Expect Less

I’ve been working at simplification and lightening the load for about a week now, and while there’s still a long way to go, I’m making progress. Last night I cataloged all of my DVDs, and the list is now out in circulation among friends and family. Hopefully I can unload a few of them that way, and the rest will be sent to Craigslist in a few batches (action, drama, scifi) and if anything doesn’t sell there, I’ll put them up individually on Amazon or Half.

Checking email less occasionally has been difficult, but I’ve been managing. I check about 4 times a day right now, at 10, 2, 4, and 8. I’m hoping I can cut that down soon. At that time I usually check Google Reader as well, which has been so much easier to stay on top of since cutting my feeds by 66%. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything, and I don’t feel like I the feeds are something I have to maintain any more either.  As you can see in the screen shot below, my daily article consumption has dropped from 800 to 1,000 posts a day to about 200. It’s wonderful.

Aside from that, GrandCentral is working wonderfully, though the call screening seems to throw off people who aren’t expecting it. Oh well, there’s been nothing important so far.

I spent a good amount of time cleaning out my closet, shredding old bills and filing away the things that needed to be filed (I’m bad about staying on top of the filing). A few drawers have been cleaned out as well, and a huge pile of clothes are ready to be donated, once I figure out where to take them. I think Goodwill is closest.

I didn’t get my car cleaned today, and I’m planning to spend most of the day at the State Fair tomorrow, so that may be a middle of the week task.

Overall, I’m feeling good about things. The more that I cut out of my life, the more things I look at and wonder if they’re really needed or being fully utilized. There may be more minimalism in my near future than I expected when I started on this task.