A Journey to Simplicity

Comcast Blocks MagicJack!

2011-02-24T16:52:00.001-06:00

Note to my fellow MagicJack users: Comcast has blocked you according to MagicJack customer support.

I went to use my MagicJack this morning and discovered that it would not connect to the internet, and I could not even access the MagicJack webpage!

My Google Voice phone worked so I used it to call my sister, another MagicJack user who is fortunately NOT on Comcast. She contacted Customer Service and was informed that Comcast is indeed BLOCKING access to the website and use of the device!

They have a workaround however. In order to reach as many people as I can I have placed the link and info here. Please share this link with your friends!

The solution works; I have placed and received several test calls on my MagicJack after installing the software.

Peace,
Annie

Don’t Quit

2011-02-21T16:52:00.001-06:00

I have now discovered that it will be cheaper to leave almost everything here than it will be to move it, so I guess I’ll be going extreme in the Minimalist Department, at least for a while.

While looking for encouragement, I stumbled upon this poem. No idea who wrote it, but I feel the need to share:

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

No matter what life throws your way, just remember that as long as you keep trying it will all be okay. Just hang in there, okay?

Changes

2011-02-19T01:52:00.001-06:00

My life is undergoing some changes. A move, to where I’m not sure and into what I don’t know.

Thank Goodness I’m a minimalist. That means that I won’t have much crap to move.

I would explain it all but frankly I’m beat. I’ve been ranting and stressing on the other blog for a couple of days and thought I would come over here and rant but I’m just too dog-gone tired.

Anyhow, you can check out the other posts if you want to know what happened and why I have to move—and my options. I’m just too beat to wrap my head around it all…

At times I wish life would stop throwing me this crap, but if it did what would I have to write about?

Nite,
Annie

Homemade Dishwashing Liquid

2011-02-09T10:00:00.000-06:00

I finally got around to posting a video about my homemade dishwashing liquid. It costs about fifty cents to make a whole gallon, which is a lot less than what you pay in the store.

Homemade dishwashing liquid

For more tips and recipes like this check out my book The Minimalist Cleaning Method available on Smashwords and Amazon.

Did Everett Bogue Kill Minimalism?

2011-01-28T22:23:00.001-06:00

Hello all!

As you may have heard, Everett has left the building after declaring Minimalism dead. This may leave some wondering if he is correct. In order to reach the widest audience possible with the answer to this question I placed it on Associated Content by Yahoo. The link is below:

Did Everett Bogue Kill Minimalism? - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

Peace,
Annie

How to Make a Gallon of Liquid Laundry Soap

2011-01-10T19:44:00.001-06:00

Hello all!

I have finally done it: today I made my very first video tutorial. This video gives step by step instructions how to make a single gallon of liquid laundry soap.

The reason I chose this subject is that while there are several recipes for enormous batches of liquid laundry soap, you rarely find any for smaller batches.

This recipe makes a single gallon of cleaner, perfect for those who don’t have space for a larger batch, or for minimalists who do not wish to make up more than they can use in a reasonable amount of time.

If you enjoy the video and would like more frugally minimalist recipes, please download a free sample of my ebook The Minimalist Cleaning Method available on Smashwords.

Update: There is a 25% off coupon on that book good until the end of January 2011: Just use the code MV35U at the checkout.

Simplicity Recap of 2010

2011-01-01T16:22:00.001-06:00

I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for hanging in there and keeping up with this blog.

While I no longer add to this blog regularly, I wanted to update you on what has been going on with my life since I opened Annienygma.com.

For a while I didn’t pare down as much as I used to; part if it has been winter blues, while part has been the fact that I reached a plateau.

With the end of the year nigh, I did eliminate some stained shirts, old books and software, and a lot more digital clutter with the unexpected death of my big hard drive. My closet actually has room to shift items around now, I am wearing my better quality clothes (that had been buried behind my worn out casual ones), and I think that soon I may be able to transfer my pants to hangers and free up two drawers in my bedroom!

