Purging: Bullshit.
I know the title’s strongly worded, but titling this has been the only thing keeping me from posting the entry, so this is it. While neither witty nor child friendly, it’s fitting.
I don’t usually mention individual movements. However since I started writing, Simplicity and Minimalism have obviously become hot topics, making news in national and international print and web publications. There’s a new blog every day- a post every hour-an eight word zen tweet ever ten minutes offering a list of ways to simplify a certain area of your life, closet, transportation, mailbox, pocket change, whatever. There are terabites of ebooks and career bloggers telling people what to do, using the Tim Ferris bible to offer you a lifetime money back guarantee on their pdf because they know only 3% will ever use it. There’s guest posts, cross blogs, e-workshops-it’s a niche industry…and I call bullshit.
I’m really saddened by the amazing potential this new movement had, but has now lost. We started well enough, getting rid of our things and sharing our experiences. We made international connections and found friends in all corners of the world. But where we should have taken the path less traveled- made our posts about simplifying and/or minimalizing and moved on, used the freedom of less stress to figure out how to truly do amazing, great, cool things and share them with others who were starting to do the same, we’ve started exploiting the trend and become exactly what we’re preaching against: we’re selling a movement, we’re the Coca-Cola of lifestyle design.
I write out of frustration in part. Every day, it seems more people are spending so much time writing about and discussing simplifying and minimalism. This is bound to happen as it gets more popular, but these people are new to the movement; they’re teenagers in a highschool auto class that have opened a muffler shop after doing their first oil change in second period the day before. They’re putting a nice big picture of themselves in the left hand corner of their blog to be relatable, they’re not dating their posts to create timeless content, they’re neatly listing their posts to make things easy to read, and they’re guest posting to up readership. They’re releasing a free 10 page ebook, and following it up with a 90 page ebook for $35 four months later (with an anytime money back guarantee). They’re following a now textbook approach to writing about simplicity, because the passive income of a blog or ebook has become the standard “minimalist” job. Most importantly they’re making simplicity complicated and confusing, spending all of their free time writing about or reading about how to have more free time.
Think about it this way: Do many people go through law school with the main goal of teaching law? Would you willingly sign up for a course that’s being taught by someone who graduated from the same course just days before? I wouldn’t, but that’s what’s happening. Frankly, the whole movement’s starting to sound like a late night infomercial selling the same three things repackaged 35 different ways to make 35 times the profit.
So with that, I want to challenge everyone out there to purge the bullshit. Stop writing about how to follow less people on Twitter, and start writing about how to help people that have never seen a computer, let alone made a Twitter account. Start working with your hands, start using your connections to create a global network of artisans that make everything we need to live a wonderful life without supporting outsourcing and the corporate evils I read about so much. Share new ideas, not things you’ve already read in other places. Simple and minimalist business isn’t making money from work without spending time- it’s spending time doing work without thinking about money, because you love it so much. Through these movements I truly believe this is possible for everyone (including those poor virtual assistants everyone’s hiring to do their work). I’m not saying we don’t need teachers, because there are those who truly write things we should all take to heart. However, in order for this to really work, we need to move past the puppy love and use our new simple lives to create something bigger, something sustainable. These fundamentals have been accepted by hundreds of thousands of people, which is 80% of the battle. We’ve made the blueprints and designed the infrastructure- it’s time to start building.
Moving Slow but Slowly Moving
The past few months have been super busy. They’ve also been amazing cycling weather, and I’ve been putting in a couple hundred miles a week and neglecting to write. Do I feel bad? Nope. I don’t want anyone reading this when it’s nice, I want you all playing outside.
The Barter Project is currently moving along steadily. I’ve recovered from the financial meltdown a couple months ago, and am going to be looking for an RV shortly! Do I know what it’s going to be once I set out? Nope. However, all I can hope is that it’ll be a journey- something to learn, experience, and grow from-and since that’s already happened in many capacities I’m going to say it’s been a success before it’s even (really) started.
I’ve decided to actually put more on my plate recently in an attempt to let myself naturally move through cycles of purging, aquisition, creation, exploration, etc. I think it’s important to put limits on things in order to progress, but this includes limiting the limitations you set for yourself. You’ll ultimately gain more experience by throwing caution to the wind and going after something than you will carefully manicuring your budget, wardrobe, pantry, and possession list. Short of getting killed, nothing would teach you less than non-action.
