Somewhere along the line I've taught my children that "fun" can only be achieved if you pay for it. I believe it stems from the many times they've pleaded "can't we do something fun today?" And I've answered, "Sorry, but I don't have any money." Whatever we end up doing (at no cost) obviously isn't any fun because it wasn't paid for.
When I think of things that are fun to do I automatically think of going to the movies, or the zoo, or a play, or a restaurant. (See, all things that you pay for.) Then I immediately think of all the bills that need to be paid. And so, more times than I care to admit to - we end up moping around the house, clicking through the plethora of cable stations, finding, yet again, nothing to watch.
But there's so much to experience in life that doesn't cost money. And, yes - it can be FUN! This challenge encourages you to Minus 10 Must-Pay-For-It Experiences and come up with a list of ten free things you and your family can try. What's to lose? It's not costing you anything.
Contact your local municipality - do they have free concerts in the park? Free gardening classes? Free self-defense classes?
Check with your local school districts, many have free cultural fairs, orchestra concerts, elementary school plays.
Investigate your neighborhood. Maybe there are walking trails nearby that you've never been on. Or an arboretum waiting in full bloom to be discovered. Perhaps there is a bike path you've heard of that you'd like to try.
What about going for a walk around the neighborhood? Going on a picnic? Creating your own scavenger hunt? (One friend of mine took her toddler out for a color scavenger hunt. They walked around finding items of a certain color, took digital photos of them, then printed out their own 'Color Book' at home.)
Make a list of 10 things you can do for free and make it a point to go. What Free Fun for your family did you come up with?
Life should not be about the amount of money we throw at an activity. Teach your kids (and yourself) that there is plenty to experience and appreciate without spending any money.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Minus 10 Expired Medications
The cough started two days ago and got worse through the night. At two o'clock this morning I dragged the chair over to the medicine cabinet, climbed atop, and opened the cupboard. I pulled out the plastic storage bin I keep the medicines in. It was over flowing with prescription medications and over the counter medications. All mixed together like a giant medicinal stew.
Ever eat a stew and realize there are no potatoes? That's how I felt. Forty thousand medications and not one for a child's cough. Three unopened bottles of Nyquil. Infant Tylenol from when my 8-year old was a baby... it was painfully obvious I had no idea what medications I had on hand. Items were outdated and couldn't be used, and yet I was storing them.
What's in your medicine cabinet?
This week's challenge is to Minus 10 Expired Medications. Gather all the medications you have in the house. Now, check the expiration date; properly dispose of the medications that are out-of-date. Take a quick inventory of the items you have on hand. Do you have what you need?
Some families may want to keep Tums on hand, while other families don't have that sensitivity. I have a baby at home - I better make sure I have fever reducing medication in stock. Think of what you commonly ails you or other members in your family. Allergies? Coughs? Headaches? Muscle pain? Stocking up and organizing now will save you that 2am run to the 24-hour pharmacy (located twenty minutes away because there isn't one in your town).
Ever eat a stew and realize there are no potatoes? That's how I felt. Forty thousand medications and not one for a child's cough. Three unopened bottles of Nyquil. Infant Tylenol from when my 8-year old was a baby... it was painfully obvious I had no idea what medications I had on hand. Items were outdated and couldn't be used, and yet I was storing them.
What's in your medicine cabinet?
This week's challenge is to Minus 10 Expired Medications. Gather all the medications you have in the house. Now, check the expiration date; properly dispose of the medications that are out-of-date. Take a quick inventory of the items you have on hand. Do you have what you need?
Some families may want to keep Tums on hand, while other families don't have that sensitivity. I have a baby at home - I better make sure I have fever reducing medication in stock. Think of what you commonly ails you or other members in your family. Allergies? Coughs? Headaches? Muscle pain? Stocking up and organizing now will save you that 2am run to the 24-hour pharmacy (located twenty minutes away because there isn't one in your town).
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Minus 10 Inactive Brain Cells
When trying to make life simpler, it isn't all about giving things up and letting go. Sometimes it's about grabbing on to something new. A lot of times it's something you've never heard of before.
It is virtually impossible to know everything there is to know about everything. That's why we talk to people, discuss our problems, vent - we're looking for other ways. Other ideas. It's why we click on AP headlines and watch the news. There's stuff to know - and we should want to know as much of it as we can.
