Hasta La Ideas

Reader Shalin wrote in this week and asked a question I hear often: Where is the line between convenience and simple living?

Honestly, I don’t believe there is a set line between convenience and simple living. They aren’t on opposite sides of a scale. What is convenient and contributes to a simple life for one person may not have the same effect for someone else.

Dish washing: I hate it with a passion. As a child, this was my chore, and I vowed as an adult never to live without an automatic dishwasher. To me, washing dishes by hand is a waste of time and steals valuable moments that I could be taking a walk with my family, playing a board game with them, or reading to my son. However, I have a friend who loves washing dishes. She enjoys having her family gather in the kitchen and everyone work together to clean up after a meal. Her family continues their conversation from dinner, each takes on a role in the chore, and washing dishes is as much a part of dinner as eating. To her, an automatic dishwasher detracts from a remarkable life.

Neither of us is correct, and neither of us is wrong. We have made decisions about a dishwasher based on what is right for our families and for our pursuits of remarkable living. The automatic dishwasher helps me to pursue the life I desire, and washing dishes by hand helps my friend to pursue hers. What is important is that both of us have taken the time to evaluate the technology and weighed its advantages and disadvantages for our specific circumstances.

Simply stated, either a product or service helps you to achieve the remarkable life you desire, or it doesn’t. Whenever you encounter a new technology or service, you need to learn about it and decide if it will help or hinder your life. Don’t worry if you’re breaking with traditions of the past or modern social norms — accept the technologies into your life that help you to focus more of your time on what matters most to you, and don’t accept those that distract from it.

Back in early January, I marked the Ides of March as when I would officially check in on my first set of resolutions for 2010 and finalize my resolutions for the second quarter. In the post “Increasing energy: Erin’s first set of 2010 resolutions,” I outlined what I planned to do for January, February, and March.

For the most part, I’ve kept to the resolutions I created. Unfortunately, I had to take six weeks off from the gym and withdraw from the race I planned to run in April because I kicked a rocking chair and significantly injured my foot. I’m just now getting back into a modified gym routine and can wear regular shoes again.

One of the highlights of my first-quarter resolutions was discovering new recipes for my healthy meal plan. One of the things I did was add the Canyon Ranch Cooks cookbook to my collection. With it, I have successfully made and enjoyed dozens of new recipes. During the doldrums of winter, it was nice to keep mealtime interesting and nutritious. Additionally, simply having more energy has been a wonderful thing.

The theme for my second-quarter resolutions is “Embark on new adventures.” Now that I have the much needed energy I was craving, I’m excited about putting it to use. The following are the resolutions I’ve set for April, May, and June:

• Plant and tend to an herb and vegetable garden.
• Take a knife skills class.
• Go rock climbing.
• Accomplish all 67 tasks on the “Spring Cleaning for the Overachiever” list on pages 189 and 190 of Unclutter Your Life in One Week.
• Go through my entire home and office and play the uncluttering game I’m moving overseas! (Just to be clear, I’m NOT moving overseas, I’m simply playing the game.) Essentially, take on a full-home minimizing project.

To help me achieve these resolutions, I’m going to reference the post “Creating a plan to achieve your 2010 resolutions.” I’m also going to keep up with all of my first-quarter resolutions to maintain the energy levels necessary to help me with these second-quarter goals.

What are your resolutions for April, May, and June? How are your resolutions progressing for 2010? Share your resolution stories in the comments.

Today is Presidents Day in the U.S., and over the past week I’ve been re-reading James Flexner’s Washington: The Indispensable Man in preparation. I’ve been fascinated by George Washington since I read his first inaugural address my junior year of high school. It was his desire not to be president that captivated me then and continues to interest me today. He wanted a simple retirement after the Revolution, not the responsibilities of leading a nation that his friends guilted him into doing.

After serving out his two presidential terms, Washington was finally able to retire to his home at Mount Vernon and live at a more relaxed pace. In Flexner’s biography, he discusses Washington’s daily routines starting on page 361:

Washington rose with the sun. “If my hirelings are not in the places at that time, I send them messages expressive of my sorrow for their indisposition. Then, having put these wheels in motion, I examine the state of things further,” always finding more “wounds” in his structures that needed to be healed. At a little after seven o’clock breakfast was ready. “This over, I mount my horse and ride round my farms, which employs me until it is time to dress for dinner, at which I rarely miss seeing strange faces, come, as they say, out of respect to me. Pray, would not the word curiosity answer as well? And how different this from having a few social friends at a cheerful board!

“The usual time of sitting at table, a walk, and tea, brings me within the dawn of candlelight, previous to which, if not prevented by company, I resolve that as soon as the glimmering taper supplies the place of the great luminary, I will retire to my writing table and acknowledge the letters I have received, but when the lights are brought, I feel tired and disinclined to engage in this work, conceiving that the next night will do as well. …”

I have to laugh aloud at Washington’s candor in this passage. He grumbles about people coming to see him “out of respect to me,” when he knows they’re just coming to visit because he’s famous. He longs to have his home filled with actual friends, instead. Then, he admits that when he has a candle brought to his desk so that he might respond to letters, he procrastinates and puts it off for another date.

Washington struggled with his desire to live a more simple life even in his retirement from public service. He certainly wanted fewer social obligations, and I think we can safely infer what his opinions would have been about modern e-mail. His biography is a nice reminder that the problems and aggravations we face currently, and our desire for a more simple life, are often very similar to those experienced by the people who lived before us.

I’ve declared February as a Super Simple Month in our house. To me, a Super Simple Month is defined as no travel for work, one social engagement a week or less, no shopping except for necessities, and no new large projects (craft, writing, organizations, etc.). The goal is to finish some items already in progress on my to-list, relax as much as I can with my family, and be as low-key as possible.

This Super Simple Month idea came to me last Thursday after I returned from my second of two trips to New York in four days. I was exhausted, and the idea of getting in the car and driving to Richmond the next day made me incredibly anxious. When I woke up Friday morning with a fever, I picked up the phone and cancelled my third trip for the week. I had hit my limit. Out of 31 days in January, I had been home fewer than 20.

I realized that if I am to achieve my first quarter New Year’s Resolution of gaining more energy that I had to make some serious changes. I’ve been doing great with my resolutions to eat well, exercise, and get eight to nine hours a night of sleep — but these resolutions haven’t been enough. I still don’t have the energy levels I’d like. (I do wonder, however, how awful I would have felt at the end of January had I not kept on track with these things!)

Have you ever declared a Super Simple Month for yourself or something similar? What rules did you impose to keep your schedule low-key? Was it a success? Do you wish you would have done anything differently? Three days into Super Simple Month and I have to admit that I’m really loving it. I’m sure that by the time March begins I’ll be interested in adding more activities back into my schedule, but, for now, a calm February is exactly what I need.

Smart consumerism is based on the principle of buying the best quality of good to meet your needs and budget. Saving up your money and buying a beautifully crafted piece of furniture out of durable materials will ultimately keep you from wasting money and time in the future. Plus, if you research and buy only quality goods, you won’t make impulse purchases.

An unclutterer is a smart consumer.

In September, Karawynn Long (a guest author on the website Get Rich Slowly), posted the informative article “Furniture Shopping Secrets: How To Tell Superior from Shoddy.” This article helps anyone shopping for furniture to be an informed consumer. And, when it comes to being a smart consumer, knowledge is essential.

A brief selection of the text:

Wood furniture — composition
I used to think hardwoods were hard and softwoods were soft. Silly me! Actually, hardwood just means ‘from a deciduous tree’ and softwood means ‘from a coniferous tree’, and some hardwoods (like aspen) are softer than some softwoods. What you want on exposed surfaces is a wood that’s reasonably scratch-resistant. You can test this easily enough by attempting to draw a thin line with your fingernail across the wood; if it makes a visible dent (use a flashlight here if necessary) you know it won’t stand up to much use.

Structurally, any kind of solid wood or sturdy plywood will do the trick. If plywood, look for at least nine layers. Check the wood for knots, even on unexposed pieces; all knots are susceptible to cracks. Some woods, like pine, are ‘knottier’ than others, and therefore less desirable. Avoid particleboard, pressed wood, or fiberboard.

Veneers — a thin piece of premium wood covering a lower-quality piece of wood — are often used even in very high-quality furniture. As long as the base piece is solid wood or plywood, the only drawback to veneer is that it limits the number of times an item can be refinished.

The article discusses composition and construction of wood and upholstered furniture and includes a quick furniture checklist to have with you when shopping. Remember: informed consumers are smart consumers, and unclutterers are smart consumers.