reverb 10: day 11, real time

Okay, new strategy. I am going to try to do at least the post of the day for reverb 10, and I will go back and pick up missed prompts as I am able. So, here is the one that is actually for today, December 11, 2010.

reverb 10

December 11

11 Things: What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

Oh, yikes. Let me think. These will probably be alternately silly and profound...well, hopefully profound. Perhaps not profound...let's see...

1. Financial Irresponsibility. Really working on this one. Right now I'm reading the book Your Money or Your Life and finding it really helpful.

2. Excess Material Stuff. This goes right along with #1. Need to continue to declutter physical objects and not buy things just for the heck of it. Trying to consume less, simply be, and live, more.

3. Yelling at my kids. Ugh, I do not like to be a yeller. Sometimes my son just pushes me over the edge! My mother used to curse me when I was a child (by the way, I remember seeing the book The Strong-Willed Child on her bookshelf and thinking, "Why does she need to read that?" Ha!) and she would say to me, "One day I hope you have a little girl just like you!" Well, I think my little girl has a strong will but is also a bit more docile, but Jackson...whooo boy, he is me in a little physical boy body, and he knows how to push my buttons! Working on staying level with me and remembering that he is 4, and he does not control the universe.

4. Negative self-talk. Did you know that there is actual scientific evidence that what previously we thought of a "new-agey" affirmations actually build new pathways in our brains? I think this website is one that gives some scientific info about it. It's Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. So, I am going to continue to try to replace negative self-talk with positive stuff, and hope that it helps to heal me and to direct my life in positive ways!

I'm kind of off-topic from THINGS here, aren't I...let's get back to basics...

5. The leather skirt from the Gap that I bought about 7 years ago. I really need to let it go, even though I think I either wore it once or not at all. I would like to wear it again, but it is simply not my size...

6. Crap from the basement. I have a wonderful "cleaning lady" -- I prefer to call her my cleaning personal trainer, because I usually work alongside her -- and we have decluttered many areas of my house, but we haven't yet tackled the ucky basement. Perhaps that will be in our future for 2011...

7. Junk on the side porch. Why is that a collection area for random yuck that doesn't have another home? We have an outdoor shed, so if there are things that belong in there, they should go in there. If they don't belong there, they should go in the garbage!

8. Credit card debt. I have made myself an "aggressive debt elimination plan" and if I may a nominal amount each month to eliminate some balances on smaller cards, I will be credit-card-debt-free by April 2012. This also assumes that I stop USING the cards, or that if I use them, I pay them off in full each month when I make new purchases. This is a serious goal, and I think I will feel much freer without credit card bills to pay each month. This also ties in with accumulating less material objects.

9. Collections of catalogs. Yes, there is something about looking at catalogs in physical form rather than shopping online, but seriously, how many catalogs does one need? I accumulate piles within a week's time...ridiculous! Plus, it feeds into the consumerism and materialism as I gaze longingly at the objects within the pages of said catalogs...better to be out of sight, out of mind.

10. Crap in my purse. I have so much junk in my purse, and yet even when I go places, I often leave the purse in the car and just take my wallet into a restaurant or store, especially when I'm pushing the stroller. So why do I haul so much junk around in my purse? I honestly don't know...I guess so it's there whenever I decide that I *do* need it, which is who-knows-when...

11. Man, this already seems like a lot to get rid of. Not that any of it is painful, but I guess since I did groupings of stuff and crap and whatnot, it's more categorical than it is just single items. Anyway, I think the final thing is to streamline my Netflix subscription. I currently have the unlimited 3-a-month, but I regret to confess that I just sent something back last week that I'd had since January 2010. I like not having late fees, but why am I also paying $20 a month to hold onto something for 11 months? Ridiculous! I need to maybe move to the one-a-month plan, so that when I really want something, it forces me to send the previous DVD back. That or use the Blockbuster or Redbox boxes that are all over the place in our town.

So, voila! At least I have one post done on the appropriate day...perhaps a goal of this week will be to catch up and STAY caught up!