Vacation at Home – Part 11 

Freedom of Systems 1 

In real life we must take care of reality so we can afford to take care of what’s real.  - Sarah Ban Breathnach

 

Part of keeping it simple is developing systems to help make the everyday tasks and duties of life easier and less oppressive. The systems I have created sustain me and allow for deeply satisfying experiences on a daily basis. Keeping a clutter-free, clean home is foundational to maintaining a well-ordered, quality life. Developing systems and healthy daily habits open up the time and energy for enjoying and cultivating the peak experiences.  

Paradoxically, vacation at home involves keeping up with daily tasks. When I come home from work, I spend about a half hour on various home-caring tasks.  I sort through the mail and recycle catalogs so they don’t accumulate.  I try to handle paper only once because I don’t want to spend a precious weekend morning paying bills or filing invoices. I put things back when I use them.  Who wants to fritter away vacation time looking for the scissors or a phone number?   

I run a quick vacuum over the couch and bathroom rugs so they are fluffy and clean for the evening. I make lunch for the next day.  I might throw in a load of laundry. I keep lists of household products and foods that we use every day and make sure there are always back-ups in the cupboard, allowing us to keep our big food shopping to one trip a week. (Except for the daily trot across the street to Whole Foods for produce.) I hang up my work clothes when I take them off, and put jewelry and shoes away.  Then, I change my clothes, brush my teeth and wash my face and start my vacation for the evening. 

I also have systems for collecting gifts and cards I will need during the year. I browse through boutiques and card stores and find pretty things to save for my friends for birthdays and holidays.  There is nothing more satisfying than opening the wicker gift trunk we keep at the foot at the bed and finding the perfect hostess gift I bought six months ago for a dinner that night.  I love putting my hands on the perfect card, whether it is for a new baby, new home, wedding or graduation, all collected during the year and saved in a pretty flowered box in my nightstand, thereby saving the time and stress of having to find a card at the last minute. 

Systems make it possible to be on vacation at home.  They are fun and satisfying to maintain.  Ironing crisp cotton blouses, watering the geraniums, hanging freshly laundered nightgowns, changing the sheets, making coffee for the next morning, make me feel happy and contribute to my everyday contentment.  

I am like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower when home-caring or running errands.  It is deeply satisfying to tend to the little things in life; to keep the external and internal cabinets culled and clean. I know that I will savor it all later and be so glad it’s done.  The key is finding a balance between planning and spontaneity.  After I create the systems I can let them hum, while living creatively and fully, open to the mystery as it unfolds.