Friday, October 24, 2008
Diet Coke
I was recently asked to write a blog about Diet Coke since I refer to it so much in both of my blogs (minima(LIST) and B(LIST)fulness). I am not ignoring that request...it's just taking me some time. Here is an article I found to be insightful while I do a bit of research on the dangers of diet soda. (I'm doing this as I drink my Diet Coke of course) Enjoy!
How Did I Get Here?
1. I was a messy child...I shoved everything under my bed when my mom told me to clean my room.
2. I grew to be a messy teenager. My floor was never visible.
3. I went to college. I continued the process of hoarding junk and shoving it in my closet, desk and probably under my bed.
4. I became jealous of all my organized friends.
5. I started to try to become a little neater.
6. I worked for 6 years on becoming more organized.
7. I discovered a blog named Becoming Minimalist
8. I married a super organized man.
9. A combination of finding out that I had too much stuff by reading becoming minimalist and marrying a super organized man led me to where I am today.
10. I'm not perfectly organized....but have improved significantly.
That's my story. What's yours?
2. I grew to be a messy teenager. My floor was never visible.
3. I went to college. I continued the process of hoarding junk and shoving it in my closet, desk and probably under my bed.
4. I became jealous of all my organized friends.
5. I started to try to become a little neater.
6. I worked for 6 years on becoming more organized.
7. I discovered a blog named Becoming Minimalist
8. I married a super organized man.
9. A combination of finding out that I had too much stuff by reading becoming minimalist and marrying a super organized man led me to where I am today.
10. I'm not perfectly organized....but have improved significantly.
That's my story. What's yours?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Minimal Cleaning
Here are a few habits I have gotten into that have made cleaning so much easier! Instead of dreading a long cleaning day every week...I do these things during the week to make my cleaning/laundry day a short one!
1) Use a daily shower cleaner. It does work! It helps prevent mold from growing and soap scum from accumulating. It will definitely make your shower scrubbing much easier.
2) MICROWAVE your SPONGE! (Microwave your wet sponge for 1 minute to kill bacteria) I consider this a must. Using a dirty sponge is just filthy! Microwaving a wet sponge also causes the microwave to steam up. This is a good time to wipe down the appliance quickly and with ease.
3) Use a hamper that separates the darks from lights. This allows for minimal sorting.
4) Wipe the bathroom and kitchen sink with a disinfectant at least one time a day. This keeps crud from building up and keeps the house looking clean.
5) Wipe kitchen floor daily. After I finish the dishes for the night I quickly wipe the tile in my kitchen with a Lysol rag. This keeps dirt from building up and makes it easier to keep clean. (I have a small kitchen...so this works well for me)
6) Buy sock locks. These are nifty devices that keep pairs of socks together in the laundry! No more boxes of unmatched socks sitting around and taking up space! Sock locks also reduce sorting time.
Do you have any other ideas that will minimize time spent cleaning?
1) Use a daily shower cleaner. It does work! It helps prevent mold from growing and soap scum from accumulating. It will definitely make your shower scrubbing much easier.
2) MICROWAVE your SPONGE! (Microwave your wet sponge for 1 minute to kill bacteria) I consider this a must. Using a dirty sponge is just filthy! Microwaving a wet sponge also causes the microwave to steam up. This is a good time to wipe down the appliance quickly and with ease.
3) Use a hamper that separates the darks from lights. This allows for minimal sorting.
4) Wipe the bathroom and kitchen sink with a disinfectant at least one time a day. This keeps crud from building up and keeps the house looking clean.
5) Wipe kitchen floor daily. After I finish the dishes for the night I quickly wipe the tile in my kitchen with a Lysol rag. This keeps dirt from building up and makes it easier to keep clean. (I have a small kitchen...so this works well for me)
6) Buy sock locks. These are nifty devices that keep pairs of socks together in the laundry! No more boxes of unmatched socks sitting around and taking up space! Sock locks also reduce sorting time.
