My Items For Sale (on eBay)

Ok, so I'm finally getting around to listing some miscellaneous stuff on eBay that I've accumulated from my van (and also from storage). I'll have different things listed from time to time, so if you are curious about what I might be selling out of my van at any given time, I put a link up above (where the Cafepress link used to be). Just click up on the eBay link, right under my huge photo, and it will take you to my faliaphotography eBay items for sale. Here is the link:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/faliaphotography_W0QQ_dmdZ1QQ_ipgZ50QQ_sopZ12?_rdc=1

I'm still trying to figure out how to show everyone all my travel photos (old, new, and never-before-seen shots), so I'll keep everyone posted on that as soon as I figure it out.

For now I am just going to keep plugging away at listing things for sale on eBay, although I would MUCH rather be outside. It is GORGEOUSLY breezy and sunshinerific outside today. Dan is working out in the greenhouse and I want to be out there amongst all the little plants too ... Maybe I'll run out there and say hi before I jump back into eBay mode.

Ooh! Ecopods & Woodland Homes

I just love the design - I could definitely live in an Ecopod. Ahh... to dream of life in a simple ecopod in Costa Rica, amidst papaya, avocado, and mango trees. How lovely. lol.

Really though, here are several interesting sites for you to check out.

1. About Ecopods! - http://ecopods.ca/index.php

2. Where I first discovered Ecopods, in a blog post at the TinyHouseBlog - http://tinyhouseblog.com/pre-fab/ecopods/

Who would have ever thought that living in a steel shipping container could look so incredibly cozy and secure? Very very cool.

ALSO, I would like to share this link to the COOLEST, most unique, beautifully crafted, eco-friendly, sustainable woodland home I have EVER seen! I would love to live in this low-impact natural dwelling - It seriously looks like something out of a fairy tale, yet it is an actual home, built by Simon, way over in Wales. It is sooo cool. Can I move in tomorrow, please?

3. http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

I'm Still Here, Just Gettin' Things Done

I am just popping in to say that I have not forgotten about this blog ~ I plan to very much keep it going, I have just been very world-wide-web deprived out in the wilderness and thus doing other things. I thoroughly enjoy the sanctity and solitude of the woods, although I have of course been missing the Internet.

Life out in the woods is very slow paced for me, which is a good thing. Things are pretty stress free out there, just tending to a woodstove and working on little projects. I haven't been getting dressed for days at a time, since nobody is around out there, and I've been using the outdoors as my bathroom. I've also been going for long walks thru the deep woods that are just bursting with little flowers, wild leeks, and the life & energy of springtime! It has been raining steady for several days now, but when it finally lets up in a day or two, I will be heading out in search of Morel mushrooms.. I've already looked a little, but there weren't any since it was a bit early. Not even any false morels or fake caps yet.

Now that I'm in town for a little while today, though, I'm going to spend my library time going thru my email Inbox. After that, here is my to-do list, just so you can get a little bit of a glimpse into this little vandweller's personal life and how I manage to keep so busy:

1. Check area posting boards, newspapers, and websites for cash jobs
2. Make graduation card for my best friend
3. Find old tape deck at a junkyard to put in my van
4. Go to the bank & pay off my $8,000 loan!! (I cashed out my 401K & will now be completely poor yet debt-free)
5. Paint picnic basket for friend
6. Take photos of items I've got and list them on eBay
7. Drive clothes and books upto consignment shops
8. Sewing on a corduroy bag I've got (replace pockets, add patches, and shorten strap)
9. Call a few old friends & make lunch dates
10. Return painting supplies & dvds to a friend
11. Answer emails
12. Write blog posts on my ongoing list of topics
13. Go out and start at my summer cottage cleaning job
14. Buy garlic oil capsules (just ran out)
15. Figure out current thermostat/coolant issue with van
16. Put bike rack on car
17. Send in photo for VW Women's Calendar Project
18. Upload pics of plants growing in the greenhouse
19. Plant more seeds!!
20. Ask friend about buying organic granola bar ingredients in bulk
21. Find recipes for cooking over the woodstove
22. Proofread and edit a book that a friend wrote
23. Call local health/fitness center to ask about yoga/pilates/fitness classes
24. Start doing my Abs of Steel workout in the woods!
25. Close Cafepress Store and figure out how to show my photos elsewhere online
26. ETC ETC ETC

I've actually crossed several things off my list so far, though, including getting the visible rust off the outside of my Westy. I made the most out of the last warm, sunny day we had by washing my van and using polishing compound on a cotton cloth to get the rust off from all the little creases and crevices. Then I re-washed my van and used Turtle Wax on the entire exterior. Man it was a lengthy project, but now she sure shines, just like a brand new VW.

My plan as of right now is to stay in this area for the next few months, get my van fixed up and running all better, do the cottage cleaning job that I picked up for the summer, and also work at a local orchard for Cherry Season in July. Dan & I are also going to be taking a trip to Wisconsin, though, to visit Walking Onion and also check out the energy fair. Plus I plan to take a mini-vacation to Chicago with my mom and perhaps head to the Raw Spirit Fest in Washington DC. I also would love to hit up the Winnipeg Folk Festival if I make it up to Canada this summer, although I'm not sure how much I can realistically fit in and/or afford. Oh well. I'm dreaming big although I'm planning to stick around this area for the summer. It reminds me of that saying, "Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss, you will end up among the stars..." I am still heading out before fall, though, and this time it will be west. North and west, all the way over to the Pacific Coast. . . I haven't been to Cali since 2000 and I miss it badly. OOh and Portland is also calling my name. I would love to relocate there for a while. There are so many places I want to go! And I know I will make it to them soon enough. Until then, I'm just cranking down on my to-do list :)

In a tiny cabin in the woods

I love love love waking up in nature... way out in the wilderness, nestled in amongst the pine trees, far far away from any reminder that there are actually other people living on this planet besides myself. The simple luxury of natural sound (the birds, the rainfall, the rustling of leaves, and the beautiful silence) is something that only the woods can provide. Morel mushrooms are another luxury that the wilderness provides, and you can bet I'll be out searching for some soon!

Dan and I have been offered a small rustic cabin to use for the summer, in exchange for keeping the animals and raccoons out. The owners have moved out of state and we are just thrilled to become the cabin's temporary caretakers. We've got access to electricity and extremely cold well-water out there, and I'm going to keep my van parked there, too - but for the past several nights we have been sleeping indoors, next to a roasting warm wood stove, and reading books by flickering candlelight...

Nothing compares to the feeling of waking up in the middle of nowhere, starting a cozy fire in a wood stove, and using it to heat up several pots of water to use for oatmeal, tea, and washing the dishes. It is such peaceful, simple living - and so rustic - that I'm in love. I can only hope to have my own little plot of land, way out in the woods, somewhere, someday.

There is hardly any cell phone signal out there (and obviously no wi-fi), so my Internet posting will be occuring on days like today, when I make the venture into town for supplies or errands. I'm going to try typing some posts out in the woods and then uploading them once I come into town, though, so I should still be able to post pretty frequently.

To get by and live comfortably out in the woods, even though I've now got access to a cabin, I still don't need anything more than the essentials that I keep inside my van. Coming to that realization is completely satisying, since I know that there is no need to clutter up the inside of a perfectly empty cabin. I'm antsy to get back out there, though, for the evening, so I can sit next to another hot & crackling fire.

