I just spent four days in a hallway sized space with four other people.  We lived with food from one ice chest and two grocery bags and wore the same clothes over and over.  This wasn't some sort of urban plunge, this was our family vacation on Catalina Island. 

As I sat on the deck of the boat, exposing my repeated outfit to the whole harbor, I realized that I was the most at rest and peace I've been in a long time.  I was perfectly happy to sit knee to knee with my dad drinking coffee, listening to the ocean and soaking up the sun.  My dad laughed as he apparently realized the same thing, "We have a huge, beautiful home and we do this for fun!"  We do this- load up the bare essentials and trek out to a harbor or the woods to sleep on the ground or the sea.  And we love it.

As my fifty cent, 90 second shower was winding down I wondered to myself, 'what are the bare essentials?'  I had just shocked myself by washing my hair and shaving in under two minutes, so apparently I could cut back on the water consumption.  What are the other areas of my life where I'm using too much time, energy, and stuff? 

I came back from the trip to a home workshop of sorting and packing.   My roommate is moving out and she set the pace for going through stuff.  So like many in our world, I'm downsizing.  I'm repurposing my stuff.  I'm reconsidering how I spend time and energy.  What do you need to simplify?  Just think of it like vacation- it turns out simplicity can be fun.