Less Won't Always Work

OK, here's the deal. I am a word person. So, I won't always be able to use the word "less." There are times I will simply have to go with "fewer."

And, today, I have fewer twist ties in my silverware drawer. I got the photo from the Bedford Industries site -- they make twist ties, and I'm sure they're wonderful. I have apparently kept Bedford and other companies like it in business, because I had approximately 90 million twist ties in the drawer. And I could have sworn I tossed them out not that long ago. Oh well. It's that maintenance thing ...

Anyway, today -- and the day is young -- I have much less of a mess in my silverware drawer. The silverware trays are washed and lovely, everything is sorted. It's fun to just open the drawer and stare at the happy spooning and forking.

I'm easily pleased. Or, maybe I'm just twisted. :-)

Do Less

Yesterday, I gave myself a day off. I participated in one 30-minute conference call with a client, made a good dinner for the family, went to Friday night services ... but, in between all that, I hardly did anything.

Today, I'm recharged. I'm tossing papers, paying bills, getting rid of excess stuff. The lesson learned? My year of less must include days of doing less. I like it.

Less Time Online

Hmmm. To the casual reader, if there were any on this blog, it might appear that I have less interest in posting these days. Not so. I just haven't done anything worth posting. My biggest client announced quarterly and year-end earnings last week, and I was busy.

But, I'm baaaaack. And this should be a better week. Or a lesser week, as it goes ...

Less Junk Mail!

I have an email account that I use for retail outlets. That way, I can receive the great coupons they periodically send, without a daily onslaught of email junk cluttering up my business account.

Over the past few months, I've let the email pile up. So, tonight, I went through all 753 messages. There were a few great coupons, two personal emails I want to save, and a whole lot of Facebook friend requests from an account I forgot to deactivate.

It took a little time, but the email inbox is clear. Now, it should take less time every day to check for fabulous freebies! And I got rid of the old Facebook account.

(I also cleared out the snail mail on the dining room table. It's never ending ... But, inch by inch, row by row, I'm going to make this work!)

Time flies ...

... whether you're having fun or not.

Today, I have less of a mess in the kitchen shelf that holds the Tupperware and all the other assorted plastic storage bowls. This wasn't so much a matter of tossing things -- although there were some solo pieces that really weren't serving a purpose. It was more a matter of organizing.

So, containers and matching lids are now easy to find. And, most importantly, lids are stored in a container that actually contains them. I won't open the shelf door and be attacked by an avalanche of cascading plastic. It's good. It's real good.

Step by Step

Since this is My Year of Less and not My Week of Less, I guess it makes sense that some days the steps I'm taking are small. I can't work, blog, take care of family and friends, and make huge leaps in simplifying my life every day for a year. But, I can do something LESS every day.

Tonight, I've just been going through a few magazines, cutting out collage material. The process has been a littler slower than expected, because I found stories I wanted to read. (Vanity Fair is dangerous. Long, well-written stories.)

But, every magazine that's out of my office and in the recycling bin is a step in the right direction!

Oh. You have to keep it clean.

As it turns out, simplifying something isn't a one-shot deal. Once you clean a room, and throw out all the extra stuff, you still have the room. And you still get more stuff.

Today, I spent hours cleaning those rooms and making sure nothing junked up what I had cleaned up.

On the progress front, I have less food in the kitchen and more in the basement. This is good -- I was using an area of my kitchen as a pantry that wasn't really a pantry. Now, I've moved the extra food downstairs into my basement version of Costco.

Halfway through the first month, I'm feeling pretty good about the progress made!