am blogging here now: 

http://simplyblissful.posterous..com

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In an effort to make our house more of a home, with breathing space, I have started to divide the house and each space into zones.

It is dead simple. In the kitchen is the coffee maker. I have moved the mugs and everything else to do with the coffee maker in the cabinet above them. Now, if I want to make coffee, I can just stand in the same position, and do everything from there.

Advantage is that I store everything I no longer need away immediately, and that it reduces clutter drastically.

It also means that I have to move stuff around the house a lot to get everything in its own designated zone.

Does all that work simplify my life? Oh yes it does.
Does it have to do with frugality? Oh yes.

Funny thing is, that now I have started this work, I have found I had way more food in the pantry than I thought, and I found that I really do not need as much stuff as I am having. This has lessened the buy, buy, buy habit a lot.

And that makes me happy. Isn't that what the journey is all about?

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I have to admit it, I am a spendthrift sometimes still, especially at times when I am emotional/depressed etc.

I have to stay conscious of my spending habits at all times, and most of the time it is hard. But not now. We are saving up for the garden remodel that takes place in october.

Now we have that goal, and need to work on the budget end of it, it is SO much easier to stop myself from impulse buys. Every time I hold something in my hand, I think: this could also be a new rose, or this could be a flowerpot with pretty tulips in spring.

It is an extra block, and I cannot tell you how many things I put back in the racks because I realized I really did not need them.

I also realize, that when the garden is finished, I am going to work on a new goal, like a nice vacation in summer, or some remodeling job in the house. Anything to keep me from those impulse purchases :)

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Back when I was just spending, spending and more spending, I kept telling myself that I could buy something because I was worth it, and because it would make me happy.

Now I have a home full of clutter, and a body that carries around a lot of clutter in the form of extra weight. All because I deemed myself worth of things, stuff, bad food, everything that is clutter now.

Realizing this made me sad, but then it hit me, I had totally misdefined "I am worth it". Through this misdefinition I deemed myself worthy of stuff, not worthy of what really matters.

Worth is not about things, it is not about two mcD meals a week, it is about deeming yourself good enough for what really matters, like health, love and happiness.

And it is about knowing you are worthy to live in a home with the room to grow, and where you can express yourself as you are.

"I am worth it" is now about spending energy on myself, on spending time with me, getting to know me, and finding out what I am truly worthy of. 

So... what are you worthy of?

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This is the question that goes through my mind every time I draw my wallet to pay for something now.

I used to spend money without thinking. Just spent it on things I needed (now I know I thought I needed them), and had a panic attack when bills were piling up. I managed to pay them every time, and then started the whole circle again.

And then I started a thrifty life. I asked myself the question every time I wanted to spend money on something. Oh, with essentials it is easy. I pay for it, but how about my interests, or, to narrow it down to my favorite way to spend money: on books.

This week I walked through a bookstore, and picked up a fantasy novel by a new writer. Read the back, read the blurbs, and was hooked. I walked to the register, and took my place in line. Then I had the presence of mind to ask myself: Why do I want to spend 20 euro's on this book?

I stepped aside, and looked at the book again. I realized that spending money on some books it is easy. If it is a book of one of my favorite writers, I buy it in principle. He or she has to survive too, and besides, I would want people to buy my books whenever I get one published. But for others, those writers who still fight to be listed in my top five of favorite writers, it is the library.

Changing my mindset by asking myself the question, is very hard to do, but it is a start of making myself conscious of the changes I am making in my life.

And now, every time I feel the urge to spend, spend, spend, there is always a little voice, getting louder every time I ask myself the question. Why do I want to spend money on this?

It is a line that keeps me from taking a spot in line behind the register. It is a line that helps me to morph from a spender into someone who is thrifty.

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I do not know who I can credit for this phrase. I heard it years ago, and it made an impression on me. This post has been brewing in my mind ever since.

Let's say you ask your neighbour to take care of your garden during your two week vacation. When you get back you are devastated. He has dumped toxic waste amongst your roses, tore up the ground to find something valuable, and dumped his trash in front of your door. Then you find out your plants aren't doing as well, probably from the contamination of your soil, and slowly but surely you see your garden whither away.

This, in large, is what we do to the earth. Like the neighbour in the analogy we are care takers, and lousy ones at that.

- We are slaughtering our natural resources, we chop down more trees than we plant, therefor deminishing the lungs of the world, the forests.

- We drive in cars, that slobber up so many natural resources, that there will not be any left for the future generations.

- Consumerism drives us to buy, and then throw away all the excess packaging that comes with it, not to mention throw away the old, when the new comes in.

- The more wants become needs, the more we use of the earth's most precious resources.

- The production of chemicals, and the use of chemicals in our home makes the earth and water toxic. There are already dead lakes in the world, where nothing can live because of the toxicity of the water.

- Many species on this planet have vanished because of us humans. We have eaten them, hunted them until there was none left. If you look at the list of endangered species it humbles you.

I could go on with this list forever, and still have room for more.

And this is why I choose to be frugal, to not pollute the earth any further with waste, or tear from the earth what I, in truth, really do not need.

My mom said: Why even try, others will keep polluting. I say: A ripple in the water starts with one little pebble. The more people throw their pebbles in, the more ripples are formed, ie. the more people may be touched by this movement of frugality/simplicity to help the earth.

I am a Care Taker. Are you?

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If I look at the software on my laptop and palm, I find only one program I paid for, and that is because I could not find a good alternative at the time.

For the rest I use all freeware.

Here is a list of some of my frequently used programs:
Webbrowser: Firefox
Email: Thunderbird
Text/spreadsheet/database: Openoffice
Antivirus: AVGFree
Music player: Itunes
Picture viewer: Irfanview
Picture resizer: Pixresizer
Dictionary: Wordweb
Harddisk Cleanup: CCleaner
Backup: Cobian
Spyware removal: Spyware Terminator
Bookkeeping: Acemoney lite

I will soon post a list of printables sites, and more free software!

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This past weekend I was away from home. I took my yearly trip with my mom, this time to Edinburgh. When I arrived home, I walked in, and looked around, as if I was a visitor in my own home.

It hit me right there and then. I have too many things. Everywhere you look there is something extra. A coat on a chair, a box of things to look through etc. It was very depressing to see, and it made me even stronger in my resolution to declutter and to simplify our home.

The other thing I realized was that I really need to change my spending habits. I don't need more stuff. I don't need to fill my overflowing shelves and surfaces with more things.

Right now having less stuff is more important than anything else.

So that is why I am letting go. I have photographed many good items, I will advertize those for sale. Other things are boxed up, waiting for the run to the thriftstore on saturday.
I swear, there is nothing like coming home from a short trip to see the truth about your life.

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