Do you have any other ideas that will minimize time spent cleaning?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
MinimaLESS of FAT
I was just recently married. My husband and I are truly enjoying our life together. There's just ONE problem. I seem to eat a lot more now that I have someone taking me out and preparing meals for me. Grrr...what to do? I love my husband cooking for me...I dont' like the fact that none of my clothes are fitting well anymore. Here's a few actions I'm going to take to eat less...as well resume my usual weight.
1. I discovered a website that allows you to download notes on your iPOD. This would be fantastic for me. I could iron, clean and do other chores WHILE studying. This means less time sitting, more time studying....and more time to exercise. Click here to learn more.
2. Eat less. I've decided that although my husband is a great cook..I don't have to eat the same portion sizes as he does. This will not only minimize my waistline...it will also reduce our grocery bill.
3. Drink less Diet Coke. I believe I have written about this vice about 50 times. This time...I'm sticking to the plan. I'm ready to rid myself of the bad effects of soda.
4. Eat like it's a special occasion...only on special occasions. It seems that every other day there is a reason to eat an extra cookie, go out to eat or drink a glass of wine. I've decided that all of these special occasions have not only added to my waistline..but have also eaten up a lot of extra cash. Minimalize your "special occasions" or celebrate in some way that does not involve food.
5. Bike to school or work. This not only saves you gas money...it's a good work out too. I used to do this when I went to a large university. It was great! I can't resume this habit anymore though, since i live 20 miles from my school.
1. I discovered a website that allows you to download notes on your iPOD. This would be fantastic for me. I could iron, clean and do other chores WHILE studying. This means less time sitting, more time studying....and more time to exercise. Click here to learn more.
2. Eat less. I've decided that although my husband is a great cook..I don't have to eat the same portion sizes as he does. This will not only minimize my waistline...it will also reduce our grocery bill.
3. Drink less Diet Coke. I believe I have written about this vice about 50 times. This time...I'm sticking to the plan. I'm ready to rid myself of the bad effects of soda.
4. Eat like it's a special occasion...only on special occasions. It seems that every other day there is a reason to eat an extra cookie, go out to eat or drink a glass of wine. I've decided that all of these special occasions have not only added to my waistline..but have also eaten up a lot of extra cash. Minimalize your "special occasions" or celebrate in some way that does not involve food.
5. Bike to school or work. This not only saves you gas money...it's a good work out too. I used to do this when I went to a large university. It was great! I can't resume this habit anymore though, since i live 20 miles from my school.
MinimaLESS of.......
It's time to get rid of the stuff you never use in your bathroom.
1. Makeup. Everyday I sort through tons of different eye colors, pencils and ect. Some of them are caked with liquid makeup that has spilled in the past. I've decided that I'm going to chuck the makeup I never use. I've held onto this stuff in the past because I thought that one day I may feel like switching up my colors...but I never really do. Time to downsize.
2. Facial Cleansers. I went through an Arbonne phase. I've decided that I'm not so keen on the product anymore. Therefore, it's time to sell on E-bay! This applies to all of those unused items you have sitting around in your bathroom cupboard.
3. Towels. There are two of us in my household. We have about 50 or 60 towels. I'm really at a quandary in regards to these items. Towels can always be used...but 50 or 60 of them? It's a little bit much.
4. Hair product. I have so many hair products that I never use. I've decided that if I don't use a product within the next three weeks...I'm going to chuck it.
5. Razors. I used to store up all kinds of razors. I would buy a certain kind and realy not like it. That took up a lot of space. Now that I know what I like...I can chuck the cheapies that don't work.
1. Makeup. Everyday I sort through tons of different eye colors, pencils and ect. Some of them are caked with liquid makeup that has spilled in the past. I've decided that I'm going to chuck the makeup I never use. I've held onto this stuff in the past because I thought that one day I may feel like switching up my colors...but I never really do. Time to downsize.
2. Facial Cleansers. I went through an Arbonne phase. I've decided that I'm not so keen on the product anymore. Therefore, it's time to sell on E-bay! This applies to all of those unused items you have sitting around in your bathroom cupboard.
