Simplify, simplify

I think that a primary (and useful) facet of having a "simple life" is orchestrating one's day-to-day operations in such a manner that it becomes easier to just get stuff done in an effective way. As a single parent who works full-time, my available hours are at a premium, and no matter how much I do, my task list always grows, never diminishes. Add to that the fact that it really is difficult to accomplish just about anything with children underfoot, and my accomplishments at home have dropped precipitously since I became a mama. It finally occurred to me that I could do stuff on my lunch break at work! It will make things so much easier.

Things I can do at work:

• Pay bills online
• Take a walk outside (I may make it a goal to do this a few times per week until the snow comes)
• Update blogs

Things I can do with a quick car ride from and back to work:

• Go to the bank
• Go to the post office
• Go to the insurance agent
• Go to the grocery store (buying non-perishables and leaving them in the trunk or back seat of the car till I go home later in the day)

Sometimes, obvious solutions are simply staring us in the face.

Simple? What Does That Even Mean?!

I keep coming back to the basic question of simplicity: What does it actually mean to seek simplicity, and to have a lifestyle of which simplicity is a hallmark or a major component? Different people have different ideas regarding what it means to be simple. A few major themes I've noted in reading and researching on this topic:

• Frugal. Many people equate simplicity with living in such a way as to keep from spending much money. This is not a bad goal, to be sure, but reducing a lifestyle principle to pinching pennies seems rather extreme.
• "Green". This touches a nerve for me, because of all the many things that really irritate me (and believe me, there are a lot--just ask my family), one thing that truly galls me is a catchphrase-driven bandwagon. While I support sustainability, eco-friendly practices and products, and the whole shebang, I really dislike the fact that suddenly in the past few years, everybody has been trying way too hard to fit into this mold, and it shows, because terms like "green" and "eco-"anything are so overused that they are meaningless. Again, this concept constitutes a more-than-worthy goal, but the useful forest has gotten lost in the propaganda trees (which we should all hug now, right?).
• Back to Nature. Grow your own food, store it, be as self-sufficient as possible. [In fact, "Self-Sufficiency" is probably a better label than "Back to Nature". Oh well.] There is a lot to like about this sort of idea. It is similar to being "green", yet somehow less trendy and yuppie. However, this lifestyle is not practical or even possible for many of us.
• Food-Focused. Many people are re-examining what is in our food, how it is produced, and how it gets from its place of production to our tables. This has led to a largely grassroots movement to turn ever more toward local produce and goods, preferably responsibly grown, and, if we're lucky, even organic! Yet again, great idea here, and this one in particular lends itself to being practiced in moderation. However, I might just get a craving for a guava, and then what am I going to do?!
• Reduction. This is good for nearly all of us: Getting rid of not only excess possessions, but also excess complications in life. Simplifying routines, processes, habits, AND our stuff. Really, I just love the idea of tossing out both physical AND emotional baggage.
• Mixed Bag. Maybe the true key to living a realistically simple life, without creating excess stress by attempting to conform to more extreme views on simplicity itself (ironic, no?), is to take elements from differing ideas on simplicity and adapt them as best suits one's own life and style. Buffet-style. Smorgasbord. Mix-and-match. Pick your analogy.

Thoughts? Comment, please! And also, please remember that this was written quickly, late at night, in a stream-of-consciousness fashion! These thoughts are by no means finished. A follow-up post may very well follow.