Simplifying Life

mary43

Well done with your freecycling..............nice feeling when something goes to someone who appreciates it.
Well OH went to see his boss, she wasn't there so he went to the supermarket and did the weeks shop then farmers market and phoned her when he got back. Unfortunately the pine dresser is not at a 'knock down' price that we can afford............way out of our pocket so we're going to think again - though she has said to make her an offer within the next week before she has to change to a smaller shop.Both of us are a bit fed up looking at our dark green painted one and want something a bit fresher. The green one could go in the 'junk room' - be an easier fit than next door neighbours kitchen units. OH was more disheartened than me really and he much prefers the old stuff but we've both agreed that if the old dresser isn't ours by next weekend then we're not meant to have it, simple as that. And we'll go for a new one. OH knows a supplier we can get it from at cost and do it ourselves -that way we get the colour right for us. So, decision been made.
With all this dresser business OH clean forgot his promise to clear out his books..................lol (now how did I know that would happen ?)

moany moany - I know how you feel about moving. When we first moved here from Bedfordshire I was very keen for a start and then when the time came began to feel very uncertain to say the least. But 21 years later we'll still here.........love the house (although there are a lot of 'unfinished' jobs around), love the town and the people here so what was I worried about ?
Home is where and what you make it.

ceridwen

... and dont forget Moanie...you can always ask if any of us are in the vicinity. You never know - you might have a friend or two already there just living down the road so to say.

lilac_lady

Simple things are so rewarding. Played "snakes and ladders" with DGS, took the bus instead of the car to a busy town where it would take ages to find an expensive parking place, coloured my own hair instead of spending hours and money to get the same result. I've done all those things this week and feel I'm getting the hang of this simplicity lark.

mary43

Oh dear........wish my brain would simplify itself..............I've been looking high and low for a pack of small photo paper I had as a freebie. I was going to send it to my son (can't seem to get my printer to use that size.....or I cant work it out !). Wrote letter to my son explaining about freebie paper and also freebie nappy rash cream for his son -sample I''d had. Well, can I find this paper ???? Can I *** !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.:eek: ...............why is this ? There was I poodling along quite happily........got stuff printed off I wanted to send to my mums friend, wrote to Mum with a couple of photos.............still no sign of photo paper !! Even asked my poor departed Dad for help...................lol
I think I must cram my brain so full of 'stuff' poor thing goes into 'overload'.............lol

Little rant over:o

mary43

Well.............telepathy or what ???? Just 'shelved sons letter while I search for copy paper and get an e mail from him ! So, told him the saga of the missing photo paper and no doubt it will turn up when his Gramps stops playing hide and seek with it..............lol
He said something I thought was so sweet...........he'd dreamt about his Gramps the other night..........there he was, healthy and smiling. Son says
Memories stay sweet it's just our bodies that can't keep up!
Thought that was rather nice and really made me smile.
He's also over the moon that his son said his first word and it was Daddy..............!!!!
Somehow the missing photo paper doesnt really matter any more:o

Off now to spend some quality time with OH

Aril

Hello virtual friends:j
Thanks for the link to Rhodda Jean's blog..I am looking forward to reading it in more depth later.
I suppose I have been on this journey since 1993. Prior to that I lived my life feeling that the inner person and outer person didn't tally up really..sort of round peg in square hole syndrome. For a couple of years I bought or should that read brought into the whole acquistive/material scene [in the days before a family and two full time salaries] and virtually bought something for myself on a daily basis. However, I found the more I bought the less I thought about what I was buying and the shorter time the high from getting it lasted in direct proportion to the increasing level of unease. Interestingly I have kept hardly anything that I got during that period. That year we not only got married but also decided that we would like to buy a house [we were in a flat] but we took the conscious decision to save hard so we could put down a sizeable deposit and not increase our mortgage so we stayed put for a further 3 years. We also knew that for us it was about having sufficient space but not a huge property that would be a financial millstone around our necks [I like OH's description of a house- he calls it a glorified mudhut!]. We started small by taking our own lunches into work and making other savings and have been effectively downshifting and simplifying our lives ever since. The whole experience has not only given me the confidence to plough my own furrow...I feel I can live my life as my authentic self these days but it has also given us choices.... we were lucky that without a huge mortgage [I appreciate not everyone can/are in this position] when OH was made redundant 3 years ago we were able to make the choice not to move with the job he loathed but set up our own business. Result is that we are a far happier and generally less stressed family and more importantly we are now in charge of our own future rather than being at the beck and call of a large American corporation. Yes we have considerably less to live on but I now take pleasure from much smaller things eg today I have been given a clump of forgetmenots from freecycle and I am thrilled, I have become much more inventive in my way of doing things and making my budget go further [no hair shirts here...still lots of little treats] but it's also very liberating not to feel permanently like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
Quote today is from G K Chesterton:
At the back of our brains so to speak, there is a forgotten blaze or burst of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic and spiritual life is to dig for the sunrise of this wonder.
Aril

Charis

Today I found this article which attempts to explain why we spend so freely in the first place (serendipity? I was looking at a 1971 article about Russian space disasters and this was a side link)....and why it is good to have friends when we are down.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1711313,00.html?iid=336x280_ad3

do_it_today!

Hi All :hello:
great post Aril - I would thank more people but my button doesnt work very often...
anyway - someone talked a while back about sending books and CD's in the post cheaply - when I subscribed to Freecycle I would request used Jiffy bags and greatfully received quite a number of various sizes for my needs.

I got a double whammy good feeling for
recycling - ie re-using the jiffy bags
saving cash by not buying new ones
and feeling happy that customers purchases arrived in a paded bag and hopefully by them receiving a re-used jiffy bag may inspire them to re-use jiffy bags too!

Not much simplyfying to report except feelings really.... I am not so attached to certain outcomes as would have been in the past ... I still make an effort but I also accept that people may not fully appreciate my efforts - I dont let this upset so much these days. Also Iam not expecting perfection from myself these days - this is very simplifying :j :j

keep going everyone I dont post much but I do love reading this thread :j

Charis

do_it_today! wrote: »

Hi All :hello:
great post Aril - I would thank more people but my button doesnt work very often...

Hi do it today, are you sure your button isn't working? I thought that too because I waited for the page to change or reload like it does when you preview a message. All that happens is that the message 'the following 5 users'... becomes 'the following 6 users'. It's very easy to miss if you didn't notice how many users were there before you pressed. I just click on the 'show me' button to see if I am listed.

Busterollie

DAYS THREE & FOUR

Having a couple of bad days poorly sick so the sorting out/simplifing is a little slow. Have sorted out the kitchen cupboard that I was going to do yesterday and put aside picnic items that I seem to have not only in duplicate but triplicate! Anyway 2 plastic glasses, 4 plastic bowls, 4 large plastic plates, a large plastic platter and a bread basket have been put in the charity pile. Another couple of magazines for my Mum for next week. So that's 14 items - will have to add to that pile for Day Three.

Day Four is sort of on hold for today as I feel so grotty so will have to get back to sorting tomorrow. Best laid plans, etc.

Just wanted to keep my challenge going so will keep adding to the piles of 'stuff' and will update it later.