NEAT & SIMPLE LIVING

It's official! Neat & Simple Living Blog is winding down...but it has had a baby!

It's official!

 My exploration of Neat & Simple Living has evolved into Agile Living, Work Design and Productivity!   This blog is six years old and rather than move it, I decided to just leave it here and start fresh.  

The new blog is called "Becoming Agile"   and lives on my new website www.arianebenefit.com. By January 2012 ALL of my new work is going to be exclusively published there.

Has the vision changed? 

My ultimate vision is the same...help people heal chronic disorganization, overwhelm and frustration and design a simpler life that fits.  I'm still working with the same audience of highly creative, gifted, ADHD or ADHDish, highly technical, sensitive people who struggle with the stuckness of procrastination, clutter, disorganization, depression, anxiety and chronic overwhelm.  To embrace all of us without so many labels...I am using the term Neurodiverse Outliers. It just feels better - makes it easier to accept myself as I am, not as a set of labels that focus on what's wrong with me. Over-identifying with the labels reinforces them. Changing the label changes the way you see yourself.  It's powerful stuff.

The Agile Life Design philosophy, mindset, skills and processes is the distillation of everything I've learned about what it takes to have a simpler, less pressured more satisfying life.  The agile approach to designing life, work, systems and relationships that fit together - WORKS.  As I'm working on resources to share the concepts and methods with the world, I'll be blogging the journey.  If you would like to continue with me on this journey

 I warmly invite you to join my mailing list.  

Going forward...the only way to get new content by email is to subscribe to a convenient, single mailing list...no more subscribing to both a blog and a mailing list. YAY!  : )   Thanks to my new email system, you'll have a lot more say in what kind of updates you want to receive from me as well!   

Wishing you much peace and an ever agile heart and mind, 

Sign up here if you haven't already....

 

 

 

Digital Camera Review: Samsung L74 Wide Angle Lens for taking Organizing Makeover Photos

Back in May I wrote about a couple wide angle camera I was considering.  See

• Looking for a Digital Camera with a Wide Angle Lens for Taking Real Estate or Room Makeover Pictures?
• Update to Digital Cameras with a Wide Angle Lens

Last month a flurry of wide angle cameras hit the market! The Samsung L74 was only $237 and had tons of features that sounded amazing so I bought one.  Big Mistake.

I have owned several Olympus digital cameras and have used Nikon, Sony & Canon cameras.  They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but at least some consideration of the user experience went into the design. Using this Samsung was like a bad dream. It has so many odd and poorly conceived features you have to wonder if anyone on their design team ever thought to at least try out their competition's cameras. Here are the problems I have with this camera.

1. Wrist Strap. For starters the wrist strap holder is a little metal bar that sticks out from the camera into your right hand when using the camera. Ant's quite sharp. Every other camera I've owned has it rounded and recessed so you don't feel it. At least they should have made it easy to remove so that it doesn't stick into your hand while you are trying to take pictures.

2. Batteries. Figuring out how to get the battery took nearly 10 minutes!  I've never had to look at the directions to put a battery in any of the hundreds of battery-operated devices we own. The description said this camera uses AA batteries - it does not. I gave this camera a try only because I thought it would run on my rechargeable AAs.  I need to have spares with me because I use my camera to photograh my work in client homes.

3. Touch screen. At first I this was a neat idea. In reality, you have to use a STYLUS PEN to operate it!!!  I tried using my finger nails but it did operate properly. When I'm taking pictures the last thing I want to worry about is finding the stylus pen and then how to hold on to it while I'm taking the photos. There isn't a place in the camera to stick the pen when you aren't using it.

