Executing the "Five Pillars" Simple Living Rule in 11 Pictures
Cut the fluff, enjoy your life
The day I implemented my “five pillars” rule was the day my simple life started to work.
I’ve written about the five simple living pillars before - you can read about them here - but the basic premise goes like this:
Choose five priorities that form the basis of your simple life. Then, cut out as much of the fluff around these pillars as you can.
These can be totally customizable to fit your life. Why five? Because fewer feels like deprivation and more negate the “simple” aspect.
Here are mine:
Writing
Exercise
Coffee, food, and wine
Spending time with my husband, family, and friends
Traveling
These five activities make up around 90% of my time.
I’ve spent close to ten years creating my own five simple living pillars. It’s not easy - but once you get the hang of it, it will make the biggest difference to your simple life.
This weekend, I put my simple living pillars into overdrive.
I’ve been traveling around the UK (pillar no. 5 - travel) to visit friends and family (pillar no. 4) relax, cook (pillar no. 3), and soak up good vibes.
And I took photos to show you what a weekend spent honoring the five-pillar rule looks like.
Like this one. This is me, my husband (on the right), and the current owner of the wine shop we sold in order to travel the world:
It’s always strange to visit my old wine store and bar. It’s like going back into a house you once owned. But I get to visit the owner Jaime. Jaime took over Vino Vero and made it his. He stuck to the values we spent nearly 8 years refining. Values like selling organic, biodynamic, and natural wine, customer service, being a big part of the local community, and being the best we can possibly be. He retained our staff, he made everything in that place better. We couldn’t have asked for a better person to sell our business baby to.
Pillar no. 3 - wine - and no. 4 - visiting friends and family unlocked.
On Easter weekend, I executed all my simple living pillars in 24 hours.
My in-laws moved to Suffolk around a year ago, deep into the countryside in a 300-year-old thatched roof cottage. We headed up there for the bulk of the weekend.
It’s here I ran for the first time in weeks then flopped on the lawn admiring the daffodils whilst wheezing out my breaths (pillar no. 2 - exercise)
We took a long walk into the countryside that hit my “exercise” and “spending time with family” pillars.
We visited Lavenham which I hear is overrun with tourists during the busy summer months. It was mercifully quiet this weekend.
The buildings here are over 600 years old. I assume protractors were not a thing back then because there wasn’t a straight line in any of those buildings. They tumble into each other as if held up by, well, nothing. They overhang as if they’re about to fall down. And they’re utterly beautiful:
We spent time in two old English pubs. These are sadly dying out across the UK but the one at the end of my parents-in-law’s lane is thriving. We had lunch at another one that brews their own beer which I enjoyed too much to remember to take a photo. It did however hit pillars no. 3 and 4 - food and family.
And of course, I wrote (pillar no. 1). I wrote this article in my pajamas at my in-laws’ dining table. I journaled. I wrote down ideas for articles and recipes for The Capsule Pantry.
I also engaged in some ancillary activities like crochet which I only get to indulge in whilst in the UK (yarn is too bulky for travel) and reading which even though I do nearly every day, didn’t quite make my final five.
It was a weekend of restorative goodness. It pumped me up for the week, it made me feel good.
That’s what living within your simple living pillars can do.
How to create your own five pillars
Here’s a paywall-free link to that aforementioned article I wrote about creating your five simple living pillars. I’m not going to regurgitate everything in that article - it’s better you read it after this. But here are the highlights:
What fills your tank? Start with that - Filling the tank means focusing on activities that restore your energy levels rather than deplete them.
Figuring out your own pillars is as easy as making a list - Make a list of activities you a) do every day and b) wish you could do more of in a simple living scenario. On the left, list activities that make you feel good (filling the tank). On the right, list anything that makes you feel like crap or exhausted (emptying the tank). The right side is important to document because sometimes what you love to do can still empty your tank.
When you decide on your own pillars, concentrate on that left-hand list.
Become ruthless in creating (and protecting) your pillars - I had to fight tooth and nail to create a simple life. It required a complete overhaul of everything, from where and how I lived, to my job to the people I hung around with. My life now is nothing like my life two years ago. You need to protect those pillars so they in turn can protect you.
To get you started, here are some simple living pillar ideas I’ve gleaned from friends, family, and acquaintances:
Volunteering.
Spending more time with your kids.
Gardening and growing food.
Exercise.
Meaningful work.
Cooking.
Learning.
Travel.
Writing.
Creating art.
Music.
Photography.
Meditation.
Reading.
None of this is easy
Paring life down to five or so pillars is probably the hardest part of crafting a simple life. Modern life is intent on distracting and pulling you away from what matters most. You’ve got to fit in work, commitments, kids.
Developing your own pillars is a work of a lifetime.
But at the end of the day, the premise behind the pillars is extremely simple.
Priorities.
It’s where you choose to spend your time. It’s how you choose to live.
Most people are able to choose at least some of their priorities. Keep them few and keep them simple and you’ve won half the simple living battle.
THANKS FOR READING!
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