Introducing Experience Over Stuff
[UPDATE] My new book, Experience Over Stuff: How to Live Free in a World that Wants to Clutter You Up is now available on Amazon for the Kindle device and app.
About the Book
Acquiring. Accumulating. Collecting. These activities satisfy a primal need to feel secure, safe, and in control. But is this how we envisioned our lives? Spending this much time and money to get stuff and take care of possessions? Or did we imagine a life with more freedom?
We need things to live well. But owning too much make us unwell in body, mind, and spirit. Owning too much diverts and distracts us from our own unique purpose.
Decluttering is an excellent goal. However, if we don't deal with the beliefs and anxiety that make us think more stuff equals more happy, we'll simply jump back into shopping to fill the void once our home is decluttered. The essence of minimalism is clearing space to follow your own path.
This book delves into why we buy things we do not need, use, or enjoy. It’s an exploration of how we can replace the false belief that more stuff will make us happier with something deeper and truer. Sometimes our mindset needs an overhaul more than our home organization system.
Get out of the vicious cycle of shopping, anxiety, decluttering, and more shopping with this guide from the bestselling author of Minimalist Living: Decluttering for Joy, Health, and Creativity.
Experience Over Stuff focuses on the inner journey first as a way to live a more simple, joyful, and purposeful life that is truly unique to you.
Simple Living Strategies to Help the Environment
For the longest time, I blamed big corporations for the climate crisis. But when I learned about simple living, I realized how much of an impact the consumerist lifestyle had on the environment. That’s when I realized, it wasn’t just the corporations that had to change, our lifestyles that kept those companies going did. Drastically.
And in turn, as I moved my focus away from things and towards experiences, I saw more beauty in the nature around me and learnt to appreciate it more.
The following are lifestyle changes that may seem challenging, but in the end will benefit both your well-being and the environment enormously.
Boycott companies that aren’t eco-friendly
There are so many products we buy without thinking about where they come from and what was put into making them. In fact, most of any item’s carbon footprint comes from its production. This is why what’s most important for the environment, is consuming products that last, and that come from companies with sustainability initiatives.
It’s worth doing some research on the products you own and then chuck and boycott anything from a company that is not doing their bit.
Cut down on mass-produced foods
The agriculture industry is the second biggest contributor to carbon emissions, after heat and electricity production. And it’s not just because chopping down trees releases carbon into the air. Think about it: all the processes and energy required for production to delivering these food products to your door. The scale of the operation is truly overwhelming.
Beef, lamb, palm oil and chocolate are some of the biggest drivers of deforestation. Even if you are able to just cut down on these ingredients, this may be the biggest way you can make real change for the environment.
Learn the terrifying truth about fast fashion
This can be a tough one for people to hear, but the fast fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and shipping put together. For many, fashion consumption is becoming an insatiable habit. But there is another way. Boycott these fast fashion stores and make sure you only get clothes built to last.
Get a smaller car
About a year ago, I was unbelievably shocked to read that if SUVs were a nation, they would be the seventh biggest contribution to climate change. For some reason, these big bulky cars had a huge growth in popularity over the last 10 years, and are offsetting all the improvements made for more fuel-efficiency in smaller cars.
Do you really need such a big car though? Even with a big family, there are alternatives to this villain of climate change. If you’re solo, why own a car at all? Cycling, public transport and car-pooling are much better for the environment and a great way to live simpler.
Become an essentialist for electricity
One of the key tenets of essentialism is, ‘I can do anything but not everything’. While electrical devices seem so fundamental to our lives now, if we look closer do we really need a tablet, a kindle, a laptop, a phone, radio and Alexa? Perhaps just the laptop will do, or just the phone. Then maybe you can make more time for outdoor hobbies instead of indoor ones that consume more electricity.
Work towards zero waste
Producing less waste is a natural progression of simple living, but also a wonderful way to help the environment. Opt for food products without packaging. Better yet, grow your own food! Also, ditch those disposable products. Disposable razors, coffee cups and plastic bags have an especially bad impact.
Remember, simple living means something different to everyone. To me, it means trying to cut down any way I can to help the environment. To you, maybe you just want to try one of these, or to gradually cut down in each area. Just make sure that you become aware of what you use and make positive changes that are manageable for you.
