Any ideas to live SIMPLE?
 

After running around for the holiday's working, buying presents, going to parties etc I am spent.

So I've been thinking on trying to live a little simpler and greener but have no idea on where to start. I have a drafty Colonial with 2 car garage in NE heated by oil, ,three cars (including P-car) wife, three kids, work hard and make decent money but also have too may tools, gadgets and equipment to manage, maintain, charge and take care of.

Besids my house and cars I have all the standard kitchen equipment and washer dryer, etc but also two coffee makers, bean grinder, blenders, mixers, toaster, three clock radios, stereo system, three tv's with cable boxes, DVD player, 2 digital cameras, sony video camera, two cell phones,lackberry, two Ipod touches, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, one laptop, one Mac, countless power tools, a generator, ride on lawnmower, snow blower, the list goes on!!!!

How does one make the break?!?!?!

Every sunday, I make my own bread for the week. ....and not with a bread machine. not only do I save money by baking my own bread, but it takes up so much of my time that I don't have time to throw at unnecessary things...at least one day of the week.

kneading is therapeutic, too.

I have a lot of respect for th Jewish tradition of the Sabbath - even though I'm am not a Jew.

Many tell me they look at their break from electronics etc as a refuge from the life you refer to. I wish I had been raised to do the same.

poverty helps considerably!:D

I'm guessing you have an attic. Move as much as you can up to the attic for one month. See how it goes.

I COMPLETELY understand. This NYD resolution is to rid myself of the accumulation. I started NYD by throwing out boxes of TV, phone, stereo cables and some electrical stuff. I've adopted a Noah's Ark approach; 2 of anything is enough (talking about small parts here).

I have been tossing potted plants as they become unattractive instead of continuing to nurse them. I've removed some lawn that went around shrubs and was hard to maintain. Now it's mulch.

Tools are tough to get rid of. The better idea here is to have enough storage so that they are easy to get to. A pile of equipment in the corner is not fun to dig through. Although a professional organizer would be nice, I can do this and so can you. Besides, I can't afford the services or a whole bunch of fancy storage system. I'll have to wing it on that.

The kitchen is not my domain. I used to cook, no more. My wife has way too much stuff in there and elsewhere. It's very frustrating. To me, a kitchen would have only enough utensils to cook one large meal. One set of bowls is enough. We have several and some haven't been used in a long, long time.

Some suggest that if you haven't used an item in a year, to get rid of it. That doesn't seem to be practical in some cases, but it's got to be at least one of the criteria.

I've even considered offering some things as "on loan" just to get someone else to be the custodian, but I don't think that's gonna work. An example is a pressure washer I rarely use.

Good luck on this. We need a support group. ;)

my local starbucks has the emerson/thoreau quote on the wall, "simplify". yes, "simplify" but buy a six dollar cup of coffee.

i live in an apartment with 2-3000 books. some people are doomed to a life of clutter.

Pay stuff off, get rid of things you don't use, live well within your means so you don't feel the need to constantly chase money and live a ratrace lifestyle.

If I can’t find or make a place for the stuff we’ve got, Either we don’t need it or something else has to go to make room. Without knowing any of you, I suspect that everyone here has enough room to live like kings (relatively speaking). I would rather live with less and have less than have more stuff than I have room for. Doing large scale renovations while living in our smaller house really challenges us to organize well and to choose our new acquisitions carefully.

Tim K

Simple and Green are not the same things.

The wife and I have a lot of electronics and appliances. But we cook most of our meals at home, and we use the vast majority of the gadgets we have. Its not 'simple' if you feel overwhelmed by what you have. When then gadgets themselves begin to be a chore rather than a benefit to your life. But we only bring home things we know we will use. We are both technophiles, so we bring technology into our lives that streamline how we live.

We have 2 cars, but we don't drive them much because we live 1 block from my wifes work, 4 blocks from my kids school, and 1 mile (easy to walk to, sidewalks/walking trail the whole way) grocery store. I pick up a lot of our grocerys when I am out for a walk and bring them home in my backpack. About once every 6 weeks we drive to a Costco and buy all our paper supplys/bulk stuff. If you live in a rural area, or a suburban area that is not walkable, then getting more efficent cars is really your only option. The NE is tough, because you have tough winters to contend with, and that dictates you need to have a somewhat capable car. Not sure where you live, but perhaps public transport is an option?

Greening up your house is pretty obvious stuff. Replace drafty windows, get better insulation, plant trees for shade to reduce cooling bills in summer. Modern appliances (especially refridgerators) are much more efficient than older models.

