of life and I didn’t want my own wellness to come last anymore.

I’ve started a journey to focus on my well-being and I’ve found myself faced with something I never had to think twice about before: clothes. Let me preface this by saying I’m not an advocate for weight loss, weight gain or any sort of “healthy” diet. Instead I want to share my journey to mindfulness when it comes to shopping for clothes at any weight.

Shopping at My Heaviest Weight

When I was at my heaviest weight, I struggled to find clothes I felt confident in that fit my new body. I was also in a new phase of my life, starting my first “grown up” job as an intern at an insurance company. My current wardrobe of sweatpants and leggings wouldn’t work at this organization and I was in the mindset that so many of us get into—I felt I needed to look the part to feel the part, especially as an intern wanting to make a good impression. The week before my first day I went shopping looking for business attire.

It was an eye-opening experience.

I was kind of worried, as I headed to the mall knowing I had gained some weight, but I decided to grin and bear it. I ventured into stores I used to frequent and found a very limited selection of items that fit. Anything that caught my eye was typically too small or too tight, even in the largest sizes. In the change room I struggled to get clothes on, asking my mom to find a bigger size, feeling exhausted. The thought of spending even more time looking for things I liked that also fit and feeling embarrassed in change rooms was overwhelming. I started buying anything that fit, whether I actually liked it or not. I wanted to be done with shopping, so I spent money on multiple items of clothing that didn’t make me feel good, simply because they were the right size.

When I started my internship the following week, I may have looked the part in business attire, but I certainly didn’t feel the part. I was wearing clothing that didn’t give me confidence. I felt like an imposter playing dress up in clothes that didn’t express who I was or what I wanted to say about myself as a young professional woman. I’m not one who believes in following trends or that an abundance of clothes is necessary for happiness, but I do think what you put on your body should express who you are and give you confidence—not the opposite.

So here I was, trapped with a wardrobe I hated that I had spent money on, all because I was frustrated and overwhelmed with shopping for my changed body. Looking back, I wish I had taken more time to do research and find stores that carried clothes for women of any size, places where I could take the time to find pieces I actually liked. If I had invested time instead of buying the first thing that fit, I would have felt more confident in my changed body.

Resisting the Urge to Binge Shop

Fast forward to a year later and I’ve lost 23 lbs. so far. I’m finally taking the time I deserve to focus on my mental and physical health by eating nutritious, whole, plant-based foods. I’m working with a registered dietician at my doctor’s office and my number one goal is to be healthy. I’m trying to be more conscious of the foods I consume, why I’m eating them (am I hungry or bored?) and making space in my calendar for walks in nature and enforcing a semi-strict bedtime. I’m no longer an intern and I’m working at a great company that values work/life balance.

These have all been positive improvements in my life and I feel good to have gotten back on the right track. But I’m still stuck with the same old problem: clothes.

I’m at a point in my journey to health where my clothes are getting loose and I’m feeling the urge to hit up the mall and load up my cart, simply because things will fit better. It’s an interesting juxtaposition to where I was a year ago, when the only reason I bought an item of clothing was because it fit. Now, I want to buy things because I know I’ll have choices. This is a battle I’ve been having internally and I know as I continue to lose weight it will only become more difficult.

Enter Mindfulness

This entire journey has taught me the importance of mindfulness when it comes to making purchases. Looking back, I wish I had done things differently, but this was an important lesson to learn. I’ve always thought of mindfulness as an important part of gratitude, but I never thought to let mindfulness influence how I behave as a consumer. 

At my heaviest weight, I was making purchasing choices out of fear and insecurity. I was spending money on clothes I didn’t necessarily like which also made me feel shame in my spending habits. I felt crushing negative energy from these choices when it didn’t need to be that way. There are retailers who sell clothes for plus size women, some with physical locations and many online. There were options I didn’t know I had, and if I had taken the time to do some research, I could have empowered myself to make purchasing decisions that I felt good about. 

I want to change my mindset by taking a mindful approach to shopping now that I’ve lost weight. I’m doing my best to wear the clothes I have until they are too big to stay on. My boyfriend’s mom is a seamstress and can take in a few items so they’ll last longer. I know I’ll need to buy new clothes eventually, but I want to make sure I get the most out of these pieces. Wearing these now will give me more time to make mindful decisions when I have to buy clothes in the future. 

It’s unbelievable how much there is to be mindful about when it comes to shopping! As I head into a weekend away, I realize I have almost no casual clothes to wear that fit. Working two jobs, 6 days a week means I’m almost always wearing business casual attire. Realizing this has helped me recognize a need in my wardrobe. Now when I do decide I’m ready to buy new clothes I know to look for a few casual pieces that are made well. 

Another way I’m hoping to be mindful about shopping in the future is by looking at quality and construction. I’ve spent too much money on fast fashion that wasn’t made to last. I’m hoping I can find some quality, ethically-made hidden gems at thrift stores. I’m also going to ask myself four questions before I make a clothing purchase:

1. Do I actually feel good in this? 
2. Am I only interested in this for a fast fashion trend? 
3. Does it seem to be well made? 
4. Will I get my money’s worth out of this piece? 