4. Transfering Photos to PC.  It took about a half hour before we were able to actually take pictures after opening the camera. I've never had to look at a camera's instruction book to get to the point of taking the first picture. To operate special functions - yes - but just to take a simple picture?  Once we did get a few pics taken, getting them transferred to the PC was an even bigger pain in the neck. My husband is a computer engineer and he had trouble!  Turns out you can't move the pix directly to your computer with a USB cable from the camera's memory like you can with every other camera out there. You can't even do it from the disk.  You have to install their software and use their software to make the transfer!!  The camera instructions have multiple warnings throughout the manual that you will lose your photos if you don't use their software. This is ridiculous. You should be able to easily & quickly transfer the photos to ANY PC anywhere with that disk.  Even worse, you have to transfer the photos from camera memory to the disk, then you can move it to your computer.

5. Picture Quality.  The picture quality was not the worst I've seen, but it also wasn't great. I use photos of my work on my website (see www.neatandsimple.com/gallery) and in my e-books.  The pictures don't have to be perfect, but they need to at least look good enough to see the work clearly. That means I need a camera that takes really good quality indoor shots. 

What I Bought Instead

As of October 1, 2007, there are a lot more cameras with wide angle lens out there.  I was hoping Olympus would make one and they did!  So I bought the Olympus Stylus FE-290 7MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Zoom at about the same price as the Samsung from Amazon.com.  I've had it about a month now and I LOVE it!!!!  It even takes great VIDEOS!!!! 

 

New Credit Card Scam Alert - Never give your PIN to someone who calls you!

Received this in an email and checked it out.  It's not a hoax.  Unfortunately it's very real so be careful!  It's not really about organizing, but I consider this a "Public Service Message"   : )   

__________________________

The scam works like this: Person calls you and says,

"This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona ?"

When you say "No", the caller continues with,

"Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?"

You say "yes". The caller continues -

"I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?"

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says,

"I need to verify you are in possession of your card". He'll ask you to "turn your card over and look for some numbers".

There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers' that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. [These are the PIN numbers you need to make purchases]

After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?"

After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back if you do", and hangs up.

You actually say very little during the call, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 w as charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number.

What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation.

The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of Master Card" with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily!

______________________________

Don't let this happen to you!  : )

Toss the Antibacterial Cleansers - Triclosan found to be Toxic & Carcinogenic!

I don't buy anything with Triclosan in it. Here are lots more reasons to get rid of them.

From the Organic Bytes Newsletter

PRODUCT PLUNDER OF THE WEEK:
ANTIBACTERIAL HAND CLEANSERS
A new study published on the Environmental Science & Technology research website found  that triclosan, a widely used ingredient in antibacterial hand sterilization products, combines with chlorine in tap water to make the toxin chloroform. The researchers found that people using these products would be exposed to chloroform levels 40 percent higher than that found in tap water. Chloroform is a toxic chemical and a probable carcinogen. Previous studies have shown that the overuse of antibacterial soaps produces "super bacteria" that are able to survive exposure to antibacterial products. It is recommended that such products be used on limited and minimal levels.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4535.cfm

Choice Quotes from the article:

This 2005 study led to the removal of all triclosan-containing products from the British chain Marks & Spencer, as well as all triclosan-containing toothpaste from stores in China.

Triclosan decomposes into chlorine byproducts in as little as one minute when exposed to chlorinated water at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature commonly reached in household use. This led the researchers to question whether triclosan-containing soaps even provide the purported anti-bacterial benefit.

Here's to good old fashion soap & water!  : )

How to Protect Your Family & Home From "Lock Bumping" - This is a Must See

A friend sent me this YouTube link to share with ya'll.  It's a video clip from a news report on "Lock Bumping" 

Essentially, the point is this - If you don't have a certain type of high quality locks on your front doors , you are at risk.  There are videos all over the internet right now teaching people how to make special keys that can open your door locks just by "bumping" them into the lock a certain way. I'm not going to link to them here, but trust me, they are there.   You must watch this video clip to believe it. 

Tips to Protect Your Family

Get "Bump-Proof Locks" - Thankfully, we have Medeco locks which are one of the few "bump-proof" locks.  The Medeco site has an article about how they Combat the Bump Key here. According to the Medeco article,

"Medeco is commonly known as a ‘bump proof lock’ by those who view picking as a sport. Standard locks utilize a single locking point, while high security locks such as Medeco utilize multiple locking technologies. To see why Medeco is not vulnerable to this type of attack, a short video is available at www.medeco.com in the Interactive Security Solutions link."