Thanks to everyone who attended a Tax Day Tea Party, by the way - the one nearby in Traverse City was PACKED with hundreds of us, and I heard that the one down in Lansing (Michigan's State Capitol) was packed with THOUSANDS :)

Tax Day Tea Party!

Ok, so I'm on my way, basically running out the door with a sign that I just painted: "You Can't Spend Your Way Out Of Debt!" Dan's sign says "End the Fed"...

We are on our way to the nearest Nation-wide Tax Day Tea Party, where there will be other like-minded Young Americans For Liberty, holding various signs such as:

We the people are FED UP

“Man is not free unless the government is limited.” Ronald Reagan

A government big enough to give you everything you need is big enough to take it all away - Thomas Jefferson

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money. Margaret Thatcher

Wall Street got a bailout and all I got was the bill

No Public Money for Private Failure

The Constitution - We Mean What It Says

WE are the ones you’ve been stealing from

Next Time, Read the Bill Before You Sign It

Born Free, Taxed to Death


If you are a like minded individual who believes that "Your silence means consent," go to http://taxdayteaparty.com/ to find the nearest Tax Day Tea Party in your area...

Sorry don't have time to write more, I'm running late, late, for a very important date..

By the way, if you are a Ron Paul supporter, check out the first issue of the "Young American Revolution" by clicking here.

Continuing Discardia - tips for making $$$

Oh what a Beautiful morning, Oh what a Beautiful day.... (what movie/musical is that song from again? i can't remember, but i know that those lyrics are somehow ingrained in my head). Sure, this morning has been a tad chilly and nose numbing, but it sure is sunny, refreshing, and beautiful, none-the-less.

I love waking up early, just as the sun rises. Those are the days that always make me feel the best from sunrise until sundown. This morning I woke up early, shook up a chocolate vegan rice-protein shake with some soymilk, drove about 30 minutes north, dropped my car off to get the two rear coil springs replaced, popped on my backpack, and started walking... I walked about an hour and a half, stopping part way to use the fitness room at the place where I used to be employed for about 7 years. I still have a little fitness room key, so that is really nice, considering I don't know how long I will be allowed to keep it. 30 minutes on the stair-climber, treadmill, or elliptical machine sure gives a good energy boost to start the day! Today I chose the elliptical, although I rotate between all three whenever I'm up this way.

Continuing on my chilly walk, I have now made it to the local public library where my little fingers are pretty frozen and stiff while trying to type on this keyboard. Hopefully they will warm up soon so that I can type a little faster and make the most of my 60 minute computer session :)

I'm going to try to use this computer time to answer some emails and catch up on some blogs I haven't read lately, but I do have something I want to quickly write here, adding onto my last post about Discardia -

When going thru your belongings and getting rid of stuff, it is definitely the easiest solution to just drop everything off at Goodwill, Salvation Army, or any other thrift store. There are other options to consider first, though, especially if you are interested in making some money, so I wanted to tell everyone exactly what I do with the things that I don't want anymore.... (I like making money on things first, and then donating everything good that is left)

BOOKS, MOVIES (vhs & dvd), VIDEO GAMES, and MUSIC (cds):

If I've got any of these media-type items to get rid of, there are 5 things that I personally like to do with them, and I always do them in this order:

1. Look up to see what they are selling for and list them on Half.com .

It is really easy to list them for sale on Half.com, and lots of people shop there:

Just look up the item, check to see what price it is selling for (in the same condition), click "Sell my Copy," and fill in your own price, description, and condition (New, Like New, Very Good, Good, Fair). You don't have to worry about including a shipping cost because Half.com tags a reasonable charge onto whatever price you choose. When your items sells, Half.com sends you an email with the person's shipping address, and then they deposit your earnings into a bank account of your choice (twice per month). Just ship the item out at the post office in a box or bubble mailer, using either first class OR "media mail" (aka: Book Rate). Media Mail is often cheaper, especially if you are shipping a heavy book.

I OFTEN find that selling on Half.com is worth the 30 seconds it takes to list something. The fee they take out is TINY and you can often make a good little chunk of change. Half.com is connected to eBay, so you need an eBay account, but selling on Half.com is NOT the same as selling on eBay (not at all). eBay charges way more fees, it takes more time to list items, and you need photos of your items. Half.com already has images for every book, movie, and cd - just go to Half.com and search for the ISBN# or the item's title. None of your own photos are needed, which is pretty handy. Plus, your items stay listed on Half.com forever - there is no ending date (like eBay). Just check back every now and then to update your prices, or click "On Vacation" in your account settings when you want to suspend your items and take a break from selling.

2. Sell RARE, EXPENSIVE, VINTAGE, or COLLECTOR media-items on eBay.

I'm not a huge fan of eBay, although I do sell there occasionally. I never sell books, music, or movies on eBay UNLESS they are: extremely rare, vintage, expensive, or collector items. I can only think of two books I ever listed on eBay, and it is because they were really old and sold for about 100 bucks each. One was a childhood book about Faeries and it was sooo cool...

3. Take them to a used cd/bookstore that will give you cash or trade.

There are 4 types of items that I don't bother trying to sell on Half.com:

* items that are only selling for .75 or 1.00

* books that are huge & heavy & would cost a lot to ship

* items that I've had listed on Half.com for months (and haven't sold)

* items that are so old that I can't even find them listed on Half.com

Those are the types of items that I then take up to a used bookstore to see if they will give me cash or credit. Lots of used bookstores will give you either cash or credit towards items in their store, so it is definitely worth a try. I typically prefer cash, although I do currently have about 60.00 credit at one bookstore in this area. There is also another bookstore around here that will always give me a little cash for ANYTHING that I take in :) Every little bit helps, and it really makes a difference when you've got several years worth of books to get rid of.

4. Save them up for a garage sale.

I have never had my own garage sale, but I have often sold things in garage sales that my friends & family have had. If you are doing some MAJOR cleaning and clearing out, you probably will have enough stuff for your own garage sale. Try selling everything for a little bit of money in your front yard or garage and then donating what is left.

5. Donate them to the library.

So when I can't make any money off my used books, movies, or music, I just donate them to the local library. They love all sorts of books and are usually always collecting for their "Friends of the Library" booksales. I personally prefer to donate my media-related items to the library instead of dropping them off at a thrift store.

OK, that is just what I do with media-related items. Onto...

CLOTHES and SHOES:

Why is it that everyone always seems to have too many clothes? :) There are 6 things that I do with clothes I don't need or want anymore:

1. First, I pick out the best quality ones, wash them, fold them, and take them to a consignment store.

There are always consignment shops around that will typically give you the option of immediate cash for everything OR putting things on consignment. You always get more money if you are willing to put your clothes on consignment for awhile, but I usually just want to get rid of them and not think about them again. So. I normally like to choose the cash option, unless I'm going to be around the area for awhile.

2. Sell certain items on eBay (if they aren't too worn and are of good quality).

I have actually sold a ton of shoes, several hats, and some snowpants on eBay. Shoes have especially been a very good money maker for me. I don't ever sell regular clothes on eBay, though, because I don't want the hassel of selling clothes to people and not having them fit. When it comes to eBay, I mainly just stick with selling shoes or special winter gear (snowpants, hats, winter coats), when it comes to clothes.

