One funny thing about our new place though, we have lived here for over 2 weeks and only officially met one of our neighbors this last weekend, and only because he was washing his car as we walked by.  So rather than wait for them to come welcome us and introduce themselves, which it doesn’t seem like they were going to do, I decided to extend the first hand.  I made neighbor holiday gifts!

While at Costco the other day, I spotted a 4 pack of Martinelli’s for $6.99.  That’s a great deal, I have since seen them in advertisements for $2.50-$2.99 each as sale prices, but I got mine for about $1.75 each!

I used tags from one of the many paper related blogs I follow, you can download the free printable sheet by clicking here to go to Jones Design Company. I used photoshop to make a sheet of just this tag, since it is my favorite.  I wrote a note on the back apologizing in advance for any crying they may hear from our direction, and letting them know they can stop by if they ever need a cup of sugar.

The main dilemma happened when I tied my first bow and realized I don’t know how to tie perfect bows.  Pause for a moment to exclaim how much I love the internet!  A quick search on YouTube and I came up with this video tutorial for how to tie the perfect bow.  It worked! I am so excited that it took less than 5 minutes to watch, and my gifts will look better for the rest of my life.

And here are some pictures of the progress in our new place!

Daddy putting together the new crib

The beginnings of a coordinated nursery!
(see the video baby monitor up on the wall? that thing has been amazing!)

My beautiful baby
(don’t worry, he can’t kneel like that on his own)

Adam is now over 3 months old and started to be fussier, until I realized that he is just bored!  He is going to be an active kid, as soon as I sit him in the bumbo or help him practice standing, he is really happy. He thinks standing on me is the funniest thing and will laugh and laugh! We are trying to get it on video soon.

I have been meaning to post about Adam’s birth for months now, but this week I think it will happen so stay tuned, I have been pondering about it a lot this week as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of another important baby boy.  My heart is filled with gratitude and joy, which I will share in the next post this week.

Merry Christmas!

If I had a garage or laundry room, I would be doing this:

This would be great for recycling OR laundry.  Just think. You use them to sort whites from darks, but rather than having to empty the laundry bags (we have one of those canvas bags that hangs on a frame) you could just lift it off the wall and carry it right to the laundry machine. Awesome right!?

I found a great DIY instruction video that also has text instructions below.  Click here to watch it. You really should!

We will be moving soon and gaining more closet space, so I might do this with some 18″ square laundry bins in the closet.  The more I type about this, the more I am deciding I really am going to do it.  I am an organizing addict.  I don’t think most people realize how bad of an addict I am (maybe not even my husband).

THE END!

P.S. Are you on Pinterest yet? When I first signed up, I was seriously addicted. Now that we are moving into a bigger place next month, I am addicted again trying to plan decor for the new place.  Click on the red “Follow Me” button to the right –> to see my inspiration boards!

]]> http://tamdiego.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/quick-post-hanging-bins/feed/ 0 Tammy http://tamdiego.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/the-best-of-craigslist-san-diego-first-edition/ http://tamdiego.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/the-best-of-craigslist-san-diego-first-edition/#comments Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:50:01 +0000 TamDiego http://tamdiego.wordpress.com/?p=765 Continue reading →]]> I am somewhat of a craigslist addict.  I have actually made hundreds of dollars selling many of our unused items.  My favorite Craigslist success to date has been buying and selling sets of dining chairs: I bought our first set for $30, then turned around and sold them for $40 eight months later.  I then got our second set for free, then sold them for $80 two months later, and purchased our current set for $40, for a total net profit of $50!

Anyway, my selling success aside, I also get a thrill from purchasing things on Craigslist. I figure it is the ultimate way to recycle! Why buy something new that had to be manufactured just for me, when I can get something second hand, in great condition and at a fraction of the cost?!

