Continuing to Simplify: The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Tonight, I had to pack for an overnight conference I'm attending Wed/Thurs this week. And I froze. I looked at my closet (which has its clothes back), and I froze. I started with the premise that I wanted to wear brown shoes for two days, and then I "couldn't find two outfits that required brown shoes." I stopped, realized I was being ridiculous, reevaluated the importance of the shoes, freed myself from the idea of wearing the sweater I had picked out, and put together two outfits with a slightly less-brown shoes. I hope that I can continue to have a pleasant, easy, clothing mindset and not get frozen, but I might need to do some more purging. Or just wait until a true switch-over to fall clothes begins. Right now we're kind of in-between and it's a little overwhelming to have two seasons of clothes to work with. Incidentally, my closet also still needs to be organized. Pictures of the clean, new, re-full closet to come this weekend.

Today at work, I did some thinking about what it means to simplify, and what I want that to look like in my life. It was a little tricky, to be honest, and here's why: When I Googled "ways to simplify your life," a lot of the suggestions were things I/we already do around here. I'm kind of an efficiency nut, and so I'm pretty good at making tough things as quick and bearable as possible. Case in point: all our payments that can be automized are. We already do menu planning and weekly shopping to match that menu. And we have a chore chart/rotation so that a major house cleaning never comes all at once and it's always clear who is responsible for what. Word.

So those things are already in place, but life still seems complicated and busy. I've done a little thinking about some potential goals I have for simplifying, and here is what I have come up with so far:

1. Find time to meditate. I recognize that technically this is adding something to my life. But it's adding time to do nothing to my life, and there is value to that. In the spring, when I went to a weekend-long silent retreat, I talked to the monk/spiritual director of the retreat about finding time to slow down my mind and my life, and he recommended making time to meditate. I did it for about a week, and then stopped. It was just one more thing. But I think that it's really important for me to take that time, to just be, to "feel my feelings" as my supervisor says, and to just give my mind a chance to relax. I'm thinking that I might do this in the early mornings when I get into the counseling center. I come in at 8 each day, and never schedule clients til 9. Sometimes I have a bit of paperwork, but honestly, I mostly check USAToday, the weather, and facebook. I think that meditating would be a better use of my time.

2. Make work time for work. When I'm at work, I always have gmail up on my computer, in addition to my work e-mail. That means that every five seconds, I'm checking my personal e-mail. And when I don't have clients because no one is scheduled or they no-show, that time should be used for making myself a better counselor: reading, meditating, reflecting on my practice, or even just getting outside and taking a walk. Not checking e-mail. Or playing solitaire with Vegas scoring. Or checking facebook. I think I need to do some internet compartmentalization so that my work can stay focused and I don't feel all multi-tasky all the time.

3. Cut down on computer time. I am a big believer in the power of the internet and the awesomeness of communication. As I have mentioned, I love me some Facebook and Dailymile and Ravelry. And e-mail. But damn it, I also love to read a book or just talk to my husband, and I find it hard to do so when there's always something online to check. "Being online" is SUCH A TIMESUCK. So I think I'm going to institute some unplugged evenings, or weekend days. I mean, there's no reason I need the internet on Saturdays. At least not usually. And if I need it for directions to get to the apple orchard, cool. But if I just want to get on facebook and kill time, not cool. I gave up facebook for Lent this year and it was awesome. I kinda love/hate it now. So I think going cold turkey, at least for some set amount of time, will really be beneficial for me.

4. Get rid of a thing a day. I read about this online, the idea being that at the end of a year, you have 365 fewer things. Sure, I'll shop in the meantime, but at least this way there's a cycle of in and out. I like it, and it doesn't feel so hard to get rid of a thing a day. I also like that this doesn't HAVE to be so slavish as finding the time each day to get rid of something -- you can just as easily get rid of 7 things a week or whatever. Also, this will produce good visual content for the blog! :)

5. Pick up as you use things. This is something that's suggested on some of those simplify your life lists, and it's something I'm alright at, but could be better. Especially with shoes. But I do admit, that the idea of NOT having to pick up before I vacuum is appealing. By the same token, my dear husband bears the brunt of the dishes in our house. This is partly because he cleans up after dinner, but also because I do not wash out "just this one glass" when I have a drink, or "that plate" when I have an English muffin for breakfast. I could do better to just clean up these dishes as I use them, too, and then no one is left with extra to do later.

6. Single-tasking. I am a multi-tasker, and I am a pretty efficient person. But I FEEL cognitively jumbled, and I think it's because I never focus on one thing. I have talked to friends and family recently about my "cognitive decline." I really am making more verbal slip-ups, I'm not able to retrieve words as easily, I can't get the information from the mental filing cabinet as quickly. I'm convinced it's because I have SO MUCH going on all the time up there. I need to slow down and do one thing at a time. I know that sometimes it's not possible, but it often is, and I don't take the opportunity. I think I'd be happier, for example, if I just walked slower, instead of always walkingtogetsomewhereimmediately.

