NEAT & SIMPLE LIVING

Thank You!!!

Thank you so much to all of you who attended my presentation last night at Mahwah Public Library!  Your energy and enthusiasm made my job as presenter easy.  : )

As promised the PowerPoint slides are now available for download for ONE WEEK ONLY in the Neat Living DIY Library! 

I will be taking it down on Feb. 1.  and revising it for my Feb 22 presentation in Wayne - "Simplify, Organize & Energize Your Life!"  It is also soon to be part of an e-book!

UPDATE 2/1/07:  This Presentation is no longer available in the DIY Library. Sorry!  A new and improved e-book version will be available in March.  : )

In the meantime, if you attended the presentation last night, I'd love to hear your feedback here on the blog!  Just click on "Comments" below to leave a comment!  Feel free to also ask any questions you may have!

Sending Neat Thoughts!

How to Keep, Use or Let Go Your Vinyl LP Record Album Collection!

Here are some neat ways to Keep, Use or Let Go of your Vinyl LP Record Albums!

Option 1 - DISPLAY - Keep AND Use Vintage Vinyl LP Record Albums to Decorate 

You can frame and hang your coolest albums on the walls!  Michael's Craft store sells record album frames for about $10 each.  (They go on sale quite frequently for 50% off)  Your albums then go from being clutter to works of art.  Plus you get to preserve your treasures and ensure they don't get all dusty and scratched. 

Option 2 - DIGITIZE your vintage Vinyl LP Record Albums!

Albums do get scratched, and can easily get destroyed by heat, water, etc. But you can preserve them digitally.  You can now choose from a neat selection of turntables that allow you to burn your albums to CD or even transfer them directly to your MP3 player or iPod!  Some come with built in CD burners and some hook up to your computer via USB. Check out this selection at Amazon.com  USB Record Players and Turntable / CD Recorders

Option 3 - SELL Vintage Vinyl LP Record Albums

Here are some neat resources for selling your collection or just for checking the value of specific albums in your vintage vinyl record collection:

• Ebay of course
• The Record Collector - an online buying and selling resource for all kinds of vintage music memorabilia.
• The Princeton Record Exchange - one of the largest used record and CD dealers on the East Coast is right here in Princeton, NJ! Especially check out their pagethat includes what is valuable and what isn't.  VERY enlightening for your folks that think their collection may be super valuable : )
• Better Records - This is a great resources for learning what's valuable and what isn't in the world of used records.

Would love to hear from you if you have any other good resources!

Organizing to Lose Weight, Setting Goals, Weekly Meal Plans: 2011- Why I'll never use these again.

UPDATE - July 2011

5 years and over 100 pounds shed I've learned many things.

1. Menu planning and tracking doesn't work. They distract you from the real issue:  Your relationship with food and every about and connected to food. 
2. Diets don't work.  They are too focussed on "controlling" "restricting" and "telling you exactly what to do".  The unintended consequences set you up for disordered and / or addictive eating. 
3. It's all about learning to LOVE your food and listening to your body. 
4. The most fun way to eat is to invent recipes on the fly using the healthy ingredients you keep on hand.  No need to menu plan!  It's more like strategizing to have an environment that supports healthy eating.  

 

This post is part of my digital trail...It shows me how far I have come in my evolution.  I would NEVER have written this in 2011.  

____________________________________________________

As part of my "Organizing to Lose Weight" focus this month, I'm working on a few goals. 

1.  Menu Planning & Tracking my progress

2.  Eating Healthier

3.  Walking More

I know how, I have the tools...but I've been slacking off! This post by Laura, the Organizing had given me renewed motivation to plan & track what I'm eating! 

My favorites of her 13 reasons are:

3. I always have the ingredients in the house for whatever I'm making because I make up my menu plan before going grocery shopping.

6. I save money by planning my weekly menu around what is on sale that particular week.

7. I save time by planning quick and easy meals (especially crockpot meals which can be prepared in the morning when I'm not rushed and have more energy). - (Ariane's Note - Though I do this on weekends or evenings. - I use my mornings for writing.)

9. Helps me to avoid last minute unhealthy desperation meals.

Read the rest here:

http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com/2007/01/thursday-thirteen.html

This week, in addition to Planning & Tracking what I eat (& prepping for my speaking engagement on Monday) my healthy eating goals are to:

• Make a couple healthy "stoups" (stews / soups) ala Rachael Ray this weekend & freeze them in portions so I'll have healthy food available at all times- Split Pea & Lentil
• Eat till I'm not hungry and stop before I get full - This won't be easy
• Not use butter & get used to what food really tastes like!  - this will be the hardest part - but it will help with the above.  I've found that when food has butter on it, I eat more and crave it more. So, I've quit my sugar & the sweet tooth is at bay...now it's time to work on the "fat tooth" and let go of another clutter food - butter!! 