Click here to watch the Medeco videos

Here are some more tips from Wikipedia on how to make sure your locks are not vulnerable to lock bumping.

"Ironically, more precise manufacturing tolerances within the cylinder make bumping easier as the pins move more freely and smoothly. Also, more expensive locks made of hardened steel are actually more vulnerable because they are less prone to damage during the bumping process which might cause a cheaper lock to jam.

Locks having security pins (spool or mushroom pins, etc.)—even when combined with a regular tumbler mechanism—generally make bumping somewhat more difficult, but not impossible.

Electronic locks, magnetic locks, and locks using rotating disks are not vulnerable to this attack.

Because a bump key must have the same blank profile as the lock it is made to open, restricted or registered key profiles are much safer from bumping, as the correct keyblanks cannot legally be obtained without permission and/or registration with relevant locksmiths' associations."

Here's to staying one step ahead...

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?.

Got a bit of Gadget Mania? Having Trouble Resisting the Urge to Splurge? Sometimes all it takes is the right question!

I confess.  I am a natural born enthusiast.  And, I am especially drawn to creative ideas! So when I saw this clever little gadget at the Container Store, I got all excited. 

How clever!!  It holds your cooking utensils so you don't have to lay them down on your stovetop or get your spoon holder dirty!  So I showed it to my husband.  "What do you think?  do you want one?" 

He looks at me and gives me some of my own medicine ..."Do we REALLY need that?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.  Looked at him and started laughing.  Just that question started me thinking about what a pain it would be to use and how quickly it would become clutter! 

• Where would I put it when it's not on the pot so that it would be handy? (I don't have drawers near my stove.) 
• Suppose I put it in the other not so handy kitchen drawer, will I really get it out of the drawer to use it every time I cook? 
• Then clean it and put it back? 
• Nah

All of a sudden, my good old fashion spoonrest that sits on my stovetop 24/7 starting looking beautiful again.  Besides, it's shaped like a cat!!!  And I do love my cats!  : )

Goes to show you - NO ONE is immune from the appeal of a clever kitchen gadget.  But one little question - the right one - can give you much needed power over your impulses! 

Do I REALLY need that??? 

 Will I REALLY use that? 

Where will I PUT that??

Come to think of it...my own medicine didn't taste that bad.  And I still have $10 in my pocket!

This is one of a few close calls I've had this holiday season.  The bag of impulse purchases I have to return to Linens N Things is proof I'm not always that strong.    The bag is already sitting next to my front door waiting to go back.

So how are you holding up with the ever tempting "urge to splurge" this holiday season?  : )

p.s.  I do the same thing for him in his weaker moments!  : ) It's all about teamwork.

You can't make this stuff up! Egg-vertizing???

Here's a scary bit of news from the Organic Bytes e-newsletter.  On the one hand I can see a lot of people thinking this is really cool.  I know I would have loved when I was a kid and didn't understand the implications.

On the other hand, it's just one more example of how far corporations will go to get their advertising out there so you (and your children) can't avoid them in any way shape or form.  Before you know it, our street lights, traffic lights, street signs, and maybe even our front doors will all be sponsored and branded.  Why stop there?  We could brand our schools - how bout "Coca-Cola High" maybe? Each classroom door (Imagine "The Dow Chemical Science Class") and every chalkboard could have a different sponsor's logo.  Even the kid's desks could be a collage of logos and ads.  Now that would be truly "intrusive" advertising. Just so you know how flagrant they are about their methods, check out the quote in red below.  Okay enough of my ranting.  : )   Here's the clip from the article.

"In September, CBS plans to start using a new place to advertise its fall television lineup: your breakfast. Ads for CBS’s shows will be etched on eggs sold at some grocery stores.

