What is the point of a simple life? What does it achieve? Why are so many people coming to terms with the phrase "Less is More"?
How much do all your possessions cost you? If you added this all up in terms of money, it would probably surprise you. What most people do not add up is how much these items cost in time. Let me give you an example. One coffee cup. Not much of an investement in terms of money. Say you drink six cups of coffee a day and you only wash it up in the evening. (Probably less than you would do in fact.) Every time you drink a cup of coffee you take 5 seconds locating the cup, 30 seconds taking it over to the pot to pour out the coffee, 5 minutes drinking your cup of coffee and at the end of the day, 30 seconds washing it up and leaving it to dry on the drainer and 5 seconds putting it away. An investment of 32 min 45 seconds per day, every day.
Obviously a coffee cup is something that you use regularly and it would not be sensible for your to avoid purchasing one just to save you more time. Even in a simple household you will find many items that are used on a regular basis. Still it does make you think. Even items that are not used often still take up time.
Let me give you an example from my own household. Both my husband and I are a little worried about our level of fitness. As a result, my husband invested in a piece of exercise equipment which helps you do sit ups. At first we used it regularly, but, since neither of us particularly like sit-ups it soon dropped into disuse. Unfortunately it is bulky which means that it cannot really be tucked away anywhere. The result is that we are constantly moving the thing to get into cupboard.This means that we are still investing time on the wretched thing even when we are not using it.
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