What files are taking up the most space on my LINUX box?

Use du piped to sort for a nice list with the files using the most space at the bottom…

cd /dir/you/care/about
du -a|sort -n
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Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...

Clutterfree with Kids


A few weeks ago I was honored to receive an advanced copy of “Clutterfree with Kids” by Joshua Becker for review. One of the things I appreciate most about Joshua’s writing and articles is that he’s what I consider a “normal” minimalist in that he owns a house, has kids, and has a job. In other words, he’s just like you and me – only he and his family have chosen to live a life of less so that they may appreciate it more. Even better, he rightfully acknowledges that everyone’s brand of minimalism is different.

Regarding the book, I’ll say that if you’ve read one book on minimalism you’ve read them all and this is not a huge exception to the rule, but if you have not this is a great place to start if you consider yourself to be a “normal” person and are interested in how living a life of less can give you more.

I think the key if you’re married is that you have to get your spouse on-board. Otherwise, don’t expect to have a truly “clutterfree” life (not that it’s really even possible with kids). I think the most you can really hope for is a more organized chaos. Making intentional choices like limiting TV or Internet time. Choosing to eat together as a family. Choosing your activities more deliberately. Choosing to travel with less so that you experience more.

To hit on some of the high points, these were a few of my main take-aways…

  • Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it <- Read that again
  • Start with small victories. Don’t tackle the hard things first.
  • Owning less allows us to own higher quality items.
  • Consider the true cost of your purchases – time, maintenance, cleaning
  • Less is different than none.
  • There is more joy to be found in owning less then can ever be found in organizing more.
  • Organizing more never addresses the underlying problem.
  • It is far better to de-own than to declutter.
  • Intentionally or unintentionally we are all minimizing something.
  • Gift giving: take time to let the fads show themselves then purge without concern. Conversely don’t force your ideas on others.
  • Compare downward – many people with less “stuff” are actually happier.

Bottom line, for a couple bucks and a few hours of your time, there are much worse things you could be doing, and on the bright side, it just may change your life. Can’t go wrong with that.

Get the book today

What do you think?

PS: Thanks again Joshua for allowing me to preview the book. I read every word, and it was a good refresher.

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Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...

Weekly Round-Up: 1/19/14 to 1/25/14

The Weekly Round-Up is a once weekly collection of my #1Aday daily shares. Hope you find something of interest!

Mon 1/20
Rebeca Plantier on: 10 Eating Rules French Children Know (But Most Americans Don’t) – http://bit.ly/1mk7CFK

Tue 1/21
Rachel @handsfreemama on: The Bully Too Close to Home – http://bit.ly/1fVqJsj

Wed 1/22
Eric Ravenscraft on Practical Math Shortcuts For Everyday Life – http://bit.ly/1jnaAwi

Thu 1/23
Ragnar Terjeson Miljeteig @TangibleFree says This Is How Credit Cards Are Manipulating You Into More Debt – http://bit.ly/KMgGYy

Fri 1/24
Meredith Fineman @meredithfineman asks you to Please Stop Complaining About How Busy You Are – http://bit.ly/1aRtEuu

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You or someone you know looking to buy or sell?
Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...

Weekly Round-Up: 1/12/14 to 1/18/14

The Weekly Round-Up is a once weekly collection of my #1Aday daily shares. Hope you find something of interest!

Mon 1/13
MMM @MrMoneyMustache asks How Big is your Circle of Control? – http://bit.ly/KUHPIr

Tue 1/14
Joshua Fields Millburn @JFM on The Sound of Irrelevance – http://bit.ly/1j5g26V

Wed 1/15
Brandon Honeycutt @SEOAllDay on Ten Parenting Mistakes That Can Negatively Impact Your Childs Future – http://bit.ly/1gJVddb

Thu 1/16
Krissy Brady @writtenbykrissy on 20 Unproductive Habits You Should Let Go of – http://bit.ly/1dyfsfy

Fri 1/17
Rachel Macy Stafford @handsfreemama on: The Important Thing About Yelling – http://bit.ly/1czDEIp

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You or someone you know looking to buy or sell?
Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...

