These Five Habits Have Changed My Life

I've been developing more healthy habits over the last few years and I came up with a list of five that I think have made the most difference in my life.

1. Eat your vegetables-
A few years ago, I may have eaten one day's worth of fresh vegetables in one week.  A year ago, I started eating more than a day's worth of vegetables everyday (and I cut out processed foods, refined sugar, etc.).  I lost seventy-one pounds in one year. Now I never get sick or tired.  Vegetables are so important. 

2.  Empty your sink-
I started doing Fly Lady's daily routine a few years ago and now I empty my sink at least once a day before I go to bed.  Most days, I empty it after every meal.  Emptying the sink leads to sweeping the floor which leads to wiping off the counters which leads to putting things back where they go... My house stays much cleaner and now I never have to stress before company comes.  No seriously.  My house stays clean enough for company most of the time.  It all starts with the kitchen sink.

3. Wash, dry, and fold one load of laundry-
This has been one of the most loving things I've ever done for my husband, one of the best things I've ever done for myself and my kids.  Every single day, I go down, open the dryer, and fold the load that's in there. Then I take the load of wet clothes that I did the day before out of the washer and dry them. The I start a new load of laundry. Some days, this is all I do. Other days, I can make it back down to fold, load, and wash another load.  But doing one load a day means I stay on top of my laundry.  I haven't had a huge pile in years.  This is another habit I learned from Fly Lady.

4.  Read your Bible-
My church encourages its congregants to read The One Year Bible.  I did this for a year, then skipped a year, and now I've started doing it again this year. I find that reading the Bible leads to prayer which leads to worship which leads to more prayer which leads to listening to sermons online... Reading the Bible everyday makes all the difference in my spiritual life and my spiritual health often makes all the difference in my everyday life.   

5.  Exercise-
I stopped watching crap on Hulu and started getting my sports bra and tennis shoes on instead.  I used to think I was "relaxing" during my free time, but I was wasting time doing meaningless things and wasting time on meaningless things just ended up making me more stressed out in the long run.  I have started exercising every afternoon once I am done doing lessons with the kids and before (or even while) I am making dinner. Some days, I teach a fitness classes at a local YMCA. On those days, I don't exercise at home.  But, exercising has made me physically stronger and much more clear headed. The biggest thing for me was forcing myself to make the most of my free time.  I used to think I didn't have time to exercise.  Really, I didn't have time to watch television and exercise.  I have started choosing exercise. I am always glad when I do.