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| Personal photo - Lac Chambon, Auvergne |
Simplification is mostly associated with objects: decluttering closets, cleaning spaces, editing wardrobes and other collections of items. Three years into my own simplification process, I have come to believe that the real issue isn't the physical clutter, but the mental one: the time we spend thinking about, and caring for our material collections. What if the main benefit of simplifying our lives was to reclaim our time and energy?
I have read about a lot of simplification journeys lately, and I noticed a recurring question: now that I shop less, what am I going to do in my free time? For example Debbie from Recovering Shoapholic, or Marie from Une Chic Fille (French). I noticed myself, since I started actively simplifying my life, I found the time and energy to do things I had slowly forgotten, like reading, writing, drawing (or doodling, to be more precise) or playing the violin.
The Burden of Physical Possessions
It comes, among other things, from all the hidden burden of items that I no longer have in Paris. The time consumed by an item is not only the time spent in the shop buying it. It is the time making a wishlist, comparing possibilities, choosing the retailer to go to. It is the time spent finding a space for this new item, clean it, repair it, dispose of it. A collection of items can be very time consuming: planning, sorting, cleaning, rearranging the stuff in the house, packing when moving out, having it repaired or finding a way to sell it...
And that's without counting all the hours spent at work to earn the money spent on buying items (or reimboursing the credit used to buy the items). In 2007, during the French presidential elections, one of the candidates had a mantra: " work more to earn more". He was promoting working extra hours by taxing them less. I find this to be the essence of today's way of life. Work more to earn more, to get promoted and earn even more and work even more. What if, by needing less money in the first place, you could work less?
Reclaiming our Time
That's where extra time comes from. And what to do with that time? That's where I discovered the true benefit of simplification: reconnecting with old hobbies, interests or loved ones people "don't have time to dedicate to". We pay for our children's activities: music, arts... But what do we adults do with our free time? Do you have any projects, dreams, interests that you haven't touched in ages because "you don't have time"?
The journey of simplificiation is a long but enlightening one. I still have a long way to go and aspire to spend less money on material items than I do, and move forward quicker with my ongoing projects by spending more time on each of them. This week, I had my first violin lesson with an actual teacher. It is a significant milestone for me, and reminds me of the true benefits of simplicity. It gives me courage to keep going in the right direction, despite the possible setbacks along the way. I hope this read also helps you move forward with whatever you really want to spend your time on.
You know I just adore every one of your posts! For me, the extra time has allowed walking without a destination or timetable, more time with loved ones and nothing else on my mind, the rest that I need, the quietness to find what I really like or want. On the other hand my desire for simplicity meant that the festive shopping I did this week was a breeze because I've discovered what works for me as a process, environments to shop in etc.
ReplyDeleteWalking without a destination or timetable, how wonderful! I don't plan anything on Sundays anymore, because I like to see where unplanned free time will lead me to. You also point out another very interesting aspect of simplification: self discovery. Do you feel like you know yourself better since you have started simplifying your life? I certainly do, and that's great :)
DeleteI cannot phrase this better myself. I personally think that I could not have "moved on" from blogging about fashion (how much less thinking/buying clothes take up anymore) without going through the curation process through my old blog. It is definitely a process that you have to go through yourself but it's so rewarding. I am so excited to do other things now you have no idea. Glad you are doing so much more yourself too!
ReplyDeleteI wonder about these phases too. You say you needed to get through the curation process in order to move on and dedicate time to other things, and I have been feeling the same too. All the wardrobe editing process has opened my mind to simplifying my life in general, but also reconnected me to what I like to do, watch, read and spend my time on. I might not have been able to go that far if I hadn't started with the curation process as well. Interesting food for thought!
Deletehaha this reminds me of a silly story i read in the comments of a german beauty blog. the blogger asked for advise because one of her nailpolishes went all gloopy and strange and nothing seemed to help. she also asked about the amount of polishes her readers have because she was quite the addict. in the comments many said that they had over 100 nailpolishes!! and one girl commented that, to prevent the polishes from seperating into weird stuff she shakes them all up from time to time. because she owns over 200 polishes (!!) it takes her hours to shake them all.
ReplyDeletei would go crazy (and get really muscular arms) spending so much time every other week just sitting there shakeing some nailpolish bottles. :D
that said, i also spend some time on my polishes. i own 56 and i feel thats way to much. but because i felt like having a little challange i decided to wear everone once before giving some away. i want to be done by the time of easter 2014. so right now i spend many evenings painting my nails and i already get annoyed. but i still want to complete the challange.
and one last thought on the time subjekt: i love the pictures of really minimalistic wardrobes with less than 50 pieces total. but i cant help but wonder how often these people have to do thier laundry if they only own 3 tshirts! that must be time consuming ;)
Thanks for sharing this story about nail polishes, it's really interesting to hear about. I could never have imagined owning so many nail polishes, and it is a very good example of how we spend time on objects. Your challenge is interesting too, it is a bit like wearing all the possible outfits of your wardrobe before deciding what to give away. Good idea!
