Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Unsubscribe me

I have a giveaway to announce at the end of this post. If you're one of those people who gets their best recipes from friends, you'll want to read all the way through. If you enjoy quilts or know someone who does, even better.

Tis the season of resolutions. I think you know by now that I don't do those. I'd rather think of giving myself a gift. I shred last year's bills to give myself the gift of space. I declutter for the same reason. Feels less like a chore somehow.

This year my gift to myself was unsubscribing. For two days, I focused on getting rid of extraneous emails. My email inbox was full of newsletters that I never read. Perhaps it was a site I'd been to once five years ago (Ionix hard drive, Niman ranch) and ended up with a weekly missive. Others were ones I'd once enjoyed but no longer found myself clicking through.

Some were easy to get off the mailing list. Others were more difficult. But each time I found that button that unsubcribed me, I rejoiced. In the end, I'd lightened my email load by 27 different weekly emails.

No wonder I feel lighter. How about you? What are you doing to lighten up in the new year?

This week's giveaway comes from Michele Foster from The Quilting Gallery. The Gallery celebrated its third anniversary in December. To celebrate that and the release of the 2010 edition, Michele is offering readers of this blog copies of her popular downloadable cookbooks.

Check out the Quilter's Cookbooks filled with yummy recipes, quilts and heart-warming stories from quilters around the world. Michele from the Quilting Gallery has professionally put together these fabulous books that can be downloaded instantly.

The theme for the 2009 edition of the Cookbook was "Quick and easy recipes, so we can get back to quilting!". It contains 119 recipes and 76 photos of gorgeous quilts. The theme for the 2010 edition is "Holiday Traditions". It contains 135 recipes and 72 photos of gorgeous quilts.

Leave a comment and I will award the two copies that Michele has generously donated at random. My mouth is watering just thinking about this prize!

21 comments:

Kaye said...

The older I get the less I want to fuss in the kitchen. Quick recipes sounds like a wonderful concept to me!

florida982002[at]yahoo.com

Dru said...

I know what you mean about unsubscribing. I've seen my mailbox shrink down to less than 20 email that I read as opposed to over 50 that I don't read.

signlady217 said...

Quilts, books, and food; it doesn't get much better than that! Those cookbooks both sound like winners!

27 e-mail newsletters? Yikes! No wonder you felt funky! I get enough reruns of stuff from my friends and relatives to fill up a trashbag every week if it was paper mail.

Everybody have a great day!

Monica Ferris said...

I just read a link on the 'Net to a site recommending a cleanout/re-ordering of the pantry. I don't have a pantry, but my food-storage cabinets could use some work. (The link went to a photograph of a shelf that looks suspiciously like a shelf in my kitchen.) So I'm adding that cleanup to my New Year's Resolutions, will think of it as a declutter gift to myself. And I like the idea of cleaning up my computer by unsubscribing.

Terri Thayer said...

I'm with you, Kaye! Less fuss.

Dru and signlady, those inboxes can fill up so quickly without us doing a thing! I didn't realize how many I was deleting until I started keeping track.

Monica, I did my pantry a while ago. Still pretty neat, if I do say so. Hmmm...I haven't been to Costco in months. Could there be a correlation?

Unknown said...

You have just reminded me that I need to do the unsubscribe thing too! When I have 10 to 20 emails in my Inbox at 6:30 AM I definitely need to do some "weeding".

jgbeads (at)gmail(dot)com

Michele T said...

Funny how I always call dinner a miracle... maybe a cook book for ideas would be helpful. Thanks for the chance.

Carol S said...

Having company over during the holidays had me uncluttering closets and kitchen area at the end of the year. Also got my quilting supplies picked up and ready for a new start. Guess I should hit the computer clutter next! Thanks for the tip.

JaneT said...

I definitely love a good, new recipe!!!

Terri Thayer said...

Well said, Janel!

Dinner is sometimes the opposite of a miracle around my house, Mimi. It's a miracle if anything tastes good.

Carol, the best thing about these cookbooks is that they won't add to our clutter.

Okay, Jane, you're in the drawing, too!

Betty Hechtman said...

I know what you mean about being on unwanted lists. Unsubscribing sounds like a really good idea. The way it is now by the time I delete all the email I don't want to read, I just want to escape my computer instead of reading the emails I care about.

GigiQuilts said...

I wanted one of those cookbooks but my Paypal got compromised!! Please let me win here!! Quilters are the best cooks!! Great blog!

Ronnie said...

It's always nice to find a great new recipe that everyone loves!

Terri Thayer said...

Betty, even getting rid of a few of those emails feels good.

Gigi, I hope you win but if you don't, I hope you contact Michele directly. She'll help you buy the cookbooks. Yes quilters are great cooks.

Ronni, you're right. Tried and true is great.

lvscrafts said...

Hmm - I have often thought about unsubscribing - I average 100 e-mails a day!!! And by the time I get through all of them, there's not much time for a good meal! I love quick meals, just need a good book!!!

lvscrafts said...

I have to add something to my last comment. It dawned on me that I have 2 e-mails I have saved from you from last year!!! (Jan. 12 & Feb. 11). You were going to come to the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival!!! Yes - I still have those! Hope to see you this year???

Bonnie

Terri Thayer said...

Hi Bonnie, thanks for leaving a comment. I'll enter you in the contest.

But no, this year I won't be going. Next year, maybe!

janimar said...

With taking care of my mom who has Alzheimer's and teaching 2 classes my life is very busy so I also starting cleaning out my mailbox. For me, many were companies that I did want information on before Christmas with their coupons and savings but now it is just junk.

Felt good to get rid of so many time-wasters.

Terri Thayer said...

Janimar, you are busy. Good for you for keeping up with the email attacks.

I'll be announcing the winner later on today. Stay tuned.

Terri Thayer said...

Psst....next week will be a guest blogger and another giveaway, so come on back.

Terri Thayer said...

And the winners are: Mimi, and Janimar. Shoot me your emails at terr@territhayer.com and I'll get them off to Michele at the Quilting Gallery.

Thanks to everyone for commenting. Come by tomorrow for a new post and a new giveaway.