10 changes for women to make in 2015

Before I had Phoenix, I didn’t care about anything but making enough money to have fun.

My life began in the summer of 2013 when I found out I was pregnant. I finally had a reason to do more with my life than just play.

I knew I had so much more potential before I had a child, and when I did, my life improved because it wasn’t about me anymore. I couldn’t just run off to Europe if something bad happened. Having a baby and being successful in life don’t necessarily relate to eachother; but for me , having Phoenix gave me a reason to put more than an iota of effort into my life.

Life overall has gotten way better. I treat my body better, I treat my business better, and I have my very own family.

2014 was full of pivotal moments. I got engaged, spent my first year working with a baby (now toddler), and expanded my business.

As my life continues to improve and get on track, I get more inspired to make it better and better– in my professional life and my personal life. Needless to say, the New Year has motivated me to make more positive changes for my home, family, and the environment.

For 2015 my focus is on using less. I have always been a minimalist, but this year I’m taking some extra steps to live a healthier and more simple life.

I’d like to share these with you in this blog.

Here are 10 super easy changes I implemented right away:

1. Tossed my microwave. This was completely personal to me, I don’t know how much science supports (or doesn’t support) whether microwaves are actually bad for us. I wanted to simplify and cut down on the crap I have in my kitchen. I trust old fashioned heating methods over fire and I lived for 7 years without a microwave, so It made sense for my home. So far, I don’t miss it. The benefits of not having a microwave are:
   1. One less thing in the kitchen
   2. No more microwave food in my home ( my guilty pleasure)
   3. Food tastes better and has a better texture when heated on the stove or in the oven.
2. Switched from Chap-stick to Cocoa Butter. In an effort to cut as many chemicals from my life and further simplify my beauty and cleaning routine, I’m replacing as many store-bought products with homemade products. I’ve been using cocoa butter for about a week and my lips are no longer dry. I also use it on my elbows and around my eyes.
3. Replaced store bought face lotion with aloe and coconut oil. I’m not getting any younger. I am approaching 30.  I want to use as many gentle, natural ingredients on my body as possible so as to not confuse my skin and hormones. The uses of coconut are endless. I use it on my whole body, as well as for cooking.
4. Started making my own coffee creamer. This was a no-brainer, as it eliminated my use of splenda, and whatever other ingredients come in store-bought creamer. I knew it was a pretty basic recipe of evaporated milk and almond milk, so I went with the first recipe I found. The website was so cute, I just had to use her recipe. Find it here on Dashing Dish. — My ‘take it a step further’ goal is to drink tea instead of coffee, but I still have coffee here and there.
5. Nixed artificial sweetener and switched to agave. It’s kinda hard to switch from low calorie products that are terrible for you, because they’re so damn convenient, but I’m using less of the full-fat products and eliminating toxins from my sweetener.  I feel good about it. We’ll see what the scale looks like after a month.
6. Sacked Paper Towels and started using cloth instead. I was sans microwave and paper towels for 7 years and didn’t miss it at all so this was another easy switch. It makes me happy to know I’m not wasting so much paper.
7. Started reading ingredients on food. I’m paying more attention to what I put into and on my body. My rule of thumb for food is I try and either make it myself, or get the product with the least ingredients/processing.
8. Stopped Jam-Packing my refrigerator.  I am trying to use what I already have and take more small trips to the grocery store instead of one big trip per week. The ingredients are more fresh this way and everything is more planned. Also, we have a small business market in our neighborhood that has local and in-season produce. It’s like a triple whammy.
9. Stopped shooting for perfect, and started accepting good enough. I have so much to do that it’s impossible to do anything perfectly. If I get wrapped up in a small detail, nothing gets accomplished so I am working on accepting ‘good enough’
10. Streamlined my business. I restructured my pricing, my services, and my website layout, making it more user-friendly for people to navigate and easy to understand what I do and how they can work with me.

This is a small part of a much bigger plan for my life. I’m feeling AMAZING about 2015 , and I am so happy you’re a part of it.

What are you excited about doing this year?