What does it look like?

Hopefully eventually it will become a habit to update my blog. I want to post a little more regularly.

So what does simplicity mean and what would it look like to live the more simple life I desire? In itself not such a simple question.

There are a lot of ways to look at it I guess. One is just plain stuff. It's everywhere. Too much stuff. Our storage spaces are full and so the stuff we use somewhat regularly is in piles on just about every flat surface. It's like it's on display for everyone. I don't want to be a strict "a place for everything and everything in its place" kind of person but I'd like to start heading a bit more in that direction at least. Especially now that my daughter has reached the age of her increasing mobility meeting her incredible curiosity about everything in the world around her. I want her to be free to explore in our home without risking her hurting herself or destroying things. So that's a more general goal... reduce clutter and maximize storage to effectively baby-proof the apartment.

Another has to do with time and schedules. There are so many things that I want to do in life that I'm afraid to waste a minute. And yet I've reached a point of exhaustion so that I may be doing a lot of those things but I'm not really enjoying them. What's the point? I think in the longer term, bigger picture, I need to have a clearer focus on what I want to really invest myself in and try to pursue one goal well rather than spreading myself so thin. But shorter term, I need to scale back a bit and get some rest and recover. With the summer coming that will be a bit easier - there will be less I need to say no to. But when the fall comes around again, I will need to have a bit more focus and willingness to say no to somethings.

Generally I want to simplify myself in some way. I think the stuff and the time will be big components of this. But I want to be more present in the moment, enjoying and appreciating where I am and not so scattered in my head. I think this is a goal that I'll need to return to more once I've made some progress with the others. A lot of this is still somewhat vague in my head so perhaps a general goal in this area is to begin to clarify what it is I'm really seeking when I say I'm seeking simplicity.

So there's the bigger picture of what seeking simplicity means to me right now. The next step is to set some concrete, measurable, achievable goals and develop a plan to begin to reach them. And to begin to set said plan in motion.