3 Keys to Help you Declutter Sentimental Items
Let's face it.
It's easy to discard things you don't care about.
But what about when every box you open seems to have something that makes you stroll down memory lane or even cry tears of nostalgia? It can be hard to let go even if you know you simply can't keep it all. I can be very romantic about things -- I understand how difficult it can be to let go.
If you want to become more minimalist but are feeling overwhelmed and indecisive, chances are you've had a run-in with stuff that carries emotional weight for you.
Here are 3 keys that have helped me declutter even the most sentimental of items.
1. Remember that some things thrive in circulation.
Books are the obvious example here. I'm not like Marie Kondo -- I don't think books have feelings. But I do think books were created to be in circulation and that it's sad when they're stuck on a shelf not getting read. Sure, you may have some books you love to read and re-read. Keep your favorites. But for the most part, once you're done with a book, pass it on so someone else can enjoy it. If you haven't read it in a year or two, admit that you probably don't really want to read it, and let it go. The same thought applies to many different collectible items. We all have limited attention to enjoy collections. Pass them on so other people can enjoy them.
2. Release guilt.
Guilt is a trickster.
It can masquerade as duty, tradition, or even love.
I love this quote from life coach Rosy Gill, referenced in this Redfin blog post: “Guilt takes you out of the present experience and into thoughts of failure and fear. It is essential to grieve any expectations and allow this new energy to guide you towards creating plans. There are no failures, only waves of incoming and outgoing inner tides that are necessary to our life journey.”
Often guilt kicks in when it comes to decluttering gifts from someone we love with all our heart. Remember that most people who love you would rather you embrace space and freedom than be burdened by too many possessions. Plus, you don't have to tell them you got rid of that bracelet you never wore anyway. Very few people ask or care about what happens to gifts in the long run. It really is the thought that matters -- and that magical moment of giving and receiving.
3. Photograph, miniaturize, digitize.
Take a picture:
I generally snap a quick photo on my cell phone before putting something emotionally weighty into my giveaway pile. That way I can remember it. I store all my digital photos organized by month so if I want, I can take a trip down memory lane that includes my old stuff.
Save it, but just a piece:
Miniaturizing means taking a small piece of something and turning it into art or something useful. For example, have you seen a t-shirt quilt? I've seen crafty people cut small squares out of old t-shirts and make a colorful quilt. They get rid of shirts they never wear but keep the memories AND create something to keep them warm during a Netflix binge.
Save it, but in cloud and hard drive form:
Digitizing is really the same as taking a digital photo of your item, but it also includes shooting a video for certain special items. This blog post contains a list of smart phone apps that can help you simplify your life, and includes apps that help you digitize.
I hope these three keys unlocked some major decluttering motivation for you.
***
Did you find this post helpful? If so, tap the heart button below. If you want to share it, there’s a button for that too. Please share this blog as a way of helping others simplify to live their best lives.
Finally, if you haven’t signed up yet for the free 3-Day Decluttering Challenge, please do so below. You’ll get a three-day burst of inspiration and instruction, plus The Simple Sunday, my occasional newsletter on how to edit your life for more joy.
Free 2023 Goals Printable
I created a free PDF printable for you to write down your 2023 goals. This particular sheet has some advantages over conventional goal worksheets:
There’s a place to write down your word of the year so you can let one word guide you each time you look at your goals.
It’s one page. This limits us to a small list of goals for the year, making us more likely to review our goals and put only the important ones on the list.
It’s circular, which makes more sense to some creative brains. We can turn the particular category we are focusing on to the top.
In the center there is a place to write your one thing (if this gets done, all seven categories will be improved), which is my own twist on an idea from the famous self-help book The One Thing.
To download this free printable, click here.
A Complete Guide to Your Summer Capsule Wardrobe
By Ariel Craine, with Laura Bailey
If you’re anything like me, you’ve looked into your closet and realized you haven’t worn even half of your summer-y tank tops or floral skirts all season. What’s the point of all these clothes?
That was how I felt until I decided to be more intentional with my wardrobe. I sat down one Saturday and pulled out all my clothes, picked my favourite pieces, and created my very own capsule wardrobe.
