The Less is More Project: Week 41 - Simplifying holidays and get-togethers

JSM, 2014

This weekend was Thanksgiving weekend for us Canadians, eager-people-who-cannot-wait-any-longer-to-stuff-themselves-with-turkey-and-pie.

And with special holidays come special challenges to simplicity. 

What are the traps? They are laid out before your company even shows up:

• You clean too much
• You decorate too much
• You buy too much
• You cook too much
• You stress too much

Once family and friends arrive, you already feel exhausted. You nonetheless keep doing too much:

• You haste too much
• You serve too  much
• You (still) clean too much
• You talk too much
• You eat (and drink) too much
• You worry too much

If you are the guest instead of the host, don't rest on your laurels! You face the same traps:

• You groom too much
• You buy too much
• You talk too much
• You eat (and drink) too much

No matter what side you're on, host or guest, chances are you will overdo something. It's all too much! What are you going to do in order to simplify this year?

This Canadian Thanksgiving has given me a foretaste of the holiday season to come. This will be the first time ever that I go through the holidays during a Less is More Challenge, which is sure to prove interesting. It will also mark my first contribution to the Simplify the Season calendar, an initiative by Bethany Rosselit, who kindly asked me to write a piece. I was delighted to accept, and will be writing alongside some "bigger names" than me, such as Seth Godin, Tara Brach, Joshua Becker and Leo Babauta, among others. For an early peek, click below:

Simplify the Season


WEEK 41 IN REVIEW

I made an early Christmas present purchase (buying early lowers stress!) Because yes, I will still give presents to my loved ones - presents were the one exception I had allowed for (although I will be more mindful in my choices, keeping everything reasonable). 

I also bought a throw blanket, for myself. It is now freezing at night here, and I get cold reading a book on the living room sofa. Instead of turning up the heat, I will use that wonderful blanket. Better for the environment.

Baking soda is my hair's new best friend. After using it for weeks (months?), I can testify that it works wonderfully instead of shampoo. However, my new experimentation with apple cider vinegar as conditioner proved far less conclusive. For one thing, it stinks! And I'm not sure it really conditions that well. I will have to give it a few more tries before I renounce though.

Your turn to share about your struggles and victories of the week! What did you resist? Did you donate or get rid of anything? Did you face any challenge? Please comment below! And...

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The Less is More Project: Week 14 - Little luxuries

Philip Taylor, Flickr

As the members of our local Minimalist Group would tell you, living simply does not exclude pleasure. I had just apologetically admitted to owning a lot of books. Uncomfortably staring at my feet, I said "We all have our weaknesses... don't we?". A fellow member reassured me that we all do; another one added that "we cannot be frugal with everything".

It reminded me of this tiny house that was equipped by its owners with a system for brewing their own beer. What a paradox: getting rid of most things people take for granted, yet making place for specialized equipment - plus the collection of beer appropriate glasses? 

Which had in turn reminded me of the fact that everywhere in the world, even in the poorest slums of India, people will go out of their way to celebrate when they feel an occasion warrants it, spending the last cents of their meager income on "superfluous" items such as candy and colorful decorations.

Those stories are all a lesson in human experience: we need to enjoy life. In many cases, even living an ascetic existence, where you purposely deprive yourself, brings about pleasure, as it makes the simplest things significantly more enjoyable: drinking water when thirsty, for example, is one of the best feelings in the world when you focus on it. When you have very little, everything just "tastes better".

As I get rid of things and scrutinize each and every one of my consumption habits, I face the fundamental question: when is a superfluous object or activity acceptable? Luckily for us, The Minimalists (of the eponymous blog) have the answer: 
instead of mindlessly getting rid of everything, let's simply ask ourselves if the things we own (and the things we do) really add value to our lives. If they do, they can stay. If they don't, they have to go.

I know I can live without good quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar and wine as opposed to the generic. I also know that keeping a bottle of each of those in the house really does add value to my life. In fact, when it comes to wine and chocolate, I would rather have less if it means having "the best". Quality vs quantity. For me, the choice is easy.

Another area where I think quality (as opposed to the cheaper version) makes a significant difference is outdoor gear. Oftentimes, it is not even more costly... if you consider the long-term. Good quality hiking and camping equipment, after the initial purchase, will provide you with years and years of comfort and convenience. The cheap stuff will quickly have to be replaced. I know from experience.

No matter what your actual means are, there are areas of your life that are worth some indulging, whereas other areas could use some skimming.


What are your own personal luxuries, the things that are worth your time and money? 

Are there other areas of spending, objects or activities, that don't really add value to your life?



WEEK 14 IN REVIEW

Temptations

I cannot speak of temptations per se this week, but I realized that shopping for basics still adds up, after buying a CO2 detector, a smoke detector and a few other needed items for the house. 

Donations (good riddance)

I took advantage of the long weekend to make some progress on my spring cleaning. This time, the unsuspecting victim was my walk-in closet. This closet was one of the - many - reasons I fell for the house when we first bought it. I loved its size and layout. But big closets have that annoying tendency to overflow with stuff. I had already "worked" on that closet last year, and yet I still found tons of various things that should not be in it - things that should not be in the house altogether, to be more accurate. This cleanup created 3 big bags of clothes and accessories for donations, and 1 big garbage bag of "ungivables".

Observations and cogitations

Easter. As all of the other "big holidays", it has turned into a festival of consumerism. I will not deprive my kids of the wonderful pleasure of a chocolate egg hunt, but chocolate is all I bought for Easter, and in reasonable quantities. I am happy to say that I did not succumb to the plethora of pastel colored and spring related items that were everywhere to be found. 

What did you resist this week? Did you donate or get rid of anything? Did you face any challenge? Please comment below! And...

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