Spending Money to Save Time

I have decided that sometimes you need to spend some money to save time and make things easier; my computers now are all running Windows 7 with Microsoft Office as a result. Having the same operating system on all of my computers will make maintenance easier, and Microsoft Office has saved me hours already when I go to create and submit articles online. Something about OpenOffice forces me to spend a lot of time fixing strange errors whenever I upload articles, so that alone has saved me a lot of time. Also, I am now reading all of my emails in Outlook now instead of visiting the individual websites; the use of IMAP enables me to keep my emails synchronized online, so I still have the ability to read my emails anywhere, but now instead of going from site to site to check all of those accounts Outlook takes care of it in the background. It even handles Twitter, enabling me to send and receive my tweets while I’m checking email, saving me from having to visit yet another site.

All of my blogging is now done in Windows Live, meaning that I can blog to any of my accounts at will with just a few clicks; as a result I will try to update this and my other blogs more often.

I feel like a traitor to Linux by switching so completely to Microsoft products, but the current round of software does everything I need and does it well, so for the sake of simplifying my life I am switching entirely over to Windows, at least for a few years. I’m not giving up on Linux entirely; I still plan to play with it, just not use it in a production setting.

I’m sorry Linux, but you don’t have the integration capabilities or the ease of use that I require at this point in my life.

For a detailed summary of 2010, please visit this post on my main site. I tried to cover everything that I could think of in there.

Well, I’m off to explore more of 2011. I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful year in store!

Peace,
Annie

A Great Minimalist Cookbook

2010-10-12T21:35:00.001-05:00

Here lately I've been trying the recipes in this Minimalist Cooking ebook by Meg Wolfe. This book has totally blown me away!

It covers the basics about setting up a simple, minimal kitchen that has everything you need but none of the gadgets you buy and never use and has nice recipes that even a dummy like me can follow--recipes that actually include meat!

Well, a lot of minimalist cookbooks are vegan, which is fine I guess but humans are omnivores and I like meat dishes!

I have made the no-knead bread, apple crisp, macaroni and cheese, roast vegetables and even fixed steaks by borrowing from her roast beef recipe. Everything turned out delicious and I haven't cooked so much in ages!

If you buy one cookbook this year, buy this book. These are affiliate links so your purchase will benefit this site.

I have read a lot of cookbooks in my desire to become a decent cook, and this is one of two that actually gave me good all-around recipes that I can use that don't ask for crazy stuff! I don't know about you, but I get tired of cookbooks that are all about stuff I wouldn't eat in a million years!

3-Day Minimalist Book Sale

2010-10-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

I am honored to be included in Karol Gajda's 3-day Minimalist Book Sale event. He has assembled 27 Guides, a value of $224.54, together for a combined price of $27!

This sale is for only 3 days, and a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit Kiva.org.

For more information on the wonderful books included in this sale, click here.

Minimalist Book Sale

2010-09-28T12:05:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

Karol Gajda has brought a bunch of us minimalists together to raise money for Kiva by selling a huge bundle of Minimalist books.

There are numerous titles available, including my work "The Minimalist Cleaning Method."

Also included are works by Meg Wolfe, Josh Becker, Everett Bogue, Tammy Strobel, and others.

This whole bundle will be selling for $27, and Karol is donating the first 24 hours of profit directly to Kiva.

For more information about the sale, including a list of contributors and titles, please visit this link.

I'm still alive!

2010-09-09T13:39:00.000-05:00

I've been focusing on the other blog as of late, and I have posted a couple of things that may be of interest to readers here.

I wrote a post about why every single parent should be a minimalist, detailing reasons in a frank manner. I wrote about the book Simply Car Free, written by Tammy Strobel and my last post is titled Housing and the Single Parent.

I have figured out something; I have figured out that I am not alone in the fact that I am a single parent, but that I am unusual in how I manage to live and afford to care for my daughter.