A capsule wardrobe, sometimes called a minimalist wardrobe, is a set of essential clothes that you wear and re-wear. The goal of this is to minimize the amount of clothes you own but maximize the amount of outfits you can wear. The amount of pieces you have depends on your lifestyle. It can range from 10-50 pieces as long as you have reason to believe each item is essential.
Have you ever packed for a trip? That’s basically what a capsule wardrobe is! You’ve got only a suitcase’s worth of clothes, and you can mix-and-match those items all week. It’s faster, easier, and can often be cheaper.
So, where to start? Here are 5 questions to consider for your summer capsule wardrobe.
1. What are your needs?
I’m a teacher and I’ve also got tattoos, which means I must have clothes that cover my biceps at work. My clothes need to be modest, but my workplace isn’t quite business casual. Outside of work, I wear pretty much the same things, but I like to show a little more skin.
When planning your wardrobe, think about the purpose of it. A college student’s wardrobe isn’t going to have the same needs or the same size as an attorney who needs to wear a suit every day. Consider what your professional and personal needs are before starting, and decide on a rough number of items--15, 24, 50?
2. Does it match?
Fewer pieces in your closet mean you’ll be rewearing items more often, and that means they’ll need to complement each other.
We all know how a pair of black jeans can work with almost any color. For me, I love jewel tones and those are easy to match with black or white. But I also love wearing deep yellows and oranges, and those colors take a bit more coordination.
Look at your closet right now and think about what colors you wear most. What colors will work with each other? Think of a general color palette to stick to: navy blue and white with some reds or tan and green with pops of yellow.
3. Pick your summer essentials
Summer can open up so many options for clothing! Between sandals, off-the-shoulder blouses, and skirts, my wardrobe changes a lot in this season.
Your climate will decide much of your summer essentials. A summer in Texas is wildly different from a summer in Scotland. For example, while the weather outside might be brutally hot, indoors might be chilly with AC and you’ll want a cardigan at work--or not. Many places don’t have air conditioning, so your needs will be different. Consider the material of your clothes, too. Fabrics like linen can be cooler than polyester or rayon, while cotton or merino wool can wick sweat away fast.
The other important thing to consider is how your lifestyle changes in summer. Do you need hiking clothes? What about swimwear? Maybe you’ll switch out leggings for bike shorts or your slacks for paperbag shorts. My favorite pieces for my own capsule wardrobe are those that can be convertible, like a fun dress that can also work as a skirt or beach cover-up.
4. Can I dress this up or down?
Lastly, think about your personal style. It’s so easy to default to the basics when you pick out your wardrobe. After all, won’t you need those classic t-shirts and jeans? Sure! But the goal of a capsule wardrobe isn’t to make your clothing feel more generic. That cat print sundress doesn’t necessarily need to go. You simply want to reduce a surplus of clothes down to what you actually wear.
But what if you aren’t sure of your style? No worries! I recommend using pinterest and finding keywords fit the general vibe of your closet--goth-y professor who loves dark florals, 90s skater, etc.
5. What to do with the rest?
After doing some soul-searching, perusing pinterest boards and rummaging through my closet, I was able to pick out around forty pieces that I can wear and rewear throughout the summer.
But what do you do with the rest? Well, for me, I saved some winter clothes for storage and put the rest in a bag to donate. There are so many great opportunities to pass that clothing on! You can give to your local clothing drop box or have a clothing exchange with friends. The goal of this isn’t just to get rid of stuff, but to find ways to recycle and reuse what we have without buying more.
While I might need to do laundry more often, having fewer options has given me a freedom and versatility I desperately needed! Curating a capsule wardrobe has helped me value my clothes more and made me think of my wardrobe as a collection, rather than a bunch of individual items.
Now, what’s your plan for your summer wardrobe?
Did you know that if you sign up for Genevieve’s email list, you get two free capsule wardrobe planner resources? Sign up today.
Experience Over Stuff Books
I mentioned a lot of good books in my book, Experience Over Stuff: How to Live Free in a World that Wants to Clutter You Up. Many are related to intentional living, creativity, or minimalism. Here is a linked list of the titles referenced in that book.
I have read and highly recommend all of these books.
