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Tina Yelle

Marketing Consultant

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I’m Quitting Facebook!

By Tina Yelle

Tina Yelle Today is the day.

Facebook, I’m quitting you (well actually, I’m just deactivating my account for a month).

It’s been along time coming.

And..

I’ve wasted more time on you than I care to admit.

You were so much fun in the beginning.  

But..

Not so much anymore.  I need a breather.  A chance to focus on something new for awhile.

Mostly, I will miss my friends and family and their regular updates.

Technically..

They should know how to reach me.  They are all smart cookies.  And after all, I’m only going MIA for 30 days, not forever (at least not yet).

I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m going to be doing with all my free time now?

Truth is, I’m really not sure.

Perhaps I’ll write a book

or

Take up skydiving (not very likely)

or

Clean my house (now, there’s a thought).

In any event, I’ll get back to you in 30 days at which point I’ll decide if quitting Facebook is really gonna work for me.

Until then…

Photo Credit: Felix Schmidt Photography (Fiduz) via Compfight cc

Filed Under: Blog, Minimalism Tagged With: Facebook, quitting

Do You Suffer From Gift-Giving Anxiety?

By Tina Yelle

Do You Have Gift Giving Anxiety? Yesterday, I got that feeling.  You know, the feeling you get as you get closer and closer to forking over those items you purchased for your loved ones on Christmas Day?  For lack of better terminology, lets just call it gift-giving anxiety.

That voice in your head that says,

“Did I buy too much or not nearly enough?”

“Will they think I’m cheap?”  “What if they spent more on me than I did on them?”

“Is it the wrong colour or perhaps the wrong size?”  

My own struggle is almost always the feeling of what I’m giving is never enough.

So, I did a little research just for fun and to my surprise (well, I’m not really that surprised), I have General Anxiety Disorder!  And guess what else?  Other people have it too.  But for the sake of this post, I’m just going to call it what I’ve been calling it for years, gift-giving anxiety.

Every year.  Same thing.  I work hard to get all of my shopping done before the stores get to busy to be bearable.  Making check lists to keep myself organized and wrapping all of the presents to be ahead of the game so I’ll have less to worry about as I get closer to the day.  You would think that in the midst of all of that organization, this feeling would pass.

But it doesn’t.

And, I realize I’m going to feel this way every single year and yesterday was my day.

Over the years, I’ve come up with a couple of ideas that actually work to help me get through my “gift-giving anxiety” day.  I’ll just share a few of them here with you in the event you need a little inspiration of your own.

These are mostly things I like to do to pass the time because I need a distraction to move away from that feeling:

1.  Call a friend and go out and have a relaxing coffee, latté or hot chocolate.  My go-to is Starbucks.  They always have great music playing in the background and I find that puts me in a relaxing state of mind.  Better yet, visit a Starbucks with a Chapters so you can browse the latest magazines.

2.  This is a great time of year to clean out your closet.  Get rid of some of your clothing items that you no longer wear.  Pack them up and take a drive to your favorite local shelter or consignment store. *This is what I did yesterday*

3.  Light exercise.  There are many ice-skating rinks that offer public skating.  Dust off those old skates and give your legs a work out.

4.  Get out your best recipes and do some holiday baking.  I just found a great recipe for Bacon Bark (which, incidentally would make a nice little hostess gift).

And, if you really, really have that urge to get out there and spend your cash…take $10 (and only $10) to the dollar store.  Works like a charm.

Photo:  HGTV

I would love to hear if you also suffer from gift-giving anxiety and how you cope with it.

Have a Very Merry Christmas…I’m certain everyone is going to love what you got them!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: anxiety, Featured, general anxiety disorder, gift giving

10 Easy Alternatives To Wrapping Paper

By Tina Yelle

Do You Suffer From Gift Giving Anxiety? I have to admit. I love Christmas.  The time we get to enjoy with our loved ones, the songs that we sing only once a year, the anticipation of the turkey dinner and all the trimmings on Christmas Day.

Actually, the traditions that I grew up with are the ones that I am also passing down to my children while still being very mindful of our journey to living a simple life.

Truth-be told.  What I really do not enjoy is shopping in over-crowded malls, never being able to find a parking spot and stressed out crazy people.

But most of all, my biggest bone of contention is seeing garbage bags full of gift wrap on Christmas morning.  Honestly.  What a waste.

So, this year, I’ve been trying to come up with some creative alternatives to avoid buying any wrapping paper at all and trying to make use of what we have in the house.  Not only to save on costs during Christmas but also to be mindful of the environment.

Doing our little part today may just make a difference in someone’s life tomorrow.

Here are 10 neat gift wrap alternatives that I found around the house that you could try this year too.

  1. Newspaper
  2. Paper Bags
  3. Left over fabric
  4. Old calendars
  5. Stickers
  6. Cereal Boxes
  7. Maps
  8. Glass Jars
  9. Recycled Gift Bags
  10. Toppers could include:  pine cones, branches, cinnamon sticks, cookies

It really doesn’t have to be that complicated and imagine how great those gifts are going to look under your tree.

Merry Wrapping!

Would love to hear more ideas on items you’ve used from around the house or the yard that you’ve wrapped your gifts with.  Please share below.

Photo HGTV

Filed Under: Blog, Minimalism Tagged With: alternatives, christmas, Featured, holidays, wrapping paper

Stuff Is Just Stuff

By Tina Yelle

Stuff Is Just Stuff Looking back on 2012 and everything that has happened, I can honestly say that I’m looking forward to starting a new year full of love, hope, good health and less stuff.

You see, my maternal grandparents are aging and for the past six months my mother and her siblings have had to place both of their parents in a nursing home during that time.

I won’t get into the details of it all but rather wanted to touch on how getting rid of clutter doesn’t have to be a painful process.

You see, my grandfather has been somewhat of a pack-rat for what seems like an eternity to me.  I think it stems from the “old days” during the wartime and the depression.  I vividly remember the cold room where they had shelves upon shelves of sugar and canned goods amongst other items they would find on sale.  And, I don’t think they were the only ones of their age group.  Maybe your parents or grandparents did the same thing.  Or, maybe you do too?

So the process of paring down for them as they transitioned into their new home was not an easy one.  What to keep?  What to give away?  What can be thrown out?  As you may know, when you move to a nursing home, you just can’t bring everything.  Infact, you can’t bring much of anything.  There’s just no room to be had.

It took weeks, if not months for my mom and her siblings to go through 90 years worth of stuff.  It wasn’t easy and I’m sure there were a few tears involved along the way.

Today they are both settled in their new home and I’m looking forward to visiting them over the holidays and as I sit here thinking about how we are paring down on our own stuff and trying to make room for what really matters, I’m reminded of all the wonderful moments I’ve shared with my grandparents.  How fortunate I am to have them around even at my age and how my children have had an opportunity to know their great grand-parents.  Not many kids will have that opportunity.

And so, as you go about your merry way, please just consider this…

At the end of the day, stuff is just stuff

People make memories

We are blessed.

*Update (November 2013) – My Grandfather passed away surrounded by loved-ones. He lived a great life!

Photo:  HGTV

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Filed Under: Blog, Minimalism Tagged With: aging, clutter, Featured, nursing home, stuff

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