Vacation Minimalist Style

Your life is busy, right?  Work demands your time, as do errands, kid responsibilities, and Aunt Edith would really like to see you this Sunday after church. When you DO take a vacation, it's not unlike invading Normandy Beach, with your time with Mickey and Minnie scheduled to the moment, to maximize fast passes and the wait in line to see that princess who freezes stuff when she looks at it.  Happiest place on earth, my a*$.  

Many feel the time leading up to a vacation nearly nullifies the fun you'll have once you get to your destination.  Tidy up details at work, the dreaded "out of office" email set up, farming out the dogs, and organizing the kids and their clothes and their crap.  Why do we even try?  Because we have to.  Americans take fewer vacation days that most of the rest of the planet.  August in Europe finds nearly everyone "on holiday" except for the folks who run the inns and bake bread.  They are undoubtedly on to something over there.  

Here at Cowtown Minimalist, I challenge you to make things simpler, at least for now, and take a mental break/vacation every day. It's way easier than pre- and post-vacation laundry, and you don't have to have your mail held.   Start today.  "But I don't even HAVE an extra hour?!", you say?  Cut the crap.  Yes, you do.  You waste more than an hour on Pinterest or reading blogs.  

Henry Ward Beecher, a 19th century clergyman, said "the first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day".  Indeed.  Use that hour, or at least part of it, to steer your day with a mental vacation.  Get your coffee or morning beverage of choice, and journal (used as a verb).  My dad kept a short and sweet jotting of his daily happenings in a journal from 1965 until a few weeks before his death.  What a find.  Not a writer?  Put on some planetarium-ish music, sit in the quiet, turn OFF any phone notifications, and think about nothing.  Push grocery list and work to-dos from your brain.  Do this.  The life you save may be your own.

Minimalism embraces the ability to appreciate the present and clear both physical and mental clutter.  Decrapifying includes you brain, too.  We want you to feel ready to face your busy life, yet appreciate and not curse it.  Now, get moving!  You have a conference call in an hour, and you forgot to sign your kid's permission slip and bake brownies for the bake sale.