Purpose

S is for Solid.

Solid as in sturdy, hearty, and firm.  Think of a 15-foot long barn wood table.  Think of a cast-iron Dutch oven.  Think of the suspension on an old army deuce-and-a-half.  Solid things last a long time and survive repeated use.  While solid things are not always physically heavy, they have a quality and heft to them that distinguishes – a quality and heft their makers often ensure with lifetime warranties and satisfaction guarantees.  Solid things can be abused, neglected, and used outside of their intended purpose and yet still endure to provide lasting value to our lives.  Solid is the first attribute of a SIMPL=E tool.

I is for Innovative.

Innovation is a double-edged sword.  While the continuous drive to improve our “things” has in many ways made them faster, lighter, cheaper, and more effective, it leaves in its wake a pile of fully-functional (if marginally older) “things” not on the very cutting edge of technology.  The perpetual grasp for the ‘latest and greatest’ clutters our lives with the obsolete must-haves of yesterday, often before we manage to fully pay off the bills from our desires of two days ago.  Innovation leaves a lot of stuff behind -this never-ending cycle can clutter and choke the joy from our lives – in fact, that constant search for that next best thing comes with the immeasurable opportunity cost of engaging in the world we currently live and with the people in our lives.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not entertaining some Luddite fantasy of the “good ole days” – many SIMPL=E tools are certainly innovative.  Many were (some still are) revolutionary achievements or evolutionary developments.  The innovation attribute here points to the departure these tools offer from the vicious cycle of 20th century consumerism.  SIMPL=E tools innovate by creating space for you to actually interact with the people and the world around you – freeing up your schedule, your day, and your bank account to actually do what you want to do.

M is for Multi-purpose.

Extraordinary things are often multi-purpose; that is, they can be utilized in a variety of ways and situations – an obvious example being that of the Swiss Army knife.  However, the full usefulness of these tools is not always immediately evident.  Some items provide value in a variety of unintended ways, and that functionality can transform them into a SIMPL=E life tool.

Equally, some things are eminently not multi-purpose.  Take a lemon zester, for example: while it does a great job of shaving the waxy rind off citrus fruit, it does not really have any other use.  Unless you have the need for an emergency field-expedient emery board or are a serial baker of lemon merengue pies, I doubt a lemon zester provides any real or lasting value in your life.  Nothing personal against lemon zesters, but they spend the vast majority of their existence in your kitchen drawer, taking up space until they make the cut for the next garage sale or Goodwill drop-off.  They can also be replaced by a cheese grater or a deftly-handled serrated knife.

SIMPL=E tools cut down the amount of stuff you manage because they can take the place of so many other things.  No matter what it is, SIMPL=E life tools will free up your shelves, your drawers, your pack, and your life to live above the “stuff” and live extraordinarily.

P is for Practical.

Simply put, SIMPL=E life tools provide utility in their usage: they serve as practical solutions to everyday needs and problems.  What is the point of stuff that doesn’t have utility?  What is the point of a shirt that doesn’t protect you from the elements, keep you warm (or cool) or convey the useful outward image you desire?  SIMPL=E life tools provide solutions to the needs of your life, and they provide them well.

L is for Lifelong.

What stuff is valuable to you?  What kind of stuff provides utility over a long period of time? What kind of stuff is worth holding onto, and last long enough for you to be able to pass along to your children or even grandchildren?  Hand-me-downs can have a negative connotation in our current consumer culture – but how special is something that you receive from your parent or your grandparent?  If your home was burning down and you could only grab a handful of items to save, what would you take?

While many SIMPL=E life tools will wear out over the course of your life because of the nature of what they are, some items will endure.  While styles, technology, and preferences change, some items stand the test of time.  Some SIMPL=E life tools will not only last through your lifetime, but through your children’s and grandchildren’s lifetimes.  For that stuff that transcends generations, that’s keep it value through the lives of multiple individuals, for stuff that lasts, Lifelong is the ultimate attribute of a SIMPL=E life tool. 

E is for Extraordinary

You may have noticed that I use the word “extraordinary” often. When you look at the SIMPL attributes together, something exciting happens – that thing, that item, that “stuff” that consists of the attributes – its transforms into something beyond ordinary.  When that thing is solid, when it innovates your life, when it serves many purposes, when it does its job well, and then through all of that, you can pass it down to your grandchild, it becomes extraordinary.  It becomes a life tool that enables you to live life.  It won’t break or fail, causing you to spend time and cash buying the next thing.  It’s existence will preclude the need for other stuff from filling up your life.  It will help keep the management, storage, and disposal of all that stuff from controlling your life.  Instead of creating wedges between the ones in your life you care about (fights about picking up or fights about credit card bills), these tools will free up your time and money to spend with each other living life.  These are an extra-ordinary tools that unlock an extra-ordinary life.

I created this website because I, too have had my life dominated by the never-ending pursuit of stuff.  Every now and then, I would come across an item that I found was a “universal good” – that seemed to last through the ebbs and flows of life and provide constant value.  These items were truly tools for enjoying the adventures and relationship in my life.  It wasn’t until now that I was able to put my finger on what it was about this stuff that made it extra-ordinary – it was because these things are simple.

My pledge to you through this website is to show you these life tools and what makes them so extraordinary.  I hope to develop this site into a place where people from all walks of life can learn and choose to purge the riff-raff and fill their life instead with SIMPL=E tools, in order to live extraordinarily.

Welcome to the SIMPL=E Initiative.