Saving time is one of the many benefits of wearing a Cravaat® dining scarf, which is why we devote a category of blogs to time saving tips. This week we have a new perspective:
When it comes to time-saving tips, there are so many blogs out there about it (even my last time-saving blog), that there isn’t much more to say about how you can make your life more efficient, so I’d like to look at it from a different angle. Consumerism.
I’ve come to realize that one of the biggest stressors on my time is trying to keep up with modern society—all the things we’re supposed to be doing. You know, all the things they show us on those daytime talk shows, like: how to have a perfectly kept house a la Martha Stewart, how to make a perfect healthy meal a la Giada, how to take care of our aging parents while helping our kids excel in academics and sports, while maintaining a full time job; oh and exercising and keeping fit and looking like we’re still young and single. Ugh, I’m tired and overwhelmed just writing about it.
I suggest that all these great ideas are just putting more pressure on our already busy lives. Maybe that’s just me putting pressure on myself by comparing myself to the world around me. But I do want a perfectly kept house, because it feels so much better to sit in a clean, uncluttered room. I want to eat a picture perfect meal because it tastes so much better and is usually healthier. But if you could make a list of all the suggestions we hear on the daytime TV shows that “help” us live better lives, you would realize we couldn’t possible do it all (unless, unlike me, you have enough money to hire people to do it all for you). Don’t get me wrong. I love these shows, I love the hosts of these shows, they’ve given us a lot of great information, but just like the airbrushed waifs in fashion magazines, living up to all the ideals is burying us in burden.
So what are we to do?
Simplify. There’s a whole new trend out there about living a simple life (and even a show on it). The idea is that the less you have, the more you live. A great article from O Magazine said this,
“…Everything you bring into your house becomes a responsibility. You have to care for it, clean it, and ultimately, dispose of it.” …. “I don’t want to say it’s empty to shop, but to me, a great conversation is worth way more than anything I could pull off a shelf.”
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Meet-Followers-of-the-Simple-Living-Philosophy
With garage sale season upon us, it’s the perfect time to simplify your world. Schedule a Saturday to weed out all the unnecessary items in your house, then participate in your neighborhood garage sale, or have one on your own, to give others a chance to put your items to good use. You could also take clothes to a resale shop, or donate a wide variety of items to one of the many thrift sale organizations, such as: Vietnam Veterans of America, Salvation Army, Purple Heart, or others. Many of these organizations will even pick up at your house. I keep a perpetual donation box, and fill it up as I come across items that will no longer be used or worn by anyone in our family. Then, when it’s full, I schedule a pick up and immediate feel lighter for having removed excess from our house.
So…want to find more time in your life? Simplify.
For a little extra motivation, watch: Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska – http://www.tv.com/shows/simple-living-with-wanda-urbanska/overcoming-overload-2197334/).