Simple Living : Less is More

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Wikipedia defines Simple Living as encompassing a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one's lifestyle. These may include, for example, reducing one's possessions, generally referred to as minimalism, or increasing self-sufficiency. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they have rather than want. Although asceticism generally promotes living simply and refraining from luxury and indulgence, not all proponents of simple living are ascetics.Simple living is distinct from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice.

Adherents may choose simple living for a variety of personal reasons, such as spirituality, health, increase in quality time for family and friends, work–life balance, personal taste, financial sustainability, frugality, or reducing stress. Simple living can also be a reaction to materialism and conspicuous consumption. Some cite socio-political goals aligned with the environmentalist, anti-consumerist or anti-war movements, including conservation, degrowth, social justice, and tax resistance.

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One of the main reasons that motivated me to get into traditional shaving was that I was simply fed up with the ridiculous prices of cartridge razors. I switched to DE razors first but feared the blades would eventually be difficult to source. Here's the post that started my quest for shaving self-sufficiency back when I was a poor university student in 2003.

Was wondering what other practices, in addition to straight razor shaving of course, you have adopted to simplify your lifestyle?

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Originally Posted by Badgister

One of the main reasons that motivated me to get into traditional shaving was that I was simply fed up with the ridiculous prices of cartridge razors. I switched to DE razors first but feared the blades would eventually be difficult to source. Here's the post that started my quest for shaving self-sufficiency back when I was a poor university student in 2003.

Was wondering what other practices, in addition to straight razor shaving of course, you have adopted to simplify your lifestyle?

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Retirement!!!!!!

I have done nothing to simplify my lifestyle other than live within my means and carry no long term debt. That in itself simplifies things for me.

Bob

I hope to get there sooner than later. Hopefully to be mortgage free by 50.

I’ll second be the whole no debt thing. We just have a mortgage. Changed everything for us. Our marriage is better, having kids was way less stressful, made life way easier in general.

We moved to RURAL North Idaho
My closest neighbor is about a 1/2 mile away
I have learned so many things that I now do myself that I used to just call "A Guy" to have done
I never in a million years saw myself driving a tractor, plowing a field, planting a garden, fixing a well, falling trees and bucking and cutting them myself, Putting in wood stoves and chimneys, and worst of all learning about a Septic System.

After almost 17 years I would never go back to the city...

In addition to what BobH and others mentioned:

No car! (bicycle-only for the past 6-1/2 years) On a small, fixed, retirement income, living "car-free" makes all the difference.

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Originally Posted by JBHoren

In addition to what BobH and others mentioned:

No car! (bicycle-only for the past 6-1/2 years) On a small, fixed, retirement income, living "car-free" makes all the difference.

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I used to live in the suburbs where I was much more car dependent. Now that I live in the city, I cycle to work 6 months of the year and practically all my errands and groceries are done walking.

Straight shaving has definitely not contributed to a more simple life. What used to take three auto-pilot minutes now takes thirty. And instead of one disposable razor on a shelf, I now have boxes of razors, hones, soaps, and aftershaves. No regrets, but everything I get into adds to my belongings and complicates my daily life.

Now that I am semi-retired and job share with my wife, we have gone down to one car from two. We also manage to find 4 or 5 day weekends to escape to the cottage WHENEVER WE WANT!

We take our current situation as practicing for full retirement in a couple of years. Our plan is to ditch the house, keep the cottage (turning maintenance over to the kids) and use our travel trailer to enjoy the freedom to do what we want, where and when we want.

Living (kinda - I'm on the edge of a very small town) in the country sure helps as it cuts down on the external distractions. Like Glenn, I've had the chance to learn a bunch of things that many people pay others to do for them. My Dad's like that so I come by it naturally, but having tight finances after buying the house definitely helps focus the mind even more in terms of what's important and what can be left by the wayside.

But the biggest thing is probably just paying more attention to what I buy, consume, use, bring into the house. Quality over quantity is something I try to live by, and I have really started to appreciate well deigned things that do one particular thing very well. Both of these outlooks really help reduce the amount of crap that comes into my life, and as a result the amount of crap I end up wasting/throwing out. :)

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

We moved to RURAL North Idaho
My closest neighbor is about a 1/2 mile away
I have learned so many things that I now do myself that I used to just call "A Guy" to have done
I never in a million years saw myself driving a tractor, plowing a field, planting a garden, fixing a well, falling trees and bucking and cutting them myself, Putting in wood stoves and chimneys, and worst of all learning about a Septic System.

After almost 17 years I would never go back to the city...

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Yeah, if I had to do all of that the neighbor tha lives a half mile away would pass by at some point and see what looks like the Donner party at my place.

Not speaking from experience here (except in my college days) however when it really comes down to it you can survive and more and be very happy with a real minimum of things. It doesn't take much. Our ancestors did it and so can we.

It's society and it's pressures and advertising that causes most to spend, spend, spend whether they have the means or not.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Not speaking from experience here (except in my college days) however when it really comes down to it you can survive and more and be very happy with a real minimum of things. It doesn't take much. Our ancestors did it and so can we.

It's society and it's pressures and advertising that causes most to spend, spend, spend whether they have the means or not.

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Something that comes to mind is a quote from a Guy Savoy, a famous French chef. He nails it and describes all of French philosophy about food and life in a few words.

