Cut the Crap Update

I’m not the world’s worst blogger, but I really should be better about regular entries, shouldn't I?  I’m not going to promise to be better.  I’ll do what I can.  Life has a way of leaving you a little breathless at times, and only now have I gotten the chance to breathe, let alone write.

I've changed jobs, so I've been busy.  However, I thought I needed to cut the crap and get out of a stressful situation while also growing my career.  It was needed.  It was time to move on.  One of the best reasons to change jobs is to gain a broader knowledge base.  I’m doing pretty much what I was doing before, only now I’m getting paid more.  AND I’m not dealing with as much uncertainty.  I’m also learning a lot about the hosting industry right at a time when cloud management is on the rise (ahem, it HAS been on the rise if anyone has been paying attention).  I wouldn't have learned this at my last job, so I’m thankful to be on the cutting edge. 

On the home front, we are still trying to simplify our lives.  It isn't more complicated since last I wrote, but it is more full.  My son will start homeschooling with his sister this summer.  We bought chickens and intend to go completely organic with our egg consumption (I’ll keep you posted on that).  We’re sifting through our old junk and hope to get rid of it one yard sale at a time.  We are having our house painted by an independent contractor.  He came highly recommended, but we chose him in part because we wanted to stimulate the local economy. 

So… we are making conscious choices to cut the crap and make a difference in small ways.  I’ll chronicle what I can, when I can.  Stay tuned…  

Helping Others Cut the Crap

Hello, All.  As I chronicled a few weeks ago, my MIL passed away.  Within the next few weeks, we're going to help my SIL go through things and sell what we (meaning Rob and his sister) either cannot keep or choose not to keep.  Rob and I have expressed that we do not "want" anything.  We do, however, want to help my SIL.  No one should have to rummage through all the stuff of a deceased parent alone.  I think that's brutal and tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment. 

For a short time, then, we'll actually be complicating our journey to simplicity.  We'll be selling stuff out of our garage to help out, which means that we'll temporarily have more clutter.  I'm totally okay with that.  I think this will be a positive journey, and I don't think it'll wreck our equilibrium.  I might even post some of it here.  :) 

So, even though we're technically adding to our garage, we're still "cutting the crap" by helping my SIL.  I think helping others in this way is a good thing!  In what ways have you helped other people get rid of things they did not need?  And how much of that did you "inherit" along the way?  LOL

First Person: 5 Things I Always Buy Used - Yahoo! Finance

I think these are pretty obvious things to buy used, but they bring up a good point about cutting the crap. RECYCLE. Get rid of the stuff you no longer use by donating it for someone else to use! First Person: 5 Things I Always Buy Used - Yahoo! Finance

Clothes are a perfect example. My brother has two girls who are 1 and 2 years older than my daughter. When they outgrow their clothes, my daughter gets the hand-me-downs. Megan also got a HUGE box of hand-me-downs from her cousin Katie when she was really little. I can't tell you how much $$$ this has saved us over the years. When my daughter outgrows these things, she passes them on to a friend's daughter... and so on and so on. We pay it forward.  It's the best way to say thank-you to those who have been kind to us.  Obviously, clothes can only take so much beating before they're ready for the scrap heap, but at least they get used up. :) I recently received A LOT of hand-me-downs from a colleague at work, too. She has lost weight (YAY and good for her!) and the clothes no longer fit her. I got some AWESOME clothes. Can't wait to wear them all!

I also think it's a good idea to buy GOOD used cars. A new car depreciates so much in value when you drive it off the lot that it's like throwing money away.

Again. RECYCLE. What do you buy used? What do you donate? How do you recycle? Talk to me!