Judy mentioned the buzz word “mindfulness” in a comment on March 30 and it got me wondering, what exactly is it? Can we put a finger on what makes someone mindful? For me, mindfulness means being present in, and making the most of, the moment. It’s a huge part of being mentally fit. Adding just 10 minutes of meditation each day to my morning routine has helped me with awareness and honing my thoughts. It may not mean the to-do list gets done faster (or written for that matter!) but I do feel more centred and focussed when needed.

There are many great blogs and websites promoting mindfulness in its many forms and I tend to gravitate towards the ones about living, and being happy, with less. Recently I came across this great site www.paris-to-go.com from Ariana Schwarz. I think I binge-read almost everything within a few days.

Part of me would love to be as extreme as she is with her wardrobe, with about 40 items in total, but when I look at the clothes I have, I love them (thanks to Marie Kondo’s method of asking “Does it spark joy?”) and couldn’t imagine parting with so much.

But then I do a 180 again and think how liberating it would be to have everything I own fit into my backpack, and then I flip again and think of all the current variety which allows me to be a chameleon. And as much as I’d love to live with just a few pieces, I love being able to change my look.

Other great blogs and websites I enjoy – about being mindful of our environment, our resources, our consumption, our health, our finances – are listed below. This is in no way a definitive list – there must be so many more out there, but these are the ones I look at regularly.

Living intentionally/Minimalism:

• bemorewithless by Courtney Carver
• livesimplysimplylive by Freda
• The Minimalists
• Zen Habits
• Miss Minimalist
• Becoming Minimalist
• The Private Life of a Girl
• TreeHugger
• The Art of Simple
• The Everyday Minimalist

The Tiny House Movement/Living Small:

• Life Edited
• This is the Little Life
• Tiny Project
• Rowdy Kittens
• Tiny House Blog
• Apartment Therapy
• Adventure Journal Weekend Cabin

Conscious consumerism:

• Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson
• Little Eco Footprints
• Free Our Kids
• Trash is for Tossers
• No Trash Project
• Wellness Mama
• Paris To Go
• The Rogue Ginger (added 29 July 2016)
• Going Zero Waste (added 29 July 2016)

Minimalist Fashion:

• Project 333 also by Courtney Carver
• Heroine Training
• Into Mind
• The Daily Connoisseur
• Un-Fancy
• Light by Coco
• This Stylish Life

Travelling Light:

• Exile Lifestyle
• Tynan
• The Art of Simple Travel
• Off the Blueprint
• Travel Fashion Girl
• Her Packing List

Financial goals:

• And Then We Saved
• Budget Bloggess
• Save Spend Splurge

These are all saved on my phone as my favourites, and wow, when I look at them all lined up like that, I now know where all my time goes every day! Ha! Not everyone posts regularly, so I should set up a system where I get an email when something new comes in, rather than checking on the sites all the time.

So there you have my reading list to do with minimalism, living with less so you appreciate more, living mindfully and trying to make as little impact as possible. I hope it leads you to new resources and ideas if you’re also on an intentional living journey.

Exercise today was 15 minutes on the step machine with the hand weights. I’d just had a shower and slathered myself in moisturiser (I know, all wrong!) and, boy, did I sweat! Leo was cooking tortilla too, so the heat from the kitchen added a few degrees to our warm little house and sweaty little me. It’s still horribly cool, windy and rainy outside.

Pastora and her husband Leandro (Leo and Leo in da house!) arrive soon for an afternoon and evening of painting hard boiled eggs, food, drinks and laughter. And all in German! Very much looking forward to that.

Wishing you a wonderful day. I hope you’re having fun with family and/or friends wherever you are.