Second day of July, it's a Monday and it is the start of the 2nd half of the year. Where did the 1st half go?
There are triggers to jump start me throughout the year. Some are weather related - springtime is to plant the garden.
Some are event related - we have a birth and wedding this year in the clan.
Then often it is just the accumulation of all of the above that triggers the "oh my" need to pay attention to the stuff in my life.
Today - pulled out a bunch of stuff from my NCTV cubby and that's my task for the next couple of days.
Clearing out "stuff" on a regular basis lightens the load. I did one of the upper cabinets in the kitchen (again) and found a few more items that could go to the donate box. Went through the clothes closet and weeded out some of the pieces that I haven't worn or will not be wearing. In the office, I went through paper files and found that 90% was outdated and needed to go to the shredder!
I was talking with my mom the other night and she is considering downsizing from the house she and my dad built. Yet she continues to lament that no one wants her stuff. First time where two generations are downsizing at the same time and no one wants the stuff. Life evolves, you need to rid yourself of clutter or get stuck in the past.
Remember, when you are de-cluttering --- reuse, recycle, reduce is the way to go.
This week's tip is to help save some money so we can get some MORE sleep and MORE dreaming.
One of my pet peeves, as I go down the grocery aisle, is seeing every kind of household paper product you can buy to make your life better. Really?
Years ago I stopped buying paper napkins and paper towels. Instead, I use cloth napkins and kitchen towels.
Guests sometimes feel out of sorts when they receive a cloth napkin at dinner. It is easy. There is no waste, nothing to throw out, and it is less expensive in the long run! Long ago I was staying with a family in France. At the dining table each person had a cloth pouch and in that pouch was your napkin. For each meal you removed your napkin and returned it to the pouch after the meal. No fuss, no muss.
As to paper towels.... I found this quote a while ago and it stuck with me. "13 billion pounds of paper towels are used each year. That's over 45 pounds of paper towels per person, per year. Talk about wasteful! If every American reduced the number of paper towels they use by just one per day, we would divert 571,230,000 pounds of paper waste each year." https://www.theenergy.coop/community/blog/banish-paper-towel .
Time to do the math. One roll of paper towels weighs about 8 oz and therefore about 2 rolls equals a pound. 45 pounds would equal 90 rolls of paper towels per person per year. That is kinda scary. A roll of paper towels is approximately $1.00. A family of four, if they're an average paper towel user, would spend $360 just on paper towels. I could be losing sleep over this one.
Since I'm not using paper towels any longer, some family is taking up my slack! Oh, the roll in the picture, that roll belongs to my late cat. She would have those 'cat events' and a paper towel worked best in cleaning up the mess.
as we called it back then, was the only choice. My gram and mom would wear one over their shoulder or tucked into the waistband of their apron. Those were the days. I still find myself, when at my mom's house, taking the dish cloth and throwing it over my shoulder while helping in the kitchen.
My solution to the paper towels are cotton, lint free, kitchen towels. My favorite ones come from IKEA - called Elly, four per pack costing $3.99 per pack. Yes I have a whole stack of them, about 24 in use at any one time. I generally put out one-two each day or so and I'm set. The soiled towels are put in the laundry area and when a white wash is going in, they are put in and voila.
For this week's MORE Challenge -- If you are already doing this bravo, you are enjoying the savings today and helping keep our earth! Not yet ? Consider trying it, then you'll be saving some money, sleeping better and dreaming about what you can do with your savings.
Second day of July, it's a Monday and it is the start of the 2nd half of the year. Where did the 1st half go?
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