Author Archive for amy

Amy’s Journal – The 100 Thing Challenge: Evaluation

amy published on August 26, 2010 in superforest journal. 6 Comments Tags: .

I’m taking The 100 Thing Challenge, wherein I slowly and thoughtfully whittle my belongings down to 100 Things in an effort to simplify my life, become a more conscious consumer, gain a little clarity, loose some clutter, save some money, and find some peace. Want to join me? Here’s the introduction.

I spent some time last weekend making a list of everything I own. Well, correction: making a list of some of the things I own. After the first 500 things or so it got to be a little tedious and I stopped, because the list-making served it’s purpose: to show me that I have way to many unnecessary Things.

A sampling: 45 t-shirts (definitely don’t need that many), 3 pairs of sunglasses (2 that haven’t been worn in over a year), 7 scarves (I wear 3), 2 copies of When Harry Met Sally (…), 17 pairs of shoes (I wear 4, maybe 5)… you get the idea.

I don’t need 45 t-shirts, or 17 pairs of shoes, or 2 copies of When Harry Met Sally. Duh.

This realization gave me the kick-start I needed to begin the whittling process. Over the last week I’ve gone through my closet and a few drawers, making gut decisions on what to keep and what to pass on. Later, I will go back through more thoughtfully, but for now, this was a good start, and good practice.

I gave one dress (never worn) to my roommate, who wore it last week. I shipped another dress (worn twice in 5 years) and a pair of shoes (ditto) to an old roommate (extra bonus: surprising an old friend with something nice!). The rest is in a pile in my living room, waiting to be taken to Goodwill.

This part of the challenge has felt good, but it hasn’t gotten hard yet. I’m also nowhere near 100 yet. I’m just sort of taking it piece by piece right now, slowly cleaning out drawers and cupboards and boxes. It’s been nice uncovering old Things, that I’ve loved, and it’s been refreshing to say goodbye to other Things, that I don’t love.

How about you?

Amy’s Journal – The 100 Thing Challenge: Introduction

amy published on August 12, 2010 in superforest journal and zeitgeist. 13 Comments Tags: , , .

I’m taking The 100 Thing Challenge, wherein I slowly and thoughtfully whittle my belongings down to 100 Things in an effort to simplify my life, become a more conscious consumer, gain a little clarity, loose some clutter, save some money, and find some peace. Want to join me?

Hello SuperForest! I’ve missed you.

As it tends to go, life has gotten overwhelming busy and I’ve been struggling to find a way to keep up. In a nicely timed occurrence, I came across this article, from the New York Times, which tells Tammy Strobel’s story. Inspired by this guy, Strobel seriously pared down her possessions in an effort to simplify her life and find the kind of happiness you generally don’t get from the 9-to-5 grind. (And, before I ran across these links in internet-world, SuperForester Carla shared this very applicable tip with us earlier this summer.)

Sounds like a good idea to me! So, let’s experiment, shall we? I’d like to draw inspiration from their stories and make some changes. I will evaluate what I own, what makes it important, and it’s true value to me and my lifestyle. Hopefully, this will lead me to make more conscious decisions about the Things I allow into my life.

Want to do this with me? Let’s do it!

Goal: whittle my material possessions down to 100 Things by January 1, 2011.

Here are my guidelines, some borrowed from Dave Bruno, and some my own. Use them if you’d like, or modify them, or make up your own!

  1. Nothing gets tossed. Things I choose not to keep will be given away, gifted, donated. Hence the lengthy timeframe and the January 1, 2011 goal. I will be thoughtful.
  2. Start small. Sort through a drawer before tackling the whole wardrobe.
  3. Some things will count as one Thing. Socks, for example, will be one Thing. My laptop and it’s charger will be one Thing.
  4. Communal Things don’t count; living with a roommate dictates this necessity. This means dishes, living room furniture, etc. won’t count. For now.
  5. Regarding books: Hmm. Haven’t quite yet decided about these. I can’t bear the thought of loosing any of my books, but that’d put me over 100 Things pretty quickly. For now, I will sort through and keep only the ones that I plan to read again. The favorites. This will be one of the tougher ones…
  6. Regarding non-physical Things: Netflix? Gym membership? These count, because I am actively spending money on them and they are not a necessity.
  7. Food doesn’t count.
  8. I can get new Things, but an old Thing must then be given away, gifted, or donated within one week.
  9. If someone gives me a new Thing, Guideline #8 applies.
  10. Guidelines are not rules. This is a learning process.

