LIGHTENING YOUR LIFE: THE HOLIDAYS AND FAMILY PHOTOS

Lightening your life: What about the holidays and family photos?

I have always enjoyed various holidays and the decorating that goes with them.  When I had a large home and lots of space; I had lots of stuff for decorating.  And I mean lots with Easter being my favorite.  

As I have been ‘lightening’ my life, I have made many tough decisions and I had what I thought was just a few things in one and a half boxes of holiday stuff I thought I needed.  I made the decision that I did not and now I will enjoy going places and seeing things that are holiday related vs. having my own holiday stuff at home.  Again, it wasn’t a lot but it did help me eliminate even more for donation (many items were collectable). 

Now, the family photo albums and baby books…that is now in 5 brown boxes and I am fortunate that I have a parent that has agreed to keep it until I get settled somewhere.  I also know that those need to be brought down to just one box and scanning all of the photos is the answer.  This is not something I look forward to but I have my sibling that will take that on at some point; currently looking into services that do just that.  And having everything on disc and/or electronically is maybe the final frontier of ‘stuff’ that can be eliminated and maybe more useful.   

I can tell you that I do not dwell in the past nor do I look at family photos but having them is important and I understand and appreciate that—now to just do it.

How do handle the holidays and your family photos?  I look forward to your emails and learning from you.  lisa@lisaturnbull.com

LIGHTENING YOUR LIFE: GOING PAPERLESS

Lightening your life: Going paperless

I jumped on the paperless bandwagon years ago with some really bad luck from being billed multiple times for the same thing to bank statements arriving late if at all.  And my favorite credit card companies who didn’t send a statement and added late fees that I fought and won to have taken off.  

I am only talking about paper that we all get that we actually need: bank statements, credit card bills, investment accounts, insurance billing—please know I prefer to get some of these in the mail because I am finding that I have to sign in and remember every different log in and password then drill through to find what I am looking for—bad page design but that is another issue.

Now I am in a situation of living in flux with the need to be paperless for the environment (the main reason I did so early on) but more importantly for convenience and safety.  I did not want to go through it again with the bad luck I had all the way around in the 90’s.  And I forgot to mention that I have had identity theft problems in the past—mild but a hassle and I listened well to what the FBI told me, that were called in on my first case.  I reduced the number of credit cards, never got an ATM or debit card, while seeking work never giving personal info that they didn’t need in the interview process(one of the identity theft issues was a recruiter that accessed one of my accounts), just being very vigilant in general.  

Let me know about how paperless you are, and your experiences to date.  I look forward to your emails and learning from you.  lisa@lisaturnbull.com

HOW TO LIGHTEN YOUR LIFE: DEBT REDUCTION AND CLUTTER-FREE GIVING

Lightening your life: While you are reducing your material footprint; I hope you are also reducing your debt and any negativity in your life (people?)

Before I started the chain of charitable donations, I made being debt-free a priority.   Reducing debt significantly means to minimize ALL types of spending—sounds basic but when you start writing down everything you spend on paper or in a spreadsheet; I will guess that you will be surprised where it all goes. 

Do you consider ‘clutter-free giving’ for holidays and events?  This is something I have been doing with my family in recent years.  Some exampled for parents are restaurant gift cards—this way they can either go out or pick-up the food and not have the clean-up or effort to prepare.  Plane tickets are nice when you know someone will be traveling or they are coming to see you for the holidays.  Business buddies seem to really like Starbucks or anything that is a treat like ice cream or gelato and breakfast drive through.  You are not adding to their possessions or something they have to care for or take up space. 

This is another short article about clutter and gifts: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/11/11may30c.cfm

Since making my first temporary move, just over a month ago, I continued to ‘lighten’ my material possessions so I can be an easy relo wherever my next employment is located.  I also want to have the time to enjoy a new place and not have to spend so much time taking care of stuff. 

Let me know how your are doing in your ‘lightening’ at lisa@lisaturnbull.com

LIGHTENING YOUR LIFE: QUESTIONS TO ASK

Having a lighter life: What are some questions to ask to ‘lighten your life’?  

Does your work serve you or at the very least do you like it?  If not, what work would you like to be doing?  How would you determine what you would like to be doing to earn income?

Do you like where you live?  What criteria would you use to decide where you would like to live?

Do you feel the possessions you have serve you or are useful?

What changes are you making?  What changes would you like to make?  How would you decide what to change and when?

I hope that everyone is in work that they love and that they live where they can have great experiences and are around great people.  I also hope that you have ‘lightened your life’ by purging everything that doesn’t serve you with material possessions being a great place to start.

Another short list of ways to organize: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/00/000522L.cfm?STT

I have always found that taking action with tasks (like going through your stuff) and by answering the above questions can move us all in the right direction.

I would like to know the changes you have made and/or planning to make—you may inspire others to do the same.  Please respond with a post or a direct email.

If I can offer support or answer questions, please contact me directly at lisa@lisaturnbull.com

HAVING A LIGHTER LIFE-THE BIG PURGE

Having a lighter-life: Two weeks after the first big move and donating the majority of what I own has not brought the euphoric feeling I have been waiting for, yet.  But there is some satisfaction to sit in a room and be able to see most of what you own in one place.  I have another small load of items going this week for donation and then there is not much else to get rid of or donate; I think?  In making a decision to make myself available for a ‘drama-free’ relo for new employment; I am at least ready for that—anyone listening?

One of the things I realized is that I had many many ‘just in case’ items and donating those was at least one car load.  To read more about those ‘just in case’ items: http://www.theminimalists.com/in-case/

I am in a very small space spending my days networking and working out my notice with my current employer.  Interviewing and looking for that ‘sign’ to know where to go next with my new paired down life.  When there is less to manage there is more time to live life.  http://www.theminimalists.com/happen/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theminimalists%2FHztx+%28The+Minimalists%29

Next is the nitty gritty---I will need to get more creative about how to create more room or find another criteria for lightening what I still have, when you think you have eliminated any thing extra; you haven’t.