The Stuff/Time Parallel

This blog began about two years ago when I first started seriously considering graduate school.  At the time, I was envisioning being a full-time student and living on half my income, so simplification seemed like great preparation!  However, things took a different course, and now I'm doing grad school online (through a reputable univeristy) and working full-time.  I don't need to simplify the finances, I need to simplify time!

However, many of the principles for minimizing stuff and purchases are also applicable to minimizing activities and time commitments.

My philosophy for possessions and purchasing is "Don't own stuff you don't like." Slightly tweaked for time commitments, this would be "Don't do stuff you don't like." Just typing that, I'm thinking, "Well duh, why would I do something I don't like?" It happens all the time though. We all have to do some stuff we don't like (emptying the dishwasher, getting the oil changed, etc.), but for discretionary time, we do often decide to spend our time doing things we don't like for various reasons. The biggest reason though is the general inability to say "no" to activities. Other people are exceedingly good at manipulating our time since it's not often treated like the valuable commodity that it really is.

One of the aspects I group into my overall stuff philosophy is not owning stuff that gives you a bad attitude or brings out bad memories. The same goes for time commitments. There's no point in engaging in activities that bring you down, make you mad, or otherwise cause general frustration. Sometime this could be the activity itself, sometimes it could be the people we're doing it with. Is that unfriendly, mean and kinda selfish? Yes. But it's my time, I get to chose!

So- first tier for me minimizing activities: "Do I like this activity?"

Another principle of stuff-and-things minimizing is examining the return on investment on objects. Relating this to time commitments, I get to analyze the return on investment of my activities. What activities are moving me forward in my personal and professional goals? What activities help me adequately rest and relax? What activities are simply time sucks? What activities help other people?

Second tier: "Does this activity actually benefit me or someone else?"

Living in a world with little time margin available, the business principle of opportunity cost comes into play. In the world of purchasing, opportunity cost means "By buying this item, what am I giving up the opportunity to buy?" So with time management this translates to "By pursuing this activity, what other activities am I giving up?" This is one of the hardest principles for me to follow. I can talk myself out of buying just about anything because I know I'd rather spend money on something else. But thinking "I need to forego a gathering of friends so I can finish this school project" is quite hard. Friends are way more fun!

Third tier: "Is doing this activity going to cost doing other important activities?"

In terms of practical application, here's what I've boiled my activities down to in the last few months:

Work
School
Working out
Daily life chores
Select friend gatherings

Anything else happens on an as-needed, convenience basis (including blogging, heh, sorry). It's a bit draconian at times and I've had to start saying "no" to activities, thus causing a few moments of "I'm a terrible person!" but it's really been ok. I'll catch up in 2.5 years or so when the Masters is done :)

FAIL: Attempted Purse Minimalism

Last week, my purse was featured on the Everyday Minimalist's "The Minimalist Wallet Series." At first I was extremely flattered, but became a bit miffed when most of the comments are like, "Um, yeah. That's a lot of stuff to carry around, and I'm not even a minimalist."

I'm not used to my being a "self-proclaimed minimalist" being critiqued since 1.) I live in the Midwest where NO ONE is actually a minimalist and 2.) I'm fairly sure my mom, sister & friends Tiffany & Reb are the only ones who read my random thoughts about minimalism and they're supportive regardless.

So a little criticism can't hurt? It can only push me into achieving greater levels of minimalism and thus complete zenlike personhood, right? Exactly! (enter evil, foreshadowing laughter...)

This evening, I had plans to get together with a few friends for drinks. I decided, "Yes! I am going to go WAY minimalist & not even TAKE my purse! It's pockets all the way for me people! I'm shedding this lug of a purse and taking only that which I truly need! Plus we're under a tornado watch due to the currently raging thunderstorm, so I don't want to be carrying lots of stuff." (This is also a good idea for me since in the last six months while out with friends, I have almost lost my purse once, almost lost my jacket twice, and truly lost a credit card once.) Less is OBVIOUSLY better.

Off I go! Armed only with my (replacement) credit card, driver's license, cell phone, some cash, & a single car key, I make my way downtown. I couldn't be more of a minimalist unless I became a nudist! WINNING!!!

