Now that the weather has changed, we are getting ready to garden. We are heading out to our little farm this weekend to plant our veggies. I am quite excited. It really is a great feeling to grow your own food. If you haven’t done it you definitely need to try it. We have multiple veggies on the list that we are growing but a few include bok choy, broccoli  cabbage, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes. I will do my yearly harvest report at the end of the season like I usually do so you can see how fruitful we were.

I have been able to read some great articles this week. Check them out:

Good Reads From The Blogosphere:

• Emily from Evolving Personal Finance is having a Debate over Outsourcing Cleaning with her husband and wants to know if you think that paying for cleaning is a worthwhile luxury
• Sometimes, life isn’t all sunshine and roses. Send come encouragement to Jules Wilson @ Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet as he shares how his health and finances have been impacted with his I’ve Been Having A Horrible Time Lately post
• Don’t Mix Family, Friends and Money – Our Townhouse Rental is a great post from Lance @ Money Life and More about how things went wrong by renting his townhouse to a friend instead of a stranger
• If you need some help with cutting your spending, don’t miss Arnel’s post at Money Soldiers about Seven Easy Ways to Cut Spending Now
• Parents of students and students- Have you figured out your plans for summer yet? Abbie from Finance Junkie shared her post A Student Guide To Surviving The Summer to help you get your summer planning underway
• Yes, it is possible to safely invest your money! Ryan writes about How to Safely Invest Your Money over at Cash Money Life
• With her luggage lost somewhere in the world while she’s in Cape Town, Maria from The Money Principle writes about A forced experiment in minimalism
• Looking to buy a home? Don’t miss Don’s post about Starting the Home Buying Process at MoneySmartGuides because it’s key to have a plan before starting so that you purchase a home you can afford

If you are new to PET or haven’t gotten a chance to read all the articles in the past, here are few archives you might enjoy.

PET Archives:

• Four Easy Ways to Save on Basic Necessities
• Are You Getting Ripped Off At The Gas Pump?
• Ways to Beat Lifestyle Inflation
• Interview with a Self-Made Millionaire
• Psychological Tips for Successful Stock Investing

Here are a few suggestions on ‘lesson plans’ on your money trip to the store.

Learn About Jobs People Do

Have children point out the workers and guess what they are doing. Prepare ahead of time for extra fun by having the kids make up a few questions they want to ask workers.

Think about the vendors that stock the shelves, the employees who run the registers, the people who clean the bathrooms, the store manager, the person who makes the baked goods or cuts the meat. Point out the people giving away samples and explain what their jobs are.

Learn About Different Ways To Pay

Have the kids stand and watch at a register to see how many ways they can see people paying.

Cash, debit, credit, check.

Learn To Compare Prices

Bring a short shopping list of things the kids want or need, then have them find several different kinds and compare the prices. Point out the little shelf stickers that show how much it costs per unit and explain why a cheaper price isn’t always the best deal.

Learn About Marketing

Wander through the aisles and show the kids how the most expensive stuff might be at eye level and the stuff kids like might be on the bottom shelf and how the least expensive things may be harder to reach.

Talk about how the aisles are laid out and why the manager may have put them up that way.

Look for display ads and have the children read them (or you read them to the kids). Ponder why they are there, what the purpose is.

Look for end displays of special deals and talk to the kids about why retailers make those special displays (create excitement, provide convenience, get rid of something they overstocked on and etc).

Point out any overhead TVs that are showing store ads.

Learn About Brands

Have the kids find 5 things each that they recognize. Ask why they recognize those things – where did they hear about them, how did they know this was the thing they heard about? Show them generic store products and talk about how they might be the same as or different than product brands. Use the word brand and explain what it means. To refresh your memory, brand is defined on Wikipedia as

“the name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.”

Learn About Impulse Buying vs. Using A List

Your kids are inevitably going to find something they would like to take home with them. Probably something that is not on your list. Talk about why you make a list (to keep within your budgeted expense amount and still get what the family needs), how you use it (Do you put the items in order by where they are in the store? Do you buy only exactly what is on the list? When do you vary from the list on purpose?)

Talk about the best time to go to the store to buy groceries (when you are not hungry, when the store is not crowded and etc).

Learn About Customer Satisfaction.

Have the kids name as many things in the store as possible that they think are there for customer satisfaction. First explain what you mean by the terms customer and customer satisfaction. Talk about why it is important to keep customers happy.