I am not alone in the fact that I want to be home more for my kid, and am willing to do what it takes to be not only the best parent that I can be, but to look for ways to control expenses and work from home so that I have to leave my kids as little as possible.

This means using a combination of minimalism, simplicity, frugality and creativity to not only stretch the budget you already have, but to come up with nontraditional income streams. I think it is time I change my focus from generic minimalism, simplicity and frugality to a more specific "how these things help a single parent thrive."

My sister is going to be the main contributor on the frugality blog; she is the crafty one of the two of us and has a gift for making things on a shoestring. I will post there if I have anything really frugal to share and I will post here when I can.

I don't want you to think I ran out on you; I am in the process of simplifying my life and pursuing my dreams, and this process has resulted in a bit of change and the new site, which will be my permanent home.

I copied all of the posts there (except for these new ones) for the sake of posterity; I didn't want to take any chances of losing all of these posts. These new ones will stay here and live or die as they will.

I hope you will come and visit the new blog and say hello. I would love to see you there!

How to Write and Sell an Ebook

2010-08-26T23:28:00.000-05:00

Okay, I really want to be in bed right now, but the Muse wouldn't leave me alone. She drove me nuts when I went to lay down with the idea for this ebook. She decided she wasn't leaving me alone until I wrote it, so I have been playing unwilling secretary to a happy muse ever since.

It is a good book. It takes you step by step through the ebook creation process, from choosing your subject, to writing it down (even if you don't have a computer), to marketing it, promoting it and getting others to sell if for you!

For more information click here to visit my store. Price of the book is $9.95 and delivery is instant.

There, the muse is finally happy now, so I'm going back to bed. Nite all!

Still Going

2010-08-23T10:22:00.000-05:00

I worked on the new site for about 17 hours straight yesterday. Then I wake up on my own at 9 a.m. this morning after hoping I would sleep in.

So anyway, I'm back at it once again. I've got the posts from some of my other blogs moved in, and plan to start importing the posts from this blog today.

I had no idea I had posted so much, but that is okay--I will get it all taken care of! Until I get everything imported and set up right it will be a little crazy, but it is going to be worth it.

So please check out my latest post on Annienygma.com and let me know what you think of the place so far. I would really appreciate your comments!

I really feel like I've went over the rainbow with all of this!

A New Home

2010-08-22T23:03:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

I have finally found my new home. I guess you could say it was never really lost, I just didn't have to guts to go grab it. Instead I have been playing around trying to work up my nerve.

Last night I got almost no sleep thinking about this. I knew I could continue to play and dream and not go anywhere, or I could start slogging and fighting toward grabbing that shooting star. That was one of the reasons I worked so hard on my ebook, and why I have continued to read and research until well into the morning as of late.

So this morning I got up and did it. I signed up to start my website, Annienygma.com.

One benefit to you the reader is that you won't have to be slogging through all of my blogs to read what I've been up to; I've got the new one set up where I can write it as I live it, and categorize it so that if certain subjects bore you they can be skipped by going through the categories.

Another benefit is the fact that you won't have to worry about remembering this insanely long address anymore, all you have to do is remember my name.

I won't have to worry about the Gods at Google erasing my blog for some mysterious reason. I've heard they like to do that sometimes. I plan to move over all of the posts to the new home as time allows.

This will simplify my life some as well as allow me to chase my dreams. After all, those dreams are why I'm working so hard to simplify and minimlize to begin with.

It is my hope that you will come to visit my new home and say hello. I would love to see you there!

Practice What I Preach

2010-08-20T17:36:00.002-05:00

One of the recipes in my ebook "The Minimalist Cleaning Method" is for a minimalist mouth rinse, or mouthwash if you will. It is a simple recipe that has been recommended by dentists for infected gums and things for ages. In fact, it was the same mouth rinse we used as kids on occasion.

I haven't used this recipe in a long time, honestly. I have been using commercial mouth rinses instead.

