How simple is simple?
Tom Allen
discussion with a friend of mine. She looked at my cell phone and palm
pilot and told me that I was a gadget freak and that all these things
were keeping me from truly simplifying my life. I tried to point out
that my cell phone has made things easier for me, since it has voice
mail and email. My Palm is much easier than carrying around a DayRunner,
plus I download ebooks, so I'm always reading. I can fit dozens of books
on an SD card and never lack for entertainment or resources. In fact, I
even bought a keyboard for it, and now I've pretty much replaced my
laptop, so travel (for me) is much easier.
She, OTOH, thinks that the only way is to get rid of everything. Our
discussion started heading south when I asked where the cut-off would
be. Get rid of the phone? Electricity? Live in a tent in the woods?
Anyway, I agree that the term is too wide open and can cause some
confusion. But Pat probably hit it pretty close: it's the idea of
lowering the impact on yourself and on your environment.
Tom
Dana Compton
are a "drag" on your time and energy. In the 60's lots of women had sterling
silver tea services sitting out as a sign of affluence. Not anymore too much
work, too much drag. They take forever to polish. Society has come up with
helpers to simplify and weeded out a lot of things. Perma press clothes,
washing machines, dishwashers even the internet helps us get info without
traveling to a library. I know I have a lot less useless stuff than my mom did.
To me simple goes with clean and oraganized.
spncity
college, one in h.s.). So, I'd just like to take some baby steps. What
would simpler look like for now?
--To get rid of some clutter so that it's easier to clean the house and find
stuff.
--Prioritize schedule to be less reactive, stay focused, work more
effectively.
Hopefully the payoff would be some "found time" to put toward creative
projects.
spncity
Bob Parnass
> I need to simplify...for this stage of life.
> Hopefully the payoff would be some "found time" to put toward creative
> projects....
Perhaps you could might cancel a magazine subscription or
two, let your answering machine screen your incoming phone
calls, etc.
A different way way to free up time would be to multitask, i.e., do more
than one thing simultaneously. But, to me, multitasking
complicates life instead of simplifying it. Simplifying would
be to skip some tasks :-)
The same approach works for decluttering. If you
have fewer "things," you will need fewer containers
or shelves to hold them and you won't have to dust or maintain them.
--
=========================================================================
Bob Parnass, AJ9S GNU/Linux User http://parnass.com
Unknown
all that "stuff" you thought you had to have.
I live in a 25 foot 1978 class C motorhome. It's self sufficiant. I
have a platform on the back for my 250 CC motorcycle. I'm 68 years
old. Social security is my financial base but I make extra doing all
kinds of things. Parking on a site that needs a night watchman,
running a fireworks stand in season, christmas tree stand, handy man
at a nudist resort, night guard at a construction site, all of which
pay me to park there.
I go where I want, never stay in commercial RV parks. Have a little
fishing boat strapped on the roof and when I need to make extra money
for gasoline there's always some kind of job around. You just have to
use your imagination.
I have my notebook computer and there's free Wi Fi all over now. Try
parking in the parking lot of anyplace that advertises free Wi Fi and
you ccan use their internet connection without paying for $5 coffee. I
have my cell phone for my kids to call if they want.
Anymore it's becoming easier and easier to live mobily while still
maintaining communications and comfort.
The secret is to be flexible and imaginative. Plus limit the "stuff"
that you just think you have to have.
BTW I only paid $3500 for my motorhome, my fishing boat and motorcycle
I got through bartering.
My biggest single expense is gasoline hut that all depends on how far
I want to travel. If I want to do a trip I just stay around until I
can make some money to pay for the fuel.
El Lobo
On 23 Jan 2004 23:02:45 GMT, spellbo...@aol.comNOSPAM (Dana
Unknown
rules:
it's easy to make money, hanging on to it is the hard paert.
Kids etc are always going to want more and somehow think their
"entitled" to it.
If you know what your property value is, and guard it carefully,
you've already lost.
If you go shopping without a shopping list that you sticfk to, you'll
always lose.
If your children expect you to pay for their collage, and you agree,
you've already lost.
If your children expect you to bay them new clothes because the old
one are out of style and you agree, you've already lost.
I can keep going except your already making up excuses now. Bottom
line is you don't want to "simplify" your life, you just want to make
more time for fun things. That's a whole diferant subject.
El Lobo
On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 10:57:56 -0500, "spncity"
Andy Barnes
Well, it surely depends on why we want to live a simpler life.
If you are looking to gain more time then the approach would be to look at saving time, obviously. This would probably involve the purchase of more, not less, as you find useful time-savers. Be careful though, how many 'time-savers' end up taking up much more of our time. We only need to look at computers!!
Personally, I am trying to simplify in order to reduce my footprint on the world and to rediscover my connection to the universe and indeed to myself.
I actually prefer the term frugal. Frugal simplicity I guess.
Again though, this approach also requires deeper thought of why we are doiin (or not doing) it. If someone is looking for simplicity simply to save money then they will be attracted to cheaper alternatives to the things that they need and use already, whereas, whilst I necessarily do this as I have reduced my business activities, I am more inclined to find what I can do without altogether.
To give an example, the time-saver would look for an easy to care for car.
A cost-conscious person would take the bus.
But I would walk.
Andy