If you’re preparing for an international trip, you might assume that you need to check a bag. There’s all kinds of stuff you need to bring with you when you’re flying overseas, right? I used to feel that way, too. But it’s not true. Your packing list for international travel doesn’t have to be that much different from your list for a domestic trip. I’ve written before about how, through the process of traveling to 45 countries and taking hundreds of flights, I managed to transform from a chronic over-packer to a carry-on-only traveler. In that post, I shared a generic one-week vacation packing list. Here, I’d like to focus on international travel specifically, since there are a few extras you’ll need to consider when packing. But there are also a lot…
-
-
Inspired Essentialism is about helping us discover what is most important to us in order to live more intentional lives. Personality typology is a theme I touch on often because it’s such a useful tool for each of us as individuals to narrow down our purpose. These systems give us a framework for analyzing our motivations and gaining the self-knowledge required to sort out what’s important to us versus what others have told us is important. The Enneagram is one of those tools. I’ve written about the Enneagram types through the lens of minimalism and essentialism before. But you may be wondering what books about the enneagram you should read to learn more. To summarize, the Enneagram describes nine personality types, each based on a core fear and…
-
Tackling a massive wardrobe is one of the most intimidating tasks involved in a home declutter. Whether you’re starting a minimalist journey or you just want to be able to shut your closet doors without brute force, you’ll need to approach this project with a strategy. But it doesn’t have to be painful! Below, we’ll cover tips for how to organize the clothes in your closet so you never have to do it again. I used to spend hours on a weekend organizing the clothes in my closet, even spending money on storage bins and painstakingly labeling things. And somehow every time, within weeks, it would be an unmanageable mess again. It was beyond frustrating. And I know from living with and talking to others – both women and men – that I wasn’t alone…
-
So, you want to live a more intentional life? Your first baby step is to journal. Journaling can be a powerful tool for self-reflection. Setting aside dedicated time to ponder a question and write out your answer can lead to some fascinating discoveries. If you already have a journaling habit, you know that your answer to a prompt can really surprise you! I crafted the self-reflection journal prompts below to address questions we all need to ask, but most of us avoid. I’ve written before about the importance of sorting your top priorities from lower-value activities you spend time and energy on. That sounds simple, but it’s no easy task. Many of your “fluff” activities are valuable and enjoyable in their own ways. It’s nonetheless…
-
So, you’re planning on traveling with a newborn. It’s an intimidating task to plan, especially if this is your first kid. But it’s actually not that scary if you’re prepared with a bit of knowledge and some newborn travel essentials. In fact, I recommend traveling while your baby is still in the newborn phase, because it actually gets harder when they’re a bit older – moving more and sleeping less. I’ve shared in a previous post some tips for traveling light with a baby. The focus of that post was keeping the products you’re packing to a minimum. Newborns require a lot. If you don’t know which products are truly essential, you can end up weighed down by tons of baggage for even a short trip. So, what are the newborn travel essentials that…
