simplicity sake

oops...elimitating the non-essentials may include elimintating some blogging

Our intention was to have a series of posts on Simplicity Sake about the book The Power of Less by Leo Babauta, author of the awesome blog Zen Habits. But...in reading the book, I guess we all started to actually follow Leo's advice. In cutting out non-essential tasks (one of Leo's main concepts in this book), we found that this Simplicity Sake blog was sort of...non-essential. We all had other things that were just more important, more essential.

Nonetheless, we HAVE been discussing this book quite a lot. Sometimes I will be driving up to the city to go to the San Francisco Zoo with the kids and my mom will accompany me. She'll bring the book, read a chapter on the way up and we'll discuss it throughout the day. For the last three weeks, I was in Cape Cod with Robin and we did a fair amount of journaling on what our goals for the year are and what we can eliminate as non-essential.

The Power of Less continues to be a book that I pick up over and over to read bits and pieces of, to remind myself of what is important, to center myself and recenter myself. It is an ongoing process.

As for the Simplicity Sake blog, I'm not sure where it is going. We may post here from time to time...if we find it essential. Or not. No promises.

Thanks for reading.

the power of less project: an upcoming series

We are Simplicity Sake are all reading the new book The Power of Less by Leo Babauta, author of the blog Zen Habits. It is a book club of sorts. There are three of us here so far - Linsey, Robin and Karin. We spent last weekend together, talking about our dreams, plans, goals, talents and the desire to be less stressed in our lives, while at the same time having more impact on the world around us. We picked up this book and it immediately resonated with all of us. We have decide to create a Power of Less Project here at Simplicity Sake - we all be focusing on our own goals, taking each chapter or section of the book at a time and writing about our progress.

About The Power of Less: Do Less. Get More Done. With the countless distractions that come from every corner of modern life, it’s amazing that we’re ever able to accomplish anything. The Power of Less demonstrates how to streamline your life by identifying the essential and eliminating the unnecessary — freeing you from everyday clutter and allowing you to focus on accomplishing the goals that can change your life for the better. By setting limits for yourself and making the most of the resources you already have, you’ll be able to work less, work smarter, and focus on living the life that you deserve.

We invite you to read along with us and join in the ride.

sunday dinner

Each Sunday, my family of 5 heads over to my parents house for dinner. It is a simple ritual and a nice end to our weekend. My husband often makes soup that he will then take to work during the week for lunch. And we'll make something else too - salmon, spaghetti and meatballs, things the kids will enjoy usually. We drink wine...and then coffee. Desert? Always! In the summer, we pull out the BBQ and eat together in their backyard. In the winter, we huddle inside and light candles for the illusion of warmth. We play, we talk politics, we listen to music, we catch each other up on our lives and get updates about what other family members are up to. It is always casual and relaxing.

What do I like best about it? In some ways, this is time for me. Although I am still with my kids, at my mom and dad's house I get to be the one taken care of a little bit. I usually don't cook much of the meal (my dad and my husband being the primary chefs on Sunday!), my dad always pours me a glass of wine right when we arrive, and there are 4 adults there to help with the kids (most of the time during the week I am outnumbered, being the only adult for 3 small kids). At the end of the weekend and before the start of another week, this is such a treat.

limiting kids screen time...and mine too

An admission: My husband and I have recently found ourselves with a bad habit. Every morning for the past week, when we all get up in the morning, the kids (having recently learned how to work the remote control) turn on the TV and my husband and I each crack our laptops. You know, just to quickly check email, catch up on the Google Reader feeds, update our Twitter and Facebook statuses (well, that's more me than him. He's not into social networking...yet...). By the time we know it, an hour has passed and we haven't gotten anything done around the house. We still have kids to feed, to dress, to brush teeth, not to mention getting ourselves ready. What's worse, that hour has felt like it was sucked from us. I have no recollection of the time passing. Quality time spent together? Um, no.

So yesterday, while at the Campbell Farmer's Market, I relayed my concern about our developing bad habits to my husband. He was not overly concerned, but then again, he is sort of like a junkie, we both are. And I'm realizing that we need to limit our info-junkie habits, not just for us, but for the kids. Our kids are getting old enough to really need more limits in terms of their screen time - they don't watch too much, but with the addition of the computer and the Leapster, it is becoming more and more available. It is up to us, their parents, to lead by example.

Our new rule - no screen time in the morning. No TV in the morning. No email/Google Reader in the morning. How WILL we survive?!