Wish me luck!  : )

Are Vinyl Record Albums and Other Collections Potentially Lottery Tickets? Should we NOT let Clients Know Their Collections Could be Worth Millions?

John Trosko over at OrganizingLA Blog raises a very interesting question.  He had a client that wouldn't let go of his album collection because he had heard about the Velvet Underground Album that sold for $150,000.   John asks readers:

"if you were in our place working with an organizing client, would YOU tell tales like this?  We just worry that this will deter any kind of headway we can make letting clients know their collection could be worth millions." 

This is a very important question.  How far should professional organizers go to encourage people to let go things?  Here is my view on the subject.

Always tell what you know!  It is a fact that a collection or rare item may be valuable, so clients are justified to think that. I feel it is my duty to help clients learn to deal with that fact and STILL make informed decisions about what to let go of.  Even if it  means they choose to keep more things. 

If a client feels they have collections or collectibles that could be of value, I strongly encourage them to consult a professional and find out the facts about their specific case. Sometimes, I even stop clients from tossing or donating items that I know might be potentially extremely valuable! We put all those "possibly valuable" things aside and then, when we have a substantial amount of things, we call in an e-bay or other auction professional to advise us.  They are so helpful!  Experts have access to specialized data services that tell you very quickly the potential value of everything from china to rugs to fine art.

Interestingly, I have found that doing this actually leads to clients feeling more knowledgeable and therefore, more secure about letting go of more!  Maybe it's reverse psychology?  I don't know, but people relax when they hear from a professional that most of the things they think are valuable - aren't.  Or, when they see hard numbers that demonstrate they actually get more value from donating an item that selling it.  Then, they peacefully let go like crazy!

When in doubt, Keep it!

I highly recommend people NOT let go of anything irreplaceable if there is doubt or insecurity involved.  It can be traumatic and trigger a new wave of hoarding later to compensate for the feeling of loss.  Just like it's healthier to lose weight gradually without painfully starving yourself, I believe it's healthier to let go of clutter in a way that feels safe and good. It encourages people to learn what not to keep in the first place, and helps them develop strategies and habits for regularly & continuously letting go of what they don't need.  This is in the long run a much less stressful approach than binging & purging cycles. (Clinical hoarding is a different story I'm not going to get into here.)

Anyway, holding back information is not a good idea.  It's much better to give them the information and then give them additional tools to make an educated decision.  This way they'll have a process to make decisions in the future as well.   For example, even supposing the client's collection MIGHT be worth $150,000 "someday".  They must apply other criteria to decide about whether or not to keep their collections. 

One acid test I give clients about collections is this.  "Is the collection worth the price you are paying to keep it?" If a collection is impeding their quality of life, most people will say that no amount of money they "might" collect from their "potential lottery ticket" is worth the sacrifice of their health, family harmony, and ability to enjoy their home.  On the other hand, if it's not causing stress, or impeding your ability to function, and you love it, there is no harm in keeping it. 

Another acid test is this.  Do you take care of your collection? organize it? protect and preserve it?  display it?  if not, then I question them deeply about why they are keeping it.  Some people have their "collection" randomly scattered all over the place and many of the things are already damaged!  It will NOT be valuable if it's not cared for!  So why keep it?  Collections are fine if you love them...but if you don't take care of them...you  need to question what is really behind your need to hang on to them. 

SIDE NOTE:   I  have my own collection of a couple hundred albums and a bunch of 45's - some dating from the 50's.  I love them! And they are safely tucked away and protected in a cabinet in my living room with my record player! Yes, do I listen to them every now and then. : ) 

Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs - Have you tried them yet?

Seth Godin, marketing guru, recently posted a challenge to all bloggers to write about their experiences with and promote the use of the Compact Flourescent (CF) LightBulb.

In his post, he questions why people resist the funny looking Compact Flourescent (CF) Light Bulb when they save so much money, are good for the environment, last longer, etc. 

I can't say why everyone does, but I can tell you from my own experience why I was reluctant! : )

1.  I thought flourescent lighting was bad for you!  Truly.  Some where along the line I had heard that flourescent lighting caused depression and was bad for your eyes.

2.  I  felt it would made our rooms look and feel institutional.  I hated the "kind" of light it was.  I thought we should have full spectrum light bulbs in our home. 

3. I didn't think they would "fit" in our lamps and overhead lights.

4. They were expensive!

Well, my husband, the engineer, ever devoted to the latest technology, went on a campaign to convince me that flourescent light technology had evolved.  He pointed out how wrong I was on every front.

1. The new Compact Flourescent light bulbs are NOT bad for you!!

2. These new fangled flourescent bulbs, weird looking as they are, actually cast an even warmer glow than regular light bulbs.

3.  They are designed to fit in almost every lamp and ceiling light. (even a couple of our ceiling fans.  There is one caveat to that though. They will not work with dimmer switches.

