- Introduction: Celebrating Our 12th Anniversary
- New Resources & Specials: Books, CDs, T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers & More!
- Going Back To The Basics: Regaining Simplicity
- The Valentine's Day Challenge: A Fun Way To Celebrate
- The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map To True Riches: An Excerpt
- The Gray Zone Of Discretionary Spending: Avoiding Buyer's Remorse
- Coupon Club Basics: How To Cut Your Grocery Bill With Others
- Gems Of The Discussion Forums: New Year's Resolutions & Winter Reading
- The Natural Competitive Advantage Of Bioregions: GreenMoney Journal
- The Story Of Stuff: Exploring The Materials Economy
- Money/Life Balance In The New Millennium: Valuing Your Life Energy — Work & Income
Happy New Year!
Welcome to the 12th Anniversary issue of our free, on-line Newsletter! We are quite proud of this milestone and want to share some of our accomplishments with you. . . .
Our goals are simple and we have remained true to them from the very beginning:
- We have worked hard to craft relationships with a wide variety of authors, organizations and businesses in the "simple living" field to create one central location on the internet where you can find out just about anything you want to know about living the simple life.
- We have always operated our business in the financial black, never taking on debt or attempting to grow faster than resources will allow.
- We don't have a fancy office or a lot of unnecessary equipment. We are a home based business operating out of the spare bedroom (and living room and storage shed and kitchen counter and...) of my house.
- We handle all of our day-to-day operations in-house (literally) — from web design and programming to 100% of our order fulfillment — and hire local folks at a living wage.
- We do not rely on advertising revenue for support. In fact, you will not find any paid advertising on our web site.
- We never send junk e-mail or snail mail, do not use telemarketing and never, ever share our customers' names, e-mail addresses, physical addresses or phone numbers with anyone.
- We rely on word of mouth as our main advertising vehicle.
- We are virtually paperless — no printed catalogs, newsletters or promotional materials — the exception is the receipt and one-page "Tools For Simple Living" sheet we include with all resource orders shipped from our "warehouse."
- We aren't trying to get rich. We're just doing what we believe should be done. As long as there is food on the table and the bills are paid, we are happy with "enough." To tell the truth, we don't make enough money selling books and CDs, etc., to pay all of the bills. Rather, we trust that good folks like you appreciate what we are doing and enjoy our free services enough to make small CyberAngel contributions. We don't charge subscription or membership fees. We leave it up to you to decide what this web site is worth and how fast it will grow.
Which brings me to the most important part of our 12th Anniversary celebration....
Thank You CyberAngels
I didn't think it would happen, but on December 29, 2007 we actually surpassed our 2007 CyberAngel goal. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to each and every person who made a contribution, large or small, to help us meet the expenses of providing this free, on-line Newsletter, our Discussion Forums, SimpleRadio, Study Group Database, and meet the hefty bandwidth expenses of operating our server. We would not be here without you! Keep up the good work, gang. Your continued CyberAngel contributions will help us meet our 2008 goals. (We anticipate that expenses in 2008 will be a bit higher due to increased bandwidth charges and new software and equipment needs. As such, we're aiming high and setting a goal of $20,000 for 2008.)
Thank You Volunteers
I must also send out a great big thank you to all of the volunteers who put in countless hours each year to produce this Newsletter and keep the Discussion Forums running smoothly.
Thanks to Fred Ecks and Ann Haebig who have volunteered their time and wisdom to put together this exceptional Newsletter.
Thanks to Jonathan, Crystal, "24prins," "Aspen," "Bisbee," "Ihamo," Linnea" and "Stanny," (please forgive me if I missed someone), for serving tirelessly as moderators in the Discussion Forums.
Where Do We Go From Here?
We don't believe we have all the answers. However, given current trends — increasing personal debt, negative savings rates, lack of job security, the home mortgage crisis, failing health care, looming recession, war, peak oil, global warming and the like — we do believe that one solution is to learn how to use less stuff, use less energy and learn how to live a more simple lifestyle.
We are not talking about depriving ourselves of a few creature comforts or possessions that we already enjoy. We are talking about learning to live with "enough" while enjoying life as much or more than we already do!