I parked, turned to pick up my cell phone from the cupholder and, oops, dropped my single car key in that crevice next to the seat where it quickly became lodged in the seat-adjustment channel. Not good. My fingertips can gently brush the key, but there's no budging it. Ten minutes later, I contorted myself into the next Cirque du Soleil show trying to reach the key from all angles then thought, "If I hadn't pulled this key from the ring with the others, retrieving this wouldn't be wasting my time."

If only I had a pen...wait, that's in my purse. Hmm, if only I had a nail file & some gum...wait, both in my purse. Dang it, I'm very frustrated, & I need my chapstick!!! Also in my purse. Drat you, minimalist peer pressure!

At that point it was definitely raining, and my friends came to help me out. They quickly joined my Cirque du Soleil contortions, and after another five minutes, a friend with very small hands was able to retrieve the key.

My reaction- I don't like being unprepared and tonight, despite my minimalist WIN, I felt extremely unprepared. It's possible that my purse wouldn't have had the right tools to fish out that key, but at least I would have had more options to try. Good thing I have awesome friends!

I might not actually be a strict minimalist, but at least I usually have the tools I need to be prepared for certain worst-case scenarios. I might be a "preparative minimalist." And after all that time wasting, Cirque du Soleil-ing, and general frustration, a gin & tonic with friends never tasted so good :)

Green Minimalism: Electronics

So you cleaned out. Where can you take all the stuff?

If you've got a bit of time on your hands, there are some better options that just bagging up everything for the trash. Particularly for pieces of electronic equipment, recycling is a better option than sending things to the dump.

Once or twice a year, my city hosts a recycling program and generally for free (there's a small fee for those ridiculously huge TV's and computer monitors), they will just take the items for recycling. It's worth asking your community about it!

Also, many tech stores have recycling or trade-in programs. Again, there's sometimes a small fee for huge TV's or computer monitors, but certain stores will give you a gift card equal to that fee.

Here's some links for a few of the major recycle programs:

• Best Buy (note from website: they do not recycle harmonicas. Good to know)
  
• Office Depot
• Staples

And if you live in a larger community, you can check out additional options through the Electronics Recycling Directory.

Helping the Clutter

This post is a cop-out. I really want to write about how people are making my life very complicated right now (not bad, just complicated), but I can't figure out how to do that without sounding like I resent having people in my life.

So instead, to bring around the concept that the stuff in our physical realms affects our emotional world, I return to Feng Shui! I'm not an FS purist, but I think certain principles apply to our everyday environments.

My favorite piece of the article- "Do I use it? Do I need it? Do I love it? Does it invoke a positive memory and make me happy? If your answer is no, then it’s time to go."

Second favorite- "Remind yourself that you are opening yourself and your space to new passions, interests and opportunities. You might also ask a friend who is not emotionally attached to your stuff to help you."

PS- If you live near me & know me, I'm more than willing to be the friend who is not emotionally attached to your stuff. :)

The One Secret to Losing 80 Pounds- In ONE Day!

Being snowbound at my parent's house today, I had the time & opportunity to go through stuff. My parents were kind enough to box stuff up when they recently replaced their carpet & needed to move all three kids' stuff from the upstairs to the basement, then back upstairs again. A lot of this stuff is of the nostalgic nature, for example, every birthday card up to age 16, stuffed animals, and lots and lots of pictures from high school (some in triplicate).

So I spent a few hours going through stuff. A lot of the stuff was very special at the time, but doesn't mean much to me now. Some of the stuff is just stuff. And some of the stuff I still like and is very special to me.

I was rewarded, however, and found $10 in a high school graduation card!

After the go-through, I was inspired to weight the amount of stuff I was throwing away & donating. The total came to 80 pounds. Woo hoo! That's 80 pounds I will never have to move again. Even better, that's 80 pounds of stuff I will never have the THINK about again.

Then for my afternoon project, I decided to clean up my email. For the last 5 years, I've just been storing everything in my inbox & searching if I needed to find something. So today, I whittled 2500 emails down to about 40. That felt good.

So do your part to shed the pounds!

Ongoing Minimalism & a Mini-Fail

My minimalist philosophy follows the thinking, "Don't own stuff you don't like." I've done pretty well with stuff, but read a blog entry a while back about digital clutter (sorry, don't remember the blog so no link). Digital clutter can take the form of either programs or data we don't like or need.

A few weeks ago, I tried cleaning up the programs on my netbook. It went extremely well until I accidentally deleted my audio drivers (yeah, and they let me write code & access servers at work, mini-FAIL for me, but I fixed it).