4. As Seth points out, they are not expensive when you consider how long they last, and how that they use 75% less electricity than other bulbs.   

It's been at least 3 years ago now since we found 5-packs on sale at Home Depot and we switched EVERY light bulb in our home that would allow us to use the Compact Flourescent (CF) Light Bulb.  We even put one in the outdoor light on our front porch.  We got outdoor versions for our flood lights, too. 

Here's our experience with them in a snapshot.

• We have not had anything bad happen to our health OR our eyes.  : )
• The lighting is actually warmer and nicer than regular bulbs!  But it does take a minute to warm up.  That takes a little getting used to, but it's no big deal.
• They fit in every lamp except those with dimmers or halogen bulbs.
• We have not had to replace a single one! I love not having to worry about changing bulbs or keeping a big supply on hand.  So there is a Space advantage too!
• Our electric bill did go down some.  Hard to quantify that though since we have added other electronic devices.

So, I give the bulbs 2 thumbs up! I highly recommend you give them a try. Next time a bulb goes bad, go flourescent!

If you really want to get wild, check out this CF light bulb that also CLEANS YOUR AIR as it lights your room  : )

For other blog posts on CF light bulbs, see: Seth's Blog: How many bloggers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?.

Monica Ricci also wrote an entertaining post on the joys of the CF bulb. 

It's good for your budget and for the environment too!  What are you waiting for?

How About Some Genetically Engineered Fish Proteins in Your Breyer's Ice Cream?

This is just so wrong on so many levels.  What on earth was wrong with Breyers the way it was???  I'm so glad we make all our own ice-cream now.

Did you know this?   

"Unilever, a British-Dutch global consumer marketing products giant, is the largest producer of ice cream and frozen novelties in the U.S. Unilever's brands sold in the U.S. include Breyer's ice cream, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Klondike ice cream bars and Popsicle products." 

From "How About Some Genetically Engineered Fish Proteins in Your Breyer's Ice Cream? By Paris Reidhead, The Milkweed (Wisconsin Dairy Farmer Magazine), December 2006

From Organic Bytes Newsletter, I bring you the  PRODUCT PLUNDER OF THE WEEK!  - BREYERS AND GOOD HUMOR

Breyers Ice Cream is beginning to utilize what it calls an "anti-freeze" technology, derived by utilizing genetically modified fish proteins from the blood of the ocean pout (a polar ocean species). The experimental biotech substance, which is supposed to help the ice cream recrystallize if it warms above freezing, has undergone little, if any, safety testing. In fact, the FDA approved the ingredient as "safe" based on human safety protocols conducted on codfish blood proteins, not on blood proteins from the ocean pout. Codfish and the ocean pout do not even belong to the same sub-class, in the "Order of Species," thereby making the studies worthless. The "anti-freeze" ingredient is currently used in Breyer's Light Double-Churned, Extra Creamy Creamy Chocolate ice cream, as well as a Good Humor ice cream novelty bar. The ingredient is referred to as "ice structuring protein" (ISP) on the products' ingredient panels.

Learn more: How About Some Genetically Engineered Fish Proteins in Your Breyer's Ice Cream?.

Getting Rid of Junk Mail

Turning down the volume on your junk mail is a great way to:

- Save time spent sorting it out
- Keep clutter off your counters
- Reduce the amount of crap you have to put out on recycling day
- Reduce the wear and tear on your shredder
- Save time spent shredding
- Reduce the amount of paper that has to be recycled
- Save money on local taxes!  FACT:  $320 million of local taxes are used to dispose of unsolicited mail each year.  If we all made an effort to stop the mail from coming in, we could help keep property taxes from rising so quickly!

FACTS Courtesy of:  https://www.41pounds.org/statistics/
(Check out their other startling statistics.)

PHOTO Courtesy of www.mailboxmagnets.com

NEAT LIVING PICK FOR EASIEST WAY TO STOP THE JUNK MAIL IS -

41pounds.org  An average of 41 pounds or junk mail is sent to every adult citizen each year. Approximately 44% of this mail goes into a landfill unopened. For $41.00 for 5 years, this service proactively actively gets you off the lists and keeps you off over time.  They contact 20-30 direct mailers on your behalf to stop the majority of bulk mail that comes to your home every day. You don't have to do all the letter writing yourself! 

Here are some other Neat Links that make it easy to reduce unwanted mail.

DirectMail.com - a quick, free way to reduce junk mail.

DMA Consumer Assistance - I'm using this.

OptOut - never receive a pesky pre-approved credit card offer again. Do it online or call 1-888-5-OPTOUT.

Ecological Mail Coalition - businesses: stop unwanted mail through this free service.

Native Forest Network's Guide - five easy steps to stop junk

Above links came from: Ideal Bite - Tip Library - Just Say No to Junk Mail - Resolutions Week 2006.