The Life That You Want

What is the life you want? Its a question that requires serious contemplation. Its a question that requires time being taken out to really focus on it. What is the life you want?

As I read the question on the page, it really stood out for me. It is a question that goes beyond just seeing the here and now, and it is a question that possibly too few people really give genuine consideration to.

In his book, It's All Too Much, author and organising guru Peter Walsh does not approach helping people achieve transformation in their lives just by getting them to do some decluttering or reorganizing their worldly possessions. Instead, he confronts people with a thought provoking and life changing question: What is the life that you want?

This question really is a deal breaking question. It is a question that stops the craziness of going round and round in circles and not really thinking about the way in which we currently are using our time, energy and resources.

A life that you want. Not the life that is being lived by someone else, such as someone famous. A life that is your life. A life that is deemed to be better and a more perfect fit for you. A life that you want to live during the one lifetime that you have.

As I gaze with some dread upon piles of papers and boxes of odds and ends that all need attention on the decluttering front, this question has really reasonated. When looking at one's home and possessions and the habits engaged in again and again, through the lens of this very question, somehow clarity seems to come through so much more sharper.

 It is a question that really and truly helps give greater clarity.

What is the purpose of this particular room, this cupboard, this drawer?

What is the purpose of this particular item I keep holding on to and which is taking up valuable real estate space in my home?

Is it appropriate that I am keeping it, in light of the life that I want?

Is it appropriate that I am storing away these items that have no actual purposeful daily use, and they don't let me achieve the life that I really want, in some measure right now?

Does each and every aspect of my current home situation serve the life that I want, and could start stepping into, right at this present moment?

What is the life that you want? It is really and truly a game changing question.

I am sure Peter Walsh is not suggesting that we suddenly all throw in the towel and do something outlandish, because having the life that is wanted is not about suddenly throwing the baby out with the bath water, to use a coined phrase.

No! The life that is wanted can be garnered by determining what are our actual real, true and desired priorities and making a conscious effort to move towards them, right now, today!

We need to stop making excuses, stop feeling sad and sorry for ourselves, and actively and consciously step by step, work towards working out the life that is wanted, from this moment forward. Each step, no matter how small, is a step closer to achieving the life wanted.

No one else can give you the life that you want. You know the life that you want, so it is completely up to you to take the first, the second and every other step after that towards having the life that you want.

Having the life that you want requires some adjustments to be made. Adjustments in thinking. Adjustments in the habitual practices engaged in day by day. Adjustments that lead to the desired goal. Adjustments that will allow for the better matching of that which is truly deserving of our time, energy and money and what it is that we ourselves are actually daily putting time, energy and at times money into! We can want it and we can endeavour to make the changes required.

Facing up to and getting rid of the various hurdles that prevent us from having the life that we want, can only be a good thing. Figuring them out, addressing them face on, will allow for the correct and true direction being sought to be followed.

If I want my child to take responsibility for feeding the dog, I need to implement it today. They need to start feeding the dog today. I need to show them the portion of food, how to put it out, how to clean up afterwards. I need to parent them step by step through the journey of having them take full responsibility for feeding the dog each and every day. Rather than get frustrated and annoyed, I just need to keep on with the keeping on of training up my child, until they get how it is done and they can fully run with doing the job independently.

If we want our bedroom to be a sanctuary and place of rest and recuperation, then we need to remove the piles of laundry off the chair and make an effort not to keep on with that habit. We need to regularly change the bed linen so that it is fresh and clean. We need to actually make the bed (no excuses!), so it always looks inviting because we want a life in which our bedrooms are a sanctuary and a place of rest and recuperation always. We need to add the little decor touches that soothe and calm and are restful for our eyes. We need to consider the overall smell of the room, the noise level, the feel of textures. We need to do what we can, to set in place what it is that we want.

Having the life that you want involves doing what is needed to see that little by little it is made a reality. Each day leads to the next, and each step leads to the desired end result: having the life that you want.

Yes, it takes work. Yes, it takes time, it takes energy and resources to have the life that you want, but it is worth it.