3. Towels. There are two of us in my household. We have about 50 or 60 towels. I'm really at a quandary in regards to these items. Towels can always be used...but 50 or 60 of them? It's a little bit much.
4. Hair product. I have so many hair products that I never use. I've decided that if I don't use a product within the next three weeks...I'm going to chuck it.
5. Razors. I used to store up all kinds of razors. I would buy a certain kind and realy not like it. That took up a lot of space. Now that I know what I like...I can chuck the cheapies that don't work.
Pack It Up....Move It Out
Here's a list of things...that I'm sure you all have...but don't necessarily need more than one of. I've been trying to minimalize these items to the bare essentials.
1. Blankets. My husband and I used to have two twin beds in our spare room. We had to give them away because of space issues. I did not think of getting rid of the blankets with the beds though. The linens were taking up tons of space in our already almost non-existent closet space. My mother-in-law suggested giving the linens to her and she would pass them on to charity. Now I have a closet full of storage space...and the knowledge that someone will be warmer this winter because of my donated blankets.
2. T.V's. We have three of them. I personally think that we only need one. I think that I have finally convinced my husband to get rid of the one in the bedroom. Hallelujah....now for the one in the guest bedroom that no one ever uses!
3. Books. I just went through all of my childhood books. I only kept the ones that I absolutely loved as a child. The rest of them I will try selling in a garage sale and if that doesn't work...I'll donate them to a school library.
4. Old cleaning appliances. When I moved into my husbands house...he had a closet full of brooms, dust mops, a generic swiffer that had old floor cleaning product in it and ect. I decided what we would use in the future and got rid of the rest. It is so nice to open the closet door and not have a million things falling everywhere.
5. Frames. We have a MILLION frames. I plan to keep some for the future and sell the unimportant ones at our garage sale. Although frames are great...if you have too many...life can become a bit cluttered.
Saving Money
How are you saving money during this time of "economic hardship?" Here's what my husband and I are doing.
1. Share a car. This can be fun. It can also be time consuming! I don't particularly enjoy sitting in a highschool parking lot waiting for my principal husband to finish his duties...but one car insurance bill is sure great! It also saves money on parking...I can't really pay to park a car that my husband has to drop me off in!
2. Use the dishwasher. My husband asked me the other day why I was using the dishwasher so much. I explained that it actually uses less water, soap and energy than I would if I doused everything in a sink full of soapy water. Plus it cleans WAY better. Don't believe me? Check out this article
3. Buy Scott toilet paper. The thousand sheet roll will never end...even though you'll want it to since it's not the softest toilet paper product out there. It's a lot better then newspaper or the corncobs people used in the days before toilet paper though.
4. Wear your underwear 5 days in a row. Just kidding!! I have heard this suggested though.
5. Take all of your showers at the gym...they can foot the waterbill...right? Okay, so I don't actually do this. I have heard of a guy who did this for a part of his summer.
6. Do you have any more ideas for me?
1. Share a car. This can be fun. It can also be time consuming! I don't particularly enjoy sitting in a highschool parking lot waiting for my principal husband to finish his duties...but one car insurance bill is sure great! It also saves money on parking...I can't really pay to park a car that my husband has to drop me off in!
2. Use the dishwasher. My husband asked me the other day why I was using the dishwasher so much. I explained that it actually uses less water, soap and energy than I would if I doused everything in a sink full of soapy water. Plus it cleans WAY better. Don't believe me? Check out this article
3. Buy Scott toilet paper. The thousand sheet roll will never end...even though you'll want it to since it's not the softest toilet paper product out there. It's a lot better then newspaper or the corncobs people used in the days before toilet paper though.
4. Wear your underwear 5 days in a row. Just kidding!! I have heard this suggested though.
5. Take all of your showers at the gym...they can foot the waterbill...right? Okay, so I don't actually do this. I have heard of a guy who did this for a part of his summer.
6. Do you have any more ideas for me?
Are You Thinking About Becoming a Minimalist?
This is why I think I should become a minimalist.....