3. Add them to your pile of Garage Sale items!

Again, if you've got a ton of stuff, have a yard sale! You will always make a little bit of cash if you've got the time.

4. Offer them to friends.

With the clothes that consignment stores won't take, I then like to offer them to friends, family, and co-workers. I love when people offer clothes to me (even when I don't need any), so I like to reciprocate that same feeling.

5. Check out FreeCycle.org!

From checking out FreeCycle.org, last year I found two Yahoo Groups for different counties in my area that are especially for freecycling - donating and giving things away to people for free. If I have a bunch of clothes in one size to give away, I log into my local Freecycle Yahoo Groups and make a posting for FREE CLOTHES. Sometimes there are people whose house has burned down, they can't afford clothes for their kids, they need some nice clothes to wear to a job, or they are just in need of clothes in your size. It never hurts to ask and post what you have available! Quite often there are already people willing to take them off your hands.

6. Donate to Goodwill/Salvation Army/a thrift store.

I always seem to be taking stuff to area thrift stores. It is an easy place to get rid of things where other people will be able to easily find them. Thrift stores are usually very happy to take your items, and don't forget to get a receipt! They will give you a receipt for your donation, and then you can use it if you itemize on your taxes. Every time I have ever gotten a receipt, they had left it blank so I could fill it in later. That was very handy when I was able to itemize on my taxes (when I owned a house), so keep that in mind if you are a homeowner! Donations are a good tax write-off, along with gifts to charity (church, etc.) (if you itemize).

HOUSEWARES, MISC, EVERYTHING ELSE:

1. Sell on eBay.

Things that might have any sort of value to anyone else, I do sell on eBay. Especially when it comes to unique, vintage items (boardgames, patches, toys, old lunchbox/thermos, etc.). Useful items are also good to sell on eBay, for example I have sold a back massager, Caution Tape, blankets, sporting equipment, candles, artwork, etc. I even sold my teen-year collection of Absolut vodka advertisements that I had ripped out of different magazines :) I think that sold for like 50 bucks! If you think of yourself as computer-illiterate and can't figure out how to sell on eBay, don't worry! I know that many towns have an "eBay Store" where you can have other people list your items and sell them for you. Those places will charge a small fee, but it might be worth it to you so that you don't have to mess with selling stuff yourself. eBay selling does take a little time because you have to take photos, create nice descriptions, etc... I've got a pile of stuff right now that I want to list on eBay, but I keep putting it off because it can be a little bit of a headache. Again, I never sell books, movies, or videos on eBay unless they are RARE. I try to only sell things on eBay that are worth the time involved.

By the way, here is a HINT if you have an eBay account: You can click on "Advanced Search," check the box for "completed listings," and search for the item you want to sell. It will show you what all the recent past auctions & Buy-It-Now prices were, so that will give you an idea of what you will be able to sell your own item for.

2. Add them to your pile of garage sale items!

Again, have a yard sale! Anything that doesn't sell on eBay, just add to your garage sale pile. Perhaps convince your friends, family, and/or neighbors to "celebrate" Discardia with you by "spring cleaning" - Then you could have a multi-family or even a community-wide yard sale sale :) That definitely makes having a garage sale easier (and of course, more fun).

3. For bigger (or unique) items, try selling them on Craigslist.org!

I love checking out Craigslist, and so do millions of other people around the globe. It is a great place to list items for sale. Craigslist is easy and free. Also, in case you are unaware of this, you can go to http://www.craigshelper.com/ (soon moving to: http://www.searchtempest.com/) to search multiple craigslists at the same time :)

4. Another great place to list items for sale is your local newspaper!

I have sold furniture, iceskates, an electronic keyboard, and different miscellaneous items (from $10-$100) by listing a FREE "Super-Saver" Ad with my local newspaper classified section. It is definitely worth a quick call to your local newspaper to ask what the fee is for listing an item. MANY people read the local classified ads.. Be the person to sell things there (instead of just browsing them to buy).

5. Again, check out Freecycle.org, it is a terrific, terrific place to stop by.

It could lead you to some Freecycle Yahoo Groups in your area where you will be able to list items to give away to individuals who are in need.

6. Last, but not least, donate things to your area thrift stores.

I will say, that even though thrift stores are my last resort (since I like trying to make money first), I never donate JUNK to thrift stores. Don't drop of clothes with rips/holes/stains, electronics that don't work, broken toys, or things of that nature. If you don't want those items for reasons that nobody else would want them either, then DON'T drop them off at the thrift store! Throw them in the trash-can, put them in your burn barrel, have a bonfire, recycle newspapers/magazines/glass, cut up old clothes for rags in your garage, etc. Even though they may be garage-sale leftovers or items that are unworthy of eBay or consignment shops, make sure you are still only donating items of good, useable quality :)

Good luck on going through your stuff and parting with things that you've been holding onto for way too long. Happy Discardia!

Celebrating "Discardia" (new holiday)

Seeing as how today is a traditional holiday (Happy Easter everybody!!), I thought it would be the perfect day to introduce you to a completely new holiday that my friend Randal just shared with me. It is called Discardia, and it is a "cyclical, floating holiday" which can be celebrated several times a year. It encourages us to celebrate letting go of baggage (physical & emotional), using less, and paring down that which we don't need or use. Discardia is a time to recycle, donate, and give things away to people who can use them more than yourself. It is an especially good time to check out FreeCycle.org, for example, which is a nonprofit movement of people giving and receiving reusable goods for free.

For me, I am definitely always in the process of celebrating Discardia. I have got a HUGE pile of stuff all ready to take to Goodwill (things I pulled out of free storage at my mom's house and had completely forgotten about), and I am still working on getting rid of more. I love clearing stuff out because it makes me feel lighter all around, it makes for less stuff to potentially end up rolling around inside my van, and it just makes it easier to live in my van when I don't have so much stuff to keep putting away and lugging around with me. Less is more, and I love the concept of Discardia.

According to the survey over on the side of my website, about 50% of the people who stop by this page fit this description: "My house has never had wheels, but it sure would be nice if it did." For that majority of people who are not vehicle dwellers (but would somewhat like to be), I can honestly say that by simply clearing out clutter and learning to live with less, you will be taking the first steps toward feeling the true freedom that comes with a mobile lifestyle.

Ok, now, all the following information is going to be cut and pasted from http://www.metagrrrl.com/discardia/, since that is the main site about Discardia.

I hope you enjoy these tips, find them helpful, and I especially hope that they inspire you to take a little time to clear out some of your own clutter. Not only is it fun to get rid of stuff, but it is also essential if you are going to be moving into a small space.

What is it?

Discardia is a new holiday.

Why do we need a new holiday?

Well, not exactly need, not as such, but this is a very good holiday. It doesn't involve obligations or expense or overblown expectations of specialness. It does not require you to interact with people whom you do not wish to interact with. In fact, it doesn't require you to do anything.

When is it?

The exact days vary. It takes place in the time between the Solstices & Equinoxes and their following new moons. Sometimes it's short and sometimes it's long.

So what is it a celebration of?

