Well I did start to declutter yesterday! It was a small, and only partial, victory.
Are you like me - do you find your inboxes, both at home and at work, filled not only with too many "real" tasks, but equally filled with emails from any company you have ever had online dealings with?
I spent an hour last night unsubscribing to a myriad of things. It was tedious. And sometimes, it was downright evil how complicated some of these companies make it to unsubscribe from their daily missives!
They were all "sorry" to see me go! The only one who will not be sorry, I think, is my wallet! How many times have I been working away or surfing the web and suddenly some little "Hey there WMM we are starting a sale just for you!" message pops up on the screen and like pavlov's ever-loving dog, I dilligently click and head over.
No more! From now on, I will discover about the sales in the old-fashioned way:
1) I will either be visiting the site and stumble upon them because I am at the site for a specific reason or more likely,
2) I will hear about them by word of mouth and decide whether or not I want to visit them! Case in point was this a.m. I am getting no emails from J Crew now. Either JCA or Gigi noted there were new additions, I decided I would check for one specific item to see if it had gone on sale (much coveted turquoise fancy pants, which with 30% off, a gift card and some money I had in paypal for some items I had sold, was basically a freebie.) I have decided NOT to visit these sites daily now looking for elusive popbacks. All of which should help me very much in my attempt to both save money and stick to my budget AND be happier with what I have! But believe me, it is hard to extricate yourself from all of these sites!
Are any of you continuously harassed/taunted/wooed by all of these websites?
Sadly, the picture taken by my son of me finally drinking my View Cliquot Champagne on New Years Day has completely disappeared from my blackberry and the camera! it is as if it was never taken! Take my word for it - I looked really pretty!!! WIll have to be re-do on that one!
SO...
Yesterday I went to the doctor. I have not been to the doctor for quite some time, being a fairly healthy kind of gal. Since my Dr. is very good-looking, I like to dress a little bit nicely, even if I am on holidays and basically want to wear my PJs all day.
Very simple outfit, grey tweed capris (it was cold outside!), navy Michaell Kors top over the JC Crew navy polka dot tie blouse! Warm and comfortable!
In keeping with my story of yesterday, Mr. WMM, he of the "Tim the Tool-Man Taylor" Camp, posed in the laundry room in all of his reno glory:
Yes, you will have to look sideways. I do not know why! Ghost in the machine, likely punishing me for all of the places that i have unsubscribed from in the last 24 hours!!
*********************
On the 10th Day of Christmas, WMM gave to me...
A Lovely Stroll Down the Garden Path!
For me, winter is to reading as summer is to gardening! I love getting outside with my hands in all the deep rich earth and having lovely chats with some of the laggards. It is important to do that you know - some plants are just naturally show-offs, others need some cajoling and petting!
It is still -28 here with the windchill. In that spirit, I suggest we take a quick walk down to the Potager:
You will see I have a table all set for two, although the more, the merrier. There is plenty of mint for the mint juleps and the mojitos, lemonade or ice tea for those who prefer to drive home rather than be carried off by the fairies. Later on, when the fireflies come out, we will wait for my little groundhog to come snuffling out - he is always good for a show. We will leave the front yard to Mr. Skunk. And the peepers will be singing away and at some point, we will have to switch to Sangrias and maybe Barry will bring out the guitar for a sing-a-long. Now that is a nice way to deal with a cold winter's day!
Have a wonderful day out there! and stay safe!
Are you like me - do you find your inboxes, both at home and at work, filled not only with too many "real" tasks, but equally filled with emails from any company you have ever had online dealings with?
I spent an hour last night unsubscribing to a myriad of things. It was tedious. And sometimes, it was downright evil how complicated some of these companies make it to unsubscribe from their daily missives!
They were all "sorry" to see me go! The only one who will not be sorry, I think, is my wallet! How many times have I been working away or surfing the web and suddenly some little "Hey there WMM we are starting a sale just for you!" message pops up on the screen and like pavlov's ever-loving dog, I dilligently click and head over.
No more! From now on, I will discover about the sales in the old-fashioned way:
1) I will either be visiting the site and stumble upon them because I am at the site for a specific reason or more likely,
2) I will hear about them by word of mouth and decide whether or not I want to visit them! Case in point was this a.m. I am getting no emails from J Crew now. Either JCA or Gigi noted there were new additions, I decided I would check for one specific item to see if it had gone on sale (much coveted turquoise fancy pants, which with 30% off, a gift card and some money I had in paypal for some items I had sold, was basically a freebie.) I have decided NOT to visit these sites daily now looking for elusive popbacks. All of which should help me very much in my attempt to both save money and stick to my budget AND be happier with what I have! But believe me, it is hard to extricate yourself from all of these sites!
Are any of you continuously harassed/taunted/wooed by all of these websites?
