The Road to Simplicity

From the many comments I’ve received from people on the topic (both on my blogs and also in person), the concept of ‘Simplicity’ seems to be a theme that resonates deeply within most of us. But simplicity is a relative and elusive term, and those of us who are on its path are on varying legs of the journey, many of us even with different definitions of the word itself. It is, I’ve decided, a subjective process rather than a destination, and our travels on the road to simplicity are as varied as those of us who are traveling on it.

For some, the decision to simplify is a gradual, steady process of slowly purging the burdensome details of everyday life and physically ‘lightening up’ on our possessions, whether that means ‘buying less’, giving away things we don’t need, taking on fewer outside responsibilities that eat up our time and energy, or growing more of our own food. For others, it may be a cold-turkey process, a conscious ‘Stop-the-World-I-Want-to-Get-Off’ decision to get out of the rat race before its too late and to live differently starting right NOW! Simplicity for me started almost 40 years ago and continued up until the time we purchased our Lodge … when life suddenly got very complicated!! However our ever-present desire to live a more simple and ecological lifestyle has been an interesting catalyst for our business as well, helping to introduce simplicity and ecological practices into our very public field of hospitality – one in which consumers have invariably come to expect ‘More and More’, rather than ‘Less is More’. How to reconcile the paradox, demonstrate that ‘simplicity’ and ‘elegance’ are not necessarily contradictory terms?

For me, the draw of simple living started on a very particular day when I was in the 10th grade, and I can still picture the moment as vividly as if it were yesterday. My future husband and I were in a bookstore together (a favorite pastime even then) and a book called Living the Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing practically flew off the shelf right at me, changing my life forever. Tomorrow I’ll write about the intervening years on our path to simplicity and self-sufficiency, however today’s little pearl will be focusing on how to begin the downsizing process, since this is something vastly more relevant to those wanting a place to start the process for themselves.

I’ve been thinking about all this for some time, and the catalyst for me recently (as I mentioned the other day) was the arrival of the Tumbleweed tiny house here at The Lodge. My thoughts and desire to get back to basics have been bubbling through my brain at such a fevered pitch, that on August 8th I had an epiphanic moment and decided right then and there that all ‘the muck stops here’. Like a diet, tomorrow is always on the horizon, and a line of a song I like suddenly blared in my head: ‘If not me, WHO? If not now, WHEN?’ I knew then and there that I was committed to make the changes to simplicity that I had been dreaming about and espousing most of my life. It started right then and there, simultaneously at my computer and in my heart.

But even if you don’t go cold turkey as I did, deciding not to buy anything that wasn’t an absolute necessity (and these things I clearly defined), here are some easy ways to help eliminate temptations in your life, which I’ve been doing for some time:

1. Subscribe to websites and blogs that help support your simple living philosophy, giving inspiration, encouragement and practical tips on how to do it. They re free.

2. UN-subscribe from emails that come from companies that constantly bombard you with tempting offers to buy more, More. MORE! (Out of sight, out of mind). It will save time having to sift through all that chaff to get the few kernels of good emails, too.

3. Buy locally and pay cash. Cash hurts, plastic doesn’t.

4. Cut out pictures of things you would like to buy from catalogs instead of buying them. Don’t buy anything on impulse. I used to write the name of the company and the item # and price right on the photo (so that I knew I could always get it in the future if I really wanted it). Stash them away in a folder or a little “Wish List” box. You’ll find that most things won’t be so alluring a month from now and you can discard them; in fact you’ll probably wonder whatever made you cut them out to begin with. 90% of the rest you can most likely make yourself from looking at the pictures, and the other 10% you can give to family and friends who want to get you something for your birthday (or save up for a little splurge once in a while)!

5. Don’t Clip Coupons, Buy Raw Ingredients: I have rarely seen coupons for anything I would ever want to buy (there are exceptions of course) … of course there was that Olive Oil, but that turned out to be a hoax. Basically coupons are for prepared foods, highly refined and chemicalized, and I wouldn’t want that stuff in my house anyway. However if I do take the time to clip coupons, they tend to sit around taking up space until long after they are expired. Maybe you’re different, buy it doesn’t make sense for me. When in a grocery store, I’m mostly a peripheral shopper: fruits and vegetables, cheese, fish, occasionally bakery bread (when I don’t make it myself), etc. I prefer to buy most of this at local farm markets, where they’re usually cheaper, fresher and more helpful to the local economy.

6. ‘Loaves and Fishes’ Meals: I’m a Master at this, if I do say so myself! I’ve always had a knack for making really great meals (without a recipe) from leftover things we had on hand. Sort of like “Iron Chef” before that was ever invented. Rather than going to the grocery store to buy specific things for a particular meal, I try to shop very infrequently, and then get creative with whatever we happen to have on hand. Sometimes there are pretty slim pickins, I must say. It’s a personal challenge that I really enjoy, and it has saved us lots of money. I have hardly any food waste and very low food bills. I also eat low on the food chain: fruits, vegetables and grains … no meat.

These are a few very easy ways to begin the Simplification process that will help reduce our ecological footprints and make life simpler… and they’re painless. It’s an easy way to begin.