simpler-living report: CY22Q1

Summary: Like last year, I found it easy to meet a budget in the first quarter—I don’t have any large yearly bills to pay, I earned $ from freelance work, and I made no big purchases. 

Ah, January.  Hunkered down during a Nova Scotia winter with Omicron raging*, I didn’t enjoy a single post-hike coffee with friends for the entire month.  I had a dental cleaning appointment booked but, with snow in the forecast for that day, I phoned to see if I could reschedule—the next available appointment was three months out so I kept the original slot.  It was a reminder of the impact of COVID protocols and of staff shortages and (as if there was any doubt) of the fact that we’re never going back to 2019.

Expenses in March were with the anticipation of warmer weather including an MEC order with hiking items and a bike tune-up.  When I bought two button-down shirts at a second-hand store, the clerk looked at the coloUrs and said “Ah! Spring!” 

Cooking by and for one, there is not a lot of variation in my meals and, through the winter, my hot meals are predominantly curries.  Indian is my favoUrite cuisine but Japanese is high on the list (both easy cuisines for vegans**) so I’ve been making more Japanese-style meals to mix it up. Since the great downsizing of 2017, I have been mindful not to overfill all my kitchen cupboards again but I did find a few lovely Made-In-Japan rice and noodle bowls (and chopsticks) which actually, yes, absolutely, do add to my enjoyment of these meals. 

Prior to minimizing, I had 84 drinking vessels!  Now when I drink a great cup of coffee or green tea, it’s always out of a cup I love because the cupboards are only filled with dishes I love.  As Marie Kondo would say, just keep the items that spark joy. Are you still only getting the “good” stuff out on special occasions? Got an unworn shirt, an unused notebook, an unopened box of chocolates? Please stop.  Right now is the special occasion. 

And that kind of thinking has me currently contemplating some exciting (for me, anyway) bigger purchases this summer…

I’ll end with events not from Q1 but that I want to call out now while fresh: I submitted my income tax return on 04/04 without procrastinating.  It definitely felt like a victory.  And I have another reason to do a celebratory dance: after rescheduling my original appointment at the garage due to a forecast for significant snow, the winter tires on the little car got swapped out this week. I’m not wishing time away, but I’m ready for the warm.

*COVID-19 is raging even more now.  Since Nova Scotia lifted most mandates in March and we’re living with COVID, we’ve become a Canadian hot-spot.  And not in a good way.

** I was about to order a Vegan Japanese cookbook but then remembered my challenge not to buy any new books this year! 

References and related links:

• MAC: mon amie Caroline.
• MEC: Mountain Equipment Co-op.
• human : cup (post #25)
• storylines: on taxes, timing, and retirement (post #28)
• simpler-living report: CY21Q4 (post #175)