Technological Overconsumption: The Modern Day Shopping Addiction and How to Get Past It

Technological Overconsumption: The Modern Day Shopping Addiction and How to Get Past It

A few days ago, I started having this restless feeling, like I needed to go somewhere or do something worthwhile, right now.

I wanted to read the news, but I had already skimmed my news stories for that day, or I wanted to read, but I had already read for about an hour and a half that day, thanks to my bus rides to and from work. The only things left to do were my silly phone games, or watching TV and knitting.

Now, if you know me well, you also know that these are things I really enjoy. But something about it wasn’t tickling my giblets. I felt like I had exhausted all of my sources of entertainment. Nothing felt new, and nothing really excited me. I realized that maybe rather than consuming more, I needed to create more. Or simply get used to the feeling of not being constantly entertained (a battle in and of itself).

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Stop Stressing About Spending Less – Simplify Your Life

Stop Stressing About Spending Less – Simplify Your Life

For a few years now, I’ve been very concerned with “simplifying.” At the same time, as a recent grad, I’ve been a little obsessive about not spending money. Sometimes the two ideologies go great together. Other times it’s a riot in my brain.

In my most recent post I talked about how you shouldn’t start on a minimalist or simple living journey by throwing away a ton of shit, and this goes doubly if part of your minimalistic goals is to limit spending. Throwing stuff out is just about the worst thing you can do in that case.

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The Minimalist Dragon: Why Smaller Spaces Help Keep Your Clutter Confined

The Minimalist Dragon: Why Smaller Spaces Help Keep Your Clutter Confined

If anyone is as much a fan of GoT as me, you probably know that before the cute little dragons died out, they had a hard life, sanctioned away within the Red Keep. Without room to grow, each dragon grew smaller and smaller, and eventually they all perished.

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The Process of Becoming Un-tethered: How to Get Out of that Tech Rut

The Process of Becoming Un-tethered: How to Get Out of that Tech Rut

I write a lot about how technology is so often used as a crutch, especially in my own life. TV is such an easy way to pass time, and Twitter and Instagram or whatever your social media of choice is, is another mostly mindless way of spending time that could otherwise be put to good use. There are plenty of good things to be said about social media, but if we’re using them only as a way to make our lives go by faster, what purpose are they really serving? Continue reading “The Process of Becoming Un-tethered: How to Get Out of that Tech Rut”

Why You Should Definitely Still Have a Night Light as an Adult

Why You Should Definitely Still Have a Night Light as an Adult

People make fun of me for wanting/having night lights.

“Only children are afraid of the dark,” they say.

UNTRUE.

See, there’s something about the dark that has always bothered me, and will always bother me, more than the monsters under my bed or the strange man hiding in my closet (we’re friends now, it’s all good), and that is the fact that in the dark, you cannot see.

Let me elaborate. Continue reading “Why You Should Definitely Still Have a Night Light as an Adult”

Why Owning a Shiht is the Ultimate Answer to the Simple Living Question

Why Owning a Shiht is the Ultimate Answer to the Simple Living Question

Writing this post, I was torn between categorizing it as Simple Living and Efficient Living, because there are just so many reasons why shih tzus improve your life. I could categorize it as both, because I’m the damn writer, right? Well no, because I’m going to keep my life simpler and allow myself only one category.

How’s that for some minimalism, you digital minimalist freaks? (I say that with much love in my heart.) Continue reading “Why Owning a Shiht is the Ultimate Answer to the Simple Living Question”

How Much Does it Really Cost to Hang Onto that Extra Crap?

How Much Does it Really Cost to Hang Onto that Extra Crap?

My focus lends itself to the emotional spaciousness that comes with letting things go. I like open space, the ability to move around, and knowing that if I do want to buy or replace something, that old thing will still have a use, whether it be by me or someone else who can use it better. The mindset of having what you need and letting the rest go can also sometimes create an anti-consumerist mentality, which really can be good or bad. In the long run, once you commit to the minimalist/simplistic lifestyle, I find that several factors come into play that lead to a little more feng shui, a little less spending, and a little more mental room to breathe. All generally good things.

But there’s another perspective that is sometimes overlooked, and on occasion represented in a way that is grossly out of proportion, and that is the idea that a minimalist lifestyle requires you to be absolutely loaded. Continue reading “How Much Does it Really Cost to Hang Onto that Extra Crap?”

Passive Minimalism

Passive Minimalism

It’s really easy to confuse minimalism with an inflated lifestyle or a struggling one. It’s also really easy to associate it with a complete disregard for sustainability

One of the things I really struggled with was getting rid of all the clothes I had accumulated throughout the years. They all held some sort of value to me – especially the t shirts I got from random events I attended like races or sponsorship events. The blank shirts were easy enough to get rid of, but anything that seemed to have a memory attached was nearly impossible for me to part with.

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How to Get Over Netflix Addiction: The Netflix Cleanse

How to Get Over Netflix Addiction: The Netflix Cleanse

If you’re anything like me, you love Netflix. And understanding how to get over Netflix addiction is tough – but worthwhile.

Well, I suppose a more apt qualification would be something like, “if you are an average person of an average Netflix-receiving country, you, on average, love Netflix.” Because really, who doesn’t?

But on a slightly more serious note, sitting in front of the telly all night is not healthy. Over time, it’s not so enjoyable either.

In a Harvard study, researchers determined that high rates of TV, or an average of four hours per day, increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, developing cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

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