This is a good no non-sense article and I appreciate the approach the author takes. I am a graduate student juggling two part-time jobs and city bus commutes, which really chop down the time I have available to cook or relax. To compensate, I starting going out to eat a lot, but I ended up gaining weight and being unhappy with how I felt, because I was eating food that was higher in salt, fat and sugar than I normally cook. What I eventually realized is that if I make time to cook, I am more content, more relaxed and I feel better than if I rush off, pick up a latte on the way to work and a buy a sandwich that doesn't even taste very good a couple of hours later. And... I am saving a ton of money by cooking at home and by making my own coffee in the morning.
Lets here it for keeping it simple!
Christina
of WI
@
Aug 13, 2008 14:14:42 PM
Having a vegetable garden and freezing or canning the fruit of your garden for winter is ideal and "simple" for some but it is also hard work. For someone who doesn't genuinely like to garden, raising their own food would complicate, not simplify, their lifestyle.
It's all about what you enjoy doing and how you want to spend your time.
I agree with the earlier comment that "simplicity" is easier for the well-off. Going part-time and still affording a mortgage is more attainable for a college professor than for a fry-cook at Wendys.
Courtney Oakley
of NC
@
Aug 13, 2008 10:22:37 AM
One Step Further
To go one step further than just living simply to be less distracted, and to have more time to enjoy life, is to do it because it is good for the earth. The less stuff I have, the less packaging, materials, and resources I've wasted. Most my friends and family see me "sacraficing", but to me it isn't a sacrifice if I would rather live this way. I would rather live this way because it's better for the earth, better for my kids future, better for my happiness.
Kris
of RI
@
Aug 11, 2008 12:39:25 PM
Simplifying the nest
I've been thinking about this process since January - going through what I have and asking myself "do I use this?" and "do I want this?" It's amazing how much I've recycled or donated to charity (my tax deductions will be quite impressive next year!).
It's also having a knock-on effect for my health. I've replaced my cosmetics and toiletries with less toxic brands, and will do the same with cleaning supplies when they run out. We also eat organic and home-cooked food whenever we can now. It's so much more satisfying to know what's on the plate, and feel proud of making it (if it turned out to be tasty).
As for tv, we watch a few movies or series on DVD - no adverts. And now that we're thinking about having children, the choice between going shopping or saving up to give them a good education, rather than 12 years of state-run babysitting with a tv on in the corner, is a no-brainer!
Catherine
of NC
@
Aug 10, 2008 09:42:21 AM
A new kind of materialism?
I loved this interview. It brought up a poignant point for me: Is buying experiences, such as an exotic vacation, or a ski pass, still considered materialistic behavior? I much prefer experiences over physical stuff, mostly because it doesn't take much to make me comfortable. However, I'm still purchasing something with my own interest in mind; that is, my own experience. I would argue that this makes me a materialist, albeit a different kind.
That said, I find I'm more happy without stuff. Excessive possessions stress me out, for reasons a previous commenter mentioned: there's more to fix and more to store. I'd rather own a few good-quality items than many of pretty much anything. Except for vacations :).
-Drea from Businesspundit.com
Drea
of CO
@
Aug 09, 2008 18:13:31 PM
I'm 28, I used to not be able to live without shopping. One month last year, I decided not to shop for an entire month. I would live on the most basic necessities. After that month I realised that not-shopping was no big deal, and now I actually detest people who are overly materialistic. I still buy stuff occasionally, but when I hear my friends talking non-stop about the latest designer-whatever, I get quite put off.
I thought about it, and it's now that I'm able to afford stuff that I feel less of a desire to buy them
poohpassport
@
Aug 09, 2008 12:19:39 PM
I think the simplest way to live life is to do what you want to do, whether it is to buy a two dollar latte or not. If you go out of your way to be "volentarily simple" then I think it would complicate things, no? I think if you strive to do something you want, even if it isn't economically frugal, it is simple. To do something outside of desire is contention.
Maybe I am misinterpreting it.
RoryStotts
of TX
@
Aug 08, 2008 17:42:46 PM
I strongly believe that going back to a basic way of life is better for you and your family. Capitalism by its very nature needs people to conform to survive, it is such a powerful force penetrating through every media e.g. 'I need to buy this shampoo because im worth it!'.
The proof that material based happiness is impossible to achieve is that it is based on the natural human desire of greed. How many rich and famous people do we know who have just bought one ferrari? its always 'i'll be happier when I have the latest Ducati or a bigger mansion'. Conditional happiness is living for the future and not enjoying the present.
Enjoying ones current surroundings, food, health and family life are what feeds the soul, not the latest hairdo or handbag. Put simply, live everyday as if its your last and do we ever her the speech in funerals ' he was a great man with ten cars and fove boats', I think not.
O.J.
of
@
Aug 08, 2008 17:21:38 PM
Simple Pleasures for Simple Minds...
Having breakfast outside on the patio in the morning, making lunch instead of going out to eat at work every day, keeping less junk in the house--if we haven't used it for a year--let's toss it, enjoying conversation or a board game instead of watching a movie with guests, hiking in a park on a beautiful day, smelling the air during a rain storm, listening to the silence after the first snowfall...
I derive much joy from having a "simple mind."
Grace
of VA
@
Aug 07, 2008 12:33:53 PM
Simplicity = having fewer things
I define simplicity very simple: reduce the number of my possessions. I learned to anticipate the hidden costs of ownership - not financial costs, but logistical costs. I will have to store it. It will inevitably get in the way of something else I'm trying to find. I will feel regret at having purchased it if I don't use it very much. Yet I own an iPhone and love it. I have a plasma TV, mainly because I could hang it on the wall, hide the wires, and get an extra piece of furniture (the "entertainment center") out of my living room, freeing up space.
Household satisfaction to me means a small number of intensively used objects (like a good set of knives instead of 4 different kinds of food processors) that are immediately accessible, easily stored, easily cleaned, and easily located. That means less clutter, more elbow room, and fewer things to fix.
Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, writes about how to save money, avoid scams, manage debt, and be a savvy shopper. Send your personal finance questions to her for expert money advice.
Christina of WI @ Aug 13, 2008 14:14:42 PM
Courtney Oakley of NC @ Aug 13, 2008 10:22:37 AM
Kris of RI @ Aug 11, 2008 12:39:25 PM
Catherine of NC @ Aug 10, 2008 09:42:21 AM
Drea of CO @ Aug 09, 2008 18:13:31 PM
poohpassport @ Aug 09, 2008 12:19:39 PM
RoryStotts of TX @ Aug 08, 2008 17:42:46 PM
O.J. of @ Aug 08, 2008 17:21:38 PM
Grace of VA @ Aug 07, 2008 12:33:53 PM
nobi yono of OH @ Aug 07, 2008 09:49:25 AM
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