The lifestyle choice of living simply, voluntary simplicity, living lightly on the earth, doing more with less, (whatever you choose to call it), is one of never-ending learning, self-discovery, joy and fulfillment. Though the path isn't always easy to follow, it is truly rewarding. When you choose to live simply you can honestly wake up each morning refreshed in the knowledge that you are doing your part to help make the world a better place.
Here at The Simple Living Network we will continue to work hard in 2008 and beyond to assist our web site visitors in crafting lifestyles that are unique, joyful, rewarding, simple and restorative. We believe that unchecked consumption in the 21st century is no longer cool. In fact, it is downright irresponsible. If this planet is to survive the rough times ahead, we believe the new cool and sexy thing we must all embrace is living more simply and learning to do more with less!
Please join us. Together we are creating a central location on the internet where likeminded individuals are coming together to reinvent the world.
For the earth,
Dave Wampler
Founder
The Simple Living Network
NOTEWORTHY POSTSCRIPT: An Inconvenient Truth aside, I recently watched one of the most paradigm-shifting documentaries I have ever seen, A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash. In short, this is a must see! If ever there was an argument for learning to live more simply, this is it.
Produced by award-winning filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, this documentary examines the world's dependence on oil and the impending chaos that is sure to follow when the resource is depleted. Straight from the headlines, this hot-button topic may represent the world's most dire crisis. Through expert interviews, the film spells out in startling detail the challenge we all face and underscores our desperate need for alternative energy and using fewer resources.
I am trying to find a source from which to order this DVD so we can distribute it, at cost, through The Simple Living Network. Until then, please check with your local library and request that they obtain a copy.
Copyright © The Simple Living Network. All Rights Reserved.
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12th Anniversary 40% Off Sale! Save 40% or more on a wide variety of simple living and do it yourself resources.
Click here for a complete list of sale items! |
New Books & Audio Book CDs
- Hot Off The Press! Highly Recommended!
The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map To True Riches:
A Practical (& Fun) Guide To Enjoying Life More By Spending Less
- It's Easy Being Green: A Handbook For Earth-Friendly Living
- Green Living: The E Magazine Handbook For Living Lightly On The Earth
- We Know What You Want: The Secret Tactics That Influence What You Buy, Think & Believe
- 31 Words To Create An Organized Life: Simple Strategies & Expert Advice To Win The Battle Against Chaos & Clutter
- Making A Living While Making A Difference: Conscious Careers For An Era Of Interdependence
Revised Edition! - Get Satisfied: How Twenty People Like You Found The Satisfaction Of Enough
20% Discount Through January 31, 2008!
New T-Shirts
- I'm already against the next war.
- Be the change you wish to see in the world.
- Break The Chains: Shop At Independent Stores.
- God bless the whole world. No exceptions.
- I believe in God, I just spell it Nature.
- Peace Monger
New Bumper Stickers
- I'm already against the next war.
- An economy based on the consumption of fixed resources will consume itself.
- We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
- Growing the economy is shrinking the ecosystem.
- Mall-Wart. Your source for cheap, plastic crap.
- God bless the whole world. No exceptions.
- Peace begins when the hungry are fed.
- Peacemonger
- When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Will Work For Peace.
- Click here to see ALL Bumper Stickers...
New Posters, Buttons, Magnets, Static Clings, etc.
- Be the change you wish to see in the world. - Canvas Bag
- Be the change you wish to see in the world. - Poster
- Be the change you wish to see in the world. - Static Cling
- Coexist - Button
- Coexist - Magnet
- Coexist - Static Cling
- God bless the whole world. No exceptions. - Static Cling
- I believe in God, I just spell it Nature. - Static Cling
Copyright © 2007
I remember as a child thinking how incredible it would be to time travel to the past. The movies and books related to that theme had me enthralled. Little did I realize that I would experience this in my lifetime. In moving to a remote property in central Queensland, I have had the opportunity to experience a lifestyle that is more simple and in tune with Nature. This morning, I got up and greeted the day by walking through our veggie garden. This has become almost a daily ritual for me: looking to see what's growing, what needs watering or caring for, what's ready for harvesting and what's struggling and needing bird protection. When you grow your own food, it becomes very important to keep on top of things like that. Being so closely linked to producing what we eat feels like stepping back into the past.
Lately, we have had fairly regular rains so I haven't had to do much watering and everything has been growing really well. We've already been eating produce from the garden for a month now: radishes, leafy greens, parsley and the odd strawberry. During the past few months, we have eaten potatoes and pumpkin stored from last year. Frozen tomatoes and other vegetables from last year have fed us as well as home produced chutney and pickled vegetables. We had a guest over for dinner a week ago and we ate a homegrown meal: meat from the property and vegetables from the garden. Even the bread was homemade. If we had been able to grow the wheat and produce the milk products, it could have been completely locally produced.
There is something wonderful about growing and making your own food and drink. Beer tastes better. Ginger beer is more refreshing. Baked goods are more special. The flavours of fruit and vegetables are much tastier. Producing your own meat products is not only interesting, but feels healthier as well. Part of the appeal in all this, I believe, is in knowing exactly what you are consuming. You don't have to wonder about nasty additives since they aren't there unless you add them yourself.
I think that it must also be the knowledge of the effort and energy that has gone into producing your own food and drink that helps to make it that much more special. Not only are you enjoying the consumption part of it, but you are also able to congratulate yourself for doing it in the first place. It's a sort of double compliment: to your taste buds and to your self worth. I think this is something that modern society has overlooked. In trying to free up our time through having everything so readily available and "instant", the sense of pride in producing something ourselves has been overlooked.
This journey back into the past has felt very personal to me. As a child growing up on a small farm, I was involved in many activities related to producing our own food. When I think back to that time, my memories related to that aspect of my childhood are mostly positive — of good times working together as a family to survive. It's not necessarily the vacations or the "nonessentials" that bring the fondest memories, but doing the basics together: tending the garden, picking fruit, milking the cow, making butter, yoghurt and ice cream, preserving fruit and vegetables. Many of these types of things are simply not done much in modern society. It seems like we don't have the time to personally take care of our basic needs anymore. Or perhaps we don't see the value in that and feel as if we have progressed beyond mere survival. Our free time is spent in doing more "fun" things that have to do with amusing ourselves in other ways.
Yet, in coming back to the past, as I have this year, I am discovering that there is a real joy and satisfaction in being responsible for my basic needs. Even though it may mean that I have less time available to do other things, I am finding that my work in growing and producing my own food and drink can feel like leisure activity at times. It's a kind of blending of work and play that has the added bonus of ensuring my survival.
I know that at the moment I am very fortunate to be in a place where I have the time and space to grow and produce much of my own food and drink. Many of the things I have been doing here I have not done since I left home after finishing high school. Having moved around a lot in my life, I simply haven't been able to have a garden in many cases. However, I also know that there were many times in my former life when I could have been more involved in taking care of my basic needs if I had made it a priority. This comes back to values. If I had valued the process of taking care of my basic needs, then I would have found a way to make it happen more.
In a year's time, I will be moving from this place where going back to the basics and living simply is relatively easy for me. Leaving here, I will quite possibly return to "normal" modern society with all the demands of career and social responsibilities. However, I feel as if I have awakened to the incredible benefits of living more simply and I don't think this is something I will easily forget. It may mean letting go of other nonessential things that occupy my time, but if I hold onto the memories of the satisfaction I've discovered in my current lifestyle, I will be able to make it happen. As for anything I place value on, I will find ways to integrate it into a more complicated life situation.
Postscript:
One of my ways of simplifying my life lately has also been to sort through all the clutter I've gathered over the years and to get rid of what I no longer need. All that paperwork that I have been carrying around with me in the hopes that one day I would sort through it has become burdensome as I continue to move from place to place. Now, I have finally taken the time to minimize it and have discovered many things I have been unnecessarily holding on to for so many years. I have discovered valuable things as well, such as the following short piece of writing I did in March 2003. It outlines how busy and complicated my life used to be and how all I wanted to do was to simplify. Yet I didn't know how to do it, as I felt stuck in the rat race somehow. I find it very curious that here I am, only three years later, living the kind of lifestyle I could only dream about before. I believe that the strong desire and intention to simplify my life could well have put things in motion for it to happen, but that's the subject of a much longer article.
Simpler Times
I wonder what happened to those simpler times when all that mattered was working to make a living, spending quality time with friends and family, eating well and enjoying yourself during your time off? When did life get so complicated such that there really is no "time off" at all, but every minute of every day seems to have to count for something? When did life itself lose its meaning and the only thing worthwhile become the pursuit of money and material things?