Suggest these things:

• The customer service/return counter.
• Shopping carts (mention why there are always more big carts than little ones).
• Special shopping carts (kid ones, handicapped ones).
• Vending machines (talk about how these provide extra money).
• In store retailers sharing the space (as in the bank in your local super Walmart).
• Parking spaces.
• Doors that open and close automatically.

Learn About Running A Business

A store is a business. Ask the kids how they think the store owner makes money. Talk about what expenses the store might have (physical store maintenance, utilities, employees, supplies, fixtures and registers, computers, merchandise costs, advertising and etc).  Then discuss what the income sources might be (sales of merchandise, vending machine sales, rental of space to other businesses, etc).

What money lessons do you teach your children at the store?

Since living expenses consume a considerable portion of most people’s income, it is a good idea to put a lot of thought into the decision and where your money is ultimately going. Here are a few factors to consider before possibly making the leap into home ownership.

1. Low Credit Score

Generally speaking a credit score below a 620 will not be enough to qualify you in buying your first home. If you are below this number, it is best to spend the next year or so making a conscious effort to rebuild your score. While you may not want to delay the first purchase of your home, you have to realize that a low credit score, even if the bank does approve you, will not allow you to get the best interest rate. In fact, you’ll probably pay over 1% more than the lowest rate, which will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

2. Job Stability or Relocation

Although there has been a lot of positive news in the job market, it’s still not strong. Being laid off is usually not something you can anticipate unless your employer is extremely transparent. If you don’t have an emergency fund in order to make at least the approximate payment of your anticipated mortgage and expenses, you are not ready to make the leap into home ownership. Most lenders require that you have at least three months of reserves for all your expenses, if not more.

Additionally, even if you have or plan to voluntarily leave your current employer, you may have a difficult time securing a mortgage. Lenders like to see a history of employment, if not with the same company, than at least in the same industry. Other factors to consider are how mobile you are. If you are at high risk for being relocated or do not intend to stay in the house for a considerable amount of time, you could very well lose money in the case of a sale. A general rule of thumb is that your property needs to appreciate at least 10% in order to avoid losing money in a sale.

This is a big problem for recent graduates. You may have to move to secure a good job, so you don’t necessarily want to settle down and buy right away. You never know what could be in store in 2-5 years.

3. Maintenance fund

A home is a continuous project that requires time and money to upkeep. It is always a good idea to have a home inspected before closing on it, but even then, not all of the problems and potential problems are evident. In addition to an emergency fund, it is recommended that you have a reserve fund of at least 5% of the purchase price of the home in order to cover maintenance and upkeep. Furthermore, not everyone wants or knows how to maintain a property. Many people prefer to rent in order to have the benefits of a house without the risk of ownership. Just think – when the pipe breaks, you just call your landlord and you don’t have to deal with (or pay for it) yourself.

4. Cost

In some cities and states, it costs significantly more to buy vs. rent in both the short and long term. It is a good idea to not only consider all of the above factors but to also do extensive research on the area you are looking to buy and do a cost comparison between the two for at least five years out.

Tax considerations are also important because of the deductions and depreciation savings that can come with owning your own home. Consulting a CPA may be a good idea if home ownership is on the horizon.

The Bottom Line

There are obviously many factors that go in to deciding where you live. Although owning a home is something to be proud of, there is no fault in waiting to own until you are in a good place to do so. Don’t just jump in because interest rates are low or home prices are low. There are a lot of other, more personal, factors that come into play.

Preparation and planning are two things that cannot be stressed enough when any major financial decision is made, and deciding on where you live is no exception.

We saw these two homes back to back on a Saturday afternoon. They looked similar in the listings online, so we wanted to see both just in case we liked one. Both were around the same age (built in the 70′s), within 5 kilometers from each other and had similar layouts, like many houses built in that era did.

One had never been updated at all. It still had the brown carpet, wood trim, and same old yellow toilet and sink. One had been barely updated, but it was a thousand times better than the previous.

When we saw the house we ended up buying, the updates weren’t extensive, but the they were enough to make the house look way newer, and it wasn’t expensive, either.

Here are some things that we saw really updated the house drastically, with little work and little budget:

Give it a Fresh Paint Job

It’s absolutely astounding what fresh paint will do to a room. It can brighten it up, make it look larger (or smaller), and change the dynamic. It makes it look cleaner and newer.

