» Simple Living

Zen Habits: Website Review

Zana — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:23:45 +0000

Recently I found myself at Zen Habits because I had come across a link to an excellent article on the site, Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life. It’s a guide to getting rid of what is less important to you in your life, so you can concentrate on what you really care about. That could be anything… the article is full of suggestions like decluttering, simplifying work and home tasks, eliminating the clothes you don’t wear, and so on. There are actually 72 ideas on the list, and many of them have links to other articles of his and other websites around the web.

So I lost myself in all that for a while. I always love reading simple living tips from other people… I get more ideas that way. Think I will finally give away some of the cotton-polyester clothing in my closet that I wear about once a year, since I really prefer natural fibers.

Back to Zen Habits… There is so much there, that I was delighted to find Start Here on Leo Babauta’sminimalist Zen- style menu… that link takes you to the Beginner’s Guide to Zen Habits – A Guided Tour. Here is part of it:

The All-Time Most Popular Posts on Zen Habits

Well, have fun! And don’t be surprised if some of his pages turn up sometime on this website… people are welcome to copy his writings if they want to. Very cool.

This article came from: Zen Habits: Website Review at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

The Audacity of Simplicity, a New Book by Tim Boston

Zana — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:48:00 +0000

My husband Kelly heard about The Audacity of Simplicity and passed news of it on to me. I didn’t want to wait till I had read it to get the word out about it…looks very timely and got good reviews. Here’s a bit about it:

Financial strains, housing crisis, credit crunch,climate change, overconsumption, war, and a general malaise plague our world, but what do they all have in common?

They are a consequence of a modern way of behaving that all too often excludes the simpler ways in life.

How do we truly feel when we buy extra ‘things’ amidst store crowds in comparison to chatting and watching a sunset with people we love?

Why are we more willing to spend time buying those lifeless objects instead of receiving a warm free hug?

Have we been incorrectly programmed in some manner? How much is time sitting in a park listening to the birds really worth?

What products are truly life sustaining, and what is causing us stress?

How have we lost our way and why?

The Audacity of Simplicity tackles these questions and more by revealing some of the very notions that defy a world of turmoil, decay, and unhappiness.

It asks us to walk in strength towards a more hopeful future that redefines progress and success as personal and social well-being, environmental stewardship, relationship-building, non-material growth, inner reflection, and social capital.

It envisions a caring humanity with shared emotions and a common destiny.

Tim Boston, DipSoSc, BA, MES, PhD
Author & Philosopher

Click on the book cover to find out more at Amazon:

How to Live a Simple Life is the subtitle of this timely book.

This article came from: The Audacity of Simplicity, a New Book by Tim Boston at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

Simple Living Isn’t Simple

Zana — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:47:30 +0000

Back when the Voluntary Simplicity movement got started — that link takes you to the book of that name — I noticed that simple living was often more complex. Here are some examples:

It’s way more work to make your own bread by hand than to buy a good whole grain loaf from a bakery or grocery store. (Now, with bread machines, this is less true!)
It’s more time consuming to recycle… happily, this is less true now, but it certainly was then, when we had to drive our stuff to a recycling center that was only open on Saturdays.
Shopping for all-cotton clothes and sheets may take more time than grabbing some part-synthetic items off the shelves.

But my friends and I found a satisfaction that made the extra time well spent. There’s a feeling of being a part of our world that comes from gardening, for example. And by consuming less of our world’s resources, we were expressing a connection with the poorer people of the world.

One thing I noticed back then remains true today. One person’s simple living might be someone else’s nightmare. We each have to make our own choices. For example, I realize that I am weird to most people in that I don’t like going to movies, would rather read or nowadays web-surf and be more with my own thoughts.

Someone else may need a more elaborate wardrobe than I do, because they go out to a “day job” and also because they are inherently more stylish than I am. But I admit to buying and reading far, far more books than most people. (I am keeping my eye on the Kindle but so far I couldn’t download while I’m home in Mexico.)

So not only do the actions of a simple lifestyle often take more time, but also the decisions about what to do can require some thought. None of this is simple, but the satisfactions are great.

Now to go plant those seeds I didn’t get to on the weekend…

This article came from: Simple Living Isn’t Simple at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

The Encyclopedia of Country Living, by Carla Emery: A Review

Zana — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:04:00 +0000

I first bought the massive Encyclopedia of Country Living, by Carla Emery, over ten years ago. I kept it by my bedside for late-night reading because there was no pesky plot to keep me awake. I found it written in an enjoyable style, with lots of sections I wanted to read. I’ve cooked many recipes from it and several have become favorites. The title is a bit misleading: this is not just a book for people living in the country, as anyone interested in simple living will find a lot of interest in the book.

