Simplifying Your Thoughts: Simple Living Means Fighting Against Stress and the Thoughts that Cause It

Tonight, there's the big Republican debate between the presidential candidates and tomorrow, President Obama is going to address the nation on the unemployment crisis - and media rumors are that this will include spending more money.  Lots more money.

Next week, we honor the 10 year anniversary of 9-11.  Last week, we had hurricanes on the East Coast and earthquakes on the West Coast, and even as I type this, hundreds of thousands of areas of beautiful, piney hillsides near Bastrop, Texas (not that far from me, as the crow flies) are burning in an uncontrolled fire.  Was it caused by the drought? By arson?  What about all the wildlife and the homes and the families?

The Scream - Edvard Munch

It's all cause for stress.  

Stress, big stress.  And that's before you take it down a notch and start wondering about your own circumstances.  Finances, health, relationships, savings, investments, rising prices, what the future might hold.

There is a lot to think about, and lots of people are swirling those thoughts around in their minds without realizing that you have the power to decide what you will think about -- and that you need to do this.

It's accepted by most everyone these days that stress will make you sick.  Keep it up, and it can kill you.  (For details, check out lots about acute stress and chronic stress at WebMD.)


And what is stress?  It's your body reacting to what you are thinking.

Simplifying your life involves more than being frugal with your purchases or going green with your environment or becoming vegetarian in your diet ... simple living means having peace and joy and strength in your attitude.

How do you do that?  You become proactive about what you are thinking about and you stop letting your mind run willy-nilly over whatever scary things it wants to ponder.  Yes, you can do this and it doesn't mean that you become brainwashed or live a zombie's existence.

Simple Living Between Your Ears:  How to Fight Stress With Simplicity

I don't do this as well as I'd like, but I'm much better at it than I was long ago.  Here are some of the things that have worked for me:

1.  I stop myself every so often, and pay attention to the thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head.  Am I worrying about something?  Am I angry about something?  Am I afraid?  Then, I take hold of those thoughts and resolve them.

2.  I speak out loud to myself if this is needed.  For example, I forgot to mail in my car registration and here it was, September, and I've suddenly got an expired tag on my windshield.  My thoughts just baked themselves into a big pie of pressure, and once I realized that I was fretting about this in my head, it all stopped when I said to myself, "I will not get a ticket on the way to getting my car sticker, and if I do, then I'll just pay it.  This isn't worth getting upset over, I'll just deal with it - whatever happens." 

3.  I don't watch TV news, I read my news online.  Maybe it's still inflated and spun, but it's less stressful for me than all those talking heads who seem to vie for who can be more thrilling, for lack of a better word, as they ramble on about the latest horrific event.

4.  I pray and I read my Bible, renewing my mind with scripture.  There's a reason why so many have read this book for so long, there is true comfort and strength in its pages.  I think even non-believers can find good counsel in words like these:  "[a]nd now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Phil 4:8 NLT).

5.  I read about stress and thoughts to learn more about how thoughts do impact my physical health.  There's lots on this:  medical research (see this UCLA study); books on brain function and stress (see Who Switched off My Brain by Dr. Carolyn Leaf); and books on how diet and exercise are powerful tools against stress, promoting clear thinking and proper hormone balance (see the Hormone Diet by Natasha Turner ND).

One of the great things about living simply is knowing that you can control your lifestyle - even if there are others that don't understand why you are choosing that different drummer.  A big part of that change is internal, becoming a person of independent thought.

Some Days Will Eat You, Some Days You'll Eat the Bear.  

As Jane Armatrading once sang (listen here), some days the bear will eat you, some days you'll eat the bear.  We're all a work in process.

Hang in there, fight that stress, and if you need to see it on the screen, remember this:

Everything is going to be alright.  

(image from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Please VOTE Today!

Anti-Inflammatory Herbs - Natural Relief for Inflammation

Yesterday, I posted about inflammation - acute vs chronic - and ways to fight it.  Herbs, pills, diet.  Stuff I've learned after hurting my foot and having to deal with a painful hurt tendon.  Owee.

Today, thought I'd list the various herbal and natural anti-inflammatories I learned about during my research, as well as sharing links that proved helpful to me. 

