I am so blessed to be writing this post and several of the New Year posts while on vacation. We've had a time share for years, and staying in these wonderful resorts always shows me something about simple living. This resort has 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, a comfortable U shaped kitchen, a stacking washer and dryer, a dining area and a living room. We brought clothes for sleeping and 3 complete outfits. We have all the basics and it is enough. We have places for everyone to sleep, sit, eat, cook, spend time together, to live comfortably.
I could live like this. I might add a few family photos and some carefully chosen art work to the walls. The bathrooms could use a few more hooks for towels and robes. I would add the crockpot I brought, our instant pot, and our electric griddle. But honestly, there are very few things I truly miss.
It is amazing how much of our daily trappings we simply don't need for a week long vacation. This has me wondering... how long could we go with out them? If one week is doable, would two weeks, a month, six months, a year, years, a lifetime be doable as well? I'm not sure I want to live like this for the rest of my life, but how close could we get?
You might be wondering why would you want to live like that? Well, this way of living is easy. There's a rhythm to our days, get up, make your bed, get dressed, but it is all so easy. The choice to get dressed is narrowed down to a few simple options. The clothes we brought are our favorites, they are comfortable, we feel good in them. The laundry for seven people is easy. Every day we wash a load or two of clothes, fold them and put them back into circulation. I suppose over time our clothes would wear out from the endless cycle of wearing and laundering, but there is room in all the drawers and closets here for a few more clothing items if we wanted them.
There are enough towels and sheets for everyone, but no bulging linen closet. We did not call down to housekeeping and request another 7 sets of towels and wash clothes, just in case. Likewise we didn't ask for more bedding. When cooking, if we didn't have the preferred tool, we simply used something else, no one starved this week. A measuring spoon worked fine as a coffee scoop, a knife opened a bag when no scissors were available, and a couple of frying pans worked for making pancakes. We can live with much less than we do at home. Opening half empty drawers is fun! Putting things away is easy, though the kids had to ask often "where does this go?" Yes, we had to hand wash dishes and use paper plates, because there weren't enough to get through all three meals for our large family, but it could be simply done.
This is not the first vacation that made me long for this simplicity, but it is a blessing to start the new year with this perspective. The lack of extra throw pillows and candles never got in the way of our enjoying time together as a family. Having just the basics left room for all the rest: relaxing, writing, conversations, puzzles, games, real rest, unhurried 'being.'
A bonus of having one pair of shoes for each child, we never spent time looking for a pair of shoes. I know!! One pair of shoes got put away when we came inside, one pair of shoes was right where we put it when it was time to leave again. OK I brought two pair of shoes, but the kids each had just one pair and it was so easy and stress free to head out the door.
This is the simplicity I am seeking for 2022. Maybe not minimalism, but definitely less. And of course I'll be sharing all the tools and strategies I plan to use with you as we travel on this journey together. I will be vulnerable and share pictures too.
I read this book while on vacation. It was an easy read, but so good. I've read two other books by the same author. In fact, I preordered her latest book. Dana K. White at www.aslobcomesclean.com thinks like I think and much of her methods are how I plan to deslobify* my house. In future posts I will zoom out from the pretty pillows on my bed and share the piles on each side of my bed. I will be vulnerable, and hopefully gain momentum for a simple life of my own. *deslobify is Dana's word, but it fits.
Keep following and holding me accountable.