I think it would also be useful to people trying to get by on less money, as it has so many tips on gardening, cooking, food preservation, raising animals, planting trees, and related topics. Certainly in suburbs and even in cities, people are finding ways to garden. This encyclopedia has always recommended a lot of other books, and the latest edition mentions a number of websites as well.

When I bought myself a new copy not long ago, I noticed that at least one reviewer at Amazon made the point that The Encyclopedia of Country Living is not the best book available on some of the specific topics it covers. For example, this afternoon I was browsing through the section on raising chickens, which is something I have done and might do again. Yes, there might be a better book on the subject, but it wouldn’t also be good on different ways of preserving food or on eco-safe household cleansing with low-cost ingredients. It’s the wide range of topics that makes this book so valuable. I hope not too many readers will need the short section on giving birth alone!

Carla Emery grew up in Montana and began writing this book during the back-to-the-land era, when she was living in a small town in Idaho with her husband and young children. It’s gone through edition after edition, getting larger and larger… the 10th edition is around 900 pages! She writes in a folksy style and includes many tips, ideas, recipes, and suggestions that other people sent to her.

This is one handy book on my reference shelf. What about you? Find out more at Amazon about: The Encyclopedia of Country Living.

This article came from: The Encyclopedia of Country Living, by Carla Emery: A Review at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

Does Every Little Bit Help?

Zana — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:39:19 +0000

I live simply in many ways by choice, and in some ways because I think it’s the right thing to do. And sometimes I wonder, does it really matter if I re-use plastic bags or keep my use of energy to a minimum? I mean with all the billions of us here on the planet, how much difference do a few bags or kilowatts make? If I’m tired, especially, it can be a challenge.

But yeah… it matters.

It matters because of how I feel maybe as much as because of the actual energy quotient. There’s that inner gyroscope that shows me when I am balanced and when I am not. If I forget to take my bags to the market, I am less in harmony with the All. Somebody else might not have that connection in their personality, but I do, so it matters.

And so I’m coming back to this website, started almost three years ago, but not really anything more than a few pages till lately. Now I’m gearing up to make it one of my main on-going projects.

Do I really have anything to add to the conversations about green living, about simple living? I hope so. We’ll see. We cast longer shadows than we know. And maybe every little bit will help.

This article came from: Does Every Little Bit Help? at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

Simple Living is Fun!

Zana — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:05:14 +0000

Simple living is a lot of fun.

I don’t think this aspect occurs to people until they have been involved in simple living for a while. Admittedly, going around changing all your light bulbs may not be the most fun you’ve had this week. It has its own rewards, of course, but fun isn’t the main one.
Personally, I like simple living because with fewer possessions and a smaller home to take care of, with a less hectic lifestyle, I have more time.

More time to write — and for me, a day when I don’t get around to writing is a day with less life in it.
More time to do my yoga stretches, morning walk, and prayer / meditation.
More time to play badminton with my husband, in the evening just after the sun goes off the badminton setup in our yard.
More time to really enjoy my friends… when they slow down enough!
More time on the phone with my favorite family members, who live thousands of miles away.
More time to cook from scratch.

More time, more fun…. and the simple green living lifestyle is better for our world.

This article came from: Simple Living is Fun! at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

Simple Living, Green Living

Zana — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:25:29 +0000

Simple living, green living… would you like to do more? Want to live more ecologically, more in harmony with nature?

There are so many things that you can do to change your lifestyle, a little bit… or a lot…

Anything you do helps us all. As modern physics shows us, we are all far more deeply interconnected than we have realized.

You may be — as I have been — overwhelmed or angry or not sure what matters the most. The purpose of this site is to help you choose what you can do to live more simply, what actions of yours can have the greatest beneficial effect on the planet.

It isn’t always what you think it will be. There are a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions out there. For example, recycling trash is certainly worthwhile but it is not going to save the planet. On the other hand, I think the world needs much more reasonable dialogue about how many children to have, if any.

The simple living movement has been around for decades, also often known as voluntary simplicity. The green component has always been there, but now many people who might not be drawn to simple living itself do care about green living.

Simple living, green living… not identical, but mostly overlapping. I write about both.

This article came from: Simple Living, Green Living at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.