Free Computer Virus Protection (Yes, really!) + How to Know How Much Stuff to Keep
Every other Monday, I answer a few questions from readers. If you've got a question you'd like me to answer, email me or leave your question in the comments.
Good Monday morning, dear readers! One quick thing before we get to questions.
You can sign the petition to get the adopted kids out of the DRC even if you DON'T live in the U.S.
They need 75,000 more signatures before March 10th, so if you can sign it and share it with your friends, that would be marvelous. I have two friends with kids who are stuck there, and there are hundreds more.
(I wrote about the petition in the P.S. on this post. Also, the DRC is short for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.)
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On to questions!
Can you recommend a computer virus protection company that works well but doesn't break the bank too badly?
-Brian
Several other people have asked about this as well, so I checked with Mr. FG, as he works in IT and takes care of all computer security matters for me.
He recommends a number of free ones (the first two are his faves):
A lot of these have premium memberships, which are obviously not free. However, we just use the free versions of all of them and have not had any need to upgrade.
Interestingly enough, he says that Norton and Symantec (both paid products) are inferior to the ones listed above.
I hope that helps!
(I'm not affiliated with any of those programs. They're just products that we use ourselves.)
My family and I just moved into a new home and circumstances forced us to downsize considerably. As I'm unpacking, I find myself wanting to purge a LOT. Our home was cluttered before because we had too much, I can't imagine all of THAT in this smaller place!
I'm feeling a little trapped by my possessions, though, how do you balance frugality with simplicity with sentiment? For example, 6 crystal ice cream bowls handed down from my grandmother who passed 7 years ago. She likely picked them up at a yardsale, so not family heirlooms. I don't need bowls dedicated to just serving ice cream. But they were a gift... (That's the simplicity versus sentiment problem)
I'm also debating downsizing my every day dishes to 4 place settings for my family of 4. We currently have 12 place settings, a hand-me-down from my aunt. We like having friends over and we could use paper plates then, but that's not very frugal. We also intend to have 6 kids, so 8 place settings eventually. But not now. What would you do?
-Emily
When I'm trying to decide how much is enough, the most useful thing I can ask is, "How much will I/we fully and regularly use?"
It's a pretty simple question, but it really helps me to figure out what's enough and what's too much.
For example, in my house, we have a set of about 12 plates and 12 bowls, and almost every single day, we use all of our dishes. To me, this says we have the right amount.
(I do have some extras in an out of the way cabinet for when we have guests.)
Or when it comes to clothes, if I haven't done laundry in a while, our drawers begin to be a little bare. This means that we are actually wearing all of our clothes, which is just how I like it to be.
So, regarding your everyday dishes, if you end up using only 4 every day, then maybe 4 is the right number.
But if you are like us and use plates more than once per day, maybe the whole setting of 12 is right.
I personally don't want to have to wash all the dishes between every meal in order to have plates and bowls for the next meal (that would complicate, not simplify my life!), so everyday dishes would not be the first place I'd downsize.
I'd be looking at underused kitchen equipment first.
Like those ice cream bowls.
A thought about gifts: just because something is a gift does NOT mean you have to keep it. This is particularly true if the person who gave them to you is no longer around and couldn't possibly be upset with you for getting rid of them!
Also, your memories of and love for your grandma probably don't depend upon the possession of the bowls, you know? You'll still remember her fondly without seeing the bowls.
And if you feel super sentimental about them, you could always take a picture before you donate them.
So.
If you need more space in your kitchen and you have other ways to serve ice cream and you don't feel super attached to the bowls, then donate them.
If by some chance you NEED ice cream bowls in the future, I can almost guarantee you that you can find some at a thrift store when the need arises.
Basically, rather than just automatically downsizing everything, think about what YOU and your family actually need and use.
If other people use four plates a day but you use 12 (4 for every meal), then feel free to keep 12.
And if other people feel great joy as they use their ice cream bowls every day, that's great, but if your bowls collect dust, then send them on to a new home.
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Alrighty, readers! The floor is yours!
Any thoughts about virus protection? And how do you find a balance between simplicity and sentiment?
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I completely agree with you for what concerns decluttering. I organized part of my kitchen cupboards in December and I kept only what we actually use. I am trying to simplify my life and I do not want to have to wash objects just because they are covered with dust. For example I donated some cups as we did not use them ( even if they were so cute ) but I was really tired of having to wash them because they were covered with dust, without using them. Now I appreciate my emptier cabinet and I do not miss them 🙂
Yes! I find I love the roomy cabinet space far more than I loved the extra stuff that was cluttering it up.
Is there a reason, other than aethetics, to clean dishes that aren't in use? Slacker housekeeper me just lets these collect dust and am wondering if I need to change that.
