Living Simply October Challenge: Day 14: Charity

     For today's challenge, let's talk about challenging you to give like a beginner philanthropist this season. You know if you really think about it, most people we give to this time of year have the ability to eat several times every day, live indoors, have clothes that aren't torn rags, and probably already own shoes. So what if we chose to suggest each family member donates a gift, time, or money to a charity this season in place of an unnecessary gift? Maybe you could tell people who will be shopping for you to make your gift, or even just ONE of your gifts, a donation to charity? There are many charities out there, so do your homework first. Make sure what you're donating will actually get to those who need it most - some less reputable ones may take up to 80% of your donation for "office costs" or some other name that won't part with the money to help those they're supposed to be supporting. Here's some great causes:

1.  Direct Relief - This charity earns a 100% fundraising efficiency rating from Forbes, and an A rating from CharityWatch. 

2.  St. Jude's Hospital - Pediatric care for children with catastrophic diseases, regardless if they're parent(s) can pay or not. This comes to the top of most lists when looking for accountability and making a real difference.

3.  Local Charities:  Choose something important to you - Animals? Donate to a shelter or a no-kill shelter. Police and Fire Departments have fund-raisers. Veteran's need your help. A local food bank could use donations, volunteers, cooks, and servers around the holidays. United Way, Salvation Army, YMCA/YWCA/Boy's Clubs and Girl's clubs of America, Have your family sponsor a little league team, there's so much out there if you bother to look.

4.  Find something that's important to you - Alzheimer's, Cancer, Red Cross (plan a family, friends, or coworkers day to donate blood), Compassion International, etc.

5.  Come up with something to have your group, family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors donate to together. It could be a person at work who your coworkers know has unexpected medical bills. Maybe an elderly neighbor just lost a spouse and the neighborhood could pitch in with repairs, lawn or shoveling snow, food gift cards, etc. Family could pull together to make a family member's dream come true - maybe to help them go back to school, or pay for a sitter so they can take on a new job, maybe there's someone who wants to start a small business. Again, the needs are great if you just stop to look around.

6.  Create a one-time scholarship for a student at either the local college, or in a drama class, or dance lessons, martial arts, a season of sports for one student or one family, be creative. Give back in an area that meant a lot to you growing up. 

I challenge you and your circle to find a charity for this holiday season's giving.

Living Simply October Challenge: Day 13 Evaluate

  

     Today's challenge is a little different. I wanted to say something, to make a point, then I read that The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, had put out an essay on the very topic I wanted to cover - and they said it briefly, and effectively. So today's challenge is to simply read this short essay I've linked to and cut & pasted here (I make nothing from this website, so I think it's okay). I hope it adds value to your life. 

https://www.theminimalists.com/material/

How important is the stuff in your life?

Your material possessions—those things you’ve worked so hard for by slaving 40, 50, 60 hours a week to acquire—how much value do they actually add to your life?

We bet it’s less than you realize.

Here’s an exercise for you. Take a moment and write down your ten most expensive material possessions from the last decade. Things like your car, your house, your jewelry, your furniture, and any other material possessions you own or have owned in the last ten years. The big ticket items.

Next to that list, make another top ten list: ten things that add the most value to your life. This list might include experiences like catching a sunset with a loved one, watching your kid play baseball, eating dinner with your parents, etc.

Be honest with yourself when you’re making these lists: it’s likely that both lists share zero things in common.

Living Simply October Challenge: Day 12 Atmosphere

     Today's challenge is to begin building a relaxing atmosphere in your space before the holidays hit. I don't know about you, but if I dropped in on my friends or relatives during the holiday season, I would find their home in busy mode. There's usually piles of things they don't have time to look through (like mail and magazines), stuff to be put away (laundry piles or baskets around), toys picked up but not put away (whether it be for their kids or their pets), a few pieces of clothing lying on furniture, shoes not put away, maybe a few pieces of trash not thrown out or put away (like a pizza box on a table or the half-eaten bag of chips). I'm not judging, my home was like that for decades. It's just the way most people live, busy, this time of year. So today, I challenge you to begin creating that relaxing, simple, intentional atmosphere in your own space.

1.  First, you need to get the room clean, whether it's your living room, bedroom (if you live with others who aren't minimalist or looking to live a simple life), dining room, or even kitchen, if that's the first room people see. Just set a timer for 30 minutes and see how much you can get done in one shot. If that seems too long, set multiple timers at 10 minutes each for picking up, cleaning, and doing the floors.

2.  Lighting. Does your living space seem cold and unfeeling? stark like a hospital? This is the time of year to add warmth to your home, to create a space that's inviting and relaxing - but not cluttered. Try adding a few new touches (using what you already own in another room or in storage, maybe borrowing or buying cheap from a flea market or Goodwill at super low cost). Try a table lamp or floor lamp instead of glaring cold overhead light. Add a few intentional candles - whether they're white and unscented, holiday colors scented like cinnamon or pine, or even just battery operated ones. After a long day at work or school, a room that's been dimmed showing off some flickering "mood lighting" can do tremendous wonders for your mindset as you unwind for the evening.

3.  Warm up space with one small throw blanket over a chair or sofa, or just a few throw pillows. Maybe it's putting a small placemat or runner on a table (depending on it's size). If the area looks stark, bring in a colored vase or bowl - with our without filling it. It can hold flowers, sea glass, colored rocks, or anything related to the holidays...even pine cones or cranberries.

4.  Could you bring in a small area rug on a tile or hardwood floor? We are heading into winter in a few weeks, so keeping the floor under your feet warm is a good idea anyway.

5.  If you have a fireplace, you could choose to use it, or else fill the void with stacked wood in a little triangle. Simple, yet it makes the room seem more inviting.

Whatever you choose to do, don't spend a lot of money. Think about it. Be intentional. Create that warm, relaxing, inviting atmosphere in your living space or spaces. And don't forget some relaxing music to keep handy to put on as well.

Living Simply October Challenge: Day 11 - Kids

     Does your holiday season look like this? If so, I'm here to help you. Why do we think we have to give our kids so many individual gifts? Where did we get the idea that they need or even want all that junk? For decades now I've seen friends buy their kids cheap, crappy, unwanted toys just because they only had so much money and they believe the kids would rather have 25 crappy things than a few that are worth more. I'm here on behalf of the kids who've told me, it's NOT that way at all. They don't want more stuff to pick up when they clean their room. They don't want a bunch of stuff they have to make room for when they know they won't play with it. They knew what they wanted (and I don't mean the $500 new game system and accessories). More is NOT better. INTENTIONAL gifts are better by far.


Here's how to think about shopping for kids this year:

1.  Give them something to wear. Face it, kids hate to get those clothing box sized gifts. Unless it's something very specific to their likes, they smile, hopefully say thank you, and put it aside, forgotten before the next box is opened. If your kid has a favorite sports team, they don't need a $300 authentic jersey - but you could get them a more reasonable one. MLB for example sells many baseball jerseys for over $100, but for a little over half that, you could get a nice one with either their favorite player on it, or even their own name on it. Don't forget department stores also sell team hats, shirts, pajamas, and more. It could be a shirt with a specific anime or cartoon character on it (Hot Topic has some cool ones). Maybe a favorite tv show can be found on a t-shirt, or superhero lounge pants. Make it intentional so they know you thought about what they like, and don't shoot for the higher price tag.

2.  Give them something to read (or an audio book if that's their learning style). I know kids don't necessarily enjoy books, but sometimes it's that one that interests them that leads to a love of reading in years to come. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, I believe there's much better literature out there, but I watched when it was a new thing...hundreds of non-reading kids suddenly picked up and read hundreds of pages in Harry Potter books. That led to other series, and now many continue reading. It could be the Narnia series, Lord of the Rings, some other fiction series, and for the older kids, and the teenagers, a self-help book could change their adult life. Maybe something like a Dave Ramsey book, or The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Give them the resources to understand adult finances, good work habits, people skills, things they'll need later on.

3.  Give them something they need. Does a teenager need a bike to pick up some extra part-time work? or babysit a few blocks away? or get themselves to their own practice and back? What about special school supplies, again with something relevant and intentional - like glittery pink notebooks or themed folders? What about some good pens, drawing pencils (very different from regular number 2 pencils), How To Draw type books for your artist? Maybe they need a membership to their favorite museum or zoo? Gift cards to department stores so they can buy what they need? Specific hair products or colognes aren't always great gifts, but the gift card is usually appreciated so they can buy those things for themselves, which also teaches them to budget what money they have to spend wisely.

