Idea for slimming down your space: digital photo frames.
I’ve written before about our plan to shrink our footprint – smaller car, smaller living quarters, less use of consumables, less acquisition, etc. We’re working on it. Things are being consumed and not replaced. We long ago threw off the “upgrade” addiction that has gripped the US – more megs, more songs, more speed (speed faster than you can type). I have older TVs. As they die, they aren’t being replaced. I have older clothes, 14-year old shirts that I still wear quite happily. We don’t buy things because they’re popular and we don’t ‘have to’ have much. Some of our stuff is up for sale, and we’ll trim that down until we sell the anchor (the house), and then are able to move in one modest vehicle, or by shipping it.
You have to have your knick knacks and bric a brac? Try consolidating. I like photos too. Personally, I prefer putting them on the net, where I can share them beyond my front door, and see them from anywhere. But with a $40 frame from Office Depot that swaps out hundreds of photos, every few seconds, you really can get rid of those large frames and walls of photography.
We have those multi-photo frames in our ikon corner, to serve as a prayer list. I’m thinking of increasing our capacity by replacing those, when we move, with a single e-frame. Set it to flip through a photo every few seconds, and say the name of the person with “Lord have mercy.” Works for us.
But if this consolidation thing works for some things, it must work for others. Scanning all those piles of old papers is the classic start – the paperless office. I’m still in that process, since I’ve had an office from the time I was a kid. But hopefully 2009 will see the last of non-essential paper.
I’m going to work on the DVDs and Videos next. There are just so many that would be better off in someone else’s hands. I just don’t buy them anymore. There are maybe a dozen I just have to own. The rest, I havent’ touched a 2nd time.
Slim. Slim. Slim. Want to lose weight? Live like you’re small; the rest will follow.
