simplicity

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strngrnrth

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What would real voluntary simplicty look like for us here? Not doing without things we need to be healthy or to have opportunities, not necessarily austerity at all, but stepping quietly back from excess so as to stay in control.
I have looked at magazine articles that say they are advocating “voluntary simplicity” that actually advertise $10 loofahs and $45 dining room chairs. Seriously, when we don’t start off in a fantasy world, what are steps toward the simplicity that was normal a few years ago that wouldn’t actually hurt us? I thought of redefining my idea of a treat to what it was when I was 12 – wow! I enjoy those things still and they sure are cheaper than what I was getting used to. Coffee “out” is again a special thing, not where I spend time by default. That saves time as well as money and because I’m home or at someone’s home when I meet with friends we have an incentive to eat healthy food and get our homes cleaned up.😃 Last night, expecting someone for coffee, I finally set up a bookshelf. It looks good.
I was thinking I’d wash some casual summer clothes in the tub and dry them on hangers as in the days when I had to. It takes no time when it’s hot out.
What resource-saving tips are others hip to?
 
strngrnrth said:
What would real voluntary simplicty look like for us here? Not doing without things we need to be healthy or to have opportunities, not necessarily austerity at all, but stepping quietly back from excess so as to stay in control.
I have looked at magazine articles that say they are advocating “voluntary simplicity” that actually advertise $10 loofahs and $45 dining room chairs. Seriously, when we don’t start off in a fantasy world, what are steps toward the simplicity that was normal a few years ago that wouldn’t actually hurt us? I thought of redefining my idea of a treat to what it was when I was 12 – wow! I enjoy those things still and they sure are cheaper than what I was getting used to. Coffee “out” is again a special thing, not where I spend time by default. That saves time as well as money and because I’m home or at someone’s home when I meet with friends we have an incentive to eat healthy food and get our homes cleaned up.😃 Last night, expecting someone for coffee, I finally set up a bookshelf. It looks good.
I was thinking I’d wash some casual summer clothes in the tub and dry them on hangers as in the days when I had to. It takes no time when it’s hot out.
What resource-saving tips are others hip to?
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Do not eat meat… and Peter Singer endorses it.
 
i walk or bike when possible, instead of driving a car. it really changes my mood and general outlook on life when i’ve had good healthy excersize, and it’s actually serving a purpose.

also, i’ve been thinking about growing my own veggies and herbs. it would be a healthy hobby that would enable me to live more simply as well

i’ve cut out cable. it’s crazy how much life changes without it. although i do miss ewtn, the discovery channel, the history channel, etc.
 
Hmm…maybe I should cut down from two monitors (my notebook’s and my external…with “extended desktop”) to just one. 😉

Seriously though…this is something I struggle with. I did start making my mochas at home - it saves money, besides simplifying my life. I would like to stop Dish service, but the President (wife…I’m CEO 🙂 ) is not in agreement at this time. I have cut down on my TV viewing and increased reading. Things get more complicated when you are married with kids. Incrimental changes can be made, with the support of your spouse, but if I got a “wild hair” and decided to model our home after a Benedictine Abbey to follow *The Rule *more closely, there would be much grumbling amongst my “monks.”

Oh…and I’m thoroughly hooked on this CAF thingy. I’m seriously considering buying some Parental Control software and giving my President the password show she can block this site. That would really simplify things for me. :o
 
Buy only the amount of clothes and shoes that are actually needed, not all that are desired.

Buy clothing that is washable to cut the dry cleaning bill down where possible. (I transitioned from mostly business suits to dresses partly for that reason and partly because it is one piece of clothing versus three to get ready.)

Get a “wash and go” haircut that requires fewer products, appliances, etc to be maintained.

Set up online bill paying and use it to pay everything possible by sitting down once per month at the computer (or less if you schedule recurring payments). It cuts down on paper usage, stamps, gas and time. Plus if you wash as many expenses as possible through a rewards credit card, you get a tidy little bonus after spending only your normal amounts. (I just redeemed about one year’s worth of points for $300 in gift cards that I used to offset grocery and other normal expenses). I know that last bit may not appear simple at first, but I actually get an itemized statement that helps me to track my spending better than the bank statement.
 
strngrnrth said:
I have looked at magazine articles that say they are advocating “voluntary simplicity” that actually advertise $10 loofahs and $45 dining room chairs.
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Isn’t this the funniest thing?

We’ve done some things to move toward simplicity.
  1. we bake our own bread. Not hard, better for you, and really helps drive home the “give us this day our daily bread” phrase
  2. No TV. We have a TV set, that’s connected to a DVD player, but it is so seldom used that it becomes an event for the family to enjoy together.
  3. We also don’t eat meat, but I’m not sure how much a move towards simplicity that is, since we’ve replaced it with un-simple veggie hot dogs, soy meat, fake chicken patties, etc.
  4. our attitude toward child rearing. We don’t indulge in the consumer-driven more more more child rearing mentality that popular culture endorses and so many parents wage war against.
 
Cari said:
  1. We also don’t eat meat, but I’m not sure how much a move towards simplicity that is, since we’ve replaced it with un-simple veggie hot dogs, soy meat, fake chicken patties, etc.
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Why are you abstemious towards meat? I do not think you are motivated from a utilitarian framework.
 
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