Last night I watched a news report about the dividing of Sudan into two nations, effectively ending a decades old civil war. It wasn't a hugely detailed report, but apparently one of the problems that still exists relates to the oil. The South has it, and the North has most of the pipeline and delivery mechanisms. There is debate about how to divide the profits among the two new countries, if they can find a way to cooperate.
This got me thinking again about how central oil is not only to our world economy but to our collective culture. The images on the screen are enough to make you wonder if living in an oil producing area is a blessing or a curse. Can there ever be peace where there is oil. (And yes, I realize that the United States and Canada are among this group.) Which lead to a deeper question, connected but not limited to oil. This is not the first time I've asked myself this question, and I'm certainly far from the first to ask it. But it deserves to be posed again and again.
Who suffers to make my lifestyle and standard of living possible?
The worldwide violence connected to oil resources is sometimes enough to make me want to sell our car and never drive again. But I know it's not that simple. And I'm not willing to give up using plastic, synthetic fabrics, or petroleum based products in general. I understand that I enjoy fresh produce that does not grow in my current climate zone, and that there is a cost for it to travel from a grower to my kitchen.
But to me, part of the desire to live more simply comes back to this question. I admit the much of my motivation is selfish. I believe that by consuming less I actually live more. But what if a side effect is that someone else, who I'll never meet, somewhere in the world also has a better life because of my choices. It might seem grandiose to think that my everyday decisions would or could ever have this kind of effect, but I believe there are ripple effects of things that we never see or know. The Butterfly Effect, if you will.
This has the potential to stir up all kinds of political issues, and I really would like to avoid that. So many people that I care about would place themselves all over the political spectrum, and as long as you have a reasoned understanding of them, I respect your views. I think this is an issue that can be discussed without dragging in tangent arguments and hurting each other.
For me, the first step in all of this is to try to be more mindful of my own consumption and I think the world would be a different place if more people, however imperfectly, made a similar effort. From mindless to mindful consumption.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Yard Sale Dilemma
To try to sell or to just give away... that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler...
No, no Shakespeare drama needed here. But right now part of my decluttering paralysis is based on this question. So here's my little self-debate.
Yard Sale/Flea market/Other sales method.
Pros: earn a little money from the stuff taking up space that I don't need, use, or love. I gain not only freedom from clutter but also get a bit of money out of it that can be put toward the vacation we're saving toward for next summer. I also think I'll be more motivated to get rid of things if I think I'll get something back for them... a bit more ruthless in my cleaning out if I'm trying to fill a table, have things that catch people's attention, and if I can convince myself I'm turning it into something (money) that I'll use for something I really, really want (extended vacation in the US).
Cons: Time and energy. Probably the best way to do it would be to get a table at a regular flea market here, but it would take a whole day of sitting at a table. Relief would be difficult as one of us would need to be with our daughter, or alternately we could use a precious babysitter opportunity to do it. I've tried listing a couple of things on Tradera (Swedish ebay) using a student discount so I can list 1 item for free per month (until Sept when my student card expires). But even that takes the time of taking photos, creating an add, and assuming it sells then packaging it up and shipping it. I haven't had a yard sale since I was a kid, and then I'm pretty sure my mom did most of the work... so I really have no appreciation for how much time and energy goes into preparing, pricing, etc. But it sounds like a lot.
Give it away
Pros: It's quick and easy - put it in a box and take it somewhere. I can get rid of things a little at a time instead of storing them waiting for one big sale. They would hopefully be a blessing to others who either receive them for free or can buy them second hand inexpensively, and that money used for good hopefully too. All depending on where and how we choose to donate. This is what we've always done so it's familiar and comfortable.
Cons: I really have no idea what things are worth and sometimes it's hard for me to give something away if I think it might have some value. It's as though somewhere deep down I feel as though I'm being cheated somehow. And as long as there seems like there's a chance that we could earn some money this way, there remains a certain allure with trying the sale method.
So weigh in and help me decide what to do. What are your experiences with sales, positive or negative? All thoughts welcome!
