10 More Ways to Tell That You Are Living Simply

When you live simply, you do thing differently. You are an island of calm and control in a stormy ocean of out-of-control, hedonistic consumerism.

Here are some other ways to tell that you are living simply.

10 Ways to Tell That You Are Living Simply

1. Your idea of an exciting evening is waiting for your can's lids to ''POP'' after taking them out of the canner.

2. You are older than 12 and still ride a bike on a regular basis.

3. You have to explain to people that you home is sparse because you are a minimalist, not poor.

4. You know how to cook, and like it.

5. You value time more than money, and relationships more than things.

6. It feels better to get rid of stuff than it does to acquire more.

7. Diogenes, Saint Francis of Assisi, Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, and Marie Kondo are familiar names.

8. Your garden is bigger than your outdoor entertainment area, and might actually BE your outdoor entertainment area.

9. There is no need for off-site storage space for extra stuff because you don't have any extra stuff.

And finally,

10. You aspire to have the environmental footprint of an average Bangladeshi, and you actually know what that is - about 2 acres as opposed to 20 or more for most everyone you know. 

How do you tell if you are living simply?

More Nature, Less Stuff

It makes me laugh that humans think they are the most intelligent beings in the known Universe. 

Ha, ha, ha!

We aren't even the most intelligent beings on our own blue green home suspended in the blackness of space.

We can learn a lot by looking to all the other life with which we share this wonderful, wise planet.

There are lessons to be learned there that could make us more than tragically hip and dumb apes.

It should be a humbling experience, something we badly need if we are to save ourselves.

That is why I am a huge proponent of more nature, and less consumerism.

One will free us, the other enslave.

Today is a good day to be free.

In nature.

“Nature is our greatest teacher, of surrender, of allowing, of simply being. Every blade of grass, every flower, every tree remembers. This moment. This present. This is where life is.” - 

Most Prized Possessions

We are, to a certain extent, emotionally attached to all our possessions. Prized possessions, though, have a special meaning, and the attachment is generally stronger.

What are these prized possessions? 

Pearls, silver, and gold? Cars, houses, boats? 

In a survey done on all this super special stuff, or considerably credentialed crap, none of these are even in the top ten.

In no particular order, top tenners tend to be things like photographs, books, and stuff related to special days such as weddings and the birth of children.

Unexpectedly, as we work our way down the list of most popular prized possessions, houseplants come before cars.

Bicycles are way down in number 27, a few places after smart phones. What?

My bike would be in my top 3. 

That might be because Linda and I unloaded most of our photographs and books in our Big Move in 2014 when we moved from Sooke, BC to Digby, NS.

Almost ten years later, we don't miss them, or the love letters we recycled.

Our priorities had changed, and old prized possessions were replaced by new ones.

Like comfortable underwear, which comes high on the list of the average person's most cherished possessions. 

They come even before artistic tools and coffee makers, which makes sense. How can you enjoy doing art or drinking a good cup of jo if your underwear is uncomfortable?

Attachment to prized possessions, or any possessions at all, change over time as we grow older and wiser. Except comfortable underwear.

I never would have expected when I was young, to some day hold a good set of sharp kitchen knives to be way up on my top 10 list, but what can I say? 

Good knives are essential in a working kitchen, and I can't believe I ever cooked with crappy ones.

Eventually, stuff begins to take on less meaning for us as less tangible things start to work their way into our lives and on to our lists.

Think of the love of a partner, or good health. Or wisdom, and patience.

What could possibly be better than those? 

Except comfortable underwear.

What are your favourite prized possessions at this stage in your life?

We Were All Free Nomads

Today's trendy tiny homes are certainly not the first, or tiniest, homes on wheels. They are a time honoured tradition in many cultures, including the Roma.

The vardo, a horse drawn wagon, replaced the Roma's tents made with flexible sticks covered in fabric.

The much persecuted Roma go on in spite of the state's need to settle and control everyone everywhere all the time. 

By force, if necessary.

The horse drawn tiny home of the Roma could be the original tiny home (by todays definition of <400 sq ft and on wheels).

A tiny home today still offers a certain freedom, like they always have, such as avoiding a mega-mortgage. 

Or government officials "helping".

Alas, the Roma's way of nomadic freedom seems to be a thing of the past. It will not be tolerated. 

That doesn't mean you can't still find ways, you can. Because our simple living, freedom-loving genes are constantly trying to express themselves. 

We were ALL nomads at one time. It lingers in all of us.

A whisper, near dormant, and rarely heard plea for most of us - for the simplicity of living light enough to travel.

Like we used to. 

