overwhelm...

I've been a little quiet here this last week. I've had a cold and I've been busy but I've also felt an affliction that I suffer from fairly frequently. I call it web-overwhelm.

Think calm. Be calm. Read this.

One of the reasons I started this blog was an attempt to deal with this, but I'm not so sure how successful it's been. I thought here I could list and store things I loved that I found on the net, could file them away to remember them and to remind myself to do them later, to make them, to read or listen to them, to remind myself about them.

And it has done some of that. But as I've followed more links, clicked onto more sites, I've found the amount of things on the web that interest me is endless. I've been pulling pages onto my bookmark toolbar in Firefox, adding blogs to Bloglovin, making notes in Evernote. And all these things just seem to add up to an ever-increasing and very rarely decreasing web-to-do list.

And it weighs me down. When I have to hunt through that bookmark toolbar and scroll though dozens of pages before I reach a specific one I saved, just a week ago, then the sheer amount of information I have given myself to read feels like nothing more than than something else to work through, rather than enjoy in any way.

So what to do?

I've found this post some help, especially this part:

"Pick a handful of sources. There’s an almost unlimited amount of reading out there, and you could do it all day and not make a dent in just what was created today. So let go. Pick just a few good sources (including news sites and blogs and social news and more), and check them once a day at most."

This is true. No matter how hard I may try, I cannot read everything I want to.

But what I am trying to do is read things that interest me, when they interest me. I've spent what feels like years skim-reading, then tucking things away into various bookmarking sites, to read later, when I've got more time. Which is, of course, never. So I'm trying to read more carefully, to take in the information I want when I see it. It's not easy. I think most people feel they're always up against the clock, whatever they're doing. But I'm reaching a point when I'm considering deleting all my bookmarks just to feel more in control again. And so a change of some sort has to happen.

I'm also going to consider joining Instapaper and saving the words simply, and I may well resurrect my old Pinterest account and see if I can use that for fast and easy bookmarking - I do love visual bookmarks (although I am very aware that pinterest just leads me to browsing the boards and finding heaps more things to bookmark...).

I'm going to read this post again and carefully, knowing how much sense it made the first time I read it, and the second time. I've linked to this before in my decluttering post here. The sentiments behind the need to have a digital tidy-up may not be exactly the same, but the ultimate goal is - to make the web easier to negotiate and clear some of the backlog that ties.

And I may well download this free ebook about focus - because focusing on exactly what you're doing, and what you're on the web for, must surely help with not feeling overwhelmed by the rest.

I hope this has been some help, and I hope to be back on the web a little more, but takng things a little more carefully.

to live in a tiny house

A big house would be great. Lots of room, and rooms, open spaces and heaps of light through vast windows. But it would also be, well, too big. I'm not sure I would want a big house, even if I could afford one. And, horribly practical as it sounds, wouldn't it just take ages to keep clean? I can only imagine all the dusting and vacuuming needed. Or, money permitting, you'd need a cleaner. But, of course, you'd still have to clean because you just can't have a cleaner coming into a dirty house...

Anyway, that's just one reason why small can be better when it comes to houses. That and the simple fact they look wonderful, and make you focus on exactly what you need and what is useful, and beautiful ...

Here are a few tiny homes I would love to live in -

Masses of pictures from the inside of a very small abode

A q&a about a tiny house

This tiny house still has room for masses of books ...

Ten tiny houses all tied up in one post - immerse yourself in tiny homes!

A week by week guide to building a little house starts here

And, perhaps most importantly of all, how to live with someone in a very small space


Of course, all the images included in this articles and posts provide masses of inspiration for design even if your house isn't officially tiny - most homes have limited space, and many people have too much, all trying to be crammed into that very same area. Imaginative use of space is just what's needed ...or an intense declutter ...which will be the topic of another post very soon!

Interestingly, most, if not all, tiny houses, are lived in by people who either ruthlessly prune their possessions, or just don't own that much ...

Hope you enjoy your own living space, large, medium, or tiny.

tonight, I am ...

Source - Pulp International via Michele Sullivan on Pinterest

Over on Denise Andrade's beautiful blog, I found this great post, with a fascinating question at its heart -

“If you could be any role in a movie, what would it be?”

Hmm.

After a little thought, and a little looking at other people's answers (check the comments for this post out too, if you're stuck for inspiration), I settled on either Lara Croft (for when I just want to be strong, and tough, and travel the world, and have a very large house to come back to), or Viola from Shakespeare in Love (for when I want to be someone else but, you know, feel trapped by duty and obligation and all that. And when I'd like to wear long dresses too).

Who would you be? And why? Let me know in comments - I'd love to read your thoughts!