My biggest challenges are going to paring down clothing, and books, and DVDs. I can already tell; I’m feeling panicky just thinking about it. But that’s the challenge, yeah?

Part One, for me, will be to make a list of all my Things. I’m fairly methodical, so this seems like a good place for me to start. I’ll be back next week to share my progress with you, and you share with me, and we’ll learn from each other! We don’t need Things!

(P.S. The photo is from Valentine’s Day in Portland this year. We have a Valentine Phantom. So cool.)

Things You Didn’t Know You Could Compost

amy published on May 23, 2010 in food and zeitgeist. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

This is the view from the cabin where I lived one summer, working on the farm. The farm was my first experience with LARGE scale composting. I struggled for a little while after that to apply the same practice to my home (I don’t live on a farm, where will my compost go, I produce so little, does it really matter?). It took me a couple years to get myself moving on the composting front, but after that internal struggle, I’m pleased to report that yes, it does matter!

I started with an experiment last fall, collecting all my compostable things in a tupperware container, and seeing how much I was wasting by throwing those things away was enough to kick my butt into gear and start composting properly. The answers to my questions were simple.

Where will my compost go? There are three units in my building; together we contribute to the compost heap out back. When it’s ready, some goes to the tiny raised beds in our driveway, and the rest is shared with a community garden down the hill.

I produce so little, does it really matter? After my little tupperware experiment, it was clear that I did NOT produce so little, and when combined with my neighbors, we’ve got ourselves so much compost that we don’t even use it all.

So, if you need a little kick start like I did, just collect your compostable bits for a week. See how much there is (you’ll be surprised). And, check out these wacky things that can be composted (I learned this from Gayla of You Grow Girl):

  • Gum
  • Hair
  • Toothpicks
  • Pet bedding (Rabbits, hamsters, and other herbivores only!!)
  • Paper egg cartons
  • Tissues and paper toweling (Depending on what was on them)
  • Cotton balls (Depending on what was on them)
  • Paper bags
  • Toilet rolls
  • Shredded paper, newspaper, receipts and documents (non-glossy)
  • Wine corks
  • Matches
  • Dry dog food (Be careful about attracting vermin but makes a good compost activator for getting your pile rocking.)
  • Cardboard
  • Old spices and herbs from the cupboard
  • Nut shells
  • Wine (Another decent compost activator)
  • Felt, old wool, bamboo or cotton socks
  • Dust from sweeping and vacuuming
  • Old pasta
  • Spoiled flower bouquets and their water

Wow! Compost, watch your trash pile shrink, and feel good about putting something awesome back into the earth. If you need instructions, just do some Googling. There are a myriad of sites out there with good guides. I like this site. Or do a little search on SuperForest; the topic’s been covered many times.

And just for Sunday-morning-kicks, here’s a cute baby goat:

On Gratitude: THXTHXTHX

amy published on May 7, 2010 in celebrity. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

The trick to being happy, I think, is to look for the extraordinary in the mundane, to recognize it, and to acknowledge it.

I love Leah’s blog, THXTHXTHX. Everyday she writes a thank you note, to a person, a thing, a feeling, an idea. What a fantastic way to remember to be grateful! So, next time you’re feeling bummed out, I recommend:

  1. Looking for something, anything, in that instant to be thankful for.
  2. Checking out THXTHXTHX for inspiration, if #1 is proving difficult.

Happy Friday, everyone!

