De-Clutter De-Stress

Okay, so it has been a while since I've posted anything and I'm sorry. I've been out of town and the day after I returned, my husband and I found a new place to live. In other words, I've been in the process of moving for the last two weeks. UGH!

So, what's moving got to do with health and fitness? A lot. I'm going to tell you a little story about stuff, lots of stuff...

8 years ago, my husband and I moved from Colorado to...Let's just say we didn't have a destination. We were searching for jobs because the job market in Colorado was flushed down the toilet by the tech crash. At the time, we took only what we could fit in our cars and our 6' X 10' cargo trailer. The problem was we still had a lot of stuff that we wanted to keep. An old antique couch, mementos from childhood, old computer equipment, yard care tools, chemicals, toys, wedding gifts, a washer and dryer, a spare bed, etc. Neither of us wanted to get rid of this stuff, so we simply decided to put it all in a storage unit with the intention of coming back out for it once we got settled somewhere.

After 6 and a half weeks of living in our Suburban and traveling the U.S., my husband finally found a good job Pennsylvania. We moved into a 1-bedroom apartment and put the trailer in storage in PA. Yep, we were paying for 2 storage units now. We lived in PA for 3.5 years and accumulated stuff and stored what wouldn't fit in the apartment it our trailer. We'd also send stuff to CO for my parents to put in our storage unit.

After 3.5 years in PA, we decided PA was not the place for us, so we packed up and moved again. We stopped in CO to try and find jobs in CA. It was impossible to find jobs in CA while living in CO, so we decided to hit the road again and move to CA. This time we did not take the trailer, just loaded up the cars and took what we could. This meant we needed to re-purchase a bunch of stuff we had in storage in CO when we got to CA. We took a trip to CO to sell some of our stuff so we could rent a smaller storage unit and save some money. We also shuffled stuff from CO to CA in a U-Haul trailer, then wound up getting rid of a bunch of it, like our bed that was no longer comfortable...

After 3.5 years, two earthquakes and three major fire seasons, we decided CA wasn't for us and moved back to CO. Now here we are in a house once again a few blocks from where we used to live. And here we are again with stuff. Not just stuff, either, stuff from 1 house, three apartments and a storage unit.

In going through boxes and boxes and boxes worth of stuff, my husband and I have repeatedly asked ourselves why we kept most of it? Why did we pay to store it? Neither of us could recall 99% of what we'd stored anyway. I mean, yes, there was that 1% we did recall and we did want to keep, but the rest of it was just sucking our money from our bank accounts. We just kept thinking of how we could have re-purchased everything for the money we'd spent to store it all.

As we were moving and sorting through endless boxes, we decided only to keep those items we truly need and items with true sentimental value. I mean, honestly who needs 6 pitchers and 5 cutting boards or sheets for a bed that no longer exists?

As each box leaves the house, headed for the Longmont Humane Society's donation pile, a weight is lifted off of my chest. I didn't even realize how stressful it was to have junk/clutter/unused items in storage/taking up room in the basement. I felt like I was always trying to find a way to justify having the stuff. I remember when we lived in CO the first time how I would constantly try to use something I'd never ordinarily use just because that something was there taking up space. And speaking of space, it was stressful always trying to find room for all of this junk.

The experience of sorting through our things has been emotionally draining and overwhelming at times, but the end result is extremely fulfilling. Not only do we now know exactly what we have, but we also know exactly where it is. No more wasting time rooting through boxes or digging in the basement or garage trying to find the camp axe or some specific Halloween decoration. Not only that, but we now have an inventory of our stuff that we can give to the insurance company in case something happens.

But I have to say that the best part about getting rid of all of this junk is the sense of peace that comes with living in a house in which every thing is something special, something we have consciously decided to keep.

Try Speed Hiking

Lose weight and tone up by speed hiking. Speed hiking, you ask? Aren't you always telling us to slow down and enjoy the scenery? Yes, but I believe you can have the best of both worlds if you plan your hikes well. Do one or two speed hikes a week and I guarantee you'll burn a ton of calories and firm up all the muscles in your body. In fact, a lot of professional athletes, such as skiers, snowboarders, bicyclists and runners use speed hiking to supplement their training routines.

Speed hiking works every muscle in your body and best of all it's free. All you need is a good pair of shoes and a trail. The steeper the better.

Warm up, then hike the trail as fast as you can both uphill and downhill. Slow down if you become breathless or if the terrain gets tricky and speed up when the hike becomes easy. It's that simple. Be sure to bring plenty of water and a snack. It's also a good idea to carry a small first aid kit and a whistle with you just in case.

Speed hiking's great, but don't get so carried away with it that you forget to slow down and enjoy the beautiful scenery from time to time.

Preventing Travel Constipation

Ever notice how constipation always seems to hit while on vacation? Why? You ask. Well, it's most likely a combination of stress, a low fiber diet, lack of exercise, and inadequate water intake. Here are a few ways to prevent constipation while you travel.

• Eat a high fiber diet before you begin your travels.
• Pack a few high fiber, high water content snacks such as apples, pears, carrots and celery.
• Drink lots of water!
• Limit the amount of salt, fat and caffeine you consume.
• Opt for whole grain breads and cereals rather than enriched cereals and breads.
• Eat a serving of flax seed meal daily.
• Sprinkle wheat germ on your cereal, oatmeal or toast or blend it into a smoothie.
• Chew a couple of papaya tablets (found at most vitamin stores).
• Munch on figs or prunes.
• Do your best to get some exercise every day. At minimum try to go for a 30 minute walk.
• Avoid unbalanced meals such as steak only types of meals that are high in protein and fat, but low in carbs and fiber.
• Eat a serving of yogurt daily.
• Get a good night's sleep.

Follow these recommendations and your vacation will be much nicer!