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”
Tag: awareness
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”
Money Hoarding & How a Minimalist Mindset Changed my Conception of Volunteerism
Hoarding can be a natural, almost evolutionary response to the possibility that one day, there might be a lack of something essential to your life. Some people do it with food, newspapers, books, or clothes. They all have a reason and however realistic that reason may be, the collection grows, takes up space, and potentially becomes more of a nuisance than a help.
But there’s another type of hoarding that gets looked over a lot, and that’s the hoarding of money. What’s interesting is that food and clothing are almost an evolutionary response to the basic things you would need just to stay alive. However, in our capitalist society, money is what allows you to get the things that keep you alive. With 401k’s and savings accounts, we have essentially adapted to a modern society by nixing our tendencies to hoard life-keeping things, and instead hoard this digital currency (in most cases, but I don’t discount paper money hoarders) that we can’t even see, that allows us to get anything our little hearts desire.
I’m a self-diagnosed money hoarder, and there are a few more symptoms you might see if you think you may be a money hoarder too.
Continue reading “Money Hoarding & How a Minimalist Mindset Changed my Conception of Volunteerism”
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.
The Case for Doing Nothing
I have gotten absolutely, 100% completely annoyed with myself for the amount of time I have invested in my TV, in my twitter, and sometimes even on my instagram (though my instagram-based business I view as A-OK to spend time on).
Like many americans, I come home from work, and most nights I plop myself in front of the TV, open a bag of chips and go to town. Other nights it’s a tub of ice cream. Some nights I go crazy and just bring out the box of wine for sustenance. I think the current trend goes something like, “the antioxidants in wine are healthy for you.”
Ode to a Car Mirror… and Other Ways to Declutter Sentimental Things
Ode to a Car Mirror?
We’re getting there.
Almost everyone I know hangs onto something because it represents something special in their lives. That’s where collections are born. We have this need to keep arbitrary things just because we got them at an event that was cool, or it was a token of achievement. Maybe it came from a loved one who passed away.
Continue reading “Ode to a Car Mirror… and Other Ways to Declutter Sentimental Things”