As Seen In...

York Daily Record
Simply simplify
By MELISSA TYRRELL

Wednesday, January 1, 2003

“Simplify, simplify,” wrote Henry David Thoreau.

He could have just written, “Simplify.”

Still, even a forefather of American transcendentalism seemed to wish his life weren’t so complicated.

And that was a century before junk mail, telecommunications and the glut of this technological age.

If a man who stole to the woods and gave up the worldly possessions of 1854 had a tough time slowing down, seems like it would be even harder to do today.

“Keeping it simple is simple only if that is important to us,” says Suzanne Grenager, a life coach based in Lewisberry.

"Life is as complex or simple as we make it, and as we perceive it," she says.

Some folks may thrive on creative chaos. But if the creativity isn’t flowing or you’re feeling unsatisfied with life, it maybe time to slow down and streamline your inner and outer worlds.

Grenager and national professional organizer Sonya Weisshappel offer some tips:

1. Get to know yourself.

Sounds like a hefty chore. But without knowing who you are, what your goals are and what your pleasures are, you’ll have a hard time separating the wheat from the chaff in your life. Get a coach, a counselor, a friend or a journal to help you prioritize what you want to be doing, and not doing.

Grenager suggests thinking first of the best times in your life and examining what you were doing, why it felt good and who was there. These cues will point you toward what you find meaningful.


2. Categorize your stuff.

After the holidays, stores promote a plethora of plastic boxes. Don’t buy them... yet. First, make piles of like things around your home that need to be organized. Stack your owner’s manuals, your hobby supplies, your paperwork, etc.

Look at the piles, decide how much they need to shrink or expand and then buy the size container to accommodate each pile.

Too often, Weisshappel says, people buy the boxes first. If the boxes don’t fit or are too large, you have more clutter.


3. Check in with yourself daily.

Take time in the morning and night to sit for five minutes with no stimulus. Listen to your thoughts.

Sometimes the most important thought is the quietest. Give that thought a chance to be heard.

“Our hearts whisper to us,” Grenager says.


4. Step back to see what’s taking up the most room.

The biggest clutter around your office or home is probably the stuff you haven’t taken time to categorize.

Folks are pretty good at getting bathroom stuff in the bathroom, kitchen stuff in the kitchen. But the subcategories can be tougher. Think about what you are always looking for. Think about what you are always shoving aside. Figure out how to subdivide these things.

Look at your stack of newspapers. If there’s one story you want to read later, toss the rest of the paper. If you don’t read it within a week, toss it.

Divide mail into subcategories, prioritizing what is mandatory and what is meaningful — bills, postcards, greeting cards, coupons and junk. Keep a trash can near the spot where you read your mail to toss all junk right away.


5. Make short to-do lists.

Grenager says her clients come in with massive to-do lists that she says can be overwhelming.

She recommends writing shorter ones. List what needs to be done professionally and financially within a reasonable day, then list something you want to do. And don’t feel guilty about it.

“Leave time for doing what you love, and learn to love what you are doing the rest of the time,” she says.


6. Only keep W-2s, bank and credit card statements.

Speaking of guilt, paper piles are rooted in fear that you shouldn’t throw anything away. Weisshappel sees these stacks everywhere she’s hired.

Her advice: Keep receipts and pay stubs until you get each bank, credit card and W2 statement. Then throw the corresponding receipts away.


7. Pick your people.

Begin to gently let go of the people in your life who drain you of energy.

If getting together with someone is a drag, Grenager explains, you’re not doing that person a favor by going through the motions.

“This frees them to find the people who will love to be with them,” she says.


8. Make a visual checklist of chores for kids.

For kids 12 and younger, get them in the habit of getting out the door in the morning, by creating a map of the things they must do: clothes, toothbrush, homework, lunch box, book bag, etc.

“And lay your clothes out the night before,” Weisshappel says. “Child and adult included.”


9. Reduce your computer and TV time.

If your inner voice is a soft whisper, stop drowning it.

Choose programs sparingly. This doesn’t free you only for other activities, it frees you from entering a larger realm of ideas too frequently.

“Television makes life seem far more complicated than it is,” Grenager says.


10. Use clear plastic bins for toys.

Organizers love plastic bins. But they’re no good if your kids just move messy piles from one box to the other. Label each box with a picture and word for the like items stored inside — “balls,” “action figures,” “cars.”

Use the boxes as a way to limit the number of toys coming into the house. If the ball box starts to overflow, prioritize and throw some out.


11. Be natural.

Use some free time to garden, walk in the woods, sit on your porch or play with your pets.

“Hanging out in nature will help you be simple,” Grenager says.


12. Buy all the same organizers and label them.

Forget color coding, Weisshappel says. Inevitably, manufacturers phase out one hue for another to stay hip. Folks end up with a hodgepodge of overlapping categories and colors.


13. Eat right and exercise.

Taking care of your body will help ground you, again, in the natural world and a simple existence.


14. Condition yourself.

Getting to a simpler lifestyle sounds complicated. If it’s daunting, remember Grenager’s advice that if you don’t want to live a simpler life, why bother?

But for those who want to streamline and are overwhelmed by the process, take heart.

“It is a process that dwindles,” Weisshappel says. After a month or two, you’ll have efficient routines that maintain simplicity.

“It’s an investment up front,” she says.


15. Rest.

Get plenty of sleep and take a breather whenever you feel the need for one — even if for one minute.

Without rest, you’re less productive and not as giving. So don’t feel guilty about taking a few seconds to check in with yourself.

“Rest is the most underrated of the self-care techniques,” Grenager says.