One of the things I’ve decided to do was to get a part time job in a store. I’m not giving up on Corter Leather, it’s actually growing wonderfully and becoming a real brand! However, I think it’s easy to get caught up in the I’m-A-Business-Owner-And-I’m-Going-To-Be-Independant-And-Successful-By-Myself-And-Listen-To-Me-Roar! thing to the Nth degree (especially when your hobby is your job and you work 10-12 hour days then work on more projects to calm down before bed). When you come out on the other side you’ve been living vicariously through email, gchat, text messages and phone calls, relying on the daily post office visit for human interaction.
Winter in New England is never the most uplifting time to work in your bedroom alone, so I’m going to get out and trek downtown a couple days a week for the fun of getting out, meeting new people, and stretching my employee muscles. Plus, I think I got me a job working for Levi’s, and we all know how much I love that sort of stuff. What if I really like it, and want to stay another year? Then I’ll buy that boat I’ve always wanted, and dock it year round on the river. It’s cheaper than an apartment, closer to downtown, and I’ll sail on the weekends. Perfect back up plan.
I’ve got 2 barters to post, so expect those soon!
Purging: The Real World
I don’t know how else to say this, so here it goes… Fuck the “real world”.
Feels great, doesn’t it?
This month I’ve learned one huge, gigantic lesson. I know I say it all the time, but this one’s pretty big, and really important. The lesson I’ve learned is this: there’s a difference between “reality” and “the real world”. The difference is that reality exists- the real world doesn’t.
The thing I hear most when people find out what I do is “I wish I could do that, I’m just not creative. I’ve got to live in the real world.” Up until now, I was usually taken aback by the comment, because it’s a tough statement to respond to. On one hand, I was flattered they think my job is cool, but on the other I was a bit embarrassed they think I do arts and crafts for a living.
I realized there was no real world about two weeks ago. It started 9am on a Wednesday, and I was on the train with my room mate. We were heading into Chinatown to board a bus, which would take us on a day trip to a casino in Connecticut. I felt like a slacker not living in the real world- here I was, in shorts and sandals, going to play blackjack on a work day. It was the earliest I’d been awake in months, and the only important documents I had to carry with me were my iPod and a ticket printout with a free lunch voucher on it. Beyond not wearing a suit like my fellow 20somethings traveling from their apartments into work, I thought about how I don’t even own a suit…when would I need a suit? I work from home, and would get a suit very dirty. Maybe I’ll by a suit if I win big, I thought…then I’ll be living in the real world.
The day passed without a hitch. We didn’t win or loose in any extreme capacity, but I got to play blackjack- a game I love- for a few hours, eat some great pizza, and banter with retired baby boomers all day. The bus smelled a bit like a locker room, and we were the only two english speaking gents aboard, but it was quick and free after our lunch, so what more could we ask for?
We got on the train to go home around 7pm after a short nap on the ride back to the city. I boarded in my shorts and sandals, less my meal voucher but feeling happy and full. As I looked around, I saw the same young professional types that we rode with on the inbound trip earlier, except they looked different- ties were loose around the neck, hair was messy, & socks and sneakers replaced slingback heels. While I had been the one at a casino, they looked like the ones that had been gambling all day, wondering if they were making the right decisions. It was at that moment, as we came above ground and onto the BU campus, that I realized there was no real world. I went home and relaxed by working late into the night on a project I just couldn’t put down, feeling thankful I get to do what I love to do.
Steve Jobs said it best in his now famous Harvard commencement speech. It’s a blunt tactic, but the most powerful motivational tool is remembering every day that you’re going to die soon, because in the face of death all fear, pride, and embarrassment fall by the wayside. There is nothing wrong with working a 9-5 if it makes you happy, but there is also nothing wrong with putting your degree in your back pocket and scooping stables or waiting tables to travel across the country or start something of your own. You’re not accepting mediocrity, you’re choosing to live life with a purpose and follow your heart. Now, when someone says “I’ve got to live in the real world,” my answer is simple…”What real world?”