Nothing. Discardia is celebrated by getting rid of stuff and ideas you no longer need. It's about letting go, abdicating from obligation and guilt, being true to the self you are now. Discardia is the time to get rid of things that no longer add value to your life, shed bad habits, let go of emotional baggage and generally lighten your load.

I'm beginning to like the sound of this. What else do you do during Discardia?

Well, bear in mind that obligation is anti-discardian, so you can do whatever suits you - including celebrating Discardia when it isn't Discardia. However, one thing you might like to consider is the idea of culminating the Discardian season with a particular act of letting go. For example, on the Discardian new moon you might decide that you won't buy anything or bring anything into your home and that you will instead just enjoy the fact that you have enough. Or you might make that your night to be completely selfish, avoid all social commitments and do something you really enjoy, regardless of what anyone else thinks or expects of you.

GETTING RID OF STUFF:

This Discardian tip is about letting go of material objects. There are two main reasons for ending up with a bunch of things you don't really want or need: entropy and guilt.

You know how the entropy ones happen; they just pile up, usually literally. Magazines & newspapers, clothes with missing buttons, mail to read, half-finished projects, obsolete computer parts...

The problem is not that you don't know how to get rid of these things - you know how trash, recycling and the Goodwill donation box work - it's making yourself get around to it. Rather than giving yourself a hard time for it, your first Discardian act should be to let go of feeling bad about what you haven't gotten done by now. You were doing something else; it was a choice; you're a big kid; it's okay.

Now that that's out of the way, I'm not going to tell you to get cracking and clean the house. If you didn't wanna before you probably don't wanna now. No, what I'm suggesting is that you take a few small steps to achieve two things: slow down your accumulation of this stuff and make it easier for you to get rid of it in future.

Pick a room in your home (or an area of a room, such as your desk) and look at it with fresh eyes. Don't pick the area that depresses you most; be nice to yourself and start with something around the middle of your list of annoyances. Now ask yourself some questions about what you see.

Is there a category of stuff that is cluttering up your space and which you want to be rid of? A common example of this is catalogs. There might be something you want in there - how will you ever know if you don't read it?! Forget about it. If you need it, you'll seek it out. If you don't seek it out, you don't need it right now. Another good example is old toys that don't get played with anymore (by you, the kids, the cat, whoever) because they're broken, old & dirty, or just boring.
Where does this category of stuff come from?In the case of catalogs, they come in the mail. Some are solicited - the result of you buying from that company or an affiliate of it - and some are just deadtree spam. Old toys come from your own shopping + time; they are digested remnants of past fun.

Where should this category of stuff go? Catalogs should go into the recycling bin. Old toys that won't be fun for anyone go in the trash and boring ones can go to a good cause (about which more later).

Now you have one or two questions to ask about the category on whose ass you've decided to celebrate a little Discardia.

How can you slow the incoming flow of this category of stuff? In the case of catalogs, the solution involves the telephone. Pick up one of the least interesting looking catalogs, call that 1-800 phone number and tell the operator eagerly awaiting your order that you no longer wish to receive the catalog. Also tell them (and tell anyone you order things from) that you do not want them to sell your name & address to anyone. You don't have to do all those catalogs at once; just when you have 5 minutes and the energy. For the old toys, the solution might be to buy fewer or buy better ones that will last longer.

How can you make disposal of this category of stuff easier? For the catalogs, make your recycling process easier. Set up a sack or other receptacle in a convenient spot (ours is in the kitchen) and sort the mail over it; if you never set it down where the piles build up, it can't contribute to the clutter. For the toys, start a habit of physical motion when your mind moves the item to your "junk" list; when you think "that catnip mouse is a lost cause", immediately reach down, pick it up and fling it in the trash. The old toys that aren't really trash - they're just boring - can be just as easy to deal with. Set up another bag for things to donate to a good cause (or sell) and put the rejected items in the bag as soon as you think "I don't really want that anymore."

This last point brings us to the other reason for things piling up. Maybe you feel guilty about getting rid of that "perfectly good" toy you don't like anymore. Stop. It may be perfectly good for someone, but that someone isn't you. There's nothing inherently wrong with you getting rid of it. Who are you worried about offending? (As the Ikea ad says "Many of you feel sorry for this lamp. You are crazy. It has no feelings.")

Guilt is an insidious thing, though, and often not so easily brushed aside. Let's think about where the guilt comes from. There are four main kinds of guilt which lead you to keep things you no longer want or need. The first of these is that feeling that if you get rid of this object it will mean that you wasted your money. It causes you to behave as if somehow by keeping it around you are improving your chances of compensation for the expense.

How can you avoid the guilt of bad buying decisions? Think about purchases longer before making them. Also, recognize that you will make some bad decisions.

Chronic remorse, as all the moralists agree, is a most undesirable sentiment. If you have behaved badly, repent, make what amends you can and address yourself to the task of behaving better next time. On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean - Aldous Huxley, A Brave New WorldMore about amends in a moment. The second kind of guilt to consider is gift guilt. Someone gave it to you and either you didn't like it from the start or you've outgrown it (in some sense or another). Tell me this: when you visit the homes of your friends and family do you check to see if your past gifts are in use? And if they aren't, are you really more likely to be hurt and upset with them than you are to think "Hmm, whoops, guess that wasn't really the right thing; I'll try a gift certificate next time"? If the answer to both those questions is yes, consider yourself slapped and cut it out; it isn't doing you or anyone else any good.

How can you part with unwanted gifts without considering it an insult to the giver? Give everyone permission not to be able to read your mind and give yourself permission to change. The intent of gift giving is to make someone feel good (and/or to repay a social obligation). Recognize the act and the intent. Perhaps keep the gift around for a courteous amount of time, but on no account lie excessively about how much you like things you don't - you don't want to set yourself up for a matching bad gift the next time. Once the necessary niceties have been observed enough to communicate your gratitude for the intent, you should part with unwanted gifts without guilt. Disposing of them may require more discretion than with other things - the yard sale which the giver is likely to attend is a bad method, but the bottom of your Goodwill bag covered by that shirt that doesn't fit anymore is just dandy. Quietly get rid of it and if the giver asks about it later, say something about your appreciation of the occasion and their thoughtfulness, but that it just didn't fit with your other things.

Note: there are some gifts into which a great deal of hard work was put. For these, it is probably best to come clean and let the giver have the opportunity to take back their artistic efforts rather than sneakily disposing of it. Bite the bullet and say "I really appreciate your making me something so special. I am impressed by your thoughtfulness. Unfortunately, this painting just doesn't fit with the rest of my decor/I don't wear the color of this hand-knit sweater/I'm allergic to taxidermied animals..." Whatever. It might be a rough conversation, but it's better than the "You gave away my masterpiece to Goodwill?!!!" one.

How do you get better gifts? Tell people what you want, especially if what you want is nothing. Also, for those whose perception of your tastes is consistently dead wrong (or for everyone if you're really on a Discardian kick or planning a cross-country move), let them know what you really want is an experience, like dinner or some movie tickets, or, even safer, a donation to one of your favorite charities (Heifer Project is a good one for this; everyone likes a goat for Christmas).

So now we come to gifts from yourself. Souvenirs can be very hard to part with because of the memory they represent. It took me almost 8 years to decide to find a new home for the pair of big rubber squeak rats that were the mascots of my bookstore, Inkspot. Their names are Fido & Hepsibah and they now live with a couple of completely twisted friends who will enjoy the way Hepsibah's squeak is more delicate and feminine and how Fido can be made to breathe heavily in a sinister fashion rather than emit a squeak.