Make sure to paint the house a color from this decade, and hopefully something that will tie the color scheme in. If you are looking to sell your home and that is why you need to update it, make sure that the paint color you choose is something neutral and universal.

Lighting

The lighting in a home is really important. It can make a huge difference. Replace the fixtures to modernize a home. Try to go with a fixture that is timeless and classic. You’ll be able to get some inspiration at lighting stores and in design magazines and look-books. Focus on the photos of rooms that don’t focus on funky light fixtures; these will go out of style and date the home when they do.

De-Clutter

You’d be surprised at how modern you can make your home just by getting rid of some old junk that you have lying around. If you can’t part with it, put it in storage. Open, clean spaces make the space more modern and enjoyable to be in.

Clutterless homes are timeless.

Replace Your Handles, Knobs and Hardware

I once was helping my dad work on updating a home that was really, really outdated. The owners were on a strict budget and he was helping them out.

He took the home from out-dated to more modern just by going around and replacing the door knobs from those old, gold color knobs to brushed steel ones, which he got for less than $15 at the hardware store.

He also replaced the handles on the cabinetry, taking the plain white cabinets from 1992 to 2010 (at the time).

Closet doors also got a hardware face lift, as did the towel hanger and toilet paper holder in the bathroom. Each and every tiny change really helped refresh the space and make it look more modern, and it only cost a couple hundred dollars.

Flooring

This may not be the least expensive option, but updating your flooring can be one of the most beneficial things you can do to update your home. If you still have 70′s shag carpet, even just replacing it to a cheaper laminate or neutral carpet will make a huge difference.

Everyone wants to live in a nice, updated home, but sometimes you just don’t have the money to do so. These tips may give your home that breath of fresh air that you crave without breaking the bank.

So, have you made any upgrades to your home? What did you do?

I now grow almost all of the vegetables and some of the fruits my family eats through the year. Our grocery budget dropped by over $40 per week in the third year of my gardening efforts and it gets better every year. The following are my favorite tips and tricks that I’ve learned over several gardening seasons – many of them the hard way.

Grow Plants That Will Thrive In Your Climate

One of the biggest mistakes new gardeners make is wasting money on plants that are intended for climates in which they do not live. It is easy to get lured in by the beautiful, exotic plants meant for tropical climates or the crisp, sweet apples that grow better in cold climates. Surely, you will be that expert gardener who figures a way to make it work, right?

Wrong. Unless you can figure out how to control the temperatures and growing seasons in your yard and fields, you are wasting time, money and garden space. If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse, you might be able to grow some tropical plants, but don’t plan on feeding your family homegrown pineapples or oranges if you live in Vermont.

Know as much as you can before digging in. Study your hardiness zone. Know approximately when your last frost will be.  Have your soil tested. Talk to experienced gardeners in your area. If you read online sites, make sure the advice you get is for your hardiness zone. Don’t take as gospel advice given to someone who lives in Oregon when you live in Florida.

Grow Heirlooms And Save Their Seeds

You can easily spend hundreds of dollars on seeds, bulbs and tubers each year if you grow a large garden. Cut that amount dramatically by collecting the seeds from the best fruits and vegetables in your garden.

Most seeds will dry nicely on a paper towel. Mark the towel with the name of the plant and the date and then transfer that information along with the seeds to a paper envelope for storage once they are completely dry.

It is also a good idea to test the seeds for germination before it is too late to order more for starting indoors.

Create An Environment That Attracts Insect Eating Birds

Insecticides harm more than the bugs they are meant to kill. They kill good things in the soil too and can harm birds and other animals that wander into your garden. If you have a problem with insects, larger bugs and eggs can be picked off by hand, but some of the best natural insecticides are snakes, frogs and birds.

Make sure there are plenty of natural habitats for birds. Some shrubby, overgrown areas where fields meet woods are favorite spots, but if you want a perfectly manicured lawn put some nesting boxes up along with your feeders. Grow trees and shrubs that will provide berries in the winter months and make sure there is water for your feathered helpers throughout the year. This can be a challenge in colder climates, but it is important if you want to attract birds to your yard.

It is also a good idea to keep at least one birdfeeder full year round.  Many birds that feed mostly on insects during the summer months also enjoy a meal of good quality seed. It is also a good idea to keep cakes of non-melting suet available to attract titmice and woodpeckers.