My first data step was getting over denial that I have data clutter: I know I have a lot of data around, but it's all on the external hard drive, so out of sight out of mind? It's kind of like that "drawer" or that "closet" where we continually throw stuff and shut the door to forget about it. But it's still there. However, uncluttering digital stuff is just like uncluttering stuff stuff. Start small & do it in increments.

My first step was music since I could easily approach it with the philosophy, "What songs do I always hit NEXT when my iPod is on shuffle?" I deleted roughly 10% of my collection, not too shabby!

Next battle: pictures. Then: papers I wrote in high school & college. After that: personal email and I'm working on a new email philosophy in the process- email is not data storage, it's temporary, disposable correspondence.

The TX Project

Several weeks ago, my sister emailed me and asked if I would come down to her place in Texas over the 4th of July weekend to help turn their computer/random room into a playroom for my 9 month old niece. How could I refuse?! Not only do I get to assist in a decluttering & reorganization project, but I get to see my sister, brother-in-law & seriously adorable niece? (side note: my sister said she has some blog ideas floating around so I'm hoping for her to do a guest blog soon!)

So the TX room project...

The story begins long, long ago when my sister used to bribe me with 7 month old Easter candy to clean her room. I always thought I got the better end of the deal since a.) I got candy b.) I was able to organize her stuff so it was easier for me to find & borrow. My sister got married in 2005, thus a pile addict married a stuff spreader (I'm not telling who is who). They've lived in their house about three years & their computer room became the catch-all for both piles & stuff spreading. They wanted to clean out the room & make it a playroom, but also knew that simultaneously trying to convince the other person to de-stuff, de-spread & de-pile might not be a good idea, so that's where I came in. I got real food this time & not just old Easter candy. Win!

I gave them a list of questions to start thinking about last week, and both were ready to dig in a clean out! They were extremely motivated to get the project done & I only had to pull out the drill sergeant card a few times. They did a great job! Even the cat got in on some of the fun.

First, the results by the numbers since I really like numbers-

• 3 full bags of stuff to the trash
• 2 bins of recycling (mostly paper)
• 1 large bag of Goodwill donations
  
• 3 items listed in Craigslist
• 1 large box of books to go to Half Price Books
• 3 recycled electronics items
• 2 Best Buy buy-backs
• 1 nasty broken chair to the trash!

And now the results by pictures-

Questions To Ponder Over Stuff

This 4th of July, celebrate your independence from stuff! I'm off to TX to visit my 9 month old niece who just happens to be the cutest baby on the face of the earth. During the visit, I will also see my sister & brother-in-law (yeah, they're pretty great too) and help in their project of turning their computer/random stuff room into a play room that just happens to have a computer in it.

I told them several weeks ago I would be putting together a list of questions to start thinking about as they prepare to go through several years of accumulated things to see what can stay and what needs to go or go elsewhere to make room for the playroom. Here's the list so far-

• Have I used this in the last 6 months? In the last year?
• Why do I have it?
• Do I like it?
• Should it physically be located somewhere else?
• Does someone else need it more than I do?
• Do I have a specific, concrete reason or plan for owning this item or is it a "just in case" thing?
  

Playroom specific-

• Is it safe for a child to be around?
• How many Cheerios would fit into any given crevice?
• Would this make a mess if a child got into it?
• How easily can this item be cleaned from random bodily fluids?
• Are child items placed at a good child level?
• Is this room set up in a way that gives an example about a good attitude toward stuff?

The list of questions is far from comprehensive, but it's a start. Plus, I want to have plenty of time to play with my niece & hang out with my sister & brother-in-law! All that is way better than stuff (or having fun getting rid of someone else's stuff, hehe).

My Minimalism Motivation

I don't want to have to figure out what to do with egg holders & plates featuring hugging bunnies during the Easter off-season (but thanks to Noah for posing so thoughtfully by a decorative rabbit).

Bathroom: Check!

I received a HUGE compliment this past weekend. Noah, a Nebraska friend, stopped by my house briefly to catch up, and here's the gist of the conversation...

"Kristen, I like the decorating or whatever in your bathroom."

"Oh? Really?"

"Yeah, 'cause you didn't have a lot of stuff by your sink like some girl's bathrooms, so when I went to wash my hands, I didn't have to guess which stuff would make my hands sticky & smelly and which stuff would be soap."

Score! My bathroom is officially uncomplicated.