How do you let go of a souvenir without letting go of the good or at least important time it reminds you of? This one is actually not as tough as it seems. Memories are actually easier to digitize than you might think. Start a web site (TypePad and Blogger are great for this) and write about why the object matters to you and what it reminds you of (...the 2 teenage girls who shrieked and jumped when I squeaked Fido at them). Take digital photos or scan flat things and put the pictures and the stories up on your web site. My friend Lilly did a great project like this for all her old t-shirts. Or if web publishing isn't quite your style, just get together some friends and tell your stories as a way of bidding things farewell. Often you'll find it isn't the souvenir itself that the story is really about.

The last type of object-related guilt I want you to consider is what I term Dream Duty. This is associated with objects you keep because they represent someone you want (or wanted) to become. If I don't get rid of this guitar/skateboard/ballroom dress, I will eventually get around to using it proficiently, even though I don't practice. Folks, ya gotta shit or get off the pot. Start making time to work on that dream or let it go. If you want to fit into those pants again, eat less & exercise or get a pair like them in the size you are now.

How do you decide whether or not to keep the dream & its associated objects in your life? Rather than trying to decide about a particular object, come at it from the other angle; what are your dreams now? Take some time, give yourself permission to imagine anything, and see where your heart is leading you. The book Wishcraft by Barbara Sher is a great guide to this process. Decide what really matters to you, where you really want to be heading, and then look again at the dream duty objects taking up space in your home. If those things aren't part of your top goals, get them out of your way. Again, as with souvenirs, acknowledge who you were when you dreamed those dreams and allow yourself to be someone different now. Sometimes you'll find your dreams have changed, that's the easier situation to deal with. The hard one is when you still have the dream but it just doesn't seem realistic. You may still want to be a ballerina, but if you're about to celebrate your 40th birthday, you may have to figure out what part of that dream held the most appeal and how you can get that without having to trade yourself in for a body 20 years younger. Wishcraft is helpful with this dilemma as well.

Whatever the reason for having objects you don't want or need crowding your life, one of the best gifts you can give yourself is the ability to let things go. Put your energy where it counts: in making your dreams real and in living a less stressful life. There is one more question to ask: What could you be doing or feeling if all this stuff wasn't in the way?

WHERE TO START?

Most of us are busy people, busy with work, busy with play, busy with our communities and friends and families. We look at our homes and think "Oh my goodness, there is no way I can get this clutter under control without spending weeks working on it full time!" It's so easy to be overwhelmed by the seemingly vast distance between the way things are now in your life and the calm, clear, open life we'd like to be enjoying.

Sarah wrote:

I have a tiny house, and 3 generations worth of clutter. I need an action plan, especially as it's getting hot and I'm longing for long breezy vistas. Any game plan on where to start in the house? Has anyone here tried removing Everything from a room and putting things in from scratch?
I think taking everything single thing out of a room could just wind up being an enormous chore at the end of a day of which you might have one mostly empty room and the rest of the house worse off than when you started. However, the underlying idea is a good one.

There is a tremendous power in having a space where you can relax and not be bothered by the sight of undone chores and random junk. That island of sanity can be your goal and, soon, your touchstone for the kind of life you want to be living.

The first place to start is in stillness at your favorite time of day. Turn off the tv and the radio. If you share your home, get the other residents in on the project or out of your way. Set down whatever you're holding. Just walk through your house looking not at the clutter, but at the spaces, at the light. See through the contents to the place. Is there a view through a window which you particularly like? or a special corner where the sunlight makes patterns and warmth? a quiet corner or a central spot in the action which you love? We're not talking about remodeling here, so begin with the bones and breath of your existing space. Find the place that matters most to you and begin with that. Getting the clutter and chaos out of your life is hard; you deserve a big reward right up front.

Now, if it makes you feel good and pampered, get yourself a drink - cup of good tea, glass of wine, hot cocoa, whatever pleases your sense of smell and taste - and put on some of your favorite music to please your ears.

Look at your chosen space. What is keeping you from enjoying it to the fullest right now? Maybe the right furniture isn't there. If it's going to be your reading nook and there's no chair and no good lamp and no handy bookcase, that's got to change. If it's going to be your writing space and there's a tv where your desk ought to be, that's won't do at all. Or maybe the furniture is there, but it's crowded in by other furniture, knick knacks, magazines and flotsam.

In either case, some things have to change. Take a look at this suggestion I gave to someone planning to move and perform that kind of sweep on just your chosen area. Instead of "Unpack First", label a box "Better Place" for things that you still want out somewhere, just not here. Instead of "Unpack Soon", label a box "Storage" and today's date. Instead of "Borderline", label a box "Keep?". "Charity" is still a good name for the last box. Remember: the goal is to clear your chosen space. If you can't decide about something, put it in the "Keep?" box.
When you're done, tape the "Storage" box(es) closed. If in two years, they're still taped closed, you should open them and transfer everything in them to trash, recycling or charity. Maybe there's some old family heirloom that goes back into a box with a new date, but if you haven't even looked at this stuff in two years, odds are good you don't really want it. (By the way, if you think you might want something out of that storage box, or you have a lot of them, go ahead and write contents on the side. It's much easier to read boxes than to open them at random and paw through them).

Move the "Better Place" and "Keep?" boxes to somewhere else in the house. Unpacking them will be your next project after you have your lovely chosen space.

Now look at your new territory again. Better, yes? Does it have the wrong furniture in it? This is the time to start doing your furniture rearranging - not before you got rid of the clutter, you see, because if you get bogged down now at least you got that crap out of the way and you've made some progress. Also, if you're moving furniture out of the way here - whether to another room or to storage or out to the curb - before you bring the proper furniture in, clean up your chosen space. Dust, sweep, wipe down. Make it not just uncluttered, but fresh.

If you don't have exactly the right piece of furniture yet, see if you have something close to serve as a placeholder for what you really want. Partway to your dream is still a good direction to be heading.

Say now, look at that. Your space.

Enjoy it. Defend it against encroachment. Start your housecleaning here so that it's always the nicest spot. From this new castle you will plan your next campaign, or maybe just have the peace of mind to ignore the rest of the mess for a while.

THE SEASON OF GIVING (BUT NOT NECESSARILY SHOPPING):

Around about the week before Thanksgiving, the pressure starts. The ads begin to suggest "the perfect gift for the such & such on your list". The list is assumed. Of course everyone has a List. Everyone must be buying. Then that post-turkey Friday comes and the frenzy in the stores begins.

The crowds. The sensory overload of enforced commercial festivity. "Bring on the cheer, dammit!" seems to be the underlying messsage of the barrage of Christmas music, holiday movie promotions, and red & green advertising plastered on every surface. Sometimes it seems like you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a Santa (and as December barrels on, the tempation to do so grows).

O, and let's not forget the family pressures. Whether or not anyone in our own families applies it, pop culture is more than ready to step in with the traditional holiday guilt. "Welcome to December; here's your script; you know your parts; it's magic time! And as our sponsor would like to remind you, magic means presents! So shop 'til you drop! Charge it! After all, doesn't your family deserve a joyous holiday season?"