The network plans to announce today that it will place laser imprints of its trademark eye insignia, as well as logos for some of its shows, on eggs — 35 million of them in September and October. CBS’s copywriters are referring to the medium as “egg-vertising,” hinting at the wordplay they have in store. Some of their planned slogans: “CSI” (“Crack the Case on CBS”); “The Amazing Race” (“Scramble to Win on CBS”); and “Shark” (“Hard-Boiled Drama.”). Variations on the ad for its Monday night lineup of comedy shows include “Shelling Out Laughs,” “Funny Side Up” and “Leave the Yolks to Us.”

George Schweitzer, president of the CBS marketing group, said he was hoping to generate some laughter in American kitchens. “We’ve gone through every possible sad takeoff on shelling and scrambling and frying,” he said, adding, “It’s a great way to reach people in an unexpected form.”

Newspapers, magazines and Web sites are so crowded with ads for entertainment programming that CBS was ready to try something different, Mr. Schweitzer said. The best thing about the egg concept was its intrusiveness.

“You can’t avoid it,” he said. He liked the idea so much that he arranged for CBS to be the only advertiser this fall to use the new etching technology. The CBS ads are the first to use imprinting technology developed by a company called EggFusion, based in Deerfield, Ill. Bradley Parker, who founded the company, wanted to reassure shoppers that egg producers were not placing old eggs in new cartons, so he developed a laser-etching technique to put the expiration date directly on an egg during the washing and grading process."

Read the whole article here:

http://alerts.organicconsumers.org/trk/click?ref=zqtbkk3um_0-29x365x3304311&>http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1112.cfm

Sending neat thoughts,

ThinkBuying: Boston Globe Slams Corporations Pushing Bad Food on Kids

In keeping with my series on ThinkBuying, I wanted to share with you this excellent post from the Sugar Shock Blog. 

Link: SUGAR SHOCK! Blog: Boston Globe Slams Big Food for Pushing Bad Food on Kids. 

Here's an excerpt from the Globe Article that will really make you think about the damage junk food and sugar are doing to our health. 

"TYPE 2 DIABETES is sweeping so rapidly through America we need not waste time giving children bicycles. Just roll them a wheelchair. Forget the basketballs and baseballs. Give them Braille flash cards. The next thing you know, iPods, Game Boys and Xboxes will come with glucose meters, beeping 'Sorry to interrupt your song or movie, but it will not continue until you use me.'"

Corporations will eventually have to realize that in addition to making money, they are citizens of this country and world.  As citizens, they must be responsible to a higher value system that just making money.  If they don't start to really get it soon, then social responsibility will have be legislated.  They know very well that the sugar and chemicals in our food is killing us slowly and are  primary factors in chronic inflammation, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and more. But they make so much money on it that they can't seem stop themselves from continuing to sell the junk!  They need external pressure to quit.   Just like the cigarette manufacturers needed it to stop advertising to kids. Heck half the reason I quit smoking was because of all the grief I got for it.  They are as addicted to the money as we are to the sugar & hydrogenated oils in the junk food they sell! 

They can say "parents have the right not to buy it"  "parents have to control their kids" and that's true.  But then, they MUST stop actively and purposefully UNDERMINING  PARENTS through their deceptive and manipulative marketing. Conversely, we need to stop using sugar as a reward for every good thing we do, or to celebrate.  Why must sugary cakes be at every birthday?  I don't know...I suppose sugar is no different from all drugs that make us feel good when we ingest them...and then later we pay the price. 

Anyway, it's great to see a newspaper taking on  big companies even though they put their advertising dollars at risk.  Not many news outlets are prepared to do that. 

Kicking Sugar Update
So, enjoy the column and check out the extensive program on kicking sugar. You can also listen to FREE replays at http://www.fasttrackkicksugar.com/

I haven't totally quit sugar yet - but I have dramatically reduced it.  The hardest part for me is giving up my morning coffee.  I used to use 3-4 sugars in a 15 oz mug.  And sometimes I'd have 2 or 3 mugs!!!  Thanks to Connie & Nancy Appleton's suggestion, this morning I used only one sugar in a much smaller 7 oz cup and it was tolerable.  After a week of 1 tsp, I'm going to go to half tsp for a week then 0.   If I can do that....I can do anything!!!!  I really loved my morning coffee - just like I used to love cigarettes...but I quit them..and I'll quit this, too!