Now, I'm not saying we are getting rid of our TV, our computers, our screens. I lot of how I view simplfying my life is in terms of using tecnology. But technology has to be used in a way that isn't draining on your Real Life.

thoughts on the happiness project

I just started following Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. A former lawyer (like me...well, I'm still a lawyer, although part-time from my house for the past 5 years), she is working on a book (and accompanying blog) which chronicles the year she is spending grappling with the challenge of being happier. It sort of reminds me of Eat, Pray, Love, but in a (maybe?) more practical way. I think I'm going to email Gretchen and ask for a copy of her resolutions chart.

The other day, Gretchen asked what day you would want to re-live (ala. the movie "Groundhog Day"). When I think back about my happiest days, I think of hiking in the Scottish highlands with my sister and my husband, parasailing over Lake Tahoe with my sister, camping with my kids. Super active stuff with the people I love is my favorite thing to do and it is what makes me happiest.

A funny thing, though. One of my other (secret) favorite days was a day in Monterey about a week after I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma 8 years ago. I was still going through staging for my cancer and hadn't started treatment yet, so a lot was unknown. It was a scary time. But it was also weirdly empowering -- the idea that I could do anything, because who knew how much time I had left. It was actually sort of freeing.

I think when it comes down to it, the relief of feeling free of trappings of society, my social identity, my obligations, my "tapes" that I play in my head, result in a huge happiness for me.

I'm intrigued to keep reading The Happiness Project. Maybe

eating raw

I am not an extreme eater or foodist. I am not vegan or vegetarian. I drink coffee - decaf, but still. I do shop mainly at Trader Joe's and try to go organic as much as my wallet will allow. I did grow pumpkins last year, but not any other vegetables in my garden. I am pretty mainstream. I do take my kids to McDonald's (gasp!) and eat there myself from time to time. But...I read an article the other day from Zen Habits that got me thinking - 10 Reasons Eating Raw is Heathier for You and The Planet. The last couple of months with the holidays and my sister visiting (we drink A LOT of wine and eat A LOT of chocolate when we are together!), my eating has been, well, pretty horrible.

So I decided to give it a try. Not 100% raw or anything. I have just been trying to eat "more raw" the last couple of days. And I have to say I am feeling a lot better already. I am not (right now, at least) looking at any guide to tell me what to eat. I am just grabbing an apple instead of a cookie. I am eating A LOT more fruits and vegetables and nuts. I am drinking more water. All because I am focusing on eating "raw."

One of the things I like about the mindset of "eating raw," as oppopsed to eating better or not eating junk, etc. is that it focuses on going towards something, rather than depriving yourself of something. And I think that translates into more success. We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you posted.

tips & tricks: organizing kids toys

What to do with All Those Toys. Ok, so the holidays just happened. New toys were squeeled over with delight. Yay!!!! In addition to the holiday influx, it seems like it is birthday central for all my kids' friends. We seem to be in birthday season, so every weekend...and every week at school...my soon-to-be-5-year-old twins (they turn 5 this Saturday!) are getting little toys as party favors. Seriously, it is a bit crazy. So much little stuff accumulates, seemingly no matter what you do. As a result, I find myself in the midst of reorganizing my kids' toys. Want to see what I'm doing? I'll share some photos soon, but in the meantime...

Here is what I recommend:

* Before you start, gather together the following items:
- ziplock bags
- grocery bags
- pen
- sticky notes

1. Set aside some time. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to get a project done that has to be completed in one sitting or else you have to start all over again. This can be one of those projects. Make sure you have at least a couple of hours available to get this done. You may decide to just do one area at a time (inside, outside, etc.), so that its more manageable with your schedule.

2. Take care of the kids. If you have little ones, say under 3 years old, organize a playdate with some friends or Daddy/Nana/a babysitter to take the kids to the park. It is really tough to sort and organize when the kids are undoing everything you are trying to do! If you have older kids, get them involved in the process. It will be a good learning experience for them and they will be more likely to keep up the system you set up for them if they have some say in the process and help to make it happen.

3. Assess what you have. Get everything into one place, to the extent you can. Go through your house and find all the little items that need matching up and/or sorting. Grab a basket or a bag to collect things and then put them all in one room. It might be better NOT to put all the stuff in the room that the toys will ultimately be stored in (for instance, your kids' rooms). Maybe put it all in your living room or your bedroom, anywhere you will have the space available to spread out and see what you have.