It is such a wonderful feeling to experience that "a-ha!" moment, that feeling of hope, relief, excitement when we learn something new. A new understanding. A new possibility. A new way of doing things. It spices up life and makes it enjoyable.
It's time we grab hold of something new! This challenge is all about learning something you never knew before. Minus 10 Inactive Brain Cells and use them instead, to learn ten new things.
Look, life is simply too short not to learn as much as you can about the place you reside.
It is virtually impossible to know everything there is to know about everything. That's why we talk to people, discuss our problems, vent - we're looking for other ways. Other ideas. It's why we click on AP headlines and watch the news. There's stuff to know - and we should want to know as much of it as we can.
It is such a wonderful feeling to experience that "a-ha!" moment, that feeling of hope, relief, excitement when we learn something new. A new understanding. A new possibility. A new way of doing things. It spices up life and makes it enjoyable.
It's time we grab hold of something new! This challenge is all about learning something you never knew before. Minus 10 Inactive Brain Cells and use them instead, to learn ten new things.
Sign up for a knitting class at your local craft store.
Read a random article on Wikipedia.
Never understood what Spinal Tap was all about?
Rent the movie.
Rent the movie.
Research how asphalt is made.
Figure out what the Pythagorean theorem is all about.
Take a zumba class.
Learn how to make your own paper.
Figure out who Hôjô Masako is and why she's considered "famous."
Learn about the highest peaks in Africa.
Look, life is simply too short not to learn as much as you can about the place you reside.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Minus 10 Unused Cards and Envelopes
Research has proven that people hate getting bills in their mail. Research has also shown that people get giddy over seeing a handwritten-addressed envelope in their mailbox. Ok, well, the research is actually solely based on how I feel getting an actual card or letter in my mailbox, but if I can get that excited, think of how others might feel.
It seems the only things being sent to me lately are bills, credit card applications and census information. It's time to spread a little cheer!
The challenge this week is to Minus 10 Unused Cards and Envelopes! Gather up ten cards and envelopes you have in the house and SEND THEM OUT to friends and family. Got an unused Halloween card sitting in your desk drawer? Who cares that it's not actually Halloween? Write a note and mail it! Cross out the preprinted text if you must, but send it out.
No greeting cards on hand? Find a piece of paper and write on it - the back of a take out menu, the flip side of a drawing your child made, even a page torn from a coloring book. Don't think about it -- just use it. Life is too short not to send a smile through the mail.
It seems the only things being sent to me lately are bills, credit card applications and census information. It's time to spread a little cheer!
The challenge this week is to Minus 10 Unused Cards and Envelopes! Gather up ten cards and envelopes you have in the house and SEND THEM OUT to friends and family. Got an unused Halloween card sitting in your desk drawer? Who cares that it's not actually Halloween? Write a note and mail it! Cross out the preprinted text if you must, but send it out.
No greeting cards on hand? Find a piece of paper and write on it - the back of a take out menu, the flip side of a drawing your child made, even a page torn from a coloring book. Don't think about it -- just use it. Life is too short not to send a smile through the mail.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Minus 10 Days of Unnecessary Purchases
I can't believe I'm going to propose this challenge. I'm breathing through a brown paper bag as I type this: Minus 10 Days of Unnecessary Purchases.
I started this blog as a way to encourage myself (and hopefully others) into getting things back into perspective. Balancing things out. Sorting out priorities. I believe small changes reap huge results.
See, there are things we need and there are things we want. That's not to say that one should go through life without anything we ever want; it's saying we should understand the difference.
I'll go to the store for formula for the baby. That's a need. When I also pick up the next book we're reading for Book Club that's a want. Even when it's 10% off.
I need to get my daughter shoes that fit for gym class. The super-cute sundress - want.
I need saline solution to ensure my contact lenses are clean and ultimately safe to place in my eyes. I want the pen for work.
And so it is decided that for the next ten days - yes, ten days - the goal shall be to minus the purchases of anything unnecessary. If it's a want it stays on the shelf. Doesn't matter if it's a ninety-nine cent tube of lotion; if you have three bottle of lotion at home waiting for you then you don't need it. If you don't need it, you don't buy it. It's that simple.
For the next ten days keep track of everything you wanted to buy and how much it cost. At the end of the ten days look over your list. How much additional money would you have spent? How many of those items will you make it a point to go back and get? All of them? Or just a couple? Did you find that something you might have purchased on Day 3 you're really not that interested in anymore?
