Inspired Giveaway: Efficient Living, Baby!
You’ve seen me write. But have you heard me talk?
If you sit in my German class, the answer to both is, “A little.”
If you are my husband, your answers are “Writing? Yes. Talking? Oooooh yes.”
And if you’re a reader of Making This Home, you probably say “yes” to the writing and “no” to the talking, right?
Well that’s about to change.

I’ve been invited to speak at A Woman Inspired, a conference all about raising women up and creating a fulfilling, inspired life (January 25-29). Yes, yes – I’m still trying to catch my breath about this one. What an honor to to participate in this conference!
Best of all, the conference is online. I get to speak right from our little house, which is just perfect. Jetlag + inspiring performance = not so much.
The topic is “Nurturing Creativity & Efficient Living“, and my hour-long presentation + Q&A is entitled:
Living with Less: Creating a life of meaning without all the stuff.
Now I suppose you’re looking up at that title about an inspiring giveaway and wondering about the goods, yeah?
Well five of you are in luck! I have five tickets to give away to An Inspired Woman. Winners just login, pick and choose presentations they’re interested in listening to (I speak at 9:30 am on Tuesday, Jan. 26), and turn up their speakers. Then they get to ask the speaker questions just as if we were in the same room together. And like all good conferences, you get a really fun gift bag. (If you can’t make it to the conference, you can quickly download the whole thing shortly thereafter.)
Here’s how it goes:
THE PRIZE:
Five winners will receive free tickets to A Woman Inspired (valued at $12.95 each).
HOW TO ENTER:
Leave a comment below with a suggestion you think I should include in talking about living with less – it could be something we’ve talked about on Making This Home, something you do, or something you wish we’d talk about.
**Even if you aren’t able/interested in the conference… I’d still love your thoughts on points to talk about**
DEADLINE:
Entries must be received by Tuesday, January 12 at midnight EST. The winner will be announced Wednesday.
Lots of luck! Hope to see you there.








January 11th, 2010 at 9:01 am
I just moved from a 1200 sq ft home to a 800 sq ft home. I would like you to talk about how to choose what to get rid of when moving to a smaller space. I would also be interested in how to setup a smaller bathroom.
January 11th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Congrats on being asked to speak! Fun!
I would be interested in learning more about storing kitchen items efficiently. Obviously you can fit it in a pretty small space! :)
January 11th, 2010 at 9:30 am
i think you should talk about your project of not buying clothes. i found it very unusual, interesting and inspiring!
January 11th, 2010 at 9:39 am
I’ve love some words of wisdom on decluttering vs. keeping family heirlooms, hand-me-downs, and other sentimental gifts and items. :)
January 11th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Congrats on being asked to speak. What an honor! I thin you should talk about keeping spaces de-cluttered and simple, yet effective for your needs. You have great ways to organize your belongings in the space that you have.
-Katie
January 11th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
What a special honor to be asked to speak. Congratulations to you!
Since I first found your blog site upon keying in the words
small homes and kitchens…..I would love to suggest that
maybe you could expound on your lovely small kitchen.
How you find and keep kitchen tools in your kitchen
for more than one use. Really, just anything you share is always
refreshing and inspiring!
Amy
January 11th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Ooh, the conference sounds interesting…and even better that it’s online. I’d love to learn more about simplifying your kitchen pantry/fridge and downsizing your kitchen tools/appliances, or also, simplifying your craft stash. These are both areas I could really use some help in.
January 11th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
That conference sounds awesome! As for ideas for topics – where/how do you store athletic gear, bikes, yard tools, etc… Do you have a garage/shed? Or are you in a condo style home without a yard and thus have less yard ? We have simplified our home and it’s clean and uncluttered, but our garage is giving us a headache and we just can’t figure out how to downsize/organize it. Also, how do you design such beautiful journals/paper products without scrapbooking supplies?
January 11th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Sounds so exciting!! I would love to know about downsizing your kitchen stuff & how to decide how many books to keep.
January 11th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I’d like to know how to downsize when you are living in such a small space that there’s really no place to sort or set up piles, etc. (I recently moved from a 56 sq m 1 bedroom apartment to a 37 sq m studio and I’m constantly tripping over things as I’m still trying to unclutter.)
January 11th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
The conference sounds fascinating! I would be interested in hearing you talk about making the most out of any storage space you have. How do you make the space work for you, instead of just becoming a catch-all? Thanks!
January 11th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
I think you should talk about the no new clothes challenge and just buying less things in general.
January 12th, 2010 at 11:00 am
One thing that I would find interesting is living efficiently outside of your own culture. I’m an American who just moved to the Netherlands. In the US, I know how to do it — where to buy used for less packaging and waste, how to recycle, what to do with my clutter. Here, it’s a whole new world, a world without built-in closets.
Along those lines, how about how to be efficient for a big move, like overseas? I gave away 1/3 of my ‘stuff’ and have missed only a very few things. It really helps you realize the true value and cost of ‘stuff’ and how that ‘stuff’ is keeping you from living a full life (no TV means less time watching TV, no cellphone means more time to think).
January 12th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Congratulations! You should definitely talk about your tiny kitchen!!!
January 12th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
So cool – I’ve been following that site for a bit and love what they do. Congrats on being selected!
January 12th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Congrats on being a speaker! Not that the above commenters haven’t already said this, but…storage space, decluttering in general, and your kitchen!