Get Organized: Are We Consumed By Stuff?

I've been reading A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink, and it's really been an eye-opening experience.

Inside the book, there's a section devoted to abundance, and how it's now easier than ever to get your hands on "stuff." In other words, it's a simply-ask-and-you-shall-receive world.

Here is a short excerpt from A Whole New Mind, with some alarming statistics about just how much we really have:

- "During much of the 20th century, the aspiration of most middle-class Americans was to own a home and a car. Now, more than 2 out of 3 Americans own the homes in which they live. As for autos, today the United States has more cars than licensed drivers -- which means that, on average, everybody who can drive has a car of his own."

- "Self-storage has become a $17 billion annual industry in the United States, larger than the motion picture business."

- "Business writer Patty LaBarre notes, 'The United States spends more on trash bags than 90 other countries spend on everything. The receptacles of our waste cost more than all of the goods consumed by nearly half of the world's nations.'"

Wow. I feel the need to downsize...


Note: Information and graphics courtesy of A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink.

Get Organized: Fabulous Organizing Freebies!

I stumbled across 30 Fabulous Freebies on Kiplinger.com, a wonderful site for personal financial advice. The special report highlights "primo goods and services" that are available at no cost. (Woohoo!)

From the list, here are the freebies that'll help you get organized:

16. FREE ONLINE BILL PAYING

Stop paying your bills by check and put their payment on autopilot. At many banks, including Bank of America, BB&T, SunTrust and Wachovia, you get free bill paying with every online checking account. (Be sure you read the fine print -- some banks may require you to maintain a certain balance in your checking account to get the freebie.)

But even if your bank doesn't give you this freebie, you can probably arrange for automatic bill paying directly with the parties sending the bills, such as your utility, credit-card, phone and mortgage companies.


18. FREE DIGITAL STORAGE SPACE

With free online backup storage, you can protect your important files and photos from computer crashes, theft or natural disaster.

For instance, Spideroak.com and Myotherdrive.com each give you 2 gigabytes of free and secure digital storage space. You can also store your cherished photos and videos at sites such as Photobucket.com and Flickr.com. You can also store your pics at photo-print ordering sites such as Snapfish.com, Shutterfly.com or Walmart.com, as long as your account is active.


19. FREE TECH RECYCLING -- WITH BENEFITS

Not only is it getting easier to keep your old electronics out of the landfill, but you may even get some free cash in exchange. Services such as BuyMyTronics.com, Gazelle.com, MyBoneyard.com and GreenPhone.com recycle or refurbish your old tech and send you a check in return. They take cameras, cell phones, MP3 players, game consoles and more.

If you can't find anyone willing to pay for your dinosaur, look for other free places to recycle. For instance, Best Buy will take many of your tech castoffs at no charge. And keep your eyes open for free e-recycling days in your city.


Check out 30 Fabulous Freebies for more ways to get a little something for nothing.

Note: The above information is courtesy of Kiplinger.com.