Now that I have sold almost every extra thing we owned, we have acquired everything we need, and especially now that we don’t have any more room in our 1.5 bedroom condo, I find that I still enjoy browsing CL for great deals.  Since I can’t buy them, I have decided to pass my great finds onto you with a new blog segment every once in a while called

The Best of Craigslist: San Diego

This series will contain some of the best things I find, some great, some ridiculous!  Please leave comments suggesting future categories for things you would like me to look for.

If I could be a professional Craigslist consultant/shopper, I totally would be!

Here are this week’s picks:

Awesome: Large Bookshelf Cabinet – $50 Okay, maybe this doesn’t look like much at the moment, but with a little creativity and elbow grease, I think this piece could be AMAZING!  Take DIY inspiration from these following links of bookshelves, hutches or china cabinets that have been repainted and wallpapered. (Sample One, Sample Two, Sample Three, Sample Four+)I think the fact that it has drawers on the bottom makes this bookshelf super appealing, much like the smaller version of this I bought at the beginning of the year.  If I only had the space (and a garage to redo it) this would be MINE! http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/fuo/2532259649.html footrest/padded stools – $5 You would have to find the right thing to pair these with, but I love the shape of these queen anne legs, and for $5 a piece, wow! Maybe if you had a large master bedroom, they could sit at the end of your bed as a good place to sit and put on/take off socks and shoes? http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/fuo/2542647943.html Did you know Craigslist has a section for free stuff that has some items that are even better than the stuff that costs real money?!?! Here are some awesome (AND FREE!) finds: FREE QUEEN HEADBOARD - Okay, so we did actually have a bad experience purchasing a headboard from Craigslist last year. It ended up having a really subtle but bizarre odor that ended up causing me to throw it out, but for FREE, this looks like it could be nice (and they claim it is like new from Jeromes) http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/zip/2542693709.html Black chest of drawers (6 drawers) - Someday when we have a slightly bigger master bedroom (soon hopefully) I will be finding a larger dresser.  Here is a free one! Again, there are a couple of small repairs to be made it seems, but I think this could be really cool and totally fixable (one handle and one loose drawer).  Free. people, FREE! http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/zip/2541836523.html Cable Spool (FREE) - Okay, this huge cable spool could serve as a really cool outdoor table of some kind.  I think it has a really neat rustic look to it.  They lost me though when the ad mentions “Can’t rule out termites.” … So maybe not worth the risk, but what a cool look huh? http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/zip/2538417066.html Okay, now for the most absolutely ridiculous finds of the week.  The last two of these three are tied for the most ridiculous things you might ever dream of buying. Personalized Jewelry Box (LISA) – $25 Hopefully you are in love with a woman named Lisa. If so, you are in luck! http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/jwl/2542231247.html This week’s ridiculous winners: Wall Mountable Cat CD Rack $5 To fulfill your dreams of becoming the ULTIMATE cat lady (okay really, someone PLEASE buy this, I want to come to your house and see it) http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/emd/2541117615.html PUPPYLOCKS***DOG FEATHER EXTENSIONS $3 Feather extensions for your DOG!  I think some cute, fashion forward girls can pull this look off, but wow. http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/2512666217.html I hope you have enjoyed this first installment of The Best of Craigslist: San Diego.  Please let me know what other categories you think I should watch for!

by David Hawkins

In 2008 I sent an email to some friends and family suggesting that they start investing in gold and silver.  At the time gold was at $700 and silver was at $10.  I felt so strongly about the metals that I was offering to fund their online account with free ounces if they just signed up and bought some on their own.  It was going to be a gift.  

Nobody took me up on the offer.  Some of the responses I got were “we can’t afford it yet” and “gold doesn’t earn interest” and “gold is expensive right now”.  In hindsight, that was a missed opportunity because gold is now above $1,700 and silver is at $40.  Over the same timeframe the stock market is roughly flat and the dollar is down.

Well that time has come again – to recommend gold and silver!  I can’t offer to fund your account with free ounces this time, though there is a company called BullionVault that gives you a free gram of gold when you sign up.  (I can’t recommend them though since I have not used their services.)