Closer to nature and each other. 

Less stuff.

More free. 

Happier.

We are going to have to redefine "progress" because it's not doing what they say it is.

Progress is taking us forward to a set of goals, but whose goals?

Not the Roma's. 

And not mine. 

Also, for many the "improvement" part of the definition is missing. You can't still call it progress if what you are doing is not resulting in making things better. 

That's something else. 

I call it failure.

I wonder.

Can it actually get better

than a simple life,

free on the land,

with a vardo, 

a horse to pull it, 

and a group of nice people to share it all with?

The Life-Changing Magic Of The Daily Decrease

“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” 

― Bruce Lee 

Marshal arts master Bruce Lee was also a master of finding where less is better, then cutting ruthlessly.

Anything extra that hindered his progress was eliminated without hesitation. He wanted to be free to act spontaneously and without limits.

If something or some situation isn't helping one reach goals, it is hindering progress and needs to be left behind. 

Leaving it behind is getting more difficult all the time. 

It means a trip to the dump, or hiring someone to take it away. Or a yard sale, or consignment. Or listing it on a website for sale. 

Or for free. "Take my couch. Please."

But what if no one wants your stuff? 

Everyone is stuffed out, buried in their garage-full of inessentials. We are over the hump of Peak Stuff, and people are screaming for it to stop. 

There's nowhere else to put it all.

When it comes to hacking at unwanted things, my favourite solution is setting them roadside with a Free sign, and having someone that wants to make your crap their crap take it away forever. 

"Good luck. I hope it makes you happier than it made me."

Most people want a daily increase, but what is really needed is a decrease to help prioritize what is really important.

The truth is, and has always been, that living with less is more efficient and balanced. 

Working toward decrease is a daily part of my simple living practice. 

The result? I feel lighter, more joyful and free all the time.

It's magical. 

Favourite Free Finds

There have been many things over the years that Linda and I have acquired for free, which is the best possible price to pay for anything.

When we lived in a housing coop 20 years ago, there were a couple of Free Sheds in our little community. Anyone could drop stuff off, and/or pick stuff up. 

The two of us managed one of the sheds. We kept it tidy, and rotated items out that weren't moving to be donated to outside agencies.

The Free Shed was an excellent method for transfering/swapping amazing amounts of goods from households that didn't need them, to households that did. 

No fuss, no funds changing hands. No one getting ripped off. No greed, only generosity. 

We got a lot of free stuff that way. 

One thing we got that we still have and use often is a universal lid that fits of a variety of sizes of pots and pans.

I have always been amazed at the things I have seen, and acquired, without cash.

A few of our other finds come to mind.

- a pizza pan saved from the metal recycling bin of our apartment complex

- two pairs of returned brand new leather hiking boots that Linda got when she worked at the member's service desk at Mountain Equipment Coop

- an old Chevy van given to us that we drove for the next 10 years

- Linda's wheelchair was procured for free

There's so much free that if you are not careful it can be too much of a good thing.

Stuff is stuff, even if it is free stuff, and clutter happens whether you paid for something or not.

Sometimes you can't even give stuff away.

Kale can be like that. And zucchini. And clothes. And toilet seats (although we got one of those free, too).

Most other stuff you can move through the no money economy eventually, whether you put it out at the curb with a sign on it, or list it in the free section of Craigslist.

What are your favourite free finds? 

How about favourite things you have gotten rid of by giving away for free?

When Linda and I moved out of our housing cooperative we had a Free Yard Sale because we had too much stuff for the Free Sheds.

Everything in our yard sale it was the same price - $0.00 dollars. 

It was a popular, effective, and fun way to unburden ourselves from unwanted things.

Getting rid of stuff always feels good, whether you get money for it or not.

Questioning Standard Consumption Habits

“I decided to break the trend of accumulating stuff sooner rather than later. I moved to smaller homes ahead of my need. I downsized before I was forced to do so. I sorted and dispersed my things while I had the energy and the ability to either donate or sell my stuff.” 

― Lisa J. Shultz

It is always a good idea to question standard consumption habits if you have goals like saving money, toiling less, or retiring early. 

It is the standard consumption habits in consumer economies that keep us working jobs we don't like to buy things we don't need.

That usually means a lifetime of needless effort, and even if you win the prize, the results are rarely satisfying.

No one on their death bed wishes they worked more, or bought more crap.

For my entire life it has taken more work every year to maintain a standard consumer life. 

This is because the 1% increased their take of the spoils of increased worker productivity, while the people doing the work get less.

A couple of standard consumer items highlight this situation. This shows when I first entered the workforce, compared to more recently.  

