Christa, Day 72: Is This the End of Is It the Beginning?

As I said yesterday, while thinking about today, I can't believe that the project is over. Getting all the way to today from Day 1 has been an interesting journey - and sometimes a rushed one. I think I had more doubled up days that anyone else who made it all the way through. Anyone else being Julia *waves* at Jewels and Smiths. I wish I had some sort of prize to give you for walking down the Simple Living Manifesto item by item with me. And heck, I'd give everyone else who participated, whether a lot or a little, a prize, too, if I could.

Because what a great endeavor, even if in the end all one did was think about each day's simplification idea!

Today's idea? It's refreshingly simple, where other items on the list have been worryingly complex in some cases. Day 72, the last day, offers up a road map we can all use moving forward to ensure we don't allow ourselves to fall into the trap of increasing, useless complexity in the present or in the future.

Always ask: Will this simplify my life? If the answer is no, reconsider.

First, l think I'll ask did this simplify my life... I think the answer is yes. I sincerely believe that I made changes during this project that I would not have made otherwise.

For example, I made the difficult decision to walk away from a job I'd been doing more or less happily for six years because the work and the time involved were no longer worth the pay. I put in the effort to get rid of larger furniture that was taking up space in my tiny house. I started working more regularly on my business side project in the hope that it will someday allow me to spend more time with my family and less time working for someone else. With help from my Internet friends, I have started to experiment with meal planning. I'm still working on being present more when it counts and driving more slowly and spending quiet time doing nothing other than enjoying the feeling of being alive. I'm still in the process of decluttering and destressing, and I don't know if I'll ever get the hang of single-tasking...

But I'm working on it. I'm still working on everything, beginning with Day 1. I've heard it said that it takes 21 days to create a habit - which means I still have a ways to go with some of the later list items!

This may not gel with your experience, but from the beginning, my assumption was that everyone would approach the 72 Ideas in 72 Days Project differently and that everyone would walk away from it with different things.That's cool. Because that was the point. We all need to learn different things, after all. In the end, I plan to continuing applying the lessons I have learned over the past 72 days and hope everyone else will, too.

Moving forward, will that simplify my life? I think it will.

Christa, Day 63: Bag Dumpin'

Carry less stuff. Are your pockets bulging. Consider carrying only the essentials. Some thoughts on that here.

Did you know that there's an Internet thing where people arrange the contents of their purses and photograph everything? As you might guess, the resultant photos are usually posted on mommy blogs and lady blogs. At least I've never seen a 'contents of my wallet' or 'contents of my messenger bag' blog posted by a dude. I suppose that women tend to carry more than men, but I'd also suggest that there's a change in that dynamic going on. It's no longer consider unmanly to wear a bag. After all, there are iPads and e-readers and work papers and so on to carry. The briefcase is out, and the man bag is in.

Consider yourself lucky that I'm not going to dump out my handbag right here in front of you. Mostly because I don't feel like having to then pick everything back up and re-organize it within my bag's five compartments. Yes, five. All of which are quite slim, though add up to a bag about six inches wide.

What's in that bag?

Diapers and a slim wipes case, of course. Various bandages and medicines and tampons and other drug store necessities that I'd rather not have to buy when they're needed on the fly. A wallet and my checkbook - because our daycare provider accepts checks but I always forgot my checkbook before it started living in my bag. A pencil case, some candy, some chocolate chips, and my cell phone. A tiny deck of cards. A few ponytail bands. Also, the notebook that I prefer over things like my cell phones calender or a tablet PC for making to-do lists, because I am old school like that. Keys, too.

Can anything be eliminated?

The deck of cards, sure. The candy and the chocolate chips, too, but these are good potty rewards. The pencil case, which is overall quite slim, could be replaced with a single pen. The drug store necessities could go, I guess, but many a time I or someone else has been saved by my small stash of tampons, bandages, decongestants, headache medicine, and so on. Diapers and wipes are non-negotiable, and I am not ready for a minimalist wallet because I need to carry business cards and insurance cards for three people, among other things. The notebook? Not a chance. Ditto on keys and celly. I do, after all, have a daughter in daycare so I need to be available at a moment's notice.