Bah! Don't overthink this thing. Just buy a Prius and put a 'Envision World Peace' sticker on the back. :)

I can definitely relate to you guys. Back in 99, my wife and I had kind of had enough, if you know what I mean, and just needed a change. It kind of felt the same as when we decided to leave California when we had our first child.

I sold off just about everything, turned down a nice promotion and left a well paying job, started a new consulting business with a colleague, bought 22 acres in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana bordering the Bitterroot-Selway National Forest (SW of Missoula), built a place off-grid (solar powered with genset as backup). I had always since I was a kid, wanted to do something like this. I was not trying to save the planet mind you (anyone who thinks solar is answer to this is foolish and needs to do some honest research), I just wanted some more independence. My wife, bless her heart, let her husband live out a "childhood" fantasy for a couple of years. If it had not been for my aforementioned colleague turning crooked on me, I would still be there. Can't complain though, bought and sold at the right time. I am constantly in search of a way back. Since then, life got all complicated again. I went back to work for a large utilty (in fact the one I left in 99), bought a large house (of course I have 7 children), and I am feeling exactly what you and others are feeling Monza. I have two sides within me taht battle each other, the simple side, and the side that likes Porsches. Sometimes I am not sure how well they coexist!

Good luck! If it is something you really want to do, you just have to bite the bullet and do it... but best make dang sure it is really what you want, yeah? SmileWavy

Check out this website. I just got a copy of 'The Not So Big House' and it's very enlightening.

http://www.susanka.com

This guy lives a simple life in a tiny house...
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the thing that has most simplified my life is to go back to a cash existence. i only use the credit cards a few times a month just to keep them alive. everything else is in real money.

Always have lived relatively simple. Life got easier when I passed the P-car on to Evren.

I'm afraid it's true...the more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to take care of. Choose your stuff carefully.

You also need an attitude adjustment to make the move. A rejection of peer pressure, a realization that image isn't everything.

Making life simpler by streamlining tasks and getting rid of unused items etc. is an excellent idea as others have said. However it sounds to me like you need a regular break from all those things a couple times a year. This means a break from the wife and kids as well even though you love them. Personally I go on a short camping trip a couple times a year with a longer backpacking trip thrown in from time to time. Sometimes with other people, my girlfriend, and sometimes I just take my dog. Its amazing the difference it makes in my life and the head clearing that occurs during these trips. Im not talking about camping in a trailer with a toilet etc. as that just defeats the purpose. Go to the mountains somewhere, go on day hikes to a lake or go to a remote part of the coast. If straight camping/backpacking is not possible then find a remote cabin that lacks modern amenities and make it your base camp. I am always amazed at how (cleansed) I feel when I return from my trips. Never hurts to try.

There is of course no reason not to get rid of accumulated junk in your life. Its a proven fact that clutter and complexity of ones surroundings can have adverse effects on many people. Clutter and complexity can cause increased stress and difficulties with concentration for some.

Making life simpler by streamlining tasks and getting rid of unused items etc. is an excellent idea as others have said. However it sounds to me like you need a regular break from all those things a couple times a year. This means a break from the wife and kids as well even though you love them. Personally I go on a short camping trip a couple times a year with a longer backpacking trip thrown in from time to time. Sometimes with other people, my girlfriend, and sometimes I just take my dog. Its amazing the difference it makes in my life and the head clearing that occurs during these trips. Im not talking about camping in a trailer with a toilet etc. as that just defeats the purpose. Go to the mountains somewhere, go on day hikes to a lake or go to a remote part of the coast. If straight camping/backpacking is not possible then find a remote cabin that lacks modern amenities and make it your base camp. I am always amazed at how (cleansed) I feel when I return from my trips. Never hurts to try.

There is of course no reason not to get rid of accumulated junk in your life. Its a proven fact that clutter and complexity of ones surroundings can have adverse effects on many people. Clutter and complexity can cause increased stress and difficulties with concentration for some.

Wise words.

I used to obsess over my P-car. Upgrades. Cleaning. Rain. Rollbar or not? Seats or not? A thing of beauty that I ddn't enjoy. I'm so glad I don't have it.

As far as simplifying, a storage unit has done wonders for me. Clutter was killing me mentally. All the crap that was driving me nuts went to the garbage or to storage. I still have it, but I don't have to look at it.