I hope by approaching each purchase with these questions in mind, I will feel good about the money I’m spending. In preparation for when I do need to buy new clothes, I’ve been cleaning out my closet and getting rid of items I’ve had around since high school that have been taking up physical and emotional storage in my life. I’m ready to move on from the past and embrace this next journey, with the help of empowered purchasing decisions. 

---

At 25 years old, Rachel is still figuring life out. She currently works a 9-5 as a marketing coordinator at a charity, with a side hustle in real estate. She’s passionate about animal rescue + putting her hands to work by creating. She lives just outside of Toronto with her rescue dog and two rescue cats. Her number one goal is to move to the country. As for a blog—she’s working on it.

Hi friends! My six-week adventure is coming to an end. I’m spending just a few more days in Ireland and London, then I’ll be on a plane and back home next Wednesday! I’m so grateful to everyone who wrote guest posts for me while I was gone, but I’m especially grateful to Ann who surprised me with this one. You might remember her first post on paying attention. This one feels even better (probably because I really needed it myself). x

---

Cait’s European adventures have had me thinking a lot about bravery recently. Mostly about how much I admire her for taking this trip and how I could probably never be that brave and how somewhere inside some dark part of me, I’m uncomfortably jealous of her. I keep telling myself how I could never save the money and book the ticket and get on the plane by myself and go on this grand adventure with just a backpack and some dear friends scattered across the globe.

But watching Cait’s travels through the lens of Instagram isn’t the truth. It’s my perception of it.

I admittedly don’t know Cait all that well. I’ve been a total fangirl and cheered on her success from afar over the last few years, and when I finally worked up the courage to reach out to her, I found she was just as kind and wonderful and normal and human as I hoped she was. And she could also be scared to death, like I feel most of the time. She taught me that by posting about crying in a ball on a hike at the exact moment I was sitting on my couch thinking, “Gah, I wish I could be brave like that.”

Cait isn’t the only one making me think of bravery lately. A few months ago, I found myself on the side of Highway 1 in Northern California, a couple of hours south of my new life in San Francisco. I was looking at Bixby Bridge, a concrete behemoth that sits a cool 260 feet high. I felt sick looking at it, and I felt even sicker when I saw a teenager dangling her legs over the edge and lazily smoking a cigarette. My first instinct was to call the cops and get her down from the ledge. To be clear, there wasn’t even a ledge. Or a walking lane. She had illegally (and I imagine calmly) walked up the bridge next to the speeding cars, and my law-abiding jaw dropped just thinking about it.

As I watched this teenage girl get smaller in the rearview mirror, I thought (again) how I could never be that brave. I’m not brave by any stretch of the imagination. I refuse to jump off anything even remotely high; I hate swimming in the ocean because I don’t know what’s beneath me; I get major anxiety when I drive on the highway; and I sometimes get terrified when my boyfriend leaves to teach high schoolers that something bad will happen and he won’t come back. The list sadly goes on.

All this obsession and jealousy and fear have made me realize bravery has changed for me over the years. Sure, it sometimes looks like a teenager lazily defying death and giving me heart palpitations as I beg my boyfriend to let me call the police to come save her. But it also looks like packing up the U-Haul and moving across the country last July when all that was waiting for us was five friends and one job between the two of us. It sometimes looks like connecting with strangers because you just have this feeling you’ll be friends and maybe you need some more friends in your life. I’ve had days where I let myself feel brave just by getting out of bed in the morning, because the world is scary and we don’t have a lot of say in it.

I guess bravery has become quieter for me lately. It’s not as overt or showy as it once was—or like it was that day on Bixby Bridge. Things like having a hard conversation with my boyfriend, or asking my new neighbor who seems nice to go on a hike, or even emailing Cait once upon a time to tell her I liked her blog, makes my heart race and my palms sweat just as much as jumping off the double dock into the lake used to when I was a kid.

And as much as I’d love to have more of a devil-may-care attitude where I walk out into the world totally fearless and unflappable, I’ve realized it simply isn’t in the cards for me. I’ll never be the one to jump off something scary and high into the water for fun. I’ll never jump out of a plane because I like the freefall. I’ll probably never tour Europe alone. And I’ll certainly never smoke a cigarette 260 feet above rushing water.

Back in January, I resolved to be braver in 2018. I was tired of feeling anxious all the time. I was tired of worrying that someone had died every single time my mom called before 8am. If I’ve learned anything over the last six months and over this past year in San Francisco, it’s that bravery is an incredibly hard thing to measure. It’s not a finite number of pounds to lose or a $10,000 raise at work, like other New Year’s resolutions I’ve made. 

And because I can’t technically measure it or cross it off my neatly organized to-do list, I’m giving myself permission to think of it in a new light.

Because leaving the people and places you love is brave. Moving 3,000 miles away from your family is brave. So is loving someone and choosing a life with them, knowing something bad can happen to any of us at any moment. So is calling your friend when you need to apologize, forgiving yourself for your mistakes, forgetting your pride, grappling with shame, and putting yourself out there. My bravery may be quieter these days, but it can still make my ears ring and my heart beat a little faster from the sheer power of it.

---

Ann is a writer based in San Francisco. You can connect with her on Instagram @anndesaussure, especially now that she’s learned not to check it ten times an hour.

“I think you should take some time off from sharing your life with the world.” Those are the words my new friend Saima said to me on my final day in London, and they were followed by a question. “What would it look like if you just wrote for yourself, for a little while?” I didn’t have an answer. We were sitting in her living room, relaxing while waiting for the sun to go down, so we could go out and she could break her fast during Ramadan. I couldn’t think of an answer to her question. The only thing I knew was that I was tired.

Earlier that morning, I had sent Saima a few text messages to warn her I wasn’t in my usual good spirits. I had also sent similar messages to my friend Bianca, before we met up with our mutual friend Laura that morning. After confessing to spending the previous night crying in my hotel bed, I told them I wanted to see them, but that I couldn’t promise I would be the best company. What I was really doing was forewarning them there was a good chance I would cry in front of them, and to please prepare now and forgive me for it then.

Both Bianca and Saima took care of me that day in a way I didn’t even know I needed. They picked the restaurants. Bianca got a better table. And then Saima did something I believe she’s skilled at, but which felt like the greatest gift of all: she ordered food for me. Food for us to share. This was something she’d done every time we’d gone out together, but it felt bigger that night. Like she could physically see the weight on my shoulders, and lifted just a little bit of it off by making a decision for me. I was beyond grateful.

The next day, I was stuck at Calgary International Airport for a lengthy six-hour layover. After finishing the second of the two books I’d started reading on my first flight, I popped my Canadian SIM card back into my phone and called a few friends to tell them I was almost home. The first call was to Azalea, who had been staying at my place in Squamish while I was away. I shared a few stories from my trip, then reiterated to her what I had said to Bianca and Saima—and told her about the question Saima had asked me.

What would it look like if you just wrote for yourself, for a little while?

As we talked about it, I realized it wasn’t that I didn’t have an answer to the question. It was that I didn’t like my answer. I have shared the details of my life on this blog for close to eight years. It started as a hobby, but has since become a part of me—and is now part of my job. And the thought of not writing and hitting publish made me feel really uncomfortable, not just because I worried about what people would think if I disappeared (although that was a concern) but because I literally didn’t know what it would look like if I just wrote for myself.

Azalea listened to this and let me ramble about all the different thoughts and ideas that had come up on my trip. Ideas for book #2, ideas for ways to make money (because writing books isn’t a get rich quick scheme), and thoughts about where I could travel to or live next. One of Azalea’s many gifts is making people feel seen and heard, so she listened and made me feel seen and heard. And then she gave me a different challenge. “Try not to make any big decisions for the next two weeks.” This also made me uncomfortable.

The reason those questions/challenges felt difficult was because I knew they would require me to sit with myself. To exercise the muscle I’ve been working on for the past five-and-a-half years: the one that usually twitches, reacts impulsively and wants to solve problems right away. I knew I would essentially have to do nothing, which felt impossible. There was external pressure to do more, more, more and to capitalize on the success of The Year of Less. There was also pressure to keep up with everything else I’d been doing before the book came out. And then there was the pressure I was putting on myself. How could I opt out for two weeks!?

Fortunately, jet lag forced me to slow down and take care of myself. It took a full week for me to properly recover and get a good night of sleep, so the first of those two weeks off was easy. After that, I realized I wasn’t feeling any clearer about what I was supposed to do next. I tried to write but couldn’t finish so much as a paragraph. I talked about things with friends but never found solutions. I needed some real space. So, I combined Saima + Azalea’s challenges and decided not to blog/post to Instagram/make any big decisions for two more weeks.

I committed to that idea on June 18th. As you can see from the date of this post, it’s been almost a month—and I still don’t feel ready to “return”. The same way opting out of buying stuff for two years taught me a lot about myself as a consumer, temporarily opting out of publishing content is giving me time to think about myself as a creator. Having that space has also allowed an incredible number of ideas to surface—some I had never thought of before, others I had pushed off for various reasons. They aren’t all good. But my home + my phone are cluttered with notes, and that feels like a step in the right direction.

So, at the moment, I think this is going to be the only blog post I publish this summer. I wanted to say hi + thanks to those of you who have reached out, as well as share a little bit of what I’ve been up to. :)

---

First of all, my trip to the UK was even better than I could have imagined. I visited England (it felt like home), Scotland and Ireland (rented a car and did a road trip!). The weather was unbelievable. Honestly, it felt like the sunshine followed me wherever I went. (If you’re not on Instagram, just pop over and see all the blue sky in my pictures. It was unreal.) And the amount of beauty and history I took in was overwhelming. But the best part of my trip—and most trips—was the people. I’m so grateful to everyone who made time for me and helped me have the best experience possible. You all know who you are, and I can’t wait to see you again.

