Thrifty Mommy » simple-living

Simplify Life with Less Emails

Karen Weideman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:58:22 +0000

I can’t help but confess that I feel a bit hypocritical writing this post. It’s because my inbox is always so filled with emails. Right now I have over 700 emails. Some days I think I need a secretary. Since I can’t afford a secretary, I’ve decided I need to do some things to get a handle on all this inbox clutter. It is time consuming and it needs to stop. Here’s a few tips I have thought of to simplify our lives and receive less emails.

1) Unsubscribe from unsolicited newsletters. Somehow I am receiving several newsletters that I am certain I did not request. Most of them have an unsubscribe button at the bottom of the newsletter. If unsubscribing doesn’t work, then block the sender.

2) Have a massive deleting party. I admit that I am subscribed to some google alerts and newsletters from companies such as Better Homes & Gardens. I really enjoy looking at their ideas, but I don’t have time for it each day. Every now and then I will sort my emails by sender. That way all of the emails from BHG, Hungry-Girl, and Google are all sorted together. Then I can do some quick massive deleting.

3) Delete anything with “Fw” in the subject line. Like my hubby says, “If the person can’t take the time to delete the word ‘forward’, then it’s not worth my time reading it.”

4) Have a separate account for work and personal email. I think this is one of things that would really help me. I should have done this a long time ago.

What tips do you have on saving time and sanity with emails?

image from kveselyte at sxc.hu

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Just Be Healthy

admin — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 08:05:53 +0000

I found a feature article today discussing simple pleasures that can keep one healthy and my favorite of the 20 tips is, “To just be”

“Take five minutes of quiet time each morning to just ‘be’, to stop and reflect, before you start rushing about for the day,” says holistic nutritionist Dr Gillian McKeith. “Don’t think. Don’t Do. Just Be. Those few valuable minutes will help to balance your biochemistry.”

We can all be too entangled in the hustle and bustle of life that we often forget that just a few minutes of reflection or maybe saying a little prayer of thanks can send good vibes to our busy days. Just a few minutes of quiet time that can also be spent just breathing, (yes, please forget about your to-do lists first) can do wonders.

Do join me. Just be.

Remind yourself of these 19 more tricks to live simply to live healthy – How a Simple Life Can Keep You Healthy.

(image from boudist.com)

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Watching the Clouds Float By…

admin — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 03:24:24 +0000

I’ve been on a bit about kites around here lately. They’re such a wonderfully simple pastime. But then I was recently reminded of an even simpler way to wile away a few spare moments; watching the clouds float by. And now, if you’re an afficiando of the varied and wonderous forms that continuously pass over our heads, there’s a group of like-minded souls with whom to commune.

The Cloud Appreciation Society believes that clouds are ‘nature’s poetry‘ and they’ve got a cool web site going that serves as their place of gathering.

They feature a ‘cloud of the month‘ every month – April is the Cirrus, wispy and delicate. There are photo galleries with every cloud imaginable. Web site members can submit their own poems about clouds as well as pictures that they’ve snapped from all over the globe.

Check it out for yourself at CloudAppreciationSociety.org, and then make a point in the coming week to take at least a few spare moments to look up.

[via Treehugger]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

What Better Reason to Slow Down?

admin — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 03:54:24 +0000

I’ve talked before about Tracey Smith and her Downshifting movement. For those of you over in the UK, here’s a quick reminder that the National Downshifting Week is almost upon you. From Saturday April 22nd until Friday the 28th, it’ll be your chance to slow things down a bit and contemplate the simpler side of life.

As I said, National Downshifting Week is organized by Tracey Smith, who incidentally was also just announced as one of the finalists in ITV’s Eco Hero awards for her awesome work in promoting simpler and greener living. Yay for Tracey!

For those of us here in North America, our version of NDW is set to happen Saturday June 24th to Friday the 30th, though any time is a good time to slow it down a little.

For more details and information on the Downshifting Weeks and on slowing down in general, Tracey has got a great web site going at DownShiftingWeek.com. In her own words…”We need to ditch the guilt for what we are NOT doing and start feeling good about what we ARE doing!” Well said.

[via CityHippy]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy