A quick look in my pile of jeans and pants and I find 3 gone-ski items.
Being tired and late causes consumer fever
Yesterday we had an appointment in North Sydney that finished at 7:30 pm. Jerry had to get up at 3 am for a film shoot and we were still 2 hours from home with no dinner in sight. Consumer alert!
We caught a cab to the station looking for a quick bite to eat...and there it was, an Italian restaurant with our name all over it. Both of us were tired, hungry and over the day. The perfect recipe for impulse consumerism.
We enjoy a pizza, a salad and a couple of glasses of wine. $60 later we were on our way home to bed.
How do I feel about that? Well, mixed feelings but the most important thing is it shines a light on our 'late to bed habits' and 'poor planning'. This is something within our control and good to see so clearly.
One of Steven Covey's 7 habits (of Highly Effective People) is 'sharpen the saw'. This means take the time to set yourself up for success. Prepare your tools, plan well, organise and action that which is important. It's a bit like painting, all the work and value is in the preparation...the painting is the icing on the cake.
We need to plan better, sleep more and look after our overall needs consciously.
This journey gives so much more to the whole of our lives than expected.
Cheers from Deb (the garlic breath adventurer)
What went out - 3 items
Pants that need to be set free...bye, bye.
What came in - 0 items
Doing a happy dance.
INSIGHTS
(1) Our home made pizzas are way better than a hurried Italian on a Thursday night
(2) Down time is as important than action. Doing either half hearted will hold you back
TOTAL: OUT - 781 IN - 68
TOTAL CASH sales from gone-ski items = $48
A sure recipe for consumerism is living an unbalanced life. Getting up at 2:45 am because we couldn't sleep made for a long day. Add to that a busy schedule, a pile of washing up on the sink and the desire to have an early night led us to a decision to go out for dinner.
Impulsive? I am thinking, yes!
The reason I know this is because of how I felt on the way home afterwards. As we jumped in the car to go home I asked Jerry "how much was dinner?" He replied "sixty dollars". WHAT!?! I was shocked. A small starter, 3 dishes, and an orange juice. Add to that the bottle of wine we bought on the way and you have a $70 impulse buy.
Did we 'need' to go? Did we 'have' to go? Or did we plain and simply 'want' to go?
This decision was made unconsciously and was based on circumstances. Living life in reaction to circumstance has cost us in more ways than expected. We stuffed up! And we both colluded in this decision beautifully.
It is not only the $70 but it is the realisation of the many, many times we have done this without even thinking, without ever considering the impact of the expenditure.
I put this down to a lesson learnt. For me, 2015 is the year for conscious choices around consumerism. My reaction to this impulsive choice is insightful. I could easily rationalise it but I would be bullshitting me and bullshitting you. This is a 'no bullshit' blog and so let's suck it up and own it... and learn from it.
Awareness is a grand thing. It is through awareness that great change occurs. There are two ways to go with this: (1) to feel shame and guilt or (2) to own it without judgement and learn from it. I don't really do the shame thing...and so owning it without judgement, is the way to go.
What went out - 2 items
Two pairs of jeans from Miss Sammi's room (will put in clothes offerings for friends kids)
What came in - 0 items
Nothing came in. I have noticed I have no desire to go to the shops. Big change.
INSIGHTS
(1) Collusion makes poor choices, easy!
(2) A clean kitchen is more important than you think. Not dealing with the basics, not completing on responsibilities and letting things slide, adds up. Eventually something will give. It takes commitment to the 'not so fun' jobs that enables greater enjoyment and freedom in other areas.
TOTAL: OUT - 409 IN - 28
This game is hilarious. Each day I am focussing on a particular area of the house.
Today's focus was the drawer in the cabinet near the front door. You know the one, full of keys, sun glasses and other mindless crap thrown in there as we enter the house.
Out went 4 pairs of sun glasses, one of them Sammi's when she was much younger. Not a lot I know but it was the pile of receipts and bits of rubbish that was the annoying part. Lately I have not been asking for or taking receipts when out grocery shopping. This means I only walk into the house with the food and not the clutter... saves paper and carbon footprint too.
