Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Are goals needed?

By Tiffany Young
Leo Babauta recently wrote a post on not needing goals, and, while I understand what he's saying, I'm not sure I completely agree. Basically he says you can accomplish things without setting goals.

I'm sure that most people accomplish things every day without working toward them. If you live long enough you'll probably do something you could be recognized for or end up doing something you're proud of. But I find if I don't set some goals and decide on one or two at a time, some of the bigger things I want to do fall through the cracks.

If I hadn't decided to pay off my credit cards, I couldn't have done it. If I hadn't decided to finally buckle down and save for a trip to Italy, it may not have ever happened. Sure, I would still be an editor at a newspaper—that was never on my goal list—I would have went to college—all my friends were doing it, but the bigger stuff? Probably not.

So, while I understand what he means, for now, I'm going to keep adding goals to my moleskin, because there's a lot more I'd like to make sure I do.

Next up: Vegas on New Year's Eve.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Half Price Books success story

Today I got $5.50 for three books I sold to Half Price Books. While I indeed spent more than that on the books, I'm counting this as a success, since I usually get about $.50 back per book.

The three books I sold? "Three Cups of Tea" (loved, loved, loved), "Black Magic Woman" (eh.. gave me nightmares), and "A Weekend With Mr. Darcy" (one of the most charming books I've read in years).

Now I'm left to wonder why the higher price than usual. Is it because Mr. Darcy was a book I bought in the U.K. while at the airport and therefore harder to come by here? Was it the paranormal book because it was a bit difficult to find even on Amazon at first. Or was it Three Cups of Tea because it's such a big seller. I'm doubting the last, just because they usually have tons of bestsellers on hand since everyone reads them and then sells them.

I'm aware that technically I didn't give anything away, but I did make some room on my bookshelf. That's a lie—it's still full; I made some more room on my floor. :)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Recycling

I was just guided toward How to Recycle Anything by Unclutterer, one of my favorite blogs giving me inspiration to live an uncluttered life.

The How to Recycle anything guide is impressive and just because we're done with something doesn't mean that item has been completely used up yet.

This also gives you some ideas on what to buy next time around. For example, Mac's recycling program for makeup makes me want to start using them over other companies who don't recycle or bother to encourage people to do so. You can also send your old Christmas lights for recycling and get a discount for new ones.

Who knew when you did something to save the planet, you might also save a little dough in return?