Buy Good Tools And Take Care Of Them

While you don’t need every gardening gadget found at your local home and garden center, you should invest in good tools.  General purpose and trench shovels, solid and pliable tine rakes, hoes and mulch forks are all handy long-handled tools.

For hand tools, look for a trowel, bulb fork and weed fork. The best cutting tools for a vegetable garden are a long-handled lopper and smaller pruning shears. The loppers typically don’t come into play until the end of the season when larger plants like okra need to be cut down.

The most important thing is to make sure you clean your tools thoroughly and store them properly over the winter months so they don’t rust. This will ensure your tools last a good long time and you aren’t wasting money replacing them more often than you should.

Compost Yard And Garden Waste

Most home gardeners do not need to use chemical fertilizers on their vegetable gardens. It is common for those new to gardening to think frequent application of commercial fertilizer will deliver a high yield. Sometimes the opposite is true. Plants that are fertilized too much may look beautiful, but they fail to flower and produce fruit or vegetables.

Instead, use composted yard and garden waste. You can purchase commercial composting bins or build a pen with fence posts and chicken wire. Combine brown (fall leaves, sawdust, shredded newspaper, fine wood chips) and green (grass clippings, raw vegetable and fruit waste, coffee grounds, tea leaves, egg shells, barnyard manures) using the ratio of about 25-30 parts brown to 1 part green. If you have too much brown the decomposition will be slow and if there is too much green your compost bin will get a bit odiferous.

When done right, this home composted material will feed the plants in your garden and help deliver beautiful, high-yield plants. Your initial investment in bin or pen materials will be returned many times over.

Guest Post Author Bio: CollegeMom is a staff writer at ConsumerFu.com and mother to two college-age daughters. She is an avid gardener in hardiness zone 7b.

We are definitely looking forward to a long weekend. Apart from getting some rest we are hoping to get some yard work done. Spring and summer have been very late this year so we are all behind on things when it comes to our yards. I am not sure what we wil be able to accomplish but outside time always feels good. I am also hoping to get my bike tires pumped up so I can start riding to work. I really miss the fresh air at the end of the day.

If you have a long weekend, how are you going to spend it?

I have been able to read some great articles this week. Check them out:

Good Reads From The Blogosphere:

• When you’re aggressively trying to pay down debt, you may feel that you’ve done all you can to curb your expenses, but have you really? Don’t miss Melissa’s post at My Personal Finance Journey if you Think You’re Sacrificing to Pay Down Debt? Think Again
• If you’re looking to ramp up your investing efforts but aren’t sure how to due to inexperience, John from All Things Finance has a great post on Investing for Beginners: Newbie Mistakes to Watch Out For
• Interested in becoming a product tester? If so, read Crystal’s post about how to Become a Product Tester for Free Swag on Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
• When buying a house, some people have been spending beyond their means to get the house they want but can’t truly afford. Curb this nasty habit by reading SFB’s post on How Much House Can You Afford posted at Simple Finance Blog
• For anyone grappling with unemployment, Debt Guru has a great post at Debt Free Blog: Stuck in a Rut? How to Get Out of Unemployment posted at Debt Free Blog
• Hank likes to use prepaid debit cards to budget for big purchases and shares How To Use Prepaid Debit Cards To Budget For Big Purchases at Money Q&A
• If you’re considering renting out your home, CAPI has a great list at Creating a Passive Income that you won’t want to miss: For Rent: Do’s and Don’ts of Renting Out Your Space
• Suba has some great news about how they sold their house in less than two weeks after it originally sat on the market for over six months in 2012: Sold! How We Got An Offer On Our House In Less Than 2 Weeks Broke Professionals

If you are new to PET or haven’t gotten a chance to read all the articles in the past, here are few archives you might enjoy.

PET Archives

• Home Renovation Techniques
• A Marathon Training Plan That’s Actually Easy to Maintain
• How to Say No When a Sibling Asks for Money
• 8 Great Things that You Can Find at Thrift Stores
• How to Ace a Job Interview

I view each month’s bill – whether it be from the water company, the electric utility, or the natural gas provider – as a way to gauge how well I am doing in my efforts to both conserve energy and save money. Did I use less power than last month? Were my showers shorter? How much money do I get to keep in my bank account this month?