DB2 Get Current MAX value for all IDENTITY Columns

If you’ve ever dealt with DB2 IDENTITY columns chances are you may have wanted to know what the currently assigned max value is for all of the IDENTITY columns in the DB. If so, you can use the following SQL to generate the SQL that will give you your answer. Hope it helps!

select 'select '''||trim(t.tabname)||''', '''||trim(c.colname)||''', max('||trim(c.colname)||') from '||trim(t.tabschema)||'.'||trim(t.tabname)||' for read only with ur;'
from syscat.sequences s join syscat.tables t on
(s.seqschema=t.tabschema and s.create_time=t.create_time)
join syscat.columns c on
(t.tabschema=c.tabschema and t.tabname=c.tabname)
where s.seqname like 'SQL%'
and c.identity='Y'
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Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...

Weekly Round-Up: 1/5/14 to 1/11/14

The Weekly Round-Up is a once weekly collection of my #1Aday daily shares. Hope you find something of interest!

Mon 1/6
Daniel Wallen @TheWallenWay on 20 Simple But Powerful Changes You Can Make To Simplify Your Life – http://mjg2.net/l/1905

Tue 1/7
This One Minute Video May Help You Save Someone’s Life – http://mjg2.net/l/1906

Wed 1/8
10 Health Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science – http://mjg2.net/l/1907

Thu 1/9
Don’t Always Aim to Meet Unrealistic Deadlines – http://mjg2.net/l/1908

Fri 1/10
LPT: Open letter to car drivers from a part-time truck driver : LifeProTips – http://mjg2.net/l/1909

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Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...

Now Reading Mini-Missions

Reading Courtney Carver’s latest book: Mini-Missions for Simplicity

Interesting so far. Anyone else out there read it? Thoughts?

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Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...

Weekly Round-Up: 12/29/13 to 1/4/14

The Weekly Round-Up is a once weekly collection of my #1Aday daily shares. Hope you find something of interest!

Mon 12/30
Marla Walters @cruelironing on 10 Rules of Etiquette Everyone Should Know (and Follow!) – http://mjg2.net/l/1899

Tue 12/31
Kiyah Duffey @KiyahDuffey: a beautiful body – http://mjg2.net/l/1902

Thu 1/2
Joshua Fields Millburn @JFM on The Success Template – http://mjg2.net/l/1903

Fri 1/3
Lynn Truong @lynntruong says 68% of Shoppers Are Getting Ripped Off – http://mjg2.net/l/1904

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You or someone you know looking to buy or sell?
Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...

Saving $1000 on Auto Insurance

We recently received our auto insurance bill in the mail, and for once I decided to “just see” how much of a difference it could make going with a different company. At over $2k for the year (keep in mind MI is a no-fault state) I was hoping to knock a couple hundred bucks off. I started off as I would imagine anyone would do these days and took right to the internet. First stop… State Farm. After entering the data they wanted I waited eagerly and… more expensive. I almost stopped figuring “everyone is going to be the same”.

Still something pushed me onward even with children who needed things wining in the background. Next up I hit Progressive. This time I got a little encouragement with a quote around $700 every six months. I played around with the numbers and got it down to around $550 every six. We were talking some serious cash now. How could roughly the same benefit cost nearly 1/2 what I was paying??

Figuring it didn’t hurt to keep looking I decided to also give Geico a try. This time I was shocked to get a quote even lower! After looking over the numbers I chose to actually increase some of the limits and still kept it around $550 every 6 months.

In the end I chose Geico because for the same rate as Progressive I got more coverage, and still wound up paying nearly 1/2 what I was with AAA. When calling in to setup the coverage I was told that the primary discount was for an excellent credit rating, so for anyone reading this, make sure you’re paying your bills on time, in-full every month.

For those who want a breakdown of the actual coverage numbers, here they are…

Coverage AAA Progressive Geico
BI Liability $100k/$300k $100k/$300k $300k/$500k
Property Damage Liability (PD) $50k $100k $100k
Limited property Damage Liability “Included” $1k $1k
Property Protection (PP) “Included” $1M $1M
Uninsured Motorist BI $20k/$40k $100k/$300k $300k/$500k
Deductible/car $550 basic $500 comp/$1k collission broad form $500 broad form

The moral of the story? Go check your auto insurance coverage and rates then go comparison shopping. No guarantees you’ll see the savings I did, but it just may save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year.

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Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not reflect the views of any employer, family member, friend, or anyone else. Some links may be affiliate links, but I don't link to anything I don't use myself. You would think this should be self evident these days, but apparently not...