Well, you say.  I know that gold and silver have done well, returning 20-30% / year for a decade while the value of the dollar and stock market have plummeted, but why should I get into it now, and how?

Why to Buy Gold

I could write a book about the reasons to buy gold and I have certainly read many books on the subject, but it basically all boils down to one reason for me:  we are in the middle of a long term upward trend in precious metals (a “bull market” in industry lingo).  Nobody can doubt that now.  The fundamentals driving this bull market are government deficits, money printing and market uncertainty.  If you think that those trends will continue to get worse before they improve, then you should buy gold.

To me it all starts with the out of control government budget deficits, which causes the Central Bank to print money to buy the government debt (called Quantitative Easing), which leads to market instability.  The irony is that the politicians and central planners actually think that printing money helps an economy.   Since these trends are well in place and will get much worse before they get better, gold will continue to outperform just about every other type of asset.

How to Buy Gold

There are a couple of ways to buy gold.  Let me review each that I use and make a recommendation for what you could do based on your circumstances.   Here goes:

Visit your local Coin Shop

This is a good option if you want to actually hold the metals in your hand.   However, you will want to purchase at least $2,000 at a time as sales taxes may apply otherwise.   In San Diego I like Liberty Coin in downtown Del Mar.  They have very knowledgeable staff who won’t try to talk you into buying a numismatic coin.  Numismatics are old or rare coins that derive their value from the idea that they are collectables, not from the metals themselves.   I don’t recommend numismatics.  I recommend what is called bullion – purchasing a coin or bar of gold or silver for the value of the metal that makes it up.

Purchase a Stock or Fund

If you already have a brokerage account for trading stocks then this is an easy way to do it.  Many investors don’t like this option because there are so many entities between you and your gold.   They point out that technically you don’t own the gold, you own an entity that owns gold.

I own the following funds that hold gold and silver: Central Fund of Canada (CEF), GLD and SIVR. Also, I invest in GDX, which is a fund that owns precious metals mining companies.  Obviously, mining companies increase in value as the price of the metals goes up.  However at the same time they are known for being more volatile and having leverage.  So, if the metals increase by 10%, you can expect a mining company to possibly increase by twice that amount or more.  They don’t always do that at the same time though.  Gold and Silver are up over 30% in the past 8 months.  GDX hasn’t budged.

Storage Programs

Storage programs are the preferable method in my opinion.  The way these things work is you open an account much like you would an online bank account.  You fund the account and then purchase gold that they store in their vault.  The key to look for here is a company that will allocate and store the metals in your name.  You don’t want a pooled account where defining who actually owns the metal can be iffy.  Depending on how much money you have to invest, I like two companies:

GoldMoney is great if you have $5,000 or more to invest at a time, since the account has to be funded via wire transfer.   The cool thing about this company is that the vault is located in Switzerland so you can tell your friends you have a Swiss account.  It is also the cheapest option if you have that much to invest.  Be sure to file the FBAR with the government if your account balance ever exceeds $10,000.  Also, there is a somewhat lengthily verification process that involves a notary since you are opening a foreign account.  I am told that they might have streamlined this process recently.

The other option, SilverSaver is better for investing smaller amounts at a time and it is much easier to sign up since it is a US firm.  SilverSaver has found an easy and automated way for investors with limited funds to start accumulating precious metals on a monthly basis. It only takes about 10 minutes to open an account on their website and link it to your checking account.  Minimum investment is only $50 / month and they store your gold or silver in your name.  You can sell it back to them any time at market prices or even take delivery to your front doorstep.

SilverSaver has set up a system where you can automatically deduct a monthly amount from your checking account to have it saved in gold or silver.  That is a good idea for those of us who need help with the discipline to set aside savings every month.  You can also just make a one-time purchase if you want.

Transaction fees are pretty competitive with what you will find at a dealer or any other company (7.49% to 2.99% depending on how much you buy).  Storage fees are incredibly low at .6%.  You can’t even invest in a mutual fund for less of an annual fee than that.

