Why You Don't Have Any Time

Why You Don't Have Any Time. Great article. I could identify with pretty much all of these...

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 :)

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. :)

Potager Cafe

"As much as possible, we try to use local, natural, & organic products, so we're not feeding you poison." That's what I like to hear from a restaurant- no poison!

I'm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for a family get-together and, as always, food is one of the focal points of the weekend. For lunch today, we visited the Potager Cafe, a quaint bistro just across the street from the University of Texas - Arlington campus.

The chalkboard menu changes daily. No prices are listed. You simply go up to the counter and order what you'd like in the quantity you want. Today, they were featuring dishes made with ingredients the owner picked up at this morning's farmer's market. You pay what you'd like as you're leaving.

In the words of the owner, "I don't know why more restaurants like this exist. It makes sense. Why not be able to order what you like, in the quantity you like, and pay what you like? It stops wasting food."

Agreed!

Instead of feeling obligated to finish a lot of food my body doesn't need, I was able to order in the portions I prefer. I felt satisfied & happy with my bowl of Southwestern bean soup, a big spoonful of rice primavera, and a small piece of apple cake. Between all of us, we tried everything on the menu including vegetable & goat cheese quiche, salmon & pasta casserole, green salad, and herbed flatbread. It was all delicious! Even my 18 month old niece approved of everything & said "Mmmmm!" with every single bite of apple cake she tried.

It's very refreshing for me to know a place like this exists. I voluntarily paid as much as I would have paid at a mainstream restaurant, but knew I was getting food that was good for me (and delicious to boot!) & supporting a business that follows earth-friendly, sustainable, & healthy practices.

Note: If you're thinking of going there, they've had some issues lately with their landlord so they might be moving to a different location.

Buying Diet?

This article featured on CNN.com relates our natural instincts of stuff-accumulation to the pre-historic ways of being a hunter-gatherer. The author compares our draw towards stuff to our draw towards eating.

"If you've ever tried to lose weight, you know that willpower isn't enough: Crash dieting never works against deeply primal instincts. What goes for eating goes for acquiring, too.

You see, our hunter-gatherer ancestors survived by collecting pelts, sticks, fibers, hunks of peat -- whatever might keep them comfy in their caves. Thousands of years later, acquiring, just like eating, still flips the switch that tells our primitive lizard brains we're well supplied for hard times. To sustain a balanced buying diet, we must flip that switch without actually accumulating more stuff."

I also cracked up at the author's differentiation between the natural stress responses of men & women.

"Men's stress response says "Fight or flee!" Ours says "Fight or flee -- and make sure everyone has a nice warm sweater!" There's a reason why, when anticipating nerve-racking social events, most of us go directly to "What will I wear?""

So is there an Atkin's version of a buying diet?

An "Arg" of Attempted Minimalism

So I've done all the good minimalist things of de-cluttering, de-stuffing, shedding certain consumerist views, experiencing freedom from stuff, & fully enjoying the items that I choose to keep around me. Despite a few minor setbacks (why are free t-shirts so easy to acquire in the Midwest?), I've stayed true to the ideas of minimizing stuff.

And then I discover a shortcoming of my minimalist path: what do I do when the items I rely on daily start breaking & malfunctioning?

For example, I have two standard pairs of work heels. They're nothing fancy, but are comfortable, walkable, versatile, & basically exactly what I need. However, in the last 6 months, both pairs have worn out.

I need clones of my shoes.

But that doesn't exist. I guess there's no way around it. One must go through the effort of shopping, buying, & trying, knowing that the first few attempts might not be the perfect fit.

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).

FAIL: Pillow Shams

What is up with pillow shams anyway? I'll be honest, interior decorating is really not my thing. I have no concept of what goes together, what's in, what looks good, why we have certain items, etc. However, lately I have been trying to combine decorating with my dad's sage advice of "Don't own stuff you don't like" and switched my bedspread from a so-called Bohemian pattern that I feel "meh" about to my plain black bedspread from college that I like much much much better. However, by switching I created a bit of a problem: Bohemian pattern had pillow shams and my college bedspread doesn't.

Many questions ran through my head as I tried to process this decorating dilemma. What do pillow shams do? Do I really need pillow shams? What do I gain by pillow shams? Why are they called pillow shams? Who will benefit from me having pillow shams? Will anyone notice if I don't have pillow shams?

I decided I should check out the options available for these strange bedding items since a little research couldn't hurt. First stop, Tuesday Morning the discount housewares store. I entered, hoping to find the Holy Grail of pillow shams but at 60% less than their department store counterparts. I located the shams only to discover an important detail in the world of shams: there are TWO kinds, the Euro sham and the Standard sham. Euro: 26"x26", Standard: 20"x26". I'm glad they put the measurements on the packages, but this is getting complicated. Tuesday Morning creeps me out, so I tried to ponder quickly and chose a Standard beige linen sham. The next day, I returned it. I am going to slightly tweak my Dad's advice to include "Don't shop at stores you don't like."

Today I had the day off, so I checked out the selection at Wal-Mart since they have a new line of interior decorating items, again hoping for a cheap solution to my naked pillows. No good. The new line of decorating items was very embroidered, very flowery, very pastel-y, very not the right solution for me. My third and last stop on the sham quest was Kohl's. At Kohl's, the bedding, along with the signs declaring a SALE, attacks you from the tiny aisles. Somehow, the brands of "Park Avenue," "Chaps" and "Hannah Montana" didn't do much for me. I did find a bedding design by Daisy Fuentes that could have made my bedroom look like a cheap brothel, but sad day, they only had Euro shams. Once again I walked away empty handed.