What is the life that you want? It is a question that is incredibly thought provoking and habit challenging.

Newsflash: Household Logistics is now on Youtube!

Hello Online Friends & Readers!

There are new and (very) exciting things underway here at Household Logistics, which I am very much looking forward to sharing with you all.

After literally hours and hours of behind the scenes video and picture editing, I am super excited to share with you that the very first Household Logistics video is now up and running on Youtube.

It is such a super big, superdooper exciting new step! (You can tell I am really delighted and just plain excited about it right?!)

Yes! There is now not only the Household Logistics Blog, but also a Household Logistics Youtube Channel!

It has been an exciting step to take, to now also have a Household Logistics Youtube Channel as well, with its very first video upload online. 

No doubt there will be lots of ideas about what to share on the channel. Plus, there will be lots to learn about actually having a Youtube Channel, as the channel gets going and growing.

But, as much as there will be a lot of learning ahead, I am at this moment just enjoying the excitement surrounding this rather wonderful new aspect, to the online adventure, that Household Logistics is proving to be.

I am really very excited about some of the ideas that are already percolating for the Household Logistics Youtube Channel. (Mmmmmmm... how many times can I get away with using the word 'excited' in this one blog post, I wonder?) 

Ideas about taking some of what I have already shared here as blog posts and perhaps revisit what worked well, or perhaps is due for an update on the home organization front, and to do so in a video format.

There are ideas already percolating about how to go about sharing via video format the current projects being carried out to redecorate our home.

There are ideas about how to go about sharing about new routines and household management strategies I am trialling and finding very helpful.

There are ideas percolating about how to go about sharing aspects of the ongoing decluttering journey being engaged in here on the homefront. How to share time management tips I am finding really good, as well as the ongoing progress in our backyard garden.

Thoughts about how to go about sharing budget friendly recipes perhaps in a step by step video tutorial format....... 

How to possibly share via video some of the frugal and healthy living practices we are practising as a one income family, a homeschooling family and a family with some significant health issues that at times need extra consideration....

Ideas about how to go about sharing the progress on the DIY Diva Projects that are every so often being engaged in here in our neck-of-the-woods.....

Well, like I said, there are lots of ideas coming to mind about what could be shared, via both the Household Logistics Blog AND the Household Logistics Youtube Channel. I look forward to working towards making those ideas come to fruition.

It has definitely been quite a learning curve getting to the stage of posting up the first actual video on the Household Logistics Youtube Channel. 

It has been a challenge and also fun at the same time, as I go about mastering all the technical aspects of piecing video footage together for continuity. It has been quite something to get my head around all that is involved to add in the extras of film-making like subtitles, music, visual overlays, etc.

It has been a challenge, it has been fun, and I have definitely been learning something that is totally new to me! (The mind boggles thinking how many hours actual blockbuster movie-makers must spend on editing their film endeavours!!!).

At this stage, I don't envisage doing a lot of in front of camera vlogging (I am rather a shy gal), however, we shall see how it all goes and what does work best for each specific video's content.

I do plan to explore a number of filming styles and approaches to share content, which will hopefully provide an interesting and good viewing experience for the viewer each time. 

I hope you will all continue to enjoy the various blog posts here at the Household Logistics Blog, AND go and check out the Youtube channel also and support it in its early stages.

The first uploaded video on the Household Logistics Youtube Channel is actually more of a photographic montage with subtitles, rather than actual action-filled video footage. (I hope that explanation makes sense).

I hope you will be as excited about this new aspect to Household Logistics as I am. It is a new year, and having a Youtube Channel is a new and exciting media adventure for sure!

When it comes to trying to determine how best to keep up with the latest posts on the Household Logistics Blog AND also at the Household Logistics Youtube Channel, I would highly recommend you check out what is regularly posted on the Household Logistics Facebook Page. 

The Household Logistics Facebook Page will profile what is new on both the blog and the channel sites.

If you decide you would like to receive a direct email notification, about what is uploaded to the Household Logistics Youtube Channel, you can click here and actually subscribe to the channel. 

That way, any time there is a new video on the channel, you will receive direct notification, via your email account.