All the best, Ariane

Link: SUGAR SHOCK! Blog: Boston Globe Slams Big Food for Pushing Bad Food on Kids.

ThinkBuying - Huh?

What is ThinkBuying? 

(I found this term at http://www.thinkbuying.com/ but I'm giving it my own meaning here.)

Many of us, including me, put a lot of effort in researching products before we buy.  I've always focused on getting the lowest price and the best quality and features for my money.  In the background, I've occasionally given some thought as to whether or not I'm buying from an ethical company, but how could you possibly know? Before the advent of the web, researching who you buy from was an extreme effort.  Not anymore! There are tons of websites to help you think before you buy.  (see the list at the end of this post)

I found these sites after watching a film called  "The Corporation" on Sundance this weekend. I was quite shaken up by how much I didn't know.  It really rocked my world.  It led me to look deeper into corporate ethics and what I could do to make a difference in influencing the impact huge corporations are having on our society, culture, values and even our personal lives. So from time to time, I'll be sharing some of my journey and learnings about the concept of ThinkBuying with you.

ThinkBuying may not seem to directly relate to organizing, but think about it.  Why do so many people today need help organizing?  From personal experience, I can tell you that much of the clutter I help people deal with is a direct result of out-of-control, impulse spending. Much of this spending is spurred on through extremely manipulative marketing designed to make us want things we don't need - purely to make a profit for the companies - not to help us.  They don't want us to really think before we buy.  Part of helping people prevent clutter is helping them learn to take back control of what they spend money on and what they choose to bring into their homes. So that is part of ThinkBuying. 

Another part of ThinkBuying is thinking about how socially responsible the companies we buy from are.  Do they really care if our children are harmed by their products? Or if they are destroying the environment?  I'm not advocating that everyone become a radical.  Corporations have done a lot of good in the world.  But the bigger they grow, and the more they market to children using amazingly devious tactics, and the more we start seeing schools and public art centers being named after corporate sponsors (e.g., the Garden State Arts Center is now the PNC Bank Arts Center), and the more corporations like Coke and McDonalds are fighting tooth and nail with school districts to have the right to take over school cafeterias, the more we have to start wondering: just how far will their desire to manipulate us go?  what will stop them?  What will the limits be?   

Two college students have already become walking billboards to pay for their college tuitions. Including getting tattoos with the name of the companies.   Will the corporations also dictate what they can study?  Others have paid for their weddings by turning them into ads / reality shows.  Babies are used in commercials now, how long before children themselves are leased out to become walking ads just so parents can afford to raise them and give them all the stuff corporations are selling? 

So, what I'm suggesting is not that you become a radical, but that we become more aware of how we are being manipulated and maybe that we take just a few minutes to think before we buy.