Personally, I'm drinking green tea made with fresh ginger, sweetened with stevia, and I really think it's helping on the pain front.  But ginger is far from the only anti-inflammatory that's all natural (read: not a pill) - here's a partial list:

Avoid the NSAIDs: Find a Natural Anti-Inflammatory (Herb, Food, Spice) That Works for You

Herbs and Spices

Arnica
Basil
Boswellia
Bromelain
Cayenne Pepper (Capsaicin)
Chondroitin
Cinnamon
Devils Claw
Garlic
Ginger
Glucosamine sulfate
Glucosamine - chondroitin sulfate combo
Licorice root
SAMe (S-adenosyl methionine)
St. John's Wort
Tea Tree Oil
Turmeric
White Willow Bark

Foods

Green Tea
Apple Cider Vinegar
Acerola (West Indian) Cherries
Apples
Avocados
Bell Peppers
Black Currants
Blueberries
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Collard Greens
Guavas
Kiwifruit
Kumquats
Leeks
Lemons
Limes
Mulberries
Onions
Oranges
Papaya
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Spinach
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Turnip Greens


For more information, check out:

Natural Holistic Health

All 4 Natural Health

Metabolism Advice

Natural News

Natural Anti-Inflammatories: What is Inflammation? Do You Have to Take a Pill for It? (Yes, Fine. I Hurt My Foot.)

Inflammation is your body's reaction to an injury -- it's the protection implemented by your own internal system to thwart whatever is hurting it and thereafter to initiate healing. It can be internal or external. 

Inflammation moves blood to the injury site, and there's usually swelling.  And for acute inflammation, there's pain -- which isn't necessarily bad: pain keeps you from moving the injury, giving the body time to heal the site.  Only problem is that pain, well, hurts. 

Inflammation is needed for any wound (or infection) to heal.  However, when it turns into chronic inflammation then it can become a problem, inviting disease (from hay fever allegies and heart disease to rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer's).  Things like diet are a consideration when fighting against chronic inflammation (more below).

Popping Pills for Inflammation

The common practice for inflammation is to pop a pill - take an aspirin, or one of the newer anti-inflammatories, the NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).  You may know them as aspirin (Bayer, etc.), naproxin (Aleve), or ibuprofin (Advil, Motrin, or Tylenol).  NSAIDs are used to treat inflammation, as well as combat pain and lower fever.

There's lots of talk about these pills causing lots of problems on their own, things like a bleeding stomach and ulcers.  So, how to avoid them when you're fighting inflammation?  Can you? 

Natural Anti-Infammatories

Sure. There are several natural alternatives to NSAIDs that are proven anti-inflammatories.  They include (for a much longer list of herbs, spices, and foods that are natural antiinflammatories, go here):

Cayenne Pepper (Capsaicin)

You can find these creams alongside BenGay, IcyHot, and the other tubes of pain relief next to the Ace Bandage display at your local drug store.  These have a small amount of cayenne pepper in them, and it's been proven that rubbing capsaicin into sore muscles and joints can stop pain. 

Ginger

Again, studies have shown that ginger is a very effective anti-inflammatory.  In fact, some have found ginger to be more effective than aspirin (wow).   Make ginger tea, buy an organic hand of fresh ginger, take a finger and peel it, then drop the peeled ginger into a pot of boiling water to steep. 



Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Your entire diet can be targeted toward fighting inflammation.  Dr. Andrew Weil outlines an anti-inflammatory diet on his web site. 

Over at WebMD, Russell Greenfield, MD, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses the impact of chronic (or constant) inflammation and how it's known to be a big contributor to certain diseases, including arthritis, as well as some cancers, as well as heart disease and possible Alzheimer's Disease.  An out-of-balance diet, with too few omega-3 fatty acids, and too much omega-6 fatty acids (in other words, the processed food and fast food diet of most Americans) can cause chronic inflamation - and the person will not even know it.  Eww, right? 

Don't Forget RICE!

Additionally, for injuries (acute inflammation) consider the practical aspects of RICE -- you don't injest a thing.  Instead, you Rest (R) the injured arm, leg, foot, whatever; you put Ice on it (I); you wrap or bandage the site, called Compression (C) and you keep the injured limb immobilized and elevated, Elevation(E). 

What Happened?  I Hurt My Foot on the Trail. 

Okay, what brought this on?  Well, fine.  While on the trails with the pups, I injured my foot.  While being all foot-proud about my new bouncey help-you-butt shoes, the official name of which I won't be providing but you know what I'm talking about, right? 

