The Case for Keeping Things Simple
Back to Basics
2019
2026
*This post has been updated for accuracy. The original post stated I owned the S’Well water bottle for 7 years, but I have owned it for 10 years.
I've had this S’well water bottle for about 10 years*.
Seven years.
And I still like it.
Which feels worth mentioning in a culture that is constantly encouraging us to replace, upgrade, refresh, and move on.
The same could be said for my wired headphones. They're not the newest or most sophisticated version of listening to something. They just work.
And lately, I've been thinking about how much I like things that simply work.
Things I already own. Things I've used enough to become familiar with. Things that have earned their place.
So when it comes to social media, instead of asking myself, how do I give it up, I find myself asking a different question:
What do I want to do more of?
It's a small shift, but it changes the conversation.
Because maybe the answer isn't to eliminate every screen, delete every app, or become someone who never watches television or checks Instagram.
Maybe it's simply to make more room for the things that make me feel like myself.
The things that leave me feeling inspired rather than depleted. The things that make me want to create, wander, read, notice, gather, and live.
So I've started making lists.
Not a list of things I'm giving up, but a list of things I want more of.
If you’re interested in seeing what my list looks like, feel free to check it out below. And in the spirit of The Wanderlust Homebody, I separated them into two categories. Enjoy!
My Homebody List
Write at my little spot at home.
Read my favorite blogs and visit websites that make me want to create.
Take walks around my neighborhood, visit the local park, or hike with my family.
Garden.
Read a novel.
Enjoy my coffee table books.
Listen to an audiobook or podcast I love while doing laundry.
Play tennis.
Play a board game, catch, or shoot some hoops with my family.
Bake something.
Prep dinner in advance.
Take photos with my Canon camera.
My Wanderlust List
Visit a walkable town nearby.
Wander around my favorite places in NYC.
Explore somewhere new in the city.
Write at a local coffee shop.
Write down my next travel destination(s).
Visit our local library.
Take a road trip and not post about it right away.
None of these things are particularly revolutionary.
That's what I like about them.
Maybe that's what “back to basics” means to me.
Not living without technology. Not refusing something new. Not making a virtue out of deprivation.
It's knowing what you love enough to keep using it.
A seven-year-old water bottle.
Wired headphones.
A favorite book.
A familiar walk.
A coffee shop where you like to write.
A tennis racket.
A board game pulled from the shelf.
A camera that makes you want to pay attention.
A road trip you don't immediately photograph for everyone else.
A life made richer by participating in it, rather than constantly documenting or upgrading it.
Sandy
