Category Archives: Life simplification

Back To Simple Reality

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I’ve been away with the fairies of late.

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(Cake decorations from my daughter’s 1st birthday cake, over 7 years ago. I’m such a sentimental hoarder!)

I mean – literally away with the fairies, or should that be vampires? 4 seasons of True Blood have been devoured over the last few weeks. We’re talking just shy of 40 hours – yep you read that right! Hardly any non-fiction reading has taken place, which is my usual night-time activity once the chaos of Chez Wright has subsided.

That’s not all. My much-loved-meal-planning has gone out the window. You may have read this post. I temporarily lost my way. Once again I have clutter in places I didn’t know existed, and my running shoes hadn’t seen the light of day for almost 2 months, until yesterday. Oh and ready-meals have been purchased – where will it end? ;-)

Time to get back to reality. Less cyberspace cruising, and YouTube watching.

How many times can a girl watch this? Really?

I’m deducing that mentally I needed a break.

But like any break there’s a time when you are ready to come home.

Well that holiday is over, time to come right back down to earth.

“When goals go, meaning goes. When meaning goes, purpose goes. When purpose goes, life goes dead on our hands.” Carl Jung 1875-1961 Swiss psychiatrist.

First on the list, to get back to reading. I just finished ‘Enjoy every sandwich’ by Lee Lipsenthal and started ‘The First 20 minutes’ by Gretchen Reynolds. Moving on I’ll be downloading “The meaning of things” by AC Grayling.

There isn’t anything that motivates me as much as reading about a subject, thus extending my knowledge and questioning my beliefs. It surely is the path to self-awareness.

I’d love to know what you are reading, what you’d recommend and why. To read a book that has been enjoyed by someone else extends the experience way beyond that of your own.

So that’s the starting point. There is much more to come, which I will be sharing along the way. I’m still on the journey to a ‘family life simply done’.

It’s not a Roman road, it is not a straight path. It has bends and turns, ups and downs.

“It does not matter how slow you go, so long as you do not stop.” Confucius.

The Things You Own End Up Owning You

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One of my very favourite films is Fight Club.

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Granted, Brad Pitt spends a considerable amount of time bare-chested, which indeed has it’s own appeal. Regardless there is most definitely more depth to the story-line than superstar skin. If eye-candy were purely my motivation for watching, surely it would be more efficient to devour a True Blood box-set?

I was reminded of how much I enjoyed this film whilst cyberspace cruising (aka time-wasting) yesterday afternoon.

(Time wasting is not something Tyler Durden would approve of “This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time”)

Looking for reading material I hit the oldies but goodies. Starting off with the new Zen Habits post (which instructed me to write everyday – so here I am – although you’ll be reading this on Monday not the Sunday I wrote it).

Not finding what I was looking for, I entered into the minimal world of Far Beyond The Stars. Time-travelling way back to December 2009. It’s an archived blog now as the author took it down when he moved on – and move on he did!

December 2009 was 10 months into my journey toward a family life simply done. I credit much of the progress I made to reading Everett’s blog at the time.

My aim was to reduce in order to reclaim my life. To reduce stuff, commitments, obligations. But, somehow I lost my way.

I’m spending an inordinate amount of time, once more, decluttering and organising. I’m old enough, and ugly enough, to know there is no finish line with decluttering, but still – it’s turning into a full-time occupation.

Brooke recently wrote about decluttering not being the final answer. I concur, it’s not. It’s where I started, as many of us do, but simplifying or minimizing needs to be so much more.

Even decluttering can benefit from being simplified. Too much time can be spent on how to eliminate the item effectively. Should it be sold, gifted, donated? Ultimately it needs to be gone.

Rather a random post, I admit. But cathartic. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a bit of a talking to.

Anyhow, time to stop typing. I’ve an episode of True Blood to pop on the DVD whilst I declutter the Kids toys! ;-)

How’s it all going with you, are you beating stuff?