Tendon pulled, not torn.  Gonna take weeks to heal, and at first this hurt like a big dog.  Now, I know all about tendons and the importance of wearing good shoes. 

And I've discovered that I love ginger tea (I add an organic green tea bag to the pot, so I suppose it's really green tea with ginger).  And yes, I think that the ginger has helped.  Quite a bit, actually.

June is National Safety Month

The National Safety Council is hosting events across the country as part of June being National Safety Month. This year, they are focusing on five specific areas of safety concern:

June 1-6 = Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention
Death caused by taking drugs in unintentional overdoses, many involving chronic pain medications, e.g., oxycodone and hydrocodone.


June 7-13 = Teen Driving Safety
According to the NSC, 17 teens die each day in car crashes in this country.

June 14-20 = Preventing Overexertion at Work & at Home
Pushing yourself past your limits means injury; the NSC reports 40% of injuries at work and at home are due to overexertion.


June 21-27 = Dangers of Cell Phone Use While Driving
Taking and texting while driving remains a serious problem - though Oprah is doing her part to stop it.

June 28-30 = Summer Safety
Here in Texas, we are all too aware of how heat can become life-threatening for children and seniors.

For more information about how you or your organization can get involved in National Safety Month events, check out the National Safety Month page or contact Julie Ford, NSC Development Manager, at julie.ford@nsc.org or 630-775-2104.

John Wooden Wisdom: The Seven Point Creed and Wooden's Two Sets of Threes

John Wooden (1910 -2010)
Shown at his 96th Birthday Celebration
Wikipedia public doman

Renowned basketball coach John Wooden died yesterday (1910 - 2010). Here is his Seven Point Creed, which Coach Wooden's father wrote, and gave to his young son when he graduated from grammar school:
 

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Coach Wooden kept the original card where his father had written this message in his wallet, until the paper crumbled away; then, Wooden replaced it with a new card that contained the exact same seven life lessons. 

According to John Wooden, he never met a greater man than his dad.  What a wonderful thing for this accomplished leader to say, right? 

In an interview that John Wooden gave back in 1996, he gave some other pearls of wisdom he learned from his dad, that he called the "Two Sets of Threes":

"Never lie, never cheat and never steal."

"Don't whine, don't complain and don't alibi."

Rest in Peace, Coach Wooden.

103 Things You Can Do to Reduce Your Stress

ARRRGGGGH!!!!  What do you do when you feel like pulling your hair out, or better yet, like this wet cat?  It happens to all of us, but stress is bad for you in so many ways, and living a simple life means living a peaceful one.

How to beat stress?  Okay, I didn't make up a new list on my own, because lots of great people out there have already made several excellent compilations of advice and guidance on stress reducers.  What I'm providing here is a subset of that stuff on the web -- lists that I found helpful, and a little bit different, coming from different sources.  Sure, they may have some overlap on the most obvious tips, but each has something good to share.

Here's 103 Stress Reducers, with my take on each of these lists:

6 Natural Stress Reducers
What you would expect -- music, laughing.  Some not so easy to do when you're stressed, like "think positive"....
52 Proven Stress Reducers
No big explanations, but some good stuff.  Like getting up 15 minutes earlier, that works for me.  Actually, I love this list.  Good stuff here - like don't hang around worrywarts, and unplugging your phone.
37 Ways to Calm Down Fast
I like the title here, a positive attitude right off the bat.  This list is from Reader's Digest, and it's got a few gems (although all these lists do overlap after awhile, of course).  Some tips I thought were really useful:  buy yourself flowers for your desk every week; several that deal with how you start your day -- rituals, etc.; finding a personal credo (I've got to find mine).
8 Immediate Stress Busters
This is a list made by physicians, and it's got good practical advice in it.  Like checking your posture, consciously slowing down your speech, and eating little snacks of nutritiously-dense foods along with drinking plenty of water.  And a fun one: plan on giving yourself a little reward at the end of the day.  Nice doctors. 

Free Online Daily Devotionals Delivered Every Morning to Your Inbox Instead of Buying the Same Thing at the Bookstore

If you want to spend some cash on a collection of devotionals, the market is ready to serve you. Over at Amazon, for example, you can get the following:

Morning &Evening by Charles Spurgeon (2003 Hardback edition, updated) $14.95

Day by Day by Charles Swindoll (2005 Paperback edition) $10.19

Today God is First by Os Hillman (2002 Paperback edition) $13.99

You can get these same devotionals for free online, which is such a gift from each of these authors (although I believe Spurgeon's work may be in the public domain by now). 

