Simplifying Isn't Necessarily Simple

I have come to the conclusion that it is time to simplify my life. The last few years have been so overwhelming that I am ready to scale back and slow down. I feel caught in a never ending battle with the mountains of laundry and dishes, I'm consistently nagged by the growing stack of paper and bills at the end of my kitchen counter (I hate filing) and at every corner of our house there is a project waiting to be finished or begging us to begin. Its enough to make a sane person nuts. At the end of the day I am left feeling completely exhausted with little energy to do anything for myself. I have finally surrendered to the thought that something has to give. So, this overworked and stressed out Mom Googled "simple life." Now in this world of sustainability sages and green gurus you would think that there would be at least one simplicity website that is actually simple. If they are out there, then the Google guys have not found them. It seems to me that if a person is looking to simplify their life then the last thing they want to do is read long, drawn out articles on the simple life in order to find some nuggets of practical advice. Most of the sites I found were full of words. In fact, I was overwhelmed the minute the sites appeared onto the screen. Shouldn't a website on simplicity be....I don't know...SIMPLE? I suppose that it really is not a difficult concept. Simple means simple. I have to evaluate what is really important to me and eliminate anything that isn't. For example, I love my home, but it is a lot of work. I don't plan on moving anytime soon, but I have decided that we have way to much stuff. My first step in simplifying is to begin spending the next month cleaning out my home. This isn't rock science and I periodically do this anyways. But this time I want to include simple ways to keep things less cluttered....I need to create some new habits that will help me avoid non-stop cleaning. I need time back for myself and I'm the only one that can make that happen since I am the only neat freak in my household. During my simple search I did find one idea that I want to try. I found an article that talked about taking a home vacation. The idea was to think about what you like about going away on vacation. Do you like the hotel room, the destination or being pampered? Take those ideas and think about how you can incorporate them into your daily life. Set a date that you want to begin your vacation and then look for ways to make it happen. If the difficulty is that your home is the last place you think of when you say vacation, then begin with making your home less distracting. For example, if the paperwork bothers you, then work to eliminate the paperwork before the date you have set for your home vacation. The goal is to try and reduce or eliminate distraction. Next step is to unplug; no cell phones, laptops, t.v.'s, etc. I think that is self explanatory so I won't elaborate. If the bills really get you distracted then go to your post office and stop your mail for two weeks as if you are actually going out of town. Be sure to pay all your bills before your vacation so that you don't need to worry about your mail or getting online. Write yourself a note if you need to so you can see that each bill has been paid and you don't need to stress. Lastly, the article says to be your own concierge. The author had some ideas on this one, but my interpretation is a little different. Since I like the whole hotel experience I would stock my bathroom with spa items like big fluffy towels. I have collected a ton of hotel soaps and shampoos from past trips, so I would put my regular stuff away and set out the mini bottles each day. That way I will actually use up all those mini bottles collecting dust and I can begin collecting again. Of course my bathroom would get a good cleaning before my planned vacation. Since vacation to me also includes stress free meals I would plan several meals out at my favorite restaurants (after all, I'm not paying for a hotel or rental car.) For the rest of the time I would cook and freeze at least two weeks worth of meals and buy several items for a daily "complimentary" continental breakfast. I may even buy some mini chocolate mints for my pillow. During the day it will be business as usual, but I will plan my weekends during my "vacation" period to be peaceful and full of leisurely activities (or no activities at all.) At least two of the weekends during my vacation I will plan for babysitters. Activities will include several outings to local attractions. In Houston we are fortunate to have a plethora of choices. So, I really like the home vacation idea. It incorporates fun into life but also keeps the budget in check and doesn't severely interrupt daily life. I think the ultimate goal is that in planning a home vacation, you may also find ideas that help you make every day life simply. It may sound goofy and definitely not a substitute for a get away vacation. But by taking a home vacation I think that I could change the monotony of the regular routine and perhaps begin to develop habits that may make my life a little easier and fun at the same time. I'll try it out and blog my findings. In the spirit of simplicity, I'll end here, but my simple life experiment is only just beginning. I will start my home vacation the week after my second oldest graduates June 7, 2009. Stay tuned.