Since coming home, I’ve been soaking up all the beauty in Squamish and thinking about something that’s been on my mind since I was in the UK: what if I didn’t have a home base? How could I take what I know about myself and combine it into an experience where I travel (slowly) full-time? Could I be a citizen of the world? I made one big decision and decided the answer is: it’s worth trying. People keep asking where I’m moving to next or what I’m going to do, and I have been avoiding the questions. I’m not trying to be vague or rude, I just don’t have the answers yet. All I know is that I will be leaving Squamish sometime in 2018 and heading out into the world.

(To go along with this, I have started the process of decluttering/selling my belongings.)

Another thing I don’t have answers about yet is what’s next for me work-wise—at least in terms of big projects. In late-June, I finished an optional proposal for book #2 and there are still a lot of question marks around how my publisher wants to move forward. The Year of Less has sold more than 47,000 copies (print, ebook + audiobook) around the world, which is unbelievable and has truly exceeded even my wildest dreams. But that still doesn’t mean anyone will want your next book idea. As I’ve been waiting to hear, my anxiety has been ultra-high, but I’ve been trying to accept that I can’t control what happens on this front.

So, on the topic of work I can control, I do have some fun news. I’m currently revising Mindful Budgeting and finally creating what so many of you have asked for: an evergreen planner so you can start using it anytime of the year! It feels amazing to be refreshing the content so it represents what I know today (compared to when I first launched it in 2015). If everything goes as planned, it should be available by the end of the summer.

I also started doing a content audit, where I’m going through every single one of the posts on this site and updating them in some way or simply deleting them. I started with more than 550 posts and currently have just 404—and I’ve only gone from 2011 through to mid-2014! I’ve made sure that anyone who is new to the site could still go back, read from the beginning and understand exactly how I got to where I am today. Nothing about my story is missing. I’m just clearing out all the posts that don’t add to it or help people. (This feels good, especially when you think about how much changes from age 25 to age 33!)

And on that note: I quietly celebrated my 33rd birthday on July 7th. :)

---

There’s so much more I could say and share, but this post is already way longer than I intended—and I really want to honour my original idea for it, which was to talk about the value of living through (and not always publicly sharing) the messiness of life. I still don’t know exactly why I was sad at the end of my trip. I think it probably had something to do with the fact that I’d been living on the edge of my comfort zone all year—mostly with work, but also with some of my travels. But I’m not going to force myself to find the answer. Instead, I’m giving myself some grace and accepting the fact that we simply can’t be happy all the time (even on vacation).

However, in saying that, I’ve also had a number of conversations with friends since I’ve been home, and I can’t help but notice that a similar theme keeps coming up over and over again. Those of us who have been publicly documenting our life/work/progress for many years are feeling like something has to change. Either we need to take more time off for ourselves, change the way/amount/frequency we share, or quit certain projects altogether. Because it’s starting to feel like it’s all becoming a bit too much, and that it would be nice to live a little more—and perhaps share a little less (or just share in a different way).

What does that mean for me? I still don’t know! Hence wanting to take more time off this summer, so I can keep thinking about this. So far, I can tell you that it’s still “scary” to think about disappearing for a few months. But it feels so much better than pressuring myself to stick to my old schedule or write insightful content. As I said in an interview with my friend Fiona, I don’t want to have all the answers right now. I just want to be honest. And if I’m honest, creating space for myself for the past month has felt like such a gift. I’ve cooked a ton of healthy food. Gone for lots of walks. Read a handful of books and listened to countless podcasts. And I’ve been writing for myself—and not sharing it with anyone. This space is where new insight/ideas have started to flourish. It’s costing me money and time to give it to myself, but putting pressure on myself would’ve cost me more.

The one thought I do want to share right now is more of a note for all content creators: we have an immense responsibility. There is so much “noise” online right now (and so much content, in general). The book has made me realize that the things we share can and will have an impact, and we are so lucky to be taking up any amount of time our audience is willing to give us. I want to take that seriously. I took book #1 seriously, in that I knew exactly what my intention was and the message I wanted people to take from it—and based on responses, I feel like I did my job. I want to bring that same intentionality into everything I do. That might mean I share less content for a while, but I’m hoping that will result in sharing better content later.

As for my personal life: I’m going to keep some of that to myself for a while, too. Because even though this year has been filled with some amazing events and milestones so far, it’s also been really mentally taxing. Penny recently wrote a post that took the scrambled thoughts I’ve had about this out of my mind and put them in the right order. She said: “When you are really in the midst of making progress, it is all-consuming. It is stressful, of course, but it is exhilarating. And it is virtually impossible to stop the process long enough to reflect on what is happening, let alone write or even call home about it. We don’t write in the mess. We live it.”