Many may find the online versions to be more useful than owning the paper version, since each day's message can be automatically sent to your email inbox. You don't have to remember to pick up the book, you just have to take the time to read your mail. Just sign up for the free service at Crosswalk.Com:

Morning & Evening - online

Day by Day - online version

Today God is First - online version

Image:  From the December 1870 issue of Vanity Fair, a caricature of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, author of Morning & Evening, his only daily devotional.  Famed as a orator, Spurgeon was pastor of London's New Park Street Chapel (lka Metropolitan Tabernacle) as well as being a traveling evangelist who is said to have preached to over 10 million people during his lifetime (1834-1892). 

Procrastination Is An Enemy to Simplifying Your Life

Simplifying your life means changing your lifestyle. Changing your methods of living life can be very difficult, even when you are proactively wanting to alter things.

When you are involuntarily simplifying because of a lost job or unexpected expenses, it gets even harder. It's easy to procrastinate. Especially when things seem overwhelming. When you're afraid, it's easy to be a deer in the headlights - thinking that if you do nothing, maybe it will all go away.

Procrastination is Your Enemy

Procrastination, however, is your enemy. Don't put off things that will ultimately benefit you and your family. Nothing good can come from it.

Hara Marano's Great Article

There's a great article by Hara Marano over at Psychology Today discussing the evils of procrastination, and I encourage you to jump right over there and read it. It contains such jewels as:

• Procrastination is a "profound problem of self-regulation." I never thought of procrastination this way before, and it makes good sense.
• Procrastination "is one response to an authoritarian parenting style ...," where controlling parents prevent the kids from "developing the ability to regulate themselves, from internalizing their own intentions and then learning to act on them." Without judging anyone's childhood, I like the idea that identifying your own intentions and learning to act on them is a kind of self-awareness and I especially appreciate the phrase "self-regulation." Regulation of one's self, instead of having advertising agencies regulating one's behavior by set society standards, is a key component to successfully simplifying your life.
• "Procrastinators "actively look for distractions, particularly ones that don't take a lot of commitment on their part." The example that was given was reading (or checking) e-mail, but I'm thinking video games and watching mindless television also count. Why do this? "They distract themselves as a way of regulating their emotions such as fear of failure."
• Procrastinators aren't all the same. There are the "thrill-seekers, who wait to the last minute for the euphoric rush;" the "avoiders, who may be avoiding fear of failure or even fear of success, but in either case are very concerned with what others think of them; they would rather have others think they lack effort than ability;" and "decisional procrastinators, who cannot make a decision ... [which]absolves procrastinators of responsibility for the outcome of events."

How to Change?

How to change? The Marano article suggests "highly structured cognitive behavioral therapy," whatever that is. Personally, I think that the power of prayer is of great use here, too. It's been my experience that faith can conquer procrastination:

• “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.” -- Ecclesiastes 11:4 (The Living Bible)
• "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control." -- 2 Timothy 1:7 (CET)

Personal Post 9: Cut Electric Bill by Half

Just thought I'd share my efforts in cutting the electric bill -- of course, the real test will be the next few months, when the hot Texas summer kicks in. (Today, we're going to be in the mid-90s for a high.) So far, I'm proud to report that the electric bill is half what it used to be.

Yes, folks, HALF.

1. I've started buying the CFL bulbs, one or two at a time, during the major grocery run. The plan is to stagger replacement of the bulbs throughout the house, starting with those used the most to those used the least. This is still a work in process.

2. Any appliances that aren't used daily have been unplugged. In my home office, for example, the electric 3-hole punch (which I love) is a fantastic help, but I don't need it everyday. Other examples: table lamps in the living room, a corner lamp in the den, and we just got rid of the electric can opener flat out. (Standby consumption by each of these appliances can equal leaving a lamp on with a 75 watt conventional bulb.)

3. The chargers don't get plugged in unless it's time to charge something.

4. Using room air conditioners instead of central air - for as long as possible (this is Texas, after all). And, using them only when necessary -- the house is well-insulated and the roof is protected from full sun by shade trees; it averages 10 degrees cooler in the house than outside as a general rule.