Double-click to edit…
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
Being Me, Loving You: A Practical Guide to Extraordinary Relationships by Marshall Rosenberg
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Minimalist Living: Decluttering for Joy, Health, and Creativity by Genevieve Parker Hill
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
The Power of Now: a Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
Double-click to edit…
Double-click to edit…
The Power of Eight: Harnessing the Miraculous Energies of a Small Group to Heal Others, Your Life, and the World by Lynne McTaggart
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles for Keeping Life in Perspective by Richard Carlson
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott
Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life by the Simple Act of Giving, Steven Post and Jill Neimark
The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks
Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Ambitious Women by Kate Northrup
French Women for All Seasons by Mireille Guiliano
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund
The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World by Chris Guillebeau
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Wealthy Creative: 24 Successful Artists and Writers Share Their Winning Habits by Genevieve Parker Hill
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff: Simple Ways To Keep The Little Things From Taking Over Your Life by Richard Carlson
That’s it!
Pick out one or two of these books and put them on your reading list. You won’t regret it.
If you loved this post, “heart” it using the button below, and if you want to share it, there’s a button for that too. Please share this blog as a way of helping others simplify to live their best lives.
All My Embarassing Questions About Trash, Answered
By Genevieve Parker Hill with Laura BaileyAs a minimalism expert, I feel I should have more answers about trash. After all, I've certainly read up on sustainable living, recycling, and composting. But when it comes to actual trash I throw away, I know very little about what happens to it, other than that it goes to a dump or a landfill.
I know I'm not alone. When I ask friends and family my questions about trash, I get shrugs in response. On social media, I've read statements like "landfills are meant to preserve trash until we humans find something better to do with it," and someone on Facebook recently asserted that parents should be scraping their children's feces from each soiled diaper into the toilet, not simply throwing the whole diaper away, as is the current practice of thousands, if not millions of parents globally. (And, I imagine, all kinds of care workers, from hospitals to nursing homes.)
So, what is a landfill? What is its goal or purpose?
A landfill is markedly different from a dump. While the quite suitably named ‘dump’ is a simple hole in the ground where trash literally gets left to rot, the much more new and improved landfill is a structure that does its best to prevent contamination between the trash and the area surrounding it.
Exactly how the landfill does this involves some engineer-y technical stuff. But the most important techniques include a bottom liner than separates the trash from the groundwater and soil and the other is a daily covering of the trash with soil to separate it from the air and animals. (https://www.advanceddisposal.com/for-mother-earth/education-zone/learn-about-landfills.aspx )
What happens to rubbish in the landfill?
Landfills are not designed to break down the trash, as the cells that contain them are oxygen free but it will eventually decompose anaerobically, just a lot slower than trash put in a regular dump. It is essentially a place where we can make the stuff we don’t know what to do with smaller, more invisible, and surrounded by tough protection so it won’t poison the environment. (https://www.livescience.com/32786-what-happens-inside-a-landfill.html)
But, are we just pretending this kind of impenetrability is possible? Nature is powerful. Do we really think that many years of weather extremes, hungry animals, and strong tree roots (among other forces) wouldn’t find a way through to all this trash at some point? Leakages seem inevitable. Leaching is the most common form of this, in which the decomposition of harmful matter mixes with water that enters the landfill and find its way into the surrounding community. Substances like ammonia, phosphorus and toxic compounds can then make their way to local habitats and water systems. (https://www.oxymem.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-landfill-leachate-treatment)
But there is some good news for the environment. Modern landfills are now taking advantage of the gas it produces and using it as an environmentally-friendly energy source. So a small percentage of your garbage actually becomes fuel that powers your community. (https://www.advanceddisposal.com/for-mother-earth/education-zone/landfill-gas-to-energy.aspx)
What happens to the stuff that doesn’t go to landfill?
It’s important to remember that recycling is the more environmentally friendly option over landfill, given the landfill’s potential for leaching. Therefore, some countries and jurisdictions have found various ways to deal with our trash, before sending it to landfill.