The old saying 'count the pennies and the pounds count themselves' is really hitting home at the moment. As we work on the small parts of life, the rest starts shaping up. Not only are we cleansing our home of clutter and jumping off the consumer train, we are looking at other areas of our life and making better decisions aligned to our hearts and minds.
How about Thai for dinner?
In the morning we considered our Sunday activities and discussed the potential for going to the movies and/or going out for dinner to our favourite Thai restaurant. It was great considering these decision early without the chance of impulse decisions later.
We couldn't decide. Interesting. And didn't make a clear decision. Instead we got about our day ending up at Terrigal Beach enjoying the sun and surf. We also took the opportunity to scope out the area for my birthday gathering I am planning.
At the end of the afternoon Sammi asked for Fish and Chips as a snack. This is not a normal request from her. In fact she rarely asks for take away or makes demands on needing food. So we thought about our earlier considerations about going out for dinner and even tossed around the idea of going for Mexican (which we love) but realised this would now be impulsive. Instead we took Sammi for a small fish and chips with the plan to go home and enjoy the home-cooked pasta we had ready to go.
Brilliant decision! The cost of the day was $7 on fish and chips, $4.20 on some fruit we bought on the way to the beach. Yay us!!
What went out - 5 items
4 pairs of sunglasses, a useless old house alarm key and a big pile of paper waste.
What came in - 0 items
Nothings other than food
INSIGHTS
(1) When compelled to spend money on 'consumer' items (dinner out included) it is simply addictive behaviour
(2) Saying yes to uncommon requests as often as you can, when not a high expense, is a lovely thing to do for your kids
TOTAL: OUT - 407 IN - 28
I totally busted myself in the consumer trance again. It was hilarious! And the funny thing was I didn't know I was in it until I was away from it. Boy this journey is insightful. Here's what happened....
Birthday Dinner - Consumer ALERT woot, woot, woot!
We are planning a birthday dinner for yours truly. We walked around Terrigal yesterday and looked at a few places, grabbed some menus and made a tentative booking at two places.
I got home and took a bath as my back had been sore all day. Sammi and I reviewed the menus whilst in the bath when it dawned on me.
WTF was I thinking!!!
This is not true to do, nor it is in line with what I really choose or want. Woohoo!!
So instead we are cooking up an BYO BBQ at Terrigal Haven. The cost will be heavily reduced. Instead of $60 to $80 plus alcohol costs it should be far less and we will enjoy more.
So over the next few days I will whip up an invite for my good buddies and see if they want to join us for an afternoon/evening of good food, great friends, maybe some games and most importantly, connection.
The interesting thing is to position the present thing so that folks don't give me 'stuff'. Keep you posted as I come up with the best way to say it on the invite.
Wish-List Time (for the family)
Yesterday we spent time on our wish-list. We started with the items for the house. There are many things we need, want and would love. It is interesting sitting around with the family with a lovely cup of tea brainstorming items on the list.
We took it in turn. Sammi wanted her wall painted purple and her room painted like the spare room, Jerry wanted a new stove top, I wanted a new front door. We kept going until we had exhausted our ideas. The list is large but functional. Next weekend we will spend time prioritising it. What will we work towards first. This should be a fun session. May need more than tea to get through this...LOL.
Next we will work on the list of things we would like to do, see, explore. E.G. holidays, weekend bushwalks, movies etc. This will be loads of fun.
What Went Out - 1 Item
Jerry put a desk trinket in the gone-ski box. It was a present however it was never his thing. It doesn't devalue the love of the gifting, it is just not true to keep a gift that is not something you love.
What Came In - 0 Items
Doing well here. We are very conscious about what comes into our lives.
INSIGHTS
(1) When you put your guiding principals first, your imagination will find the truest solution
(2) Connecting is a natural human state and we all want and love it
2015 TOTAL: OUT - 296 IN - 4