5. Using fans instead of any air conditioning. Fans give a nice breeze, they're comforting in an odd way, and they really can keep you cool.

6. Washing all the laundry in cold water (learned this trick from watching Kate doing laundry on the reality show Jon & Kate + 8).

7. Drying lots of things on a little clothes hanger set up in the laundry room instead of throwing everything in the dryer (and always changing the lint filter before every load, too).

8. Handwashing the dishes instead of using the dishwasher except on weekends, and then waiting to run a full load -- and choosing air-dry for those loads.

9. Hung heat-resistant mini-blinds and heavier drapes in the den (where there are two big sets of floor to ceiling windows) - this has really helped keep the den more comfortable than past years.

10. The ever-popular rule: turn the light out when you leave the room ....

For more information:

NRDC

EHow.Com

ConEd's 100 Tips

One Glass of Wine Per Week Cuts Women's Dementia Risk 70%

Wow! A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, covering 34 years of research, shows that women drinking one glass of wine per week cut the likelihood of developing dementia (including Alzheimer's) by seventy percent (70%). Add other forms of alcohol to the mix, and the percent is still good at forty percent (40%).

One glass of wine. You can do that.

For more info: Vancouver Sun; Science Daily

Starting to Simplify: Step 2 - Get Control of Your Stuff

You have too much stuff. You don't even know everything you have. Knowing this, there is always that temptation to go buy more.

It's not your fault: it's the grist mill of our economy - the message to buy, buy, buy is thrown at you constantly from as many different sources as ad agencies can discover.

Still, you must stop this. The second step of simplifying your life is gaining control of your stuff.

First, stop buying anything other than true necessities - and that means:

1) food which you will cook at home -- a Big Mac is not a necessity: it is a cheap, tempting alternative to a good meal;

2) utilities to keep your home running smoothly -- this means electricity and water and some type of phone service: your home does not need to be air conditioned to the point of wearing sweaters indoors, that is not a necessity;

3) transportation to and from work and school -- this may be gas in the car, or it may be public transportation of some sort; and

4) stuff that goes along with work and basic needs -- child care so you can work or go to school, medicine so you stay healthy, things like that. Only things like that. Don't fool yourself.

Your goal here is to get control of the material things in your life.

Maybe you'll become so enthralled with this process that you'll join the Compact. Maybe you'll just get your home really organized, and cut back on some expenditures in the budget as well as finding other things to do with your time other than spending your cash.

Once you've drawn your line in the sand on spending, it's time to look around at all you've got. And discover what you have already.

Sort your closets, organize the garage, dust the bookshelves. Clean your own house thoroughly instead of waiting for the maid (no, you don't need a maid; no, you don't) -- it is simply amazing what a sense of satisfaction you get from this process. Family memories will pop up, you'll laugh at the fashion horrors you (yes, you) actually wore in public; good books will be read; good movies will be watched; and good music will be heard.

This is a fun process. Really.

Now, during this Taking Control of Your Stuff, you'll find things you don't want anymore, things that are better suited to a tax-deductible charitible donation than replacing into your closet space. Some stuff will just need to be tossed. I've received lots of compliments on my Sorting System and if you're interested, you can read about that here. This is the third part: organize your stuff and get rid of what you don't need or what's not any good anymore.

So, it's really easy, isn't it?
Stop buying.
Discover everything you've got.
Sort, organize, and giveaway, sell, toss -- get rid of the excess.

And, take your time with this. Simplifying isn't supposed to be done at that multitasking, stressful Wall Street speed. Enjoy this process.

For other helpful info on Getting Control of Your Stuff, check out:
How to Clean -1
How to Cook - 2
Examples of Excess 3 - Tweens are Shoppers

What is Simplifying? Should You Do It?

Today’s news is filled with scary stories about the cratering sub-prime lending market, the dollar’s decline, and the plunging Dow. This has got a lot of people pondering ways to cut back on their spending, getting ready for a severe recession that seems more and more inevitable.

Tightening your money belt is a good thing, it’s a smart strategy. However, it’s very different from simplifying your life. Cutting back is painful; simplifying is freeing and fun. Maybe now more than ever, it’s time to think about simplicity.

Simplifying isn’t a new concept: the Shakers were propounding the benefits of living a simple life over 150 years ago. Janet Luhrs’ book, The Simple Living Guide, has had steady sales since its debut in 1998, and this April will mark the 14th anniversary of Vicki Robin’s famous speech to the United Nations, “A Declaration of Independence from Overconsumption.”