I use AVG usually and it's worked great for me for years, and free!
As far as purging goes, we still have a full storage room in the basement and junk in the garage, so I'm not forcing myself to make those tough decisions yet. I try to look at the whole picture and figure out where my biggest issues are and tackle them first. I think I'll be busy for a while...
Thanks to Mr. FG for the recommendations on free anti-virus software. This is something I keep meaning to look into, but hadn't so it will be great just to check out these options.
Simplicity versus sentiment is definitely my hang-up in decluttering. But in my case it's with things of my own (that remind me of something or sometime in my life) rather than gifts. I have done the photo thing occasionally which has helped.
Oh, I am a bit too sentimental with my belongings...I should ask me if I really need everything I own and stop struggling with the clutter...Thank you so much for your help.
Not related to either topic at all, but it was fun to see another In-N-Out burger shirt! I recently replaced mine because it wore out 🙂
Oh yes. Mr. FG used to live in CA, so he has a soft spot for In-N-Out. 😉
Sentiment can make it hard to part with things. It's something I struggle with as well. Sometimes it helps to save one piece of a set and give away the rest. You can find other ways to use it--for fresh flowers, jewelry, decoration. Instead of being tucked away in a cupboard, it can be out where you can see and enjoy it. This way you can kind of satisfy the sentiment issue as well as the need to thin things out.
We did that with our "wedding china" when our tastes changed drastically. We sold most of the set to Replacements, Ltd. but kept a cup & saucer.
I like the cabinet space to dictate how much I can keep. I do not like to keep things for the kitchen items in other places in the house so if it does not fit in the cabinets it goes. Less used items (like the food dehydrator) get put in cabinets above the fridge or the back of the deep cabinets. More used appliance like the crock pot and the popcorn popper are easily within arms reach. I agree. I would focus on less used items than the everyday dishes. We seem to use all of our plates and bowls every day. We have about 12 for a family of 5.
Good tips on the decluttering. The other thing I have to remind myself of when I'm decluttering and getting antsy about throwing stuff out is, if you have truly not used the item within the past at least 6-8 months, but have good intentions of doing so, just be honest with yourself and get rid of it. I often find stuff at the back of my closet or in the basement ("but I'll figure out how to fix it!" "but maybe I'll go to another black/white tie event like I did 45 years ago!" "but maybe I WILL actually throw a fancy dinner party for my easy-going friends who could care less about being fancy!"). It's the honesty part that's hard - if you haven't managed to find the time until now and/or have totally forgotten about it, GET RID OF IT! 🙂
We have one box of sentimental items packed away. They do us no good in a box. If we want to enjoy them, they ought to be on display. I'm thinking maybe photograph them and put them in a digital frame that will cycle through them. That way another memory will be brought forth each time I glance at that frame. But the box itself can go away.
That's true too. If you truly cherish the things, display them or use them in a way that reflects that.
This is something my husband and I disagree on. He wants to keep everything! I hate having things out away in a box, just to keep them. We are constantly working together to find a balance. I like the idea of taking pictures of the things.
My IT hubby recommends Bitdefender:
http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/free.html
I found it a bit frustrating that neither on today's report nor on the background one, do you identify DRC. Had to look it up. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Not sure everyone knows that right off.
Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so used to hearing it referred to as that, I didn't think of spelling it out.
Another factor to consider is the money/space axis. You don't need those dishes now but you expect to need them later. Which would be less painful for you in your circumstances: having to store the currently unneeded dishes, or having to buy dishes later?
Your other question was about frugality, simplicity, and sentiment. The frugal aspect is easy: if it's something you will use now or in the near future, keeping the item is the frugal choice. Simplicity vs sentimentality is much harder. In the case of items from a family member, is there another family member who would like the items?
I'm very ruthless when it comes to decluttering, but sometimes I run across something that I feel conflicted about getting rid of. If I'm not able to easily make a decision about it, I just set it aside and move on. I know there will be plenty of opportunities for decluttering it in the future (let's face it, given the ebb and flow of possessions in our lives, we will always have things to get rid of!), so I don't feel that I need to spend a lot of time or make myself anxious about decluttering perfectly NOW. Making ruthless purges of items that I'm completely certain about frees up space and seems to bring those on-the-fence items into clearer focus, making it easier for me to evaluate them. Often after a few weeks or months I'll spot that item I wasn't ready to part with, realize my attachment to it has faded, and chuck it in the donation box without a twinge. Of course, this is just what works for me. 🙂
When I find something I don't really use but can't quite part with, I put it the "Aging" box in the basement. It is out of the way for now. In 6 months I can get rid of it or age it again. This way I can be ruthless about clearing my living space without worrying about regretting my purge-happy spree. The main rule: go through the ONE Aging box every 6 months!