What I Learned On the Road

amy published on April 28, 2010 in superforest journal. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Hello my dear SuperForest! I know I promised updates from the road; clearly I failed miserably. I’m sorry! As it goes, the number of hours in the day was far outweighed by the number of things I needed to accomplish. I hope you all have had a wonderful April (can you believe it’s almost May?) and to make up for my lack of sharing, here are a few things I learned on the road:

  1. It is possible to shower in 30 seconds, and to dry off with a towel the size of your hand.
  2. It is possible to eat a meal in about 90 seconds.
  3. When it’s 2 AM, you’ve been working for 16 hours, and you know you have to get up and do it all again in about 6, inside jokes make it easy to stay awake.
  4. When things go wrong, it’s better to laugh than cry. It’s better to be patient than to get mad. It’s better to find a creative solution than let it get to you.
  5. It’s hard to wake up when you’re in a bunk with no sunlight.
  6. A smile will get you everywhere.
  7. “Under Pressure” makes for the best encore.

I Challenge You!

amy published on April 12, 2010 in celebrity and zeitgeist. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

Heeeey SuperForest!

As you might know, I work for Reverb, makin’ the music world more eco-friendly. After many months of hard work, we’ve launched a big, huge, and hopefully inspiring challenge that I want to share with you!

Here’s the deal: every two weeks, one of the Green Music Group Founding Artists will challenge you to take a simple eco-friendly action. You’ll share a photo of yourself taking that action, and in return you:

  1. Get loads of good karma points.
  2. Make me proud.
  3. Qualify to win that challenge’s prize.
  4. Are entered to win a Honda Insight Hybrid.

Not too shabby, right?

Our first video challenge comes from Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band. He’s challenging you to sign up for a community service project, which you would probably do anyway, because you’re SuperForesters.

I’m so excited to see how much we can accomplish when we realize that we’re not in this alone! If everyone makes one change, does one good deed, takes one action, together we can do so much. I can’t wait to see everyone’s photos. I’m taking these challenges, too, and will be sharing my achievements and road blocks over on the Challenge site. I hope you’ll join me.

Love,

Amy

P.S. I’m heading off on our Campus Consciousness Tour tomorrow with Ben Harper & Relentless7, and I’ll be sharing some thoughts with you from the road! Stay tuned… first stop, Northern Illinois University!

Man-Made ‘Happy Clouds’ Float Over London

amy published on April 7, 2010 in art and celebrity. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

Hello SuperForest!

Just dropping in to share with you these happy smiley-face clouds that were set loose over London. 2057 smiley-face clouds, to be exact. Like the song says, let’s look on the bright side of life!

They look a little wacky, don’t they? Not totally cloud-like, but pretty cool nonetheless. I know I’d sure smile back! Brought to you by Stewart Semple.

Will It Be Worth It?

amy published on March 31, 2010 in art and superforest journal. 4 Comments Tags: , .


Well, hello there SuperForest! I’ve been a bit quiet on the blogging front, I know. I’m sorry. Truth be told, I have been spending my days and my nights hard at work on an upcoming tour, and will continue to do so for the next month. Right now is the hard part, where all my energy is going into preparation and planning. Next up is the fun part, on the road, on a great adventure.

But now, when it’s the hard part, I sometimes wonder if it’s worth it. After a few moments of feeling overwhelmed and considering the question, I always find the answer to be a revitalizing, resounding “YES!” It is worth it. It is absolutely worth it. When you are passionate about what you are doing, it is always worth it. Find your passion! Make it happen! (That sort of kind of almost rhymes).

(image via explodingdog)

How To Change a Habit

amy published on March 22, 2010 in superforest journal and technology. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Wide-open windows are my favorite part of the (slightly) warmer weather (this is the view out my bathroom, and this tree is awesome in all seasons). There’s nothing like a spring breeze to make everything feel new again. Insides get a little stale in the winter, and especially this winter, when my no-heat experiment meant that I was afraid to lose even the tiniest bit of warmth.

Wait, let’s talk about that for a minute. Having lived in Maine for the last 5 years, I’m programmed to start using the heat as soon as October or November rolls around. This year, I turned the heater on it’s lowest setting for 8 hours before it was too hot and I needed to open the windows to cool down. Well, that’s not efficient now, is it? I love my clunky old heater for it’s charm, but it just wasn’t doing it for me, so off it went.

As an experiment, I waited and waited to turn on the heat for a day that I got too cold to wait any longer. October turned into November, then into December, and before I knew it, it was March and I’d made it all the way through a winter in Maine without heat.

