What is your idea of living simply?

**Lady Jennelle** · 06-25-2007, 07:08 AM

Hi friends!

I'm curious and just was wondering what you consider living simply?

Is it having less stuff, organizing what you do have, not buying new things unless you have to?

Or is it by taking on less commitments and things to do, etc.?

I long to live a simpler life but somehow never seem to get there.

Not that my life is all that complicated really ... I live by myself [with my cat] and am on disability so I don't work.

Somehow though, all of the new shiny things always catch my eye and then I seem to think that I just "have" to have them.

Also, I've always got 1/2 dozen different projects to do [can you say attention deficiet disorder? *lol*]

I am just hoping that some of you will describe your simpler lives and maybe also give me some hints and tips to help me along the way to a simpler life.

Love,

Jennelle

**miss_thrifty** · 06-25-2007, 08:22 AM

_simple living to me is growing my own food(turkeys, chickens for meat and eggs, veggie garden etc. ) I wish i had garden .

_making due with ya got, and being thankful for what u can get or already have.( recycle and give back to others)
_living on less materialism and more on togetherness (family)

kinda like the waltons--- i wish we lived like that.

**GMA21** · 06-25-2007, 02:50 PM

I am like my grandmother who was a very simple person. I don't want or need fancy expensive things. I like giving things away to others who need it
If I don't use it within a year I end up giving it away
I keep everything organized

**Nada.Leona** · 06-25-2007, 04:55 PM

In my mind, simple living is living in peace -- sitting and reading a book without the guilt of having chores to do; enjoying a warm bubblebath in a clean bathroom; taking a walk in the afternoon after supper while the dishes dry; buying fresh fruits and vegetables at the Sunday market; having the apartment always smell clean and fresh; etc. Basically, simple living to me means making the efforts to keep things in order to reap the benefits of peace afterwards.

**Drgnfly423** · 06-25-2007, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by Naderbug

Basically, simple living to me means making the efforts to keep things in order to reap the benefits of peace afterwards.

I couldn't have said it better! This is what I live for everyday.

**jkelstaten** · 06-25-2007, 08:50 PM

For me, I just can't stand clutter, so living simple means eliminating all the clutter that tries to make its way into our home. Plus, with all of our travelling and moving having less (as far as material possessions) is much easier on us.

It means having a few items of good quality instead of a bunch of items of poor quality that will need to be replaced and cause me extra trips to the store, etc.

**dcompton** · 06-25-2007, 09:31 PM

Sadly, this is still more theory than practice, it seems, but what I aspire to in the longed for simple life is:

To have only the things I need or truly love. Someone, I can't recall who right now, said you should possess only what you consider either useful or beautiful. I find that a helpful criteria when I undertake yet another of the seemingly endless rounds of decluttering. I am very restless when the apartment is cluttered or disordered, so I am working very hard now to stay on top of things. It makes a huge difference in how at ease I feel.

The other thing is to have time for what I truly want to do, not to always be buried under the avalanche of things I "ought" to be doing. Those "oughts' can suck the life out of us. So I am also working hard on paying attention to which "oughts", which things that seem like duties to me, are genuine necessities, and which ones can be told to just go away and leave me for a while, or even better, to go away and leave me alone forever.

Part of this is being more contented with what I have, being more comfortable in my own space and my own mind, and working at reducing desires for all the parade of things that cross our path each day. Buddha was right -- desires are a burning fire, and I believe that until we can distance ourselves at least to some degree from getting and having, simplicity and peace will be hard to come by.

I WILL master all this some day!

**bumplett** · 06-25-2007, 10:10 PM

simply peace

**Luv2BeFrugal** · 07-20-2007, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by miss_thrifty

_simple living to me is growing my own food(turkeys, chickens for meat and eggs, veggie garden etc. ) I wish i had garden .