I started this blog as a way to encourage myself (and hopefully others) into getting things back into perspective. Balancing things out. Sorting out priorities. I believe small changes reap huge results.
See, there are things we need and there are things we want. That's not to say that one should go through life without anything we ever want; it's saying we should understand the difference.
I'll go to the store for formula for the baby. That's a need. When I also pick up the next book we're reading for Book Club that's a want. Even when it's 10% off.
I need to get my daughter shoes that fit for gym class. The super-cute sundress - want.
I need saline solution to ensure my contact lenses are clean and ultimately safe to place in my eyes. I want the pen for work.
And so it is decided that for the next ten days - yes, ten days - the goal shall be to minus the purchases of anything unnecessary. If it's a want it stays on the shelf. Doesn't matter if it's a ninety-nine cent tube of lotion; if you have three bottle of lotion at home waiting for you then you don't need it. If you don't need it, you don't buy it. It's that simple.
For the next ten days keep track of everything you wanted to buy and how much it cost. At the end of the ten days look over your list. How much additional money would you have spent? How many of those items will you make it a point to go back and get? All of them? Or just a couple? Did you find that something you might have purchased on Day 3 you're really not that interested in anymore?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Minus 10 Not So Healthy Choices
Once this week I will not eat that bowl of cheetos; instead I will eat a serving of cottage cheese.
Once this week I will make my sandwich on wheat bread instead of white.
Once this week I will pass up the cookie and snack on a banana instead.
Once this week I will ask for apple slices instead of french fries.
Once this week I will eat a bowl of oatmeal instead of that donut slathered in glaze.
Once this week I will order the Nonfat Sugar-free Vanilla Latte instead of my regular drink of choice at Starbucks.
Once this week I will eat salsa instead of the creamy dip.
Once this week I will order a sandwich from Panera instead of a Whopper from Burger King.
Once this week I will take eat two servings of vegetables instead of one. (Or none.)
The challenge this week is simple sounding. Minus 10 Not So Healthy Choices, opting for a healthier substitute. It's like saving your change in a jar... it doesn't look like much until you add it all up at the end.
Once this week I will make my sandwich on wheat bread instead of white.
Once this week I will pass up the cookie and snack on a banana instead.
Once this week I will ask for apple slices instead of french fries.
Once this week I will eat a bowl of oatmeal instead of that donut slathered in glaze.
Once this week I will order the Nonfat Sugar-free Vanilla Latte instead of my regular drink of choice at Starbucks.
Once this week I will eat salsa instead of the creamy dip.
Once this week I will order a sandwich from Panera instead of a Whopper from Burger King.
Once this week I will take eat two servings of vegetables instead of one. (Or none.)
The challenge this week is simple sounding. Minus 10 Not So Healthy Choices, opting for a healthier substitute. It's like saving your change in a jar... it doesn't look like much until you add it all up at the end.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Minus 10 Complaining Comments
No one in my home knows how to properly fold a towel and place it back neatly on the towel bar.
My oldest daughter brushes her teeth and always leaves a glob of toothpaste at the bottom of the sink. Always.
We're required to park on the far side of the lot at work, but the part-time intern takes the prime spot by the door. Every single day.
My co-worker comes to work and shuts the closet door in such a way that half the arm of his coat is sticking out.
People come in to the office to fill out paperwork and they just grab my pen on my desk - without asking.
When my boyfriend talks on the phone he has no problem sitting right next to me to talk... loudly... even if I'm watching a really good tv show.
My brother is living with the girl who only cheated on him twice.
These things bother me. Upset me. Irk me. Make me mad. I don't understand the why behind such actions. To me, it's so unbelievably simple and obvious and, well, logical. Hang up the towel so it not only looks nice but dries properly. Wipe out the sink when you're done or use less toothpaste. Park where you're supposed to. Make sure nothing is sticking out of the door when you close it. Ask before taking. Have your private conversation out of earshot. Cheating is not allowed.
These are my issues. I know they are. I complain, yell, plead, rant and make sarcastic comments like, "Oh, I saw this look in a Home & Gardens magazine; everyone hangs their towels this way. It's the new look of the elite." Yet nothing changes. Because these are my issues.