Average new vehicle in 1981: $8,910.

In 2022: $48,000 (5.39 times what it cost in 1981).

Median single-family home in 1981: $62,000.

In 2022: $390,000 (6.3 times what it cost in 1981).

 

Median weekly wage in 1981: $300.00.

In 2022: $1,048 (3.49 times what it was in 1981).

Most workers have been falling behind as everything inflates wildly except wages.

The way Linda and I retired early to a simple life was by questioning every standard consumption habit.

Over the years we decided we didn't need or want: a car, TV, home stereo, BBQ, meat heavy diet, restaurant and fast foods, movies, concerts, international travel, regular holidays, kitchen gadgets, big house, domestic travel, shopping for entertainment, and most everything else that poses for "having a life" in consumer economies.

It was liberating. We found it to be more fulfilling to give up the consumer life all together and release the futile struggle to "have it all".

After that we realized we didn't need to work full time jobs that were stressful or that we didn't enjoy. 

Part time and contract jobs that were interesting and more fun paid the bills until we retired completely. 

Linda worked a relief position in a library for many years, something she always wanted to do. 

After teaching I went back to gardening, and also did a stint in environmental education working as a river rafting team leader. 

I also tried working as a chauffeur for a while, driving some of the biggest, dumbest cars to ever grace the planet. That was fun for a short time, and allowed me to meet some really nice (and generous) people. 

We can still choose to live differently. 

Standard  consumption habits have not been mandated. Yet. And simple living blogs like this one have not yet been labeled as "misinformation".

When we start to question the standard consumption habits that most take for granted as "just the way things are", we can see that they are empty, hollow promises that do not provide a lasting benefit.

It is still possible to start building a resilient, sustainable life with less wage slavery and crap collection, and with more time to enjoy each other and simply being alive.

Imagine Fewer Possessions

Imagine a life with fewer possessions 
I wonder if you can 
No need for clutter or excess 
In a simple living plan 
Imagine all the people 
Enjoying just what they need.

- my little ditty, with apologies to John Lennon

Imagining what we should do with our possessions is a question we all need to come to terms with, preferably before death so we don't leave finding the answers to others. 

Stuff, I have found, is annoyingly persistent. Once acquired, it is difficult to get rid of. 

In recent years even second hand stores have become very selective about what kind of stuff they are willing to take.

That's right - you may find you have trouble giving away your unwanted stuff. 

And what is stuff that no one wants? 

Generally we call that "garbage", and you may have to pay a fee to landfill it.

We pay to acquire stuff, pay again to maintain and store it, and finally pay one final time when we want to part with it.

I have concluded that the thing to do with stuff, unless it is doing important work in your life, is get rid of it as soon as possible, and eliminate the draw on precious life energy.

That is why one of my summer projects was filling my big black backpack and biking unwanted possessions out of the house to wherever will take them.

Returnable beverage containers went to the eco-centre. There I learned that the 125 flattened 1 litre juice tetra boxes in my pack would get shipped all the way to Asia for processing. That seems dumb.

This led Linda and I to question whether we need fruit juice in tetra packs, or if we need juice in our diet at all. 

Now we have eliminated it from our pantry, to be replaced by actual fruit.

Unwanted clothes were also stuffed into The Big Black Pack of Liberation to be whisked away right our of our closet and our lives.

Those I biked down to a drop box in the grocery store parking lot. The clothes collected there are resold to benefit a local charity.

Next I cycled 3 coats to a neighbour that volunteered to make sure they were distributed to people that could use them.

I also cleaned out our home and garage and came up with 5 bags of recyclables. Those went to the curb and were picked up on the appropriate day. 

A lot of people can't get stuff into their houses fast enough. They even move to bigger houses to have more room for more stuff.

I can't get rid of it fast enough, and it always feels awesome to be rid of it.

It is a work in progress, and we continue to unload the dead weight that holds us back. There always seems to be more, as if it spontaneously appears and hides until you notice it. 

This is living better with less in action, and it feels like the right thing to do.

The quantity of our possessions are only beneficial to a point, beyond which they are only annoying anchors that hold us back.

I am always imagining fewer possessions. It is easy if you try.

