Simplify

Almost There....

As I head into the final week of Simplify I am starting to think I will miss some parts of what I have learned. But of course that is the point. I don't have to miss the lessons I have learned I need to carry on and build on them.

As I have said previously the part I have found the hardest has been the cost of socialising - especially around sport. I know lots of socialising can come free and I have enjoyed some great hospitality but this has not been a proper substitute for my 3-5 sessions of sporting activity each week. But at least now I know the true financial cost!.

Overall I have been coping quite well on the £5 per day. In fact there have been many days where I haven't spent anything like that amount of money. My food has been planned and pre-purchased so I have found I need nothing more. But I do know this is highly unrealistic. I know there are big bills stored up which I would need to save for. So whilst I have been creative in making savings in my lifestyle and many of these I won't reverse, I am not at all complacent that I could live year after year like this without savings to back me up.

In the time I have created I have reflected quite a bit. Suddenly the amount of time I have spent thinking about food has been in direct correlation to the lack of money I have. I was humbled once to hear an Ethiopian boy when asked what he liked to do said "I like to pray for food".  Even though I have had to think about how much I have to spend on food the fact that I can walk a matter of 100 m in any direction and find an abundance of food if I have the money is very humbling. In East Africa again this Autumn it is estimated that 20m face starvation. Even the £5 a day I have seems like luxury.

So when I have finished I will reflect properly on which bits I am carrying into my daily life. But for now I will try to get through this last week with a smile on my face and a determination to encourage more people to take this small journey to discover more about themselves. For that is what this is all about. We can find our true selves by what we are able to leave alone. And don't forget even if you win the rat race - you are still a rat!

Lack of Fashion Sense Finally Pays Off

I have never been interested in fashion as many people will testify! This is one area where Simplify comes easy to me. I hate buying clothes and really detest the need generated by the fashion industry to throw away perfectly good clothes because they deem 'fashion has moved on'. I have always felt fashion is the most glaring example of our consumerism gone mad. People willing to pay silly money for items with a label.

I also seem to have the knack of not wearing clothes and shoes out. However, I can take this all a bit too far and I did notice my 2 pairs of shoes are finally coming to an end. They should be, they are both over 6-8 years old. In normal times I may well have been tempted to replace one of the pairs. Alas no. I have a great excuse to carry on for another year in my shoes and my favourite scruffy rugby shirt & jeans. I can honestly say I have found an element of Simplify that comes all too easily to me.

A Day in the Life of an MP on Simplify

Watch the short film below of Andy Reed MP as he talks about the challenges that have come with Simplifying his life.

Andy Reed MP on BBC Radio Leicester

Yesterday Andy Reed MP spoke to BBC Radio Leicester about his experience of doing Simplify, start listening at 13 minutes in.

Moving to the Next Level - Tackling Gadgets?

So far I feel I am coping with what Simplify has thrown at me. It hasn't been easy and I am sure some of the things I am coping with missing I will look forward to doing again. So far it is the cost of social sport that has struck me. I didn't realise how much I spent and how cut off and isolated I would feel not being able to afford to participate.

But my biggest challenge is the one area of life and Simplify I know am the biggest failure. I am a man and I love gadgets. There I have said it. I am sad. I am amazed at what my PDA/ iphone can allow me to do. Most of it is meaningless but the fact that it can do it is good enough for me.

Last month for my birthday i got a great card from my family which summed this up. A man sitting at his computer shouts out in excitement at his computer which has a programme which can show him the exact weather at his exact location in real time. Sitting behind him is a window which of course would do exactly the same!! I saw too much of me in that cartoon character.

So far I have no answers. In fact having more time to fiddle with gadgets has been an upside of Simplify. I now need to spend the rest of the time reflecting on what and why I use gadgets and if I can do it differently. I am sure I am not alone in this modern dilemma.

Short Term v Long Term Simplification

As I get further into 'Simplify' I find that apart from food planning and having to think a bit more about various aspects of my life, not a lot has changed. In fact by thinking ahead and planning I am finding I am spending virtually nothing outside of my food needs. Maybe I am more boring than I though. However, this is why I know a month is not long enough. There are far too many 'big bills' and hidden costs in my life that I can get away with even in one month. I have generally been able to walk and cycle. But because I am still working I have needed the car on a few occasions. I have used it far less however so that is good. Suddenly a 5 mile bike ride to a meeting just means building in 30 minutes either side. That is 30 minutes of ME time too. But even though my car is a 10 year old Rover 25 with low tax, insurance and running costs I know these are annual bills that have to be budgeted for. I know I have to budget for depreciation/ replacement costs too. (As part of my wider move to simplify all aspects of life I do believe in not borrowing money as far as possible too!) Once these are taken into account the little I have spent on fuel for the month makes the economics of owning a car seem ridiculous. No wonder car share schemes are booming. This is certainly one area of life that needs deeper thought.

Other gems this week. By volunteering as I do with the Cubs I got a free swimming session. The swimming for the Cubs of course is now free thanks to the introduction of free swimming by the government earlier this year. However, the thing I will miss most this month are my sessions at the gym. I have taken the useful advice and decided to use the natural environment to keep fit instead of paying to use gym equipment. But I will miss the whole experience.

So far so good. But now I am back at work in London I face new challenges. I have promised myself not to eat at work using canteens. The problem is that we work 9am to about 10.30pm so there is no opportunity to prepare and cook a hot meal at home. I will have to see how I get on with this. On the other hand it does stop me spending money on leisure. But for me simplifying my life properly would be to end these ridiculous long hour work cultures just as much as cutting back on the cost of food and leisure.

