Minimal Monday: Media

With the news today of yet another school shooting, we can't help but wish we could block out so much media coverage of such a horrific event. Media, including social media, seems to force us to watch things we wouldn't otherwise watch, or listen to on a regular basis. Negativity seems to be thrust into our faces every day and the way they bring it across makes us not want to look away, but we must. In order to properly process this, we must have moments within our own minds to process negativity that happens in our world.

With the word "media" what exactly comes into your mind? Media of news outlets? Social media? Or how about newspapers... Whatever your definition is to the word "media" one thing is for sure, the world seems to be obsessed with it completely.

Everyone goes through their bouts of social media presence, and the SNS household has a pretty active online presence, but when does it become an obsession, a habit, or even an addiction. The problem with social media is that it's so easy to get lost in and Facebook is one of the biggest leaders in keeping people active and obsessed with this trend. There is currently 1.86 billion people logging onto Facebook daily. And not to mention, 1.15 billion people that log onto Facebook every day through some sort of mobile device.(source) It's no wonder with those numbers that our world is so connected to everything that happens around the earth. On one aspect it's easy to argue that it is a great way that keeps us all connected, but there is one thing that a lot of those people are missing completely, and that's the fact that it does keep us ALL connected. Seems to be confusing, but let me explain. A lot of things seen on social media, media outlets, or even on your "friends' posts" may not be how it actually is. A lot of things on social media have been exaggerated to either get people angry, upset, or try to touch some sort of emotional response from the viewer. Facebook is also a place where most people have taken to in order to gain attention, brag, or even stay connected with people that they aren't really "friends" with at all. Think stalking, harassing, or just plain being nosy.

But with all of that negativity toward social media there is a solution. The solution is to not let it control your life that way. Some of the best solutions to limit your time on social media, viewing media on your television, or even hearing it on the radio is to actually limit your exposure to it all. You are the only person that can control those aspects of your life online. Here's how.

• Unfollow and unfriend: Unfollow pages, people, Facebook accounts, Twitter accounts, etc. that don't really interest you. There is no shame in unfollowing companies that don't fully have your backing on whatever they stand for. Unfriend people you aren't really friends with. There is no shame in not being "friends" with someone you don't know and that doesn't know you. And don't add people that you don't want knowing your personal life. Facebook has an option to unfollow someone if you don't want to remove them as a friend, but don't want to see their posts. Side note: If you don't get along with someone in your real life, you probably won't get along with them online either, so keep that in mind. Even 150 friends seems like a lot to me, but you be the judge of your own online friends. The term "friends" has gone way off course in regards to our online status. Read more ways to minimize your online presence through social media.

 • Stop the notifications: Just turn them off completely. You don't need an email, a text message, or even a call when every thing happens with your online presence. Some apps of social media and news media outlets have the option to send you a notification with every-little-thing that takes place and if you have this setup on your phone or computer, get rid of it. The best way to minimize your media exposure it to not get those notifications in the first place.

• Limit television/radio time: Watching television is above all a great time killer. Movies on demand, smart televisions, it's news at our fingertips. The problem with this is the hours and hours of television that seem to overtake our lives. What brings more enrichment to your life, watching television for two hours or spending time outside for two hours? I think we all know the answer. It all comes down to one thing, acting on that knowledge. The best tip is to limit this time and only watch programs that enrich our lives. This doesn't mean completely cut out movies, or news, but be mindful of the programs that grace our eyes and our ears. This goes for newspapers and publications too.

• Lastly, don't forget other items that can cause issues with time. These include Pinterest, online gaming, blogging, Skype, Facetime, eReaders, and even cell phones. We all have the ability to minimize these in our life. The only thing that needs to happen is actually following through with it and set times that you use them. Cutting notifications and time spent on these is a great step in minimizing our time spent with them. Keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with using these sites, devices, or programs, but make sure you are doing it in a healthy way. We all know when we have reached that moment of "too much," just make sure you know your limit.

Minimization is more than just about minimizing stuff, it also has to do with all aspects of your life as a whole. Don't allow other things, or other distraction take away your daily goals in life. Unplug when needed and stay focused on what's important in our lives. You have the right to control your own way of living, so do it!

Best of luck to you and keep on creating a life of less.

Minimal Monday: Donating

Man, the feeling of being able to get rid of something and have the thought that it is going to be used by someone else is a great feeling, isn't it? It always makes me smile when I see something I have donated go to good use, or at least, being told it will go to good use. Recently, The Mr. and I loaded up our car roof with two full-sized mattresses that we no longer need, or use, and trucked them over to the St. Vincent de Paul in Albany, Oregon. Funny story real quick, as we were driving it started raining on us and we had to stop halfway there and shove them into the back of the car. The Bean was smashed in the backseat-thank goodness he is skinny and flexible-and The Mr. and I were riding with the back of the mattress pushing us so far into the dash. Back to the donating. We arrived at St. Vincent De Paul and it cost us $20 ($10 per mattress) to donate them. The best part about this donation though, was the fact that they either clean them up to resell right in their own store, or send them to a company in Eugene, Oregon, that will refurbish them and put them up for sale. It's a win for everyone involved, and especially for us because we actually donated them. It gives us peace of mind to know that they aren't just sent to a landfill.

Along with donating to the local charity here, we also recently donated our second vehicle to the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB-PBS). If you follow me on Instagram you saw my-otherwise sad-goodbye to our beloved Chevrolet Blazer the day it was picked up. Speed's Towing was really understanding and let us take a lot of time letting go. It's weird how we get so many emotions involved in something that doesn't even have feelings for us. I think it was more the memories of The Bean growing up-literally-in this car. Now we have the Compass that he is getting used to, but overall, the memories of him at the age of three sitting next to a Christmas tree that The Mr. chopped down, can't be beat! The great part about the donation is the fact that we get a tax write off once the vehicle sells at auction. It's one more step in becoming more minimal and it was sad to see her leave, but we have really been moving things along here with getting rid of things. It feels great.

We have really been on an upward journey here in in the SNS house in getting to where we want to be with our minimal lifestyle. The annoying thing is, as we have probably donated over $20,000 worth of stuff (seriously!) we still feel like we are swimming in stuff. I hope that there will be an end to our beginning, but right now, we are hopeful that the things we are parting with will help us be able to part with even more over time. Nothing that we have donated so far is missed. It's weird how we feel we need these things and in the end, we just don't. I think it's more of a mental thing that you have to break within yourself. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel here in our home, we just have to keep donating, and getting rid of things. 

We do hope some of our tips during the Minimal Monday has helped you. The best tips we can give for the donating is to make sure and donate to reputable places. St. Vincent de Paul is one of the few donation centers that take used-in good shape-mattresses. Clothing and shoes bins placed throughout our city get a lot of our clothing, and our local food pantry gets some of our old winter clothing and gear. As far as donating to a place that will actually resell your items, it's tricky. Here where we live there is a place called Pay it Forward. We donate a lot of our items to them and we have seen our items on the shelves of the Pay it Forward, so we know they are a reputable company and won't just throw our items in the bin. There's many other places-no matter where you live-that will do just the same. It takes time to put trust into a place and the best thing to do is to ask them. Unfortunately, some donation centers say they are doing good, but will end up tossing a lot of good items into the landfill. Goodwill is one of these companies, so keep that in mind. 

Best of luck to you and keep on creating a life of less.