(Kind of Accidental) Purging: Blogging
The past couple weeks I’ve been traveling around and haven’t brought my laptop with me. It’s funny, just a year after Twitter and smart phones became the norm, the digital cleanse is all the rage. I wasn’t cleansing (and I think “everything in moderation” needs to be the new trend), my laptop’s just kind of broken. That’s besides the point- it’s summer! Time for cookouts and bike rides and beaches, not writing and checking updates.
Either way, I’ve got a shiny new laptop in the mail and my room mate has graciously let me use her laptop to make a quick post, so here it is. I’ll make sure to type up all of my hand written entries as well, and get them up soon.
Since a lot of my simplifying is to allow myself to travel and take pictures, I figured I’d share a few recent photos from the road. I’ll actually be selling all of my camera equipment instead of keeping the 3 cameras, and I’m opting to buy one small (digital) system to cover me for a while. These are from my beloved 20D that’s treated me well all these years, documenting her last season in my camera bag. I’ll have plenty more pictures, and I’ll post them up as I get them!
Purging: Purging.
After completing my Survivor weeks, I decided I needed a break- a vacation from the project. I needed to stop cleaning, stop worrying about budgets and expenses and income, and relax. I’ve been going at this for a few months now, and I felt it important to take some time to let everything sink in. After all, I don’t want my life to be centered around not owning things and purposely living without (which I think is an easy thing to focus on when initially making life simple).
The first thing I did, or was pushed to do, was take a vacation. My room mate called me from work last Friday and said “Hey, we’re going camping tomorrow on the Cape (Cape Cod).” I initially said yes, thinking she would never get a camping spot for the next day- especially the weekend before the 4th of July. Turns out she was able to, and with some kicking and fussing and her threatening to go with or without me, I went. She also made me promise to “Quit this living-like-a-monk-bullshit, and go out to some good restaurants with me. I want seafood damnit!”
I went from spending money once a week for almost a month to traveling on a debit card. All we had was a $20 camp site, our bikes, and my rough knowledge of the area- we had no plans, no set destinations, hell, we didn’t even bring snacks or flashlights. I honestly resolved to leave the project behind for a weekend and let myself dip into my newfound savings for anything I needed. I was purging purging.
I didn’t think about anything but the moment for the whole weekend. When I got back home, I emptied my pockets and took out my wallet before I showered off the 48-hours-of-beach feeling. I had taken $120 in cash, in an attempt to not use my debit card for the first day, and to my surprise I had $26 upon my return. I had spent an entire weekend on the Cape- including gas, food, and lodging- for under $100.
In retrospect, it all makes perfect sense. The small changes I’ve consciously made have found their way into every nook and cranny of my life. It’s not that I don’t want to do things that cost money- I spent the majority of mine on two amazing dinners that weekend- I just don’t really find the time fillers enticing, and time fillers are the things that cost the most money. Instead of shopping, we went for hour long walks on the beach and played soccer in the sand until our toes hurt. We bought a loaf of bread and some peanut butter and made ourselves lunch both days because we were too busy to stop anywhere for food. We rode our bikes around Race Point instead of paying the $15 parking fee, and we built our tent and stayed up talking instead of sitting in front of a tv at a motel. Granted, we complained for an hour about the heat and wanting a/c, but we got over it and slept wonderfully.
This week, I decided to put my simplification project on hold and realized that it was no longer a project, but the way I now live. In making a conscious effort to step away from it, I learned more than I had in previous weeks of diligent simplicity and purging. If you’re ever feeling stuck, or like you’ve hit a plateau with any sort of initiative you’ve set out on- take a step back. Switch things up, forget it for a while, and hit refresh. The world won’t stop spinning, and you’ll probably realize you’re a lot better off than you thought you were.
Groovy Thursday
There are a few fabrics that go in and out of style every 10 years. Denim (other than jeans), camo, plaid, and my favorite- tie dye, all come to mind. However, when you wear them with reserved style, they will always be fashionable in a timeless, classic way. Today we spent the day in the back yard, throwing frisbees and laying in hammocks, tie-dying old shirts. Never tie-dye a new shirt- wait until they get a little bit dingy, until bleach just won’t make them shine, and then go to town. Wear one under a chambray or denim shirt with a pair of khaki bottoms and some boat or deck shoes, and you’ll always look good.
