Thursday, February 24, 2005

Not as Simple as I Thought!

Okay! So, just because I've titled this blog 'The Simple Life' doesn't mean this is going to be simple, I guess. Since February 16th I have added a couple postings - and I guess I did something wrong. It all seems simple enough, but the postings never appeared. Well, if at first you don't succeed . . . you know the rest.

So, here it is 8 days after I started my blog and I'm hoping my second post (actually my fourth, I think) will actually publish. Here is a lesson I've already learned about The Simple Life - it's complicated to simplify your life. It doesn't seem to matter what it is, as you take steps to simplify your life, outside forces react and complicate things. Point in fact - I have some broken CRT computer monitors. They are taking up valuable and much needed space in my book warehouse - it used to be the garage, but now it houses all the office book inventory that we need to fulfill orders for various buyers including Amazon. So, I can't take them to a local dumpster, that's not legal. No, I have to take them directly to the county landfill. But, can I take them at my convenience? Of course not. I can only take them between 7 AM and 1 PM on the second Saturday of any given month - and I have to pay a fee of either $8.00 or $12.00 per monitor for the landfill to accept them. So, now I have to figure a way to get them there at the prescribed time and be sure I have the necessary cash in pocket. Of course, as long as I'm making a trip to the landfill, I might as well find as much other stuff to go on that same trip. A simple process - getting rid of clutter and junk has to be orchestrated. Obviously, I'm not living the simple life, yet. But I keep working toward it and anticipate enjoying it.

Now, I actually have made some headway in simplifying things. For example, I have streamlined and simplified my grocery shopping by implementing some of the strategies in Elaine St. James book Simplify Your Life. First, I created a shopping list on my computer that includes all the regular items I purchase plus some space for special requirements not normally on the list. I preprint this two sided form and use magnets to keep several of them on the refrigerator. When I know I will be needing something, I mark it on the list and where I normally purchase it. Then when I know I'm going to a particular part of town where one of the stores I shop at is located for some reason, I grab the list and buy what I need from that store. The list is great, I mark it when I think of it and then I don't stand the chance of forgetting what it was. My list also makes my shopping quicker because I know right where to go and I don't spend a lot of time wondering up and down other aisles lined with thousands of tempting things I don't really need or want.

Another idea from Elaine's book is to Buy in Bulk! Of course, this may not work for everything, but I buy my toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, seasonings and several other items this way. The result is I don't have to shop for many of these items for between three or so months and perhaps a year or longer. And, another advantage of buying in bulk is the cost savings since the items cost less in bulk.

Here are some other things I've accomplished. I have stopped the daily newspaper. I seldom read it when it was coming everyday and it would just accumulate in an ever growing pile. So, ultimately, I'd have to eventually find time to bundle and tie them up, then load them into the car, haul them to the dump and properly dispose of them in the newspaper recycling dumpster. It cost me money to get the paper I didn't read and then it took extra time and energy to get rid of them. I also dropped call waiting on my telephone. It always annoyed me when I was on a call with someone and I'd hear this little beeping sound telling me to rudely interrupt the person I was having a conversation with because someone more important then them might be calling me and "I'm really that important." I hated that feature, so it's gone and I wish other people would get rid of it, too. But, I guess it might be important for some people to have it for possible emergency situations. But, I didn't want it so it's gone and I don't have to pay for it. I've also trained myself not to answer the phone just because it's ringing. My business phones have voice mail and my personal line has a digitial answering machine. The caller can leave me a message and I'll call them back. I'm still waiting for a telemarketer to leave me a message, hasn't happened, yet. Now, I'm not disturbed and have to stop what I'm doing every time the phone rings. And, of course, I call the other party back when I'm free of whatever I was doing. I've also reached a point of not answering the door just because someone is standing at it ringing my doorbell. If I'm not expecting anyone and I'm busily engaged in some activity that I'd like to complete, like some simplifying project, then why do I want to stop doing what I'm doing just because someone comes to my door unexpectly. If it's an emergency, they'll be persistant, if it's not, they'll just leave. This doesn't mean I don't asnwer the door every time it rings. No, I just don't answer it when I don't want to be interrupted for whatever reason.

Well, as you can see, it can be simple things or complicated things - but ultimately, the goal is to eliminate anything that isn't needed or wanted in order to just make life simpler. Every little step that you decide on and implement is one step closer to having less steps to living The Simple Life.

Until next time, this is the Virginia Sound Guy . . . signing off for now.

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