As far as green, that's harder. Parked the Yukon (worthless) in the heated garage :rolleyes: and bought a Fit. We recycle of course. Try to turn off lights and I'm considering a kill switch for the house to shut of non-essential power to TVs etc. I insulated the heck out of my attic and have low-e glass.

It is amazing how ghost loads can add up...

A good way to do this is put the stuff you think you don't need in a box and tape it shut, date it and put it in the basement/attic. If in 6 to 12 months you have not opend it out of desperate need for what is in it- get rid of it; (do not open it) just put it in the trunk and stop off at Goodwill (good for you and them).

One has to divide things up according to use, value, memorabilia, etc. I recently got rid of a bunch of novels. I'm not going to read a book twice. Old pics are fun but I don't necessarily want them in the computer. So, they need a place. Collectibles have gotten out of hand for me. I couldn't pass a garage sale for years. Now, I'm going to be the garage sale.

As I said, if you designate an adequate area for each type of item and store efficiently, you can hang on to more. Off site storage and attics are not a good way to approach the problem.

I have enough extra furniture (all of it antiques) to furnish a small house. I always thought I might have a cabin in the local mountains and could enjoy the second tier of belongings. Not going to happen if it hasn't happened by now. That's kind of how one has to look at the situation.

Hello, my name is Milt and I'm a pack rat.

Here's mine.



If you haven't touched it in 5 years, SELL IT or get rid of it. Period. No exceptions

Works for everything. Clothes, gadgets, books, furniture, and spouses. SmileWavy

I did it with my clothes first, and it was really an eye-opener. I threw away about 75% of my clothes, and haven't missed any of them one bit.

Libraries are good for books. Stop buying them.

Read the news online, no more news papers.

Use laptops at home, no desktops (with the associated cables and junk)

Get rid of most of your TVs and cable.

Get rid of gaming systems like DS, Wii, PS2/3, XBox, etc...

When you want to buy something substantial, don't. Live without it for a while to see if you really needed it, or just wanted it. When you buy something, make it the best of its kind, so that you only buy it once (hopefully) in your lifetime. Take care of it.

No electric can openers.

Take more walks.

Play board games or cards at night with family and friend.

Take up hobbies that require craftsmanship. I.e. wood working, fly tying, model planes, ships in a bottle.

When I go on vacation, we go to cabins in the woods with no electricity. We have batteries for lights at night, and propane for stoves and fridges. We spend time together as a family with no electricity, tell stories, read books and play games.

Get a hammock.

I hear you about simplifying. After two years back in the states, we are talking about heading back to the Caribbean. I actually had a call the other day from my former boss in the Bahamas. They asked me if I would consider coming back to run the resort( The Green Turtle Club, Abaco Bahamas). I had a lot of reasons for leaving so it will depend on a pretty long list of "demands" for me to go back.

We miss the slower pace of life down there. People really know their neighbors and a good conversation is always presenting itself. You never worry about locking your doors. Everyone looks after you and your kids. I compare it to how thing were in most of America fifty years ago...not such a bad thing.

Ben

this guy should be able to help you out.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1231102145.jpg

you forgot build and drive Porsches...:)

Liked all of your suggestions. This year, I broke down at Christmas and outsmarted myself... which is sometimes and easy task... I have 7 kids, one of which is newborn. So for the other 6 which are ages 5-16, I decided to get them all their own personal gaming system. We have had others in the past, but everyone had something different, or some would not have them at all. This could sometimes lead to fights amongst them. So, we would just take the whole thing away for a while and noone played. So, back to my Christmas "brilliant idea": I thought if I bought them all the same exact thing, and then made sure we had several games to pick from, so worries, right? wrongo! On Christmas day, they were already fighting at the end of the day over one of the games... not all of them were fighting mind you. But it makes you wonder where you went wrong as a parent!:rolleyes: I tell you I came very close to following after the example of my father-in-law on one Christmas, when my wife was about 5 (she at the time was youngest of 5 children). The kids got done unwrapping presents. My father in law has always done well for a living. They had a very nice Christmas that year. Well, a couple of the boys got done unwrapping and then asked, "is this it"? That torqued father in law off. They got everyone dressed, loaded all but one present for each child in the car, and then drove to an orphanage down in Tiajuana and donated all the gifts.

The folks that have mentioned the "time hack" as a metric for shedding stuff are right on the money. During a remodel of our bedroom a few years ago we rearranged and expanded our closet and decided on the Gogar approach.

