I plain old missed Friday’s posting. I know I need to write ahead and schedule posts and I’m working on that. I’ve never been a write ahead kind of writer so I’ve got to shift that mentality for myself.
Speaking of shifting mentalities, by now readers know about the Marshall Fire and the impact hours and hours of high winds and insidious cancerous char had on our home and lives for the past year and a half. We are down to one more big project which hopefully will happen in the fall so as things slow down I find myself reflecting.
We made some good and bad decisions, and there were so very many decisions to make all the freaking time. But early on we created a guiding principle for replacements, of which we had an adjusted list of about 500 items: fewer and better. It meant we could create opportunity to simplify when there was so much obligation. That principle centers on Decision Fatigue. You see it in action when no one can commit to where go eat out or people live with pictures on the floor because they can’t decide where to put them. More importantly, when you spend a lot of time managing life stuff you’ll get to work and can’t perform (or the other way round). I really believe there is only so much room in our brains so holding space for what’s important to you is essential and an art lost in US culture.
It always struck me that President Obama famously wore a basic suit uniform so he could focus on running the country. My dudes, this is a man who had a valet while he lived in the White House. From the time I heard that on I launched a personal simplifying crusade. It’s a rocky road because life is against you all the time, but I had a lot of practice coming into this nightmare so getting rid of things and organizing what we have became a therapeutic part of the process.
I learned cooking is much simpler with fewer appliances in the kitchen, fewer tools on the shelves, and less food in the pantry and fridge. I’ve thought a lot about the food I had to throw away - fresh and stored - and how if I’d kept less on hand it wouldn’t have caused nearly so much waste.
It’s easier to keep the house clean with fewer items. It’s easier getting dressed with fewer choices of things I love and fit me well. Even if I’m not loving my body that day, the right wardrobe cuts the time to negligible. It’s not a capsule wardrobe or a uniform because I kind of love fashion, but it’s also not sixteen shirts in the closet I’ll never wear. It also cuts the guilt over things I’m not wearing, which I know many people face in their closets. That guilt takes up valuable real estate in our brains!
This mentality spread to a crusade with my hair, skincare, and makeup as well. I think I have it pared down to an easy, effective routine. A simplified routine really helps with two places to live and maintaining two sets of everything.
We also put technology to use when we had to replace every outlet, switch, and fan in the house. We went with extensive automation so several lights come on nightly and turn off at daylight. We turned that particular five day slog into an opportunity to update and modernize. It’s not so much the time, but another damn thing we have to do every day. Also, for the first time I have a new laptop totally of my choosing and writing on it is a joy. I didn’t realize how much time I spent managing old, inefficient tech, and how it helps to escape my office and desk PC.
I had to get rid of most of my library but I kept friends’ books, signed copies, and heirloom sets. It was a sad, hard day, but also felt as if a weight had been lifted from the room. When I took the feng shui class I learned another brain truth: Creatives need room to breathe. Ideas need space to flourish. Having hundreds of books in rows at my back was intimidating as hell. Now my books are those of my friends, people I know will cheer me on when a scene is difficult, and books I don’t hesitate to reach for when I need inspiration.
It’s been a lot, to say the least. The house looks great and fits our new lifestyle. But the biggest change, which we noticed this weekend, is having simply less work to do. We actually had a leisurely day where we got to walk the dog for over an hour and spend some time at the pool and watch TV.
Obviously some of our simplifying cost cash money and much of our budget came from insurance. Not everyone has the luxury to buy all new tech, for instance, though for a nominal cost you can put light sensors on your outside lights or a timer on a lamp. However my biggest takeaway from the process is not what we now have, but what we shed to make life easier. I’m hoping after what will be two years of doing a whole lot of things we never planned for that going forward this leave more room for the things we want to do. For me that definitely means writing. (And hanging out at the pool!)