Determining Values: How vigilant to be?

Lately, I've found myself working more on identifying my values and trying to streamline life in accordance to them. The trouble spots I am encountering involve my kids and their things and my kids' apparent values as well as in the area of my photography business.

As for my kids: their values and mine don't always seem to jive and negotiating them is something I'm unsure of how to do. To head off potential conflict of values, I'm considering instituting a 100 personal items/person rule so everyone can choose what to keep in their space based on whatever they deem their values to be. So far, I'm not getting much support on this initiative. Bill thinks the house is simplified enough as it is and that 100 items/person might create an austerity that's undesirable. I think it might be amazing the freedom we could have if we pursued and were vigilant about having 100 items/person.

As I contemplate values and priorities for myself, my family and my business, some of the keywords that keep coming up in this area are: access, clarity, beauty, compassion, love, health, contribution and joy. I've further identified these areas as valuable: well-being, family, friendship, art and nature.

Along this line of sharing values, I have been wondering how much of myself to share with potential business clients. I think the work environment for like minded individuals might lend itself to easy breezy and fun photo sessions. I would, however, hate to restrict myself from clients who might have different, say, environmental views but have similar aesthetic views. It's something I'm trying to work out as I move forward professionally.

For now, I will daydream about how cool it might be to have 100 items/person in this house and how it might be to be completely open with my values with everyone I encounter.

10 Simple Ways to Save Money

10 Simple Ways to Save Money

1. Bank online

a. schedule your bill payments and avoid late fees

b. online bill pay cuts out the cost of checks

c. eliminate the cost of stamps

bonus: reduce paper waste

2. Sell the TV (Keep the Computer)

a. Get free entertainment online (see online videos at specific networks or try hulu)

b. Try Netflix or some service like it

c. Borrow friends' DVDs

3. Cook at home

a. Get recipes to try out at home from the web

b. Make enough dinner to cover lunch for work the next day

c. Live healthier

4. Buy in bulk the things you use

a. household items: sponges, dish soap, laundry detergent, etc.

b. body care items: vitamins, razors, soap, toothpaste, etc.

c. food stuffs: juice, cereal, meats & fish, canned goods, etc.

5. Do you really still have a house phone?

6. Stop buying water

7. Love what you have

8. Stop buying paper napkins & paper towels - Use cloth

9. Fix what's broke

a. Fix leaks

b. Mend clothes

c. Oil the squeaky wheel

10. Take stock & Use it up

Happy New Year! Now what?

"2010 was full but 2011 will be free" is my mantra of late. In what areas and how will it be free?

Home: By instituting the 50 item/week purge, I am taking action to create space for abundance - however it may present itself.

Family/Relationships: I have in the back of my head the question "How can I love you more?" to remind myself to express my care and affection more frequently and fully.

Business (EKP): I am standing by my promise to "capture the love & energy of the good life" even if that means I have to go out and find those living the good life myself! I see some very fun shoots with friends in the near future!

Community: I am going to finally realize a project long in coming that looks at bipolar disorder and the friends and family of loved ones who have it

Spirituality: I am practicing gratitude for gifts: large and small, requested and unrequited, sweet and sour.

Health: Attending to my health includes exercise, the idea that most things can be resolved through nutrition and a daily dose of the outdoors.

This will be an amazing year - made lighter and brighter in more ways than one.

Cheers to you and yours!

1,000 Items

I completed the 1,000 item purge on Dec 31 and it was awesome! I ended by going through the last decade's worth of journals. I sifted through them for their irresistible bits then burned them in a fire. To revisit certain periods of my life was a little burdensome but the final effort was entirely cathartic. The purge was such a rush that I've instituted a new ongoing purge: 50 items/week. The goal for this purge is to keep the flow moving, moving, moving!

Happy Solstice

It's the solstice and I've been purging. I'm up to 645 items so far and I intend to have 1000 purged by the start of 2011. Tonight, we'll burn financial statements, life reflections, and health records in an effort to symbolically transform the state of each of these areas.

Finances: It isn't likely there will be an increase in Bill's income this year but from my end, we could improve our financial situation a bit at a time. As I advance in my passion for photography, generating revenue could be icing on the cake. I am committed to playing the business game big as EKP takes ground.

Life: Life is good - ours works. That said, there's still always room for greater sharing and fuller loving. I know I want to be vulnerable and courageous in my sharing and I have actions to employ to that end. As a mother, daughter, sister, partner and friend - I am committed to being more open, compassionate and considerate.

Health: I'm always interested in achieving optimal health for our whole family. We could eat better, rest enough, and laugh more. I am committed to reinvigorating our family's habits to improve health for all.

I am making more physical room in our home to accommodate abundant and loving energies. I don't intend to fill the empty space with material goods and can already sense the revitalization of the space.

Ants & Stomach Flu

It's kind of like a simplicity short cut - a minor crisis to jumpstart behavior modification. When we were attacked by ants, I realized how imposing certain pieces of furniture and my organization of things were. As we tried to clear the critters out, stuff was moved and much of it given away. I simplified the design of things to more easily accommodate any further insect invasions which ultimately led to a cleaner, easier to maintain space. It took the problem of ants to prompt a new shift in my ideas of space and organization.

In a similar vein, a recent stomach flu forced me to simplify my dietary habits. I've opted to maintain many of the new habits and in addition to the 5 pounds I lost while ill, I've lost an additional 3 pounds. Thanks to the stomach flu, I've simplified my sense of appetite and I am more in tune to my body and its dietary needs.

It's all about the silver lining.

100 items

I reached 100 items today!

Pulling from an article by 2 of the leaders of the voluntary simplicity movement, Elgin & Mitchell, I am applying a quick rubric to my living space: Does what I own promote activity, self-reliance and involvement or does it induce passivity and dependence? I am also applying this question: Does what I own promote consumption?

These questions have made a tremendous difference in how I see my things and while I still have 400 more items to go, I know I can easily distill our living space further. I already feel a newness starting to open up in my home and it's invigorating!