DeleteYes I also wonder about people who really have few clothes. I guess it is easier when the seasons don't change much and you can wear the same things all year long. Maybe they also do more laundries but it takes some time. Or maybe they have a lifestyle that allows them to wear clothes longer before they get dirty. That's why, even after reducing my wardrobe, I still have about 100 items or so. I prefer to do less laundries and have a better rotation of items so they don't wear out too quickly. But I think the ideal number is personal and depends on each person's habits and lifestyle...
This post made me think.
ReplyDeleteMy minimalist journey has started about 2 years ago. I started culling things like mad : recycling, giving, selling, throwing away if necessary. It's a slow process when you have been acumulating for years, but I've definetely made a lot of progress. No one would define my environment as it is today as 'minimalist', but it is at least well curated, and above all, minimalist is still definetly my ultimate goal.
But I cannot quite get to the point where my LIFE itself becomes more meaningful. I can't seem to actually fill my life/space time/spare space with more interesting things. I still waste soooo much time browsing for clothes (I don't buy them thankfully, but still !), reading blogs, wasting time... I'm really disappointed that "less things" does not come automatically with "fuller life". I do a lot of introspection and I have fairly strong will-power, so why ?? If anyone here has a bit of advice, Kali or fellow readers, I will gladly take it.
I know I am going in the right direction, but I seem stuck between phase 1 and 2 forever...
Thank you for sharing your experience, it's a very interesting question actually. Maybe my post makes it sounds like it's easy and natural but it is not. The bloggers I mention, Debbie and Marie, are actively asking themselves what to do with their free time now that they shop less.
DeleteIt is my case as well. I have intentionally stopped watching TV, and changed my habits little by little to include more time for reading, sports, writing, violin... It didn't come automatically, I have to make some experiments to figure out what time of the day works best for me to stick to my habits. For example, sports is lunchtime, violin is during the evening, and reading in the morning. I still spend too much time to my liking on the Internet, and I think that's because it's easier to just browse, it's more distracting.
Bottom line is, I think it is normal that the "fuller life" isn't coming automatically for you either. I find that it is as much work as learning to live with less objects, and it takes awareness and an active change of habits. Here are some suggestions for you: spend an afternoon disconnected from all electronic devices and ask yourself what you want to do now? Maybe you'll have some old hobbies and interests coming up, or maybe you'll think of new activities you'd like to try out. Another suggestion: limit your time on the Internet. I think Leo Babauta (Zen Habits) even has a software on his computer that shuts down the internet and prompts him to do something else every XX minutes. What about a rule like "I only visit online stores on Wednesday and Saturday" or that kind of limitation.
Please, let me know if there is anything unclear, and thanks again for that question, I really find it interesting. I think I will post more about this "phase 2", suggesting ways to live a fuller life :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer Kali ! On internet everything looks so natural and polished...it makes me feel even worse about myself when I try to make my life fuller and fail. On the positive side, I have recently started doing sports again and was extremely surprised to find myself dancing, running or swimming almost four times a week with great pleasure. Hopefully this improvement will soon also happen in other fields !
DeleteThank you again, and I really look forward to that next post.
What a wonderful post to get us all thinking about how to reclaim our time. Since starting my simplification process, for me there is less of a preoccupation with "obtaining" things, which feels very psychologically freeing. It has only been a few weeks, but I've just started exploring other hobbies that I've always wanted to try-- sewing, making infused liquors, and building terrariums are topping the list right now!
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean with "psychologically freeing"! I only mentioned the concrete maintenance etc. that take time, but there is also all the time spent thinking about it while doing something else. It can really obsess the mind when thinking about wishlists and new items and how to pay for it and when to visit the store etc. which makes us less mindful of the present moment. It is true that it is freeing to not think about these things anymore and have more "mental availability" for new hobbies, or awareness of the present moment.
DeleteI feel like reclaiming energy is my biggest benefit of simplification. I'm not sure that I spend huge amounts of time on my possessions (although from what you said it looks like this is often something we see only retrospectively) but feel quite drained from the mess I seem to constantly live in. I'm not even sure it's the number of things I own, but like some sarcastic internet joke said "I just have everything on display. Like a museum". I'm hoping paring down my possessions will make me really appreciate and look after what I do have. It's something I'm definitely working on!
ReplyDeleteThats a good point too, things can be "invasive" when your living environment seems cluttered. Again, I think this is a very personal call - some people feel stressed out when a single thing is out of place, and others feel more at ease in the middle of a cheerful mess. I think simplification is also about knowing oneself and finding the balance that works best. Thank you for sharing your own journey, it's very interesting, and good luck on your simplification process :)
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