A few thoughts on the 4th of July

My friend Angus Mathie over in Scotland sent me a question a few weeks back…

I am preaching at a local church, coincidentally, on the fourth of July. I have been reading from a photograph of the Declaration of Independence. I realize that I am asking a lot but is it possible to inform me what this Day means to you as a US citizen and how does the average person celebrate the Day?

I do not want to put you to a lot of trouble but I am really interested in your point of view. Please don’t be concerned about my reaction to anything you would say as I don’t cherish Britain’s colonial past at all.
With love, Angus.

Thought I’d share my thoughts here as well…
Continue reading A few thoughts on the 4th of July

Destroying the Warehouse Mentality

Catch all drawer
Clutter drawer | Photo by Jonathan Blundell

I shared this on We Live Simply earlier this week and wanted to be sure I shared it here as well for those of you who may not read both sites.

I think it’s time to let the cat out of the bag and help push my motivation forward towards finishing my new book.

While writing posts for We Live Simply, I’ve also slowly been working on my next book, Destroying the Warehouse Mentality: Stop hoarding and declutter your life.

While I wrote my last book (a novel) in a month, this one is taking a bit longer to come together.

So I’m hoping that by putting this information out there, it will give me an even greater incentive to see it through.

But I’ve set a goal for its completion and hope to have it ready for publication by early Fall (hopefully before the twins arrive!).

So far I plan on tackling these areas of clutter:

  1. Buying into a $154 billion industry
  2. Decluttering your home
  3. Decluttering your office
  4. Decluttering your digital life
  5. Decluttering your time

But I’m definitely open to ideas and input — especially from those of you who have struggled with your own clutter, or the clutter of someone else.

I’m also interested in hearing some of your stories on how you’ve dealt with clutter as well.

If you’d like to share your story or offer input on the book, feel free to leave me a comment or e-mail me at editor @ welivesimply.info.

13 great starter apps for Android

After more than two years with a BlackBerry in my pocket, I’ve made the switch to an Android phone last month.

I’ve been eying Android since it was released and after my BlackBerry took a nose dive a good friend gave me his used TMobile G1 (aka HTC Dream) — which is great since I’ve also been avoiding a full touchscreen phone and this one is touchscreen + a physical keyboard.

It took about a week but we were able to unlock the phone from TMobile (for FREE) and I’ve been using it on AT&T ever since.

And no doubt about it — I’m loving Android.
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What priorities would your administration have?

Obama and Bono discuss development policy in the Oval Office, April 30, 2010. | Official White House photo.

I found myself watching Dave, with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver last night.

As a quick recap (or spoiler)…

  • The President has a stroke and falls into a coma.
  • Kline plays a presidential impersonator and is brought in to “fill in” for the president.
  • Eventually, the first lady (Weaver) figures out there’s a cover-up involving Kline (she doesn’t know her husband, The President is still in a coma) and both Kline and Weaver decide to jettison the White House in hopes for an easier life.

But before the leave town they both reflect what they love about the office — helping those in need.

Weaver then asks Kline, “What would you do if you were still there?”
Continue reading What priorities would your administration have?

Declutter your soul

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. | Photo by Untileed X

Isn’t it amazing how complicated we can make things?

We’re always trying to find an easy solution to things and yet in the end we end up filling things with junk and clutter we don’t need and doing more damage than good

Diet fads, home exercise equipment, the latest electronic gadget that puts us further in debt.

Yet, things were pretty simple in the beginning.
Continue reading Declutter your soul