Conclusion

There are no excuses anymore.  The writing is on the wall – when it comes to incompetence in Washington D.C. and the bull market in Gold and Silver.   We should all be buying gold to profit from this trend and to protect ourselves, should things get really out of hand.   Fortunately, with minimums at just $50 / month we can all afford to do so.  Please feel free to leave comments and let me know if you have any questions.

But I have recently had an exciting transition where I have learned that I can sew some basic things.

Pretty much anything resembling a pillow case.

I recently tried to get my amazingly talented Step Mom to sew a cover for my iPad so I could throw it in my purse and not worry about scratches.  But she was smart enough to make me do it on my own. And it was just that, basically a glorified little pillow case.  After one failed attempt, I tried again and am intensely proud of the result.

Today I needed to fill up my Sunday afternoon with a wholesome activity so I thought of what I needed to check off my To-Do list.  I have a baby shower to go to on Thursday, but hadn’t wrapped the gift yet.  I don’t own wrapping paper and don’t really want to buy (and store) a whole roll, so I had to get creative.  I realized I have a small collection of fabric that I was never going use for anything else and could SEW my own gift bag!! So long story short, here she is!

Notice my crooked hand stitching and mismatched hems? Who cares! (And thank GOODNESS for a little product called Stitch Witchery so I can just iron the hem and not have to sew it perfectly)

 Pillow case!

Gift inserted with a sheet of tissue paper

Tie it up and voila! Beautiful!
(The gift card was created with printable cards from one of my
favorite bloggers, Jones Design Company)

Now unfortunately the gift wrap is more exciting than the gift itself so if you’re reading this Heidi, don’t get too excited  But how fun is that?! And maybe making gift wrap like this will allow the receiver to re-use the little bag to store something, rather than just crumple up some paper and create more trash in the world.

COMING SOON: The conclusion to my Card Catalog revamp! Finally! It will be done and on here for you to view within a couple weeks since (exciting news!) my parents will be serving a (local) mission starting in July so my Dad is rushing to finish up all projects before that starts

Fortunately and unfortunately, Paddy has the capability to download some pretty cool apps.  The best being … CraigsPro+ (Really just a glorified Craigslist search).  I have already sold $80 worth of things we have replaced and no longer need and have purchased 2 of the coolest furniture pieces ever.

On Wednesday, I drove down to Imperial Beach (practically Tijuana) and purchased a Card Catalog.  You know, those things with all those drawers you used to have to look through to find the number for the library book you wanted?  They have become one of the hottest items of DIY restoration and repurposing in the blogosphere for the last couple of years.  They are really difficult to get your hands on these days.  If you do find one, chances are the seller is asking hundreds of dollars, as seen here.  Mine was listed at under $100 and I even negotiated the price down a little because one of the drawers is missing a piece (that I will easily be able to fix).  What a steal!

What would someone use all of those little drawers for you might ask?  My vision is … a baby dresser! Babies come with all kinds of tiny little things, right?  So rather than have a couple drawers with all of those little things floating around, I can have organized (and labeled!) little drawers for each little item.  Here are some before and after pics, and the future concept rendering:

Before:
(dirty and sticky)

After:
(all cleaned up and labeled)

Look how many little onesies I will be able to fit in one drawer! Probably about a dozen!

Whenever I finish any kind of crafting project, I always force Dave to “ooh and ahh” over my work – he has gotten pretty good at it and I really think he appreciates my craftiness, or at least he does a great job at faking it, which I really appreciate.  While he was checking out this stage of the project, he saw the drawer labeled “blankets” and looked over at the giant blanket on our couch.  ”You’re going to fit BLANKETS in there?! …..  OOooohh, you mean like, for babies?”  I just love that guy

I am so in love with this piece, BUT I still don’t like the idea that it doesn’t have legs and just is a big box on the ground.  So I have enlisted the help of my dad and within the next couple weeks, we will add a platform with legs like this

or this  

I also realized that since this will be our baby central, there are a couple of things that unfortunately wont fit in the drawers so I want to build the platform with an extra shelf of open storage to fit things like a box of baby wipes or a boppy pillow.  Here is the concept rendering of what I want it to end up looking like:

What do you think?

