all stuffed up

We all have so. Much. Stuff. Far more than we need. Far more than we could ever use up! Far more than our planet or our budgets can support. And yet, even in this "down economy" all we do is buy, buy, buy! Consumerism is the slave driver, and who are we to disagree? This is how things are. Buy things to feel better, buy things when you feel bad. Buy things when you have enough money, buy things to help you save money. But things when you need to organize, buy things when you need to de-clutter!

None of this makes any sense. It is an unnatural habit. Animals do not keep building bigger and better nests or homes; they build one that is strong, safe and durable, and they repair it when and if it is necessary, but they don't add on to it incessantly.

As I think about preparing my budget and my body for a possible cross-country move, I am also thinking about preparing my stuff. I'd love to be able to make it out there with everything I need in the back of my car. I'm not sure that that's exactly feasible for me, but think about freeing it would be! So, here are a few things that I am committing to this year at school that will help me de-stress and de-clutter before I leave college forever.

• As I move to my apartment, I'm not unpacking. I unpacked my books, but I have no plans to unpack my clothing. As I get it out to wear it, I'll put it away. By Thanksgiving, if I haven't worn it,  it will get donated. If I don't wear it in ten weeks, it won't get worn. 
• The Year of No Buying. I will no longer be purchasing anything I can possibly do without. I have plenty of shoes- I don't need more. More jewelry than I can use up ever. Even items like shampoo and soap, I have extras of. I'm going to use all of those things up before I purchase more.
• Make What You Don't Have. I'm an avid DIYer.  Once I'm out of shampoo, I'm planning on making my own. The same goes for the schoolbag I want to own, Birthday and Christmas presents, and a hundred other items.
• Wait a week before you buy. When you think to yourself, 'oh, I need such-and-such', write it down, and then wait one week. If at the end of the week, you've caught yourself thinking,  'I REALLY need such and such' or 'SHOOT! I still need this or that!', then I will buy it. In the meantime, I'll think about making it or doing without.

Hopefully, this will enable me to get rid of things I never use, and to live more frugally, another big goal of mine. I'm thinking of taking my bike to class and the grocery, so that will help me save on gasoline, and I'm going to make as much as I can out of local fruits and veggies, keeping my grocery bill low. I will get myself out to California, and I will do it next Summer.

Without an entire TRAIN of stuff behind me.

simply fit

HA! I know that's what you're thinking. It's ok, let it out. Simple? Being Fit? HA!

Heck, even I'm thinking it. I'm still quivering from my first toning workout in 6 months, and I lasted maybe 40 minutes. Ha, simplicity.

But the truth of the matter is, it is simple. A small commitment, that's all it takes. Like getting a Twitter account. (Which I do not have, nor do I want) But getting fit is really no more of a commitment than that. I'm making a commitment, right now, to myself and to you, assuming you're out there, reading along. Thirty minutes a day. Thirty minutes a day of focused toning exercise. That's thirty minutes on top of any cardio I decide to do, which I will hopefully have time for again in September. It is time for me to renew that commitment, and really focus on getting myself in the best shape of my life. For although "round" is a shape, and not one to be ashamed of, it isn't the healthiest shape for our bodies. I would say right now, that my body is average, leaning toward chunky. I have a relatively high amount of muscle on my 5'3" frame, and so I actually weigh about 35 or 40 more pounds than I look like I weigh. (And no, I am not brave enough to disclose that number online. Sorry!) And although the number of pounds I weigh has never been the most important number for me, (I'm far more concerned by the number of the jeans I'm pulling on) I know that I need to continue to slim down. But I am getting to the point now where I am not changing shape as much now as I am kind of bleeding off a pound here or there.

Well, the time has come to get serious about changing my body again. This time next year, with any luck, I won't be living in Ohio anymore, and in all likelihood, I'll be somewhere much more image conscious than the Midwest. I do feel like that is the right direction for me, but I also know that in order to slip into that kind of culture well, I need to feel good about my body. Therefore, dear Reader, whomever you are, I'm committing to this:

• 30 minutes a day of muscle toning exercise
• 90 or more minutes a week of focused cardio exercise 
• even more fresh foods: low carb, high fruit and vegetable diets
• choosing to look to the future and what I want to have happen instead of what I want right now

I've been down this road before. And it has never ended the way I want it to. Often, as with most people, it ends in failure. A few times, it ends with me in a very unhealthy weight loss situation, which makes me nervous.  I don't have a good understanding of food and my body, and thus, we don't have a healthy relationship.

