Here we are…awake at 5:30 am, again. I stayed up later than usual l last night, talking on the phone with my daughter, so it seems it doesn’t really matter what time I go to sleep, if God wants me awake at 5:30, so be it. *Robin Sharma would be proud.

I woke up thinking about how well this house has served me in how I live my life. This house doesn’t have any closets, or a garage. The house before this one didn’t have any closets either, but it had tons of cabinets and a barn. Both houses offer a pantry in the kitchen, so you’re able to eat well, but these older homes won’t let you store your life away and that’s been good for me. Ninety percent of what I have is visible.

I spent time on Sunday rearranging the main part of the house and I have a few items by the door to be dropped off at the donation center. I like living with less. The doggos have their favorite places to lay on the floor and Winnie will let you know quickly an item was moved into one of her spaces, but she never complains, she adjusts. Denver is thrilled that I moved some things out his favorite area so he has more space to sprawl.

Dogs are creatures of habit and they let me know how my life feels. I moved the little writing desk from the back of the house to the front because that space beckons for a morning page and a well lit place to sit to write letters. When I tell you where this space is, it won’t make much sense, because it’s in the entryway of the home. If you were to walk through the front door, you’d find me right there most likely writing a letter.

As soon as the desk was in place I sat down to do some journaling and Winnie walked underneath the desk to lay down. This isn’t the first time it sat here and she feels safe underneath, even though logically it’s an odd placement for it.

Thankfully, all logic was dismissed in 2014 while living in the first house with one bedroom closet, but no pantry and it hasn’t found me since.

This was my first Monday morning in almost 7 years that my daily schedule holds less and I’m digging that open space too. When one door closes another door opens and I’m finding that to be true, but I’m using my sacred no to opportunities for now. Living with less items and commitments will open up time and space to do more living.

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*In 2018, Robin Sharma created The 5am Club and here’s a great article about it. The core idea is to wake up at 5:00 AM every day and use the first quiet hour (5:00 AM to 6:00 AM) to focus entirely on personal growth before any daily distractions begin.

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