Wishing you nothing but the best,

Ariane

~~~~~~~

Here's how to see "The Corporation" for yourself:

• TV:  Sundance Channel - it airs again on Jan 16.  If you don't have a TiVo or DVR,  find someone who does to record it and watch it with. 
• LIBRARY: If you can't do that, try a library.
• BOOKSTORE:  You can also get the film and the book at Amazon:
    DVD - The Corporation - 2 Disc Set with Tons of Bonus Footage
  BOOK:  The Corporation

Related Interesting Material

• DVD: Wal-mart:  The High Cost of Low Price

Cosumer Education Websites

• Organic Consumers Association
  The OCA promotes food safety, organic farming and sustainable agriculture Great information to make informed food choices and understand how Genetic engineering, irradiation, hormones, etc. are used in our food supply.
  
• SRI | alonovo.com
  The Social-Responsibility Index, or SRI is a rating of business character or citizenship. The higher the index the more likely we would want such a business to thrive within our community. This website is a great source to help you make conscious decisions.
  
• The Corporation Film: Welcome
  If you haven't watched the film / documentary "The Corporation" yet, I strongly recommend investing 2 hours and 25 minutes to learn some stunning facts about the the history of how corporations came to be in the first place.
  
• Commercialization of Education 2005 Annual Trends Report
  Univ of AZ report:  schools are a prime corporate advertising targets.  Learn what's being marketed to children in schools, what's being done to try to stop it, and the lengths corp's are going to fight parents & schools from banning junk food.
  
• Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood
  National coalition of health care professionals, educators, and parents seeking to limit direct marketing to children.
  
• Links to Organizations -Social Responsibility
  Links to Organizations Concerned about Social Responsibility and the Effects of Rampant Consumerism
  
• Transnationale.org
  This is a  "citizens' portal on brands and corporations". You can search for profiles on over 9,500 companies. Profiles list their social & environmental records
  
• CorpWatch : Index
  Features news, analysis and exposes about various corporations with records of environmental, labour, or social injustices.

Is Wal-Mart Good for America?

Dawn over at www.frugalforlife.com posted an extremely thought-provoking post on Walmart and the new Wal-Mart Movie. Frontline also did a Wonderful show on "Is Wal-mart Good for America?"  Clear facts and figures about Walmarts business practices.  You can watch the full 60 minute program online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/view/   While you are at it, check some of their other shows like "The persuaders" about the advertising industry, and "The Secret History of Credit Cards"

Here's what I have to say on the subject of Walmart.

I have already seen several documentaries on Wal-Mart and agree with a lot of the points and comments on Dawn's post. I personally stopped shopping at WalMart years ago. And, we are fighting having them come to our town. Being 10 miles from New York City, we are not even close to rural.

Our town, and those surrounding us, have vibrant downtowns filled with unique shops. That's one of the things we love about living here. We aren't a carbon copy filled with chain stores and we want to keep it that way.

Wal-Mart does indeed lie and unethically maneuver the system in the pursuit of profit.  For example, they actually had a written policy that stated they wanted to keep wages within a limit so that people would qualify for medicaid rather than them having to pay for Health benefits.

They also said they would only buy American. Hah! They have killed more American businesses than they have helped. AND they buy a huge percentage of their stuff from Asia. Not only that, they use their buying power to force small businesses here to redesign their products to make them cheaper (and lower quality) or they won't carry their products.  In fact though, their strategy is to provide ridiculously low prices on endcap products to lure you in...and then most of their stuff is the same price you'd find at Kmart or Target.

Let's not even get started on how they use their power to censor artistic products like movies, music and books. I suppose we get what we deserve when we value low prices above all else. It's like when you hire a contractor just because they give you the lowest bid. You usually don't get quality. Or worse, you have to redo it.  The thing is low prices lead to low wages and eventually a lower standard of living.  For example, in ohio, massachusetts and vermont where factories (like Thomson electronics and Rubbermaid) were closed because they couldn't compete with China (Which most of Walmarts goods now come from China) A Walmart opens.  50 and 60 K per year jobs are now replaced with minimum wage jobs and rundown towns.

One last thing, I understand the argument that rural folks don't always have access to the product selection and low prices...but how did they survive before Wal-Mart? They had to be frugal, creative, simple and live with less stuff. Ironically, isn't that what a lot of us are trying to do?

Bringing mass consumerism to rural areas is not the solution. I don't mean to judge or offend individuals who do choose to shop at Wal-Mart. Having grown up on welfare myself, I know what it's like to be really poor.  I only hope to inspire people to think about it.

For really low prices, I think you can do better at Amazon.com or even e-bay.com, where they let everyday people sell their stuff to anyone, anywhere. It's like a big online flea market where you can get amazing deals. - Now that's democratic!

Okay, I'm off my soap box now. Have a great holiday And think about this...

What if you bought NOTHING at Christmas? What Gifts Would You Give? (Click to see 10 gift ideas that cost nothing or next to nothing...)

All the best,