December 26 is celebrated as “Boxing Day” in some countries. The name comes from the tradition that on the day after Christmas well-to-do families would give a box of money or presents to their servants or customers. I remembered this as I was cleaning up after Christmas and was struck by the extraordinary number of cardboard […]
Living Lightly
Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantlyBrowsing Posts in Days 365+
Lately, I’ve been having some troubling feelings connected with my latest book, Blessed By Less: Clearing Your Life of Clutter by Living Lightly. It was published almost 3 years ago and won a number of awards. I’m understandably proud of it, but I find myself feeling dispirited by not getting enough credit for it. For […]
We were robbed last week. Someone took Jim’s golf clubs out of the trunk of our car and my prescription glasses out of the front seat. Our car wasn’t locked and it was in our open garage. Still it felt like a personal violation and it takes time to replace stuff. After allowing ourselves some […]
Before you think I’ve gone over to the dark side and given up Living Lightly by acquiring 11 new items and letting go of none, I must again clarify. Our daughter will soon move back from Kenya to the USA – not to our home but certainly closer than Africa. She has a fellowship in […]
Before you canonize me as St. Minimalista for bringing only 3 new items into our home and getting rid of 71, I must clarify that 56 of the outgoing items were pens and pencils and 13 more were duplicates or older socks. Here’s how it broke down: THE MAIN EVENT: 1 new pair of shoes […]
We live in an old house. We love it but part of being old means that the window were not energy efficient. We had storm windows but they were a pain to put in and out each year. We finally made the commitment to replace all of the 100+ year old windows. It took awhile […]
I’m a little late with my bi-weekly blog but it’s planting season and the weather won’t wait. Recently a friend returned a sewing machine I had lent her about 20 years ago. This is nice but I gave the old one away because I needed a machine that could do a zigzag stitch for knits. […]
It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, we take advantage of it – Community Sponsored Hazardous Waste collection. Once or twice a year my county provides a place to take items like pesticides, paint, medications, old electronics, etc. Jim and I save these items throughout the year and take them to the collection place […]
For those who read last week’s blog and wondered what miscellaneous “adult stuff” I would be giving away, I’m afraid it’s rather boring – but boring with a lesson. Now that I’ve gotten rid of the kids, here are some miscellaneous parent contributions: 2 homemade pew banners from our kid’s First Communions. Now really, by […]
True, there are no miscellaneous kids hanging around our home any more and we wouldn’t give them away if they were. The kids we have launched into the world have left some things, however, that we finally feel free to give away. I’ve been collecting these odds and ends for the last several months as […]
Can you ever have too many inspirational books? Yes! Recently I was very proud of myself book-wise. I found 3 fine inspirational books from which I had consumed enough relevant inspiration that I was willing to part with them. I felt even better about finding a good home for them – a local coffee shop […]
I’m leaping from my bedroom – where I mostly look for clothes to give away – to the garden. (Well, not actually “leaping.” I took the stairs.) With the end of the gardening season I was motivated to clean out the small closet in which I kept garden supplies. During Round 1 I had gotten […]
When I was dispersing my clothes last year, one thing I realized is that I didn’t need any more commemorative T-Shirts. I made a decision not to buy any more. Then, a couple weeks ago I came across one I really wanted to have. Hmmm. I bought it with mixed emotions. Then, I remembered the […]
One of the things I pride myself on is traveling lightly. I usually can fly anywhere for up to two months with only a carry on (and a husband to lift things). Not only is it easier to transport luggage from place to place but it avoids lost bags and my thrifty side is happy […]
While I’m in “Kitchen/Dining Room mode,” I noticed that there are quite a few mugs and miscellaneous glasses in our cupboards. Almost none matched. On one hand, unique drinking cups are an advantage since guests can keep the same glass throughout an evening, day, or weekend. (Saves wear and tear on the environment and reduces […]
I’m partial to the elegance, flexibility, and durability of plain Winter White Corelle dishes. That’s why it didn’t bother me when Jim suggested we give away one set of dishes that had a few chips in it and another partial set in which 5 of the 8 dinner plates had been broken. Besides, we saw […]
Happy Easter! The 40 days have come to an end, but not this project. The more I got into giving stuff away, the more I realized that these 40 days were simply the first round. Although I’ve given many things away, few items will I actually miss. To really stretch myself I’ll need to keep […]
Today is Mardi Gras (French for “Fat Tuesday”). Traditionally it is the last splurge for Christians before Lent. This brings up the question of splurging. Is it OK? Is it weakness? Should it be avoided? My own experience with splurging is that it’s a lot like keeping a good diet. Occasional splurges are good for […]
