Archive for November 2015
What Living With Purpose Actually Looks Like
Several years ago, when I had piles of dishes, overflowing counters and far too many pieces of furniture, I determined to live with less so I could do more. Before I would sit down to play a game with the kids and I would be haunted by the piles of clutter surrounding me.…
Read Full Post6 Reasons To Avoid Shopping On Black Friday
About 12 years ago, I decided to shop on Black Friday. I got the paper, wrote out a list, decided what stores to go to. I got up at 4:30 in the morning, picked up a friend and fought for parking spaces and stood for hours in lines, surrounded by throngs of people to acquire my deals. About 8…
Read Full PostNon-Toy Gift Guide For The Children In Your Life
Gift giving holidays are just around the corner, and we all want to give to the children in our life, but the plastic toy excess is not something we want to contribute to, is it? I love giving experience gifts, which is something I reference a lot in my clutter-free gift guides. But I know…
Read Full PostGetting Teens Involved In Holiday Traditions
Teens are at the point in life where they’ve experienced family traditions many times over and are disenchanted. When we’re young, everything is big and amazing, and it’s romanticized in our memory. As we age, the magic fades a bit. And as we mature, the magic takes on a different form — but we’ll get…
Read Full PostA Minimal Approach To Holiday Obligations
For most of us, the Christmas season has become two months of stress and busyness wherein we work, plan, shop, attend parties, host parties, bake, cook, wrap… and BOOM! It’s over. We then switch to “aftermath” mode, a dreary several weeks of cleaning and organizing, punctuated by pondering creative ways to serve leftovers from the…
Read Full PostSimplify The Holidays, An E-book
Why are some people able to smile, anticipating the holidays with joy in their hearts, while others are facing them with tight chests and anxious minds? Why are some people able to get their shopping done, presents wrapped and cards sent by Dec. 1, while others are staying up past midnight on Christmas eve trying…
Read Full PostDealing With Over-Abundant Gifting And Excess Toys
This post is 3 of 3 in my Simplify The Gifts Mini-Series Toys and an overabundance of gifts is its own special challenge. One thing we can do to slow the piles of presents is to redirect well-meaning family members toward alternative gift ideas. Start the conversation with “I have some fear in telling you…
Read Full PostAddressing Gift-Exchanges With Extended Family and Friends
This post is part 2 of 3 in my Simplify The Gifts Holiday Mini-Series The easiest way to simplify this is to not give any gifts. But we may feel like that’s not really an option. Buying gifts should be done from the heart. If you do not enjoy giving gifts or…
Read Full PostSetting Realistic Expectations For Christmas Gifts
This post is 1 of 3 in my Simplify The Gifts Mini-Series If you’ve decided to “go simple” in gift giving this year, it’s good to have a game plan on how to do that. Laying out a plan makes all the difference in follow-through. Here are some tips to get you started: We…
Read Full PostSimplify The Gifts This Holiday Season
Welcome to my mini-series about Simplifying The Gifts This Holiday Season The more you can simplify, the greater the opportunity you have to enjoy the holidays. Are you ready to make this happen? Before we dig in, I have to warn you about something that’s critically important. And not paying attention to this will virtually…
Read Full Post5 Signs That You Should Embrace Minimalism
Guest post from Oskar Nowik, author of Growthzer.com. The minimalism movement is growing in popularity while more and more people seek for a way out of the world of oppressive excess. If you’re asking yourself whether you should become a minimalist, this article will show you a few signs that will help you make the right decision.…
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