in a word

Whew!  Moving can take a lot out of you and leave you drained.
Hubsy and I completed all of our move entirely ourselves, just us two.  And I. Am. Exhausted.
Our holidays were crazy hectic with the move smack dab in the middle plus being "homeless" for a week but there was still joy to be had and we cherished it!

So now we are starting a new chapter of our lives right in conjunction with the New Year.
Change is all around me.  Some welcome, some...not so much ;)
So amidst all this change and preparation for the future, my word for 2014 has been embedding itself deeper and deeper into my mind.

e·lim·i·nate [ih-lim-uh-neyt] 

to omit, especially as being unimportant or irrelevant; leave out:

It may seem a little weird that I chose this for my word.  Most people pick more inspiring sounding words but this is the one that speaks to me.   Folks, it's time for the unnecessary to go.  And believe it or not, our lives are filled with way more excess than we think.  I'm not ready to chuck it all and head for a hut in the wilderness (I like indoor plumbing thank you) but I am ready to seriously reduce all the "what-not" I've got in my life.  The truly unimportant things as well as some seriously important but bad-for-you-and-gotta-go things.  And in a big way, this move was the first step. 

I mentioned before that we have downsized in home space.  At first I was relieved to be getting rid of some things that I felt obligated to hang on to because it was a gift or it helped to fill up a room that hardly got used anyway but now that we are on the other side of the move I'm finding that even more needs to go.  And that's not always easy or relieving.  What if I need that pretty bowl one day?!  What if I want to have two gray sweaters so I don't feel like I'm wearing the same thing all the time?  Well, there just isn't as much room and I refuse to live in cramped feeling quarters just to fit in what really is a luxury and not a need.  Don't mistake, our new home is plenty big enough, it's just that Hubsy and I have collected so much "stuff".  Learning to simplify has been on our hearts for some time now and we are slowly starting the process.

I also want to eliminate the unnecessary busy.  My time is precious and it's time I started treating it that way.  Include some quality "me" time.  Rekindle my time with the Lord.  Connect with my kids.  Take time to "create" on various levels.  More to come on this.

  
If you follow me on Pinterest (you can follow me here) you might have noticed some of the health related pins I've been pinning lately.  Eliminating toxins from my life (as much as I can reasonably do).  Eating clean and organic, detoxifying, healing our hormones....these are all topics that I've begun to feel quite passionate about and will begin to share some of my journey here on the blog as well.

  
Did you pick a word for 2014?  What was it?

Happy hump day friends!