A Collection of Wonderful Things | 4.9.17

Each week I post a list of things that I am currently enjoying. I hope that this list brings you joy too.

Laundry Detergent

I know this may seem silly, but as I am paring down the “stuff” in my life, I am learning to appreciate great smells so much more. I have tried many detergents over the years, but decided to make the switch to Persil after it was launched in the U.S. And I’ll never change again. The smell is amazing and it cleans really well. Throughout the day, my husband or I will randomly say, “this shirt smells SO good!” Hello Persil! Welcome to America!

App

I’m a voracious reader. I read 150 books last year and lowered my goal this year to 50 so that I could focus on decluttering and organizing. If you are a reader and use an e-reader, I can’t recommend the Overdrive app enough. With the exception of one or two books, every book that I read last year was via the Overdrive app (which connects to your local library) and was free. I grew so much and it is cost absolutely nothing. The Overdrive has, quite literally, changed my life.

Birds

I’m thankful to the birds who religiously wake me up each morning at 5:20. The sound of birds is wonderful because it means the days are longer and the weather is warmer. I have a special fondness for one robin, in particular. We moved into our home five years ago and she built a nest under our deck. We have never touched it and she comes back every year to make a home for her babies. About a week ago, we noticed her sitting on the railing of the deck keeping a lookout, as she always does. One day soon, we will have the special joy of watching a bunch of baby birds poking their beaks up to be fed. I love them.

Quote

“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.” – Richard Feynman

App

I use my phone too much. Much more than some people. Much less than others. I recently read a book that explained how we divide our time into three buckets per week, each consisting of 56 hours. One bucket is used for sleep. One bucket is used for work. That leaves us with 56 hours to spend however we like. The Moment app tracks how much you use your phone each day, the times you use it, and the apps you are using. It can also alert you every time you’ve reached another 15 minute chunk of time or when you have gone over your personal limit that you’ve set for the day. If used optimally, it can really provide some great information on where you are throwing away some of those 56 hours.

Photo by felipepelaquim on Unsplash

A Collection of Wonderful Things

First Saturdays

We keep a donation box in our house at the top of the stairs. It’s an ingrained habit to put anything in the box that we no longer use, no longer love, or no longer need. Items are placed in the box almost daily, but the last leg of the journey has always been the most challenging. The box would overflow and would grow into an eyesore.

So we instituted First Saturdays where we load up the car and drop everything off on the first Saturday of the month. When we get home, I enter all of the items into my tax software so it’s there for me come next April. Easy.

First Saturdays have become a family tradition that has become a heartbeat in our home. We flip the calendar….we give to others. It’s what we do.

Candle

The less “things” I have in my life, the more I find myself enjoying great smells in my home. Two weeks ago, while picking up a birthday gift at Barnes and Noble, my husband was having a moment while smelling their incredible candles. One after another made him exclaim “Oh…This is GREAT!” We don’t like to buy things that we don’t need, so we left without purchasing one.

For the next week, he couldn’t stop thinking about it and, coincidentally enough, our current candle had just burned out. The next time we drove past a Barnes & Noble, he had us wait in the car while he ran in to purchase a Paddywax Apothecary Tobacco & Patchouli candle.

Our house smells fantastic and I can’t rave about this brand enough.

App

I’ve been using the Insight Timer app for quite some time and it’s become the final step in my daughter’s bedtime routine. After pj’s, brushing teeth and reading, the lights go off and the guided meditation goes on. There are hundreds of different meditations by different people and for different goals. And best of all…it’s free! Whether you are new to meditation or have a well-worn cushion, you will find some great meditations to add to your practice.

Girl Scouts

This weekend the local Girl Scouts participate in April Showers. During April Showers, Girl Scouts hang bags on doors for community members to fill with shampoo, tissue, lotion, toothpaste and other toiletry items that will be used by area shelters. My daughter loved this experience so much that she was visibly upset when we finished. Serving others is one of the best values she can learn as a Girls Scout.

App

You may remember the Complaint Free bracelet that was out a bunch of years ago. You would put it on one wrist and move it to the other each time you complained. The goal: 21 days with no complaining. Technology has improved the tracking a bit and there is now an app called Complaint Free.

It’s pretty simple to use. You simple add the app, turn it on and if you complain, you tap a button that says “I complained.” The “no complaining” goal is still 21 days and my record is a whopping 3 days. The creators say that it generally takes a person six months to go 21 days without complaining. Circle back with me in September and see how I’m doing.

Photo by Ksenia Makagonova on Unsplash

The Grownups List | A Collection of Wonderful Things

Spring has finally arrived and I always feel an extra spring in my step when the days get longer and everything starts to bloom. Here is a collection of things that I’m enjoying this week:

Tulips

Tulips are one of the best (though quickest) parts of spring. If the weather is cool, you will get to enjoy them for a week or two. If it’s hot, you’ll only get a couple of days. Stop by your local farmers market or flower shop and grab yourself a beautiful bouquet of tulips. They will make your home so cheery!

