INSIDE: To celebrate this little blog’s four-month anniversary I’m sharing with you the top ten BEST intentional living posts from 2017 – as voted by you! Want to know what aspects of family life you were looking to make LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable this year? Keep reading!
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The BEST intentional living posts from 2017…
So, this little blog has been live for just over four months now and I can hardly believe it! Launching a blog has been a dream of mine for a VERY long time and it’s great to finally be out there on the world wide web. I’ve been so touched by all the lovely emails, messages and feedback I’ve received since the launch of A Simple and Contented Life back in August. It’s been great to read all your words of encouragement and hear how my posts have helped you to make a change for the better. Knowing that what I’m sharing is helping you to create a life you LOVE means more to me than you’ll ever know.
A life LESS stressful…
It’s my goal to help you any way I can to make family life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable. And with the year coming to an end, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you the top ten BEST intentional living posts from 2017 so that you have them all in one handy place. And so, in reverse order, here they are – as voted by you!
Counting down…
#10 | Five Ways to Love the Home You Live In
Kicking things off at #10 is my post Five Ways to Love the Home You Live In. Our homes are our sanctuary. A place of comfort and joy. But sometimes it can be hard to love the place we call home. In this post, I share five simple steps you can take right now to love the home you live in that little bit more. My favourite? Making sure everything has a ‘proper’ place! Find out how else to love the home you live in here.
#9 | How to Stay on Track While the Kids are Off
Keeping on top of things while the kids are at school is one thing. But staying on track when they’re off? That’s something else! In this post, I share a few simple strategies to help you not only make it to the end of the school holidays in one piece but still get stuff done too!
Related: The Busy Mum’s MASTER PLAN.
#8 | Mum Guilt and the Guilt Trips We Should be Letting Go Of
In 8th place is a post all about mum guilt. Something I know every mother on the planet has suffered from at one time or another. Including me! These days I find myself wrestling with mum guilt a little less. I still question my ability to parent and at times think I could have done better – who doesn’t?! But the mum guilt doesn’t get to me quite as much as it used to. Find out why and why it shouldn’t bother you quite so much too in #8 of the top ten BEST intentional living posts from 2017; Mum Guilt and the Guilt Trips We Should be Letting Go Of.
Related: Where I’m Failing as a Mum and Why it’s OK.
#7 | Four Ways to Live a Happier Family Life
As mums, our families are our top priority. There’s nothing we want more than for our family to be happy and spend quality time with them. But it can be hard. Life is so busy and there is always something that needs doing, something else that needs our attention. So how do we find the balance? In this 7th BEST intentional living post from 2017, I share four simple steps you can take to switch things up and start leading a happier family life today.
#6 | Where I’m Failing as a Mum and Why it’s OK
The idea behind living a simple and contented life is to slow things down. To reduce the overwhelm and eliminate the unessential. To make family life less stressful and more enjoyable. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. There are times where parenting can be HARD and guess what? Sometimes I really suck at it! Sometimes I really feel like I’m failing as a mum. But I’m OK with that. And you should be too. Find out why in #6 of the top ten BEST intentional living posts from 2017; Where I’m Failing as a Mum and Why it’s OK.
Related: Mum Guilt and the Guilt Trips We Should Be Letting Go Of.
#5 | 40 Life Lessons in (almost) 40 Years
Quite possibly one of my favourite posts so far on the blog, I’m really happy to see that this made it into the top ten BEST intentional living posts from 2017. I’ll soon be turning 40 and whilst my youngest thinks that’s REALLY old (thanks Harrison!), I’ve definitely learned a lot over the years. Find out what my biggest life lessons are and how they can help you too in my post 40 Life Lessons in (almost) 40 Years.
#4 | How to Take Better Care of Yourself
In 4th place is my post How to Take Better Care of Yourself. Part of my How to Create a Life You LOVE series, we all know that we should be making our wellbeing more of a priority, but sometimes that’s easier said than done. In this post, I share five simple ways you can make your wellbeing more of a priority today – WITHOUT feeling guilty! My favourite? Clearing the mental clutter. I absolutely LOVE a good brain dump! Want to know what the rest are? Head over to the post to find out!
#3 | The Benefits of Practicing Gratitude
Just two away from the #1 spot is a post all about the benefits of practicing gratitude. Practicing gratitude is an incredibly powerful exercise, and so I’m not surprised that this post has featured so high on my list of top ten posts. Guaranteed to make you feel instantly happier, find out why and how to practice gratitude in this post.
#2 | Don’t Wait for January to Start Achieving Your Goals
It was really interesting to see this post feature so high up on the list. There’s so much hype around waiting for January to start achieving your goals. Especially when it gets closer to the end of the year. We think ‘what’s the point of starting now, I might as well wait’. But the reality is, you can start working on your goals any time of the year. And it seems that a lot of you feel that way too. Read my six reasons for not waiting until January to start achieving your goals here.
Related: Set Habits Instead of Resolutions.
#1 | Five Small Changes to Make Meal Planning a Breeze
The post taking the #1 spot in the top ten BEST intentional living posts from 2017? Five Steps to Make Meal Planning a Breeze! As much as I pride myself in being an organised person, I will admit that I used to be a complete mess when it came to mealtime preparation. I was so disorganised! Eventually, I decided that things had to change and in this post, I share the five small changes I made to help make mealtimes easier to manage. Five simple steps that I know will help you too that you can do today!
The BEST intentional living posts from 2017…
There you have it. The top 10 BEST intentional living posts from 2017 – as voted by you! I truly hope they’ve helped you step out of a life on autopilot and into one of purpose in one way or another. Here they are again, in order:
- Five Steps to Make Meal Planning a Breeze.
- Don’t Wait for January to Start Achieving Your Goals.
- The Benefits of Practicing Gratitude.
- How to Take Better Care of Yourself.
- 40 Life Lessons in 40 Years.
- Where I’m Failing as a Mum and Why it’s OK.
- Four Ways to Live a Happier Family Life.
- Mum Guilt and the Guilt Trips We Should be Letting Go Of.
- How to Stay on Tack While the Kids Are Off.
- Five Ways to Love the Home You Live In.
Before we say goodbye to 2017, I just wanted to say thank you so much for being part of the A Simple and Contented Life community this past, year. It wouldn’t be the amazing community it has become without you! Your being here and being part of the tribe means more to me that I can ever find the words to explain. So, thank you!
And, now I know which posts you’ve enjoyed reading the most, I know exactly what to focus on heading into 2018. So be sure to keep an eye out for tons of great new content that’s packed full of tips and simple steps you can take to reduce the overwhelm, take back control and create a family life you LOVE!
Here’s to making family life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable…Happy New Year!
That’s it for this post! What was your favourite post from 2017? What would you like me to write about in 2018? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time…
Did you like this post? You’ll LOVE these too!
- Ten Places to Find Inspiration for New Meal Ideas
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