_making due with ya got, and being thankful for what u can get or already have.( recycle and give back to others)
_living on less materialism and more on togetherness (family)

kinda like the waltons--- i wish we lived like that.

I agree...I wish we could live like the Waltons... People first, materialistic wants last.

**quiltergirl** · 07-20-2007, 06:12 PM

For me it's all about intentionally living outside the craziness most of the world considers normal. Our lives are very slow paced compared to most.
I work from home doing what I love -- art and writing. I have time for meditation and other spiritual practices which help me stay centered.

DH still has an outside job but works 4 10 hr days, so we have three days to ourselves. I work very hard at maintaing a home where he can leave the world at the door. We have no debt and are determined to stay that way.

When I was younger I lived on the "fast track" because it was expected. I reached a certain level of worldly success, but I was physically sick all the time.

We do with less in terms of material posessions, but I feel that I have much more than those in the world who think having more "stuff" will make them happy.

**Mamaw** · 07-20-2007, 09:58 PM

I am still working on this one myself but I "think" for me it boils down to keeping a clean, neat, decluttered home. Having low maintance possessions so that I have more time to do what I really want to. Being able to just stop and think! A recent business trip is bringing this home to me. I was fortunate enough to be placed in a "tent" room at a resort in British Columbia when out on business. The tent was quite luxurious with heated stone floors, great linens and a whirlpool bath looking out over a beautiful lake. Truly Gods Country. So my first reaction.....where is the internet connection and where is the television! AUGHHHHHH.....After a call to the main desk informed me that neither were available in the tents.... I realized this was a gift I had been given and that I needed to relax and enjoy. Imagine....a whole evening to disconnect and do NOTHING! I had a wonderful meal on the deck overlooking the lake, I soaked in the tub and marveled at the view and the sounds of the birds. And I then slept like a baby under the freshest comforter I had enjoyed in quite a while. All with no PC, no TV, no AC. Just fresh air and nature... Makes me want to get rid of all my attention grabbers so that I can carve out time to enjoy nature in my own backyard! Simple living....having time to relax and think

**FrugalMomof3** · 07-20-2007, 10:50 PM

I would have to say for me:

~ Not needing to have everything but only having what I need
~ Being neat and decluttered
~ Not using CC's for anything
~ Gardening for veggies, spices, etc
~ Not having all the latest gizmos and gadgets
~ No TV
~ No Internet (I need this)

~ Using candles alot and natural light
~ Hanging clothes out to dry

There are many ways that I can live simply and right now I think most of the things I listed above I use more now than before (except the internet).

**pqb57** · 07-21-2007, 08:45 AM

For me I think simple living is just going with the flow. Not having to worry about a schedule to keep my life in order. Not having a buch of stuff just to have a bunch of stuff. Walking or biking instead of taking the car. Reading a good book instead of watching the television. Sitting in the front room watching it snow, or watching it rain or watching the squirrels playing tag while listening to soft music.

**imforpeace** · 07-24-2007, 10:45 AM

Simple living to me is
~reduce, reuse, recycle
~use it up and make it last
~if you really need it, try to find it second hand
~don't work 50-60 hours a week to pay for your "toys"
~ you don't spend all of your time cleaning, because you don't have too much stuff to keep clean
~a home big enough for you to keep up with but so big you lose your family in it
~sitting on the swing, reading a book sipping ice tea
~knowing that you are doing all that you can to preserve our planet
~NOT keeping up with the Joneses
~peace in your home, life and heart

**cab54** · 07-24-2007, 11:19 AM

Sitting STILL for awhile and just hearing the sounds the world makes.

Letting go of stuff I don't use OR don't find absolutely beautiful.

Realizing what I can change in life and what I can't.

And for ME (a recovering clothing/cosmetics/frou-frou addict)----little to NO makeup, simple grooming that is basically CLEAN and combed, simple cheap clothing that is comfortable, just a FEW pairs of simple shoes, and no fuss--and no EXPENSE for this kind of junk!