Those are some of our shirts above. Don’t be afraid to experiment- old bed sheets and table cloths make great beach blankets, and I’ve got the unexplainable urge to tie-dye white denim. It’s a great way to repurpose and bring new life to useful but possibly worn-looking white things. Remember- you don’t have to make swirls, you can use RIT dye to make things solid colors, too.
Survivor Week Lessons
I drink a lot of Diet Coke. In the past few years, with all the inconclusive studies and research going around, it seems like people have been divided into two schools of thought on the issue: those that look at you with sorrow- like you just announced you had a month to live- at finding out you drink diet soda…and those who still drink it. There doesn’t seem to be a “pro choice, don’t care if you do but would never do it myself” party, and it always seems like opinions are strong for such a small issue.
When I started simplifying, I had never really heard about this giant minimalist movement that’s been brewing, and is now just barely reaching the surface of mainstream America. I have to admit, it was a bit uncomfortable at first because I was writing to a crowd that knew more about my topic then I did- and people liked what I had to say. I felt like the new kid with the shiny bike; was the bike a quick way to gain attention, or was the kid atop the bike just as cool, and here to stay?
Like Diet Coke, it seems there are two schools of thought on minimalizing and simplifying: some people love and understand it, are fed up with bills and want out from the stress of owning things… and some people don’t get it. They like their possessions, their car, they love all of their toys and electronics, and would have it no other way. I’m not going to tell you that the people who don’t understand it are too jaded and attached to their things, because I don’t believe this. We’re all different, and some people love working on cars and creating model trains just as much as others love traveling with a backpack and owning 27 things. What I’ve learned through this survivor week stuff is just that: there is no correct way to live the perfect life. No matter what you read, no matter how many “13 Ways…” or “8 Tips…” blog entries you consume, you’re never going to figure it out unless you get out there and try it out for yourself. Try it all- buy some stuff, sell some stuff, give yourself time to experience all of these feelings. Just because one person feels best living out of a backpack doesn’t mean you will, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I started the survivor weeks because I felt bad, felt there was more that I could do to simplify and be more responsible about every aspect of my life. I exited feeling almost the complete opposite. You can’t be dependent on your lack of things to give you happiness or create change. You have to be dependent on yourself, on being able to simplify yourself inside to the point where you can make logical sense of your position and figure out how to fix it (if it needs fixing). If the things are a distraction, then sell them! However, if I had to do it all again, I think I’d switch the purging stages around. Stage 1 would be personal, emotional purging, because things don’t matter enough to make them the first priority.
A Simple New England Dinner
Growing up in a New England family with true Yankee blood, cooking has never been a very frilly event. In Yankee cooking, the rules are simple and go along with many of the current trends: the ingredients need to be hardy and readily available (locally grown or caught), inexpensive, and the meals need to feed lots of people on very little money. Since most Yankee people worked hard all day, the meals are also easy to make and take minimal work. It started off as a simple food for a simple working people, but since travel is now more popular it’s turned largely into a tourist attraction with lobster bibs, raw bars, and chefs experimenting with non-native fruits and spices. This is all wonderful, but I thought I’d share a meal with you; a native, hardy New England meal.
One of my favorite things to cook is fish because it’s not super expensive, it’s very healthy, and we get it fresh and local. I understand that this is largely not the case across the country, so for this post I picked up some frozen-at-sea halibut that was on sale at a national food chain this week. In reality any white fish will do, but I like to stick to one rule: grill fresh, bake, steam, or fry frozen-at-sea. You can grill frozen if you’d like, but fresh fish deserves the grill each and every time (my opinion, don’t take me too seriously).
This is the menu: Halibut with bread crumbs and lemon, boiled green beens, and red potatoes. Feel free to omit the bread crumbs, and/or use a little butter, salt and pepper instead.
And this is how you prepare it, in 5 simple steps:
First, preheat oven to 350F, get a big pot of water boiling.
Second, wash all ingredients (including the fish, which you should pat dry). Put the potatoes in the water to boil with a couple pinches of sea salt, set the beans aside, and put the fish in an oven-safe pan.
