Maximum Gratitude, Minimal Stuff

It starts in grade school, that desire to fit in and be "normal."  We want to do what our friends are doing, and our parents say, "If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you follow?" Unfortunately, many of our peers are jumping – into a pit of debt.  The average American carried over $6,000 of credit card debt at the end of 2019, and according to CNBC, 51% of people with credit card debt have increased their balances since March 2020.  Auto and student loans are up too, and Experian reports that mortgage debt has seen record growth. A 2017 Pew Research study found that 54% of Americans spend more than they earn every month .  While the personal savings rate increased in 2020 as people were forced to stay at home, a surge in spending is expected once people are vaccinated and Covid-related restrictions are lifted. When the Joneses spend more than they earn and save less than they need, keeping up with them is a terrible idea. There's good reason to ignore med

I love a home decorated with family antiques.  I also like looking at photos or other family art, such as the painting of my husband's great-great-grandmother which hangs in his mother's living room.  My daughter and son-in-law prize the caricature portrait drawn by a San Francisco street artist when they were on their honeymoon, and a friend of mine displays plaster of Paris handprints of each of her three children, made in school for Mother's Day decades ago. I also appreciate collections of natural elements.  My husband, son of a geologist, has several beautiful geodes, those vaguely spherical rocks which contain a hollow cavity lined with crystals.  My mother-in-law likes to display birds' nests, and of course many people care for lovely house plants. I have a collection of vintage English blue and white transferware.  My first piece was a Sadler Blue Willow teapot given to my mother as a wedding gift in 1959.  She never used it, but I was fascinated by it for many

NOTE:  This post contains a few paid links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn a very small fee from qualified purchases. Sometimes, life is extra busy, and we just have to muddle through each day as well as we can.  Work, school, kids, pets, and more may conspire to keep our homes in a jumble.  Everyday activities like cooking and crafting can add to the chaos. Read on for some guidance on how to keep the mess at bay to create a calmer, more relaxing and efficient home. 6 Tidyness Tips 1.  First, declutter. If you haven't done it already, a quick declutter can really help, since fewer possessions means less time spent cleaning and tidying.  Take the Declutter Dare , or focus on one area like the living room, play room, or kitchen .  Ask yourself "How often do I use this?" and "Do I really need so many of these?"  2.  Create a place for everything. Everything you own needs a home – somewhere you can put it back after you have used it.  If an item doesn't have a

Here's something I keep noticing:  It doesn't take long for the conversation of any group of people to turn negative. Whether the complaints are about pandemic protocols, politics, gas prices, traffic, the weather, or something else, negativity seems to be the default mode of many of us. In spite of morning news shows that try to insert upbeat "special interest" stories, those are rare, and always seem contrived to add a bit of lightness to the "real" business of the day.  Most news sources, from TV and radio to podcasts and social media, thrive on crisis and mayhem.  There's evidence that this actually warps our perceptions of reality . Disconcertingly, when someone tries to add a positive remark to conversations that seem dominated by complaints, the comment is often challenged or dismissed as "wishful thinking."  Those Pollyanna viewpoints don't fit the prevailing theme. My mother used to tell me I was too idealistic.  "It doesn'

Instead of searching for the next productivity hack so you can continue to do it all, become more intentional about what you put on your plate in the first place.  It's crammed full because you keep saying yes. But there's freedom to be found in learning to say no.  No is a word that establishes boundaries and saves your time and energy for the things that are important to you. As more and more people receive the Covid vaccine and restrictions are gradually loosening, many of us are once again becoming busier. And isn't this a good thing?  Children and teens are once again enjoying at least some time in the classroom with teachers and classmates, and some activities, especially outdoor team sports like softball and soccer (football).  In my area, people are once again going out to restaurants and movie theaters (still keeping a distance from others).  We attended church inside on Easter Sunday (wearing masks and leaving space between ourselves and other worshippers).  The

You've seen them on Pinterest, those perfect capsule wardrobes.  Or maybe you've read the posts about people who wore the same dress for 30 days – and no one even noticed . We so often think that to project a successful image we need a room-size closet full of the latest designer clothes, shoes, handbags, and jewelry.  But some of the most famous people in the world have turned their backs on fashion trends.  You might even argue that their success is at least partly the result of ignoring fashion in favor of focus and productivity. It's not just tech businessmen like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg who do this either.  Way back in the 1980's, designer Donna Karan introduced her " Seven Easy Pieces " wardrobe, which still works.  Director Christopher Nolan and designer Michael Kors each wear basically the same outfit every day (Kors once told the Seattle Times that his black and white outfit makes him feel "fresh and glamorous and graphic.")  Angelina

Even though we tend to use the terms "decluttering" and "minimalism" interchangeably, they aren't actually the same thing.  What's the difference?  Here's the short answer:  All minimalists live without clutter, but not all who declutter become minimalists. Most people who are motivated to declutter have no intention of becoming minimalist. Perhaps they're preparing to move, and don't want to pack up and haul everything. They might be getting married and need to streamline in order to combine households. Maybe they're ready to retire and move to a smaller home.  Possibly they have sorted through the accumulated belongings of a deceased parent, and decided that they don't want to leave such a burden for their own children. Or they might be like I was, and one day they simply reach a point where it's all too much – too expensive, too crowded, too overwhelming. Regardless of the reason, decluttering is the result. Maybe you have declutt

Here's the choice: Spend your life in a cycle of dissatisfaction ➜ shopping ➜ accumulating ➜ organizing ➜ decluttering ➜ more shopping ➜ overwhelm ➜ spring cleaning ➜ repeat . . . OR . . . you can break the cycle, simplify, and find not only contentment but something better to do with your time, money, and energy. Sometimes figuring out how to get to less is the easy part.  You can get rid of clutter in many ways, including these: declutter one specific area in five minutes or less remove 100 or more items from your home in one hour or less create a minimalist 4x4 wardrobe radically downsize in five steps (instructions continue here ) undecorate No matter which approach you choose, if you want the results to be long-lasting, you need to understand why you want to simplify your life.  This will be your foundation when things get tough, when you're tempted by sales and advertising, when the job of decluttering seems too hard, and when you're bored or sad and think buying so