4. Sort. Go through the stuff and sort it into 4 piles: 1) Keep, 2) Sell, 3) Give away and 4) Throw away. 

- Keep: For things that you are keeping, look to see if you already have a good organization solution for that type of toy. If you do, put it away where it goes. If you don't, gather the pieces together and put them in a temporary bag (for instance, a ziplock bag or grocery bag, depending on the size).
- Sell - For toys you want to sell, put these items in your garage or another storage area. Try to gather all the pieces together (including any directions) and put them in ziplock bags. Assess whether you need to clean anything and put a sticky note on those items if you don't have the time to clean it right now. If something is ready to sell, get out your camera and take some photos of it RIGHT NOW. Then when you're ready to list it on Craig's List, eBay, your mom's group or whatever, you'll be ready to go.
- Give away - Simply put these toys in a bag or a box. Make sure they are not really throw away items. No one wants to receive toys that are broken, missing parts, or just plain worn out.
- Throw away - Hooray! This one is easy - toss it in a garbage bag and you're done. Be sure to recycle where you can.

5. Try NOT to go shopping.  Now that you know what you have, you can see what kind of containers you need. Look around the house for baskets, bins, etc. that can be reused for your purposes. If you really find you need some new containers, its ok to go shopping. Look for inexpensive solutions that are not necessarily labeled as "toy storage". For instance, The Container Store has shoe boxes for only $1.99 and up that work great for small toys with lots of pieces - they are clear so you and the kids can easily see what is inside them and they stack nicely on shelves.

6. Put away. Group like items (e.g, doll clothes, cars, train tracks and trains, action figures) and put them each in a box. Ta-da! If you want to make labels for your boxes, this is a great way to remember what goes where...and it helps your kids learn to read too! For example, put a label on the side of your car box that says "CARS" and also has an picture of a toy car. This will be a good visual cue for them and will help them to remember that the idea is not to mix all the stuff back together!

7. Train the kids. Work with your kids on establishing a routine of taking out one thing at a time to play with and to clean it up before moving on to the next thine. Make it a part of your bedtime routine to clean up all the toys before reading books or whatever it is you do right before bed.

8. Have a mechanism for failure. There will be times when your kids will get something new that doesn't fit in your system or when your babysitter is over and doesn't know where something goes. Have a small basket in our living room that is available for "I don't know where this goes" toys. Aim to put things that accumulate in it away each night. If you do need to add something additional, you'll at least have a temporary place for it.

9. Play! Now that you have a system for your kids' toys, if you can keep it up, you'll be able to enjoy the relief that comes with not tripping over toys (well, at least constantly!) and you and your kids can JUST PLAY.

Now go have some fun!

Original Simplicity Sake post.

the 3 r's plus 1 = 4 r's: reduce, reuse, recycle...re-think?

The waste hierarchy of reduce, reuse, recycle sometimes gets stuck in our heads from the Jack Johnson "The 3 Rs" song on the Curious George soundtrack. Having kids that are headed to kindergarten next year and are working on pre-reading skills, we are always talking about letters and numbers, pointing them out, trying to spell things, counting things. Is 3 really still the magic number? Well, yes. But maybe there it is a 3+ or a 4, depending on how you look at it. The plus or the 4th R being to "re-think."

In our house, we are...

reducing by simply accumulating less stuff. Call it anti-consumerism if you want to. We aren't stopping spending completely, of course. But we are reducing what we buy in general. Our pantry has less in it, as we are trying to buy more fresh, local food and less packaged junk. We are trying to resist the urge to "keep up with the Joneses"* by not buying the latest and the greatest fad products and clothes. We are trying to focus our spending on things that will be more sustainable and that really matter to us. It is tough sometimes - Christmas got us back into our old spending habits to some degree - but we're definitely doing better.

*although in this economy, will keeping up with the Joneses become a competition to see who can use less and be the most thrifty? 

reusing by finding a new use for something in our own household or in someone else's. We have always traded kid clothes with family and friends as they all grow and new babies are born. We bring our reusable grocery bags to Trader Joe's (raffle tickets - I will win one day!) We are going through our house and garage right now and selling or donating things that we don't use anymore. We are eBay and Craigslist machines!

recycling by not just tossing stuff in the garbage. Apart from the usual sorting of bottles and cardboard and paper from our garbage, we take milk and egg cartons to school for use in school projects. I signed up for our local Freecycle - a great way to both get rid of items and to get items for free in your community.