Sadly, the picture taken by my son of me finally drinking my View Cliquot Champagne on New Years Day has completely disappeared from my blackberry and the camera! it is as if it was never taken! Take my word for it - I looked really pretty!!! WIll have to be re-do on that one!
SO...
Yesterday I went to the doctor. I have not been to the doctor for quite some time, being a fairly healthy kind of gal. Since my Dr. is very good-looking, I like to dress a little bit nicely, even if I am on holidays and basically want to wear my PJs all day.
Very simple outfit, grey tweed capris (it was cold outside!), navy Michaell Kors top over the JC Crew navy polka dot tie blouse! Warm and comfortable!
In keeping with my story of yesterday, Mr. WMM, he of the "Tim the Tool-Man Taylor" Camp, posed in the laundry room in all of his reno glory:
Yes, you will have to look sideways. I do not know why! Ghost in the machine, likely punishing me for all of the places that i have unsubscribed from in the last 24 hours!!
*********************
On the 10th Day of Christmas, WMM gave to me...
A Lovely Stroll Down the Garden Path!
For me, winter is to reading as summer is to gardening! I love getting outside with my hands in all the deep rich earth and having lovely chats with some of the laggards. It is important to do that you know - some plants are just naturally show-offs, others need some cajoling and petting!
It is still -28 here with the windchill. In that spirit, I suggest we take a quick walk down to the Potager:
You will see I have a table all set for two, although the more, the merrier. There is plenty of mint for the mint juleps and the mojitos, lemonade or ice tea for those who prefer to drive home rather than be carried off by the fairies. Later on, when the fireflies come out, we will wait for my little groundhog to come snuffling out - he is always good for a show. We will leave the front yard to Mr. Skunk. And the peepers will be singing away and at some point, we will have to switch to Sangrias and maybe Barry will bring out the guitar for a sing-a-long. Now that is a nice way to deal with a cold winter's day!
Have a wonderful day out there! and stay safe!
Good for you! Breaking up with all of those retailers can be tough tough to do, but you will be better off and certainly save some cash. I like to save items I am interested in Polyvore and I click on them from time to time to see if there is a markdown. If I stare at them long enough I eventually delete all but a few "wants" as I realize they no longer are as appealing as they were the day I put them in the set. Items also get deleted after I see them in person and realize that they are not for me. Something better always comes along. I have an unpublished PV set of items I want next to items I have. Moving and deleting things from time to time. It is like my personal and private shopping/wish list. PV now has an iPhone app so I can play when I'm in the carpool line or waiting for Rocket Arm's basketball games to start :-)
ReplyDeleteJulie! That is so smart! I am wretched at polyvore but that is a great idea! Must go learn some more!
DeleteAll the emails were driving me crazy in December so I unsubscribed as they came in. My Christmas shopping was finished early and it was really an annoyance. It's getting ridiculous with the number of email solicitations.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about charity solicitations at the cash register in stores and I tell them so when they ask me. I have my pet charities and have no problem with the concept but some of the people at the store probably can't even spare a dollar and I think they feel like schmucks when they are asked. Charity should be anonymous anyway. Safeway does not need to know that I donated $2 to breast cancer. I guess I'm in one of those "darn it, leave me alone" moods today. LOL
xoxo I agree with you about the solicitations at the grocery store! Many families cannot spare the $2 or whatever. Those of us who can afford to give to charity will typically do so on a monthly basis. And yes it is a private matter, I so agree!
DeleteI agree with you both. We have many charities that we support, but I do not like to be asked at the cash register. Good idea on unsubscribing as they come in - mine just seemed to get away from me!
DeleteI agree, charity causes and donations should be private.
DeleteHow funny! I also cleared out my inbox yesterday. So nice and organized now. We'll see how long that lasts.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to reduce my impulse buys, so although I haven't unsubscribed to many clothing company emails, I did delete the Lilly Pulitzer winter sale email as soon as it came in this morning. I felt very smug. And then a teensy bit sad I didn't buy anything. :)
Merry Wife! I am with you - I always feel kind of sad to miss the sales! Especially the good ones!
DeleteHi WMM- That garden pic immediately reminded me of a moment I had on a hill in Portugal. Nice that you can work that magic from Canada in January. I hate good looking doctors- I have to pretend I am a completely perfect woman...which negates the visit in the first place. Ha! Talk to you soon... NJ
ReplyDeleteHey NJ! Too funny! My beloved little garden can't even be spotted under all that snow!!
DeleteYes, I wish my dr. was slightly homelier
I cleared out my inboxes yesterday too! Must be something in the air!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great idea to unsubscribe to avoid temptation, though I have to say I get in the most trouble through following blog links! I plan to shut down my J Crew account after my returns get processed (yes I have more to send, now I really really vow never again!)
Love your garden and you have described a perfect evening!
well when you come to the Maritimes next year we can do that!
DeleteI am still working on all of my inboxes! They are never ending!
Good for you on the account!!