You can of course, also follow the Household Logistics Facebook Page by subscribing to that page, so you are kept up to date with what is posted over there. 

To do so, you can click here. I highly recommend setting up a subscription to keep up to date.

Thanks so much for being part of this journey, as you join me here at Household Logistics. 

Each encouraging comment received means a great deal and is very much appreciated. Thank you to all those who have at various times sent them.

So, without further ado, Online Friends...... May you celebrate these new exciting steps with me, and go on over to check out the first uploaded video, over at the Household Logistics Youtube Channel. It is an update on our household's gardening endeavours.

Have a lovely week, Everyone.

Garden Goodness

If you have read any number of posts here in my small section of Blogland, you will have figured out by now that I really love spending time in my garden. I also really enjoy catching up on what other gardeners are doing, and hearing about what has been achieved and learnt.

Being able to chat with family and friends who have a common interest in growing all things green and gorgeous is always of interest to me. It has been my experience, that people who enjoy gardening are more than happy to take an informal tour of each other gardens, and exchange stories about how things are going season by season. We learn so much from each other's gardening adventures, and often gain a small handful of seed or seedlings, which are kindly passed on, in the process also.

Recently I received an envelope of garden goodness (aka as a selection of home harvested seeds) from Jen Morris, who is a fellow New Zealand blogger who also really enjoys being out and about in her own lovely garden, down the line in the Taranaki Region.

I have been keen to add more flowering plants to my own backyard garden for some time, in order to attract more pollinators to visit. So what flower seed Jen did include in the set of seed she sent to me is sure to be really beneficial, to help extend the current range in our garden.

I look forward to getting these various varieties sown and seeing the range of flowers come to fruition. Thanks again, Jen. Your gift of home harvested seed was, and is, highly appreciated.

For those interested, you can check out what Jen is actually doing in her garden, season by season, via her regular vlog posts over at her Youtube Channel, 'A Thousand Words'. Here is the link to the tour of her backyard for last Spring, for those of you interested in checking it out: Garden Tour: Spring 2017. She has posted several seasonal tours and they are each interesting to view.

Jen has done a lot of hard work in her Taranaki based garden, with the support of her husband Grant. Together they have created a lush and attractive garden, with both homegrown produce and a diverse range of flowers also.

Her gardening journey has been very interesting to follow via her blog and vlog posts. As a fellow backyard gardening enthusiast also with a limited budget, I have particularly appreciated seeing how she goes about using innovation and frugal approaches to resolving various aspects of keeping and setting up a backyard food source for her and her family. It really is wonderful being able to source ideas from others online and learn from their experiences.

The truly wonderful thing about the internet and online community is that we can all learn from each other. Sometimes we can also not only share our gained wisdom and knowledge, but also at times pool resources also, if locality, time and resources allows for it. Sometimes an online network and community proves to be a very helpful and resource-filled means of supporting others and their endeavours.

Sometime ago I had sent Jen a parcel of home harvested seeds myself, so it was rather lovely to get a reciprocal selection sent through from Jen herself for my own garden. It is always fun and nice to add to one's own garden through exchanges with others when possible.

Seed exchanges really do help gardeners extend their repertoire of seeds and plants. Sharing our experiences and learning from each other provides a rich and diverse knowledge base to tap into also.

To date, the community of gardeners I have gotten to know, both locally and nationally, have all proved to be generous and friendly people. We are a group of people who have the common bond of really loving being outdoors, and seeing just what can be achieved with abit of dirt and a handful of seed, etc.

I am currently working away at putting together a video soon of our own backyard gardening endeavours, and it will nice to share this with you all, once it is completed. It will no doubt be a lovely way to record the seasonal changes and seasonal crop rotations in our own backyard garden, and in time to look back in time and see just what has been achieved.

There really is nothing quite like having delicious homegrown vegies and fruit growing, as well as diverse boughs of floral colour in your own neck-of-the-woods.

Do check out what Jen is doing in Taranaki via her video vlogs on her Youtube Channel, and we will soon enjoy sharing with you a video of our very own backyard adventure also.