Because I have the memory of a goldfish and not that of an elephant, for each utility I have a spreadsheet in Google Docs where I track each month’s usage and cost. For electricity, I note how many kilowatt hours kWh) I use. For natural gas, I track how many cubic feet I burned (it is billed in units of 100 cubic feet at a time). And for water, I watch how many gallons of fresh water I used. I note the date of each bill along with the total (before taxes) for each month. With just a quick glance, I can see how well I did versus the previous month and have a figure to shoot to beat during the current one. It’s quite a fun game as well as a “feel good” one as I know if I beat last month I did my part to burn less fossil fuels – and that’s something we all need to strive for.

A few things of note that I have learned, should you want to start competing with yourself for energy conservation:

- Depending on where you live, you may see rather large swings in energy use throughout the different seasons. Summer may have a much higher electric bill than winter, but winter may see an uptick in the natural gas bill. Where I live the temperature stays kind of the same on average throughout the year, so my bills don’t fluctuate too much.

- Reward yourself for a job well done. Whether you put the savings in a savings account, splurge for an extra drink next time you are at a restaurant, or buy a bigger box of popcorn at the theatre, it’s important to give yourself a little bonus when you succeed at your goals. It gives you that much more incentive to do even better next month!

- Make sure you keep your appliances clean and free of dust and crud. Nothing will sap your energy efficiency faster than a dryer vent that has never been cleaned or refrigerator coils with baked on grease and cat hair.

- Use power strips wherever – and whenever – possible. Nearly anything that can be unplugged when not in use is on power strips in my house. TVs, DVD players, radios, toaster ovens, wifi extenders, and computer equipment get switched off every night before bed and don’t get turned on again until they are needed. Most all electronics sit idle in “stand-by mode” most of the time, sipping up that juice from the electric grid.

- If you have ceiling fans, use them. They can help cool down or heat up spaces, depending on how they are used and which direction they are spinning. If you don’t know which direction does which job, this link should help you find the best setting for your home.

As an aside to discussing utility bills, I also play the same game with my weekly trash pickup. While I don’t measure recyclables, I do keep track of how much trash I dispose of each week. For the two of us, I have managed to have gotten our trash disposal down to about 3/4 of a 13 gallon trash bag each Wednesday. I would still like to see that be even less, but for now I am happy.

This summer, start a new tradition in your house and try to compete to lower your utility bills. Your wallet and the environment will thank you, and if you succeed you may even get a nice bonus out of it. Good luck!

Is your day overflowing with things that have to get done? Are you always out of time to do them? Are you looking for ways to become more productive, and get more done in less time?

Stop checking emails, Facebook, voice-mail and instant messages every few minutes! It really works.

I am a self-employed website owner and staff writer. I work on a computer all day long and into the evening hours many days. Always before, I prided myself on keeping up with my emails, getting back quickly to employers, potential customers, and marketing deals. I thought of myself as an excellent multi-tasker. Kind of like an octopus with all arms in motion, getting everything done.

In reality, most of what I was ‘getting done’ was sifting and sorting through emails. I have a lot of email incoming, and I was checking it every 15 minutes or so, answering it and otherwise getting distracted.

Now that I am doing only 3 checks a day – morning, noon and quitting time, I have much more time to work on things that I actually need to get done, much better focus in doing them and accomplish much more. All this without really losing any opportunities coming in via email or over the phone or through Twitter or Facebook and etc.

It is very freeing! You should try it.

Message Checking Is Addictive

Right now, even after a month of practicing limited message checking, I am itching to go read through my incoming mail.

My theory is that message checking, whether it be through email, your phone, on social networking sites or otherwise is addictive. We humans are social animals. We want to mix with each other. We are hard wired to do so. When we check messages, we feel connected. We feel like part of the group. When we feel like part of the group, we feel accepted, important and protected. It’s a nice warm feeling.

Nancy Colier, LCSW, Rev in Psychology Today article: Why We Are Addicted to Checking Email - How to break free from the email high–and get your life back believes it is addictive due to having:

“……four features of highly habitual/addictive behaviors:

1. Attention, specifically, attention is focused, but mindful presence is NOT necessary.

2. Distraction is readily offered. We are successfully pulled away from whatever we were (or were not) doing.

3. Hands. We use our hands in executing the task (which I surmise is related to the evolutionary importance of hands as a tool).

