A Holiday Compass

Thinking about trying to keep the holidays simple, I wanted to share my "compass" tool that I use for myself.. The "compass" refers to the grounding effect of the sacred number 4, the 4 directions, and reminds me that this is a compass to finding where I want my holiday to go and grow toward.

Here's how it works. Before the holiday craziness takes over (too late? that's OK, do it anyway!), take out a sheet of paper and number 1-4, 4 times. Fill out the following... (I've shared my answers this year with you...)

What are the most important feelings I want to create this holiday season?
1 Grace
2 Relaxation
3 Joy
4 Coziness

What are the most important events that I want to participate in this holiday season?
1 Visiting family
2 Friendsgiving dinner at our home
3 Attending the Nutcracker
4 Spending lots and lots of time in front of the fireplace with a cat on my lap

What are the most important traditions I want to preserve this holiday season?
1 Charitable Giving
2 Winter Solstice candlelight prayers and meditation
3 Christmas Eve chili supper and movie night
4 New Years Day introspection/ journaling/ intention setting

What are a few things I can let go of to help make room for the things I care about? 
1 The need to be perfect at all of this
2 Buying too much and for too many
3 Black Friday spending
4 Guilt for eating too many treats

I recommend keeping this list somewhere you can refer to it often during this busy season. Perhaps even make a couple of copies and keep one in the car, one on your nightstand, one taped to the bathroom mirror... etc. It can help you stay centered on what you want to focus on, and remind you that so much of the drama surrounding the holidays is just noise. You are in charge of your holiday, you can choose simplicity.

Do you like this compass tool? What are you focusing on this holiday season? Let me know in the comments!

The portrait of our first Maine Coon, Kinnug, was expertly painted by Kelsey Anne Piesch.
The kitty pictured above is our current floof, Arowen. 

Keeping a Pantry

In our lives, we can often point to significant events that have shaped us and our lifestyle. An amazing book, a powerful speaker, an experience in nature - these are all things that can have a strong impact. Would you believe that a force in my recent history has been living in a house with a closet in which to store food?!

If that doesn't sound so amazing to you, perhaps read this article.

I know that part of the peace I experience when gazing at the rows of cans and jars is completely rational, but there's a emotional component as well. Perhaps it's a simple as the fact that I grew up poor and I am calmed by the concept of "more than enough." Perhaps it's the lingering connection of knowing I grew a lot of this food, and it keeps me tied to the Earth and the garden. Or, perhaps it's just that I like to organize things and the tidy rows of jars are soothing. Regardless, my pantry is peace of mind for me and every time I go in it, I feel good.

Do you have space for a pantry? Below are articles on how to find, build, or repurpose space for food storage:

Creating a pantry in a rental
I have a similar style, with like items grouped in baskets that hide clutter.

Creating the perfect pantry
I love the pull-out pantry in this article!

Whether or not you're into the idea of prepping for a disaster (natural or financial), you can learn a lot about food storage from preppers. (And if you don't have at least a week's worth of food and water stored at your house, please get on that!)

52 weeks of prepping
The author of The Prepper's Blueprint has generously left up her 52 week guide for free. Every week you buy a couple of items and do a few simple tasks to help prepare your household for a disaster.

How to plan a 3 month food supply
This is way too much math for me, but extremely useful and I'm sure some of you will enjoy the process of all those calculations.

7 Mistakes of food storage
Good food for thought about how to avoid some common mistakes here

Look for more info about my pantry and how I manage it in upcoming posts! I'll add links here as the series grows.

Sophie wants to be sure you have enough food and water stored for your pets too!