When I ran out of mouthwash yesterday I decided it was time I walked the talk on this subject and filled the bottle with the recipe from my childhood:

1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup of water

I mixed this up and placed it beside the sink to use instead of the expensive mouth rinses of the past. This step alone will save me several dollars over the brand-name mouth rinse I have purchased for years.

It's not as pretty or as tasty as that sugar-sweetened colored liquid, but it is minimalistic and it does the job just as well.

There are recipes for other mouth rinses in the ebook, but this one was my old tried and true favorite, the one my dad would mix up and fill our mouth wash bottles with so routinely as a kid. I think the only time we ever bought mouth wash was when family was coming to visit--I think he was afraid of being thought too cheap!

I don't care what people think of me or my choice of mouth rinse. It is effective, minimalistic and very frugal. Have you ever tried it?

Living Out Of A Hard Drive

2010-08-19T10:17:00.000-05:00

I found this article on BBC today about some who credit digital technology to allowing them to practice extreme minimalism.

My computer and digital technology has enabled me to reduce my possessions an extreme amount. My laptop serves as my telephone, my television, my stereo, my bookshelf and a myriad of other items. I am not ready to toss a few clothes in my backpack and head out, however!

I read about some like this and I wonder if there is a line between minimalism and asceticism. What is the point of having so little if you must struggle to perform everyday tasks like cook food?

I Emptied a Drawer Today

2010-08-18T14:06:00.000-05:00

In my kitchen are four drawers. When I moved in here, all four were stuffed full. Today while washing dishes I noticed that two of my drawers, my silverware drawer and my utensil drawer were not being used to full capacity. A bit of rearranging and both drawers became one single drawer!

Inspired, I looked through my other drawers. One was almost filled with things I no longer used any more. A few quick tosses, and I discovered some storage bags I had actually forgotten about owning! I have been purchasing zip locking food storage bags when I had a large box stashed away!

In the end, one drawer was totally emptied, and another almost. I took the empty drawer and placed some of the kitchen towels in it, so that no longer do I have to use a chair whenever I need a towel for something.

I didn't intend to eliminate so much stuff; my mindset has finally gotten to the point where I realise that I no longer need or use it! It actually feels good to look around my house and know that I am slowly paring down to what is truly important to me!

These little unexpected eliminations are such a blessing! They let me know that I am truly doing something right!

Dryer Update

2010-08-17T23:24:00.000-05:00

It has been several months since I used my dryer for much of anything. I have been hanging my laundry outside or in the house during inclement weather.

I haven't really missed it.

There was an occasion last month when I used it: I decided to go to my sister's house on a whim, forgetting the fact that I had a load of whites in the washer. I tossed them in the dryer and turned it on before leaving.

When I came back it was to discover that the large load of thick towels had not been completely dried by the cycle I had hurriedly set and had soured. They had to be rewashed.

If I had simply taken a few minutes to hang them up in the house, I would not have had to rewash that load of towels. They would have slowly dried in their own time without a single issue. I haven't used the dryer since then!

I am going to try to get through this winter without using the dryer. If I can succeed, then I will sell the appliance this spring.

Part of me is tempted to just sell it now and get it out of the way. I could use the empty spot for storage, perhaps making more room for myself in my bedroom. I'm nervous at the thought of giving it up, however.

My whole childhood we had a dryer. My mother would never consider hanging clothes outside for any reason! With the exception of my sister, everyone I know has one.

Dumb reason, I know. Perhaps I just doubt my ability to live without one?

I wish I knew the reason of my hesitation. You would think that I would WANT to get rid of yet another thing, but this gives me qualms. Should I just close my eyes and sell it, or keep it for a while longer?

Live on Amazon

2010-08-17T12:58:00.000-05:00

Hello All!

I just received word that my e-book is now live on Amazon.

Yet another step made toward future financial security.

Everett Bogue issued a thoughtful post today about the True Purpose of Simplicity. He states that the true purpose is freedom.

He is so totally correct!