There is no time of year more likely to run us all ragged than the holidays. It's not as though family tensions disappear; if anything, all the pressure to be the perfect holly jolly scene makes things worse. And I don't know about your financial state of affairs, but I don't come to the end of the year thinking "Wow! Look at all this extra money! I think I'll buy some nice stuff for my folks." Like me, you've probably felt pressured to overspend at this time of year before and had a lean winter paying it back.

Well, I tell you, holiday gift buying is optional. It is possible to have a happy family gathering without breaking the bank. You can have a blessed season without shattering your peace of mind.

You don't have to buy presents. Really. You just don't have to. Most people don't need more stuff and no one needs more debt. There are lots of alternatives to the holiday shopping madness, many other ways to remind people you care about them. Maybe something for the kids, but, again, you don't have to break the bank to spread that holiday cheer.
First and foremost, tell them you care. Write them a note, call them on the phone, bump into them at line in the grocery store, whatever, but just say "You know, I am so glad to have you in my life." Maybe suggest you get together sometime, maybe after the holidays when things aren't so busy, but even if you just let them know that you appreciate them, you can give something much greater than some hastily selected present.

There are many other kinds of gifts which won't strain your credit or leave you frazzled:

- cooked or crafted things which you actually enjoy making

My friend Kristin makes the most wonderful holiday cookies, but the best part is the conversation we have while I'm nibbling on those tasty treats from her kitchen.

- homemade gift certificates for future fun together

I have had tremendous fun making up little books of these certificates for someone special. Each one becomes a shared dream of a good time I want to have together. The words "A walk in the woods with the smell of damp earth and redwoods and the sound of the wind in the treetops" are already something special, made even better when you both make the time to make the dream real.

- mix CDs (of music or photos)

I've been introduced to lots of great music this way, especially by my Uncle Larry and my friend Shannon. Okay, maybe I wind up spending some of that money I saved on gifts buying the albums with a song I particularly liked, but now every time I hear that music I think of the person who first shared their fondness for it with me.

- donations to charities (monetary or, if you have more time than cash, your time in honor of someone else)

My grandmother has a tradition of giving us Heifer Project gifts, which means we get all the amusement of receiving a goat, without the actual goat in the house part.

- memories

Last year my family began "unwrapping" memories for each other. Everyone took turns at telling a favorite memory of each other person. Those stories reminded us of others and it was a lovely way to spend time together.

As I enter my holiday vacation time, I have to say that this year the biggest gift my family has given me is freedom from obligation. We decided at Thanksgiving that we wouldn't shop for presents this year. Being able to pass through the hectic month December without that pressure has been truly wonderful. We'll have stockings - even my grandmother, who's almost 90, likes to open her stocking on Christmas morning - but those are little fun things, no pressure. This year the real gift and the real focus is being together.

INTERNAL CLUTTER:

Discardia isn't just about things. You can build up too much of intangible stuff you don't need as well. Personally I've found that it's harder to get my head clear when my house is a chaotic mess, but if you need to tackle the head first, just go for a walk and get yourself somewhere you can sit and think for a bit.

I recommend the beach, but a hillside, park or quiet corner at the museum can do the job as well. Go where you won't hear other people's conversations or see any advertisments.

Sit and be still.

Do nothing.

Pull yourself out of your head and into a quiet space.

Then, when you've slowed yourself down and gotten out of your workaday brainrace, take a look at what's taking up your mental space.

Are you angry? What needs to happen for you to let go of that upset feeling? Anger burns up an enormous amount of energy. If something was wrong, why should it deserve one more minute of your time? Write a letter, schedule some counseling, forgive someone or yourself, but let it go and move on.

Are you sad? Depressed? That's a tough space to get out of. You can't just "make happy" or let that one go so easily. There are some good techniques to loosen depression's hold on you. Get active. Every day spend at least half an hour walking or gardening and being aware of your surroundings. Get involved. Do something regularly to help other people. Volunteer once a month at a soup kitchen or the library. Help a senior or ill person in your neighborhood with errands or groceries. Get aware of the good times. Keep a journal and be sure to write in it when times are good as well as when they're bad. Depression can make it seem like things will be bad from here on out, but depression is a liar and it helps to be able to see your cycles.

Are you worried and fretful? Watch out for worrying about multiple incompatible outcomes and thinking you'll have to have the strength to weather them all. Remember that the best way to get yourself through future hardship is not to make yourself a wreck right now. For each worry, find one small tangible thing you can do to make it less likely or less harmful should it become real. Remember you don't have to solve everything all at once. A step in the right direction is a good thing and better than being a deer in the headlights.

Are you bored and lethargic? Sometimes it's a retreat from stress elsewhere in your life, sometimes it's frustration causing you to give up and be a lump, but boredom is definitely a trap you build yourself and it can be the easiest to escape. The cure is to stop doing that kind of doing nothing where your mind isn't still. Turn off the television. Cover it up and pretend you don't have one. Don't turn on the computer if your form of ennui involves mindless surfing and evenings lost to unsatisfying chats. Make something. Write a letter, you know, on paper. Go spend time with someone old. Ask them to tell you about their favorite things to do when they were in their teens. Learn to cook. Reconnect with one old friend every day for a week. Just keep yourself from wasting time in the unfulfilling ways that have become a habit and remember that you have good options.

What else fills your head that you're ready to part with? How can you sweep it out the door and get on with the good stuff?

GETTING TO THE HAPPY HOME:

I've been practicing discardia for several years now and am now reaping significant benefits. My home is light, airy, uncluttered and comforting. Waking in it or returning after being away gives me an immediate sense of my load being lightened. Living in it is restorative.

I did not achieve this in one blow, but by gradual steps. Here are some of them:

1. I picked a place to live which was the right underlying canvas for the home I want: lots of windows, wood floors, white walls, views of greenery from the windows.

2. I moved in with everything I own, a small amount of which went into the basement, but most was arranged around my 6 spaces (kitchen, living/dining room, entry/hallway, bathroom, bedroom, and "the other room") and 2 small closets. Having it all out where I can see it allows me to start evaluating what I want and what is no longer part of the life I want to be living.

3. I immediately began watching for things to change. This is what makes the difference. Keep an eye out for a change you can make which would improve a space and then - here's the important bit - do it. Some examples:

* My downstairs neighbor, a likeable but crotchity old guy, makes strange harrumphing noises late at night or talks loudly on the phone sometimes and I can hear it through the floor of my bedroom. Solution: swap my initial arrangement of bedroom & "other room" and get a real bed instead of a futon (which puts my ear too close to the floor). Now my space feels much more private.

* I have a lot of paper-based projects I want to do (e.g. going through old writing & pictures & souvenirs and putting some of it into my weblog) and these tend to look pretty cluttered. Solution: shop around for a while until I find a good, affordable office armoire so that I can have workspace where things can be left spread out, but the doors can be closed so I only look at it when I want to.

* I want to be able to have friends over for dinner, but I don't have any dining room furniture. I don't need anything fancy - a casual cottage style suits my taste - so second hand would be fine, especially since after buying the office armoire and the bedroom drawers, I have spent my household budget for a while. Solution: share my hopes and dreams with friends; it turned out that a couple of my best friends had a table and 3 chairs in their basement that they didn't need. It's now at my place on indefinite loan and has been getting lots of use. A great bonus once I had it turned out to be that I pulled a lot of old boardgames out of storage and have had good times playing with friends.

