"Simplicity
is an acquired taste.
Mankind, left free, instinctively complicates life."
Katherine F. Gerould (1879 - 1944)
Simplify
and thrive!
Here are a few ways to help slow things down, and give ourselves time to remember
who we are and what's really important in our lives.
And as we simplify, the environment also benefits.
Start
by Stopping
Each new day is a blank canvas which we fill
with a checklist of tasks. But every minute need not be structured and
scheduled. Try stopping from time to time, and make conscious contact
with your inner self. Let go of the need for maximum daily achievement
and become comfortable doing nothing, if only for a short while. Take
the time to lay down on a blanket outside and watch the clouds. Bring
some crumbs for the birds and watch them enjoy. Or check out
the stars for a few minutes before going to sleep. An occasional dose
of non-doing lets you slow down to appreciate
the pleasures of the moment, however simple, and gain a fresh
perspective on how your time is spent each day.
Daily Meditation
A brief daily meditation, even for just 15 minutes,
is your chance to turn off the rest of the world and listen to yourself.
Our fast-paced modern lifestyle delivers a steady barrage of information,
obligation and responsibility. Meditation clears the mind and relaxes
the body.
Meditation does not require incense, mandalas, mantras or the perfect lotus position. It only requires you to be comfortable, quiet and to try to clear your mind. A few tips:
•
Consistency. Try to meditate every day,
even if only for a few minutes. The benefits are cumulative.
• Location. Choose
a quiet space where you won't be disturbed. Turn off the phone. If possible,
meditate in the same spot every day.
• Breathe. Focus
on your breathing to help clear your mind and relax your body.
• Try not to think. Listen
to your heart, feel the energy in your body, let an empty breeze flow through
your mind. Above all, try not to organize your day or problem solve.
• Lower your expectations. The
benefits of meditation are substantial, but subtle. Don't look for results
- they'll find you.
• Make it last.
As you leave your meditation
space, try to extend the relaxed, focused feeling into your day. Every few
hours, if you think of it, take a slow deep breath and envision your meditation
space. Meditation can help you feel more relaxed and focused throughout the
day.
Reduce
Clutter; De-Consume
The best things in life aren't things. Clutter fills more than our shelves
and closets - it permeates our lives. We work hard to be able to afford
things, many of which require care, cleaning, storing, insuring, protecting....and
the media and the merchants are constantly offering us the next "must
have". For an interesting perspective on the impact of our quest
for more, read: Why
having more makes us less happy.
The cost of consumer goods goes beyond the price tag. Environmental costs
come from resource extraction, manufacture, shipping and waste management.
Consumer
demand drives industrial pollution - here are a few tips to simplify and
help "de-consume":
• Enjoy nonmaterial pleasures. Whether alone or enjoyed with others, nonmaterial pursuits offer lasting and immeasurable benefits - music, sports, hobbies, crafts and games contribute to personal development with little cost to you or the environment.
• Give sustainably. Birthday and holiday gifts don't have to be the latest consumer goods. See Tips for Sustainable Giving for non-commercial gift ideas.
• Share, swap, trade. Start a tool share with neighbors for tools which may not be used too often - lawn mower, power saw, compressor, ladder, paint sprayer etc. Fewer things to buy, and store, for everyone. Swap or trade for goods and services if possible, to save on the manufacture of new goods and packaging, and of course the taxes.
• Reduce visual clutter.Try putting things you can live without in boxes and put the boxes in the attic or basement for six months. Then re-open the boxes and keep what you missed.....give the rest away as gifts, or hold a garage sale. Then try this formula - for every new thing that comes in, one old thing goes out.
Eliminate
Junk Mail, Telemarketers, Catalogs
Junk Mail:
Write to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 6 East
43rd St., NY, NY. 10017. They will stop your name from being sold to most
large mailing list companies. Or put "Return to Sender" and
put back in the mailbox. You can also contact the Stop Junk Mail Association
at (800) 827-5549. Or order the booklet "Stop Junk Mail Forever"
from the Simple Living Network at (800) 318-5725.
While you're at it, reconsider your newspaper and magazine subscriptions.
Most newspapers and magazines now have online versions which give up to
the minute news and articles without the use of paper or the cost of the
subscription.
Telemarketers: In the US, the FTC
has launched a website so consumers can register online. This is a free
service. By adding your number to the list, intrusive calls from telemarketers
should be reduced.
Sign up online at www.donotcall.gov
or call 1-888-382-1222. Registration is in effect for five years, unless
you remove your number from the registry or your number is disconnected.
Mail Order Catalogs: It is estimated that US households receive a total of 19 billion catalogs by mail each year. An online service, Catalog Choice, allows you to compile a list of catalogs you do not wish to receive, and arranges to have your name removed from the corresponding mailing lists. This is a free service. www.catalogchoice.org
Simplify
Meals
Prepare dishes which will provide several meals. Stews, casseroles, and
many recipes are just as easy to prepare in large portions. Make enough
for two or three meals, and freeze the extra meals to cut your cooking
chores in half. Become the master of "one-pot
cooking" to simplify preparation and reduce
clean-up time.
In Buddhist monasteries, it was the cook's duty
to make the most sumptuous meal possible out of whatever ingredients were
available. Instead of thinking about dinner in terms of what you want
to eat, try to be creative with what you have in the refrigerator and
cupboards. Resist the urge to run out to the store for more cooking ingredients.
