Simplicity in Action: Susan
Editor’s Note: This is a post in the new series, Simplicity in Action. If you’d like to submit your story of how simplicity has worked in your life, please read more here. You can write about anything from decluttering a junk drawer to simplifying your diet. Let your small and big changes inspire others.
Susan
I believe that simplifying one’s life can make it happier, more satisfying, and save a lot of time looking for things. That’s what I believe, but I’m also a pack-rat. My approach to simplifying my life up to this point has usually taken the form of organizing my stuff better so that I don’t see clutter and can find things more easily. This is good, but there is a limit to how much organizing can accomplish. Eventually the closets are packed too tight and my spiritual side calls me to a deeper level than just organizing.
I used to justify saving and organizing our family’s stuff by the “just in case” principle. When raising our four young children there was always reason to save a coat, shirt, pants, etc. for when a younger child would grow into it. I saved even less obvious items just in case it could be used as a Halloween costume. Old clothes of mine were saved just in case they would come back into style. After all, bell-bottoms reappear every 20 or so years. I’m a futurist.
I saved our kids school papers and awards just in case they would become president one day and archivists would want to dig into their past. As our children moved out on their own, I saved old but serviceable dishes and toasters just in case they needed them to furnish their first apartment. I finally faced my limit, however, when I had carefully saved maternity clothes and baby clothes, just in case a daughter or grandchild could use them. Saving the baby crib did come in handy recently to bed our first grandchild, but I’m learning that standards for cribs and strollers are changing and even these classic items may not meet the safety standards of today’s conscientious parents. This is what prompted me to undertake a deliberate letting go of many of the items around my house.
If you are like me, procrastination and lack of big chunks of time keep me from downsizing in one fell swoop. (People who move often have an advantage here, since moving often forces one to prune possessions.) But I decided to embark upon a “One-A-Day” approach. Each day I would search for one thing to give away or throw away.
This is not just a practical endeavor for me, but always a spiritual one since I believe Christianity (and most world religions) calls us to share what we have and live simply so that others may simply live.
Although I am not wealthy, I have more than I need. As St. Basil the Great said, “When someone steals another’s clothes we call him a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; The coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the person who needs it; The shoes rotting in your closet belong to the person who has no shoes; The money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.
Since Lent is also the religious season of joining with the sacrifice of Jesus, I decided that choosing one item a day for 40 days would be a manageable goal and be more useful than giving up candy. As I share how this process impacts me, I invite you to join me – not only through your words but also through your own experience of letting go in order to lead a fuller life.
Read more from Susan at her blog Living Lightly.
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20 Responses to “Simplicity in Action: Susan”
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Susan – It was a pleasure to read your guest post! So much so, I just Tweeted & Google+’d it!
(Psssst, I especially enjoyed this example of positive thinking: “I saved our kids school papers and awards just in case they would become president one day and archivists would want to dig into their past”).
Yes, Laurie, sometimes the “just in case” side of my brain keeps me from passing on things that others need NOW. I’ve had almost 3 years of giving things away now and only a couple times have I looked for something and then remembered that I gave it away. “Just in case one of my kids becomes famous” is probably a stretch not worth waiting for (although I just saw that our daughter had a article on the front page of the Washington Post recently. Does that count? No one’s knocking at my door yet asking for her high school algebra papers.)
That was so well said. It has motivated me because although I am also doing a junk purge, I have struggled with hanging onto the extra sets of dishes and pots and pans…for maybe one day when we have a cabin in the woods. And the extra shoes and sweaters, etc, oh brother. Thank you ford a great post! Oh, and I want to add that I also practiced procrastination and even though I do have chunks of time, it was just too overwhelming to get started. But I want to encourage everyone…just start. Even one little thing means you are on your way and the fun of destuffing, ha, really is contagious to yourself.
“share what we have and live simply so that others may simply live.”
Nice. I like that.
DSG
Love reading this!