From my spot in the other room where I was lying, reading a book (see below for more details) I was fielding questions such as, “which one of these is baking soda?” and “do we have flower and sugar?” and giving directions where to find each item.  First I was happy with myself that I could remember and describe exactly where everything was, but I also was happy that I was empowering my husband to make something without having to wait for me to do it.

My favorite question came when all of the ingredients were found and it was time to mix them all together. “Now how do I mix this all up?” I then described what the hand mixer looked like and where to find it and the beaters.  A light of recognition came on in his eyes:

“Oh, you mean those things I lick when you’re done making cupcakes??”

As for other updates, this new gig of “staying home” is turning out to be exactly what I was hoping for.  I have the time to get things done that I didn’t before, but also to accept invitations to do new things that otherwise I could not.  Here are a few highlights of my past 2 weeks off:

1. Join a walking group
A small group of young moms from church meet together to go walking several mornings a week.  I am grateful to them for inviting me since it gets me up and out at a specific time and I don’t just let the morning waste away.

2. Join a friend for his flying lesson
One of Dave’s good buddies is getting his pilot’s license and invited us to fly for a couple hours one morning that week.  Dave had to decline because of work meetings, but I was free to go and enjoy the new experience.  I may or may not have gotten sick in my jacket as we were landing the final time, but our friend doesn’t exactly know that yet.  I was too embarrassed to say anything …

3. Spontaneously stop at the local farmer’s market
The local Carlsbad strawberries are amazing right now and I felt proud of myself that I was feeding baby some healthy fruits and veggies

4. Read a book
My dear sister-in-law, Sarah, got me a book for Christmas that I have been anticipating for a while, “The Happiness Project” by Gretchin Rubin.  Gretchin spent a year researching tips and facts about happiness, while choosing a category of her life to improve every month.  I find myself appreciating little things, like the fact that Dave is whistling in the kitchen as he is doing the dishes from his banana bread adventure (thanks honey!).  I also find myself holding my tongue when I have the instinct to say something rude or nagging.

5. Do nice things for my husband
Dave’s truck needed some big repairs after it was broken into in January, but we didn’t have the time to take it in (plus we knew I would be quitting my job soon so it could wait).  The repairs turned out to be more complicated than we had expected so I it took quite some time, and I eventually had to leave it at the repair shop for a few days.  When picking it up, I took the time to fill it up with gas and even take it for a nice car wash so that it would be as good as new when he used it next.  I was very happy with myself for being such a loving wife

There were many more great experiences, but these have been some of my favorites.  I will continue to post highlights and lessons learned as this journey continues …

I will be documenting my journey of what happens when you receive the gift of 6 months of free time.

With a big thanks to God and to my wonderful husband, Dave, I get to start a new exciting chapter in my life.  Maybe you could call it a short novel.

Chapter 1: The “Me” Chapter

Chapter 2: The “Mom” Chapter

Chapter 1 will begin after next Friday, February 25th.  What does The “Me” Chapter mean?  It means many things.  First and foremost it means: I am quitting my job. Beyond that it also means I will have time to:

1. do whatevertheheckIwant!
2. go to morning prenatal yoga classes
3. walk every day
4. grocery shop
5. cook healthy meals (lunch & dinner)
6. spend more time learning about the above from my amazing step-mom
7. having fun
8. blog
9. and MUCH MUCH more

Does Dave resent the fact that I get this and he doesn’t? I have asked him MANY times and he is probably more excited about it than me!  His reasons are similar to mine: He thinks it means he will get a fresh lunch everyday and not have to eat out.  He thinks it will keep our house cleaner.  He thinks it will give him a less whiny pregnant wife.  Each of those things I do plan to accomplish, for the record

And yes, I said it! Most of you already know, but I am about 13 weeks pregnant.  Thus, Chapter 2! The “Mom” Chapter will begin sometime around August 29th.  (I’m a terrible pregnant lady, I can never actually remember if baby is due on the 28th or the 29th).