UK
Before your rubbish gets dumped in the landfill, the UK uses advanced machinery to recover certain useful materials that can be recycled. This amounts to approximately a third of all the stuff you throw away into your general waste bins. You may be thinking, well what’s the point in the recycling bin then? As it turns out this “advanced” recovery process is not as advanced as we’d like it to be, so lots of recyclable material falls through the cracks. Plus it takes a lot of unnecessary energy to actually sort all that trash. (https://whatplastic.co.uk/blogs/blog/what-happens-at-a-landfill-site) Some of this then gets recycled, some will get sent to incinerators and some will be sent to energy converting facilities. (https://www.suez.co.uk/en-gb/our-offering/communities-and-individuals/what-happens-to-waste/general-waste) After all this, around 24% of the total waste is sent to landfill. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49827945)
USA
Where garbage ends up (if it’s not a landfill) in the US largely depends on your state. Some states or cities will recycle more and some will incinerate more. Any stuff you do throw away into your general trash though, like the UK, will in most cases be sent to MRFs (material recovery facilities) where magnets, shredders and other such advanced technology recover what it can before the rest gets sent to landfill. Approximately, 52% of all US municipal waste gets sent to landfill. (https://www.budgetdumpster.com/resources/where-does-trash-go.php) Places like San Francisco have managed to divert 75% of its trash from landfill and incineration to be recycled. (https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/PublicEd/EarthDay/Where/) States such as Michigan and Indiana however send the most trash to landfill per capita. (https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/which-states-produce-most-trash)
Australia
Of Australia’s total waste, 40% of it makes it to landfill. (https://www.civil.uq.edu.au/news/article/explainer-how-much-landfill-does-australia-have) The rest gets sent either to materials recovery facilities and a minority of it is sent to incinerators. (https://www.burnsidetrash.com.au/what-happens-to-your-rubbish/#ch2)
What happens to certain types of trash?
Food Waste
Food waste is most commonly recycled at composting facilities. Composting is a natural biological process that has been around since the dawn of time. The process, which breaks down organic material so it can be used as fertilizer, now has been harnessed and sped-up by in-vessel composters where food waste is shredded, mixed with water and set to a temperature of 60°C.
Some food waste will also get sent to anaerobic digesters. Here, the organic material gets broken down by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen. The great thing about this is that it produces a renewable source of energy; bio gas. (https://www.suez.co.uk/en-gb/our-offering/communities-and-individuals/what-happens-to-waste/food-and-garden-waste)
Where your food ends up though, may rely largely on your state’s or council’s procedures and laws. Places that provide a means for you to dispose of your food waste separate to your other trash will reliably meet its true destiny of being composted, but if you put all your food waste in your general trash, it’s likely to end up in landfill. (https://www.budgetdumpster.com/resources/where-does-trash-go.php)
Old Electronics
Since mercury was removed from single-use batteries, the chemicals inside them no longer pose any threat to the environment, so they can in theory be thrown in the trash and sent to landfill. But it’s better to recycle them where possible. Batteries take about 100 years to decompose. Rechargeable batteries on the other hand, contain heavy metals and other toxic chemicals so they must be recycled. (https://www.consumerreports.org/recycling/recycle-old-batteries/)
Many other old electronic items still contain materials like mercury, arsenic, lead or flame retardants which can be harmful to the environment if sent to landfill. In many places you are legally required to recycle electronics and other things that may harm the environment if put into the landfill. Really makes you think that most landfills are not reliably able to protect the surrounding environment from leaching, right? (https://www.ewaste1.com/is-it-illegal-to-throw-away-electronics/)
Poopy diapers
Fecal matter can be a pretty nasty spreader of bacteria and viruses. It’s no wonder we like to stay away from it. As it turns out, so would your local landfill, as it’s another one of those high risk contaminants. Through leaching, that bacteria could potentially leak into groundwater and the surrounding environments. It is advisable then that the poop be scraped off and thrown in the toilet. Then you can throw the diaper away. (https://momlovesbest.com/diapering/diapers/how-to-dispose)
Not everyone agrees with this however, as some people buy disposable diapers to do precisely that; dispose of them, because this means a less likely chance of them coming into contact with dangerous fecal matter. And of course, unless you are particularly skilled at cleaning diapers, it’s almost certain there will be some fecal residue absorbed by the diaper and so that’s going to end up in the landfill anyway. For me, this is one of those ambiguous situations. The sewage system is meant to treat bacteria-laden fecal matter, but on the other hand, (nearly) everyone else is already throwing their poopy diapers in the trash, so the poop is already there. Also, here’s a little known fact (for Americans): many countries plumbing systems do not allow for toilet paper. Therefore, the trash bins in the bathrooms of many countries are where any remnants of wiped-off fecal matter go. (Which in some countries isn’t much, thanks to bidets, while other countries don’t use bidets).
