The ‘analogue time’ concept is well worth pursuing.

For the last few years we have been up against it with 2 kids in nursery, a big mortgage and other necessary outgoings meaning we have been breaking even every month but dreading an emergency that would really cause us problems.

Over this time, I’ve been getting used to the idea of having no cash and assessing what things are really necessary – I’ve had no new gadgets, very little social spending and to all intents and purposes stopped buying music (for me, very significant!).

Unsurprisingly the world has not caved in. We are not in penury and are as happy as a family as we have ever been.

This week, however, my daughter starts school which means we now have extra money each month not having to pay for child care. This morning I actually caught myself looking at other people’s cars and getting a thrill out of thinking I might be able to afford that or that an iPhone might be a possibility.

It’s alarmed me how quickly one state of mind has changed to another.

What I *am* interested in this experiment is getting rid of unncessary things so I can concentrate on what’s important in life. I think that’s a slightly different focus that what you mention. It’s a pragmatic focus on productivity rather than a philosophical stance. :-)

I’m more interested in having quality stuff that makes my life easier. Not hoards of stuff around just to remind me of events I can remember anyway! Perhaps when I grow more senile… ;-)

It’s this dichotomy that creates problems. ‘Stuff’ – pursuing it, acquiring it, maintaining it and using it – certainly gets in the way of this, since so many of our actions and aspects of our existential reality are predicated on having the ‘right stuff’ (with due acknowledgements to Tom Wolfe). I want to play golf, so I need … ; I’m going to grow stuff, so I need an allotment and some … ; I’m an e-learning leader so I need …

Maybe it’s your wife’s comment that all your son sees you do is go on the computer that has triggered your self-examination. You want to live in the moment with and for everyone, but there aren’t enough moments in the day. Two simple solutions offer themselves: 1. Live on your own and don’t have anything to do with anyone, and 2. Don’t ever sleep, and get your own stuff done at night.

Now, I have a feeling that neither of these may be appropriate. They certainly haven’t worked for me.

The only thing that has is to constantly reschedule and reallocate things to try to keep my life in balance – and then accept that every so often I won’t get things right. Just go for best fit.

Oh. And get a cat. Then when things aren’t working properly you can kick it.

In principle, I’m all for the idea, especially “to live simply that others may simply live”. (Can’t remember where that cliched phrase comes from.) When helping empty my father-in-laws house, I suggested, “If in doubt, whoosh”. (ie. chuck it in the skip.) Meantime events move on and I’m all but divorced, so I will be looking at doing some of the same – what don’t I want? what is part of my “old life”? Very easy to think like it, much harder to do. I’d love to take bags of stuff down the charity shop and get rid of all that stuff I kept “just in case I’ll need it again”, but will I find the time? have the nerve?

But there’s another big problem – in simplifying, are we just getting rid of perfectly good stuff in order to buy (fewer) replacements? eg. clearing the wardrobe sounds good, but does it also mean “I’ll have fewer things, but some stuff that feel more up to date”. ‘Cos then the danger is that we’ll just clear out again in two years and buy more – consumerism without the track record.

At the moment, the “altruistic” side of it’s a struggle, but the desire just to “start again” is strong, but gonna entail some serious replacement and re-decorating. At the end I hope to have a house that looks cleaner, brighter and less cluttered, but there is no doubt I will have paid a lot for it!