Maximum Gratitude, Minimal Stuff

"Oh, hi there.  How are you?" "Oh, you know.  Busy as usual.  Crazy busy, really.  How are you?" "Same old, same old.  Crazy busy.  See ya!" "Bye now.  Have a good day." That was a heart-warming conversation, wasn't it?  It's sure to bring those two people closer together and increase their understanding of each other.  After all, they have a lot in common. A fool's trap "Crazy busy" is modern shorthand for: I'm really important and in-demand. My activities are valuable and necessary. I try never to miss an opportunity or advantage. I'm so productive. The thing about being busy is that it never ends.  Especially in our era when we can be connected 24/7/365, there's always something else to do.  Always a new opportunity on the horizon.  Always a job to tend to or a problem to iron out.  The to-do list has no end. And what is it for?  To make a boss happy, to make money for our company, or maybe to make money for o

I don't care if maximalism is the current design trend.  Less is beautiful. Less means you spend less, because minimalism is not about continuing to buy more and more, thinking it's okay as long as you get rid of stuff you no longer want.  That's not minimalism – that consumerism.  If that's what you're doing in your home, you're still caught in a trap of binge and purge , and you haven't yet started on your minimalist journey.  You're just contributing to the waste problem on our planet.  You need to stop accumulating clutter in the first place by buying less . Minimalists do it better. Truly wanting and acquiring less is an environmentally sound choice.  It's an economically sound choice.  You shop less, you need less storage, and you can live in a smaller house. Less means you're not weighed down by unnecessary things.  You worry less.  You search for things less.  You spend less time cleaning and organizing.  You're lighter, freer, and y

You may know that Netflix is ending their DVD service at the end of this month.  My husband Jon and I have been subscribers for almost 20 years, and we've been content to have a couple of discs to watch every week. But now if we want to continue to be able to watch a movie or a TV series on a free evening, we need to stream content.  And since our TV isn't a smart TV, we have to make a purchase. Our first impulse When we want to solve a problem or make some kind of change in our lives, we usually buy something.  For example: We want to get organized, so we buy containers, folders, or a custom-designed closet system. We want to lose weight, so we buy diet foods, an exercise machine, or a gym membership. We want to help the environment, so we buy a stainless steel water bottle, metal straw, or reusable produce bags. We want to save gas, so we buy a gas-efficient car, a hybrid, or an electric car (and then we buy a special charger to install in the garage). We want to get out of d

So you're working on developing a positive minimalist mindset , and you're ready to dive into the task of decluttering your home.  But where should you start? If your home is typical, you have many hundreds of things you don't need or want that are making it crowded, messy, and difficult to maintain.  These things are stealing space, stealing time, stealing freedom, and making it harder to focus on what you really care about.  You might feel frustrated by so many things that it's hard to know where to start dealing with all of it. You can't declutter if you don't know where to start. Minimalism is a personal journey, different for each of us, and so is decluttering.  But everyone needs a place to start. When asked, I've often said, "Start with the place that bothers you most."  But maybe you feel like EVERY PLACE bothers you!  Or maybe the place that bothers you most doesn't feel like a job you can finish in just an hour or two.  You don't

I was raised by, and for a long time followed the pattern of, someone who was a clutter victim.  My mom kept all. the. things : school papers (from creative and one-of-a-kind all the way through spelling tests) sewing notions (from useful leftovers to the tiniest unusable snippets) books (from re-readable classics to dime store romances) photos (from well-shot memorable occasions to blurred "who is that?" mysteries) ... and more.  She purchased additional bins and reorganized belongings constantly, seeking order and cleanliness amidst the piles.  She stocked up on "just in case" items and overbought "bargains" that were "just too good to pass up."  Our closets were always "too few" and "too small."  I grew up in one town, but we moved house five times in 13 years because we "needed more room." You don't have to be a hoarder to be a clutter victim. My mom never thought of herself as a hoarder, because she had rela

Minimalism is all about essentials.  It's about keeping what's necessary and removing the rest.  It's about identifying what you care about so you can remove everything that distracts you from it.  It's about focusing on what matters and skipping the things that don't. It's important to remember that what's essential for me might not be essential for you, and vice versa.  In fact, what's essential for me today isn't the same as what I found necessary 10 or 20 years ago, and I'm sure my essentials will change again as life goes on.  So this isn't a once-and-done proposition.  Which is good, because it makes minimalism useful and adaptable for anyone at any time.  Minimalism is perfect for you . Here's the challenge. We must be thoughtful, honest, and willing to change.  Sometimes those transitions are smooth, and sometimes they aren't. I loved homeschooling my kids, and I got quite attached to the home library we amassed over the year

You forgot your only niece's birthday.  You booked a haircut 30 minutes before you have to be at the dentist.  You're running late to a client meeting, and you just realized there's no milk or Cheerios in your house. You're battling busyness, and it's winning .  Now, there are tons of great time management apps and programs out there, but none of them will do you any good if you don't get to the root of your problem. One simple word We all have the same amount of time.  Calm and productive Carol lives on the same planet as pressured and crazy Paul.  Subtract the time you spend sleeping, getting dressed, commuting, and working, and you might be left with 5 or 6 hours every day.  Exercise, cook dinner, do a home chore or two, and spend way too much time on your phone , and suddenly you have much less. So we just have to become more hard-working and laser-focused, right?  Schedule everything (including relationships) down to the minute and put our noses to the grin