Finally, there doesn’t seem to be a huge problem with bacteria from landfills leaching into the surrounding community. This could be because many dangerous bacteria and viruses die withing a few hours to a few weeks outside the human body. Common sense tells us that if you throw a poopy diaper into the trash, most of those bacteria will be dead by the time it reaches the landfill.
Beauty Chemicals
Some say you should put old beauty products in landfill and some say to put them down the drain. It sort of depends on what’s in the product. As a rule of thumb, landfill, which can, in theory, be better controlled than the water systems seems to be a better option. There is evidence that harmful chemicals from certain shampoos and make-up can leach from landfill sites. But disposing of products containing parabens down drains has been linked to heightened risks of cancers. Other substances have also been proven to be harmful to aquatic life.
The best option is probably to take the time to look at the back of the bottle and try to avoid products that contain parabens, phthalates or sodium laureth sulfate. If you can’t or haven’t eliminated these chemicals from your life, then you can also contact your local hazardous waste facility to help you out. https://grist.org/living/can-i-just-dump-old-beauty-products-down-the-drain/)
The Hypothetical Shampoo Bottle Situation
Imagine this common scenario. You’ve decided to declutter your bathroom cabinet. You want to get anything with parabens, phthalates or sodium laureth sulfate out of your personal grooming routine. What do you do with those old bottles you find with bits of product remaining with those chemicals in them? The bottles themselves are likely recyclable if they are cleaned out , and the fact is, the chemicals have the potential to harm whether they go into landfill or down the drain, but there's a margin more risk if they're going down the drain. I’m happy that this article has finally brought me an answer. Rather than rinsing the bottles out and recycling them, it’s better to throw the bottles with their remnants into the landfill.
The Take Home
So after all of our investigating, my conclusion is that landfills are an imperfect solution for dealing with garbage we don’t know what to do with. Seeing the way above-ground structures degrade after a few decades of exposure to weather, water, animals, plants, and biodegradation, it’s clear there are no truly impermeable systems. While engineers and waste managers try their best, it’s difficult to imagine that harmful chemicals will not always leak through into places we don’t want them.
The most sustainable direction to move is to minimize the amount of trash we produce, and compost and recycle as much as we can.
***
If you loved this post, “heart” it using the button below, and if you want to share it, there’s a button for that too. Please share this blog as a way of helping others simplify to live their best lives.
Finally, if you haven’t signed up yet for the free 3-Day Decluttering Challenge, please do so below. You’ll get a three-day burst of inspiration and instruction, plus The Simple Sunday, my occasional newsletter on how to edit your life for more joy.
How to Minimize Paper Clutter from Bills and Taxes
It would be great if bills and taxes didn't exist.
If I could wave my magic wand and make that happen, I would. Alas, all those papers, receipts, bills, and anything the IRS might need to see in the event of an audit need to be kept, at least for a while. This type of paper clutter, if not dealt with in a systematized way, can create a messy office situation that feels overwhelming.
Today I'm sharing how to handle all the paper that results from paying bills and taxes so it doesn't clutter up your life and so you can breathe easy in your office or wherever you handle the administrative details of life.
This post was inspired by a question I got from a subscriber on my 3-Day Decluttering Challenge email list. They asked, "How do you handle or store all the paper (clutter) that results from paying bills and taxes?"
I'll tell you exactly how I do it. I have a system that lets me access any piece of paper related to bills or taxes that I need to see within 10 minutes or less (usually much less).
The short version of my system is this: everything is digital.
Everything related to taxes or bills either starts off in electronic format and stays that way, or gets digitized. In other words, I create or receive electronic versions of all necessary paperwork.
If you'd like to know details of how I do this, and how you can too, I'm going to share exactly what apps and tech I use to keep my life in digital format so I can easily move and travel the world without carrying large binders or file folder holders.