The Goodwill pile was a lot bigger than what we kept...could have saved on the remodel:)

We also re-worked some barn buildings this fall and I really took a hard look at stuff I haven't used in years. I sold or donated an amazing amount of farm detritus...some stuff I've stored since we bought this place and I didn't even know what purpose the stuff served:cool:

All good responses. I've actually been away from the PC out RETURNING a few items! I guess with Christmas I got fed up with all the consumerism and finally had it with all the presents and two snow storms and some cabin fever! I also now look at my original post and it seems a bit ridiculous but after 20 years of buying stuf you think you need for a family it adds up.

We try to live simple, cook a lot at home, NEVER keep up with the Joneses, drive cars for 8-10 yrs and I try to fix as much on them as I can. We also do not hire many babysitters, I mow my own lawn and clear my own snow. With my kids integrated into the town and schools I cant be moving to a cabin in the woods and I agree that it may be a great time to get rid of all the shtt that I haven't used in a year.

I wish I had the discipline to follow the "Compact" of not buying anything new for a year but I'm not sure if that includes beer!

http://www.startribune.com/business/13513951.html

I was up at the workshop most of the day organizing tools...an amazing amount of tools. I completely wussed-out.

Instead of following the same advice I posted above, I boxed all the old, sentimental tools I inherited from my father and grandfather and moved them to the workshop attic, where they will no doubt be found by archeologists a millennium from now.

I even boxed the 50-year-old bottles of lubrication for the ancient electric sanders.

There's stuff and then there's stuff.

The Uni-Bomber did it, read one of his books. Saw this on the wall at a bait shop in a fish camp.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1231107160.jpg


The last years of my Fathers life, he lived on his sail boat, worked out well for him.

Hate to hijack, but this 10' wide house in Long Beach is listed as the world's skinniest in Guiness. It's 3 stories and the lot is 10 feet, so the interior is more like 9. People have lived there all along, so few have seen the inside. It's 832sq. ft. and was built circa 1932 with a permit. The car you see in the pic is actually in the neighbor's drive.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...elongbeach.jpg

I'm not sure I can comment on living life simpler?, but to live life happier does take an effort to disengage from the routine or ruts our lives tend to follow.

I believe in being happy, so do what makes you happy. One of the biggest things I do each year is move to my summer lakeshore cabin where no computers, phones, TVs are allowed. I live there for July and August; sometimes Sept and June too; depending on work. During this time I focus on enjoying everyday at the lake.... recharges my batteries everytime and its great for the family, friends relationships.

In the winter I take off to the ski mountain for skiing and sledding often.

I think my first step towards living a freer (sp? Free-er) and possibly a simpler life would be learning how to live "without" a pay cheque. Next would be without an alarm clock.

Easiest way to be happy is not to grow up too much; keep a playful heart, enjoy life!
Good luck to ya!

Having a small home in an urban area is my cure for clutter and my recipe for quality of life. Here in the NYC metro area, space is at a premium. Its just not possible to accumulate that much stuff unless you want to "wade" through it. We have a 2 bedroom 2.5 bath duplex with about 1700 sq ft and its pretty huge by local standards. Urban lot, so no yard = no yard work and no lawn care equipment :D. Very easy to live without a car if you want. Grocery store, restaurants, bars, pharmacies, hardware store, even a full fledged mall are within walking distance. If you can't find it in walking distance, 24hr train service to Manhattan is 500ft away.

We still have to work at managing our stuff though - its just that we don't have room to accumulate for years and years. My wife cleans out the closet every 6 months. Any piece of clothing that hasn't seen the light of day in 12months goes to the Salvation Army. She also buys used books there. You can get a stack of paperbacks for $0.25 a piece. The rule is she has to drop off books that we've already consumed before bringing any more home. I've found that the craigslist "free" classifieds is a great place to get rid of old stuff you don't want. I got rid of an old desktop computer I wasn't using any more. It didn't work (harddrive was toast), but someone who was low on cash was happy to take it away and give it a new life. I did the same with a washer dryer that crapped out, and an old espresso machine. We can also just drag old crap we don't want to the curb and it nearly always gets taken by someone.