New Food Focus at Harvest

I am usually not that bothered about food at all. But my long journey to Simplify means I have had to give it a lot more thought at a personal level. It is strange because I have always been interested in the 'politics' of food. In fact I put the inequality of food distribution as one of my driving forces for getting directly involved in politics. The fact that Europe had food mountains and yet people were starving across the globe meant that I wanted to change the world not just distribute aid.

Now I am faced with a series of dilemmas on Simplify. I need to eat within my budget but I am still desperate to maintain the journey I have been on for the last few years; that is to eat sustainably, healthily and ethically at the same time. My purpose of doing this is to appreciate the costs but not to concentrate on the poverty aspect - but to lead a more holistic simple life.

Harvest Festival at church this year took on a new focus. All too often we can slip into the same routines - collecting our produce at the front of church and giving God thanks for His provision. We pray about those who have little food and face hunger. I am sure each year I am pretty focused on what we are doing but yesterday I felt a lot closer to the issue than I have ever felt before. I am fortunate that I have been able to travel to developing countries with various agencies to see absolute poverty at first hand. It certainly creates a different level of understanding from just seeing these things on the TV or seeing pictures. I thought therefore I was already pretty thoughtful about my food. We started growing our own vegetables a few years ago and have taken an interest in sourcing meat locally from people we know for example. I have also always been interested in the health issues related to food. But I have done all of this journey from a position of relative wealth. Suddenly faced with a very tight budget all of my options are having to be re-evaluated and my level of appreciation has increased tenfold in just a few days.

I am sticking to the rules of Simplify for the right reasons, but my motivation with simplifying my life is not about doing it just 'on the cheap'. I know millions of people don't have any option. They are forced into absolute poverty. But I don't want to stop buying Fair Trade products or stop buying from local organic sources during this time. So it is proving extra hard on the budget. In one sense this is really useful as it has made me appreciate the extra few pence all do add up. But is has also helped me be more resourceful. Our eggs for example are now from a friend with chickens and its cheaper than the cheapest shop.

We have always tried to plan our meals so that we only buy food we need each week. But again this looks half hearted compared to the need to plan in far more detail and with a strict budget. There are so many little extras that now have disappeared. I saw the figures this week for the amount of food we throw away as a nation. I's a scandal and so planning will remain central to the way we do things.

The timing is hard too. We have had some good crops from the garden this year but sadly they are all coming to an end. Our greenhouse has been particularly good for tomatoes an cucumbers and we had the last of the french beans and rhubarb over the weekend.

So ironically for me food will be a more central part of my simplified life. I thought it was going to be all about reducing my consumption but wondering how to afford the next meal puts EVERYTHING into perspective!

Having to Think & the Benefits of Rugby!

I have noticed the biggest change I have had to make already is the need to think and plan. I have wanted life to be as near to normal as possible during this period so a Saturday for me is playing rugby for my local club. I have played for 27 years at the club and mostly never thought about the expenses incurred. Today would be different. In fact by thinking and planning it turned out rather well! The normal ‘match fee’ is £6 which suddenly on £5 a day looks slightly overwhelming. Of course we have a £3 unwaged category which looked better but still quite a chunk out of my allowance for the day. I didn’t want my world to stop doing Simplify so I bit the bullet and went for it. I then discovered a whole range of benefits and ways to reduce the costs. I didn’t know that whoever agrees to take the shirts home to wash was let off the match fee. So suddenly at the end of the game it had been free. However, I had to make a snap decision and was trying to work out the cost in materials and energy of washing 16 shirts. I still don’t know if I have saved money in the long run!? Then of course it is still traditional in rugby to provide the away team with a post match ‘meal’. Some clubs are better than others and today it was a strange mix of curry & chips. Not quite the healthiest meal but very welcome as it was now free. I did buy a post match drink – Blackcurrent and lemonade costing £1.50. If I had not made the saving on the match fee I may have had to miss out on this ‘luxury’. Fortunately I don’t drink alcohol very often so I won’t miss this aspect of life. SO I got home quite pleased with myself on a day I thought I would be over budget. I had a day out for £1.50 and had played rugby, spent time with friends and eaten a hot meal. Unfortunately it still mans I have 16 shirts to wash – but at least at this stage of the season they are not very muddy. However, I did come away realising the cost of my normal Saturday rugby treat. I managed to hide from the customary raffle that takes place. Suddenly the £1 seemed very precious to me. I will be looking through the fixture list with a different slant for the rest of the month – away games now mean free hot meals!

Worrying About Overconfidence AND Fear

I am feeling like an athlete who has trained for years and is finally at the start line. I feel prepared and confident that I can cope with what is ahead of me. But then I read the blogs of those like Steve and Ann and the struggles of others who have started out on this journey and suddenly I feel nervous and useless. What if I haven't prepared enough? What if I fail at the first hurdle?

I am great at making lists and creating more lists. 'Doing' always seems a bit harder than just thinking. But the reality of what lies ahead of me is now becoming very real. What strikes me as I ease into 'doing' is just how organised I need to be. No more rushing around without thinking ahead.

My other concern is the need to be clear about what Simplify means for me. I have been on a journey to simplify my life for God for a few years now. For me it is not just about doing everything as cheaply as possible and being 'poor'. I am doing this because I believe we need to live sustainably, ethically, healthily and in a balance of rhythm with our environment and relationships. So I fear I am expecting too much as will get this all wrong. How can I create time if I am meal planning all the time?

Of course my biggest fear is the way I will be ridiculed by the media and others in light of the stories about MPs over the last year. People assume a lot about our lifestyles based on their knowledge of a few headlines and high profile cases. My normal family life is just that - very normal. But we will see as I cut back how normal my definition of normal actaully is!

So a sense of overconfidence and fear are gripping me at the moment. I will start doing something practical to ease the tension. Time to do my meal planning, get out the tupperware and my flask.