No, no Shakespeare drama needed here. But right now part of my decluttering paralysis is based on this question. So here's my little self-debate.
Yard Sale/Flea market/Other sales method.
Pros: earn a little money from the stuff taking up space that I don't need, use, or love. I gain not only freedom from clutter but also get a bit of money out of it that can be put toward the vacation we're saving toward for next summer. I also think I'll be more motivated to get rid of things if I think I'll get something back for them... a bit more ruthless in my cleaning out if I'm trying to fill a table, have things that catch people's attention, and if I can convince myself I'm turning it into something (money) that I'll use for something I really, really want (extended vacation in the US).
Cons: Time and energy. Probably the best way to do it would be to get a table at a regular flea market here, but it would take a whole day of sitting at a table. Relief would be difficult as one of us would need to be with our daughter, or alternately we could use a precious babysitter opportunity to do it. I've tried listing a couple of things on Tradera (Swedish ebay) using a student discount so I can list 1 item for free per month (until Sept when my student card expires). But even that takes the time of taking photos, creating an add, and assuming it sells then packaging it up and shipping it. I haven't had a yard sale since I was a kid, and then I'm pretty sure my mom did most of the work... so I really have no appreciation for how much time and energy goes into preparing, pricing, etc. But it sounds like a lot.
Give it away
Pros: It's quick and easy - put it in a box and take it somewhere. I can get rid of things a little at a time instead of storing them waiting for one big sale. They would hopefully be a blessing to others who either receive them for free or can buy them second hand inexpensively, and that money used for good hopefully too. All depending on where and how we choose to donate. This is what we've always done so it's familiar and comfortable.
Cons: I really have no idea what things are worth and sometimes it's hard for me to give something away if I think it might have some value. It's as though somewhere deep down I feel as though I'm being cheated somehow. And as long as there seems like there's a chance that we could earn some money this way, there remains a certain allure with trying the sale method.
So weigh in and help me decide what to do. What are your experiences with sales, positive or negative? All thoughts welcome!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Green Towels
Recently I unpacked a box of towels. To be specific, one of our boxes of towels. Imagine my surprise while packing to discover that all of our towels don't fit into one moving box. We seem to have a lot of towels.
Now, I don't know how many towels the average family has. And I haven't counted ours to know how many we actually have. But we have the towels we got as wedding presents from our registry, the towels we got as wedding presents that weren't on our registry, the towels Staffan had before we were married, and the towels I had before we were married. Then of course there are other categories of towels, like beach towels and baby hooded towels, and so forth.
The overwhelming majority of our towels are blue. We registered for different shade of blue towels when we got married. The towels Staffan had before we were married were also blue. The towels that I had before we were married were green. I only had a few. After all, how many towels does one person need? You use one for a week or so, throw it in the laundry, and assuming you do laundry about once a week, the first towel is back when it's time to wash the second one. By this logic, it's reasonable to have about 3 towels per person... in case laundry gets delayed or you want to pack a clean one for a trip or something like that. Add a few extras for when guests come, and it seems reasonable for our family of 3 to have no more than 15 towels.
As I was unpacking all these towels and realizing we have more than we need, I decided it was time to get rid of a few towels. The most obvious candidates were the green ones that don't match any of the others. We never even use them because they don't match. So I set them aside and started putting the assorted blue towels in the linen closet. And yet, the whole time, I keep looking at this small pile of green towels. It's bothering me that they're sitting there. They're still in great shape. What difference does it make what color they are if they get you dry? Guest towels don't have to match the bathroom, and maybe a different color makes it easier to tell whose is whose. By the time the blue towels were stacked in the closet, I was rearranging to create more space and in went the green towels too.
What a small step in the right direction it would've been to give away 4 towels that we never use. And yet there they sit right this moment in my linen closet. Like they've done for the past 9 years, occasionally coming out to take up space in a moving box to be moved to a new linen closet. So why does it bother me so much to give them away?
