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I spent several hours last Friday calling restaurants in Boston to get some email addresses. I needed to send the general managers a reminder about a work event they’re participating in that I’m organizing.
Now, I can be shy. I’d rather find out information through a restaurant’s website than call and ask and possibly be rejected for asking a stupid question.
The thing is, calling is so much faster and easier than trying to find the proper information on a website. Each time I called a restaurant, I would get the email address I needed within 2 minutes. In some cases, I spoke with the general managers directly and reminded them that way. Every person I spoke with sounded pleased (or not annoyed, at least) to help me.
The same thing happened to me this past week, when trying to book a band for the event. I sent an email to last year’s trio and ended up waiting almost 24 hours for a response — a response that said to please call. So I did. In ten minutes, we hashed out an agreement we both liked and confirmed the price and date. Having this one small personal connection made it that much easier to get the details arranged.
No Debt Plan had a similar experience: they had been putting off calling their cable company for weeks. When they finally did call, they reduced their cable package enough to save $175 per year, just by 30 minutes on the phone! I bet they couldn’t have found this deal on the website.
Lesson learned: Email may seem like a faster option because all you do is type and hit “send,” but then you have to wait for the other person to respond; it could take days. Just call. Speak to someone. It will save time and make you feel less stressed in the long run.
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I could use a red phone, if only to pretend that I’m the President and there’s an emergency that I must solve. Diplomatic phone skills to the rescue! Image courtesy of Geekologie.
I don’t know who recommended The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, but I picked it up two weeks ago not knowing what it was about. After reading 300 pages about epidemics, I came away with one key point about simplifying: context matters.
According to the Gladwell, “what really matters is little things….You can prevent crimes just by scrubbing off graffiti and arresting fare-beaters…..it is possible to be a better person on a clean street or in a clean subway than in one littered with trash and graffiti” (150-168).
That last sentence (emphasis mine) really stuck with me. It’s possible to be a better person in a nice place because a cared-for environment shows that someone will notice when it’s messy and work to change it. This is why a peaceful home is a clean home. It’s because we feel like someone will notice when it’s out of place, and so we all do our part to keep it tidy together.
It’s a far cry from dirty dishes in the sink to the crime rate of New York, but there’s a lesson I can learn here: Keeping a home clean and uncluttered means that everyone will feel better. I think I can live with that.
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I included a picture of Sadie on this post because nothing says “peaceful home” like a sleeping cat.
Do you ever go to work on Monday and feel unrested? Or feel like you were so busy over the weekend that you didn’t get anything done? It happens to me when I’m stressed or have a lot to do — I get caught up in busy work and errands, and I forget to enjoy my weekend because all I think about is the work I need to get done. Then Monday rolls around, and I go to work irritable or tired; even though the house is clean, I’d rather have my weekend.
Mr. Savvy and I have picked up a few habits for getting us (okay, just me) to slow down and enjoy the weekends.
The first: We play games. We stocked up on the classics: Monopoly, Clue, Scrabble, and Life. We also keep a Cribbage board and several decks of playing cards handy. In addition, there’s at least one crossword puzzle book floating around the house. By playing a game together, we take a moment to enjoy each other’s company and do nothing but play a game (it’s hard to multitask when your opponent has just put down a 42-point word in Scrabble).
The second: I stole this idea from the movie The Story of Us. Over dinner, the characters ask each other to name the highest and lowest points of each other’s day by saying, “high-low?” Mr. Savvy and I have adapted this to include a second high point: “high-low-high?” We evaluate the best, worst, and second best things about the day in bed each night. This simple exercise helps us remember that no matter how bad we feel at the moment, there’s always a bright side. Because we play the game so often, during the day when something really good is happening, I think to myself, “I have to remember this for high-low-high.” I never guessed that this exercise would help me to live in the moment. It’s something small I can do to make every day better.
If I set aside some time to do nothing but have fun, and then think about how great my day was before bed, I can rise up against the Monday blues and start my week off right. That is, as long as no one asks, “Does someone have a case of the Mondays?“ Then I’m not making any promises.
How do you measure a good weekend?
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I just realized it looks like I’m spelling out a dirty word in the photo. I’m not, I swear! Just showing off my amazing 42-point, two-letter word that won me the game on Saturday. Dorky? That’s me.
I’ll be the first to admit it: I picked up some bad habits in college — or maybe I never learned when I was younger. It took me until this year to figure out how to take care of my clothes.
When my family started to clean out my grandmother’s house after her death, I peeked in her dresser drawers. She had three dressers’ worth of clothes, and all of them were neatly folded. The items in her closets hung neatly, and they were all in excellent shape. I can remember her wearing some of those clothes for years! How did she keep them so neat when my wardrobe is falling apart at the seams? I’ve had my things for months at the most.