I'm a product of this crazy society that has changed life to become so complicated. Inside me there is a constantly ticking clock that reminds me of time running out. Time is going by and I have this frantic feeling that I must snatch at opportunities or else they will be gone forever. It's also like I have this sort of tabulation mechanism inside that seems to constantly be measuring my accomplishments and my actions. Contentment seems to be a rather elusive feeling that I catch fleeting glimpses of now and then. Instead, there is this perpetual improvement/accomplishment slave driver within that always whispers: "Do. Do. Do."
I'd like to go back to those simple days: Where it was enough to work and then to relax. Where life was there to enjoy and just to live. Where deeper meaning and breathing were synonymous. Where I could come home, collapse on the couch, have a nap, do some reading and relax for the rest of the evening and feel good about myself. Where simply living was enough!
About The Author
Originally from Canada, Elizabeth Lescheid currently lives and works on a remote nature reserve in central Queensland, Australia. For several years, simplifying her life has been a major goal for her. Improving her expertise as a freelance writer has also been a pursuit; she has had several articles published during the past few years. Elizabeth can be reached at elescheid@yahoo.com.
Related Resources
Copyright © 2007
Does Valentine's Day have to be expensive? Not at all. Let me tell you a story of how my husband and I had one of the best Valentine's Day celebrations ever by limiting ourselves to spending $10 or less.
About ten years ago, my husband Michael and I both left good jobs to begin a home-based business. Within a matter of weeks, we went from two comfortable salaries to one sporadic stream of income from our fledgling business. On the first Valentine's Day after we became self-employed, we both knew we shouldn't spend much on our February 14th celebration. We agreed to try something different. We decided to set a $5 spending limit per person for our Valentine's Day gifts.
To a spendthrift, a $5 spending limit on Valentine's Day would have been like the kiss of death: "What can I possibly buy for only five dollars?" For us, it became a game: "What kind of cool stuff we can come up with for less than five bucks?" Both of us enjoyed the challenge of searching out items that would fit the bill.
Michael is a woodworker, so for him it was easy. He used his time and only a little money to make me a beautiful oval frame for a wall mirror I already had. He used wood that was salvaged from discarded packing crates, 25-cent paint from a yard sale, and plans he drew up on his computer. The only thing he had to go out and buy was a dowel for putting the frame together, which cost only 76 cents at the hardware store. The end result was a beautiful mirror that hung proudly in our bedroom for many years.
For Michael, I found a desk calendar that had a different quote about love for each day. Because it was February, the calendar was on clearance for $4. I also found a woodworking book at a library discard sale for 50 cents. In addition, I made him a homemade card and a plate of his favorite cookies. When you add the cost of the cookie ingredients I already had on hand, I actually went over my limit just a little but he was delighted nonetheless. In fact, we both enjoyed our gifts and the thrill of the hunt so much that we instituted the five-dollar rule for other gift-giving occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries that year as well.
Are you and your loved one going through a tough time financially? Even if you're not, is the thought of saving money more attractive to you than spending a small fortune on Valentine's Day gifts? If so, I encourage you to try something different this year. Take the Valentine's Day Challenge: Set a small spending limit like $5, $10 or whatever fits your budget, and agree with your spouse to give gifts that are low in cost but high in creativity.
Use any special talents you have to create a keepsake. Put your cooking skills to work to whip up an inexpensive-yet-irresistible treat in the kitchen. Shop the clearance racks to find some special something your sweetie would enjoy. Visit the second-hand stores to find a gently-used book by a favorite author or CD by a favorite artist. Use your budgeted amount to buy a gift card to the ice cream shop, coffee shop or movie rental store.
Think outside the proverbial box. Make it a game to see how you can use your creativity to give your sweetheart the most Valentine's Day fun for the least amount of money.
About The Author
Nancy Twigg is a speaker and author who loves inspiring others to live more simply. This article was adapted from Nancy's newly revised book, Celebrate Simply: Your Guide to Simpler, More Meaningful Holidays and Special Occasions. Visit Nancy online at www.countingthecost.com.
Related Resources
- Celebrate Simply: Your Guide to Simpler, More Meaningful Holidays and Special Occasions
- The Complete Tightwad Gazette
- The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map To True Riches