What Worked For Me In 2014

I've seen several different posts of this style around the interwebs and really enjoyed them. I know we're nearly halfway through January, but I wanted to do one of my own anyway! I tried a lot of things in 2014, some of which worked, and some of which didn't. Here are a handful of the things that really did:

1. Life Editing & Customized Storage

This is an excellent example of the kinds of awesome things
my husband made for me. Getting the dogs' water bowl off
the floor has eliminated the slopping all over our beautiful
hardwood and made it so much faster to sweep/mop!

In 2014, we did some serious "editing" of our stuff. We tossed or donated a ton of stuff, and the house feels noticeably cleaner and calmer. In conjunction with those efforts, my amazingly handy and creative husband created a ton of customized storage and solutions for me! All year, he patiently listened to my ideas about what I wanted to better organize our home, and then disappeared into his workshop and returned with shiny things! Drawer dividers (that revolutionized my kitchen), custom shelving, beautiful wood storage boxes - his ingenuity has streamlined daily tasks and made a huge difference.

2. Working From Home
In September I officially made working from home the new normal. I only went into the office for deadline days or other special circumstances. It worked out to be a God-send on multiple fronts.

3. Rolling Menus
I'm all about meal planning. (I know, massive understatement.) But last year I largely shifted from day-based meal planning to prepping a bunch of meals on the weekend (or a free weekday) and making a list of available pre-prepped and no-prep meal options for the week. Each day I'd pick which one to make based on what actually cropped up. It worked surprisingly well, and I'm rolling it into 2015.

4. Glider Coffee
For my birthday, my husband bought me a beautiful glider. We parked it squarely in view of the garden and the forest. After dinner or on weekend mornings, we'd take our drinks outside to enjoy the fresh air and quiet, and it was awesome! (The dogs were especially fond of this practice, as it meant a dramatic increase in frisbee time for them. They were quite offended on nights we couldn't go out and relax for at least a few minutes!)

5. Nutrition Training!
I've been looking at the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner certification course for several years. This past summer, the timing finally seemed right and I signed up. It has been a time and effort-intensive program, but has drastically exceeded my already high expectations. I'm only halfway through, and it has already changed my life.

6. A Layered Haircut
Near the end of the year, I got layers cut into my hair. Although I lost a little more length than I wanted (because the ends were so damaged and had to come off), I love the layers! They give my hair some shape and give me more flexibility in hairstyles. I don't feel like I have to come up with some kind of twist or braid or something to look put together, but I can still do twists and braids when I want.

That's a peek at what worked best for me in 2014. I look forward to finding some equally great changes/solutions in 2015!