I'm positive I do things that bother other people. I know this because I've heard it. Funny thing, though, I don't change because I'm okay with the way I am and I'm quick to point this out. "Maybe you don't like the seventeen books piled up on the bed stand, so what? It's my bed stand!"
See, I'm actually upset that you said something to me... not that you might not like my books. Because when you said something it felt like you were judging me and that hurt.
Wouldn't it make sense then that when I complain, yell, plead, rant and make comments that it hurts the feelings of others? That they would (rightfully) feel I was judging them?
This week's challenge is to Minus Ten Complaining Comments and replace them with biting your tongue. Look, it just doesn't need to be said. Those pet peeves might 'bother' you but they don't 'hurt' you. There's a big difference in those two words.
After you're done biting your tongue - take it a step further and find a positive about the situation. Here's what I know:
I'm lucky the towels find their way up to the towel bars. A lot of people struggle with getting them off the floor.
My oldest daughter has a beautiful smile. Her teeth are gorgeous! She takes care of them and I appreciate that.
I get more exercise parking farther away. In fact, it wouldn't hurt if I parked across the street.
The coat looks way more professional sticking out of our back closet than hanging off the back of his chair or dumped in a corner of his cubicle. There actually are worse places for it to be.
At least the paperwork is getting filled out in front of me. I can easily see if any information is missing and let the applicant know right away.
I have a boyfriend who feels completely open having a conversation with his friends while sitting right next to me. No hiding out in the other room, or walking outside. I don't have to worry.
My brother is forgiving. That's a pretty decent quality to possess. (Much better than my getting upset over a towel not hung to my standards.)
My oldest daughter brushes her teeth and always leaves a glob of toothpaste at the bottom of the sink. Always.
We're required to park on the far side of the lot at work, but the part-time intern takes the prime spot by the door. Every single day.
My co-worker comes to work and shuts the closet door in such a way that half the arm of his coat is sticking out.
People come in to the office to fill out paperwork and they just grab my pen on my desk - without asking.
When my boyfriend talks on the phone he has no problem sitting right next to me to talk... loudly... even if I'm watching a really good tv show.
My brother is living with the girl who only cheated on him twice.
These things bother me. Upset me. Irk me. Make me mad. I don't understand the why behind such actions. To me, it's so unbelievably simple and obvious and, well, logical. Hang up the towel so it not only looks nice but dries properly. Wipe out the sink when you're done or use less toothpaste. Park where you're supposed to. Make sure nothing is sticking out of the door when you close it. Ask before taking. Have your private conversation out of earshot. Cheating is not allowed.
These are my issues. I know they are. I complain, yell, plead, rant and make sarcastic comments like, "Oh, I saw this look in a Home & Gardens magazine; everyone hangs their towels this way. It's the new look of the elite." Yet nothing changes. Because these are my issues.
I'm positive I do things that bother other people. I know this because I've heard it. Funny thing, though, I don't change because I'm okay with the way I am and I'm quick to point this out. "Maybe you don't like the seventeen books piled up on the bed stand, so what? It's my bed stand!"
See, I'm actually upset that you said something to me... not that you might not like my books. Because when you said something it felt like you were judging me and that hurt.
Wouldn't it make sense then that when I complain, yell, plead, rant and make comments that it hurts the feelings of others? That they would (rightfully) feel I was judging them?
This week's challenge is to Minus Ten Complaining Comments and replace them with biting your tongue. Look, it just doesn't need to be said. Those pet peeves might 'bother' you but they don't 'hurt' you. There's a big difference in those two words.
After you're done biting your tongue - take it a step further and find a positive about the situation. Here's what I know:
I'm lucky the towels find their way up to the towel bars. A lot of people struggle with getting them off the floor.
My oldest daughter has a beautiful smile. Her teeth are gorgeous! She takes care of them and I appreciate that.
I get more exercise parking farther away. In fact, it wouldn't hurt if I parked across the street.
The coat looks way more professional sticking out of our back closet than hanging off the back of his chair or dumped in a corner of his cubicle. There actually are worse places for it to be.
At least the paperwork is getting filled out in front of me. I can easily see if any information is missing and let the applicant know right away.
I have a boyfriend who feels completely open having a conversation with his friends while sitting right next to me. No hiding out in the other room, or walking outside. I don't have to worry.
My brother is forgiving. That's a pretty decent quality to possess. (Much better than my getting upset over a towel not hung to my standards.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