Hey Susan, great post. I really love the paragraph about giving things that we don’t need or use to others so that they can enjoy them – that’s such a great perspective, and will help me to clear my clutter with more vigour and enthusiasm next time
Katie. xxx
Love the point about how others could use our unused stuff. That’s one of the thoughts that makes me feel good about getting rid of extra stuff! It has helped me a lot to think that way.
Way to go, Susan and good luck on your continued de-cluttering journey! As the adult child of a collector/pack-rat/borderline hoarder, I can tell you that you are doing your children an incredible service, one that is MUCH more valuable than any toaster that you might have been saving for them.
Great post, Susan! Love the “just in case” and I am going to start practicing the One-a-Day -my refrigerator included!
Hmmm, even the refrigerator? Now that’s a big commitment. I watched the documentary, “No Impact Man,” and saw how difficult it was to live totally off the grid. Right now, I’m aiming primarily for less consumption and less packaging. Keep at it and let me know if you really ditch the refrigerator.
She means the stuff in the fridge not the fridge, right?
OK, I see what you mean. That’s a relief.
The “just in case” excuse is so powerful! I’ve used it many a time when I find parting with things too difficult.
I am so taken by all the people heading toward a simpler life, I could read blogs on it all day!
This month, I’m doing my own month long challenge, which involves decluttering one area per day (similar to your one-a-day approach) That way, I also get to declutter/organise little areas in my flat and see very clear results
I’ve written a post on it on my blog, making things beautiful again.
Good luck everyone with the decluttering!
Hi Susan. I too have the tendency to keep things for just in case. I guess this is somewhat related with growing up with a very tight family budget. Anyway, the strategy of getting rid of one thing per day is a very good one, and I’ve been applying it too. And I loved the St. Basil the Great quote – inspiring!
Hello, Susan. Great post. It was like I was reading my own “save this in case” scenarios. I regularly purge, but somehow with a household of four, there’s always something to let go of. Just today, I lamented to my teenage daughter that I shouldn’t have given away a particular super-warm sweater. I gave it away last year because I didn’t like the way it fit, but now I suddenly wished I’d kept it. I started wondering out loud if I’ve been giving stuff away too easily.
Without skipping a beat, she said, “OK, that’s one thing you wished you’d kept. Out of all the hundreds of other things you’ve ever given away, how many others do you miss?”
I remembered one other example from fifteen years ago, another piece of favorite clothing that I missed for a few years, but now have no feeling for, and more importantly, no use for.
Point made. Conversation over. She’s a wise girl.
I like your one-a-day tactic. Did you actually remove/deliver each object every day? Or did you have a system for neatly stowing donations until delivery?
Peace.
Dear Cheryl (and other curious minds),
I’ve had regrets, but they’ve been few – perhaps a couple times I’ve looked for something then realized that I probably gave it away (out of a couple thousand give-aways).
In regard to the practical side of giving the stuff away, I designated an out of the way corner to collect my give-aways and then periodically took the items, for which I didn’t have a ready recipient, to Goodwill or a thrift store. What was left at the end of Lent I advertised in FreeCycle and put out for my neighbors in a “Free Yard Sale.”
Thanks for your post. It really resonated with me especially the part about saving items in case your child were to become president. I laughed because I remember having the same exact thought as I packed away my son’s boy scout uniform 10 years ago. It’s still packed in the box where I packed it and my son is showing no political aspirations!
Well, maybe head of the United Nations if not president of the USA.
Susan,
Thank you so much for sharing your story! It inspired me. The quote was powerful! I also am a busy person without big chunks of time to declutter. I decided I am going to follow your example and get rid of one thing a day. I started a new hashtag on Instagram/Twitter to I can post pics of the one thing I purged. Kind of makes it fun. Please also twitter/instagram the thing you got rid of to: #1thingaday
Yes, posting a photo on a blog or Twitter, although not essential, helps you to hold yourself accountable to your commitment.(Although I have to admit that composing and uploading a daily, then weekly photo,sometimes took more time than I planned. Still it’s nice if you can do it.