When we bought this house some 18 years ago I put my old 1967 Chrysler Newport convertible in the garage, and closed the door.. This was the car I drove in HS. I had intended to do a complete rehab on the sled some day. Well when I bought the 911, the 67 had to go, and I found a lot (I mean a lot) of stuff that I didn't have the nerve to throw away, that had piled up on and around the car over the next 15 years. When the car was pulled out into the light of day, and waited for the rollback to come and take her to her new home I started going through the "stuff" that I just couldn't give up. I kept one item out of 4 pickup loads that went away. I was shocked. The rest of my house is much the same way, we have a couple of rooms that we don't use for anything more than storage, WTF. I want a small house with a big garage somewhere in the mountains. I have been trying to figure a way to simplify my life for a couple of years now. The kids are almost gone and I think I will make the break from the clutter. Ya'll are right about getting away, I used to go camping (primitive) several times a year, and it is amazing how refreshed I would feel after getting back to "civilization".
I too think I need to look around and make a break from the rat race myself.

My wife and I are getting a divorce. She is taking 2 stepkids with her. I am going to take this chance to really clean house. This house was small for 5. When it is just me and my son I hope it to be too big. Tools are something I can not see ever getting rid of. They are always a possible source of income. I want to nock my electric bill in half. That is my goal.

Sell the Carrera and buy a bicycle.

We keep a box or two in the garage year round - as we shuffle through our stuff looking for something, and we come across something that we no longer need, want, desire...etc, we place that item in that box.

Then, once a year, we hold a joint garage sale with our next door neighbors. And the prep work for the garage sale isn't bad at all, since we worked all year on putting aside the stuff that we are planning on getting rid of. On top of that box, a day or two prior to our big sale, we go through our closets and drawers and pull out clothes we haven't worn in over a year. Then I go through my DVD and CD collection. Then all my electronic stuff. And I make a sweep of my garage as well.

We typically gross over $500.00 a year on our garage sales. Five hundred bucks from stuff that was just taking up space and not being used.

Monza_dh: given your original post, you can start your garage sale box with the following:
- one of the coffee makers
- all but one of the blenders/mixers
- two of the clock radios
- two of the three TV's
- one of the digital cameras
- some of your power tools
- and I'm sure that you can find a lot of other stuff lying around that you don't use or you don't need.

There's at least $100 to $150 of stuff there. And CASH is a great incentive to simplify, don't ya think???

Side note: my 'garage sale box' already has the following items in it:
- my old Sharp DVD/5.1 home theature system
- my old SLR camera
- my 'used twice' Thule system including 'Spock's casket'
- my collection of comic books
- some of my old duplicate tools
- a closet full of old (too small) clothes
- pictures, wall hangings, old home decor stuff

In the springtime, do a garage sale. Have your wife and kids plan it out too - if you make it adventurous for them, I am sure they will get excited about it and participate.

Or, you can also put your higher ticket items up on ebay or craigslist. Remember - one person's junk is another's gold...

For me, the $500.00 a year is nice, but what I appreicate more about it than anything is the fact that I am able to get rid of stuff that we've accumilated over the years. Life is more simple with less clutter...

Oh, and whatever you do with the $$, DON'T get more clutter!!! :)
-Z-man.

Start by doing what it takes to live on one income.

Already doing it!

Z-Man, you read my mind! Started making a pile today in the basement, garage and attic. We'll put some stuff on ebay then plan a garage sale in the Spring. I also am going thru all the sentimentle stuff that I thought I just couldnt part with and it will hit the circular file this week.

2009 here I come!!

Clutter has to be one of the most de-motivating habits that one can have. I discovered a simple plan for clutter clean up that works very well....

Get a bunch of boxes 5 to 10 depending on how severe your clutter is. Label them 1 to 10. Then start grabbing things and throwing them into the boxes; try to have some kind of general organization to the box things go in.... ie: Tax & accounting papers; magazines & reading material; junk; etc. As you throw something in the box speak into a hand held recorder and say "2005 tax return for Joan - Box 3" and do this for each item.

Then take the boxes and put them away; somewhere like a storage room or garage. One day when you have time; make a sheet that has the box number on top and write out each item in each box. Tape the sheet to the box. When you need something, you can find it and no more clutter. If you're good at filing into more organized boxes, you dont need the sheet. Empty your file cabinet, etc. once a year. If you dont open the box in 1 - 2 years; review the insides and get rid of the stuff you dont need.

I keep one box in my office for the current year; stuff I dont need to have in my cabinet. When the box gets full, I put it with the others and start a new one. At the end of the year I organize the boxes into categories and empty my file cabinets out. Works very well for me, hope it helps decluttering?

I hear ya man. When I get back to nature at my home in the Hamptons, I tell the chauffer to shut the f%ck up for the whole ride. Really clears the mind.


:D