This book was just given to me by a wonderful local Financial Planner, Lara Austin,   (www.laraaustin.com) and it has been a hit with me. What I love so much about this book are two things. One is that it is an easily read and easily understood book with a great deal of common sense and secondly it is all about the readers values, NOT a financial planner’s or a guru’s values; your values. The author asks key questions such as “What’s important about money to you?” The answers to these and other questions as you move through the book, will assist you in developing and creating a Financial Road Map using the right approach for you. The Financial Road map you create will reflect the values you hold dear to you as well as your financial plan built on the foundation of those values. If you are wanting more specific information about Values Based Financial planning you can contact Lara directly at lara.Austin@rbc.com  Thanks Lara for sharing this book with us.

I love moving.  Starting over, and getting reacquainted with all my stuff.   We decided after the birth of our first baby to further simplify our lives by downsizing to a home that is 1000sq. ft. smaller on half the land.  Less space to fill with stuff and less garden area means more freedom to enjoy our time together playing instead of working.   A great lifestyle choice and a challenge too.  First we decided to attack all the extra belongings that wouldn’t fit in the new place.  I kept asking myself - if this got lost in the move would anyone care, notice, or replace it?  If not then off it went to the garage sale or charity bins.  We had a garage sale a month before the move.  We were ruthless; dishes, art, ski gear, books and CD’s were carted away by poor suckers… er I mean happy shoppers and we made enough money to cover our moving expenses.  We also made countless trips to the Sally –Ann with anything left over from the sale and forgotten bits and bobs that came out of closets and cupboards.  Another helpful tactic was to fill the car with all the stuff that we had borrowed from friends and family as well as that pile of things that we were planning for months to give away to people.  We squeezed it all in the car and made an afternoon of driving around giving old blankets to the SPCA and baby stuff to expecting friends.  We also picked up more boxes daily and packed them as they came in.  Each room was packed one at a time and each box labeled by room and content.  Every item that went into a box bound for the new space had to pass the Use it, Need it, or Love it test.  I am human after all so I made boxes for “Junk”; things that I couldn’t part with yet but didn’t really need to keep.  These boxes are still packed and waiting in the garage for me to tackle.

We had a few trying moments in the move like when it came down to the crunch and I was left to pack up the husbands workshop by myself and found the love of my life has been secretly hiding his pack rat alter ego from me for years!  Three pairs of rollerblades (none of which have I ever seen roll), 4 tape measures, extra bike seats, backpacks, and a full box of empty CD cases were some of the highlights.  Needless to say much discussion occurred and the result was another garage sale the weekend after we moved into the new house.  By that time we had unpacked many of the boxes and discovered more things and furniture that was no longer suited to our needs.  Fabulous.  My favorite moving induced squabble occurred when I thought I’d help the husband sort out all the garden stuff, tools and sports gear in the garage.  As I started to do my “thing” he snarled at me “Are you just going to move things around into different piles of stuff?”  His hair standing on end, shirt covered in potting soil and bike grease he glared, eyes wild with frustration.  Yes love, it’s called organizing and I am a master so step aside.  Three hours later and we had order.  Three weeks later and the car is still parked in the driveway but the garage is an organized work in progress awaiting shelving and more storage totes.

To keep me sane during the unpacking we designated the spare bedroom as a catch-all for undecided items and boxes still to be unpacked.  That way the rest of the house could be simple and serene and I was able to keep from becoming overwhelmed by all the work to do.  Slowly I have emptied the spare bedroom and now just the closet remains. I also started a de-clutter list again with the biggest jobs in capital letters, GARAGE, and the more manageable jobs in small letters, linen closet.  I put the list on the fridge and cross them off as they are completed.  Start with small jobs and tackle the big ones with a friend or a professional.  I also require a glass of wine and a slab of chocolate zucchini cake for further motivation!  The best lesson I’ve learned this move is to do it right and do it once.  Yes it seems easier to throw everything into the linen closet and separate the sheets from the pillow cases ‘later’ but don’t be fooled.  Had I taken the extra 30 minutes the first time I would’ve been able to cross the linen closet off the list ages ago.  After all the unpacking, baby-proofing and summertime houseguests the simple life is getting closer every day and I am thrilled with the results of all our hard work.       