Third, coat the fish with bread crumbs, then a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. I like using italian seasoned bread crumbs as you don’t have to do any other seasoning after. You can leave the lemons in the pan to bake as well if you’d like.
Fourth, wait 20 minutes. After the potatoes have been boiling for 20 minutes, set the oven timer for 20 minutes and pop the fish in. Throw the beans in with the potatoes to boil.
Fifth, at the sound of the timer, take everything out/drain the pot, make yourself a plate, and enjoy.
It’s pretty simple. 2 pans, about 10 minutes of work, and you’ve got a meal that can feed tons of people. Don’t worry about boiling things together, the beans and potatoes will get along perfectly fine.
Price List
Fish: $7/lb
Potatoes: $1/lb
Green Beans: $2/lb
Lemons: $.50/ea
That’s about $3.50 per person, and you get a really great and hearty meal. You’ll be able to feed 10 people a seafood meal for around $40!
I’ll be the first to admit that this is a very simple meal, and most of what I eat is like this- that’s how we cook up here. Through this style of cooking (by removing frills), you learn to enjoy the taste of your food, not the taste of the seasonings you put in it (when’s the last time you ate a boiled potato without anything on it?). Why am I writing about this? Because like many of you I read blogs, I look at great recipes and I think wow, I’d like to make that. Up until a couple months ago, I’d just move on and order takeout. I’m urging you to try something like this, or any other simple recipe you find. If anything it’ll be a new experience. Hopefully, it’ll be the start of something better.
A Welcomed Addition: Going Without (for a While)
When I ran out of bananas a couple days ago, I was met with a decision: do I dip into my untouched emergency fund, or do I wait until Friday and stock up on shopping day? Regardless of the decision at hand, it was 10pm, and no banana selling stores were open anyways. I rummaged through the fridge and found some raisins to throw into my Cheerios. It sounds weird, but try it- the combination is actually really good.
One of the most important things that this Survivor exercise has taught me, however unexpected, is that there are many benefits to removing things from your life for a while. I’m not talking about quitting your favorite things cold turkey, but simply abstaining from them for a week or two.
By going without, you’re not actually going without; you’re removing the most popular solution. This forces creativity, and ultimately creates new experiences. You find new things that are fun and entertaining, and don’t really miss the old.
So as my final Survivor week rolls along, I’m met with a sort of weird feeling: it’s not that hard. Last week I basically lived this final survivor week, with the exception of getting Indian food on Friday. In reality, I’ve not gone without at all. I’ve saved an amazing amount of money by budgeting this way, and I feel much more safe in my ability to keep a responsible savings. Sure, I’ve run out of things I like to eat, and I haven’t been able to go out some nights, but instead I’ve been doing things that make a difference. I’ve been finishing a lot of work, I’ve been creating new work that I’ve had in the back of my mind but never acted on, and I’ve been further cleaning out and selling things I don’t use. It really is like a detox, but after a few days it doesn’t feel as extreme as it sounds; it feels good, and I feel much less stressed.
A couple small updates:
First, you may have noticed the different looks that the blog has been going through. I’ve been trying to find the best way to get comments in the blog while keeping it nice and simple, and have yet to figure it out. Honestly, it’s not a huge deal right now, but I do like hearing from everyone reading, so I’m going to keep looking for solutions. Until then, please feel free to (keep sending) send emails with your thoughts, etc, as I love to read them.
Second, as I’ve mentioned before I make my living as a leathersmith. I’m proud to say that after a year and a half, I’ve released my first collection of accessories! I’ve also made a new website- it’s still at www.CorterLeather.com (Last week was very busy, hence the lack of updates here). My website is also linked at the top of the blog, and please feel free to email me with any barter offers. I talk a lot about being an informed consumer, and just so you can know exactly what you’re looking at and/or purchasing, everything I sell is 100% handmade and sales go towards this project- buying the RV and setting off.
Lastly, I’ve finally got some free time, so as long as I can keep my computer limping along I’ll be updating a couple times this week. Thank you for all the amazing, unexpected and wonderful support!
Re: New Theme
I’m doing some redesigning of the blog right now, and I really wanted to get the comments section up and running, so please excuse the appearance for a little while. I just grabbed the first theme that guaranteed working with DISQUS comments. Thanks!
