Simplicity or Abundance, Which Do You Prefer?

I read a recent post that asked people whether they gravitate toward abundance or simplicity, and that caught my attention, so I decided to write about it. Simply put, my preference is simplicity!  For me, abundance flows from simplicity. Example:  I don't like warehouse shopping, like Costco. I mean, what am I going to do with a year-and-a-half supply of boxed Mac and cheese? I live in a small space. I prefer to buy only what I will use for the next week, or even just a couple of days, and buy fresh food when I need it again. The chance to see what looks freshest and most appealing every few days is a form of abundance to me.

My small living space has its limitations, so it isn’t great for entertaining a group of people, but it requires very little maintenance, giving me an abundance of free time. I don't have a lot of knick knacks--the cat would just knock them off anyway, and I don't have to dust them--who wants to spend their precious time dusting?! I don’t have to spend much time taking care of my stuff, instead I can spend time with people and doing things I want to do.

I like to keep the flow of stuff moving. I just bought a new printer to replace my still-working but out of date one that doesn't have the features I need. The old one is ready to go out the door to goodwill. I don't want or need it. Keeping it "in case" just means I have to devote more time to it later to consider again whether to keep or discard. Why invest more time in an item I know I don't need or want? So what if it still works--pass it along to have more useful life elsewhere and free up my time and energy to spend on more interesting pursuits.

I always have a partially filled bag in my closet for goodwill. New clothes in, old clothes out. Get rid of them and get them off my mind. You see, for me, an orderly environment translates into an orderly, clear-thinking mind. My space is a haven of rest and comfort to me when it is neat and orderly and not cluttered. If it’s messy, my mind is cluttered and clouded too.

I realize some people feel much differently than I do on this subject. Some people take great comfort in being surrounded by lots of stuff, and I honor that. I have felt very comfy in the homes of those people and their stuff, and to me it requires a special talent to make a place so comfortable with many beautiful and sentimental things. It's just not important to me at this time in my life to have a lot of stuff. I think of myself as being selectively sentimental. I like to travel light.

Speaking of travel, I plan to go to Iceland for a week in September with just one carry-on suitcase…stay tuned and I’ll let you know how that goes!