Margaret Arnold • November 16, 2024
Benedictine Lessons in Simplicity

I have learned about simplicity in some unexpected places. Simplicity reveals itself in the smallest gestures: using both sides of copy paper when printing, returning chairs to their proper place before leaving a conference room, turning off lights, carefully thinking about the lettering design and placement of signage. These are all examples of simplicity I observed and came to appreciate working for a Benedictine community. Although Benedictines don't formally commit to poverty in their vows, their founding document, The Rule of St. Benedict, emphasizes moderation and contentment with basic provisions … a simple lifestyle.


I first noticed the practices with a colleague who introduced me to repurposing the other side of copy paper surprisingly in a work setting for draft documents. Why not use the other side of copy paper until you are ready to present the final draft? This is a practice that I have kept for nearly 20 years and goes beyond recycling and reuses the blank side of the paper.


i have learned about simplicity in some unexpected places


With the same team, I was taught a form of Benedictine hospitality by pushing in conference and dining table chairs at the end of a meeting or lunch before departing. It seemed to not only show respect for the material furniture but greeted the guest who would use the space next. This practice – pushing in chairs after meetings and meals – taught me to see space as something we share with future users. Now I find myself pushing in chairs, tidying up areas in any space I’m in - meeting rooms, restaurants, hotel rooms, etc., - and find others following my example. The extra step ensures savings, kindness to the next group and simple respect for space.

As a marketing communications professional, preparing concepts, materials and campaigns for campus exterior signage and displays for approval became the purview of a monastic design committee. In our fast-paced world of viral content and disposable ideas, the monastics’ slow, deliberate approach to design and visual space can test your patience. Yet over time, I came to appreciate the community’s slow and deliberate process as the world moves faster and faster and things and ideas become so viral and disposable.


While I’m no expert in The Rule of St. Benedict, the values and people who embody them have deeply influenced my life. Beyond the community’s larger stewardship work and programs, it’s these small, mindful practices that are my daily companions. Look closely, you’ll see simplicity’s silver threads in every corner of your life.


  • Notice one space you use and how you can leave it ready for the next person.
  • Try the two-sided paper practice this week.
  • Keep an eye out for simple, thoughtful design. Did it still catch your attention?



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Past Blogs

Downsizing Without Losing Memories

By Margaret Arnold • August 23, 2025
With the State Fair and the new school year here, memories flood back — once captured on a paper calendar pinned to the bulletin board, then in spiral-bound weekly calendar (still my favorite, pencil only!), and later on desktop electronic calendar. When we decided to downsize while preserving memories, I organized nearly 35 years of family dates into a single Google Sheet called "Family Important and Fun Dates from Margaret’s Calendars." This simple digital chronicle of our family’s journey, from our children's milestones to the activities and adventures my husband and I now enjoy as empty nesters. tODAY, THERE IS JUST ONE GOOGLE SHEET ...

Saying Goodbye to Boxes, Keeping the Memories

By Margaret Arnold • July 26, 2025
Thirteen years, seven rental properties, and countless storage boxes later, my oldest daughter finally has a home of her own. Through college, medical school, and residency, we continued to store belongings that didn't fit or belong in the cramped spaces of her temporary living situations. Passing along her belongings felt like closing one chapter and opening another—most of all, it represented the end of her grueling training years and the beginning of truly settling down in a lovely home and neighborhood. Her move got me reflecting on my own relationship with storage and my journey toward "Silverish Simplicity." In our former family home, we had one large storage area and two guest bedroom closets filled with plastic totes and banker boxes (see picture below). I even stored empty totes—a sure indication I was planning to accumulate more rather than less. With our move nearly four years ago and the natural process of downsizing while launching our children into their first homes, the number of boxes and totes has dramatically decreased. More importantly, I have no reason to purchase new totes, and I celebrate each time I empty a box or bin and it moves on to family members who need them. ... THE NUMBER OF BOXES AND TOTES HAS DRAMATICALLY DECREASED ...
Flower container pot with a bag of tools

Next Needed Thing: Grandpa's Summer Visits

By Margaret Arnold • June 28, 2025
My spring and summer to-do lists fondly remind me of my father. When my husband and I started caring for our long-time family home and 30 acres, spring's excitement came with overwhelming feelings. Early there with four young children ages six months to five years, I found myself in tears facing all that needed to be done, including a large pasture that needed mowing. My dad — a master gardener and hobby farmer — saw my tears and what was needed and stepped in. This began a 15-year summer routine to help with pasture mowing. Our family fondly remembers those early summer mornings when Grandpa arrived in his little tan truck, sometimes before 7 a.m. We'd chat over coffee at my kitchen table (youngest daughter remembering him sitting in "my chair"), then off he'd go to mow his adopted pasture. He loved to mow and, like everything our energetic father did, approached it as if he were running out of time. Oldest son recalls: "I'd bring him lemonade, and he'd drink most of it quickly. Then, without stopping, he'd throw the almost empty cup back at me and keep mowing." Oldest daughter added: "He was so focused that when we delivered lemonade, I was scared he might run me over." ... SPRING'S EXCITEMENT CAME WITH AN OVERWHELMING FEELING ...