The Katana: Spring Cleaning and Moving Forward
So that’s it. One quarter of the year is done, and a new quarter begins. How’d you do? Did you just meet expectations set forth in the 4th quarter of 2009? Or did you beat expectations and prove to your shareholders and yourself that you’re investment worthy? Executives of public companies go through this thought process all the time, and so should you.
There’s never been a better time than right now to go through all the clutter in the house and donate it all away. Clutter should drive you nuts, because it’s a sign of excess. Why do you need 7 pairs of jeans, 50 pairs of shoes, and all those magazines? You don’t! I don’t and I’m very disappointed in myself for accumulating so much junk over the years.
It really makes me sick to have so much stuff. When I lived in a studio apartment, the place was filled with crap. Now I live in a house, and it’s no different. Consumerism has infiltrated me thoroughly. On the bright side, thank goodness for counterbalancing mechanisms. If a person never feels full (sick of clutter), they’ll eat until they explode! Today, let’s de-clutter and simplify.
MARCH FAVORITE POSTS ON FINANCIAL SAMURAI
* “The Mental To Physical Connection For A Healthier Lifestyle”
* “Insuring The Uninsured Is Worth It”
* “Wealth Is An Illusion Of Happiness”
Heads up Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Bloomberg, if you want to do an interview, better let us know quick because The Samurai Fund is now up 11.5% vs. only +5.6% for the S&P year-to-date! LEN, HAR, BIG are leading the way.
HIGHLIGHT POSTS FROM AROUND THE SPHERE
* “Successfully Work From Home” by new Yakezie Challenger Craig Ford guest posts on Ryan Patrick’s site on a topic which many of us would love to do one day!
* “Dealing With Dread“ is a fun video clip by entrepreneur Beth Andrus highlighting how to neutralize dread. It’s all about proper association. I hate doing push-ups and sit-ups, but that’s exactly what I do after every post because I link writing with exercise.
* “Saving Money By Staying Healthy” is a hilarious read by Money Reasons which any germaphobe will appreciate!
THE YAKEZIE
There are 60 members now working towards a common goal. With three months left to our deadline, may I suggest focusing our efforts on getting to know and support 10 less familiar members in the group per month from here on out? This way, we’ll ensure a tighter weave when we enter the second challenge after July 4th!
Our current challenge of improving the activity on our sites will never really end. It’s just important that we get ourselves in as good a shape as possible before we take on new initiatives. It’s like a boxer training for six months before a fight, or an astronaut going through all the necessary modules before launch. The more prepared we are, the more success we will have in stage two! I’m so excited about the next challenge, I can’t wait to formulate and share with you all the game plan. Write on challengers, write on!
Regards,
Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”
Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.
Related posts:
Thanks for the mention!
Some great picks!
I felt like that guy in the Staples commercial that yells out: “Wow, that’s a great price“, but instead I was thinking “Wow, that a great post“. Especially Frugal Dad’s post, it hit at home with me. (pun intended)! ;)
As for my 1st quarter of the year, it was just so-so. But, the 2nd quarter is off to a great start though since we (my son and I) went out to play golf for the first time this year! It was great!!!
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admin Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
No prob Don! I think I may write a post about improving on golf, as it relates to life. In fact, I have the outline out already. Took me 1 yr to break 100, but 5 years to break 90 consistently… I figured it out, but you’ll have to wait for the article. Best, Sam
admin´s last blog ..Punctuality Breeds Credibility – Stop Being Late!
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I decluttered last week, and remembered the last time I decluttered, whenI thought “I will stop and think long and hard before buying, so I don’t waste so much time, money, and space.” And that didn’t happen, at least not as much as I had hoped. Last week I donated bags of stuff to Out Of The Closet. So I am starting fresh, attempting once again to gain control of my consumption addiction. It’s nice to know I’m in good company :-)
Beth Andrus´s last blog ..Dealing With Dread
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admin Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
It’s the darndest thing clutter. It sneaks up on us, and before we know it, we have much more than we know what to do with it! When you coming up to SF next? Would be fun to catch up.
admin´s last blog ..Punctuality Breeds Credibility – Stop Being Late!
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Wow thinking about the year being a quarter of the way done already is a wake up call. Time goes fast. I dunno how the whole spring cleaning trend came about, but I try and do some bigger projects around the house this time of year. It makes my allergies act up and can be a bit of a pain sometimes but it’s worth it in the end to see the results and have a cleaner house.