1. I am moving....I always feel like I have too much junk when I'm moving. Treasures all of sudden turn to annoyances and I therefore think about the life of the minimalist.
2. I can be a messy slob. Maybe if I threw something away everyday, I would not have the messy slob problem.
3. I spend too much money on this stuff that causes me to become a messy slob.
4. I can't figure out how to organize the stuff I have...so why should I continue buying stuff I can't organize? Hence, the need for me to become a minimalist.
5. If I give away all the stuff I hardly use...I may make someone else happy AND I'll probably be happier in the end because I won't have to figure out how to organize it.
Can you think of more reasons to become a minimalist? Or maybe you can think of more ways for me to become one.....I'm going to start by throwing out something I hardly ever use at least once a week. Any more suggestions?
1. I am moving....I always feel like I have too much junk when I'm moving. Treasures all of sudden turn to annoyances and I therefore think about the life of the minimalist.
2. I can be a messy slob. Maybe if I threw something away everyday, I would not have the messy slob problem.
3. I spend too much money on this stuff that causes me to become a messy slob.
4. I can't figure out how to organize the stuff I have...so why should I continue buying stuff I can't organize? Hence, the need for me to become a minimalist.
5. If I give away all the stuff I hardly use...I may make someone else happy AND I'll probably be happier in the end because I won't have to figure out how to organize it.
Can you think of more reasons to become a minimalist? Or maybe you can think of more ways for me to become one.....I'm going to start by throwing out something I hardly ever use at least once a week. Any more suggestions?
What Are You Trying to Minimalize? Here's my List
I've always considered myself to be one of few possessions. I just figured out the reason I didn't think I had much, is because I was storing it all at my parents house! Sheesh....Now I have to figure out how to go from a junkist to a sane minimalist. I do not want to be the person that debates whether toilet paper and spoons are something I REALLY need to survive. Therefore, I decided I would make gradual changes in my life and figure out what I really need.
1. I try to use only 3 squares of toilet paper instead of 7. I only do this because my husband commented on how much toilet paper I use. I guess I'm used to using the one-ply scratchy toilet paper that I grew up with.
2. I stomped on a roach not only once, but twice yesterday. (Of course I screamed the entire time I was stomping) I decided that the world needed to minimalize the number of scary creatures crawling around in it!
3. I've worked on cutting down on the number of diet cokes I consume. I don't really NEED Diet Coke. I just really like it. As most of you know...this has been a 5 year struggle for me!
4. We have about 60 blankets at our house. That would work well if we lived in MN...but we live in muggy VA. So I just threw one away yesterday. It had definitely seen better days.
5. My husband has has Mexican, Chines and everyday dishes. He also has two sets of picnic dishes (along with two picnic baskets) We now have the dishes we chose for our wedding! We have a lot of dishes. I'm trying to decide what to do with them all. I'm thinking we will have a garage sale in the spring.
6. I've also decided to minimalize my time on the internet.....I'll start right after I finish this blog!
1. I try to use only 3 squares of toilet paper instead of 7. I only do this because my husband commented on how much toilet paper I use. I guess I'm used to using the one-ply scratchy toilet paper that I grew up with.
2. I stomped on a roach not only once, but twice yesterday. (Of course I screamed the entire time I was stomping) I decided that the world needed to minimalize the number of scary creatures crawling around in it!
3. I've worked on cutting down on the number of diet cokes I consume. I don't really NEED Diet Coke. I just really like it. As most of you know...this has been a 5 year struggle for me!
4. We have about 60 blankets at our house. That would work well if we lived in MN...but we live in muggy VA. So I just threw one away yesterday. It had definitely seen better days.
5. My husband has has Mexican, Chines and everyday dishes. He also has two sets of picnic dishes (along with two picnic baskets) We now have the dishes we chose for our wedding! We have a lot of dishes. I'm trying to decide what to do with them all. I'm thinking we will have a garage sale in the spring.
6. I've also decided to minimalize my time on the internet.....I'll start right after I finish this blog!
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