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You’ll be receiving this the day before my 51^st birthday and a lot has changed this past year. My business has continued to move forward thanks to my most wonderful clients, my coach Susan Austin, my Virtual Managers Dale Noles (then) and Cindy Greenway (now) and my many business associates locally and abroad. I have started my book on “More Results with Less Clutter” and written a great deal of content. I am thinking what I need to do to move my book to the next level is to take 3-5 days, go away and write all that is in my head and heart about the many levels of clutter, its impact on us and then bundle it up and send it to an editor/writer who can put it all together in chapter and book form. The more I talk with other writers the more they tell me that writing for large chunks of time works so much better than an hour or two here and there.

A year ago I did the Walk for Breast Cancer, raised over $4000, walked 40 miles/60km over a weekend and had a great time with 2000 other walkers.  I have started with my hiking group and love it. I have lived in this community for over nine years yet have seen very little of the many beautiful hiking trails this area has to offer. It has been great outdoor exercise with another group of women; some who I know and can catch up with as we walk.

I had many birthday celebrations last year for my 50^th and was spoiled by clients, friends and family. This year I have decided to take the day away from work and am planning to do some things for myself and by myself. I have already had a fabulous pedicure so my toes and feet will look great on Aug. the 4^th. David, my mom and I will also be going to our friends, Rick & Brian’s, for a delicious birthday dinner tonight. A tradition I love. I have also had some birthday traditions in the past that cannot be continued this year for a few reasons. My dear friend MCL has moved back East this year. We always celebrated our birthdays together so this year we will have to celebrate by phone until we have a chance to visit. My friend Annemarie, who died this past year, and I, always did something fun together for my birthday. I continue to miss her laughter, caring and friendship. I plan to visit Annemarie’s garden on my birthday and have a wee visit to “catch her up on my life”. So what specifically will I be doing on my birthday you ask? I am going out to the house to see what’s new and different and to daydream about what’s going here and there in the house. I am also planning to have someone come and cut a few small trees down to ensure that the beautiful sunlight we have coming into the house will not be hampered by growing trees in the future. I think I may also stop for a latte and sit on the deck outside my new office and enjoy the quiet and the space. I do know that whatever I choose to do on my birthday will be different yet fulfilling and I look forward to the day alone. Oh yes, I also just bought a pair of red sandals for my birthday. My dad always sends me some money to buy something for myself and I usually buy something for the house. Not this year. Thanks dad!

A little over a year ago we purchased the lot where we are building our house. Who would have thought that we’d be designing a new house and getting ready to move into it? Amazing. Now for the latest update on the house…

Cumberland Chronicles – There has been a lot happening this last month and things are moving quickly. The drywall and mudding is completed. The ceiling texturing is just about finished and the interior painting has begun. The entrance, living room and dining room are “canoe yellow”. The kitchen, mudroom/laundry room and my office are “the sky’s the limit” blue-gray. That’s the painting thus far. The crown molding is up and Don our builder, has done a most magnificent job on the details of the moldings. The interior doors have all been hung including the double French glass doors in my office. The siding is complete and some of the trim that David and I have stained is up around the front windows and door. Here’s a pic of the front of the house with the garage doors. I love the look. All the exterior doors will be painted cranberry, which I think will look stunning and apparently is good feng shui. The lower deck railing in the back is near completion and the upper deck railing and trim has been started. Looks great with the siding finished and the gutters now on. The first ¾ of the build were big picture things and decisions. Now as we are nearing the final four weeks there are so many detail things to finish up, decide and attend to. I am now tired of deciding and have heard myself say to the variety of trades-people “you decide what’s best”. The trades-people we have are outstanding in their trade and it is a delight to watch them work. They have all been quite easy to work with and we have not had the horror stories so many have had when building a home. We’ve had a slight glitch with the ceilings although I am confident that we will catch up with those in a day or two. The good news is that the flooring people phoned and asked if they could start early!   We may just be able to accommodate them as Byron our painter is doing his best to have the main floor painted so the flooring guys can come in next w/e to start with the fir floors on the main. That means we may actually be a day or two ahead of schedule. Could this be for real?

On our home front, David, my mom and I have been busy packing up this house and taking some carloads of outdoor furniture, workshop stuff and odds and ends which can be stored in the basement now that the door and lock is on. That is freeing up space here for more packing and sorting.

I expect to be sleeping there, even if not fully moved in, by the end of this month. Hang on for the ride. I expect it to be a whirlwind.

-Linda