Tammy Strobel and the Rowdy Kittens
Tammy Strobel
Rowdy Kittens: Social Change Through Simple Living
Tammy Strobel is an absolute, total and complete modern day inspiration. She’s found a way to do what she loves for her job. While Tammy does have a few sources of income, she also writes a blog daily. After saving up enough to live on for six months to a year, Tammy left her job of ten years in the non-profit world working on the campaign against violence towards women to write and to do what she loves, every single day. You can check out her blog, Rowdy Kittens, for the full story on how she came up with that name and other fun tidbits and words of inspiration.
MB: How did you get the idea for Rowdy Kittens**, and how have you managed to keep that momentum going to turn it into such a successful endeavor?
Tammy spent ten years working on the movement to end violence against women. She was involved in many types of work that involved this cause, from counseling rape victims to working on public policy issues.
Tammy’s last job involved a great deal of blogging, which was something new and different for her as she had yet to really take part in the social media space all that much. In fact, the majority of the position was about utilizing social media tools. Needless to say, she was shocked when she got the job because the majority of it was online. Once Tammy got started on her job, her boss recommended that she start a blog in order to get some experience. Tammy described her blogging as more of a personal journal. She never felt like she was a very good writer, and in fact, she candidly admitted, she still doesn’t feel like she is a good writer.
(I can totally and completely relate to this!! Unless I’m writing to someone that I care about and expressing emotion, it’s hard for me to consider myself a good writer. The only reason I consider myself good at expressing how I feel to people through writing is that my sister in law told me the card I gave her for her wedding was the only one that made her cry, in a good way I like to think, and that other people have mentioned the same type of thing. This brings up a great point that I’ve read about a lot recently, which is that it’s sort of wacky that we oftentimes only feel best about ourselves when someone else gives us validation. I guess it goes back to finding internal reasons to love ourselves and continuing to believe that we think we are great as individuals!)
Tammy also mentioned that tries to write every day and that hopefully practice makes perfect. I personally love the fact that she referenced this old school expression. She’s so easy going! But really, I often hear bloggers advise that when you’re trying to get a blog off the ground, you should try and write something every day, even if that means posting an article that you enjoyed reading. I have yet to take that advice, but it really and truly does sound good in theory.
As Tammy points out, anyone has at least 15 minutes to a half hour to set aside time to write. Isn’t that the truth? A lot of people say too, and I agree, that when you’re writing, if you enjoy it, it doesn’t feel like work. Life’s too short not to spend time doing the things we love!
My recommendation is to grab a beer and a bite, perhaps at a local pub where a friend works, ideally, which is what I’m doing right now, in order to get in the mood for writing. ‘If you want to get into blogging’, Tammy says, ‘devote that time to getting helpful content for your readers. It’s always scary when you start, but you have to start somewhere, right?’
**(Well, I already know how the actual name for Rowdy Kittens was created. Tammy tells that story on her blog, and you should totally go ahead and check it out! It’s a really cute store).
At the beginning it didn’t feel as though it (the blog) was all that helpful, but now feels like I can share tips with people to use in their own lives, whether that’s decluttering house or starting a blog or re-thinking idea of what it means to drive a car or size of their home.
MB: In your recent post entitled Leisurology 101, you write about creating time for idleness and non-doing in order to cultivate creativity. How can one tell the difference between non-doing and laziness?
From her experience, at least in the U.S. and in Canada, people always on the go; if you’re not doing something, you’re lazy; if weekends aren’t booked out for next 2 months, you’re a slacker, or if you’re not working 70 hrs a week it’s a bad thing.
Tammy pointed out a reminder to herself and to her readers who have a hard time slowing down, that we don’t have to be on the go all the time. ‘Even if you sit in your apartment and meditate or go for a walk in the park’, she says, ‘that’s not being lazy: that’s enjoying life.’ I couldn’t agree with Tammy more, and I read more and more articles pointing out that sometimes we think that if we are busy or putting in long hours, we’re also doing good work. This is so not always the case, as I’m sure many would agree.
Tammy believes that a lot of us don’t take the time to do that for ourselves and be healthy and that it’s important to sort of re-think what productivity even means. ‘I know I can’t work 8 hours straight and be productive’, she confesses, ‘I have 2 hour spurts and then sit and play with cats or go for a walk and come back and feel a lot more refreshed.’