That’s when I realized the connection between how you care for your clothes and how long they last. Finally, right? It only took 23 years for me to learn the basics. Now I know that by following these tips, I’ll look put-together, save a little money, and help the environment all in one go. Maybe that’s not what my grandmother hand in mind, but I’ll take it all the same.
1. Fold and hang up your clothes. Folded clothes look and feel less messy when you put them on compared to jumbled clothes. They hang better, and you have to do less ironing. I guess that’s why my mother kept harping on me to put them away properly….Small Notebook has an excellent tip for organizing your closet.
2. Natural fabrics wear better. Wool, cotton, linen and silk feel better on the skin. They’re not flimsy, and they don’t pill as easily. Unfortunately, they’re more expensive, but it’s worth it to buy fewer items of higher quality. I’m sure you’ve heard that before; I know I have.
3. Stop washing your clothes. We’re clean people: we shower often and wash the bedsheets on a regular basis. So cut your clothes some slack when it comes to the washer. Hand-wash your delicate items to preserve them. Bigger items like sweaters don’t need to be washed every time you wear them. In fact, doing so helps break down the fibers faster and makes your lose that new look. Wait until your clothes are physically dirty. If you can still smell your laundry detergent on the clothes, they don’t need to be washed again. And while we’re at it…
4. Stop using the dryer. Tumble drying helps wear down seams and edges, giving your clothes a threadbare look. The hot air is harsh on fabrics, and most of the time, they’re done drying before the cycle finishes. Then they sit there and develop wrinkles. No more! My grandmother used a clothesline year round; in the winter, she dried the clothes in the basement while running a de-humidifier. Now that’s smart. For tips on how to hang your clothes without wrinkles and crunchiness, check out Line-Dried Clothes at Domestic Cents.
5. Color coordinate. Having a wardrobe full of complementary colors makes it easy to find pieces that match every day. For example, if pink is your main color, it goes well with both black and brown, and you can mix and match with different shades of pink. On Simplicity has a different matching idea: the solid color strategy. Both methods are great: each allows you to switch clothes out easily when the style changes or an item of clothing falls apart. And speaking of falling apart….
6. Learn how to mend. No sense relegating a pair of pants to the Goodwill pile because of a torn hem. Pick up some basic sewing supplies to have on hand when a button falls off and your favorite shirt develops a hole at the seam. And while you’re at it, grab a book on mending from the library, or check out Video Jug for several simple tutorials: How to Sew on a Button, How to Mend a Torn Seam, How to Fix a Snag in a Jumper (aka sweater, for us Americans), and How to Darn a Sock.
And that’s it. I picked up six easy tips from my frugal grandmother’s drawers. Now all I have to do is clean out my closet. Maybe I’ll wait to start on that until tomorrow.
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©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where my closet doesn’t look anything like that picture. Image courtesy of The Container Store.
Never deny a pie craving; that’s what I told myself last night, and whipped up a mixed fruit filling and press-in-the-pan crust straight out of Betty Crocker. As I defrosted a bag of frozen fruit that had been sitting in the freezer for a few weeks (months?), Mr. Savvy replaced the kitchen faucet. We made for an oddly similar pair: I kneaded a ball of dough; he kneaded a ball of plumber’s putty.
I tried to conserve resources and reuse dishes: one bowl for the pie crust, then use it again for the filling, then rinse it out and…oh wait. The faucet. Mr. Savvy had turned the water off. No matter — the bathroom sink worked just as well.
It was a minor delay, moving to the next room for water, but one that got me thinking about my water usage. If I had lived in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s time, I wouldn’t have had water in the house. I would have had to pump water or draw it from the well or haul it from the creek as Laura’s family did. What a pain in the arse. I would’ve made sure to conserve water so that I’d need to make as few trips as possible.
Having running water in the kitchen is a convenience, and one that I take for granted. I shouldn’t. The Earth is heading for a dire environmental situation if we humans don’t change our ways. Americans in particular are responsible for using too many of the world’s resources.
There are a lot of naysayers out there who debate the cause of global warming and deny that humans have an adverse effect on the planet. Sometimes I’d like to tell them all to just look around: Hurricanes are up, tidal waves are up, snowfall and drought are both up — you don’t need to be a scientist to see that. And yet people still refuse to make changes, simple changes at home to help the environment. I believe in treading lightly so much that it makes me bonkers when people refuse to even acknowledge the environment, let alone switch to CFLs.
I can get fanatic about going green. Does this mean I’ll stop using the shiny new faucet that Mr. Savvy put in last night? No. For one thing, I’d probably never make pie again. Unacceptable! Moderating my green efforts with what works for my household is important. Such a drastic measure would complicate my life in the extreme and lead to unnecessary anxiety. Balance in all things, after all: can I be mindful my usage and find alternatives to rinsing every dish before they go in the dishwasher? Sure. Doing so will also complicate my life, but not enough for me to screw over the planet for a load of dishes.