4.  Give them one thing they want (within reason). It doesn't have to be expensive. You could give them a price limit on the ONE special gift. If it's something they really want, not just something they saw on a passing commercial, give it some thought. Be intentional. Consider if it's something you as their parent want them to have - is it good or bad for them to have it? - and if it meets your criteria, then go ahead and get the one thing they really want.

Again, gifts are optional if you're leaning towards a minimalism lifestyle as a family. This is much easier if the kids are very young because they'll grow up with a different mindset than those around them. If you're not quite ready for that, but still want to move towards a more simple life, this is a good place to start. Today's challenge is to begin your list(s) today.

Living Simply October Challenge: Day 10 Handling It

   
     This holiday season, no matter how well you plan, stuff is going to go wrong, plans will get messed up, and life will find a way to stress you out from time to time. Today's challenge is about putting into action a few things that will help you keep your head calm when the storms come. I will challenge you to begin new little baby steps, new habits, that will make all the difference in the midst of chaos. Here's what you can begin doing today:

1.  Accept the fact that things will get crazy sometimes. If you expect everything to simply work itself out, you're in for a lot of disappointment. There's no way everyone's life can coexist, and everyone gets their way. It's just not a possibility. Everyone has different motives, timelines, good and bad habits of their own, family issues, job related problems, cars break down, airports cancel and delay flights, ...Just know it's going to happen and be ready.

2.  Let go of perfection. Even when you do everything right, even when you're prepared, stuff happens. Let go of the minor things that keep you from living a simple life. Don't let little pet peeves get to you. Don't expect perfection in others - nor from yourself. Stop worrying if things were done exactly as you would do them. Don't micromanage people or things. Just learn to let go of the inconsequential things. Focus on the big stuff - let go of the small stuff. Start today. It will make the holiday season much easier and less stressed out for you.

3.  Breathe. Relax. Breathe again. You will have moments that you're heart is beating faster than it should, your mind's racing, you feel the/your temperature rising, you feel your anger and stress levels rising...that's exactly when you need to step away, take a deep breathe, relax your mind and heartbeat, and breathe a deep breathe again. If you need to step into another room, or away from the phone or computer, or even step outside - do it. Not doing it will cost you so much more in the end. Refocusing your life - taking a moment to get centered - takes a huge portion of the stress out of the way so you can think more clearly and be more calm before tempers flare. Start today when you feel stress getting to you. Stop. Breathe.

4.  Be IN the moment. This is an especially crucial challenge to begin immediately. Don't just let time pass you by. You've got to be IN the moment when it's happening. Remember to stop and look around, really listen if you're with someone else. Smell the scents of the holidays. See the festive lights or decorations around you. Remember to focus on what's truly important. Build relationships. Listen for the gentle sounds around you. Don't just tune it all out. Part of living simply is intentional living, and that means intentionally planting yourself in whatever moment you're in. Make it count.

Living Simply October Challenge: Day 9 Pay It Forward

     

We've been talking about gift giving and the holidays on here, so now let's shift just a bit and discuss Paying It Forward. If you haven't seen the movie by the same title, it's about a young boy who challenges people to do something nice for someone who isn't in a position to pay you back. It has to cost you something (time, emotional investment, etc.) Then that person is challenged to do the same, to Pay It Forward. What if during the holidays, we all decided to spend less on material things and instead, pay it forward? It would make the holidays more meaningful, bring joy to you as well as the receiver of your kindness. It would help make your corner of the world a better place. What would that look like? Here's a few ideas: 

'1.  Hold the door for someone behind you. This seems like a simple thing, but every day I see people who have no concept that they're closing the door in the face of the person behind them. Common courtesy isn't so common. Walking into that store, restaurant, or workplace, hold the door for someone. Even if you don't say hello, or "after you", or smile, it will still make their day a little nicer. It may even take them by surprise.

2.  Take some time to give some good reviews to the places you enjoy frequently. It helps their businesses when others see glowing comments on places like Yelp.com or on a business' Facebook page (or similar sites). Be specific about what they do right. It doesn't need to be long and all it costs you is a little bit of your time.

3.  Be a good listener for someone who's struggling. I don't mean to take on a whole project that's none of your business, and don't be the shoulder for someone else's hurting spouse (that's dangerous territory), but maybe an employee somewhere who needs to vent, a friend or roommate who's stressed out, or someone you see that just needs to feel heard and understood. Don't offer suggestions to fix their problem, just be there for them.