“We are wrong to think that the daily routine is ordinary. Always conditioned to look for the exceptional, we let go of the small miracles within our reach. – Guy Savoy”

I don't romanticize a simple life. When my wife's grandparents were first married they lived in a sod house on the plains of Nebraska, no electricity, plumbing, bathroom, etc., and grew their own food and walked or used their horse for transportation. Life was simple, but hard. I grew up in rural Idaho, and remember getting up at 4 AM to go out to the barn in sub zero weather to take care of the animals, which needed constant care seven days a week no matter how you felt or whatever the weather. I remember stacking a pile of hundreds of dead lambs that froze one spring when a severe, unexpected freezing storm hit us. After working all morning, I would wait for the bus in freezing weather, go to school all day, then work the farm until dark or time for dinner. Life may have been simple, but it was hard. It was also good. Life for me has been far simpler in the city. I require fewer things to get by than if I had stayed on the farm. I drive only a few miles to work in my 23 y/o Saab, can still grow our vegetables in my raised bed gardens, can get fresh eggs from a neighbor with a chicken coop, pick blueberries from a blueberry patch 1/4 mile away, get fresh farm produce from the farmer's market, and bake our bread. If you've grown up plowing fields, digging fence post holes and installing fence around a few hundred acres, milking the goats and cows before the sun is up, and worried about whether your crops or animals survived heat, drought, or the freeze, a simple life in the city might sound good. Interacting with people of all nationalities and all walks of life in a city adds meaning to my life. You can lead a simple life wherever you are. It's more a state of mind than a location. I don't watch television or carry a cell phone, and can't imagine being connected to an electronic device when going for a walk or on a hike. I enjoy being with family and friends, exploring nature, reading, shaving, and hanging out with you guys. That's my simple life.

I’m not prepared for that level of simplicity.

I live in a city, so the comfort level is high. But: no car, no TV, no landline, not a single social network app on my phone or PC, no loans, recently retired. Reading a lot, meeting friends and family, different hobbies, and an occasional cigar :-) This is simple enough for my taste.

while i don't think i can say that i live a simple life style i think it is compared to others. We still can and freeze our own fruits and vegetables (which we are finding out now as we look for a new stove, that it's not easy to find one with the type of burners that can take a canner) No smart phone, pay off our credit card every month, minimal cable tv service (only one small flat screen tv) etc. Just don't require the same up to date gizmos as most people to be happy.

As a kid I spent summers on my Aunt and Uncles farm upstate New York. The chores to do never ended 7 days a week no matter the weather and has been said no matter how you felt. When the summer was over I was glad to get back to the big city. These days retired even though I live in the city from my house I can see the end of the city and the wilderness starting. I like it that way. The country is minutes away.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

...These days retired even though I live in the city from my house I can see the end of the city and the wilderness starting. I like it that way. The country is minutes away.

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Yessir. That may very well be the ideal solution: live on the fringes, with a view of
the wide open spaces; yet still be close enough to town to benefit from Costco and
emergency medical care. yuk yuk

I find myself in much the same situation. My personal ideal is a small town, near
enough to the ocean and/or a river/lake, to go fishing; yet within an hours drive
of a hospital.

Internet service, cable TV, and cellphones are nice, too...but there lies the slippery
slope to decadence.

Courage, my man! Beware the Devil!

I have read this thread with interest.

What is really meant by "Simple Living"?

Living without something... That can be hard.

Living without needing anything?

Then you are blessed and rich in many ways.

Living on your own without relying on others?

If the average person realized how much they rely on others in their daily lives I bet you that would be mind opening to most.

I am confused....

Life at it's best is not "Simple"!

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Originally Posted by 32t

Life at it's best is not "Simple"!

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You're right. It is complicated. For myself, it's about trying to balance what
my family and I need, against what is "wanted" but is ultimately needlessly
expensive, time-consuming, and possibly unhealthy.

The whole idea is peace of mind. Or, sometimes, do what you have to do to
keep from going crazy. What that exactly means depends on the individual,
and, of course, conflicts do arise. Again, it's about balance.

Ain't life grand?

I live simply myself, I have cut back on the Caviar, and trips in my Gulfstream,, fuel is expensive!, but on a serious note,, I,m like Tim up there, what is living simply? I mean I live in a nice house, I drive fine vehicles, and have expensive hobbies, mostly, we have all the modern conveniences, and quiet a bit of just nonsense luxury. I still live simple, I don't owe nothing on anything, so that's simple, and my family is at the heart of everything I do, so simply put, my choices are not exotic, just simply to live well and enjoy life.


when I retire ill be simple,, the damn phone is getting kicked out cause if I had done that the first time I retired id still be retired! but I will still have the things that I worked for all my life to enjoy. so what is simple? is it just having what you need and onloy that?, or is it living stress free and enjoying life knowing that you have done everything for your family and friends to make them happy? just a thought. Tc

I bought an automatic movement watch to stop replacing batteries. Oh and I stopped wearing underwear. One less article of clothing to buy and wash.

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Originally Posted by Brenngun

I bought an automatic movement watch to stop replacing batteries. Oh and I stopped wearing underwear. One less article of clothing to buy and wash.

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I hope you also stopped wearing pants with zippers. :rofl2:

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Originally Posted by Brenngun

I bought an automatic movement watch to stop replacing batteries. Oh and I stopped wearing underwear. One less article of clothing to buy and wash.

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Switch to all black clothing and you won't have to wash as often either because it doesn't show the dirt!

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Originally Posted by tintin

Switch to all black clothing and you won't have to wash as often either because it doesn't show the dirt!

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I thought that was what Desert Digital Camo was for....