Today I discovered a photograph of
Steve Job's minimalist home back in the 1980's.I must admit, this gives me a different perspective of the man. Nothing is there that he didn't need.
There is a blog called the
Everyday Minimalist. One of my favorite posts is
here. I hope you will visit.
Some research last night indicates that I may be able to reduce electric usage with what I have on hand as far as my computers go. Some people have actually been successful getting Magicjack running smoothly using VirtualBox and XP in linux. This is a wonderful find, for I will be able to have my linux file server (which is my earnest desire) plus have my magicjack all running on a single machine instead of two machines like I currently use. I plan to attempt this in hopes of eliminating at least one running computer in this home.
Today I went out to purchase filters for my electric furnace to prepare for winter. I discovered a washable filter you could cut to fit your particular need, at a cost of less than some of the disposables they had available. I purchased two of these filters, so that when the time comes to wash them, I can pull out the dirty one and replace with the clean, then wash the dirty one and store until the next change. These filters are supposed to last a year each, so by rotating and keeping them really clean by washing them often I will be able to get two or more years from the pair.
Yes it would have been simpler to just purchase the disposables and toss them every month, but it didn't make sense either environmentally, financially or personally. A few minutes a couple of times a month and I will be able to have much cleaner air without as much of a dent in my pocketbook, with less junk going to the landfill. I may end up investing in a more powerful washable filter at a later date, but if these do what I want I may not, especially since my furnace takes an off-size filter.
I now have a stack of obsolete CDs going to someone on freecycle making a project, a stack of stuff going to a friend, and I'm considering listing a couple things for sale or freecycle. One step at a time.
A friend of mine commented that I "need" to keep some things that are useless "just because," whether or not they have sentimental value. Does anyone understand this comment? I just ended up giving them a blank stare, cause it totally went over my head. I'm keeping some things I like that are purely decorative, and some things that have sentimental value, but I am slowly eliminating the rest if it isn't functional.
Maybe people are starting to think I have went over the edge....