Foot Cream

I don’t like to spend a lot of time or money on things that I can do myself. With flip-flop season right around the corner, I bought myself a package of O’Keeffe’s for Healthy Feet Foot Cream and I honestly can’t believe how soft it made my feet in just two days. I had never used it before, but it had great reviews on Amazon. It was a great discovery.

Quote

“Train yourself to let go of the things you fear to lose” – George Lucas

I have been intentionally getting rid of a lot of things lately. And you know what? It doesn’t hurt. It’s freeing.

Podcast

If you are looking for a way to eliminate stress in your life, I can’t recommend The Minimalists podcast highly enough. I’ve listened to every episode and it’s changed my life. Getting rid of noise in your life will allow you to focus intensely on the things you love the most.

Coffee Maker

I don’t drink coffee, but my husband loves it. A few years ago, we purchased a Keurig, but we recently began to resent it. K-cup coffee is (dramatically) more expensive, of a lower quality, possibly contaminated with mold and just simply terrible for the environment. So this week, we ditched the Keurig and opted to kill the k cup. So far, my husband is loving his real coffee from his Ninja Coffee Bar. We will never go back to the K-Cup.

Word

My favorite word right now is “no.” I use it abundantly. It is the number one key to an enjoyable life. I say no to most things, but when I say yes….it’s a YES!!!

Photo by Esther Gorlee on Unsplash

When I began my year of less, I knew that I wanted to start with one of the most emotional processes first…my music collection.

On January 1st, I carried box after box after box up to my dining room, which has become “Less Central.” I had no idea where to even begin. I knew that I had a lot of music to get rid of, so I gave myself the entire month of January to get through it all.

It wasn’t long enough.

The project dragged on until February 15th, but there was no way that I was stopping until the project was complete. This was a once in a lifetime project and leaving it unfinished was not an option.

It was emotional. Very emotional.

In college, I did an internship at a radio station in Chicago which launched my career in the music business. My career in the music industry lasted for a big chunk of my life and it was amazing. Letting go of my cd’s felt like letting go of some of the best years of my life. Every cd that I picked up had a story behind it. Every single one. The entire six week process was an emotional rollercoaster for me. Some music reminded me of high school. Some reminded me of friends that have since passed away. Most reminded me of the remarkable life I once lived. It’s a life that is behind me now and one that I don’t want to go back to, but keeping these cd’s has provided me with a security blanket. These boxes are the umbilical cord to my past.

It was time to cut the cord so that I could grow into the person I’m going to be next.

Sort

The first thing I did was open a box and sort everything into two piles:

I love it

I don’t love it

The “I don’t love it” piles were immediately put into boxes for donation. Easy.

The “I love it” piles were much, much, much larger and the process for these was going to take a while.

Check Spotify

First, I downloaded the CD Scanner for Spotify app. I then proceeded to scan every cd in the “I love it” pile to see which ones were available on Spotify. If they were available, I added them to a playlist called “My CD Collection” and put them in the donation boxes.

Make Tough Decisions

I now had a couple boxes left that were unavailable on Spotify. I sorted these into two piles again:

I love it and I’m keeping it

I love it, but I’m letting it go

This was the hardest part. I loved this music, but I didn’t want to carry it around anymore. I don’t have a cd player in my house, so the only place I could listen to them is in my car. At this point, I kept only my absolute favorites…the rest went into the donate box.

Why Donate? Why Not Sell?

Once the process was complete, I had 1220 cd’s, all boxed up and ready to go.

But where were they going?

My first thought was to sell them. There are several options for selling, but I couldn’t get past the amount of work involved in that process. I had just spent six weeks sorting through them all, did I really want to carry this albatross for weeks (or months) longer?

No. They needed to go now.

I reached out to my local library who was happy to take all of them. They will keep some for library patrons and they will sell the rest, with profits going toward local literacy programs. For those who are counting, that is a win-win-win.

I get rid of my cd’s. Win.

The public gets access to music they love for free or at a low price. Win.

My community gets access to literacy programs. Win.

That helps ease my emotional pain a bit.

Now What?

Now that this process is behind me, I’m happy to share that it was the right decision. I had friends tell me that they “don’t support this decision” or that “I should keep them just in case.” I proceeded anyway.

As I was nearing the end of my project, I came across the right words at the right time:

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu

It was time for me to let go so that I could move forward into the next chapter of my life. I want music to be the soundtrack to my life, not my life itself. I love music, not cd’s.

Yes, the cd’s are gone, but music is a constant in my life and I’ll be listening to a lot of it as I begin my February project of eliminating paper.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash