simplicity sake

cluttercasting: a new way to get rid of your junk

A new blog called Cluttercast is showing us a new way to give away items you don't need or want anymore. It is more personal than Goodwill or freecycle...and perhaps more entertaining? As Darryl Pollack, Cluttercast's founder says: "It's the perfect solution at the perfect time. and everyone wins." Here's how to get started. 

sunday dinner

Each Sunday, my family of 5 heads over to my parents house for dinner. It is a simple ritual and a nice end to our weekend. My husband often makes soup that he will then take to work during the week for lunch. And we'll make something else too - salmon, spaghetti and meatballs, things the kids will enjoy usually. We drink wine...and then coffee. Desert? Always! In the summer, we pull out the BBQ and eat together in their backyard. In the winter, we huddle inside and light candles for the illusion of warmth. We play, we talk politics, we listen to music, we catch each other up on our lives and get updates about what other family members are up to. It is always casual and relaxing.

What do I like best about it? In some ways, this is time for me. Although I am still with my kids, at my mom and dad's house I get to be the one taken care of a little bit. I usually don't cook much of the meal (my dad and my husband being the primary chefs on Sunday!), my dad always pours me a glass of wine right when we arrive, and there are 4 adults there to help with the kids (most of the time during the week I am outnumbered, being the only adult for 3 small kids). At the end of the weekend and before the start of another week, this is such a treat.

limiting kids screen time...and mine too

An admission: My husband and I have recently found ourselves with a bad habit. Every morning for the past week, when we all get up in the morning, the kids (having recently learned how to work the remote control) turn on the TV and my husband and I each crack our laptops. You know, just to quickly check email, catch up on the Google Reader feeds, update our Twitter and Facebook statuses (well, that's more me than him. He's not into social networking...yet...). By the time we know it, an hour has passed and we haven't gotten anything done around the house. We still have kids to feed, to dress, to brush teeth, not to mention getting ourselves ready. What's worse, that hour has felt like it was sucked from us. I have no recollection of the time passing. Quality time spent together? Um, no.

So yesterday, while at the Campbell Farmer's Market, I relayed my concern about our developing bad habits to my husband. He was not overly concerned, but then again, he is sort of like a junkie, we both are. And I'm realizing that we need to limit our info-junkie habits, not just for us, but for the kids. Our kids are getting old enough to really need more limits in terms of their screen time - they don't watch too much, but with the addition of the computer and the Leapster, it is becoming more and more available. It is up to us, their parents, to lead by example.

Our new rule - no screen time in the morning. No TV in the morning. No email/Google Reader in the morning. How WILL we survive?!

Now, I'm not saying we are getting rid of our TV, our computers, our screens. I lot of how I view simplfying my life is in terms of using tecnology. But technology has to be used in a way that isn't draining on your Real Life.

thoughts on the happiness project

I just started following Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. A former lawyer (like me...well, I'm still a lawyer, although part-time from my house for the past 5 years), she is working on a book (and accompanying blog) which chronicles the year she is spending grappling with the challenge of being happier. It sort of reminds me of Eat, Pray, Love, but in a (maybe?) more practical way. I think I'm going to email Gretchen and ask for a copy of her resolutions chart.

The other day, Gretchen asked what day you would want to re-live (ala. the movie "Groundhog Day"). When I think back about my happiest days, I think of hiking in the Scottish highlands with my sister and my husband, parasailing over Lake Tahoe with my sister, camping with my kids. Super active stuff with the people I love is my favorite thing to do and it is what makes me happiest.

A funny thing, though. One of my other (secret) favorite days was a day in Monterey about a week after I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma 8 years ago. I was still going through staging for my cancer and hadn't started treatment yet, so a lot was unknown. It was a scary time. But it was also weirdly empowering -- the idea that I could do anything, because who knew how much time I had left. It was actually sort of freeing.

I think when it comes down to it, the relief of feeling free of trappings of society, my social identity, my obligations, my "tapes" that I play in my head, result in a huge happiness for me.

I'm intrigued to keep reading The Happiness Project. Maybe

eating raw

I am not an extreme eater or foodist. I am not vegan or vegetarian. I drink coffee - decaf, but still. I do shop mainly at Trader Joe's and try to go organic as much as my wallet will allow. I did grow pumpkins last year, but not any other vegetables in my garden. I am pretty mainstream. I do take my kids to McDonald's (gasp!) and eat there myself from time to time. But...I read an article the other day from Zen Habits that got me thinking - 10 Reasons Eating Raw is Heathier for You and The Planet. The last couple of months with the holidays and my sister visiting (we drink A LOT of wine and eat A LOT of chocolate when we are together!), my eating has been, well, pretty horrible.

So I decided to give it a try. Not 100% raw or anything. I have just been trying to eat "more raw" the last couple of days. And I have to say I am feeling a lot better already. I am not (right now, at least) looking at any guide to tell me what to eat. I am just grabbing an apple instead of a cookie. I am eating A LOT more fruits and vegetables and nuts. I am drinking more water. All because I am focusing on eating "raw."

One of the things I like about the mindset of "eating raw," as oppopsed to eating better or not eating junk, etc. is that it focuses on going towards something, rather than depriving yourself of something. And I think that translates into more success. We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you posted.

what we're reading at simplicity sake

For getting things done...and a good dose of perspective:

• Mashable has a published a GTD Toolbox: a list of 100+ resources for Getting Things Done
• David Allen's new book, "Making It All Work," goes for a deeper perspective
  
• All this talk to getting this done...but what really matters? Here is a great article from Zen Habits on what would you do if you only had a short time to live?