January 2008
Books
Biography
Archive
Feedback
Home
Home
Billie Silvey
After
Simplifying Your
Space
Before
In addition to poor time management, poor management of
things can rob our lives of simplicity and serenity.

Things have come to occupy too important a place in current
American life.  Our economy is driven by things wearing out
and becoming obsolete and needing to be replaced (planned
obsolescence).  Shopping has become the great American
pastime. And people from other nations no longer are lured
here by our democratic ideals but by our standard of living.

All this is countered by a new movement in the country to live
more simply.  It’s related to global warming and the crisis
in natural resources, and it involves leaving a lighter footprint
on the land.  You can discover more about it by simply
Googling the word "simplicity."  Check out Linda Tischlerâ
€™s
"The Beauty of Simplicity" and John Maeda’s "Ten
Laws of Simplicity."

How can we maintain a simple and serene lifestyle despite the
social forces?  How can we keep from drowning in things?  
Here are a few ways that have helped in my life:

1.  Have a place for everything and make an effort to put
things away when you finish with them.

2.  Purge as you go.  If you come across a file or bowl or pair
of pants you don’t use, throw it away or give it away.  Be
ruthless.  Throw away; don’t give away trash.  It isn’t
real economy for you or the person who ends up with it.  
When you get new things is a great time to get rid of old things.

3.  In the area of technology, give more attention to what you
really need than all the to bells and whistles.

Jesus managed to live simply without modern technology, and
we can manage the same with it--by being selective and by
trusting God to provide our real needs.
Simplifying Time
Spiritual Simplicity