A Simpler Life

My collection of material possessions hit its peak when I lived in my average three bedroom home in the suburbs. Over the course of about forty years, I had accumulated enough things to fill closets, basement and garage.

After complaining about not enough time in my life, a friend told me that I did not own my stuff; it owned me. I thought about all the dusting, packing, storing, moving, etc. that my things required.

Down sizing made sense to me, so I created three categories. The new things I gave as gifts, used ones I sold in garage sales or donated to charities and other people's stuff went back to them.

Spaciousness and more time was my reward.

Making Time To Live

Many years ago, my life used to be so busy that I didn't have time to eat three meals, get enough sleep or even bath regularly. I was pulled in so many directions that it seemed I just moved in a daze from one task to another with no time to think.

Then I discovered a wonderful time management exercise. Make a list over the course of a week on what you do every hour of every day. Now take these items and prioritize them with the important stuff at the top and the least important at the bottom.

What I learned about my life was that I spent about 30 hours every week doing things I did not need to do (like responding to other people's demands), so I cut this off the bottom of my list. Then I had time to relax, take care of myself and work on my personal growth.