Cut
TV Time
TV time is not as relaxing as it may appear - our senses are being bombarded
constantly, and the underlying commercial message is always the same -
you need more and more "things" to be happy. We're at the mercy
of the marketers.
Statistics have shown that children get very little time of direct interaction
with their parents, especially with their fathers. In contrast, the average
child spends hours each day in front of the TV. TV makes children, and
adults, want "more" to feel good about themselves.
Try reducing TV time, and replace it with books, music or educational
videos which are commercial-free. If you have children, try replacing
an hour of TV each evening with a parent/child
activity. At first it may seem like more for you
to do - after all, TV is a convenient babysitter. Having an on-going project
is good, as it's easier to start and stop the activity in short blocks
of time. For more ideas, check out http://www.tvturnoff.org/
Most of the dirt in your home is brought in on shoes. Save time and cleaning expenses by starting a no-shoes policy. Keep slippers at the door for guests to use.
Next time you're at the library, look for "Confessions of an Organized Homemaker" by Denice Schofield. This book offers ways to simplify, organize and schedule household systems in order to help reduce the need for housecleaning.
.....Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Consolidate
Trips to the Store
Approximately 50% of car use is for trips within 3 miles of the home.
This distance is within the range for easy biking, so it makes sense to
try to use your bike for some of these short hops. You'll be saving fuel
and reducing pollution, and you can also save on trips to the gym with
this added exercise.
Whether you live in the heart of the city or have to drive to town or
the mall to shop, try consolidating your trips. With a little organization,
you can group your "town tasks" into fewer trips, saving you
time and fuel expense. The environment also benefits from the fuel and
energy savings.
Buying goods online can be an environmentally friendly and time-saving way to shop. Online shopping is also a nice contrast to the over-stimulation one often feels at the mall. As the trend to online shopping grows, more and more goods become available with a wider range of choices than you may find locally. Here are a few environmental tips to consider when shopping online:
• Combine orders. You can reduce packaging and deliveries by consolidating your orders when shopping online. Wait until you have a full list of items you'll need from an online store, then put in just one order. You can also combine orders with a friend or co-worker shopping for similar products, as a way of further reducing the environmental (and actual) costs of shipping.
• Ship orders to your place of work. If courier services regularly ship to your place of work, your order will be combined with others. This saves individual home deliveries.
• Save order information on disk. Print-outs of order information use paper and ink, and require filing and storing. Save the information to disk, and delete when you've received the products in good order.
Reduce
Lawn & Yard Maintenance
Yard maintenance takes up much of our valuable "free time".
Even hiring a lawn service intrudes on our quality time with noise, fumes
and the presence of the workers.
You can simplify and reduce the costs of yard maintenance by plantings
of ground covers, shrubs and perennials, and can easily design the remaining
lawn to be simpler and faster to mow and maintain.
Visit our section on lawn
alternatives for more information and energy saving
ideas.
Watering your lawn and plantings also consumes
time and energy, so consider the advantages of installing a simple drip-irrigation
system. You can achieve better results using half the water
and a fraction of the time used for conventional watering.
Another option is to incorporate some of the principles of Xeriscaping
to add interest to your yard while eliminating the maintenance needed
for a lawn. Xeriscape was originally developed for drought-resistant landscaping,
and has become popular for residential use in all climate zones. Replacing
all or part of your lawn using xeriscape techniques will save up to 60%
of the water required for equivalent lawn areas; it also frees you to
be away from home for longer periods without having to arrange for lawn
care.
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Leonardo da Vinci
The cell phone has become an integral part of our fast-paced culture. It is almost a symbol of self-importance; unless our schedules are as busy as the next person's, then we're less important or somehow not living up to the norm. As long as we carry along our cell phones, we are always "on task".
There's another side to ubiquitous cell phone use. It distracts our focus from other activities, at home, shopping, driving and even during movies or meetings. It adds another level of complexity to our daily living and is often an unwelcome interruption to our time spent with others.
Get to know the "off" switch of your cell phone, especially when enjoying quality time with your family, friends or by yourself.
Set up "Blackberry Blackout" times
For many, the handheld Blackberry is an ever-present extension of one's job and social network. Being constantly 'on-call' is a prescription for complexity. Give yourself and your family a break by establishing "Blackberry Blackout" times into your schedule, e.g., all Blackberries turned off from 7pm to 7am.
To make it easier for those trying to reach you on your Blackberry during 'blackout' times, you can install a simple autoresponder which leaves a message for all incoming email, SMS and PIN. This message can state the hours of the 'blackout' and, if you want, a phone number for any actual emergencies. The Blackberry autoresponder costs $12.95 and is available here.
Silence
Try to put some silence into each day. Our ears
are not designed for the constant stimulation of noise, which is an unfortunate
by-product of modern life. There are very few loud sounds in nature. Studies
have shown that stress hormones rise in response to noise. Concentration
and energy levels are reduced, and the rates of hearing loss among young
people has risen dramatically in recent years.
Simply being aware of the effects of noise is
a good start. Small foam ear protectors cost just pennies apiece and screen
out the high decibal aspects of noise. Wear ear protectors at home when
operating loud equipment such as lawn mowers, leaf blowers, blenders and
vacuum cleaners. Turn off the TV and stereo if you're not paying full
attention to them.
Silence helps us stay focused and centered, and provides a welcome oasis
in a sea of overstimulation. (Related article: The
Death of Stillness by Richard Mahler.)
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