4. Delight is possible through the behavior (lottery mind). Its acronym makes for an ironic ADHD (which bears no relationship to attention deficit hyperactive disorder). Behaviors with these four features have a great capacity to hook us and hypnotize us into paying a lot of attention to something that doesn’t justify the time and energy invested.”

OK, I’m back now. Just had to waste 15 minutes reading my two email accounts and checking out Facebook! Told you, it’s addictive!

Message Checking Is A Distraction

I was working along on my very first book attempt when I ran into a wall. Because I didn’t want to think about getting over that wall I started writing this post. Writing this post made me think about checking my emails. That is distraction!

I’m not alone, according to Eilene Zimmerman in article Distracted? It’s Time to Hit the Reset Button in the New York Times online Peter Bregman, author of “18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done” said:

“We have a momentary feeling of wanting to escape what’s difficult or boring, so we jump out,” he says — hence the appeal of e-mail and shopping Web sites.”

It’s not just the time spent getting the message up, reading, filing or answering it either. According to Lee Drozak on My Office Assistant:

“for every interruption you lose 8 minutes of focus time.  The brain is designed to focus on just one problem at a time and needs time to process each event. So each time you get interrupted by that instant message, email or phone call you are losing precious task time.”

The Fox Business, small business center article, Survey: Distracted Workers Costing Companies Millions by Kate Rogers reported that:

“The survey conducted by software company harmon.ie and research firm uSamp, found that nearly 60% of work interruptions involve tools like e-mail, social media, text messaging and instant messaging, as well as switching windows among standalone tools and applications. The survey also found that 45% of employees work for only 15 minutes at a time or less without being interrupted, and 53% waste at least one hour a day due to various distractions.”

So, get your life back. Schedule your message checking activity and train your family, friends, bosses and co-workers to NOT expect instant replies!

Are you addicted to message checking?  How do you handle it?

Exploring a new town can be difficult enough if you know the town inside and out. Moving away to another town can hinder your ability to be creative and stay busy.

Luckily, there are many ways to find out what a town has to offer. I’ve outlined many of those ways below.

Check Out Daily Deal Sites

Some of the coolest things can come out of daily deal sites if you check them on a regular basis. Websites like Groupon, Living Social and Teambuy can give you some great ideas of fun things to do, which is a great way of exploring a new place. I like this option because they are also budget friendly and show you fun things to do around the new city that you may not have been aware of before.

Using these services can also be a great way of making new friends.

Visit Your Local YMCA

Even if you don’t want to use the YMCA for entertainment, your local YMCA will likely have affiliate organizations that they work with that might have something that will pique your interest. Ask for a catalogue of events around the region; the booklets are usually free and very helpful. The YMCA is usually very community oriented, so they may be able to give you some good tips.

Look at the Local Paper

Larger events will usually be featured in the local newspapers. If the town has a car show, boat show, festival of some sort, or even just an event put on by the parks and recreation department of the city hall, you’ll usually find it in the “events” section of the print.

Be Open Minded

Some things may not look like they are up your alley, but you may be surprised. My favorite hobbies have fallen into my lap unexpectedly, even if I was a naysayer of the activity. Different regions are known for different things, and even if you don’t think that thing will be up your alley, try it out.

For example, if you move to a town that is known for it’s golf, but you have never tried golfing, go with a friend one day. At least then when you have out-of-town visitors, you can know what you’re talking about at least a little.

Drive Around

I’ve learned throughout all of my moves that sometimes, driving around and seeing what is out there can be the most effective way of exploring. The first town we moved to, I didn’t actually know about many places I’d have liked to visit until we were driving around town looking for boxes so that we could move out. I saw some cool cafes that I would have enjoyed, a park, a dinner theater, and even a chocolate factory that I didn’t know existed (though I feel like I should have had a sixth sense that the chocolate factory was there).

This is also helpful because you can take note of where the places are that you will frequently visit, so that you don’t get lost when you need to go there next.

Adjusting to a new town can be difficult, but using these tips to explore can make that adaption period easier.

I don’t know about you but I seem to have so many calls on my time and my money. I have so much stuff in my house that I can’t find anything. There never seems to be enough time to get it all done. I’m juggling so many balls that I can’t think straight. When I realized that all these things were affecting the quality of my life, I decided that something had to give.