What is simplifying? It’s going against the materialistic mainstream and proactively living a life that you have consciously defined for yourself. There are many reasons for simplifying, and there are many different types of simplifiers.

For some, simplifying life means reducing stress for health reasons, for others it’s a social justice or anti-consumerism issue. Simplifiers can be as straight-forward as families transforming into one-income households so their kids can have a full-time parent at home, as well as someone deciding to buy only organic or locally-grown produce. They can also be as multifaceted as environmental activists, seeking to minimize their consumption of fossil fuels by living off the grid along with those involved in The Compact, where members have committed to buy absolutely nothing new for one full year.

Ed Begley, Jr., of the cable television show “Living With Ed,” is a simplifier. So is Julia Roberts, who took time off from her career to stay at home with her young children.

If the news of an impending recession has you pondering your way of life, and wondering if perhaps there is a better way, then you may be interested in simplifying. Should you choose to do so, know that it has tremendous benefits: there is a surprising sense of freedom with each step you take, and there is suddenly more time to do the things you care about. However, it’s not for the faint-hearted: you’ll have discouraging friends and family who will not understand this change in attitude, and you’ll have moments of being overwhelmed at the undertaking.

For those who have taken steps to simplifying their lives, though, it’s been worth all their efforts. Life truly is better without the call of the mall.

If you’re interested in learning more, check out:

1. In Print

Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World by Linda Breen Pierce. Stories of those who have downsized their lives, relates their experiences and whether or not they regret the change.

Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Joe R. Dominguez and Vicki Robin. Financial guide, a landmark in the Simplicity movement.

Living the Simple Life : A Guide to Scaling Down and Enjoying More by Elaine St. James. Good, practical tips (cancel the newspaper subscription, eat at home).

Voluntary Simplicity, Revised Edition: Toward a Life That is Inwardly Simple, Outwardly Rich by Duane Elgin. History of the movement, discussion of spiritual motivations behind downsizing.

The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs. Must-read; describes all variety of lifestyles within the "voluntary simplicity" world.


2. Online

Everyday Simplicity (http://everydaysimplicity.blogspot.com)
The Simple Living Network (http://www.simpleliving.net/main)
Simple Living America (http://simplelivingamerica.blogspot.com)

Starting to Simplify: Step 1 - Start Cooking at Home

Lots of folk are in the process of simplifying their lives, and from the looks of today's economy, a lot more are going to be revamping their lifestyles - maybe as a necessity, as much as a proactive choice.

What if you're interested in changing your life, taking control and simplifying things, but you're not sure where to begin?

Perhaps the easiest place to start is to begin preparing your food at home. This means bringing your lunch to work, and cooking meals at home - not eating out, not grabbing fast food.

It's easier than you think, it's fun, it's a stress-reducer, it's healthier, and it's a great family ritual to get everyone communicating with each other at the table. Plus, you will be amazed at the amount of money you save.

Start slowly, Rome wasn't built in a day. Take your lunch to work on odd-numbered days, or cook a big meal on Sunday that can serve as yummy leftovers during the week.

For more guidance, check out these posts:

How to Cook - 1
How to Cook - 2
How to Cook - 3: Slow Cookers
Menu Planning 101
Menu Planning 102
How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken
How to Fillet a Whole Fish
Cleaning Burnt Pans

15 Tips for Maximizing Your Food Budget

This month, the Center for Nutrition Policy issued a new pdf: "Low Cost, Medium Cost and Liberal Food Plans - 2007," revising a previous version of alternative food budgets. (The low cost plan is designed to work with someone feeding a family on food stamps.)

It's too hard to read, and I'm not sure what to think about all its data, anyway. So, I've compiled this list of 15 tips for maximizing your food budget:

1. Buy store brands - they're cheaper.

2. Use coupons - take an hour a week to track them down in the newspaper, mailbox, and online. Organize them according to area of the store (dairy, meat, etc.) and within that category, by expiration date. (If you're lucky, your store has its own promotional coupons, too - here in San Antonio, HEB has lots of promos plus a coupon kiosk near the customer service area). It doesn't take that long, and you can use the rest of the time to plan meals.