Hi there! The link provided for the Big Hero 6 DVD says that the deal expired, can you check on this?
Thanks! 🙂
Well, darn. Sorry about that! I put an updated link in...is it working now?
Yep! Thanks! 🙂
Ooops! Spoke too soon, the link directed me to a different page, on which I was prompted to create an account, so I thought it worked this time. Once I was logged in, I ended up back on the page that said the deal had expired.
No worries if it's too much trouble though!
Ohhh, nuts! I'm seeing that its expired now...darn. I thought it was good through this week.
Thanks for the antivirus software recommendations; I need that!
For the sentimental and excess stuff -- Some things just need to go. If those ice cream bowls were heirlooms, I'd says hold on to them if you can, but she picked them up at a yard sale? No, they would go, for me.
Here's what my sisters and I did with old costume jewelry from our mother, aunt, and grandmother. We sorted them by colors and made shadow boxes with them -- we created Christmas trees from the earrings, brooches and scarf pins, snipping off backs with wire cutters and gluing them in a tree shape in the shadow boxes. I think my sister saw this on Pinterest. Anyway, now they are part of our Christmas décor in our homes and are easily stored for the holidays.
If the items are useful or can become a cherished part of décor, keep them, but if you are just hanging on to them because you like them but never use them, or someone you love gave them to you but you never use them, send them to a new home. The gift doesn't = the giver.
For the dishes, I'm with Kristen. There are two of us in my house, now, and I have service for 12. When the kids and their spouses and the grandkids come over, I need all of those. I also don't want to have to wash dishes before every meal, as well, which I would do even with service for 4. I use plates as serving platters and soup bowls as serving bowls when it's just us two, so we use more than two per meal. I refuse to buy disposable plates -- too expensive and too much trash produced.
I have to admit, though, I kept our wedding china, even if it was just in boxes when we were cramped for space for years. I use that china. Special occasions and holidays call for the china, and it gives me joy, so it stays!
Ooh, my Norton subscription is done in 4 days - definitely have to look into one of these. Thanks!!
I would never get rid of a 12 piece setting, having to wash in between meals would make me crazy. We have a set of 24 clear dishes. We have small group at our house every other Sunday (20 people) and regularly have groups of 10-20 on other occasions. Paper is expensive over time and you always have to worry about having enough. Paper also does not work well for every meal and it is just nicer to use real dishes. I also have enough glasses and cloth napkins for a crowd. I have not always had 24 matching, but it is really nice for our current level of hospitality. I hate clutter, but things we use all the time still do take up space (we also have folding tables and chairs), but that is ok, having people over is what we love to do!
Hi Kristin- I don't comment often, but had to on this second email that you are writing about today. I have always struggled with that same question, but once read a blog post that has stuck with me (I apologize I don't know who wrote it now!) the blog post said things are only special when there are a small quantity of them, and items loose specialness when there are a lot of them. She used the image from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" of the Grandmother who saved a few wedding memorabilia and thus those items carried great emotional significance. The thing that stuck with me however was that the blogger said (something to the extent of) "What if that same grandmother had saved EVERYTHING? (she then had a picture of that same grandmother standing in front of a Garage with junk pouring out of it.) For items of great emotional significance, I now ask myself: If I had to keep just the things that would fit in a shoe box (or maybe 1 or 2 things), would this be one of those things? I hope that the things I keep then gain extra significance because I only kept them, and not everything.
I love that! What a nice thought and a beautiful way to look at mementos.
Thanks to the hubby for info on computer protection. Right now we shell out $80 a year for Norton. Now I feel bamboozled because I'm (obviously) not tech savvy enough to know better. I've seen free versions but didn't know if they were reliable. I feel better knowing someone in the IT field trusts them.
We are in the process of moving and downsizing so this is so helpful to me. Thank you!!
In my opinion, Norton basically *is* a virus. Please don't pay for it! I spent hours trying to uninstall it from my parents' computers.
Also, I agree with your husband on Malwarebytes and Microsoft Security Essentials. I've never paid for antivirus programs. There are plenty of free ones that are completely adequate.
I use Ally Bank and they offer free Webroot Secure Anywhere, it is what we use at work also but I used AVG free for years prior to that. I agree with Carla, Norton is nasty.
I am still working at getting rid of all the extra clutter, not an easy task but I try to stick to one area until it seems done. I was ahead of the game until my youngest decided to move 1000 miles away and did not take all the extra furniture and kitchen dishes I saved for him, Oh well I will make sure they get donated or go to someone in need. Feeling horrible that he moved so far away. 🙁
Getting rid of sentimental items is difficult, a friend of mine had a beautiful jacket of her moms made into a pillow case. Great way to repurpose the jacket.
Aww, I'm sorry he moved so far!