Do you do any “greening” at home or work? How do you moderate your ideals with your budget/lifestyle restraints?
Check out more of my green adventures in these other posts:
- Book Review: How to Live Well Without Owning a Car
- Freecycle vs. Craigslist
- What Those Dirty Hippies Want: Going Green in 2009
©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where green is my favorite color. And I’m not just saying that because I like Al Gore.
New England is known for its small towns nestled among the mountains, with old white buildings and antique shops lining Main Street. Somehow, there’s no traffic in New England, and everyone knows the best little lunch diner in the area. We have picturesque accents, and picturesque beaches and town halls, and every ten feet, there’s an oak tree with a bench underneath it for your outside-dining pleasure.
My town is not like that.
My town seems stuck in the 70s — squat brick office buildings and permanently overcast skies. Even when the sun is out, it’s gray because of the highway ambient noise and the six gas stations within two miles on this one stretch of road that happens to be Main Street. It’s ugly.
Coming from the backwoods of New Hampshire, I miss the birds in the morning. I’m not used to having neighbors on every ¼ acre, and walking down the street induces headaches with the cars whizzing by.
We moved in the Fall of 2007, and I felt a general malaise without knowing why. I couldn’t figure out of I wasn’t getting enough sun, or enough quiet time, or enough outdoors time. I now know it’s a combination of all three, leading to one conclusion: there’s nothing pretty in my life. There’s nothing that I would normally find beautiful, if I was still living in New Hampshire. Going for a walk is marred by the cars passing, the highway, the neighbors snowblowing their driveways, and the lack of trees. There’s no silence to contemplate, and I have to drive to get anywhere.
Slowly, I’ve been working the beauty back in. My coworker left the office, and in doing so, gave me her orchid plant. Every day, there’s a bit of color waiting for me. When I go into Boston, walking around gives me a lift, and seeing the historic buildings is one of the highlights of my day (If you’re ever in Boston and you see someone taking pictures of the mundane, it’s probably me). I seek out silence now, and have rearranged my plants so that I see them more often.
I look for beauty, instead of being amazed when it surprises me. It’s a change I’m happy to make. What do you find beautiful where you live?
In December, I read Suze Orman’s The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom to learn about my finances and what I could do to stop being so worried about money. It was a good book — good for a beginner like me, anyway. Within a few weeks, I opened my first retirement account, created a debt snowball, and changed the way I pay my student loans.
One of the tricks Suze Orman suggested (that I can’t believe I never thought of before) was to pay half your mortgage two times per month. So if you have a $2000 mortgage payment every month, you pay $1000 on the 1st of the month, and $1000 on the 15th. In doing so, you reduce how much interest you pay on the mortgage. Do you see why? The interest you pay in the second half of the month doesn’t collect on the interest you paid off in the first half of the month…supposedly.
There’s a lot of fine print in mortgages and their repayment schedules, and seeing as I don’t have a mortgage, I can’t speak to a lot of the problems that stem from playing with your mortgage payments. I do have student loans, however, and they don’t care how often I pay. So I switched to twice-a-month payments last month.
I’m not seeing a difference yet in the amount applied to my principal. I’ve been on the twice-a-month plan for two months (this being my second), so I think I’ll start seeing results when I make my second payment this month. The difference is likely to be so miniscule that only I will notice it — and that’s all right. It gives me a psychological boost to make payments this way. I feel like I’m tricking the system, and that makes me happy — gleeful, even. How many people are happy to pay their loans?
I know I’m creating more work for myself in paying twice a month, but it’s more important for me to feel in control of my money than it is to worry that I won’t have enough per loan payment, or feel like a slave to the whims of the loan company. And isn’t that really the oldest trick in the book — feeling good about your money?
What mind tricks do you use to give yourself a boost with your finances?
©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I pretend I’m a ninja when I pay my bills. Image courtesy of Student Loans.
Image courtesy of Impressions by Lindy
Do you ever find yourself feeling displeased about everything? It’s easy to fall into a funk during the winter when there’s little sunlight, or under times of stress. I know the feeling: I wake up with a runny nose every day, and the house isn’t clean, and coming home in the dark makes me want to stay in bed forever. The worst is if I have a headache or I’m sick in some other way; I feel like there’s no point in doing anything. Talk about a pit of despair.
Thankfully, there are a few methods that work for me when I need to pull myself out of a funk. First and foremost, I fake it ’til I make it. When I’m down, I have a tendency to bring everyone down to my level. That’s not fair to them, and it definitely doesn’t help me any. If I attempt to make light-hearted conversation, I end up happier overall and forget why I was depressed in the first place. This was a hard skill for me to learn, but I picked it up and I’m better for it.
