Christine Simiriglia

1. What does living simply mean to you?

Living simply isn’t so much about “stuff”, but is more about peace and freedom.

As an organizer, I spend a lot of time helping people to deal with clutter (and a big part of living simply is not having a lot of clutter) but the tangible clutter is just the tip of the iceberg. We live in a time where we are all constantly over-stimulated. We are assaulted daily with advertisements, bits of information, email, phone calls, texts, junk mail, flyers, magazines, infomercials, bad TV. Our minds are cluttered.

Living simply, to me, is mostly about getting the outside stimulation under control, unplugging, and having the time and freedom to think good thoughts.

2. Why is it important to you? (finances, faith, politics, etc)

I firmly believe that most of us living in developed countries have too much. We have redefined “need” as “want”, and we want whatever everyone else has. Well, there is only so much “stuff” in the universe. If 80% of the stuff (food, clothing, cars, computers, etc.) is consumed by 20% of the world’s population, then there are people who are going to suffer and do without because of that. When I have more, someone else probably has less, and I’m not happy with that equation.

I also value my time and freedom, and both of those things are more abundant in a life lived with less stuff.

3. What steps have you taken to live simply in your day to day life?

I live a very full life, managing a website and coaching service and directing a program that works with people who are homeless and suffer with serious mental illness. I also knit, weave and spin, garden and spend time with my husband. Living simply, for me, has meant being more organized, managing my time better, saying “no” sometimes, and losing layers of “stuff” that have little meaning or offer nothing beautiful.

I only deal with email twice per day. I uni-task and focus all of my attention on the task at hand, getting it done more quickly. I’ve given up being a perfectionist. I outsource tasks that I dislike and can afford to let someone else do (ie. Merry Maids clean my house). I open mail by the recycling bin and toss almost all of it immediately. I try to eat whole foods and stay away from the processed junk that have become our food staples.

I wish I were vegan. I wish I perfect. I wish I were in tip top shape. I wish I grew my own food. I wish I could live with only one pair of shoes. I wish I could ride my bike to work. Right now, they are not part of my journey… but, the journey continues.

4. What’s been the hardest part of your simple journey?

The hardest part of simplicity for me continues to be keeping information overload out of my head. “Stuff” is pretty much under control: I can have stuff or not have stuff and its not really an issue. My struggle is with not allowing the information overload around me to encroach on my peace and freedom.

5. What advice would you give others who are on the living simple journey?

Define your own journey. Living simply looks different to everyone. Don’t think that someone else’s “simple” is better than yours.

Some of us were not cut out to be vegan and wear only clothing made of hemp, but we do look for fair trade products, especially in our food and clothing purchases. Some of us don’t can or preserve our own food, but we can eat foods with less preservatives, that are made more naturally. Some of us have more than one car, but we use the second sparingly and walk or bike whenever possible.

There is one basic rule to living simply: “think about every choice you make before you make it — its impact on your life, and its impact on the world”.

Christine Simiriglia has a master’s degree in Organizational Management and is a Professional Organizer, and Chief Operating Officer for a non-profit corporation that works with folks who are homeless, sometimes addicted, and have serious mental health issues. She organizes people, places, spaces and events. Even more than organizing, she loves coaching and teaching others creative ways to rid their lives of the stress and chaos brought on by disorganization and clutter. Her goal is to live simply and create space for others to do the same. Chris’ other passions include knitting, spinning, and weaving. When she’s not working, you’ll usually find her engaged in some fiber related activity. At times she can be found putting needles and yarn into the hands of unsuspecting strangers as she instructs them on how to “knit and purl”. She works in Philadelphia and is living happily ever after in New Jersey with the love of her life, Joshua, and two cats, Malachy and Sydney Alice. She blogs at www.organize-more-stress-less.com and you can follow her on Twitter at: @organize_more

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