Stay tuned for the Lucky Life Journey, beginning March 1.

The following is a brilliant guest post by my financially minded husband, David Hawkins.  He wrote the following article at my request about Why we are not buying a home.

One of Tammy’s friends recently asked her if we were looking to buy a house soon.   Tammy responded that we were not.  It may seem like right now is a great time to buy a house.  After all,

• Interest rates are low
• We are young
• We have no other debts
• We have disposable income to invest, and
• Prices have come down

These are all reasons that would have normally lead a rational person to purchase a home.  It is the American Dream, isn’t it?  However, I believe that this American Dream would be better off waiting.   Now is a bad time for first time buyers to jump into this market.  Here’s why:

Buying is more expensive than renting

You can rent 1 – 2 bedroom condos in San Diego for roughly $1,000 – $2,000 per month.  The monthly mortgage payment on the same property will cost you an additional 50% or more.   Said differently, if you currently rent an apartment for $1,200/month and decide to purchase the exact same apartment next door, you can expect your mortgage payment to be at least $1,800.  That’s $600/ month down the drain.   If you don’t believe me, check craigslist apartment listings and then go to zillow.com to see what a comparable mortgage would cost.

The increased cost does not stop there.   If your down payment is less than 20% of the value of the home you will be required to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).   Other hidden costs include: Property Taxes, Home Owners Association (HOA) Fees and Maintenance.

Maintenance can be particularly expensive.  A friend of mine just purchased a small starter home in San Diego.  Less than 6 months later the roof started leaking and he had to come up with $10,000 to fix it.   Who wants that kind of risk?

Real Estate is a bad investment

The only reason one would purchase a condo or small home given the increased cost just described is if they think that the value is going to go up.  Who cares if you spent an additional $600/ month on a mortgage if you are going to be able to sell the condo in 3 years for a $50K profit?  Well, I hate to break the news to you, but those days in real estate are gone.

Historically speaking, real estate was a fairly good investment during the declining interest rate environment from about 1980 to 2007 (see the chart below).   This was the time period in which most of our parents made some good money in real estate.  It is also happens to be the same amount of time in which most new home buyers have been alive.  In other words, new home buyers have only seen a long term bull market in housing their entire lives.   However, interest rates have literally hit bottom and they will only be going up from here.  It behooves the first time homebuyer to take a longer term view of things and keep an open mind.

The chart below shows that historically speaking (looking at a much longer 100 year-trend line), housing increases in value only slightly above inflation (I would argue that it is actually at inflation or below, but that is another article) This long term trend is very different from the synthetic real estate boom experienced in the last 10 to 30 years.  We can expect housing values to revert back to the long term trend.   As you can see from the chart below, there are more price decreases to come.

In fact, with a bleak economic prospect stretching far out into the future, a 10% dip below the 100-year trend line is a reasonable expectation within the next five years, particularly if mortgage rates rise to more typical levels of 6%. That would put prices 28% below where we are now. Even a 5% dip would put us 24% below current prices.

One of the Wall Street sayings that I have always liked is: the trend is your friend.   In this case, the trend is down.  Don’t fight the trend.  Make it your friend!

There are better investments

Well, if I have disposable income and I have already paid off my credit card, auto and student loans, where should I invest?  By the way, please do pay off all debt before investing in anything including a home.  (More on debt later)

I could devote a book to the subject of where to invest and how, but I will condense the response for the sake of this article: Invest in Gold and Silver.   There is a long term trend at play here and you still have time to make this trend your friend.