Click here to enjoy Placebo (with special guest) covering Where Is My Mind from Fight Club… a little Monday morning treat for those rock chicks and guys among you.

Let Me Introduce You To The Clutterfairy

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When I first started out on the road to a Family Life Simply Done over 4 years ago , the first thing I did was start to declutter. I believe this is the starting point for many life-simplifiers. What I have discovered, is that there isn’t an end to decluttering. It’s a routine, a habit, a work in progress. 

Recently, I contacted Lesley Spellman aka The Clutterfairy. Lesley kindly offered to do a guest post, and also be on hand to answer any of your clutter questions…

So without further ado please let me introduce you to The Clutterfairy!

It’s that time of year when the world and his wife are talking about decluttering. Newspapers, magazines and blogs are all trying to motivate us to spring clean and declutter. Now, motivation is key to a successful declutter, of course, but alongside that you need education on how to tackle the job and a big dose of realism.

As a professional declutterer one of the key skills I need is honesty. I am honest with my clients and I will be honest with you.

So here’s the reality – if you have quite a lot of clutter in your home, it probably didn’t build up overnight; it took months, maybe even years, to get to such an unmanageable level so it shouldn’t be surprising that it will probably take more than just an hour or two to sort through and get your space back to the way you want it to be. There, I’ve said it – it’s not a “Ten minutes a Day for a Clutter Free home”, it’s not a trip out to buy a gorgeous storage unit from Ikea, it’s not about a labelling machine or post it notes. If you have a lot of clutter, it’s going to take time to sort it.

And time is not all you need. More than anything you need focus, determination, motivation and a huge amount of energy. Clearing clutter is emotionally and physically draining if there’s a lot of it.

The ideal scenario is of course to get a professional organiser to help you. What they will try to achieve is a balance between your vision and the amount of stuff you are willing to get rid of. If you have said you want a minimalist home with clear surfaces more akin to an edition of Ideal Home and you only have one carrier bag ready for the charity shop then it’s time for some questions to be asked. A professional will keep you focused, motivated and above all entertained throughout what can be a mind-numbingly tedious job at times.

If a professional is not an option for you try to bear in mind the following.

Having well meaning family to help can be, in my experience, a disaster waiting to happen. A daughter, a mother in law, even a husband is not impartial. If someone has been living with the fallout of your clutter they are likely to harbour a small amount of resentment and perhaps may struggle to understand the  psychology behind your attachment to your things.

If you are going to go it alone you need to be realistic about time. For me an averagely cluttered room takes between four and six hours to declutter, reorganise and the final vitally important part – discarding the stuff to charity, an eBay seller or the tip. And that is based on me working with a client at a reasonable pace.

Be prepared with bin bags, transport to take the stuff away and plan to avoid any distractions (kids, phones, facebook, loose women etc)

Remember it will get worse before it gets better. All that stuff in those drawers and cupboards is going to have to come out to get sorted before it can go back in.

Stay focused on your goal. Don’t move from room to room. If something belongs in the kitchen, for example, put it in a box labelled kitchen and move it later with other things that you find along the way.

I could go on and on but after what might appear to be a very negative blog, I want to end on a positive note. All that is standing between you and a home that you want to be in, where you can find what you need and above all can be proud of, is time, energy and focus. And we’ve all got a bit of that stored somewhere!

Good luck and if you have any questions, put them in the comments box and I will try my best to answer them all. Happy Decluttering!

Lesley

**Why not head over to Lesley’s Facebook page and join in the conversation?**

    

Taking Stock & Setting A Schedule

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Leading a simple life doesn’t mean your to-do list is empty.

In some ways I have more to do. But the aim is, for me anyway, to have prioritized what is important and only to have such things on that list.

For school holidays I now set a schedule. This has worked incredibly well. There’s been less time wasted. Waste isn’t good in my book. Be that food, money or time. I really do not like wasting time, which I believe to be the most precious resource of all.

“This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time” Narrator – Fight Club 1999

With the decision to end the spend from Friday. I have put myself under a little pressure. Pressure can be a good thing, particularly if you are prone to procrastination, as I am. There is now a deadline. I need to take stock of where I am and set a schedule.