The 10 Laws Of Stuff

The 10 Laws Of Stuff

1. Stuff grows. The more you have the more you acquire.

2. Useless stuff crowds out useful stuff.

3. Dust, bugs, and moisture all will attack your stuff and tear it down.

4. Stuff at rest tends to stay at rest.

5. Stuff expands to fit the space available. The more space you have, the more stuff you feel you need.

6. Over time stuff becomes invisible – after living with stuff we tend not to see the clutter it causes.

7. Stuff costs money that is better put to other uses. 

8. Stuff has a powerful effect on your state of mind. Useless stuff is a burden – it weighs us down.

9. Stuff only has value when it is used, and most of it is rarely used.

10. Stuff may make you contented, but only for a short while. Then you will need more stuff.

 

Appreciating Old Things

One of the official mottos of consumerism is "New Is Always Better". This lie is very profitable. 

What we have lost in the fog of "New and Improved" is an appreciation of old things. 

Experienced things. 

Mature things. 

Broken and repaired things.

Dependable things.

When I look around the house, some of my favourite things are older. Stuff burnished with time, that glows with experience and is STILL useful as well as beautiful.

The Japanese would say old, weathered things are very wabi-sabi, and age is an advantage, not a liability.

In wabi-sabi the focus is on finding beauty in the imperfections of life so we can accept peacefully the cycles of growth and decay.

"New and Improved!" should be met with a righteous amount of scepticism and hesitancy. 

Is it really improved? Is it really better? Does it actually represent progress?

Or is it only profitable?

Developing an appreciation for old things can save money, eliminate waste, and increase our aesthetic enjoyment of the cycle of being.

Do you have any wabi-sabi favourites in your home?

 

“...in repairing the object you really ended up loving it more, because you now knew its eagerness to be reassembled, and in running a fingertip over its surface you alone could feel its many cracks - a bond stronger than mere possession.”  

― Nicholson Baker

Have No Fear

Living fearlessly is a little slice of heaven.

The Indian spiritual teacher Swami Vivekananda said,  

”The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. 

Never fear what will become of you, 

depend on no one. 

Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.”

Consumerism needs us to survive. It spends upwards of 1 trillion dollars every year to influence our minds. 

Much of that is to make us fearful. 

The rest is to make us feel inadequate.

Healthy fear is productive. It keeps us alive.

Manufactured fear is corrosive. 

Being afraid of getting in a car accident is helpful. The caution it provides may keep you and others alive.

Being afraid that our clothes are not the latest fashion, or that our house isn't big enough, or car new enough, is corrosive. It make us do things we normally would not.

The only thing the system fears is fearless non-conformist, post-consumers living contented simple lives.

We do not depend on consumer culture to validate us, and refuse to connect our worthiness to how much of their stuff we buy, or how hard we work for them.

We do not need consumer culture's help, and therefore do not need to fear letting it all go. 

Someone benefits from all the manufactured fear, and it is not the regular person. That is why fear has been a popular tool of state power since the beginning of state power - to keep the regular person in an exploitable state of bondage.

Consumerism offers only chains, while the Universe offers freedom. 

That is why we never have to worry or be afraid when we boldly go where our hearts lead us. The gods may laugh at our plans, but the Universe smiles.

The moment you reject the fear that emanates endlessly from the cult of consumerism, you are freed. 

It is a little slice of heaven.

 

My Way

My Way

If their way is go,

my way is stop.

If theirs is stuff,

mine is spirit.

If theirs is greed,

mine is generosity.

If theirs is complexity,

mine is simplicity.

If theirs is war,

mine is peace.

If theirs is destructive,

mine is creative.

If theirs is me,

mine is we.

If theirs is deceit,

mine is honesty.

If theirs is car, 

mine is bike.

Fake Progress vs Real Progress

Progress?

Progress can only be thought of as positive if it describes something that helps all of humanity reach its vast potential, while living more harmoniously with each other and all living things. 

There is no use having what is generally understood as progress if it does not meet the above goals.

How can anything that makes conditions worse be considered progress? That would be negative progress, or what I am calling Fake Progress.

Therefore:


- Guns/Bombs/war/militarized police.

Fake progress.


- Ending the reign of terror organized and sanctioned by the state.

Real progress.



- Consumer economies.

Fake progress.

- Cooperative economies.

Real progress.



- Building monuments to the rich.

Fake progress.


 - Toppling statues of individuals that promote the worst of humanity.

Real progress.



- Voting for change.

Fake progress.


- Taking to the streets and demanding change.

Real progress.



- Industrial agriculture.

Fake progress.


- Permaculture.

Real progress.




- World's first trillionaire.

Fake progress

- Global annual income to cover all basic needs.

Real progress



- More stuff.

Fake progress

- More contentment.

Real progress




- Increasing GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth

Fake progress

- Increasing GNH (Gross National Happiness)


Real progress

- Succeeding in a sick system.

Fake progress

- Succeeding on your own terms according to your own values.

Real progress