Simple Self Improvement

Gum blossom                                  Image:Marie Vonow I love being in a natural environment. It could be my own garden, someone else's garden, a park or the botanic gardens. It could be by a river, in the hills or at the beach. When I am in a natural environment I find it easy to live in the moment and to feel gratitude. Nature is good for the soul, I can feel it doing me good and research shows Nature is beneficial to a person's health. For more info, check out - http://selfavenue.com/why-nature-makes-us-happy/ http://selfavenue.com/nature-relatedness/39201/ Local river in winter       Image:Marie Vonow Elements of Nature such as birds bring joy                        Image:Marie Vonow Some years ago when I was camping at the beach on Eyre Peninsula with my family I wrote this poem in response to watching the moon rise over the ocean -   Rising Moon Alone, enjoying the evening calm I sit, gaze across the bay, It's s

                                                                    Image:Marie Vonow Okay, so here I am at the final day of November and the end of my self imposed six month ban on unnecessary shopping. For further information check out my blog post http://simpleselfimprovement.blogspot.com/2019/05/six-month-shopping-ban-challenge.html  How did it go? What did I find out about my shopping habits? What are my goals for future purchases of non essential items? I actually found I made more non essential purchases as time went by because I had come to the conclusion that making such a purchase from time to time is okay. I think each person needs to make their own decisions about how many items they want in their home and how many 'new' items they feel comfortable buying. I still believe decluttering has benefits and I don't want clutter to pile up. From time to time I donate a few items I no longer use to an op shop. Recently I bought a small square 'saucer'

Blackbirds hang out in the palm   Image:Marie Vonow Life is full of things to do, people to catch up with and appointments to attend. It seems there is always so much to do and life can be overwhelming if you don't schedule time to just breathe. I am fortunate at this point in my life I don't have to rush off to work in the morning. I am able to take some time for myself most mornings and watch the birds in my garden as I slowly drink my coffee. I wrote this short poem about relaxing in the garden and observing the local birds.         Birds And Nature Friendly birds sitting in the tree Joyfully singing songs for me, I love to sip my coffee while I sit, Watch them and relax for a bit. Nature can calm my active mind I look around, focus on what I find, Stop and take a break from stress Breathe deep, don’t think about life's mess. You may already know, from personal experience, spendi

  Title added to graphic by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay The weather has warmed up and in fact we have had a couple of days I would class as 'hot'. Then we go back to cold because, well it's spring which means the weather goes from one extreme to the other. I realised my wardrobe was lacking a couple of items for inbetween weather so I used that as an excuse to visit local op shops. I also replaced two tops that I have had for five or six years and I am just tired of. While out buying essential items today I came across a comforter set in one of the bargain shops. It is exactly what I pictured earlier in the year when I thought about updating my bedspread. Back then I decided not to make a purchase. I could probably have justified the purchase back then because I have had my plain blue bedspread for nine or ten years and I bought it second hand. If you look closely you can see a few places where I have darned little holes. It was easier to resist buying a

                                                                      Image: Public Domain Pictures from Pixabay This self imposed shopping ban experiment is interesting. I have bought the odd item here and there but only after careful thought. I have to admit being a bit like a naughty kid in that I have got a kick out of 'breaking the rules', even though I was the one who made the rules in the first place. Most of the time I 'obey' the rules and don't buy stuff I don't need. I certainly am thinking more carefully about my purchases. I resisted the urge to buy a novel A couple of weeks ago I went into a lovely bookshop with a friend. I was in a happy relaxed frame of mind. I picked up a  copy of The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village and was intrigued when I read the back of the book. I was oh so tempted to buy the book when I read a page of it. Instead, I decided to note the name of the book and see if I could borrow it through my local lib

                                             Image:Gerd Altmann from Pixabay We make choices every day, some of them big and some small. We make choices about many different things, what food and how much to eat, how to spend our time, what to do in our spare time, what time to go to bed, what sort of exercise to participate in, which people to spend time with, how to interact with others, who to vote for, whether to have pets, how much money to spend, which companies to buy from, what to spend money on and how to treat the environment.  As children we often do as we are told or follow the example set by the rest of the family. During the teenage years some rebel and do the opposite.  Later in life we start to actively make more choices based on our personal values. As an adult we may be influenced by - our family our job work mates and colleagues friends specific groups we belong to what we expect of ourselves what we think others expect of us what we think others ne

Adapted from image by Clkert-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay I have been doing my self imposed shopping ban for nearly 3 months now. Overall I would say it isn't proving too difficult but I have made a couple of purchases recently. They weren't essential but I don't regret making them. Op Shops I have been staying away from op shops because I will be tempted to buy things I don't really need if I start browsing. Instead I have been spending time at the library or a cafe if I have time to fill in when I am in the main street area which has a number of op shops. I did go into an op shop yesterday but that was for the purpose of donating some folders, books and a dvd I no longer wanted. Rather than looking at all the bargain priced items for sale I left the shop quickly! Yes I made a couple of unnecessary purchases There are always racks of marked down items of brand new clothing outside a lovely shop in the main street. At the moment there are some fantastic

Street art at Kilburn Station in South Australia                     Image:Marie Vonow It seems a common tendency to want more. More furniture, more clothes, more food, more holidays, just more of everything. It may hark back to times when things were scarce so people stockpiled during times of plenty and used it up when hard times came. Perhaps it's just in the human DNA or perhaps it's because of advertising, I don't know. There is also a tendency to want better, to upgrade your stuff, and if not your stuff, then your experiences. For some people these days it isn't all about the stuff, it's about experiences but perhaps not just any old experience, it has to be flashy. Consumerism Consumerism encourages people to buy more, more, and upgrade what they already have. There is plenty of pressure to earn more, spend more and if you haven't got the money, then put it on credit. Some people may not consider an alternative approach to life. Soc

Child from painting on shop window     Image:M Vonow Okay, firstly I think I need to give a definition of 'fun'. According to the Oxford Living Dictionaries, fun means 'enjoyment, amusement or light-hearted pleasure'. I learnt something new when I simply googled 'fun' without asking for the definition. There is an American indie pop group named Fun. I didn't read any more detail because I was determined not to get distracted. As you may have noticed, the internet can be distracting, oh look over there, what a cute kitten. The difficulty is different people find different activities provide them with enjoyment, amusement or light-hearted pleasure. For example one adult might enjoy blowing bubbles and seeing how big they get before they burst and another person would find that just boring and a bit embarrassing because, well, adults don't do that sort of thing! However, studies have found it can be beneficial for your health to let go of beliefs o

 'Hunted Home & Vintage' in Lobethal. So tempting to buy something    Image:M. Vonow It's easy to use shopping as a recreational activity even if one doesn't have lots of money. There are garage sales, op shops, markets and various internet sites such as Gumtree.These days there are bargain shops that sell all types of new things at low prices. It can be easy to justify purchases when they are within your budget. Garage sales There was a time, long ago, when I went to garage sales most weekends. I think I have been to only two or three in the last year. I bought a pretty outdoor decoration for $1 a few months ago and I am glad I bought it. I think it looks so lovely when the sun shines through the blue glass.  This blue glass hanging decoration brings me joy                   Image:Marie Vonow Op shops I love op shops but am mostly avoiding them now that I am doing my shopping ban challenge http://simpleselfimprovement.blogspot.com/2019/05/six-month

                                 Dawn                                 Title added to image by Mabel Amber from  Pixabay The things you do to start your day in a positive way depends on whether you are a lark or a night owl, your personality and your living situation. What works for the lark is unlikely to work for the owl. If you are an introvert your needs will be different from those of an extrovert. If you have young children in your care (or you are a carer for an adult with a disability or someone who needs support due to ageing) your situation will be different from someone who lives alone. There are many other factors that will influence what you are able to do, let's be practical here, and what you will want to do when you get out of bed in the morning. I was going to do a '5 Tips For Starting Your Day Happy' post but once I got started changed it to a more personal perspective with the emphasis on starting out positive. I thought about some of the tips I hav

                                                                  Title added to design by ElisaRiva from Pixabay There are numerous 'forces' that can attract clutter to one's home! From time to time you may find things you didn't buy or ask for have somehow made their way into your castle. The freebie Have you ever ordered something from a mail order catalogue and received a free item such as an alarm clock because your order was over a certain amount? You didn't order the extra item. Occasionally the freebie is something you find useful. Sometimes you may be able to give it to someone who can make use of it. However, many times you don't need it and the item languishes at the back of a cupboard adding to existing clutter. I am getting better at putting anything like this straight into an op shop collection bin rather than holding onto it. It can be tempting to keep it, just in case it is needed one day. I probably won't need it. Let's face

Shops in Adelaide                                            Image:Marie Vonow In the days leading up to officially starting this personal shopping ban challenge I must admit I was tempted to do a bit of 'binge shopping' at a couple of op shops. Also, I kept thinking about a salmon pink cardigan I had seen at KMart that I liked. I managed to resist temptation and now, three weeks later, that cardigan doesn't seem important. How does clutter accumulate? I have thought a lot about how much stuff one accumulates even when trying to declutter and keep from accumulating new clutter. It occurred to me it isn't surprising stuff accumulates over the years. I married and moved into my first home (apart from my childhood home) in 1975 which is now 44 years ago. Now, say I acquired and kept just five additional items per year that would now total 220 items and I am sure I buy more than that. Those things could include crockery, lamps, cushions, books, ornaments, pictures

A small piece of one street art painting at Smithfield            Image:Marie Vonow Looking at street art is one of the simple joys in my life. I am glad there are artists who create street art for all to enjoy. There are a wide variety of styles and topics, surely there is something for everybody. Smithfield (South Australia) At the Smithfield railway interchange, a ten minute train ride from 'my' station, there is bright street art depicting the local history. I didn't know anything about Smithfield's history until the street art motivated me to do a bit of online research. Anne and John Smith                                     Image:Marie Vonow The Smiths I guessed  Anne and John Smith were early settlers and that Smithfield was named after them. I was correct but there is so much more to the story.  The Smiths were Scottish migrants and among the first settlers to this area. The settlement was originally called Smith's Creek after the Smiths who