December, for me, is going to be about spending time with the family, and doing festive things that we all enjoy. It isn’t going to be about stress and shopping. I don’t like shopping, so it isn’t a good use of my time. I feel it’s waste, and not a priority. Others may feel differently. It’s horses for courses. Spend time on what makes you feel good.

My priority this week is to take stock of where I am with gifts. Whether or not I am ready, the big guy in red is making an appearance in little less than a month.

Time to tidy up.

Next on the hit list will be wishing one and all a merry Christmas and this is how I intend to do it. But it still takes time and needs planning. There are cards to be made, and e-mails to be sent. A donation to be made. Cakes are to be made and stored.

So I’ll be setting a schedule – a stitch in time saves nine.

This weekend kicks off the start of Christmas at Chez Wright. The tree goes up as do the decorations. Some planning is required as there’s lot’s to do, but we all want to enjoy it. Who has seen the UK Christmas advert where Mum is run ragged – Poor Mum! Does that look like a fun way to spend December?

(The ad has sparked some controversy!)

So that’s where I’m at. It’s time to take stock and set a schedule. It may sound boring, but a minute spent planning can be an hour saved…

What’s your take on it? Plan in advance, or grab a turkey on Christmas Eve ;-) ?

You Manage What You Measure

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You manage what you measure.

As boring and clichéd as it sounds, the above statement is true.

I was resoundingly reminded of this just last week.

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Going Back To Basics

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We survived our 4-day impromptu processed food diet. Just.

Time to go back to basics.

This is an experiment I’ve had planned for a while. Looking for the ideal week to try it out, this week seemed as good as any. Better in fact, as we had just emptied a fridge of ready-meals.

Having recently reduced the weekly grocery spend by 50%, I’ve been very impressed with the quality and price of products at the supermarket I’ve been using.

But, there’s been a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. I’d like to eat more local produce whilst supporting local farmers.

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Some Purchases Just Make Sense

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I’m an advocate of – Not Buying It - where home-made options are available (and within my skill set)…

Within my home-made skill set is baking bread and pizza, composing gifts and greetings cards. And I prefer my running shoes to a gym membership.

One of my newly developed skills is baking and decorating cakes. I encourage everyone to try and bake a home-made Birthday cake. It’s frugal and personal. There’s nothing quite like your very own unique Birthday cake that no-one else will ever have, well, I don’t think so anyway (but I am a bit of a cake fanatic).

So, as my little-man’s 4th Birthday approached I started planning. There was a cake to bake for his party (not on his Birthday).

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My 3rd Anniversary – Looking Back…Yet Moving Forward

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27 February is my 3rd anniversary. Of what? Discovering minimalism? Life simplification? How exactly is it defined?

I don’t think it can be defined.

(photo taken by Joanne Wright 23 February 2012)

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Not Buying It – Birthday Gifts

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The title of this post is a little misleading. I do give Birthday gifts. I also buy some of the component parts to make up the gift. Rather, what I do not buy is the added value that retailers and manufacturers build in to charge us a higher price for the gift.

In fact I love giving gifts. I truly believe the cliché that ‘it’s the thought that counts’. This does not mean to say that just by giving a gift the job is done. It is the effort that goes into it that makes the gift special, regardless of cost. I’ve already posted about how Christmas gifts are exchanged.

Here’s a little storyboard of how such a gift comes to fruition.

Step 1 – Buy the component parts

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Not Buying It – Bread

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One of my first TV memories was a programme called “Living in the past“. I was just 4 when the show aired. It was the first reality TV show of this type to be shown in the UK, 22 years before Big Brother hit our screens.

‘Living in the past‘ focused on 15 volunteers who in 1978 sustained themselves for a full year, equipped only with tools, crops and livestock which would have been available in Britain in the 2nd Century BC.

There’s very rarely a week that passes in which this programme does not cross my mind.

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