Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day—a day associated with love, romance…and chocolate. This year Valentine’s Day falls on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent and a day of fasting and abstinence for Roman Catholics. Last year, I successfully gave up candy for Lent. What do you think? Can I crush the candy cravings and do it again?
The Sunday Spark – Do you miss dressing up to go out?
In this week’s Sunday Spark, how a Wordless Wednesday blog post inspired a trip down memory lane to the days when people used to dress up to go out. Plus: making fillable PDFs, the brain benefits of exercise, the value of e-waste—and closet decluttering continues.
Decluttering challenge – Week 6 – Shirts & blouses
Can you believe we’re already at week 6 of the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge? Last week, we made a start on our closet decluttering with the bottoms—pants, skirts, dresses and shorts. In this week’s closet clear-out, we’re looking at tops—shirts, blouses, dressy sweaters and pullovers.
January 2024 roundup – Great reads and goals update
January was a strange month. In some ways it flew by, but the dreary foggy weather made it feel long at the same time. Let’s hope we see the sun a little more in February.
Read on for my monthly goals update, and terrific posts on kitchen scrap gardening, being a responsible steward when visiting nature reserves, and Canned Food Month.
The Sunday Spark – Dry Feb is underway!
February is here so it’s the start of Dry Feb—a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society where participants pledge to give up alcohol for a month.
In this week’s edition of The Sunday Spark, why I decided to do Dry Feb. Plus: the positive health impact of Ikigai, the brain-based benefits of writing longhand, Norway’s success in electric vehicle adoption, and closet decluttering.
Decluttering challenge – Week 5 – Closet decluttering
Starting this week, we’re turning our decluttering focus to a big problem area for many—closets and clothing. The week of February 8 to 14 is Secondhand Wardrobe Week. What better way to mark the occasion than making a start on our closet decluttering!
It’s cold outside – The difference between weather and climate
The Climate Change Collective is an initiative where the blogging community unites behind a common goal—spreading awareness of environmental issues. This month, I have the pleasure of writing the lead post. It’s about a distinction many people don’t make when the temperature turns cold in winter—the difference between weather and climate.
The Sunday Spark – Am I ready to be an empty nester?
Earlier this week my daughter left for an extended work trip. It’s quiet around the house without her, which has me asking the question all parents ask at some point: Am I ready be be an empty nester?
In addition to pondering filling the empty nest, the 50th edition of The Sunday Spark discusses rising sugar prices, The Carbon Almanac’s kids page, the reducetarian diet, and decluttering kitchen counters.
Decluttering challenge – Week 4 – Kitchen counters
We’ve made it to week 4 of the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge. This week, we’ll take advantage of that space we’ve freed up in our cupboards and drawers over the last couple of weeks. Today, we organize and declutter the kitchen counters.
60 before 60 progress update #2
When I celebrated my 59th birthday in July, I decided to do something a little fun and different in my 60th year. I made a list of 60 things I wanted to do before my 60th birthday and shared it here to keep myself accountable. Halfway through the year, here’s how things are shaping up…