I don’t think I am a mess right now, but I am definitely making progress. Life is changing. Work is changing. Home is changing. Each one of those things is changing in a really big way, so combined it feels absolutely massive—and I’m not ready to share it all yet. I’m going to keep living through it, and talking it out with my closest friends/family, until I get a little clearer and find my way back to myself (or perhaps my new self). What I can tell you right now is that I don’t think I’ve cried since I’ve been home. In fact, for the past week, I’ve been putting headphones in, cranking up music, and dancing around my kitchen a couple times a day.

One of the last things Saima said to me in London was, “I don’t think your pain is a bad thing. I think it’s showing you that something you’re doing isn’t working.” Those two short sentences instantly calmed my anxiety and quite literally felt like they brought me back down to earth. It was like a reminder that I didn’t need to be sad about being sad (aka slip into depression). It was just time to pay attention and make some changes.

It’s a good thing I have lots of experience doing that. :)

It has been exactly 50 days since my last update; 127 days since I left for my adventure in the UK; 232 days since my first book came out. This year has been so different from what I expected, filled with decisions I didn’t know I would make. Yesterday, I woke up and deleted the 2,522-word post I had written for today. In it, I shared all the details that went into making this decision. I talked about the slow steps I took toward it, the mini adventures in opting out, and everything I was feeling about saying “goodbye” to this blog as a whole. Even though it’s all true, the thought of hitting publish on that post didn’t feel right. I woke up this morning knowing that the truest thing I could say is that it just feels like it’s time. I knew it when I shared my last update, and I still know it today, so that’s what I’m here to say. It’s time to let go of this blog. I’m ready to move on and start something new.

The “start something new” part of that sentence is what excites me most—and that’s why I’m moving towards it. It feels exciting. For most of this year, blogging has felt stale—and the internet, as a whole, hasn’t felt like the fun place to hangout with friends it once did. That’s not to say it doesn’t feel safe (though we could discuss that argument, and I have thoughts for both sides). It’s just not as fun anymore. I used to open up new browser tabs and visit people’s blogs like I was walking into their dorm rooms and sitting on their beds. Then we’d share life updates, what little bits of advice we had, and both walk away feeling like we’d had a great conversation with a friend. Now, it feels like every platform (blogs, social, etc.) is a place for people to shout and be heard. We have been told we need to build, grow, make money and have all the answers. We need to be experts.

I don’t want to be an expert. I just want to be a human.

I want to wake up and enjoy my slow mornings, with coffee in one hand and my journal in the other. I want to sit down and work, and not feel like it needs to be a productivity experiment that I should document. I want to go for long walks and spend time in nature, and not take pictures as proof. I want to get a good night of sleep and a bad night of sleep, and not turn it into a discussion on the internet. I want to date and celebrate milestones with the people in my life, and not share it with the world. I want to make big financial decisions and small financial decisions, and not have to justify them or worry what people will think. I want to have regular days and big days and happy days and sad days. I want to go through an experience and not wonder which parts would fit best into a blog post. I want to live and not share every detail anymore. I just want to be a human in this world.

Whether you’re a new reader who signed up after reading The Year of Less, or you’ve been with me since the beginning, you all know it’s taken a long time for me to get to this place. Eight years ago, I was 25 years old, maxed out with nearly $30,000 of debt, felt like a failure and cried myself to sleep at night. I relied on drinking, eating, and spending money to get me through most things. I wasn’t happy. I was lost. Today, I’m 33 years old, have some money in the bank, work for myself and sleep better. I’ve learned how to pay attention to what I’m doing, ask myself how I feel about it, and try new things until it feels like I’m on a better path. I’ve made so many changes and done so much hard work that I now trust myself to do what’s right for me. That comes with a certain level of confidence I didn’t have before. I’m not the same person I was 2,896 days ago. I have changed.

So, it makes sense that a different person would want to work on different things.

At the beginning of the year, I shared an idea that felt crazy at the time with my good friend J$: “I want to burn everything to the ground and start fresh.” We had just wrapped up three years of working together on Rockstar Finance, and he asked what I was going to do next. That was my response. I didn’t know what “everything” included or how I would burn it all down. I just had this feeling that it was time to let things go. Similar to the way you outgrow a job, because you are no longer being challenged or learning, I was ready for a new position. And ever so slowly, I have burned it all down and moved in that direction: my role at Rockstar, the blog’s Facebook page, my involvement with Simple Year, my podcast with Carrie, my Twitter profile. It’s all gone—and so far, none of my fears about letting each one go have actualized.

The blog is the final piece of the puzzle. It’s the biggest piece and the scariest one to remove, because it’s the first one I laid down and eventually built everything else around. When I first started writing anonymously as “blonde on a budget,” I never could’ve imagined my last post would read like this one. Thanks to this blog, and to all of you for reading, I have received opportunities I never could’ve dreamed of: freelance writing gigs, a full-time job, a chance to work for myself; fun collaborations with friends and mentors, ways to make money on the internet, opportunities to speak to people in-person—and a book deal. Every other publisher wanted TYOL to be a how-to book, but Hay House let me write it exactly how I wanted to. And then my old weekly spending reports somehow evolved into a deeply personal memoir that quickly became a bestseller—that still blows my mind.

