New Year's Resolution

Okay, I am still of the mind that making New Year's Resolutions is a very useful tool for improving myself, making a difference in the world, and creating new habits.  It's a time of new beginnings - why not take advantage of that?? (Sort of like the ingrained reflex in the fall to buy new office products......a conditioned response from childhood for back to school readiness.)

For the past few years, I've switched from making a long self-improvement list to trying to summarize the goals for that year into one word.  I might make a sub-list of what that word means to me, or what it might look like.  But I no longer make a list of things that will later scream at me of my failure when I don't accomplish them.

Goal for 2013:  SIMPLER

That really shouldn't come as a great surprise to any of us, considering what I've been chattering about for the last 3 months. My sub-list, or thoughtful responses to what simpler might look like, may include cutting back on unnecessary spending (and involving my spouse in that venture), clearing clutter and excess from closets/garage/drawers/computer/bookshelves/studio/storage unit, mailing cards and letters more often, and including more 'green' thinking and activities into daily life.....as well as anything else that surfaces while I read about the simpler life during this year.

That's it.  (Guess it really shouldn't be too complicated, considering my goal word.)

Slower and Simpler - Reading List

Thought I'd share some of the books and blogs on simpler living that I'm going to sample in the New Year.  Can't vouch for any of them yet.  But if I find some wonderful nuggets, I will definitely post them!

One follow up:  I started reading Almost Amish: One Woman's Quest for a Slower, Simpler, More Sustainable Life by Nancy Sleeth as promised.  It's simply "OK", not exactly what I was looking for, and a bit too full of scripture quotes to make it comfortable reading as a to-do book - for myself, at least.

BOOKS:
Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich by Duane Elgin

 Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World by Linda Breen Pierce

Less is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness by Wanda Urbanska

The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living by Janet Luhrs

Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth by Jim Merkel

Graceful Simplicity: The Philosophy and Politics of the Alternative American Dream by Jerome M. Segal

The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life by Cecile Andrews

Living Simply: Choosing Less in a World of More by Joanne Heim

BLOGS:
http://www.create-the-good-life.com/slow_living_blog.html

http://bemorewithless.com/

http://www.mysimplerlife.com/blog/

http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/

Seachange

Not sure where I've been, but I just ran across the concept of "Seachange".  In my case, obviously, it does entail the sea.  Interesting....  another article from Slow Movements: http://www.slowmovement.com/seachange.php

A seachange is a radical transformation; a dramatic change in one’s life. “Seachange” doesn’t mean a change to the seaside, although many people undergoing a seachange have moved to the coast or to beach areas.
  It means revaluating your life and making dramatic changes to ensure you live your values, and that you can look back on your life with satisfaction. It is about getting in touch with what is important and following through to make what is important a living experience. Seachange is a subset of ‘downshifting’.
The desire for a seachange is driven by an almost insatiable hunger for self-fulfilment or real happiness. Most western countries are driven by GNP (gross national product) indicators, and this translates to people being driven to make more money. We have been fed a lie – that more money is better; if we have more money we will be happy. There is only one country in the world that seems to have the right idea – Bhutan. In Butan Gross National Happiness (GNH) is used as an indicator of development.
Seachange has become a buzzword that has been the subject of government reports and academic studies. It seems most people would like a seachange but not all people are brave enough to make the change. And this desire for a dramatic transformation is not new. People have been escaping, or dreaming of escaping, from high-pressure metropolitan lifestyles for decades or longer. What is different now is that people in large numbers are really escaping  and making the change.

Gee - I was part of a movement and didn't even know it!  Love the name, though.

Extreme Herding

This is absolutely amazing!  I simply had to share it. We all know that I love the lights at Christmas, but this is simply unreal. I really encourage you to watch it.  Creativity at its best!!  And an inspiration to think outside the box.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qniwI2hNhDs

Back to the Island!!

 

It seems like forever since I was on Lopez!  We're packed to the gills....as usual.  You know, that harp does take up quite a bit of room!  Finally taking a TV (for movies ONLY - no cable at the house) this trip - it will be much easier for two of us to watch together for our New Year's Eve  movie marathon bash. 

Beading projects packed - check.  Basket class lists and materials for kits - check. Crochet projects - check. Cedar bark project - check. Bills to pay - check.  2013 Daytimer - check. Guess I'd better bring some clothes as well - just doesn't seem as important as the above.

Excited to spend over a week there - absolutely!!  Are we there yet???

The Day After

A busy day after Christmas - finishing up another puzzle (puzzle #4 - now it REALLY feels like Christmas!), cleaning up after entertaining all day yesterday, and finally getting things packed up to go to the island!!  I still miss Bailey so much, especially in getting things ready to head to Lopez.  I think it may be time to see if another kitty wants to join our family after I get back from teaching in Texas.

So the main packing issue this trip?  Collecting the materials for making class kits!  And of course, the selection of movies for us to watch on New Year's Eve as we count down to the New Year.  I'm still so full from the rich food yesterday that it's impossible to even think about what groceries we may need.....

Christmas Blessings

Two of my favorite Christmas Blessings - doing a puzzle with my daughter (3D this year!) and lunch with my two grandsons.  Simple pleasures!!!

Slower & SImpler - Mindful Living

As I pondered why I yearn so much to be on Lopez, one thought was simply that the island encourages me to live in the moment.  Here is a great article on just that, mindful living, found on another website dedicated to this slower living concept:  http://www.slowmovement.com/.

Mindful Living

Many of us, professionals and regular people, alike are feeling their lives are overly hectic or emotionally out of kilter, and are looking for ways to restore the balance. We are looking to leading a mindful life.
Living a mindful life seems more difficult now than it was in the past. The fast life is all around us – fast food, fast cars, fast conversations, fast families, fast holidays. We may be living great lives but we aren’t ‘there’ for them. We don’t take the time to linger over food, over friends, over our family etc. We are not savouring our life and are starving of the real connection to our life.
The solution is self-explanatory. We slow down and connect with our life. But often it is easier said than done. Each fast aspect of our life is necessary for other fast aspects to happen, and we have been fooled into thinking we need, or even must, be fast and have what the ‘fast life’ gives us.
If we don’t listen to our bodies and to that little voice in our head that is telling us to slow down we may succumb to the myriad of health conditions that are a result of leading fast, stressful lives. The biological costs of ignoring stress are staggering, manifesting in cardiovascular and other systemic diseases and even, new research shows, in accelerated aging. The psychological costs are equally large with anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other emotional illnesses associated with unmanaged stress.
To be simplistic, the solution is to pay attention, on purpose, in a systematic way, in the present moment. That is, we need to be mindful. This is the answer. We can develop a wise relationship with our sensory experience through mindful meditation. Mindful living is a way of life that urges people to find calm by connecting with the present moment.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has spent much of his professional life bringing the medical world’s attention to the wisdom of the body and the healing that can happen when we get in touch with our senses and our mind. He has been a proponent of mindfulness – a Buddhist concept that can be best described as awareness. Awareness of everything, awareness of our senses, our body, our mind. Jon believes in using that awareness to learn to open up new dimensions of well-being and integrity, of wisdom and compassion and kindness in ourself.
He says: “Mindfulness is a certain way of paying attention that is healing, that is restorative, that is reminding you of who you actually are so that you don’t wind up getting entrained into being a human doing rather than a human being.”
When we practice mindfulness in our everyday life we are less caught up in and at the mercy of our destructive emotions, and we are then predisposed to greater emotional intelligence and balance and therefore to greater happiness because living mindfully gives us more satisfaction in our job, in our family and in our life in general.

© Copyright 2012 Footprint Choices.

We're Still Here

Well, we're still here.  Honestly, the best part about the end of the world hoax is all the party planning and celebrations that were created. (My husband and I took in a matinee.....he asked me to go to a movie with him to celebrate.  I asked him what time the world would end...we didn't know...so decided on a matinee just to be safe.  Uh-huh - quirky thinking at its best.)

So just to help clarify the situation, I want to share the blog below which helped me understand the bigger picture and just what it meant that the Mayan calendar "ended" today.  Actually, it was only ONE of their calendars.

So whether you choose to read the thoughts below, or not, hope you had a WONDERFUL day yesterday!!!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2012/12/18/maya_apocalypse_2012_doomsday_end_of_the_world_prophecies_are_nonsense.html

It had as its basic units a day (called a k’in) and a 360-day period called a tun. The Maya understood that a physical year was five days longer than a tun, and had other calendars to deal with that. They had longer units, too, like the ka’tun—just shy of 20 years—and most importantly for apocalypse aficionados, the b’ak’tun—roughly 394 of our years. The starting point for their calendar (Year Zero, if you like) is 3114 B.C., the date they figured the Earth was created.

Knowing all this, we can match their calendar to ours and convert any date they used to our more familiar system. If you do the math, you’ll find that we are nearing the end of the 13^th b’ak’tun. In fact, it ends on Dec. 21, 2012.

That’s today. Friday. Cue the spooky music.

The thing is, there is no suggestion, not even a hint, in Maya writing that they thought the end of this current b’ak’tun had any connection to doomsday. It’s entirely possible it may have even been thought of as a time of celebration (just like we celebrate New Year’s Eve).

The Maya also had bigger units of time, including the piktun (which was either 13 or 20 b’ak’tun), and the alautun, which was—get this—63 million years! So it doesn’t sound like they were predicting the end of the world ever, let alone by this weekend.

Anyway, it hardly matters. Just like our calendar, theirs was based on cycles. At the end on a cycle, you reset all the current units and move the biggest one up a notch. It’s what we do on December 31: Reset to the first day of the first month, and increment the year by one. Happy New Year! Same thing with the Long Count. After the last day of the 13^th b’ak’tun, they’d start over at the next one.

Basket Class Prep

Yesterday I finally buckled down and worked on getting the rest of the materials and kits together for teaching basket classes in January for the Texas conference.  I love getting organized, spokes cut, materials all packaged up, patterns printed, even the waxed linen wound on spools (well, okay, I do have more of THAT to get done).  I'm not sure why I tend to procrastinate on this part of the job.  It's a little tedious, but so rewarding.  Maybe it's that little worry in the back of my mind that I may not have enough of some material on hand?  If so, then putting it off certainly doesn't make any sense, now does it???  Ah, just some of the joys of teaching.

And part of it, I now realize, is that I have to actually clean off a large work area in my studio in order to have the space to get this done.  Hmmm....maybe that's a bigger part of the puzzle than I imagined ........and an interesting insight.

Rain

I love living in the Northwest.  I love the mountains, and the water.  I love that it is green all year round.  And I love the rain - usually.  But trying to drive in this constant downpour is getting a little old, even for this native. 

I am truly ready for some snow, now!!!

Stressless Holiday Preparations

Being a Baha'i, Christmas decorations and baking and gift-giving have new meanings for me.  Gone are the "must do" lists.  They have become (as they should have been all along) only those things that I really want to do.  I no longer feel the pressure to do things perfectly, and I definitely don't have to do EVERYTHING.

Today I'm just enjoying the simple pleasures of receiving Christmas cards in the mail (especially because this year I got mine comfortably mailed out early in December), making homemade gifts for the neighbors, making sure the postlady and sanitation engineers received their gifts, making holiday dinner plans with friends, finding the perfect little stocking stuffers for family members, and honestly - thoroughly enjoying the Christmas lights and decorations that my neighbors have put up (one thing that we don't do) as I drive home through my neighborhood.  Somehow I'm really seeing them this year, and appreciating them completely.

I also made the final menu decisions for Christmas breakfast and dinner and the shopping lists are written.  Without the pressure of "having" to do it all, I'm enjoying each step, each tradition, that I am doing.  That's what it should have been all along.  So why did I put all that extra stress on myself before?  Not really sure, but I definitely love this "attitude adjustment"!!

Fear and Gun Control

I've avoided writing about the tragic shooting in Connecticut because my gut reaction is simply to run away and be "safe" on Lopez.  Not very productive or responsible, I realize.  A good friend posted a link to a thoughtful blog, portions of which I want to share below.  She found the words, when I could not.

Here are my five observations from the past couple of days:

Prayer and activism are not mutually exclusive.

For many of us they are inextricably connected. We don’t need to criticize those who are praying. You don’t have to pray or even believe in prayer, but be respectful (or at least quiet).

Politics is easier than grief.

To skip over feeling and rush to policy-making dehumanizes the process and weakens policy.

Blame is simply the discharging of pain and discomfort.

It has nothing to do with accountability. Accountability requires long, difficult, respectful conversations. Blame fizzles out with rage, where accountability is in for the long haul.

Self-righteousness is a sign of fear and uncertainty.

It has nothing to do with activism or change. The loudest and most vitriolic among us are often the most afraid. As my friend Harriet Lerner says, “Change requires listening with same level of passion that we feel when we speak.”

You can't shame a nation into changing any more than you can shame a person into changing.

Shame is much more likely to be the source of destructive, violent behaviors than it is to be the cure. We need courage, vulnerability, hard work, empathy, integrity (and a little grace wouldn't hurt).

I believe we need common sense gun laws. I believe we need better access to mental health services. Neither one of these things will happen unless we’re willing to listen and to speak up about our own experiences and share our ideas. We can’t afford to be the silent majority on these issues.

 

http://www.ordinarycourage.com/    Brene Brown

 

Yes, I think I will need to follow her blog more closely.

Powerless

Electricity is out because of the storm this morning. Talk about a real life lesson in living simply!!!
Candlelight, and readjusting my schedule and to- do list moment by moment.
Definitely a day for curling up with a quilt and good book.
Hmmmm, may have to find a real book if my Nook runs down.....such are the questions of my day.

Slower and Simpler: Snowflakes

We finally have a forecast for some snow in it.  Ah, I so love the snow....not that we get very much here.  Hmmm, maybe that's why I love it?  I don't have to deal with it ALL winter long?

My perfect Sunday?  Softly falling snow, a fire in the fireplace, and a good book.  Today I have the latter two, and my fingers are crossed for the snow to at least make a brief appearance.

·         "Guinness Book of World Records" says the biggest snowflake was 8 inches by 15 inches.

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/snowstore/snowstore.htm

Snowflake photos with a quotation from Thoreau: "How full of the creative genius is the air in which these are generated! I should hardly admire more if real stars fell and lodged on my coat.
Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity, so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand."

Snowflake photos with a poem from Longfellow: Out of the bosom of the Air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garment shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-field forsaken,
Silent, and soft, and slow
Descends the snow.

Struggle to go Back to the Mainland

Each trip back to the mainland now is more for doctor and dentist appointments, meetings, my part-time work, and seeing family members.  More and more activities and necessities are being moved to Anadaré for daily living.  This transition has certainly come much faster than I anticipated.  But I was warned by other Lopezians....once you get a foothold on the island, it sort of sucks you in.

I do feel like I'm in a time warp of sorts.  Nothing seems quite real - on either shore.  But this state of being, instead of feeling unsettling, is rather useful to help evaluate all of our material goods and put things into their proper perspective.  I'm sure it will eventually all settle down.

I do know that is a struggle to return to the mainland when planned, once I am ensconced on the island.  I mean really a struggle.  Why would I want to leave my nest of peace, quiet, nature, and inspiration??  Oh, well there is that whole thing about needing to earn some money.  But other than that....

Small Details

We received a priceless Christmas gift yesterday.  A friend made a calendar filled with her own photos of Whidbey Island that also includes the tide charts.  Awesome!!!  What a perfect present!

I also have a whimsical addition for Anadaré. I took youngest grandson to Build-A-Bear for his birthday, but of course had to also join in the fun.  We now have "Pez", a black bear in a khaki outfit, all set for fishing and birdwatching on Lopez.  Well, I do need to make his binoculars, but he's almost all set.

It's the small details that make a home!

Back in America

I'm back in America.  Driving to the ferry in the morning I saw a flock of geese.  Waiting for the ferry I saw two bald eagles.  Riding on the ferry was relaxing, watching the gray islands slip by.

After getting on the mainland, I noted:
- no one waves to each other
- there are way too many cars
- those cars are driving too fast
- there are SO many State Patrol out (see item above)
- did I mention too many cars????
- the grocery store is busy, the gas station is busy, life is just busy

I think I am now an islander.  I'll be visiting the mainland for two weeks, then will be coming home again.

Island Book

While perusing the amazing variety of books offered at the Lopez Friends of the Library sale a few weeks ago (where else can you purchase a reusable red bag imprinted with the library logo and fill it to the brim, or past,  for $20???), I discovered a little treasure:  Reflections on Life in the San Juan Islands by Mary Kalbert.  A signed copy, no less!

A few gems from her musings (found in the introduction) that particularly strike a chord with me include:

"There is a particular question asked of every islander who wasn't born here.  It may come early in a budding friendship, or much later, but at some time the question 'How did you get to ....[the] island?' will arise."     This is so true!!  It happens every single time that I meet someone new!

While visiting the island (Mary lives on San Juan, but this certainly works for all of the islands) for the first time, she remarked: "But I felt something stirring, a deeper yearning, something at that moment I could not articulate."   And I've tried to articulate that "something" for myself.  To me it is an energy of Lopez, a vortex if you will, that resonates deeply within my very being. Well, that, coupled with childhood memories of growing up by the saltwater and rural living.

"We discovered that each of us had felt 'taken' with the island, an unspoken sense of homecoming we could not explain."  I will venture to say that every one of us who have come to live on the islands have felt this very same thing.  It's just that somehow we found the courage to act on it, or maybe just the willingness to take the leap and follow our heart, instead of our head, for a change.

Moving to the island probably is a little bit crazy.  But we crazies seem to be in good company.  Perhaps that is why everyone is so friendly, and it feels like family.  Each of us made that decision to act on our dreams, and embrace The Rock as home.

If you want to read her book, you may find it on either on Amazon or for a signed copy, on Mary's website:
http://marykalbert.com/index.html

Lidded Beaded Vessels

I am totally enthralled with making small lidded beaded vessels.  I weave during the day, then reward myself with beading in the evenings.  Although it's hard to get a good picture of these charmers, I'll share what I can.

 The pattern is in Geometric Beadwork by Jean Power - a great book!!!

Slower and Simpler - Holidays

Every year I still need to remind myself to keep the holidays simple.  It has become easier over the years since I became a Bahai, but my family loves to celebrate, and it truly is easy to get caught up in the season.  I found this guide to simplify the holidays that is very helpful:

http://bemorewithless.com/2011/a-guide-to-simple-holidays/

My goal this year?  It is encapsulated in one phrase in the site above that jumped out at me:  Focus on the outside less and inside more.  That will cover all aspects, from too many parties to over-buying, over-eating, and splurging. 

What is really important?  The meaning of the season and what is going on inside - my intent.

Reading Lists and Book Clubs

My name is Sally and I am addicted to reading.  Have been since a child.  I started a book club 26 years ago and it is still going strong.  So I think I'm ready to find a book club to join on the island.  After all, with the rain coming down and winter setting in, what better than to curl up with a good book (or my Nook) in front of my new fireplace?

From what I can gather, there are quite a few book clubs here on Lopez.  I don't know if any are accepting new members, but my search will start today.  I will ask in the book store and the library.  And may even chat with some folks in the grocery store and craft store.  It's a friendly island - this shouldn't be too hard!

Goodreads posted its list of the best books, in all genres, of 2012.  If you enjoy reading, this list is a joy to have on hand, so I wanted to share it with you.  Instead of not knowing what to read, you'll have a list of too many books that are just begging to be read.  These books are chosen by the readers, not the critics, which makes them even more valuable in my eyes.  And I have discovered that it's perfect  if I want to try a new genre and have no idea of where to start.  There are certainly other lists on-line, such as bestsellers and for book clubs.  But to me, this is really the best, all inclusive list around.

http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2012?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=2012-12&utm_content=choiceawards

So I'm sitiing here with a cup of tea, listening to the sound of the rain on the roof, snuggled in a quilt in front of the fire with my Nook.  Well, yes, I'm sorely missing Bailey, but that's to be expected.  And yes, I'll get to work weaving in a little bit.  But I'm in a really good place in my book....... and it IS a weekend....

Basket Gathering on Shaw Island

Walked onto the ferry yesterday to go to Shaw Island.  The basketweavers, who belong to the San Juan County Textile Guild and live on all of the islands, meet once a month on Shaw for a basket gathering - to weave, share, instruct, and inspire one another.  First of all, simply traveling to the event by ferry was fun - part of that island life that I'm embracing!  Even better? Walk-on inter-island traffic on the ferries is free.

One member picked the walk-ons up from the ferry dock.  Discovered that travel from Lopez to Shaw (and the return), as compared to travel from the other islands, is the most awkward trip for timing  - somewhat geographically undesirable, even up here!  Two of us came from Lopez - we were the last to arrive and the first to have to leave due to the ferry schedules.

It was a fun day - with 19 weavers of all levels (including alot of beginners). Going back to the ferry we hit "rush hour" on Shaw - 5 cars were on the road heading our way, and 3 cars got off of the ferry - wow!  The nuns no longer run the ferry dock, but they do run the very little store by the dock.

Today was one of those days where I really felt like an islander.  Love it!

Cozy Fireplace

What an amazing little electric fireplace!  It is so warm and comforting as the weather gets chillier.  I can't believe the difference it makes in the room.  And I can just put it away for the summer months.

Who would have thought??

Tribute to Bailey

 

Bailey passed away yesterday, after a long (and crazy) life.

I will greatly miss my traveling companion, my shower buddy, and lap warmer.  He was also my alarm clock, my conversation partner, and constant shadow.

 



I'm sure the tears will stop one of these days....  Rest well, dear Bailey.

A Distraction



Needing a distraction yesterday from worrying about Bailey as we wait for lab results (and still waiting this morning), I ran across this artist on MSN that uses as his palette really, really dirty car back windows.  Simply amazing - first the concept, then the talent!

‘masterpieces from the world's greatest 'dirty car artist'

The guy who scrawls "Wash me" on a stranger's filthy car might think he's hilarious but all he has done is ruin a potential canvas for Scott Wade. The self-described "Dirty Car Artist" has to drive for days around the limestone-and-clay roads near his Wimberley, Texas, home before he can start one of his ingenious masterpieces. OK, so maybe this version of the Mona Lisa isn't a masterpiece. But Wade's originals are as spectacular as his knockoffs, made even more so by his chosen medium. Sadly, they last only until the next rainstorm.

http://www.dirtycarart.com/

Life's Moments

How easily I'm distracted from writing here or even thinking clearly on what needs to be done today, when Bailey is so sick.  He's been losing weight recently, but acting his usual crazy self.  However, this morning he's no longer eating or drinking, and I'm dreading what the vet will have to say when I take him in today.

So please forgive the lack of upbeat chatter - life really does include the sad moments as well as the glad ones.  If not, how else would we know when we were happy, if we had nothing with which to compare it?

I need to sit with Bailey on my lap while I have my morning tea.   I know you understand.

Slower & Simpler Sunday - Deadlines

As I prep for travel teaching, in order to get everything done, I realize that I create deadlines for myself.  You know how sometimes a word, a common word that you use everyday, suddenly just sounds funny?  So I looked up the origin of "deadline":

What is a DEADLINE?
It orginates from the american civil war:
Confederate captain Walter Bowie wrote: "On the inside of the stockade and twenty feet from it there is a dead-line established, over which no prisoner is allowed to go, day or night, under penalty of being shot."
Do you have a deadline? How does it feel?

http://www.theworldinstituteofslowness.com/main/blogpost/42-

So.....I'm working on finding a better word for it:  goal, target, aspiration, objective, intention.....okay, I'm obviously still working on it.  But somehow the old word just no longer fits into my plans for a slower and simpler life.

Decluttering - Again

In my island home I realize that I really can live with less. So once again, I'm setting a goal to intentionally declutter - including my homes, studio, office, computer, life. (Not all at once!!)

Gail Blanke, the author of “Throw Out 50 Things,” has three ways to determine when to toss something:

• If it weighs you down, clogs you up or makes you feel bad about yourself.

• If it just sits there, taking up room and contributing nothing positive to your life.

• If you agonize over it for too long. Don’t make the decision more complicated than it has to be.

Homes:  My own goal is to throw away, donate, or give away at least 10 things a week.  Hopefully as I tackle one room/area/space/drawer at a time, I will beat that number.  And I won't bring anything new into the house without tossing two items in its stead.

Computer:  My goal is to defrag, clean out RSS feeds and bookmarks, really clean out my email logs, and organize the desktop and links into categories.

And there are so many articles, blogs, and books on the subject (no, I'm not going to print out or buy each one - see goal above), I shouldn't lack in inspiration.  Just a few that I've found to motivate me and get started:

http://zenhabits.net/zen-mind-how-to-declutter/
http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2006/11/08/declutter-declutter-declutter/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-leland/three-steps-to-declutter_b_186681.html

Yes, it does seem a bit early for New Year's Resolutions - but since those are notoriously hard to keep, it's probably better that I don't call it that.  Let's say more of a life-style change.