IN THIS ISSUE:

I. Live Your Dreams
II. Five Tips From Readers
III. References
IV. My "Clutter" Can STILL Be Yours

In the last issue of Making Lives Simple, I announced the "My Clutter Can Be Yours" contest. I had so many great submissions that I added some more books to the list and decided to extend the deadline. (See contest rules below.)This issue is filled with just a few of the winning submissions. So sit back and enjoy ideas and tips from some readers just like you.

I. LIVE YOUR DREAMS

Dear Linda,

My husband and I are in our early 40's with two sons ready to fly the nest. Two years ago we sold our "big" home with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and had 3 of the world's largest garage sales. Our friends thought we were crazy. We purchased a 3-bedroom condo in town. Anything we hadn't used in 2 years was sold, donated to local charities or given to friends and family. I cannot tell you what a wonderful feeling it is to get rid of the "stuff."

Part two of our plan is to totally simplify our lives. In what seems like another crazy plan to others, we will be putting the condo up for sale this spring. Then once both of our sons are situated in college full-time in the fall, we will be hitching up our 36 foot fifth-wheel camper and heading west for the winters. I quit a 20-year career in advertising a little over 2 years ago to gain work experience in the food service industry so that I would have "portable" skills on the road. We plan to live in the warm Southwest in the winter months and live in Ohio in the mild summers. We will definitely be simplifying our lives by fitting everything we "need" into less than 400 square feet of space.

One of my husband's sisters died of cancer last year and her parting words to him were, "live your dreams and enjoy life – you never know what may happen." So, we're taking her advice, living our dream of travel and living a somewhat unconventional life.

What seemed like forever 2 1/2 years ago when we started planning is almost here. A mere 7 months until we totally simplify and learn to enjoy life to the fullest.

Thank you for your informative newsletter. I truly enjoy it!

Don & Julie Rychener from Archbold, Ohio

1. Paper is my nemesis. I saved too much in case I might need to refer to it later. Since I can now get most information on line I decided that I needed to weed out dated information in my files. So, when I log on to the Internet each day, I grab a file from the file cabinet and de-clutter it while I wait for the Internet pages to download. I ask myself if I can find the information online, if I can, out it goes. - Janet Hartmann, Tucson, AZ

2. I have let go of the notion of "spring cleaning" and instead I focus on simplifying and cleaning one room or area each month. My children's rooms get cleaned the month of their birthday just in time to get rid of old toys and items for their coming birthday parties. I have one month for the basement just in time for the garage sales. Our bedroom is the month of our anniversary. Other months are for the bathrooms, closets, garage, family room, living room, dining room, deck (always in the summer), and last is the kitchen in November.

It's fun as we enter a new month and decide if there is anything that needs to be replaced or painted. During that month I will also shop for items for that particular room. My home seems refreshed and simplified, not a lot of clutter, and not overwhelming to keep it that way. - Terri Kosobucki, McFarland, WI

3. With the exception of special days and occasions, preparing everyday meals is not my most favorite thing to do. But I do, and many times, I cook like I'm cooking for two families – one family's worth of food for today and the other family's worth for the following week. I find it's not that much more effort to make more than we need and then freeze the rest for another time. It's so nice, especially on a hectic day, to be able to just go to the freezer and pull out something I know we all like that takes so much less time to re-heat than it would if I had to start from the beginning. - Sandy Foogle, Eurerka, California

4. I use a single-entry ledger that I use to store all the bills that come in that need to be paid. When I pay them, I record the date, check number, description, amount and if the item is tax deductible or not. This is not very "computer savvy" but is very simple and solves many problems:
I always know where my bills are,
I can review history to see if a bill has been paid in the past or not,
I have a ready log of tax-deductible payments come tax time, and
I don't have to look through several checkbook ledgers when looking at history. - Mary Jo Thomson, Oklahoma City, OK

5. I have learned that by concentrating on the positives and living life in gratitude I am a much happier person. I try to be grateful for the blessings I am given. Newsletters like yours reinforce all that is positive about life and remind me to appreciate the simple things. - Sandra Olsen, Dauphin, Manitoba Canada
________________________________