And I know it's probably too much information, but here's my bathroom. I'm definitely not a pro at mood-inspiring interior decorating, but I like maps & I like keeping stuff off my sink. Can you find Kazakhstan in your bathroom?

FAIL: eBay

Sorry to post two FAIL entries in a row. My life is going quite well at the moment, so I feel bad being Debbie Downer, but this one really was my own ignorance and I have learned much from the experience. Hopefully, this might help someone else avoid the same experience?

Last October after a stuff purge, I was inspired to try selling some of my things around town to hit the jackpot. Getting rid of stuff & making money off it, it's perfect! Here's that story. So this time around, I decided to try selling two items on eBay.

I listed my items, took pictures, wrote good descriptions, waited in agony for a week until the bidding was over, sold both items, figured out how to link PayPal with my eBay account, scoured my parent's basement for a proper shipping box, wrestled with a question, "Can a flag really fit in a manila envelope?" (which it can!), carefully wrapped each item and shipped them. I probably spent about three hours on this whole process. In the end, both items added together brought in $12.49. Shipping ended up being $9.06 providing me with a grand total profit of $3.43.

What I learned from the adventure:

• Sell small things on eBay
• Sell expensive things on eBay
• Charge lots and lots of $ for shipping on eBay
  
• I would much rather spend hours trying to save money than spend hours trying to make money
• eBay is too much work unless it's your full-time job or you are just really good at it

Until I figure out a better way to make $ off my old stuff, I am just going to give it away!

Stuff I Got Rid of This Weekend

Getting rid of stuff gives me the euphoric feeling that some women feel when shopping. But I always second-guess myself when cleaning out, so I have to do small amounts at a time. This weekend I eliminated:

• about a ream of old paper stuff from my file cabinet
• 6 CD's & a few books (and made $8.48 for selling them!)
• the Spanish textbook I've had for 6 years, always intending to teach myself
• several Bible study books I haven't looked at in several years (some people argue with getting rid of old Bible study notes, but I view it along the lines of getting rid of jr. high algebra notes, but I guess some people keep those too, I'm not judging you if you don't judge me)
  
• 2 Red Cross "CPR in the Workplace" quick guides
  
• items placed in garage sale/give away pile: picture frames, Walkman, Chewbacca action figure with crossbow, crazy-eye glasses
  
• items for eBay: Luxembourg flag, European Union decorative scarf, red laptop case with monkeys inside (well pictures of monkeys, not actual monkeys)

If you want anything in the garage sale/give away/eBay categories, lemme know. I'll give it to you, and even ship it if shipping is a reasonable price (like < $5).

I'm going to try something new with some of my paper documents that are memorabilia, scanning! I don't really need to have the copy of the 2005 Cornhusker Marching Band Service Award, but I want to remember that in 2005, I was kinda spiffy for a bit. Slowly but surely, I will whittle down my stuff!

Clothing Exchange!

In a few weeks, I'm hosting a clothing exchange! I love these.

The concept: invite lots of friends over, tell them to bring all of the clothing items & accessories they are ready to be rid of, serve some refreshments, set up some dressing areas & mirrors and try on each other's clothes for keeps!

Many items in my closet have come from previous exchanges & I have been able to get rid of many clothing items this way. Instead of having to worry about exchanging money for clothes, you get the satisfaction of knowing that your friends will be using these items just as you will be enjoying their items as well.

For my own personal preparation & to be rid of as many extraneous items as possible, I typically clean out my closet two or three times before the event. Last week I pulled several sweaters and skirts, then today I went through and found a pair of pants (orange ones, oh yeah), two pairs denim shorts, another skirt, my college ballet attire, a swim suit, several shirts & FOUR pairs of way cute shoes I don't wear (and pitched two more pairs of shoes. I'm always glad to get rid of shoes since they are heavy to move & take up lots of space).

Thus far, I am contributing a total of 35 clothing & accessory items & 6 pairs of shoes. Any remaining items will be donated to charity (despite my dreams of getting rich quick by selling them at a consignment boutique). I'll probably do one more sweep, just to make sure I'm really doing a thorough job of eliminating items I don't wear or want.

It's also great to pick up a few items at the exchange that I probably will wear & want for a while. And a major bonus about an exchange is, I didn't pay for it! So in a few months if it's just not working out, I'll put it in my "get rid of" stash and either make millions at Plato's Closet or take it to the next clothing exchange.

pay me for my community goodness!