But it all starts with two pieces of simplicity: A simple desire, and a simple commitment.

Here's to being simply fit (and fabulous!) by next Spring!

a balancing act

All things in moderation, except love.

This is the way I try to live my life. If I had a "life motto", that would be it. Because I truly believe that life is a balancing act, and that you need a little bit of everything to make it work right. A little bit of everything and a LOT of love.

There are things, of course, that aren't in your balancing act, or that get so unbalanced, you have to stop and adjust the fulcrum and get it right. But that's the adventure! If you think of life as a loooooong tightrope walk, you'll start to see where I'm heading.

You keep on the straight and narrow, but to do that, you have to take a walk on the wild side. Like the ancient yin-yang symbol, to every light is some shadow, to every water, there's a spark, to every good decision, there's a bad one lurking around the corner.  But balance. Take a little of each, and you'll move forward. When you get scared, or fall off, look down. Love, the one thing you don't use in moderation, is your safety net. When things get rough, you lean on your loved ones, and try not to fret. 
I honestly am trying to live this way. It isn't easy for me- I have kind of an obsessive personality- when I get into something,  I 'm IN it, and I have trouble backing down, and balancing my life. But I know that that is not healthy, and I'm not really at my best when I'm that way. Besides that, I know it makes me deadly dull to talk to, because I can only talk about one thing over, and over, and over again.

Balance. It's terribly important. No human being can live a life consumed by one passion: look at Mozart, Van Gogh, and Heath Ledger. After a time, that passion consumes you, leaving no room in your life for relationships or anything else.

Balance.

And when you fall, do it spectacularly. Don't be afraid to land on your loved ones. They LOVE you. That's the point. Love them back, and you'll find your heart fuller. Love freely and fully, without reservations. Even if it hurts when you land, you'll be back on your feet in no time, and you'll have learned something for next time. 

when life gets in the way

I'm super busy. I don't know if I can explain how busy. At least during the school year. In addition to being a Full-Time Student, I work nearly full time, and I run my small crafting business. (Click Here to see my site!) In the midst of all that, is this little baby blog. I know, I know, it is Summer time, and yes, it is true that I am often attached at the hip with my computer. (my friends all live in it!) But, at the same time, Life happens. And honestly, that's the simplest thing of all Honestly, I often wonder if that isn't the truest form of living simply. Just let life HAPPEN. Planning doesn't- can't- always work. It only gets you so far. And I have found, although I am young, that the best moments of my life are the un-planned ones. The trips I didn't mean to take, the things I didn't mean to buy, the people I never intended to meet. Those are the things in my life that I treasure the most. So when life happens to you, let it. Don't freak out, go with the flow. Enjoy the ride. Sit back, and watch your life unfold. i'm not saying it will just magically happen. But when you tug on the right door, and it opens, and the fireworks start to go off because you're right where you are supposed to be, then WATCH them. Don't go running by because you are too busy to see them, or because a certain project is taking over your life, or you feel tied to a routine. Sometimes it is good to break your routines. This is a hard lesson for me. I looove my routines. I like having a schedule, and I have difficulty with upset and surprises. (Surprise Parties= bad idea for me...) But it is a good thing to shake it up now and then, and what happens while you're shaking is really what life is about. That's how it happens. Not in the routines that we create for ourselves. Not in the rules and strictures we place around our lives. Live. Let yourself go, metaphorically, and see what happens.

I guarantee you'll be happier for it. 

moving: simple?

The short answer? No.
Especially when your lease gets screwed up, and your security deposit goes through the roof, and your roommate's grandma died the night before.
Not. Simple.
So how do we make it a wee bit simpler? Excellent question!

First of all, make good plans. On moving day, be prepared for as many eventualities as you can. Bad leases, needing a co-signer, forgetting things, maintenance problems, etc.

Once you get into your new space, take some time to figure it out. Learn the new paths, figure out where the plugs are, where the furniture should go.