This blog was an outlet that ultimately changed my career and my entire life. I don’t know if I will ever be able to find words to express my gratitude other than a simple “thank you”. Thank you to everyone who read the blog. Thank you to everyone who took the time to write a comment or email. Thank you to everyone who replied to other people’s comments, started conversations and built this community. Thank you to all my friends who wrote guest posts for me when I needed time off. And thank you to the friends who have collaborated with me during these past eight years. You have all helped me in more ways than I can list here, and I am so grateful for your time, energy, and attention. Now, I believe that the best thing I can do is continue to model what it means to live an intentional life. In this case, that means trusting my gut and letting go of my blog, even if it feels scary.

Because make no mistake: the idea of walking away from this blog does scare me. I’ve “lived here” for 2,896 days. That’s 2,896 days of checking blog stats, working on new posts and replying to comments. And 2,896 days of having at least one task related to maintaining this website. I spent the summer checking in with my fears and realized they weren’t much different than what comes up when we decide to let go of anything. Similar to the way we have to detach ourselves from our belongings in order to declutter, I’ve had to let go of whatever attachment my ego had to being a long-time blogger. I’ve had to remind myself that this blog doesn’t define me. I am not my pageviews or other stats. I am a human first, and a writer second. And it’s ok for the ways in which I share my words to change—that’s what we’ve been working on for the past eight years, right? Change. :)

Letting go isn’t easy. It’s a continual practice. Fortunately, when we intentionally create space in our lives, we can intentionally decide what to fill it with. I haven’t decided what I will fill all of my time with, because I want to remain open. But here’s what you can expect from me in 2018:

• a new newsletter that will not be about my life! I’ll be writing in seasons and taking chunks of time off, to honour myself + also to model what it means to listen to yourself and create boundaries in your life.
• the release of the Mindful Budgeting evergreen planner that will live on the site year-round and be available when you need it most. :)
• and then I’ll finish my proposal for book #2. After all that, I ended up telling my agent I needed time (and pressure) off from that too. Another decision that felt more “right” than scary.

Taking time off this summer created space for a growing list of ideas to enter my mind. Some of them include: a solo podcast, a collab with a group of women, and anything where I can make sure all contributors are paid equally. I don’t know which ideas I’ll work on yet, but I would be excited about any of them! The one thing I do know is that my personal life will no longer be at the centre of what I’m sharing. Now, I want to show up for all of you and help the best way I can. Also, aside from the newsletter, I’ll continue to spend a little time on Instagram. That’s the one online space I’ve really been enjoying in 2018, and I have a few ideas for ways we can connect more and build some community there. If you haven’t already, please say hi. :)

As for this website, it will always be my home base. But consider the blog to be nothing more than a place you can find simple updates, like product releases, book tour info, other events, etc. And with that, I think we’re done here, friends! My final post. Before I sign off, there are two messages I want to leave you with.

---

The first is a call for mindful creators. I’ve spent most of this year thinking about how we consume information, and believe more of us could stand to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. A shift is coming. If it hasn’t happened already, we are getting close to reaching what feels like a critical mass. There are too many blogs, websites, podcasts, videos, streaming services, etc. to keep up with. We, as consumers, are starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount of options out there. When it gets to be too much, I think we’re going to see people opt out altogether. They’ll unsubscribe, hit delete, and walk away. I say this because I’ve been doing it all year. As a collective, we are beginning to realize how limited our time, energy, and attention are—and creators need to respect that. If you don’t believe me, liken it to how much physical stuff we used to accumulate, and now how big the movement to declutter/simplify is. I truly believe a shift is coming. People want less but better.

What does this mean for creators? I obviously can’t predict the future, but I do think it’s time to start asking big questions and setting intentions for the work we do. For me, that starts with reminding myself that having an audience is both a gift and a responsibility. It’s incredible that people want to read/watch/listen to what you have to say. But don’t let the number of followers or pageviews or comments fool you. Your audience/platform is not your self-worth; it is a gift and a responsibility. Always remember that people are human beings first, and the content you share has the power to shift the way they think/feel. Be helpful. Be hopeful. Create the content you would want to consume. And really think about the messaging you’re putting out into the world. (Also, if you’re a new blogger, I still stand by all the tips I shared about how I slowly grew mine my own way.)

For that last point, I’ve found myself experiencing a growing frustration with some content in the minimalism/simple living space. In short: the solutions we are offering are way too simple. We can’t keep telling people that simplifying is going to solve all of their problems. The real work comes next and it is hard. Let’s have more conversations about that. And finally, the last thing I want to do is challenge creators in this space to see one huge disconnect in the work we do. We encourage people to do things like log off social media, yet we force ourselves to actively maintain profiles on every single platform. It’s like we’re offering “you don’t have to keep up” as good advice for others, but we can’t seem to give it to ourselves. Talk about mixed messaging. If you need someone to write you a permission slip to take a step back, I’ll do it and offer you something to think about: How do you consume content? What would your life/your work look like if you only created content in those spaces, instead?

Finally, a note for all the mindful consumers (which is basically a note to all humans). If you read those last three paragraphs in full, I would love to hear your thoughts on the overload of information out there. But more importantly, I just want to say this: you don’t have to keep up with it all. It is exhausting and anxiety-inducing—and it is physically impossible. You literally cannot read, watch and do everything. And also, remember that what consumes your mind controls your life and finances. So don’t buy into any of the messages that dig at your insecurities and make you feel less than. You are more than a consumer. If you feel overwhelmed but don’t know what to consume less of, start by paying attention to the content you consume, the way you consume it, and how it makes you feel. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t be afraid to make a change. Play around. Experiment. Create boundaries. Do what feels good to you. You have more control over this than you might think.

---

Ok, that’s it. For real this time—a new 2,500-word post, haha. I love you all. Thank you, forever.

I’ll see you on the next adventure.

xx Cait

The post Why I’m Retiring from Personal Blogging first appeared on Cait Flanders.

Three years ago, almost to this day, I went on my first Adventure Tuesday. I was newly self-employed and realized that, while I had bitten off more than I could chew and was still working too much, I really wanted to make spending time with friends in the outdoors a priority. After years of working full-time for a startup + blogging and freelancing on the side, I was done hustling. I wanted to spend more time with the people I loved doing the things we loved. And since one of the benefits of self-employment is that you’re able to set your own hours, that’s exactly what I did. I made my friends + the outdoors a priority, and pencilled in a standing date to explore a new town or trail with someone every Tuesday.

Approximately 156 Tuesday’s have passed, since then, and I can’t say I’ve gone on an adventure for each one. However, the intention behind Adventure Tuesday has stuck with me. To this day, I make sure there is breathing room in my calendar so I can say yes to walk/hike requests. This summer, I also made a bucket list of things I wanted to do and see in and around Squamish, and crossed most things off. I explored new areas, stepped on new trails, swam in new lakes. I made my friends + the outdoors a priority.

I’m not telling you this so you will lace up your shoes and head out. And this newsletter isn’t going to be filled with hiking tips or recaps of mine. Adventure Tuesday isn’t really about the outdoors at all. It’s about paying attention to your thoughts about how you want to be spending your time, and figuring out how you can turn them into realities. It’s also about setting healthier boundaries in your life, so you can show up for yourself and for others. I’ve made a lot of big changes in my life, over the past eight years. But putting Adventure Tuesday in the calendar felt like the first (tiny) step towards actively creating the life I wanted, rather than passively consuming the one I thought I should have.

That’s what I want to talk about in this season of Adventure Tuesday: the idea of creating vs. consuming. I want to talk about how we, as humans, are consumers. We consume non-stop around the clock, and it impacts our mindsets, our health, our money and our relationships. But we, as humans, are also creators. You might not think you create anything physical (and maybe you don’t really, aside from the meals you eat). However, you are a creative problem-solving human being, and that means you have a little more control over your life than you might currently believe.

This won’t be a how-to kind of newsletter. I’m not an expert, and I don’t have many answers about how or why we do things. What I am is a human with a lot of questions and ideas, and a writer who wants to share what she observes. (That’s what a writer’s job is, by the way: to observe and report back. It’s so simple. I won’t overcomplicate it.) I will do this by sharing stories: some mine, some others, and some things I research. I may also suggest the occasional “mini adventure” or “slow adventure” to dip your toes into the topics we discuss. But overall, the purpose of this newsletter is to share my thoughts, and hopefully have some great conversations with you each week. :)

Here’s what you can expect:

• a weekly email delivered every Tuesday from now until the end of November,
• we’ll take December off, and I’ll think about what the next season could look like,
• and when we reconnect in January, I may switch things up and write less frequently (bi-weekly instead of weekly) or change anything else so it feels like it’s working for all of us.

I meant what I said last week about not only respecting my own boundaries as a creator but also yours as a consumer, which is why I will always be questioning how I can best show up (including giving us all space). But if it ever gets to a point where you find yourself deleting the emails rather than reading them, exercise your ability to hit the unsubscribe button (which is always at the bottom). It is my hope that we will all develop and practice healthier consumption habits together, and I’m not afraid to say that might mean you eventually don’t need my emails. Pay attention to how the things you consume make you think and feel, and let go of anything that isn’t serving you. If I’m one of the things you let go of, that means our work together is done. :)

x Cait

October has shaped up to be a month of consuming content. Not creating much—just a lot of consuming. This seems to be what happens whenever I travel at a fast pace, which is exactly what’s happening right now. I spent 3 days in Washington, DC followed by 5 days in New York City. Tomorrow, I fly to Edmonton for 5 more days. And the week after that, I’m travelling to Richmond, Virginia for another few days. (Then I’m done for 2018.)

With all the travel and slow living experiments I’ve done, I’ve learned there’s a simple equation for how my output is impacted by the rate at which I’m moving through the world. It goes like this:

slow pace of life = create more

fast pace of life = create less

In this instance, “create” doesn’t just apply to content. It means the way I show up altogether. When I’m settled in, I cook more, try more new recipes, spend more time maintaining my relationships and so on. And that makes sense—the same way being busy often results in letting some of those things fall by the wayside. When I move too quickly, I feel like I can only manage what’s at the surface. But when I slow down, I can dive deeper—and that’s how I prefer to live.

The reason I love doing experiments is because they teach me so much about myself. Now, I just know: when I travel a lot, I probably won’t get much deep work done. But that doesn’t mean I’m not being productive. If anything, I’ve found myself reading/listening to more books, audiobooks and podcasts this month—and I’m getting pickier about what I consume. I want to consume content that inspires me, or at least makes me think. Like the interview with Louis, the can of cola.

I was recently introduced to the new podcast Everything Is Alive. Each episode is an interview with an inanimate object. Things you would find around your house or in your neighbourhood. A bar of soap, an elevator, a lamppost. Through a series of thoughtful questions, it shares its life story, and I have never listened to anything like it. It’s a fantastic podcast for hopeful minimalists, because it makes you think about how you would treat your belongings if they were alive.

The episode with Louis has really stuck with me. Without giving much away, I will just tell you that Louis has been sitting on the shelf for a long time. He’s a generic can of cola, so it seems he’s been forgotten—continually shoved to the back of the fridge. Where things took a turn for me was when the host, Ian, began to prompt Louis to talk about what his inevitable future is: to expire and be tossed out, or to be consumed. Louis’ answer to one question hit home.

Ian: When you think about being consumed by a human, do you think about the human you want to be in?

Louis: If and when I’m finally consumed, I hope I’m consumed by someone who enjoys it.

YES! Yes yes yes. So much food for thought (no pun intended). This is what I’m talking about!

He then goes on to say: Truthfully, here’s how I expect to go. Assuming that I am consumed, I’m expecting it’s going to happen in the middle of the night. Someone’s going to open the fridge and pull me out and that’ll be that. It would be nice to be poured into a nice big pint glass, you know? A frosty mug would be a pretty good way to go. That would be pleasant. I doubt that’s going to happen though.

If that doesn’t make you think twice about how you consume things. Wow. Louis isn’t looking so generic, after all.

Since this is a month of consuming for me, I thought I would share some of the things I’ve enjoyed. :)

---

Books

Company of One by Paul Jarvis – It comes out on January 15th, and if you read just the description you’ll know exactly why I love it so much. I seriously can’t wait for more people to read it, so we can have conversations about it. SOON!

Subliminal by Leonard Mlodinow – A look at how our subliminal brain (or unconscious mind) influences our experiences, how we view ourselves and others, and the meaning we attach to things. The cover alone is wild (you have to see it).

The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu – This is all about how our attention is captured (often by “free” information) and sold. It’s an entire industry. Blogging is part of it. I’m obsessed with this topic + anything Tim does, right now.

The End of Absence by Michael Harris – A look at how technology (like smartphones) has created what he calls a “loss of lack”—basically, we have no opportunities to be alone with our thoughts. He encourages us to take pleasure in those moments when we find them.

To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedidiah Jenkins – This is a memoir about his 14,000-mile bike ride from Oregon to Patagonia. I’m nearly halfway through the audiobook and never want it to end. Genuinely savouring this one.

---

Podcasts

Everything Is Alive – Unscripted interviews with inanimate objects. Aside from Louis the can of cola, I think Dennis the pillow and Paul the tooth were the two funniest guests. Enjoy the laughs—and deep thoughts.

How to Fail – Interviews with now successful writers about their careers, including all the mistakes and failures. I resonated with Jessie Burton and Olivia Laing, and am curious how the new episode with James Frey will be.

Hurry Slowly – My favourite podcast! The new season just started! I loved the episode with Priya Parker about the art of gathering. I really want to create some intentional gatherings for us in 2019, so I will read her book. :)

The Ezra Klein Show – I’ve listened to countless episodes of this podcast, and have now found myself digging into the archives. His interview with Tim Wu (Dec 20, 2016) was great. And listen to his chat with my friend Chris Bailey about his new book, Hyperfocus.

Waking Up – I’ve known about this podcast for years, but only started listening recently. Episode 136 on “digital humanism” gave me so much food for thought. Honestly, any interview you find with Jaron Lanier will be interesting. (Actually, Ezra Klein has had him on a few times! Check those out, too.)

---

TV (Pure Entertainment)

Follow This: Part 2 (Netflix) – There are two episodes that touch on topics we discuss here: (1) Tech Addict and (2) Teen Boss. Teen Boss is about teen “influencers” and it is particularly scary.

Killing Eve – I watched the first 4 episodes on my flight to DC and was hooked!

---

To end things on a delicious note, here’s a new recipe I tried and loved: magic garlicky tofu! The name says it all.

x Cait

This was originally shared in my newsletter.