Whereas in a traditional office setting that’s harder to do, you can always take a 15 minute break…
MB: Can you tell us more about how you got started working on the blog and left your job?
Tammy reached a burnout point, which is very common with social service work. She had always wanted to start a small business, and since her husband is just about done with school, it seemed like the perfect timing for her. They had both always wanted to move to the northwest, and so they decided to make that move. Rowdy kittens is part of Tammy’s business. 80% of the blog content is free, and then she sells a couple of products as well. Tammy’s next e-book, Smalltopia, comes out at the end of August. Some of the books can be downloaded for free, and others she will charge for.
Tammy compares her work to running a small business. Again, her business model is based on multiple streams of income, which include freelance writing for Aol, web design projects, and affiliate sales (If there’s a particular product she loves, she’ll join an affiliate program and get compensated for that.) Eventually, the goal is to earn the majority of her income for writing. She enjoys web design but needs to improve skills in that area.
While this inconsistency is part of the trade-off for leaving a more secure job at a non-profit (with benefits, etc.), the non-profit world was always subject to cuts in funding and grants ending anyways, so Tammy certainly does not regret leaving her position.
MB: Is there any specific advice you’d give to someone that would dream of making a living like you do…to taking that leap?
Her advice is to start a blog, to start connecting with people. A good place to start is to define your interests. Think about what your passions are. Ask yourself how you can use your skills and talents to help people.
Tammy believes that people have skill sets that can be used to serve the greater good (be it whatever that may be) and that it’s really all about starting down that path. While it might look small, like starting a blog, or volunteering, or working at an advocacy organization, it’s still a start, and one never knows where it might lead.
It’s also important to take a realistic look at your finances. Ideally, Tammy would have left her field 2 years ago, but she couldn’t because she had to take care of her debt first. So she and her husband sat down and looked at their financial situation. They made some changes (note: one of these changes was to become car free, as you’ll see on Rowdy Kittens!) and paid off their debt. It really came down to selling their cars and starting to save up money. The process takes time, but it’s a lot scarier to start a small business without a safety net. ‘A savings account makes it a lot easier to leave day job and strike out on your own’, she points out.
MB: Have you had a mentor along the way that’s truly influenced you and/or supported you?
Tammy’s really into the process of downsizing right now, so she’s been reading a lot of Derrick Jensen’s books, which are very powerful. ‘Even if you don’t agree with certain books, they will make you re-think your life perspective.’
Tammy also calls upon a group of people she refers to as her ‘inspiration counsel’. Apparently, they don’t necessarily know who she is or that they are a part of this counsel, but she admires their work and reads their stuff and follows them in the blogging world. For example, she loves Danielle Laporte’s work and reads her blog, White Hot Truth. Everett Becker. Leo Baubata.
Or she watched Dee Williams’ tiny house video (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/culture/living-large-a-look-inside-the-tiny-house-movement/2522/ ), and immediately thought, ‘Oh my god I’ve gotta have one of those. They’re so cute!’ Things like that are what really drive she and her husband along and get them inspired.
There are also a lot of people in the biking community and other people who have gone car free that provide boatloads of inspiration.
MB: What’s the number one pearl of wisdom that you would give to a younger version of yourself?
‘Listen to your instincts; a lot of times we ignore our gut feelings to please other people. At I have that tendency’, Tammy says. She means that she has tended to want everyone to like her and think she’s doing good work; whereas we’re better off when we listen to our gut and move forward with that.
MB: What are your top three things we can do daily to lead us towards healthier, simpler living?
1.) Ride our bikes!
2.) It really depends on what your goals are. If it comes down to household stuff, we can take some time and inventory our stuff, taking a closer look at what we have and what we really need that we have.
It’s so easy, even for Tammy, to acquire things. She had spent the afternoon trying to sort through recyclables, which she had shoved into a drawer for scrap paper. It’s good to make sure that everything has a home; get rid of unnecessary stuff in responsible ways (i.e. Good Will). Since I had this interview, actually, I filled up three bags of clothes for Good Will. I also learned that the Kidney Foundation will come to your house to pick up what you’re getting rid of, at least in Atlanta, GA anyway.
So, let me know what YOUR tips are for simple living…
Themocracy
love this. what an inspiration!