Since then, I have decided to try life without pillow shams. When I did have them, all I did with them was move them every night & again every morning. My dog enjoyed them as a comfy nap surface, but she has other options available. I'm still not sure if I've failed at interior decorating because I'm lazy or if I've succeeded in uncomplicating another aspect of my life. I'm thinking I'll just postpone the shams until I need them. But that would involve figuring out what one actually needs shams for...

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!

More With Less: A World Community Cookbook

Growing up, my siblings and I frequently asked my mother where a certain recipe came from. More often than not, she would reply, "From More With Less." I knew it was a cookbook and the things she made were tasty, but it wasn't until she gave me a copy after college graduation that I really understood what this cookbook is all about.

It has no pictures. The first 50 pages are a dissertation on world hunger, American's habitual resource over-consumption, nutrition, and spirituality. Spirituality in a cookbook? Yeah, it was written by Mennonites. But if you've been around Mennonites, you know they are notoriously good cooks & bakers plus they make a serious connection between their eating habits, their worldview and their relationships with God. "We are connected to our food- cultivating it, preserving it, and preparing it. We are nurturers instead of consumers. This shift affects our relationship to the Giver of our daily bread. We become co-creators with God and stewards of God's garden," (pg. viii, props to you if you can read Roman numerals).

But the Mennonites were way ahead of the game in their approach to food. The cookbook was first published in 1976 following a challenge for Mennonite families to reduce both their food budgets and food consumption by 10%. What if a modern church did that today? Riots I tell you, riots! But back to the Mennonites. The goal of the cookbook is to provide recipes (and a crap-ton of recipes at that) for families that combine basic, un-processed ingredients into tasty, nutritious meals. It's not showy and it's really un-complicated!

There's even a heading in the dissertation called "Overcomplicating Our Lives" that addresses how we have turned eating into a superexperience, particularly when eating with other people. "Serving guests becomes an ego trip, rather than a relaxed meeting of friends around that most common everyday experience of sharing food. Gathering around the table in fellowship turns into entertaining. We eat out for something to do, not because we find ourselves on the road at mealtime," (pg. 20). I have nothing against eating out or fixing a better meal when guests are over, but so many times, those experiences become a distraction from the true purpose of sharing meals: getting to know people better and spending time with friends. Plus, eating out generally involves spending too much money for more food than you really physically needed. "Overeating wastes food," (pg. 15).

As for the recipes, it's amazing what basic, un-processed, un-complicated ingredients can combine to create! In addition to traditional recipes, it includes a wide variety of international recipes & vegetarian dishes. I've made many recipes in addition to the ones my mom has made and it's always great to know that you've made something not only tasty, but easy, nutritious & that supports simple lifestyle. Plus, the cookbook's format is basic, easy to read & on normal paper so I don't feel bad about writing in my own notes. Not sure if I'm ready to try the Formosan Fried Cabbage, but the Hearty Lentil-Sausage Soup is amazing!

2010's First $ Project

I'm probably heading to grad school in Fall 2010, hopefully getting a graduate assistantship. While I'm excited about the prospect of grad school, or at least the prospect of getting a higher paying job because of grad school, I am not too excited about the fact that for about two years, I will need to live on one half of my current income. And I'm not doing student loans, that's just not an option for me.

This is definitely a "trial by fire" experience. It's an excellent test really: am I willing to sacrifice my lifestyle for two years so that I have the chance to improve my lifestyle in the years following?

Honestly, the idea is freaking me out. I hate having to worry about money. Certain expenses are non-negotiable like rent, utilities, car insurance and the cell bill, and because of those, the areas of my budget that get trimmed are food, clothing, entertainment & travel. I already track all my expenditures by category (yes, I'm one of those freaks in love with spreadsheets), so the left side of my brain is about ready to explode with anxiety since the new categorical numbers will be difficult to work with, I can't continue my life the way I like, and, holy crap, I'll have to change my general operating procedure!

But then I decided that my right brain should take charge of this project; it's time to get creative! I have seven months to get ready for this & I'm already well-situated to do this! I already own the "big items" like bed, dresser, & kitchen supplies so I won't be incurring additional expenses with those, I already have enough clothes & shoes, & I won't need to buy work clothes since I can go to class in jeans & a t-shirt (my preferred uniform for life), and I won't be commuting 250+ miles a week, so my gas & time between car maintenance appointments will be greatly reduced.

So how can I start preparing now? My goal for the first half of 2010 is to save as much money as possible & to start adopting some of the lifestyle habits that will be thrust upon me come August. I already try to lead a fairly simple lifestyle, but there are adjustments that I can make.

1. Limit travel. I love travelling, whether visiting relatives or college friends or taking an adventure trip. But travelling usually involves at least $50 in gas plus money spent eating out, going out, admission to events & occasionally pet care (for my lovely dog Mabel).
2. Limit clothing purchases. I already have enough. I should probably get rid of some actually.
3. Prepare food that is filling & extendible. Instead of making a chicken breast which works for only one meal, cut it up and put it in a stir fry which is equally as tasty, but will provide leftovers for subsequent meals.
4. Try to eat vegetarian a few times a week. Meat is expensive.
5. Invite friends over for dinner or game nights instead of going out. And thinking about it, my friends probably won't mind. Saving $ is a universal interest.

It'll end up working out because it has to. I just don't really want to do this. I suppose the mental block I have is the same kind of block certain people have towards cleaning their homes, losing weight or starting an exercise program. Nothing will change until you decide to change it. No one else is going to do this for me, so it's time I accept the way things are & go forth with creative confidence that with a few adjustments, I can do this!