3. Shop on double coupon day. (Here in SA, that means Sun Harvest; HEB doesn't offer double coupon days.)

4. Plan your weekly menu to maximize the coupons.

5. Shop with a grocery list and stick to that list.

6. Do not buy junk just because you have a coupon. If the kids hate powdered donuts, don't buy them just because they're on sale. If you are into eating organic, then don't compromise just because Cocoa Puffs are 3 for a dollar. Rule the coupons, don't let them rule you!

7. Compare the unit price. Something on sale with a coupon may still cost more than the store brand.

8. Cook from scratch as much as possible: the more preparation in the item, the higher the price.

9. Organize your kitchen (freezer, fridge, pantry) as well as a little storage area elsewhere. A big sale on toilet paper may be worth stocking up - but you will need the extra space. Similarly, cooking a big batch of chili or stew may mean you freeze half for later: it's better to have an organzed freezer (not only to have a place for the item, but to remember it's there and not have it hidden for archeologists in the back right corner ...).

10. Eat your leftovers. Rework them if your family is picky about this - Food Network's Robin Miller (contributing editor for Health and Cooking Light ) has an entire show dedicated on revamping a food item in 3-4 ways for use during the week. Chicken breasts one night become shredded bbq chicken sammies the next, etc.

11. Keep a Food Journal. Yes, this sounds hokey -- but it can be a simple spiral notebook and it's purpose is to keep track of what's working and what's not. It doesn't have to be pretty. If the family loved your Organic Mac and Cheese Bake, then make a note of this. If they hated the 12 grain bread, note it. Slowly, you'll build a list of recipes that the family likes and this will make menu planning a lot easier. The Journal should also keep track of big sales -- stores tend to put things on sale on a schedule and as you gain control of this info, you'll be able to plan ahead for the sale items. I also take my journal with me to Sam's, HEB, etc. and write down prices for things that I buy a lot. It's helped me discover that the paper towels at Walmart are a better deal than Sam's, and I was just assuming that Sam's had the best deal.

12. Cook in batches. Buying in bulk (like at Sam's or CostCo) can get you a better unit price. You can break these apart and freeze parts. You can also stretch these buys through cooking a big batch and then freezing part of the entree for later. Examples: a big pot of chili, freeze half; a huge meatloaf, freeze half; broccoli-rice casserole, freeze half. You get the idea.

13. Learn to cook great vegetables that are cheap. Cabbage, greens, turnips, beets, yams, these are great foods, they are cheap foods, and you need to take advantage of them. A big pot of greens on a cold winter day, with cornbread and sweet butter? There's nothing better. Like Chinese food or Thai? Lots of cabbage potential there. Explore.

14. Find alternatives to meat. Beans and rice together make a complete protein. Cajun recipes and TexMex recipes combine them both. A favorite in my house are bean cakes - they can be crispy and spicy and very delicious as an entree and again as a sammie. Lots of variety here, lots of nutrition, and soooo cheap.

15. Reward yourself for a job well done. This whole thing should be fun, not a chore. Find the joy in all this ... it's there. Great food, great nutrition, and great savings.

Skeery Economy? Yes. Is it Smart to be Scared? No.

If you want to get skeered and all shivery about the economy, just go read these guys for awhile and then start panic-plotting how you, too, can move to Asia, or start stockpiling gold, or become self-sustaining, off the grid in the outback somewhere:


The Daily Reckoning
The Rude Awakening
The Housing Bubble 2
Desidooru Saloon
Economist's View

These guys sound savvy and on the mark, and they've been proven right over time. You should know what's happening here. And, yep, it's sounding bad.

Of course, you can read all this and choose not to fear, but instead to figure out what is best for you to DO.

One thing that's obvious when you just look at the foreclosure rates alone is that a lot of folk are having to tighten their budgets and live a different lifestyle because of events that have been thrust upon them. They're going to have to deal with grief and loss and probably shame -- that's a lot already without a big bunch of fear thrown on top.

They've been forced to simplify their lives, without the accompanying value and lifestyle choices that others have done in advance, like those who label themselves "Voluntary Simplifiers," for example.

People that are forced to live simply are very different from those of us who have chosen to live Simple Lives as a positive, proactive choice.

If you've chosen Simplicity, don't change now, just keep moving forward.

You already know how not to be a lemming, and you already know how to appreciate what you have, and you know how to implement change and not stay stuck.

If you've had Simplicity thrust upon you, there's lots of negative emotions to fight -- but it's isn't a bad thing to live a simple life. For lots of us, it's the best life ever.