Taxes
My partner and I have been paying taxes electronically for years. We use a website like TurboTax to help us prepare our taxes and for help with the e-signing process.
When I get a physical tax form in the mail, I arrange to receive a scanned or photographed version of it emailed to me wherever I am in the world. That document gets saved to my computer in a labeled file folder which is backed up using the cloud storage service Dropbox.
The email with the document would also be archived in my Gmail account. If I need to be reminded of a certain document or task related to taxes or bills, I use Boomerang for Gmail to return it to my inbox on a scheduled date in the future.
Occasionally, I copy all my important files and back them up to an external hard drive as a secondary back up measure.
Tech used: Laptop, external hard drive.
Apps used: TurboTax, Dropbox, Gmail, Boomerang for Gmail
Bills and Receipts
I receive most of my bills and receipts electronically. Most of them get emailed to me. I use Gmail and archive all my receipts. The Gmail archive offers plenty of space for free, and is searchable so I can store what I need and find it easily (usually!).
I only save receipts for a short time unless they are connected to my business or are needed for taxes. I tend to budget using my bank and credit cards’ online portals to access account statements. (Meaning I don’t need to save receipts to see where my money goes. If I’m making a large purchase in cash, I will take a photo of that receipt.)
Business receipts are emailed to me. I run my business online, and the services I use to run my business are also mostly online. The individual companies also store their own records of what I have paid them. That's nice to have as an alternative option to go and see expenses paid to individual companies.
If I get a paper-only receipt for an expense paid to run my business, I make a digital copy and dispose of the paper version. I do not have a scanner, so I use the high quality camera on my smart phone to take a picture of the receipt. I make sure the photo is well-lit and that anyone can clearly see what the receipt says.
All my photos of documents are stored in computer folders organized by year and month. They are backed up to two cloud services: Dropbox and Google Photos. I review them regularly to make sure everything is there and is getting safely backed up to the cloud. Occasionally I do a manual back up copy of my photos and documents to a small external hard drive.
Tech used: Laptop, external hard drive, smart phone with camera
Apps used: Google photos, Dropbox, Gmail
I think that covers my system.
I wanted to see if I was the only one who handled papers related to taxes and bills this way, so I floated this question to the Minimalist Living Community on Facebook. Many of the responses described a system similar to mine.
Most people seem to be fans of having everything digitized and saved to the cloud or to a hard drive. Quite a few people digitize and throw away paper, except for physical copies of tax documents, which they keep in files or envelops.
A few folks don't handle things like I do, which is helpful to learn if you're looking for a non-digital way to handle your papers.
Some of my favorite responses are:
I hope this post helps you create or modify your system so that you can feel calm and organized about your papers related to taxes and bills.
If you liked this post, tap the heart button below, and if you want to share it, there’s a button for that too. Please share this blog as a way of helping others simplify to live their best lives.
Why and How to Become a Digital Minimalist
I would like to start this article by letting you know that digital minimalism, while super cool for many reasons, isn’t necessarily the right philosophy for you. I say this because I don’t want to tell you that you suck for doing something you enjoy because then I’d be doing exactly what I criticise loads of digital media of already doing; playing on your insecurities.
But what I will say is that too much of anything has its consequences and there is some data to suggest that an increasing addiction to your phone can lead to increasing feelings of anxiety. Just like any addiction. If this applies to you, and you think you may be wanting to move toward strengthening the values of deeper focus, self-awareness and control, then digital minimalism may be for you.
The Value of Intention
The idea that social media is sometimes bad for us isn’t news. Nonetheless, it probably features in your life daily and for some, all day long. Much like regular minimalism, digital minimalism asks if this is out of an intentional choice, or out of a habit, addiction or some other unintentional void-filling behaviour. The major problem with the things we consume online though, as opposed to actual things, is that they are specifically doing that via grabbing your attention, often without you really wanting it to.
The designers of Instagram know that if they space out the more exciting and more relevant-to-you content, then you’re more likely to keep scrolling for that anticipated dopamine release and get more addicted. Same with Tik Tok. And Facebook/Meta knows that shocking, negative stories with stereotypes draw in more eyeballs.
Since companies get paid based on how much of your attention they grab, they will do this by any means necessary, even through capitalising on certain addiction-prone mechanisms in the brain. Doesn’t sound like there’s much room for intention there, right?