Sometimes I dwell on something, like a problem at work or an aggravating conversation with a friend. If I need time to mull things over, I’ll clean up around the house. Nothing gets to me more than having a dirty house when I feel off somehow. Cleaning helps me declutter whatever’s going on in my head, and by the time I’m done, I’m content with the changes in the house and that makes me feel better about the situation.
When Mr. Savvy notices my mood, he tries to make things better. Sometimes that makes me boil over. I just want to be left alone, and that’s okay; alone time is good. He’s not offended when I say I need some time by myself, and vice versa. I’ll go into the office and spend an hour on the computer, or maybe I’ll go for a walk. I’m much mellower after some alone time, and if Mr. Savvy still wants to help, I can talk about what’s bothering me without being snappish.
If all else fails, I write it down. Sometimes I can’t shake a bad mood until I get it on paper. Then I can analyze it, come up with an action plan, and forget about it. If I’m feeling really zealous, I might rip out the page and fold it into a paper crane, or debate burning it. It’s cleansing to turn the paper into something beautiful like a crane. I’m sure it would be cathartic to burn it, although I’ve never done so myself.
How do you get out of a funk?
©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I’m not in a funk today, and won’t be in one tomorrow either if I can help it.
Image courtesy of AYUMi ~ photography
It’s been a stressful few weeks here in the Savvy household, what with Memere’s passing, wedding planning, and assorted health and financial issues. Because of the stress, I’ve been on edge at work and consequently, on edge at home. I had more bad days than good. And then, one morning last week, I took 20 minutes before breakfast to write. Mr. Savvy was asleep, the cats were quiet (for once), and I sat on the couch in the morning sun and just wrote.
It turned out to be the best day I’ve had in three weeks.
After some reflection, I realized that I had such a good day because of that one change in my morning routine. I figured out that a bad morning can ruin a whole day. Here are some tips to help you start your morning off right.
- Don’t rush. When you’re in a hurry, it sets the tone for the whole day; you become tense and feel like you’re running late. By waking up just five or ten minute earlier, that provides a little buffer time should something go wrong. At the very least, five extra minutes gives you time to snuggle a cat or start a crossword puzzle at breakfast.
- Eat breakfast. Everyone’s heard this a hundred times before, and yet it works wonders. When you eat something in the morning, it helps keep your energy up all day. I’ll go one step further and tell you to eat some protein at breakfast. Even a handful of nuts is better than nothing.
- Do something fun and/or not work-related. I know few people who want to go to work every day — why else would we have the phrase back to the grindstone? By taking just a little extra time to do something pleasant it can get you out of a negative mindset and make you feel calm and happy before work. For me, it’s writing. For you? Maybe it’s dancing to your favorite song, or refilling the birdfeeder and watching the birds flock to it.
These three steps help me start my days on a positive note. When I go to work happy, I get more done in a less amount of time, and that makes me feel good too. Does it work the same way for you? How do you ensure you have a good day?
©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I could write all day but don’t because someone’s got to bring home the bacon.
Image source
I just finished with How to Live Well Without Owning a Car by Chris Balish. The book is a step-by-step guide to going car-free, and includes testimonials from car free people all across the country. It’s inspiring to read stories by successful bike commuters, and now I need to go out and procure a bike. Of course, I was already predisposed to getting around by bicycle, having just given up our second car for good. I still needed a good kick in the pants to get moving, though, and this book has done it for me.
The one argument that tipped me over the edge was this: Six miles is a nice commute on a bicycle. Three is easy, and you’ll probably have to do some training for a ten mile ride. But six? That’s normal. And I live just 6.2 miles away from work.
If I had read that information by itself, I might have mentally filed it away under the “that nice, but will never happen” category. And yet combined with everything else the book told me, I’m raring to go. Thanks to Chris Balish, I know just how to get started buying a used bike, tuning it up, storing it, and preparing for my first ride. The book even gets into dating by bike, how to sell your old car, and what to do when you do need a car but don’t have one available.
The reason that Balish covers everything so thoroughly is that living without a car is a foreign idea in America; we’re car-dependent. Going car-free is so strange and scary that we need someone to hold our hands and guide us through the steps. Just look at the table of contents and first two chapters, available on this website. He gets right into the nitty-gritty, no?
If you’re like me (that is, somewhat interested in decreasing your dependency on your car), I suggest reading the book. Pick it up from the library and read it in a weekend. I’m interested in hearing if anyone else thinks they can convert to car-free — or already does it. I’m certainly going to try! I may be able to get a used bike this weekend. Anyone else?
And for your enjoyment, another great bike. Feeling inspired yet?
Image source
©2009 at Simple Savvy, the simple living blog where I’m currently in love with vintage Schwinns. Can you tell?
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