I agree it’s too easy to accumulate things. I’ve started requesting my family not give me any more gifts on holidays as I find that’s how I often get a bunch of things I don’t like and have a harder time giving away. Accumulating stuff is also worse the longer you’ve lived in one location b/c you’ve never have to go through the pain of packing everything up and carrying it from one place to another. Every time I go back to my parents’ house I try and box up a few things for charity as I lived there my whole childhood and my parents never gave any of my things away after I left. A lot of that stuff is sentimental so sometimes I’ll take pictures to preserve the memory of things which makes it easier to donate or toss them. In the spirit of de-cluttering I think I’ll walk through the house today and see if I can find 5 things to give away.
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admin Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
You hit the nail on the head regarding sentimental stuff being hard to throw away. Good idea to at least take a picture of the things before you do!
admin´s last blog ..Riding Rocketships For Greater Success
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While I’m guilty of liking my “stuff,” I do think there comes a point when too much is just too much. For me, I often feel like I have way too many clothes lying around, many of which are old and have no use to me. Why do I still have these things….? Good question! But after reading this, it looks like I’m off to salvation army to donate them away!
Travis´s last blog ..Niche Blogs
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admin Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Good stuff going to the SA! Better to give to someone who will use it more than us I say.n
admin´s last blog ..Punctuality Breeds Credibility – Stop Being Late!
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Sam,
Helping out New Blogs is Such a COOL Idea! I think i am going to offer Evan
Evan´s last blog ..Nanny Groups Suck – Leave Ronald McDonald Alone and Just Tell you Kid No
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admin Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Evan, it’s the basis of The Yakezie! Cheers
admin´s last blog ..Punctuality Breeds Credibility – Stop Being Late!
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It seems like I am in a constant state of trying to declutter. My wife and I just filled two large boxes of clothing to donate to Goodwill. It always feels good to remove some of the unnecessary junk from our lives!
Thanks for linking out to CML. I have a hard enough time working from home on the weekends – no sure how well it would go over working full time from home! :)
Ryan´s last blog ..Do You Need a Business Credit Card?
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admin Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
No prob Ryan. I gathered a couple bags to donate today, but of course after going to Wondercon, I had to pick up some nostalgic He-man action figures from the early 80′s! Clawful, Fisto, and Skeletor anyone? lol. $7 bucks each. Not bad.
admin´s last blog ..Punctuality Breeds Credibility – Stop Being Late!
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Spring cleaning is something I do frequently. I can’t stand clutter, and my husband is the ultimate chucker of all things useless. About twice a year we go through our crap, I mean stuff, and donate, recycle, or toss items. It’s a great feeling!
Little House´s last blog ..Virtual vs. Reality…City Comparisons
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Sayonara Sam ~
Your suggestion on making the rounds to lesser known members while really help “form a tighter weave”.
It seemed like after the initial tsunami (original post), the group experienced 2 other waves (once after the first follow-up) and some other time I think.
I’ll be looking around at other sites. I’m sure you’ll continue to produce high-quality content, but we’ll re-convene in July.
FinEngr´s last blog ..Rooting Out The Devil: Kathy Kristof Interview
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admin Reply:
April 9th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Hi FE, not sure exactly what you’r commenting. Do you mind rewording? Thnx, Sam
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FinEngr Reply:
April 9th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Re-read the comment, it was dis-jointed.
Agreeing that meeting different members will make the group stronger. Attempted to say how it feels like I’m already more attached to the older sites, but haven’t taken the time to go around to the newer members.
So – I was saying adios for now, I’m going to focus more on those I haven’t spent time on and less on those I frequent regularly.
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admin Reply:
April 9th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Sounds good. Have fun meeting everyone else! I’ve got in mind 10 others I’m looking to visit more often too. Cheers, Sam
I love decluttering. It’s almost as much fun as getting a bargain. But, what I don’t quite understand is this; I am really committed to simplify, simplify, simplify,…. yet I still have so much stuff!!!! It must be because, the bargains are outweighing the decluttering. It never ends.
Barb Friedberg´s last blog ..GET WHAT’S RIGHTFULLY YOURS; FROM THE GOVERNMENT
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Decluttering is good but is seems like every year i have more stuff to get ride of!
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