Abundance and material wealth are two very different things.

Hang in there.

Everything is going to be alright.

You've got you, remember?

Personal Post 6: Natural Cold and Flu Remedies

I'm coming down with a cold and thought I'd share my research with you on cold and flu remedies:

1. The Herbal Stuff
An article at About.Com suggests using zinc lozenges; astralagus; echinacea - specifically echinacea purpurea; ginseng; garlic; and elderberry. They've got the research and links to support their advice, if you want to read up on all this.

2. Home Remedies
Over at HomeRemediesForYou, they recommend the homespun treatments like getting lots of rest, drinking juices, getting some sun, taking in garlic, drinking warm water with lemon and honey in it.

3. The WebMD Approach
WebMd has a few natural remedies to suggest, too. They include blowing your nose often (they even give instructions); lots of rest; gargling; taking a steamy shower; using a salve (I prefer Vick's VapoRub); and sleeping with an extra pillow under your head for drainage purposes.

Okay. What am I going to do?

I'm going to rest, drink lots of hot liquids as well as fresh-squeezed orange juice, sleep with the extra pillow, use Vick's VapoRub, get some sun, take garlic, and the echinacea -- and yes: I'm also taking Tylenol DayCare because I've got to get work done and I cannot type and simultaneously blow my nose and see the screen with watery eyes. So far, though, this Tylenol stuff hasn't done a darn thing.

I'll update in the comments which things seemed to help. Already, I can tell you: Puffs with Lotion ROCK.

Personal Post 5: Crazy But True Fly-Stopper

I have alley trash pick-up, but there has been some confusion lately about where to put the garbage during a temporary alley shut-down, allowing for pruning of the overhanging tree limbs, etc. By confusion, I mean that I put the trash bags in the wrong spot, and they didn't get picked up.

Which means the garbage had to set, developing its aroma and oozing its vile liquid, for another four days. You could almost hear the flies spreading the word. Feast. Fiesta. Major Party Time. The advance team was there within the hour.

So, I went online and discovered that in third world countries, they commonly hang open Ziploc bags filled with water near areas that flies are prone to visit, and somehow this keeps the flies away. The more modern version is reported to be placing CDROMs near the area. Something about the reflection off the water, or off the CDROM - flies don't like it.

Sounded silly, just too darn good to be true. But the volume of testimonials, from all over the world, swayed me. Plus, what's a CDROM hung up on the fence? Cheap, easy, right?

Well, it worked. The shiny CDROM kept all flies from the area. No kidding. And the trash reeked and oozed, a real big test of this folk remedy.

Since then, I've left the CDROM there, and placed one by the back door as well. Nary a fly -- I'm amazed at this one. Thought I'd share it with you.

Feeling Sick? Check Your Symptoms Online

Feeling under the weather, but not sure what's up? There are a couple of online sites that allow you to input symptoms, and voila! a list of possible causes pops up with suggested courses of treatment - stuff to do at home, as well as suggestions on when you should see the doctor.

The Mayo Clinic offers this free service at its site. Its "symptom checker" provides lots of information, including both treatment and prevention.

WebMD.Com also has a symptom checker. WebMD is an online site provided by a combination of physicians and other professionals. It is affiliated with MedicineNet.

Other online symptom checkers include Healthline, and About.Com, whose symptom checker uses information provided by Harvard Medical School.

For those of you interested in alternative medicine, or distrustful of standardized medicine, check out HowStuffWorks.Com, which provides not only a symptom checker but tons of info on ... well, how stuff works health-wise. Revolution Health also provides a symptom checker (but if you look closely, they are using the Mayo Clinic site).


Shown: Gabriel Von Max's Die ekstatische Jungfrau Katharina Emmerich, 1885

Site to See: Debt-Proof Living

Debt-Proof Living may be known to some of you as Cheapskate Monthly: the site has been revamped and renamed. Written by the money editor for Women's Day, the site is busting at the seams with financial tips - along with personal notes from Mary Hunt about her quest for a debt-free lifestyle.

The Hunts have simplified their lives, and their initial motivation was financial. This may not be true for everyone (my initial motivation to simplify was not based upon money, for example), but Mary Hunt has a lot of good advice and encouragement for anyone in the midst of seeking a simpler life.

It's a great site. I think you'll find things there that you will use.