Hey all,

Long time, no speak.

After some deep thought, I have decided to close down the site due to a lack of enthusiasm to write and it wouldn’t be fair to keep going if I was not 100% committed.

I will still  continue to unclutter, downsize, and live with less  to the best of my ability as I really enjoyed creating projects and attempting to change as this was never a problem for me.

What has been the challenge for me is writing, promoting, and generally trying to keep up with ideas and such.  Now I know, you would think “Hey, so what! write for yourself” and I did,  but when it came down to it I really felt I was boring myself  and readers who have graciously taken the time to subscribe.

On a more positive note, the creation and development of the site and the comments from you, have actually inspired and rejuvenated me to work on a project that’s more closer to home and this would never have been possible if I had not made the decision to to create this site.

So,

Thank you, I really appreciate you subscribing, commenting and connecting.  If you would like to stay in touch I can be found working on my new project  Off Leash

Cheers and stay safe

Greg

“Keep an uncluttered home and mind and you can do anything” – me : )

• I will declutter the whole house – I had hoped to move onto the garage as my next assignment, however renovations to our house have meant that the garage has become more of a workshop and building materials storage area. This has lead to attacking other small areas of the house instead of my room by room approach. I will however get back into more of this structured approach as soon as the major renovations are completed on the inside of the house.

• I will write 100 quality posts for Live It With less – Only three posts last month. My average is decreasing and I need to step this up, however I am quite confident that my writing juices will flow in the next few months to make up for this lost time. I am really struggling in this department and to be honest, this last week I was starting to question what exactly am I writing about here? Minimalism? hmm I don’t think so anymore, to me that’s more of an artistic lifestyle, not the give up your day job, sell your car, travel the world, live with 10 things and make money from your blog. I think I got a bit side tracked by reading too much into these type ideas, but all they did was stop me from not being able to express my true self.  So bare with me, my post count will increase with time, as I try and grasp my search for “Less”

• I will weigh 72kgs (158lbs) – Again, another fail, no weight loss recorded at all for the month. I know why, no planning ! I am putting together a 14 day plan to get me back into the groove, it’s simple, no more than 1500 calories intake a day + 20 minutes on cross trainer every day for next fourteen days, no excuses!

• I will write an informative ebook - Decluttering is was I am good at. Sorting through the crap and working out what is good and what is useless. I am starting to chronicle all of the hints and tips that I discovering in the many mini projects that I am encountering in my endeavours to live a life less complicated.

Want to know my current workout secret? It’s easy, just follow these 3 simple steps 

• Step 1 – Get of f the couch

• Step 2 – Walk  to your shed

• Step 3 – Grab a shovel or a sledgehammer and start swinging!

A good day’s hard labour can melt the fat straight off you. 

I am writing this post, late in the evening and my body is aching (in a good way). Why? well you see, currently at our house we are experiencing some major renovations to more modernize our 70’s style house and apart from the minor stress of the planning process, I am quite enjoying the demolition side of things. Now it takes a lot for me to focus and gather the inner strength to either  hop on the cross trainer or maybe go for a run, however, tell me that by carting ang shoveling some rubble yourself is going to save you some cash, I’m there! 

You see, not only is there the benefit of saving a bit of money by doing it yourself, there’s is the added bonus of getting fit at the same time. Now I am not particularly handy with the tools, but what I have discovered in the last couple of weeks is that I am good at destroying stuff. I am loving demolishing and clearing. I guess this is really just another extension of decluttering. We always talk about decluttering your desk ,wardrobe, cd collection etc but never our front and backyard or our structural living spaces 

It is amazing when you start decluttering by taking out a wall here, or moving an unsightly shed to a different corner there, any small or big change can create a pleasant space that you never thought possible. 

So, get out there yourself and start your free workout now! 

Enjoy 

Greg 

ps. An added benefit to this if you’ve got kids is that children love tearing down and digging stuff too! I had a couple of little hands helping me today, but most importantly we were spending time together. 

]]> http://www.liveitwithless.com/health-fitness/my-free-workout/feed/ 2 http://www.liveitwithless.com/big-4-updates/big-4-update-february-2010/ http://www.liveitwithless.com/big-4-updates/big-4-update-february-2010/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:24:38 +0000 Greg http://www.liveitwithless.com/?p=680

To recap, “Big 4″ is all about setting your foundation by creating four distinct and realistic goals. I like to look at them as structural  pillars to help you  build and grow,  and allowing you to achieve this by the end of the year. This will not necessarily mean that it should take you all year to accomplish, however, it does provide the most realistic time frame to either accomplish one at a time or work in phases.

So, here’s how I am travelling so far

• I will declutter the whole house – With the study area finally complete, it was time to move on to the next room, the garage. I did make a start, however I was side tracked a little by joining the rcThink Minimalist Challenge, in which I got rid of one useless item each day for a month. I did really well, ( here is the full list) but now its back into declutter room by room and its back into the garage. Video to follow shortly

• I will write 100 quality posts for Live It With less – Not too good here, only four posts, one good thing about this was that I was too busy decluttering.  I will however try to post a bit more frequently in the next couple of weeks and also about a few other topics than simply what I got rid of this week.

• I will weigh 72kgs (158lbs) – For the month of February, I only made a small loss of 2 pounds, but I have made an effort to start exercising and getting my fitness back up to motivate me more. I am starting to realise  its just not about your diet, it’s the whole keeping the balance  in check to the art of living healthy

• I will write an informative ebook - There have been quite a lot of ebooks published lately in the blogosphere, however my idea is still yet to be pinched : ) I have settled on my theme and have begun my research which I am starting to get exited about.

That’s it for the month of February, a bit slow, but still productive! and that can’t be a bad thing.

Cheers

Greg

Wow, what a month!

Just goes to show you just how much you can achieve by letting go of a single item that you no longer have any need for each day for one whole month. I also made the challenge a bit more interesting by excluding a particular area of the my house that I was already in the process of decluttering.

Now when I look around the house I am starting to really feel a sense of  freedom that decluttering brings upon yourself.

You should really try this for yourself, but I would suggest that if you have not done this before , start small and see what you can achieve in 7 days.

Here were my 30 items

Day 1 – Set of old screwdrivers
Day 2 – Baseball caps
Day 3 – Phone Directories
Day 4 – Garden Hose Reel
Day 5 – Blender
Day 6 – Window squeegee:
Day 7 – Dining Table
Day 8 – TV
Day 9 – Timber Stand
Day 10 – Sunglasses
Day 11 – Fly screen
Day 12 – Camping fry pan
Day 13 – Golf shirt
Day 14 – Our pram
Day 15 – CD’s
Day 16 – iPod nano
Day 17 – iPod nano armband
Day 18 – Business Shirt
Day 19 – Business Ties
Day 20 – Timber Box
Day 21 – Beanie
Day 22 – Wall speakers
Day 23 – Alarm Clock
Day 24 – Race Car
Day 25 – Wooden Train
Day 26 – Toy
Day 27 – Book
Day 28 – Ball
Day 29 – Small tv stand
Day 30 – Paperweight

Remember, 1  item each day for the next week and set yourself free from clutter.

Enjoy

Greg