Make sure you KNOW YOUR EXPENSES. A small moving truck from U-Haul? Up over $100. If you can afford that, stop reading my blog. (Just kidding, don't, but you know what I mean) Oh, hey, friend with pick-up truck. Internet, electricity, gas, those all have activation fees. Plan for them.  You'll owe rent right away. Save your pennies! (literally, that's what I did... I had $10 worth. Impressive.)

The point, as always, is to think and be smart about things. Think hard. Talk to people you trust. And double check all of the paper work and all of the expenses before you commit to anything.

Good luck!

let's do this

This morning, I was inspired. It doesn't take a ton for me, I'm liable to get inspired by nearly anything. But today, I was pleasantly surprised to be inspired to LIVE. It's a lesson I think a lot of people struggle with: learning to thrive versus SURVIVE.

Living Simply isn't about denying yourself happiness. It is about living more simply so that happiness is easier to come by. But if your choice of lifestyle makes you unhappy, YOU have to DO something about it. In a lot of ways, that's why I started the blog. I'm no expert. I don't know how to budget my money well, or how to cook so that you are eating healthier, or where the best, cheapest, freshest food is to be bought.

The blog is an ideal. Something I have fashioned for myself as I try to LEARN how to live the life I want to have- a life of simple happiness, filled with friends and loved ones, and not so cluttered!

This is how I am saying, very quietly, but with growing confidence: Let's Do This. Let's live better. Better for me, better for my loved ones, better for the planet. Let's manage our money, and our waistline. Let's live freed by less possessions. Let's have dreams and fulfill them. Let's find a way to live the life we were destined for without fear. Let's refuse to settle into a day job. Let's find a niche that feels EXACTLY right. Let's live in a place where we are surrounded by people who nurture and encourage us, who believe in our abilities, and are supportive when we stumble. Let's find a way to push through the disappointment, the sorrow, and the mourning, into a day full of sunlight and love, a life that we were intended to live out.

I don't want to hunker down. I don't want to die in my sleep, safe, cocooned away from the world. I want to live the mess out of life. When I die, I hope I have wrung every drop of sweat, every tear, every smile and peal of laughter out of me. Nothing left to give to the world. I don't want to live safely.

But balance is the keeper of all things. My life motto is this:

All things in moderation, except Love.

And I really believe that's how we should live. The most simple precept there is. All things, be it possessions, worries, money, food, you name it, in moderation. Enjoy tastes of all things, but not to excess. Don't hurt yourself over it. You don't need 400 pairs of shoes, or a quart of ice cream every night. Except love. That's the one thing you never have to much of. And, as a much more famous person than I once wrote, really... "All you need is Love"

simple money

When it comes to money, absolutely nothing is simple. unless you're fortunate enough to be one of the favored few who never checks the price of things when you buy them, money just isn't simple. It's really, really difficult.

I don't know how to manage money as an adult yet. On Monday, I'm going to sign my first lease, and pay my first two months of rent. And then, I'll be broke again until the next pay day.

However, money is one of those things I'm actively working on learning to manage. I go through spurts of it. I haven't done as well this Summer as I had hoped to, although I do have some money coming to me in the next week or so. I hope.

I'm really scared about being an adult and paying real bills all of a sudden. What happens if I can't pay my rent for some reason? What do I do if something happens to my car? What on earth am I going to do?

In reality, I know I can afford this apartment. It is cheaper than the one I lived in before. I'll manage. I'll take out the loans I need, I'll do the work I have to do. I'm working nearly full time all the time, and that's fine by me.

It's just that, with Graduation looming in my future, I am finding myself more and more scared about being out from the safety net of School. My entire life has been about my education. Five days a week, 30 weeks a year, for 15 years, I've been in school. All of a sudden, I can feel myself wobbling on the edge of the precipice, and it seems as though not being poor would be a huge help.

If I didn't have student loans to pay, or if I made $10 an hour instead of $8, I wouldn't be so worried. But, I don't.

Like I said, I know we'll get through it, and everything will come 'round right. I'll get my dreams, be they built on gold mines or paperclips.

But if anyone has a donation to make to the cause... ;)