4. I prepared for discardia. Set up a recycling bag for papers (not just newspapers but all kinds of paper clutter to be purged) and move things to it as soon as you know you don't want them; sort the mail over this bag. Set up a "charity" bag and put non-trash, non-recycling, non-sell stuff in it as soon as you think "why do I still have this?". Let things get on to a new life. If you have things to get rid of which are going to be easy to sell or trade (and the work to do that will be worth it) also set up bags or boxes for those books, clothes, etc. Note: be sure to develop a good sense of what will be wanted at, say, your local Buffalo Exchange or Crossroads Trading Company. I've learned that I'm not enough of a brand-name clothes buyer to have much of interest to them. For me, it's usually not worth the hassle and I just donate old clothes to charity.

5. I purge whenever I can. Heading on an errand near Goodwill? Grab that bag even if it isn't full and get it gone. Feel like puttering in book or CD stores? How about going to the one that trades and see if they'll take the things you're ready to part with. Before you leave the house be sure to look up the nearest library to the store so you can donate anything not taken for trade. You'll scratch your browsing itch, get more junk out of your house, do good, and maybe even get some books or records without spending any money.

After time, you'll find like me that you've carved away the stuff you don't want in your life and added a few special things you do - as the Craftsman motto says "Have nothing in your home which is not beautiful or useful or both". Now you can more easily spot the fewer remaining things you want to change and it's easier to do the things which keep the place nice. For example, I just felt like a little bit of something to nibble on and walked from my bedroom to the kitchen. Here's what happened along the way (I've bolded the special things added to my life):

I got off the cozy bed where I'd been sitting comfortably with my Apple 12" Powerbook G4 laptop computer writing this post. I noticed I'd not put away the clothes I removed last night and took a moment to put the clean ones away and toss the dirty ones in my hamper, two handmade baskets from Ghana which I ordered from Novica. I walked past my bookcase in the hall to the bright sunny living room and then into the kitchen, stepping from smooth wood floor to pleasing bright green carpet from Flor (which now covers the ugly old linoleum). Looking out the window, over trees to the city beyond, I put away a few dry dishes from the chrome dishrack and then noticing no fresh fruit in the shiny wire fruit basket, I took a little fruit leather pack from my well-stocked cupboard and nibbled that as I wandered back to the Other Room. This has served as guest room, project space and office, hence it's rather generic name. After having a studio apartment, the luxury of that extra flexible space is well worth the extra rent. On the way back through the living room I pulled the small, cheerful, sage green sofa out from the wall an inch or so to prevent the back edge getting crunched and slid my grandparents' coffee table back into alignment in front of it. All ready for lounging again! In the Other Room I didn't have any particular plan, I just looked. And noticed the little stack of 2 books and a VHS video I had set aside to donate to the library. Aha! I picked them up and put them at the top of the stairs with the video and book I intend to return to the library today. Then I picked up my laptop again and came back through the house writing this account from the top of my bedroom dresser, the kitchen counter, and now sitting at the dining table looking at my beautiful view and listening to a favorite album from childhood in iTunes.

Give yourself a life you'll love. It just takes lots of little steps and being careful not to buy things that aren't part of that life.

DISCARDIAN QUESTION OF THE DAY #1:

Who would really appreciate this?

If the answer is "Me" then keep it, otherwise send it on to a better home with good wishes.

LEARNING FROM THE WORLD:

I had the good fortune this year to travel to Africa. My company decided to send me there for a few days for business and I immediately scheduled a three week vacation around those commitments. It was a wonderful journey and I met great people and saw amazing sights. I also learned some discardian lessons.

The first lesson: You Need Less Than You Think

Because I would be going on a safari with a very limited amount of personal storage space, I had to work out how to do the entire trip out of one 24 inch duffel bag and my small laptop bag. Fortunately, the conference was before the camping safari, so I was able to acquire some clothes that look good and are wrinkle resistant enough for meeting a group of customers and yet comfortable and rugged enough for 3 weeks of subsequent touring.

Layers make you flexible when it comes to clothes. I had an assortment of things that worked well together and allowed me to cope with both African afternoons in the 80s and freezing London nights.

You really can fit enough clothes in a tiny duffel. I brought one dress, 2 pairs of slacks (1 wool, 1 lighter weight), a pair of those safari pants that the legs can zip off to turn them into shorts, a few short sleeve shirts, a few long sleeve shirts, half a dozen socks and undies, a pair of stretch pants that could be worn under the dress or the pants to warm things up, and a big heavy wool jacket. Many of the clothes were deliberately chosen to be quick-drying and I usually did a bit of hand-washing every few nights. I brought one pair of shoes: sporty-stylish walking shoes in a cheerful red color. Cute enough to work with the conference clothes and sturdy enough to get me through all my adventures. This was just the right amount of clothing for my month away. Now I'm looking at my next year of clothing buying and thinking how I could simplify my closets by focusing them a bit and getting more out of less.

Lesson #2: Most of the Rest of the World Gets By On Less Than You Can Imagine

After visiting the home of a woman in an informal settlement in Soweto and chatting with her as she cooked on a paraffin stove in her two-room jury-rigged shack, the quantity of stuff I have in my apartment alarms me. And I've been consciously reducing my belongings over the last few years!

Miriam didn't have many things, but everything she had had a purpose. Her home was painfully simple - and I do hope that she'll soon realize her dream of moving into a more solid home, perhaps even with plumbing in the house - but she had put her heart into it and made it clean and cheerful. Her wallpaper was crafted from bright green wrappers from some household product and the exterior was painted gaily. The dirt floor was scrupulously swept and a few plants were growing in her yard.

Visiting Miriam's house and a girl's orphanage near Nairobi and a Maasai village made it very clear that it is not number or newness of possessions which make a home happy. The corollary to this lesson is You Need What You Need, But You Don't Need Much More Than You Need

Lesson #3: Compared to Most of the Rest of the World, I'm Rich

This one's pretty obvious and yet I find myself realizing how much I'd taken for granted the luxury of a solid, non-leaky house, of indoor toilets, of a fuel supply and plentiful clean water piped right into the house, of a great variety of fresh foods, and of clean clothes in good condition. These are incredible treasures and the most essential of them is sanitation. In many places I visited the women must spend a large part of their day walking to gather water and firewood. When that eats so much of their time, they have less ability to spend effort on other household or community activities or on their businesses. Toilets and pumps may not be romantic, but they are some of the most effective tools to change people's quality of life, and particularly women's lives.

As I begin appreciating what I have more, buying fewer new things and getting rid of things I don't need, it makes it easier to afford (or notice I could already afford) to contribute to other people's quality of life. Sometimes that bit of money comes from skipping something I realize isn't really worth spending my money on. (Never getting into wearing makeup sure has saved me a lot of money over the years!) Sometimes it comes from acknowledging that something brings me enough pleasure that I really should invest for the long term in it. Once you do the math you may figure out that ad hoc purchases are actually costing you a lot more than you really need to spend. (Hey, coffee drinkers, do you love the ritual enough that perhaps you should get that nice espresso machine and a couple bottles of Torani syrup and quit buying those cups of "fourbucks" coffee, hmm? And you bestseller readers, you know the library has them too and you can often reserve them online in advance? And city dwellers, do you really need to own a car? I find I save hundreds of dollars a month by using public transit, taxis, City Carshare, and the occasional rental for a weekend away.) Think about where your money goes and where you want it to be going.