4.  Encourage others. Take a few minutes and go through your social media feeds. Say a quick line of encouragement to someone on Facebook or Twitter who needs it. Remind someone that it'll be okay.

5.  Let someone cut in front of you in the grocery store line who only has a few items. This goes a LONG way in making someone's day. When I do that, they say, "No, it's okay," at first, then ask, "Are you sure?", and they tend to smile, be nicer to the cashier, and say thank you to me several times before leaving. It's a 5 minute time sacrifice but makes their day go smoother. 

6.  Donate the change into a donation bucket or box at the cashier's register in stores and restaurants. Often there's a box for local or national charities and if everyone just dropped in their change, it could add up very quickly across your community. Look for them in grocery lines, coffee shops, clothing stores, everywhere you go this holiday season.

7.  Donate your time on Thanksgiving or during the holidays. People need help packing boxes for orphans, the underprivileged, the homeless, the hungry (food banks and soup kitchens), overseas mission trips, the list is endless, and so is the need. Give of your time when you can, and if you can't, then perhaps a check would be appropriate if it's something you believe in.

8.  If someone's sick, take some time and bring them some chicken soup and tea from the local take out place. Let them know you care. If you can't be there, drop them a quick, hand-written note to let them know you're thinking of them and hope they get well soon.

9.  Do you like to bake or cook? Make a double batch of something and share it with a friend, relative, neighbor, coworkers, etc. 

10.  If all else fails, you can still make a difference by simply smiling and saying hello to someone often overlooked. It may be the custodian or janitor at work, school, or the gym. It may be the person wiping tables at your favorite go-to eatery. It could be the elderly neighbor you wave to as you drive by. Just take a moment to notice those around you. Taking your eyes off yourself is a wonderful gift. 

I challenge you to tackle a few things on this list starting today.

   

Living Simply October Challenge: Day 8: Declutter your life

     At this point, you've probably already decluttered your living space, or are in the process of doing so. So what does it mean to declutter your "life"? It goes far beyond just material items cluttering up your space...it's about creating space in the other areas of your life so that you can find peace, freedom, rest, time, and all those other things that get lost in the shuffle of thousands of "other things" in your mind and in your world. Here's today's challenge:

1.  Declutter your digital life. This may take a few sessions depending on how social media and photograph dependent you are. Start by getting rid of apps on your phone and computer that are merely time-wasters. Remember, the intentional part of living simply involves removing any and every thing that doesn't bring you joy, serve a purpose, or add value to your life. After removing apps, go through your computer and phone files deleted everything you don't need to keep. Remove the photos from your online albums that you don't need. Usually we take multiples of our photos "just in case" one doesn't come out. Keep the best, delete the rest. Do you need 100 photos of your pet or will 20 do? If it's not meaningful to you, ditch it.

2.  Declutter your schedule. What do you have in your schedule that's maybe a habit, but unnecessary? People get into ruts because they do the same things over and over, yet often those things no longer add value or bring us joy anymore like they did in the beginning. Remove them from your life. If you KNOW you won't be going to that hot yoga class because you always dread it, stop stressing over missing it - just let it go. Replace that with something you'll enjoy more, even if it's functional fitness, like gardening, walking, biking, or swimming. Are you wasting time doing monthly or weekly things you get nothing out of anymore? Let it go. Maybe use the extra time slot to prepare for the holidays, or to recharge by enjoying some alone time to be at peace and reduce stress. You could use it to spend time doing what's important to you, like growing the relationships you enjoy.

4.  Declutter your mind. Do the myriads of things on your mind keep you up at night? Are you constantly thinking of a to-do list in your head? Trying to do too much at once? Take time and declutter your head. Accept the fact that you're human, you can only do so much, and beyond that is an unreasonable expectation. No one will ever reach perfectionism, so let go of trying to be perfect. Take time - or MAKE time - to clear your mind, let it all go, prioritize what absolutely HAS to be done, then what really SHOULD be done to eliminate a problem later on. The rest you can just add or subtract as you go through your day. Stop stressing over carrying the world on your shoulders. Let others be responsible for themselves (assuming they're adults) and if there's consequences to them expecting you to do everything for them, then so be it.

Make today a day to find that first glimpse of freedom - be at peace - settle your mind - enjoy the rest of your day.