Now, I don't know how many towels the average family has. And I haven't counted ours to know how many we actually have. But we have the towels we got as wedding presents from our registry, the towels we got as wedding presents that weren't on our registry, the towels Staffan had before we were married, and the towels I had before we were married. Then of course there are other categories of towels, like beach towels and baby hooded towels, and so forth.
The overwhelming majority of our towels are blue. We registered for different shade of blue towels when we got married. The towels Staffan had before we were married were also blue. The towels that I had before we were married were green. I only had a few. After all, how many towels does one person need? You use one for a week or so, throw it in the laundry, and assuming you do laundry about once a week, the first towel is back when it's time to wash the second one. By this logic, it's reasonable to have about 3 towels per person... in case laundry gets delayed or you want to pack a clean one for a trip or something like that. Add a few extras for when guests come, and it seems reasonable for our family of 3 to have no more than 15 towels.
As I was unpacking all these towels and realizing we have more than we need, I decided it was time to get rid of a few towels. The most obvious candidates were the green ones that don't match any of the others. We never even use them because they don't match. So I set them aside and started putting the assorted blue towels in the linen closet. And yet, the whole time, I keep looking at this small pile of green towels. It's bothering me that they're sitting there. They're still in great shape. What difference does it make what color they are if they get you dry? Guest towels don't have to match the bathroom, and maybe a different color makes it easier to tell whose is whose. By the time the blue towels were stacked in the closet, I was rearranging to create more space and in went the green towels too.
What a small step in the right direction it would've been to give away 4 towels that we never use. And yet there they sit right this moment in my linen closet. Like they've done for the past 9 years, occasionally coming out to take up space in a moving box to be moved to a new linen closet. So why does it bother me so much to give them away?
Monday, June 6, 2011
Un-simple Moving :(
We recently moved. About a week ago, actually. And the experience reminded me of why I started this little blog in the first place. It also reminded me that it's been about 9 months since I've updated it, which is pathetic really. Not because I'm out to become the world's most prolific blogger or that I think anyone is really following it, but because the intent was to accomplish something and sadly I have made little progress toward my goals. This is not a time, though, to spiral into shame and self-blame, but to reevaluate and begin again.
We hired a moving company to transport our worldly possessions, and based on their averages and experience, they estimated that a family the size of ours moving from an apartment the size of ours would need about 30 cubic meters. (Don't worry if you don't know how much a cubic meter is, you don't need to to understand my point.) We loaded the truck with a little over 40 cubic meters. Granted, the company changed our time at the last minute and our final packing was done hastily, and in many cases not even by us. We probably could have packed smaller given more time. I probably would've found more things to give/throw away if I had been packing things myself. But still, it was enlightening to find out that we are living with about 33% more stuff than the average comparable family.
The other thing about moving is the direct confrontation with the reality of how much stuff we have. Packing it, loading it, moving it, unpacking it, and finding new homes for all the "stuff". I haven't liked what I've seen these past few weeks and I'm determined all over again to do something about it. I am once again motivated to de-clutter life - our stuff, our time and commitments, etc - and be more intentional about how I really want to live. I hope to take up this poor, dormant blog again as a part of this effort. More to come soon...
We hired a moving company to transport our worldly possessions, and based on their averages and experience, they estimated that a family the size of ours moving from an apartment the size of ours would need about 30 cubic meters. (Don't worry if you don't know how much a cubic meter is, you don't need to to understand my point.) We loaded the truck with a little over 40 cubic meters. Granted, the company changed our time at the last minute and our final packing was done hastily, and in many cases not even by us. We probably could have packed smaller given more time. I probably would've found more things to give/throw away if I had been packing things myself. But still, it was enlightening to find out that we are living with about 33% more stuff than the average comparable family.
The other thing about moving is the direct confrontation with the reality of how much stuff we have. Packing it, loading it, moving it, unpacking it, and finding new homes for all the "stuff". I haven't liked what I've seen these past few weeks and I'm determined all over again to do something about it. I am once again motivated to de-clutter life - our stuff, our time and commitments, etc - and be more intentional about how I really want to live. I hope to take up this poor, dormant blog again as a part of this effort. More to come soon...
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