Maybe this item isn't for me or maybe my behemoth of a handbag is already fairly minimalist compared to other handbags. And I'm okay with that - it's not like I truck it everywhere all the time.

Christa, Day 59: Simple Pleasures, I Have Them. When I Can Remember Them

Fill your day with simple pleasures. Make a list of your favorite simple pleasures, and sprinkle them throughout your day. List here.

Sometimes I feel like I need to put simple pleasures on my to-do list. Isn't that sad? Right before 'Create blog post for client' I could jot down 'Savor homemade jam on crunchy toast'. After crossing off 'Pay water and sewer bill' perhaps I'd 'Sit outside and gaze up at the trees and sky'. The truth is I sometimes do put reminders on my many lists so I don't forget the simple pleasures. It's easy to forget that there is homemade jam and to fill my lunch hours with something other than nibbling toast and jam on the porch.

Now that summer has ended, so many of my personal simple pleasures will be put on hold for some months. Walking on the beach, letting the ocean lap my toes, for instance. Family bike rides on sweaty hot days. Fresh berries. The warmth of the sun on my face. Fall brings other pleasures, I suppose. Kicking through leaves snuggled up tight in a jacket. Pumpkin fare. Winter? For me, not so much. We have no fireplace and wintertime foods are what exactly? Snow bites my toes and the short days make me sad. I can't say I'm looking forward to much simple pleasure in the coming months.

Lately, my most consistent pleasure has been waking up a few minutes early to sip my coffee and read whatever I'm reading before hopping in the shower - the official start of my day. I think I need to find more accessible simple pleasures. Things I can do every day, not just when money or time or the weather permits. My simple pleasure used to be lounging about with the P. or taking a slow walk to the playground, but now my schedule and the demands of mealtimes and potty training have kind of eroded that.

I like all of the simple pleasures in the linked article, but they're not necessarily the ones that speak to me. Maybe I'll try not to feel so rushed tomorrow, to savor something. Maybe not - it's going to be a busy day. Hope I do, though!

Christa, Day 16: Simplicity In Action

As I sit down to write this - with a glass of wine, no less - it's barely 6:30 p.m., dinner has been eaten by all, there's hardly a dish in the sink, and other than this, there's nothing absolutely pressing on my to-do list. Tedd is out and about with the P., possibly at the playground by now but maybe just wandering up and down the streets parallel to ours. Crickets are chirping just outside the window. The house is basically tidy, barring the fact that the kitchen counters are all in a tizzy because I caulked today.

Now I can't exactly credit all of this to the steps I and my fellow contributors have taken in the past two-ish weeks, I can't entirely say that this is just a fluke. Why am I drinking wine and blogging right now? Because a few days after Day 4, I unofficially said goodbye to Manolo for the Brides and Manolo for the Home. Because after Day 5, I started doing a little meal planning and figured out a dish washing scheme that seems to be keeping our wee kitchen mostly dirty dish free. Because as per my Day 7 post I have been making an effort to limit online play time during work time, and that left me with more time to devote to a super secret professional project that saw action last night and this morning, too.

Bear with me... this is just my roundabout way to try to find inspiration for today's voluntary simplicity idea:

Create a simplicity statement. What do you want your simple life to look like? Write it out. More here.

Sounds easy enough, right? But drafting a personal philosophy can actually be rather difficult - especially when you're asked to create one on the spot. The link in today's item seemed more complicated than guidelines for creating a simplicity statement ought to be, with revisions and inner q&a sessions, and a surprising use of the words "turbo charged". Simplicity and more specifically, voluntary simplicity, might be difficult to master initially, but it should become a habit, a life. It shouldn't require something akin to a business plan.

So keeping in mind that I want my simplicity statement to be simple, here's mine:

My goal is a life that never gets 

so complex I can no longer enjoy it.

End of story. Done. It covers all the bases. It reminds me of what I'm working toward. And to enjoy the stuff of life instead of always trying to create something more than life to enjoy. It can be applied to consumerism and our budget, my work life and my home life. It's something to ponder as I make decisions about the future and consider the detritus of the past. Plus, it's a great reminder that so many of the things we have been conditioned to think will make us happy frequently add another layer of unwanted complexity to our lives.