Filed under: About 2LiveSimple
I have not posted for some time, and now it is time to begin anew.
I thought that I was not really reaching an audience at all, and was not just hoping to post my thoughts, but to find like minded people on a similar quest.
I have been too much a part of the American lie for too long. I have bought too much stuff, built up too much debt, and now I have had the final wake up call.
I have been laid off from my job.
It’s ironic that my employer (past tense), after laying off so many people, have positioned themselves to receive bailout funds from tax payers.
I was not entirely asleep before, yet I was still in the long line of other people who do not realize how precarious their position in the world is.
I pray that if you are lucky enough to still have your normal income, that you pay off your debt, and save a cushion. The government, the economy, and your employer (most likely) is not concerned with your stability in life.
They are only concerned enough to make sure the basic mechanics of the economy keep turning.
Let’s band together to build a new economy. Have you ideas on how to save money. How can we help each other?
Filed under: 100 Thing Challenge, About 2LiveSimple, Getting rid of STUFF!, Peter Walsh
I started this blog for a couple reasons.
1. To journal my path to a more simple life.
2. To connect with others that have similar goals, and to share ideas.
On the downside, I really haven’t been as regular with posting as I would like, and the process will continue to march slowly. And I have had very few visitors.
On the upside, I had one of my posts commented on by Peter Walsh. It was a complete honor to both myself and my wife. He is a guru to us, and I’m sure we will continue to read his book throughout this entire process, and thereafter to keep us in line from time to time. His book “It’s All Too Much!” has earned a permanent place in my library, and will be recommended often.
On my original quest to find others who are trying to strip down their lives (and I do mean strip down), I came across two people that made me quite curious.
The first was David Michael Bruno and his 100 Thing Challenge. He was doing exactly what I wanted to do. To really know what he had, and eliminate what he didn’t need. My only complaint was that I wished to have more updates from him on this. The good news is that he has started a new page for this, and appears to have posted a few times since I last checked. Here’s the link …..
http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html
The second was a mention of the “Rucksack Guy”. Every link I found kept leading to a dead end. The concept was he has 101 possessions that could all be carried in a rucksack in a single load. What was even better, was that he was said to have photographed all his possessions. Well, I finally found a site that had his list and photos. Very cool, and inspirational. I wish I could actually make contact with him, and have the opportunity to ask questions. He would be a most interesting person to interview. Here’s the site I found …..
http://mcshug.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
Just scroll down a bit if you don’t see it.
So, there are some updates on what is inspiring me.
Now, how am I doing with this challenge? I have been going back over my CD collection, and I think I finally broke through some barrier in my mind.
I used to have hundreds of CDs, and my collection has always been in flux. I will trade in CDs, and then get new CDs. My wife likes to laugh when I end up buying a CD that I had gotten rid of. The great news is that really doesn’t happen a lot, and it hasn’t been that big of a deal to replace something. I think for some people getting rid of stuff really triggers a fear response. In some ways I think that is what happens with me as well.
It’s bad enough to realize you will only get 10 cents on the dollar (sometimes if you are lucky), but then to think you may need to buy it back later is a very discouraging thought. My solution is to be far more careful when buying something in the first place. Works pretty well for me, but sometimes those impulses are mighty powerful.
I am revisiting my CDs, and now have them down to 71 at last count. While I am close to done, I still have a bit to go. Then I will of course move on to something else.
In my list of 100 things, I will count my CD collection as one thing (but MUST maintain at 100 or less). I know from reading other posts that many people either wish to criticize this, or abuse it. For me it is just what it is. I like books, CDs and DVDs a LOT. I have had over a couple thousand possessions at a time if you would have counted them at that time. For me, it is a great accomplishment to keep each of those categories under 100, and have them as 3 items on my list of 100.
I still wish I knew how many books David has on his 100 Thing Challenge. I am horribly curious.
Toodle Pip
Filed under: About 2LiveSimple
Stressed. Counting the days until the weekend. Thinking about bills to be paid. Job getting harder. Worried about saving for the future. Housework to be done. Yard work to be done. Things to be put away. Things to be repaired. Am I exercising enough, or even at all? Why do I buy so much stuff? Where does the money go? Why am I spending more when there are already bills to be paid? How big of a house does anyone need? Who has $25,000 for solar panels to be installed? Should I have bought that Prius that gets great gas mileage, but cost twice as much as the car it replaced? Why do items that are green, natural or organic cost so much money? If it is renewable, then why does it cost more than something that takes longer to replace, or never can be? Does one person make a difference?
This is going to be about my quest to live more simple, and yet still within society. I don’t wish to eat nothing but rice, live without health insurance, and save 1,000 little soap chips to melt into a bar of soap. I want to find change that would become a regular part of life, not something that I give up for a year to write about simplicity, but return right back to where I was before. How I didn’t buy anything for 1 year, but had my home remodeled while this occurred. How I lived without a cell phone or coffee for a month.
I hope that others will follow (and join in on sharing their thoughts and ideas) as I try to journal my process.