Now for the re-thinking.  Re-thinking involves thinking about what resources you are using and how this waste can be reduced. For us, we have to think about this some more. Well, we have to re-think.

upgrading your OS is easy if your data is in the cloud

I converted from a PC to a Mac about 18 months ago and have never been happier. Last night, I finally upgraded my OS to Leopard - I had been waiting to finish up with work for the year, as I tend to have busy end-of-quarters (I am a lawyer and do a lot of technology licensing, which is very end-of-quarter sales based). I wanted to be sure that when I did the conversion, I wouldn't be stressed, trying to get time critical work completed without my system available. The beautiful thing is that the conversion to the OS has gone very smoothly - I am up and running in no time at all, mostly due to the changes I have made in the last couple of months to get all of my data in The Cloud, such as:

• I switched from Entourage (similar to Outlook, but for Mac) to Gmail for my email organization and responding. This has been HUGE for me. I love the way Gmail strings messages together in a thread. The tagging ability helps me to file things in a variety of ways, rather than a long list of folders which I ended up not using on Entourage. The search capability is so good, its almost...Googlelike, which I guess is the whole point. I limit my emails that I do receive. I try to get all messages on the web, rather than clutter my inbox with a ton of conversations that could take place elsewhere, like Facebook, Twitter, or Big Tent. I delete email messages a lot more than I used to and archive messages very quickly - immediately if possible. I am down from 5000 messages in my inbox over the summer to the current number of 150. My goal is inbox zero, ala 43 folders, and I am getting there.
• I also use Google Calendar and Contacts - and sync these to my iPhone via NuevaSync. 
• I use Dropbox for all of my files and documents. This gives me a online backup and syncing. And I can share certain folders with other people. For instance, if I want to send raw photos to my sister - easy, just invite her to share the Dropbox folder. Or if I want to share a folder with my preschool committee that different people update - I share the folder with them on Dropbox.  
• I am starting to use other Google products more as well. I have a few Google Docs for documents and spreadsheets that I share with and collaborate on with others.

I am sure there is a lot more I can do in The Cloud. I feel I am just getting started in this new way of computing and sharing and storing information, but what I have done so far has been very easy and quick* and has made a world of difference for me.

*A caveat: I have a live-in IT guy, my husband. He's the best! He's actually a medical device engineer, not an IT guy, but he's good at all the tech stuff and finds the coolest and latest stuff. I'm lucky to have him! He doesn't do everything for me - I figure out a lot on my own, but there are some things that a techie hubby is very helpful for :)

one chair

Having three kids aged almost 5 and under and living in a very small house (under 1200 square feet for a family of 5) in Silicon Valley, our living room/dining room/kitchen (it is all one room - a"great room" concept, if you will) has been overrun with kid stuff for the last 5 years. First it was a pack-n-play, 2 swings, 2 bouncy seats, an exersaucer, etc. when we had the twins. Then it was less baby equipment, but more toys - blocks and tents and play houses and stuffed animals and.... After that came the coloring table and the train table. Now we're at a place where we're ready to take back our adult space to some degree. Not that the kids won't still have their stuff in the living room - the coloring/activity table will stay. And they have a kids computer table now that will stay. But all the toys are going in their rooms. The toys have been scaled back too - there are just less of them.

And herein lies the joy - for the first time in 5 years, we have one chair that is purely an adult chair. Well, ok, the kids can sit in in too. But it really looks adult. It is meant to be purely a reading area - or maybe to look out the window and just think - an oasis in the great room that can easily be crowded by kids and noise and life.  The chair comes from my parents who don't have the space in their little cottage to use it right now. They bought the chair after making the switch about 10 years ago or so from heavy bulky furniture to lightweight furniture, as they have moved often in their lives. There is a reading lamp and we are in the process of setting up a side table to hold our magazines and a cup of tea or coffee (or wine...). We plan to get a new cushion for the back at some point - or just recover the one that is there. All in all, a very affordable way to completely change this space and establish a little place of our own.

** As aside - the bookcase behind the chair is one of our great finds in organization for the kids stuff. The 3 baskets are for each of our 3 kids. Inside are the shoes they wear most often and their school backpacks. It is an easy way for them to find their stuff (and put it away) and all that random kid stuff that used to sit by the door in piles, or be lost amongst the rest of the house's chaos, is easily disguised. The bookcase and baskets are from IKEA and only cost about $70. Very affordable.