"The main reason I seek the ideas of others is for help – the diagnosis and treatment of my own isolation and the enlargement of my understanding." - Bill Moyers. Source: "A World of Ideas: Conversations with Thoughtful Men and Women about American Life Today and the Ideas Shaping our Future" by Bill Moyers
________________________________

III. REFERENCES

TTo find more resources or to order these, go to
http://www.simplifylife.com/reference.html

"Higher Ground" by Barbra Streisand
(Room 9 – Music to Your Ears - http://www.simplifylife.com/stratgy9.html)

When Barbra first heard the song "Higher Ground" it immediately struck her as a good title for this album. In a sense, these two words seemed to sum up the album's central message. There are singers with great voices and then a smaller percentage who are also great artists. Barbra is both. Her talent is that she makes a connection from her mind...to her heart...to her soul...which then magically finds its way to her throat. Her gifts will surely inspire the world for all time. (From Session Notes by Jay Landers)

IV. MY CLUTTER CAN STILL BE YOURS

There are publishers who send me books they think I might like to review. Some of these are books I already had but I saved the duplicates, well, just because!

These are actually some very good books that I thought you might enjoy. Here's how you can get one.

Just share your story on how you've been simplifying your life. If I publish your submission in either the Making Lives Simpler or Virtual Reality Self-Help Center newsletter, on the SimplifyLife.com or vrselfhelp.com website, you'll receive a new book. It's that …simple!

You can write on any one of a variety of topics ranging from creating the life you desire to creating the work you love. It can be as an article or in a "tips" format. It doesn't matter how far you've progressed in the simplification process or if you've only recently begun. Please keep it to no more than 500 words.

Your book gift could be one of the following hardbound books: "It Takes A Village" by Hillary Rodham Clinton, "A Return To Love" by Marianne Williamson, or "Never Good Enough" by Monica Ramirez Basco. In soft cover, they're "Unclutter Your Home" by Donna Smallin, "Work With Passion" by Nancy Anderson, "The Sun My Heart" by Thich Nhat Hanh, "Becoming a Coach" by Thomas J. Leonard, "110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life" a eBooklet by Paulette Ensign and my very own "101 Tips to Simplify Your Life" eBooklet.

Email your writings by May 30, 2003. You must include your full name, email address, mailing address and you must own the rights to the material submitted. If you have a preference for which book gifts you'd like, please include a couple of choices with your submission. I'll do my best to honor your request. All articles we use become the property of Simplify Life and I reserve the right to edit them as needed. There is no guarantee that your article will be published. This offer can be withdrawn at any time. Only one book gift per person.

MORE ABOUT "MAKING LIVES SIMPLER"

Linda Manassee Buell is a full-time Personal and Business Coach, and author of the tips eBooklet, "Simplify Your Life, 101 Ways to Create the Life You Love," the audiotape, "Simplify Your Life, 7 Simple Strategies for Doing What You Love to Do," the revised edition of the workbook, "Simplify Your Life: A Journey of Personal Discovery," and her latest book, "Panic and Anxiety Disorder, 121 Tips, Real-life Advice, Resources & More."

To order your personal copy of any of the above by check or credit card, just go to http://simplifylife.com and click on "Shop the Store."

Anyone is welcome to subscribe to this free newsletter, "Making Lives Simpler." There is no subscription fee, and the mailing list remains confidential. It will not be sold, traded or bartered to any other parties.

To subscribe or un-subscribe, send an e-mail to requests@lists.webvalence.com with "subscribe MakingLivesSimpler" or "unsubscribe MakingLivesSimpler" as the subject. (Be sure there aren't any spaces between the words MakingLivesSimpler.)

You can also subscribe or un-subscribe at my website, SimplifyLife.com. Just click on Making Lives Simpler and follow the directions.

Linda's e-mail address.

Linda's Website can be found at: http://www.simplifylife.com

The contents herein are solely the opinions of Simplify Life and Linda Manassee Buell.