I unsuscribed to so many retailers, notices, etc etc etc last fall. I still get the odd emails here and there from certain places but not as bad as it used to be! I am getting a lot better with deleting unnecessary emails and try to do it every day or every other day.
ReplyDeleteOh LR - I wish I had your discipline! I am working on it!!
DeleteDELETE SWEEP Hi WMM, good for you on the new disciplines. And with you all on the never-ending, public contact point giving solicitations (that's coming from someone who used to manage a large corporate charitable foundation.) I also have a bit of a bugbear about the number of emails a certain remaining nameless non-profit has started sending, getting as "bad" as retail.
ReplyDeleteSuggestion for next holiday season if you do want reminders of very favourite retailer discount emails. Just set up a separate free email "subscribed to" address, with very tight spam filters, and only check it when need to shop, "sweep" it once a month (or even delete it come January). That's my version of "out of sight, out of mind" or having my cake and saving cheddar too.
PS So sorry champers photo disappeared in the ether "Bubbles", but another occasion will be along very soon, phew.
Oh GF! I think I am just going to pass over control of all things a) technical b) organizational in my life!!! You know everything!
DeleteYou do have a ghost in the machine, between the missing photos and the sideways reno photo. Junk email drives me crazy. I don't have much luck with unsubscribing. Some of them just ignore it! I got a ton of organizing done in the house yesterday but lots still to do! Just starting to put Christmas stuff away (More is More philosophy not so fun at this point).
ReplyDeleteCate - I am with you - I have nothing done yet!!! Tomorrow the folks come to put down our new laundry room floor and so now i have a washer and dryer and fridge in my family room! Husband daughter think that is fab - he especially, as now he doesn't have to go so far for a beer! Sadly, his dream will come to and end tomorrow evening!
DeleteI do not understand where my champagne photo is - could son have only "pretended" to take my photo to placate me? Wouldn't be the first time!
WMM, My camera (seemingly) randomly creates folders on the memory card. Does yours? Could it be in a folder you haven't looked in yet? Did you attempt to import the memory card into iPhoto? Maybe that would unearth the picture? I feel like it's got to be there somewhere.
DeleteI love your patio photo and how you view groundhogs and skunks as a good thing lol!
Good thought on the camera SD card folders cate. And WMM, you'll laugh but after dealing with all the hotel celebs and tech-challenged male bosses in their 60s (no prejudice meant), I've actually thought about starting up a virtual assistant service/ hub. Would recommend pro talent for online and phone consults too, like FFM for closet edits, a Van. friend of mine who is a pro high-end home stager, event display artist etc. Basically dealing with daily dilemmas and pesky tech glitches (gotta create an eventual incentive plan for DH support). However, also concerned I would live connected to devices and continue to be "shoemaker's child" - always fighting to get to my own portfolio, resume update, back-up drive purge...(never mind a corner of my dining table at the moment).
DeleteThis is too funny! I think it was on my BB, which has been acting wonky recently, but willdouble-check!
DeleteAs for skunks and groundhogs, they are cute, but they do dig things up!
GF, fear not, you will always stand out!
I am guilty of subscribing to every retailer listed on the web but in my case it leads more to wasted time than to wasted money as I usually can resist online shopping much more than B&M shopping (I should live in a small town with no fancy stores instead of NYC!). I think that GetFresh idea is excellent, so your Inbox won't be polluted but you won't miss the deals when you are actively looking for one. The other thing that you can do is use the Tyding function of your Inbox and organize your emails so that emails from certain senders are automatically blocked and deleted (as opposed to unsuscribe). In any case I know it is a very time-consuming task but will bring results!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ema! I am going to get it all set up on the weekend!
DeleteFor me, NYC would break me financially, if for nothing else than all the kitchen stuff at Anthropologie and stalking poor Andrew McCarthy!
I had my email subscribed using some bizarre man's name I'd never heard of! That's just cruel. Tons of them came. I hate the company's that don't offer an unsubscribe option. I usually stop at the recycle bin on the way in from the mailbox and dump all those flyers and magazines. I get in enough trouble all on my own, I don't need any helpful sales.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! I am more than capable of over-shopping myself without somebody else reminding me to overshop! :-)
DeleteHi WMM! Sorry I missed this post yesterday...was in the middle of more cleaning, and not online very much. Anyways, I adore your 'going to the doctor' outfit. I'm hoping this was just a routine visit?
ReplyDeleteI am subscribed to quite a few retailers, but that is mainly because I share a lot of information about sales at J.Crew, Madewell, BR, etc. on my blog. Because of this, I like to stay informed so that I can keep my readers informed and 'up to the minute' on updates from J.Crew and other brands, as well. However, before I got my data plan and didn't get emails on my phone I was subscribed to a lot more. Once I saw how many emails I was actually getting I removed a couple of my email addresses from the different sites, and now only receive them at one address. Needless to say, they are much more manageable now. :)