I often thought that this was a new idea but I bought a book from a charity shop the other day called “Walden; or life in the woods” by Henry Thoreau written in 1845. He talks about voluntary simplicity and getting back to a simpler way of life.

“Be the change you want to see in the world”

“Frugality is living with less of what money can buy. Voluntary simplicity is wanting less.”

You don’t have to take a vow of poverty but simply change your lifestyle to want more of the things that enrich life and less of things that just add property to your life which ultimately leads to a cycle of work, purchase, payoff, more work. None of that add value to your life.

Great post…I will be borrowing this book from my public library.

As a product designer I spent years in school studying trends, fashion, technology, manufacturing, and how to make the next cool, hot seller. I also minored in anthropology and soon had conflicting interests. I love design, art, innovation. I wish for a simple honest life, where I can live uncluttered mentally and physically. I’ve started making changes in my lifestyle. some are easy. some are hard. The most difficult has been my love of cheap clothing. I would often shop the clearance rack at old navy and pick up a few new shirts here or there, and then one day I just though about what that $5 tee shirt really was, what went into it. I made a promise to myself that 1) I will buy less clothing. 2) I will shop first at thrift stores and 2) for a special treat I will quality pieces from companies that support sweat-shop free labor or use organic and sustainable methods and materials or all of the above.

I choose organic free trade coffee instead of the other stuff. i bring my own bags to the store. all stores. I recycle everything I can. These changes aren’t hard but they feel so good.

Now I’m working on changing my life direction. I’m going back to school to study sociology and take some courses on environmental education. Hopefully these new skills mixed with my design education will help me to create some positive social change.

I’m not sure that struggling is the answer. I think that you’ll be happier if you make one small change at a time, and let the things you can’t control go. For example, my husband. We’ve been married 19 years, and we have very different views on v.s. Witness his jetski in the driveway. I can’t bring him around, but I can see that I have had some influence on his life simply by how I live mine. Also, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t try to find more ways to simplify, but Christine, you seem to be in a good place. At some point, you find peace at the level you are at, and if more ways come to you that will balance your life, then incorporate them. That’s what I’ve been doing for 20 years, and it has worked well for me.

I may have chosen to live rurally, but that’s because I’ve always been a country mouse (ever since spending so much time on my grandparents farm when I was young). I do not feel impoverished, even though my life lacks what many see as “necessities”. It’s possible to live a very good, fulfilling life without all the excess.