Taking stock of my life, I decided that the best way to make changes that would make my life better was to make everything simpler. The sheer complexity of my life was leaving me feeling overwhelmed by it all and frequently stressed out. I felt perpetually tired and had trouble sleeping and thinking clearly; in fact, the only time I did seem to think clearly was when I went to bed and tried to sleep!

But I had no idea where to start or how to go about simplifying my life until I read a magazine article about the psychological benefits of de-cluttering your workspace. It claimed that a clean workspace improved productivity and gave the illusion of being in control and on top of work tasks. Sounded good to me, so that’s where I decided to start.

Apparently there are some simple rules when it comes to de-cluttering and re-organizing your work space. You pick up a piece of paper and ask yourself these questions: Do I need to keep this? Do I need it on my work space? Can it be filed or delegated? What is the worst that will happen if I trash it?

Wow! Did this system work or what! I managed to reduce the amount of paper on my desk to a very small pile, I shredded buckets of papers and trashed even more. I even filed and delegated some work. I tell you, I felt so great after I had finished; like a huge weight was gone from my head and shoulders.

I was so inspired that I followed some more of the advice in that article. I moved the furniture around; I had left it the same as when I took over this office and had never really been comfortable. I now have a much more workable space that doesn’t look cluttered and I won’t bang my knee every time I go to the filing cabinet! There was a stain on one wall and I think I’ll look for a picture to put up there, to cover it and bring a bit of color to these dull gray walls.

Having discovered how much better my de-cluttered work space made me feel, I decided to try the same strategy at home. Here’s a tip – don’t empty your entire closet onto the bed late in the afternoon. This is what I did and the job was much bigger than I thought so, come bed time, the bed was still under a pile of clothing!

So, start small; pull out one drawer and empty the contents. Pick up each item and ask those these questions: Do I wear/want this? Will I wear/want this? Do I need it? What is the worst thing that will happen if I trash it? Have a big box ready to take the throw-away items and another for anything that is good enough to go to the local thrift store. Wipe the drawer with a damp cloth and replace only the items you have decided to keep. Be ruthless!

Don’t attempt to unclutter the whole house in one go; that is just too big a job. Aim to do one closet or one room a day/week/weekend, depending on the time you have. I guarantee you will feel so much better and you have the added bonus of being able to find the things you have.

As you de-clutter your home, consider more than simplifying your closets. What about the old refrigerator in the garage you only use when you have a party? Do you have an old TV lurking anywhere that is never watched? Do you really need to have three TVs in your house anyway? Do you have sports equipment that no one uses or camping gear left over from that one trip you took five years ago? Really simplify your life by removing any ‘stuff’ that clutters your home and your life but is not needed.

We have been programmed to get more and more stuff but does it add anything to the quality of life? We have ‘good’ stuff for special occasions; why keep them just for special occasions and then have to worry about storage? Aren’t you important enough to warrant using the ‘good’ stuff?

I further simplified my life by making some changes to my banking. We had several different accounts and it seemed I was always juggling from one to another. I kept one checking account as the working account and had my salary paid automatically into it. I arranged for the mortgage and car payments to be made directly from it and a set amount to go into a savings account. All this meant that the only financial things I needed to do was pay the monthly bills as they came in. What a difference this made to my stress levels! I found I had more spare time to spend with the family as well.

I saw a financial advisor to discuss my retirement accounts as this was another area that caused me sleepless nights. He combined several different retirement accounts into one, calculated how much I needed to be saving to have enough for a good retirement and gave me some really good investment advice. Simplifying my financial situation really did give me peace of mind.

Here are some more ideas for simplifying your life that I am considering putting into place. Find ways to slow down the pace of life; get up half an hour earlier on work days to avoid that mad panic associated with getting everyone off to work and school. After completing a task, whether at home or work, stop and collect your thoughts for five minutes before moving on to the next thing at hand. This strategy helps to clear the mind ready to focus on the next task.

Clean up after you as go; this prevents a mess forming and helps you keep on top of the cleaning and tidying. It also helps to keep your work surface clear so you can focus on the task at hand. Plan your day so you can multi-task or save time back-tracking. When you have a plan and a list, you don’t have to juggle so many thoughts in your mind.

Simplify your life to make it better by using some of these ideas. Letting go of ‘stuff’ is so refreshing and freeing, you will notice the difference almost immediately. Remember, being is so much more important in life than having.

So, if you reflect on your life, can you make it simpler?