Simplicty

I was looking up carbon footprints and stuff and came across an idea that I've looked at a lot before (and even blogged about before), but hadn't necessarily connected with the whole "reduce/reuse/recycle" idea. It's voluntary simplicity. There's ton's of sites and information online about it and different versions, but I'll give my take on it.

To me, living simply, in part, means to go back to a simpler time. The grass may always be greener, but I see the "Leave it to Beaver" era/ideal as one I'd like to get a little closer to. Mom stays home with the children and cooks home cooked meals that the whole family sits down to, Dad goes to work, come homes and plays with the kids. The kids can play outside safely and have neighborhood friends. Things are more likely to be made at home than bought in a store (except he crazy stuff that the boys buy mail order, like alligators). Now, living at that time was probably very different than what I envision, but I like my little fantasy.

More so, though, the whole idea is really simple. Live simply. You only bring things into your life that you need and love. You get rid of anything in your life currently that doesn't fit that. I've looked at this as ways of getting rid of clutter and lessening what I buy (though I still have and buy too much). As you clear space in your life you clear space in your mind as well.

There are groups that promise not to buy anything for a month. There is even a yahoo group [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact/ ] about "The Compact" [ http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/ ] where people commit, among other things, not to buy anything for a YEAR! Pretty impressive in a consumerist drive society. I have to say, I don't know that I could do that at this point, but it would be awesome, and is a goal that I would like to work towards. Right after I get that new laptop I've been wanting... oh, wait! Don't forget the new toys for the kids.... and the girls will need some cute clothes, right?

Hmmm... Apparently, I have a ways to go, even in my mind...