Gold has been increasing in value by roughly 20-30% per year for the past 10 years.  Silver increased 75% last year.   This bull market has a long way to run.  Many are calling it a bubble and I do agree that it eventually will be a bubble.  However, we are not in the bubble-mania phase yet.   There is still room to go.

My proof that the peak of the gold/silver bubble has not hit yet is that YOU have no idea what gold is valued at right now.   When the bubble hits the top, the average American will know the price of gold and will have invested in it.   Just like the Real Estate and .COM bubbles, when the average Joe is participating and making money blindly in precious metals, it will be time to hit the exits.

With the value of homes going down and the value of precious metals going up, you should be able to take what you would have used to make a down payment of 20%, and purchase a house outright in 5 years with cash…simply by making two trends your friend.

Enormous amounts of debt is not a good thing

If you do purchase a home and go into debt to do so, you can expect to pay twice as much as the house is worth over the life of the loan.   In other words, your mortgage payment not only goes towards paying off the house, you also pay interest to the bank.  If you add up all the interest payments over the life of a 30 year loan it is usually equal to the value of the home.   You just paid for 2 houses, but only got 1!

Debt is a funny thing.  Our modern economy is built on it (and might collapse on it too).  We are told that banks need to lend in order for jobs to come back.  We are told that consumers need to stop saving and start spending on their credit cards if the economy is to improve.  My instincts tell me this is wrong.

Most major religions including Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Mormonism have an aversion or even outright rejection of debt.  Proverbs suggests the reason why: ‘The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender’ (Proverbs 22:7).  The Apostle Paul commanded the Christians to ‘owe no man anything’ (Romans 13:8).  Debt can be like a chain that binds, turning the borrower into a slave to the lender.

Break off the Chains of Debt and Enjoy Freedom…you may need it someday

Purchasing a home with debt locks you down.  You lose the ability to be flexible about where you live.   This has happened to many people.  They buy a house in a city where they work.  Then the economy changes and they need to move.  However, the house has gone down in value so they can’t afford to move, even though they can’t afford to stay either.

In this economy, it makes more sense to embrace a lifestyle that affords you freedom of movement.

Let me know if you found this helpful!

I confess, I’m not really a minimalist

Nor do I think I’ll really ever get there.  I dont have a strong desire to own less than 100 things – I just dont want to own thousands of things.

I dont want to be a financial slave to my belongings

I want my home to be open and uncluttered so I feel like I can embrace new thoughts and opportunities

I dont want to accumulate anything that makes me feel anything less than fabulous

Maybe I’m a control freak

Maybe I’m taking this all too seriously

But cleaning out the “stuff” is my passion!  I have literally asked my parents if I could help them clean out their garage … 180 flip flop from them begging me to help as a teenager.  I keep asking a friend of mine to let me come over and help her clean out her closets.  I dont know if I’m actually any good at it, but I really want to be and I really want to try.  And when I say I really want to, I mean I REALLY want to.

I just need the opportunities.  I dont know how to get there.  I am this close to calling up professional organizers in San Diego and begging them to let me help them.  Even for no pay.

The best piece of career advice I ever got was from a stranger I met on a plane in 2005.  My sophomore year of college I was testing the waters as a Business Major and my GPA was about to hit the pavement.  It was really bad.  On the way back to school from Christmas break, I sat next to a nice man with a heavy Persian accent.  He was heading to Salt Lake City for a photography conference.

“Are you a professional photographer then?”
“No, but I wish I was. I do this as a hobby now that my children are grown.  What are you studying?”
“Business”
“Oh, do you really like it?”
“Not really, but it feels like a practical thing to do for a career.”
“Take my advice, choose a career that you would do even if no one was paying you to do it.”

So for now, no one is paying me to do it, but I’m going to go for it anyway.  I’ll be heading up to the parent’s house this weekend.  I’ll be posting before and after pictures, but it will probably take place over several sessions since it is slotted to rain this weekend.

If anyone reading this knows anyone in San Diego who could benefit from some FREE organizing help, please let me know