The Underappreciated Value of Intense Focus
I’ve always been a digital minimalist to some extent, but I also always complained that I felt like I was missing out on the bonding that went on over group chats. Then after a couple years of really trying to message lots, I felt so frustrated with it, I decided to do a total digital declutter.
This is because, the more I messaged and used social media, the more my attention got spread over multiple ‘presences’ and virtual worlds shallowly and the less I got to experience my own real presence deeply. That deep presence is a value of mine. It’s what makes walking my dog so calming for me or what makes me lose a sense of time when speaking to a friend for hours.
Of course, the inputs from the outside world make us largely who we are but the digital realm has us wired up to so many inputs firing in from different directions that it can often prevent us from firstly understanding the depth and detail of what we’re experiencing and secondly consolidating those inputs so we can creatively come up with the best output response. We need time for this too. We need solitude with our thoughts.
The Step by Step Guide to a more Intentional Digital Life
So without further ado, these are the steps to help you attain deeper focus and more intention in your life.
1. Press Refresh and Try the 30 Day Challenge
This one may be a little drastic for you, but if you’re really serious about being more intentional with your time, then it’s worth a try. All you need to do is remove all technologies from your life that are not professionally or personally essential for 30 days. This “cold turkey” approach will hopefully rid you of any compulsive behaviour you’ve developed.
2. Keep Whatever holds Value
Once you’ve completed the detox, you can now decide how you are going to be intentional with your apps and websites of choice. You could, for example, schedule in the time you spend responding to messages for your commute. The key here is determining which parts of your digital world add value to your life and how and when you use it to maximise that value.
3. Get rid of pesky notifications
Notifications are the most powerful of all attention grabbers, so turning off as many as possible is perhaps the most liberating of these steps. I can understand that you may need to keep messenger notifications turned on for certain people but most of them can probably wait until the end of the day for a response. Alternatively, you can ask your friends to call if they want to chat.
4. Plan your leisure time
This is basically the crux of what digital minimalism is all about; being intentional with your time. Imagine the life-changing book you could have read instead of scrolling on Instagram for hours in a week. Maybe instead of being tempted into binging a Netflix series, you could have discovered a new sport and new friends too. It’s not that I’m saying certain activities are better than others, it’s about what is valuable to you; what makes you happiest in the long run.
5. Spend Time Alone
So social interaction is at the crux of human development but I, and Cal Newport’s book, think that society may have underestimated solitude. We need this sometimes too, if we want to let our amazing brains do their job and focus without external distractions. Some of the most ingenious ideas have come from someone sitting alone or walking alone without any input.
6. Leave your Phone at Home
The idea of this is probably insane to a lot of people, and maybe you have a family to think of that needs you on-call. If not, then leaving your phone at home can allow you to be more present and engaged with the world around you. Otherwise, you can always adjust the settings on your phone so you only get notifications from certain people who call/text you.
7. Consider Calling Instead of Texting
One of the biggest problems with digital communication is that it stunts our ability to develop face-to-face social skills which the human brain was essentially designed for. If you can call, especially video call, there are a hundred times more non-verbal cues that you can pick up on. You can also talk about more in a shorter space of time and in more depth.
8. Block by Default
Steve Jobs’ famous speech about his new iPhone that was in fact a phone, an iPod AND an internet communicator still rings loudly in our multi-functional device loving ears today. It was revolutionary to everyone at the time, but since all this stuff about attention loss has been talked about, I’ve realised multi-purpose devices may be partly to blame for why our attention spans are spread across multiple places at once. So don’t just tell yourself you won’t go on certain websites or apps, block them by default except for the times when you intend to use them.
Maybe you’re thinking all these steps are a little over the top and perhaps you’re right, for you. It all depends on what exactly your intention is. If you really value connecting to people online or require digital tools for your self-development, then you don’t necessarily need to do all these steps. The point is that you use the digital world as a tool to manifest your true values, instead of letting it dictate them.
If you’d like to learn about digital minimalism and focus in more detail, this article was inspired and informed by these two books:
If you loved this post, “heart” it using the button below, and if you want to share it, there’s a button for that too. Please share this blog as a way of helping others simplify to live their best lives.