7. Consider the obligations I have. I was working a (very) part-time job on a couple weekend days a month. I love this job, the people are great, the discount is great, but right now, my internships are pretty consuming, and I want a weekend. So I dropped it, temporarily. And right now, I'm much happier. There's not a ton of other things I can drop, but I'm keeping my eye on myself and the commitments I feel an urge to take on. And trying to talk myself out of such things.

This list isn't exhaustive, and I imagine having varying degrees of success with it. But I think, at the very least, I'm going to start with trying to meditate 3 days a week when I get into the office. It's a good first goal.

Oh, You Wanted a Retrospective?

Oh, You Wanted Another Retrospective?

Day 30: How Sweet It Is

And the grand finale:

Pretty swanky, huh?

And you thought it couldn't be done!

Day 29: Almost There

Day 29, and I'm looking disheveled and slouchy:

Whatevs. It's the end of the day, and I like to think of it as an absentminded but caring therapist look. I mean, I have the cardigan, right?

I like Caroline's idea about blogging to live more simply, and I think it will be good to hold myself accountable. I won't post every day, but I do have some ideas for things I want to try to live more simply, so I think it's a fine idea.

One day to go. Phew!

Caroline Day 28-29 Thoughts on the future

The image on the left is what I wore on Sunday. I was tired after the game on Saturday, so I threw on some sweats. Then I slept in the sweatpants. Then I wore them on Sunday. Don't judge me. They are super comfortable. Originally, sweatpants weren't on the list so:
57. sweatpants
58. another pair of socks (despite only having 7 pairs of socks, I managed to lose a pair)
59. another pair of underwear because I failed in planning out my laundry days.
60. another pair of jeans (it got cold here)

Yup, nothing like adding a few more items on the last day of a challenge. Oh well, I've still met my goal of 60. Also, I never wore my capris or my grey dress pants. Interesting.

Moving right along, today I'm wearing the new jeans, t-shirt, and blue zip up sweatshirt (not pictured). I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of the challenge. My roommate asked me what I plan to wear on Wednesday. I'm not sure. I'll probably end up wearing the same stuff I've been wearing thus far. I really don't miss my old clothes. My other roommate commented that it doesn't seem like I've been wearing the same things, so I consider this challenge a success. Also, many thanks to Claire (the first roommate mentioned in this paragraph) who has been taking pictures of me everyday.

Now that the challenge is almost over, I'm looking towards the future. Like Becky, I want to give away some of my clothes. Of course, this is a lot easier in theory than in practice. Even though I've gone 30 days, I fear that I may need something for a special occasion. I'm debating whether or not it's better to have stuff "just in case" or if I'd be better off getting rid of stuff and buying new stuff if I need it. Because chances are, I could probably live without it. Most likely, I will just pack a box full of clothes to be left at home while I'm at college. Then it's kinda there but kinda not. Then in a year or so, maybe I'll be willing to donate it.

Also, I've been thinking about future challenges. As previously mentioned, I'll be going to Australia next semester. I'm thinking about trying to limit myself to 75 items of clothing for 2-4 months. Obviously, I can't bring many clothes with me, and I don't want to buy a lot of clothes there only to have no way to get them back to America. This idea is still in the works.

Also, Becky and I have to decide what we want to do with this blog. I've discovered that I really like blogging. Even if we decide to discontinue the blog, I think I will make my own. However, I have a different suggestion. I think we should keep the blog going and we can continue to document our attempts to live more simply/minimalisticlly. There would probably be fewer pictures, but the content would still be there. What do you think, Becky?

Day 28: Fancy Dress

Today, we went to a wedding. I especially picked this outfit way ahead of time, because even though the skirt wasn't really something I would wear the rest of the challenge, the shirt was definitely a multi-tasker. The shoes, too.

The day was GORGEOUS! Perfect sunny September weather, and the wedding was really lovely: very personal for the bride and groom, with a bit of a Sound of Music theme that kind of made my heart thump. Walking down the aisle to Edelweiss? Yes, please.

This is what I accomplished yesterday:

This is a picture of a "clothes for later" suitcase. The plastic bag is full of t-shirts that I don't wear but want to keep -- things like dorm shirts and band shirts from college, and high school shirts. Memento clothing and the like. The rest of the stuff is clothing that's too big for me at the moment, but I want to keep around in case winter hibernation gets the best of me, or in case, in the next few years, I end up gestating. Might as well save too-big clothes now and avoid having to buy a whole new stupid wardrobe later.

This is all the crap I'm getting rid of. The box is stuff I'm going to take to Plato's closet and try to make a few bucks on, and the bags are going to Goodwill. I ended up with about 65 items to donate, and many more I just tossed (old shirts, socks, gross shoes, etc.) Definitely more than 75 total.

When I move things back into the closet next week, I'll take a new picture. But I'm quite pleased!