December and January got a bit chilly, especially sleeping at night. I started wearing my super old (super soft) plaid shirt/jacket anytime I was at home and drinking a lot of hot tea, and by swapping my regular sheets for flannel ones, I was plenty warm at night. Big difference. Mmm, don’t you just want to crawl into these?

So, lesson learned this winter: examine your habits before you take action! Why do you do the things you do? Do they make sense? I have no idea what I saved gas-wise or money-wise (my landlords pay for heat – score!) but I’m sure it was at least a little significant, and I found other, less detrimental ways to stay warm.

Anyway, the point of this all was just to say that by the end of winter, opening the windows is the thing I look forward to most. Sometimes it’s okay to get off topic.

SuperForest Soundtrack: PS22 Chorus

amy published on March 15, 2010 in art and celebrity. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

Good morning SuperForest, and happy Monday! Over here it’s cold, dreary, and rainy, like it has been all weekend. Never fear, for these two videos totally just shot my mood way up into the clouds.

Mr. B, in his words, “gets to work with the coolest, kindest, and most talented kids ever! They never cease to amaze.” Talented? Yes. Hell yes. Look at how happy these kids are when they’re singing! Such joy in those little eyes. Watch these videos, then check out the PS22 Chorus blog for more! Seriously. Do it.

A Hen and Her Puppies

amy published on March 8, 2010 in celebrity. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

A hen and her puppiesIn February, we brought you all sorts of inter-species loving. Tigers and piglets, a lion/tiger/bear trio, and a whole bunch of humans with baby pandas… let me continue the trend and share with you this hen, Mabel, and her puppy snuggle buddies.

Apparently Mabel was brought inside (and spared a crueler fate) when she was too injured to keep herself warm last winter following a traumatic horse-trodding incident. After the family dog gave birth to a litter of puppies, the hen patiently waited for her chance; as soon as momma dog went outside, Mabel sneak-attacked her way into the puppy basket. The people involved in this story say that now, the hen acts as a babysitter and roosts on the puppies to keep them warm.

Heart warming! Let’s all get along!

(via DailyMail)

Yin and Yang and Yoga

amy published on March 7, 2010 in superforest journal. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Sun over Vienna

If I were a landscape, right now, I would be this one; calm, serene, balanced, pretty much just blissed out. My regular Sunday evening habit is a Yin yoga class; it’s a nice way to wind down from the week and prepare for the one ahead.

A Yin yoga practice is basically a very, very slow series of stretches and poses that are held for long periods of time, and it’s meant to target the deeper connective tissues, joints, and bones, getting at those parts of the body that are not normally reached during a Yang yoga practice.

On Yin and Yang…

Yin and yang are relative terms: they describe the two facets of existence. Like two sides of one coin, yin cannot exist without yang; yang cannot exist without yin. (via.)

Yin and Yang help me wrap my head around life, in the realization that happiness cannot exist without sadness, that light cannot exist without dark. It is helpful to accept that sadness can be embraced rather than feared, because without it, we would not know happiness. Being sad is okay! Just as we should not fear the inevitability of death, we should not fear the inevitability of sadness or loneliness. Life is always in a constant dynamic state of change, and in accepting the bad we allow room for the good.

Want to Yin yourself? Some videos here and here and everywhere, if you search for them.

Love,

Amy

Clutter + Butterflies = Clutterflies

amy published on February 24, 2010 in art and celebrity. 1 Comment Tags: , .

Clutterflies

First, a big thank you to all you SuperForesters who’ve make me feel so welcome. What a treat!

Second, check out Michelle Stitzlein, who makes beautiful art pieces out of “discarded piano keys, broken china, license plates, rusty tin cans, electrical wire, bottlecaps, and other miscellaneous items.” Wow! What most people would see as worthless junk, Michelle sees as valuable,wonderful supplies for a bigger picture.

I think that in any situation it’s worth taking a step back and trying to see things in a different light. This can apply to material things, like broken china as a piece of a butterfly’s wing, or to things that are of an emotional, spiritual nature. Often times we get caught up in trying to measure worth and analyzing every detail, every tiny piece of a situation that we forget to consider what those pieces can create. Things that look like worthless junk can in fact turn into smaller pieces of a picture that’s leading you to an ultimate happy ending/beginning.

Think about it!

Love,

Amy