That is why I do this. Take away the need to stroke my ego and you get Freedom left at the bottom of the box.

I want freedom from having to worry about bills. Freedom from worrying about things that break down.

Freedom from ever having to worry about where my grocery money is coming from.

Freedom from the big corporate fat cats who demand that I buy and buy.

Freedom to do what I want, when I want--even if that means sitting on my duff in a coffeeshop chatting with the regulars, or hanging out my laundry or trying something new and different just because I can.

Freedom to change my mind and do or be whoever or whatever I want to be.

That is why I do this, aside from my ego!

Do you want freedom? Why or why not? What are you doing to pursue it?

"Use it Up, Wear It Out!"

2010-08-16T14:56:00.000-05:00

I grew up with that motto. When I wanted a pair of sandals Dad cut the toes out of a pair of tennis shoes I had almost outgrown.

When I grew up I abandoned that conserver mentality. Like those around me I would look to purchase solutions, or hire things done. "Wasn't that how other people did it?" I would reason.

I still catch myself in the grip of that consumer mentality, but it is starting to get easier.

When my van started missing, I tuned it up myself instead of taking it to a shop.

When I ripped my jeans, I sewed a patch underneath the hole from the remains of a doll's hat my daughter threw away.

When the keyboard acted up on daughter's laptop I had her use it with an external keyboard until I could diagnose it. Last night I determined that the keyboard had failed and shopped around for a replacement.

I ordered one on eBay and to my surprise had to update my address. It had been over a year since my last eBay purchase. I used to buy quite regularly on that website--it was nice to discover that my spending has reduced so much that I could go over a year before buying something on what used to be my favorite place to shop online.

We've been battling flies in the house. When I located the source (the guinea pigs bedding and mess catcher cloth) I first tried changing the bedding more frequently. When they still tormented the little fellow I switched his bedding from chips to cloths I had around the house. Not only "problem solved," but I may have discovered a way to avoid purchasing yet another item (wood chips). With daily changes and removal of the top cloth layers I should have a cleaner guinea pig cage. The cloths can be shaken out, placed in the sanitizer solution with the family cloths and laundered with them. No place for the flies, a cleaner home for the pig, and less expense (and stuff) as well.

When I needed more space to dry my laundry in inclement weather, instead of purchasing a clothes rack I took some string and made another clothesline in my hallway.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this.

I am still working on food purchases and stocking up unnessarily, but I'm getting there. Just the other day I had a candelabra-sized lightbulb fail in a lamp. I bought a single florescent bulb to replace the one that blowed instead of buying the 3-pack for $10.

Last year I would have bought the 3-pack, even though I only needed a single bulb and the others are either LED or Florescent.

It feels good to know that I am actually making progress on changing my purchasing habits, to know that I am actively looking for solutions that use what I already have instead of requiring a purchase.

If you ever get a chance, read Charles Long's "How to Survive Without a Salary." His book is an excellent resource for the conserver movement. I have worn out my copy to the point where I had to get it spiral bound to preserve it!

What have you done lately in pursuit of the "use it up" mentality? I would love to hear your stories!

Simple Irony

2010-08-15T23:54:00.000-05:00

Just days after I write an article about the reliability of Toshiba Satellite laptops, the keyboard on my daughter's Toshiba Satellite decides to fail!

I can't really say anything--I DID spill tea on it earlier this year!

Awaiting the replacement keyboard

She turned it on Friday night and immediately started complaining because two keys would not work. Instead of fighting with it over the weekend I hooked up an external one and let her use it that way...

I went to Toshiba directly and they wanted almost $50 for the keyboard, so instead I went to ebay and bought one instead. Brand new with a year's warranty for $15.16 including shipping. That is a whole lot better than $50!

I am just leaving it dissassembled from where I took it apart to try to clean it and bring the keys back to life. It won't hurt a thing to leave it out for a day or two.