This is another Facebook import from October 2009-

Minimalism is in, right? I've been on a kick to get rid of things that I don't use, wear, want or need to keep around. Fortunately, there are quite a few consignment shops in Lawrence where one can sell such things they don't use, wear, want or need to keep around. Getting rid of stuff = getting rich quick, right? Besides the aspect of additional cash, I'm pursuing an anti-materialistic lifestyle, cleansing my musty chi, & creating more margin in my house & life. I should feel so cleansed! And slightly richer!

First trip to Plato's Closet to sell a bag of clothing- "Well, these items are not currently in style, so we won't be buying anthing today."

Second trip to Plato's Closet- ditto.

So I struck out on clothes. But for two heavy bagfuls of books & DVD's, I'm sure to make $$$ at the Half Price Book Store! "I can offer you $12."

At that moment, I don't think any sense of focused chi or world peace could have calmed my inner frustration. I politely took my $12 while thinking, "Why doesn't anyone want to pay me for my goodness to the community??? I'm reducing landfill accumulation! People, I'm reducing, reusing & recycling! Pay me!"

And then the secondary thought hit- "Your clothes are many seasons past stylish, as is your DVD & book collection. Maybe if you owned better stuff, you'd be able to get more money when reselling it." But then I realized how completely stupid that thought was & decided I should be happy just getting rid of stuff. True minimalism probably includes minimizing self-righteous & entitled attitudes.

So, I took my $12 & treated myself to a falafel & hummus sandwich at the Mediterranean Market. Not only was it delicious, it was a purchase I won't have to worry about reselling someday. And I still have enough of my $12 left to buy another sandwich, but I'll have to guard against feeling self-righteous for supporting a local business...

Bottles of Beauty Goop

This is a copy of a note I wrote on Facebook, August 2008, but it's still blogworthy!

As I was packing for my trip to Colorado, I was taken aback by the number of bottles of beauty products in my bathroom, and then was shocked to realize that I’ve got more all over my house! So I started counting…

Bathroom- 47
Bedroom- 19
Purse- 6
Already packed for Colorado- 21
Linen closet- 29
Office- 4

All these put together make a grand total of 126.

126. Why do I have so many? And how much money have I spent on all of these magical products that make my hair straight, then make it curly, take the moisture out of my face, put the moisture back in my face, make my skin soft, make me smell like a girl, and generally take the edge off of my supposed natural state of “un-exfoliated wildebeest from the steaming acid lagoon of poo”?

Previously, I prided myself in being a low-maintenance kind of girl that could magically throw together a decent look without the help of a crazy amount of products. Who knows, maybe I’m still right, but that means that the average woman has MORE than 126 products strewn about her life. I might be high-maintenance.

Granted, I am not using all 126 every day, not even close. By my count, on the average day, I use 15-20, about 13% of the whole. I am including the essentials of toothpaste & deodorant, but still, why do I have 106 OTHER bottles of beauty goop just sitting around and how did I acquire them? Some are gifts, some I bought. So what beauty myths convinced me to acquire this many products? Was I afraid I didn’t have enough me-time in my life to pamper myself? Heck, I’m not married, no kids. My entire life is ME-time.

In the midst of my recently-realized high-maintenance existence, I tried to send myself on a “starving children” guilt trip. “There are ugly orphans in Africa who could use your acne cream!” Hmm. “If you aren’t going to use your eucalyptus-mint foot repair balm, give it to a nomad-child in Mongolia!” Somehow that guilt trip thing works better with leftover zucchini casserole.

I have narrowed myself down to two alternatives. I can either throw away all of the stuff I haven’t used in over a year or I can put a freeze on purchasing until I use it all up. I’m thinking I’ll pick the second option but unfortunately end up devoting a larger portion of my life to slathering myself with chemicals, not so much in an effort to look or feel better, but to use up all this stuff. Maybe I’ll end up with some beneficial side-effects, like softer, cleaner skin or I’ll finally look perfect. Right?

Ha. At least I have a great personality.

And for the one-year recount-
Bathroom- 35
Bedroom- 15
Purse- 7
Linen Closet- 23
Office- 4
Total- 84

And the current count-
Bathroom- 30
Bedroom- 15
Purse- 10
Linen Closet- 26
Office- 3
Still 84, and that's even after Christmas!