Stranded with van (and car) troubles

When one has a blog with many followers, I feel that the blogger has an unspoken responsibility to keep posting things frequently. That is why when a week goes by without any posts, I feel awful that I have not been fulfilling my duties as a website operator! It has just been really hard for me to get online for the past week since my time has been overwhelmingly occupied with more vehicle repair issues. I'm about ready to pull my own hair out! (off the subject, but speaking of hair, I trimmed my own hair again the other day, just for the heck of it - and just so you know, I am forever thrilled to finally be able to cut my own hair!)

Anyway,

I really do consider vehicle maintenance and repair costs to be my own form of rent, so I don't want to complain about them too much. and I will say that I am highly grateful not to have any additional rent or housing costs to deal with anymore. It is just that lately vehicle repairs have really been adding up and hitting me all at once, so I have become very much aware of the financial cost associated with having a vehicle - more specifically, the financial cost associated with having two vehicles.

So here is what's been going on. I had been leaving my van parked in a regular driveway lately (without really driving it) for several reasons... I don't want the road salt to eat away at my vanagon more than it already has (I still need to slow down that rust), plus my coolant light has been coming on (and staying on) every time I take it for a drive. It isn't leaking coolant anymore, but the light stays on and the temperature goes up when it idles. I am not sure what to do at this point, and it is still too cold outside to mess with it. So. I parked my van (using it as a temporarily non-mobile house), and I put insurance back on my zippy little Ford so that I could drive that around in the meantime. I bought that car back in 2002 and have had it parked at my mom's house for awhile (with a trickle charger on the battery) since I couldn't bear to get rid of it, even after several catastrophic fender benders (that were not my fault). I was thrilled to drive my car around again, and it was driving great until it recently started making several awful noises.

To make a long story short, my corroded & rusted-on brakes and rotors turned into a several day, 64.00 project (hadn't been done since 2004!). Then I had to get my front, left wheel bearing replaced (175.00 - needed to be done at a repair shop with a hydraulic press), and now I have discovered that my two rear coil springs are both broken and need to be replaced (225.00). All that just so I can drive my Ford around for the summer and use my van as a home base while I am getting things fixed up on it. I still want to invest lots of money and time into my vanagon in order to fix the coolant issue, replace the seals around all the front windows (water has been leaking in), hook up a 2nd battery system, replace the bad power steering lines, and several other smaller projects to make my vanagon the ultimate home. I just feel like the repair bills are hitting me all at once, so this is just me venting for a little while and letting you know that I think about this blog every day and want to write so much more than I have been.

I will get back on track with posting, I just needed to take some time to breathe, absorb all these repairs, be ok with them, and proceed with other more important things. I just hate being stranded, especially since my van is currently parked in a different town than the one I am stranded in. That makes for a pretty disheartening situation, especially when it is cold outside. I have been cranking thru stuff on my endlessly long to-do list (I never get bored...), but I still feel like I've been basically sitting around indoors, without Internet access, waiting. Waiting for my car to get fixed (which it still needs new coil springs) and waiting for the weather to get warmer so that I can work on my van. I will admit that being stranded in my hometown area is definitely a plus, but when I don't have my van around, I kind of start to feel homeless. Homeless is not fun, but vandwelling is. I remain convinced that vandwelling is the best life ever, even with colossal repair expenses. Vehicle repair expenses are still much less than a monthly mortgage, rent payment, water bill, gas bill, electric bill, trash bill, and house repairs. No question about it.

Closing My Cafepress Store... (Soon)

Just a quick note to say that I have literally slashed the prices at my Falia Photography Online Store with Cafepress: www.cafepress.com/falia ... I have lowered them to the absolute lowest prices possible, (only a 1.00 or 2.00 markup from the Cafepress base price), just in case anyone wants to purchase anything before I close the store at the end of April.

Several people have asked me what I thought about using Cafepress, since anyone can use it to sell their artwork or photos on different products, and I figure that this is a good time to share my opinions since I am finally planning to close up shop.

Pros:
1. Cafepress is very easy to use
2. You can make a very nice looking store
3. You can put an unlimited amount of designs on many different interesting products
4. You can add whatever price markup you would like to earn on top of their "base price" for each item
5. You don't have to create or ship the items (Cafepress does it all for you). Just upload your pics

Cons:
1. It costs 5.00 per month to have a nice store that contains various items
2. Their "base price" is pretty high on most of the items, so in order to have a reasonable overall price, your markup (amount you earn) ends up being pretty low. Putting a high markup over the "base price" (in order to earn more) creates some pretty outrageously priced products.

Overall, it really is fun to have the store with Cafepress, and I have sold a few things, but I really just don't make enough to pay for the cost of having the store in the first place. To be honest, when people put money in my tip jar, in helps way more than when I sell something on Cafepress. Cafepress makes most of the money, while I just earn the markup that I place on each item.

I plan to leave my Falia Photography Online Store only open for one more month, but don't worry, this site will stay up and running, and closing my Cafepress store won't affect anything here. The money that the store brought in just didn't pay for the cost (financially or time-wise) to keep it going...

Besides, I know that money is tight for everyone right now, and I really cannot imagine paying 15.00 for a pair of boxer shorts, 18.00 for a small pet bowl, or even 20.00 for a tote bag! (I've lowered the tote to 16.00, but still!?) I would rather dedicate my time to offering people more reasonably priced items, or, even better, a bit of knowledge. I mean, I live in a van, and instead of using my photographs to try to sell things like household coffee-table books or coasters, I want to promote products and actions that encourage a mobile lifestyle. Of course I would love for people to buy my photography, but I do believe that people should be saving their money, paying off their debt, and buying necessities such as food or shelter (aka: their own van!) :-)

My Cafepress store is currently the only place where I've got all my photos together in one online location, so since I will be closing that site, I am going to try and figure out a different way to share my photos with you. Ideally, I would like to create an informative book, perhaps with an archive of this site, plus various van-dwelling tips and photographs.. (or something similar). But for now I will probably just watermark all my photos and move them to a new site or online album. Not sure yet. Gotta think more about that first.

Again, my plan is to close the online doors of my Falia Photography Online Store in one month, at the end of April. I will still be taking & sharing photos, but I just know for now that Cafepress will sadly have to go. I do apologize that the prices are still high, even at their lowest, but I will eventually let everyone know what I decide to do next about sharing (or selling) my photos. As I said above, I do encourage people to only spend their money on useful items and save their money (thus encouraging the closing of my online store), but I will also say that any tips that are given to my site (via the Paypal button) are always greatly appreciated :)

By the way, I received an email about a cash job, cleaning a house, that I had applied for about one year ago, last April. Ironically, the lady didn't end up needing help last year, but she said she does need help for this upcoming summer, and she wondered if I was still available. Hmm. Funny how things work out! So, after a few conversations back and forth, I've somehow ended up with a cottage cleaning job for this summer, and I'm going to see if I can rig up several more. Yippee!!