From the little white drops I'm seeing I wonder if perhaps the kiddo splashed some milk on this little devil... I didn't see any underneath the keyboard but I saw some white spots under the two nonfunctional keys...of course she won't admit to anything *sigh*

In a few days the new keyboard will be here (they will ship tomorrow) and I will put it back together for the kid.

All in all, this toshiba is STILL a great old laptop. With all of the abuse it has taken I am still quite proud of it, even if I am laughing at the irony of the keyboard failing now.

My First Book Review

2010-08-14T10:39:00.000-05:00

Donald Pennington has graciously provided my first book review on The Minimalist Cleaning Method. He gave a thorough review and rated it a 3.9 out of 5 stars.

I am very pleased with the book's success so far, and look forward to creating more books as time allows.

The kid is amazed that Mom actually has a book out, especially after I told her that it was in the process of getting listed on Amazon.

I'm amazed, but I really have to get over myself. This is just a simple step toward the future.

If anyone would like a promotional copy for review purposes please contact me here. State where you will review the book and I will be happy to send you one and promote your review link on my blogs.

The Minimalist Cleaning Method

2010-08-11T21:01:00.001-05:00

Well, I did it.

I wrote my first book.

This book is about cleaning your home using minimalist methods and simple, minimal cleaning products.

I have been working on this book mentally for a really long time; sharing recipes and tips with family and friends. My aunt has been begging me to write this for about a year now, honestly.

It feels really good to know that I have released this, but I'm nervous just the same. I know I did my very best with this offering and hope that it will be favorably received.

Okay, I'm through with being maudlin! Wish me luck, I'm off to promote this puppy!

I Tossed Some Ebooks Today

2010-08-11T11:03:00.000-05:00

A DVD with a bunch of them. They were older books I've gleaned from here and there, but the disc was getting iffy and so at first I was going to try to rescue them.

Then I realized that after all of this time I had not actually read any of the books on this disc. The ones I had read and reread had long been pulled off and wondered why I was keeping something that I really didn't need?

I have reduced my physical possessions but I haven't really reduced my digital possessions. Instead my digital possessions seem to actually be increasing.

I pulled the disc out of the drive and tossed it, deleting the folder some of the salvaged books had copied to.

It is time I started getting serious about this.

Simple Self-Reliance

2010-08-09T16:47:00.000-05:00

I apologise for being out of touch for a few days; I've been working on my van.

I have a 1999 Ford Windstar that really needed a tune up; and frankly I didn't want to spend the $200 or so to get it done!

I am a firm believer that if you own something you should be somewhat responsible for it and know at least the basics of caring for it, yet I have been lazy and neglectful of this poor van. Well, I guess not TOO neglectful--I have taken it to the shop more than once over the years!

I know some basic auto repair from watching Dad when I was young; I knew that the lifetime wires I put on it last time would be okay but the cheap plugs had to go. I forgot about the distributor cap and rotor button, but I'll get those next time.

Anyhow, here is where I've been these last few days, crawling around on this motor changing spark plugs:

That is where I've been, lying across that motor trying to reach waay down and unstick some stubborn spark plugs. The first day I tried to do it WITHOUT removing the cowl. That didn't work:

It was seriously like a reverse birth trying to crawl under that thing! Anyhow, I accomplished my goal of replacing the spark plugs and air filter, with plans to attack the distributor cap and rotor button (and anything else I discover I need to do) in a few weeks.

I could have hired it done, but I feel better, more self-reliant since I did it myself.

Maybe I should start changing my own oil now; that would save me a fortune!

It would be nice to eliminate a car entirely from my life but that is impossible with my current lifestyle so the least I can do is "woman up" and take responsibility for maintaining this thing. I don't have a guy to do it so I need to start doing it myself.

The auto parts place will loan you tools to do stuff; I already had the sockets and stuff for this job but perhaps I could borrow jack stands and stuff for other jobs and not have to buy a lot of tools....

Anyhow it just feels good to drive around in a smoother-running van knowing I did it "all by myself."

That said, can you guess what my next book is?