It helps to be more in tune with your surroundings outside. Many of us become disconnected from the land around us because of the pace of modern life: working 40+ hours, driving everywhere, and generally not having energy to go outside in our spare time. But even taking a short walk around the block each day will let you get in tune with your local climate. You’ll learn what the temperature is like when the first flowers start to bloom, when foods are in season, when the frost starts to come.

Unfortunately, this may also mean you start to notice how out of whack the cycles have become thanks to climate change.

I listened to an interview with Marie Kondo recently, and she herself seems to have renounced the method. When it was popular I definitely found some parts of it interesting, but others were too idiosyncratic to be useful. Ultimately, no one method is a panacea and everyone needs to find what works for them.

Some of us still use devices that only support .mobi

That is seen as a feature by many people. A big part of why a lot of people use a feature phone — whether for a short jaunt or for their main device — is to disconnect. You’re still accessible by phone for important things, but you’re no longer beholden to the constant buzz buzz buzz of chat notifications rolling in.

I love the internet sometimes. Hope this works out!

It depends where you live. Here, land is at a premium so the rent for a space that can fit a camper or prefab home would be higher than that for an apartment.

I have lived in a camper. I do not recommend it unless you live in an extremely mild climate. They are poorly-insulated, the windows fog up, they leak in the rain if you have slides. The hot water tank only holds enough for a 5 minute shower before the water starts to run cold. You have to deal with propane refills. The water hookup can freeze in the winter. Mice can get in easily. You have to stay mindful of the blackwater tank, because leaving it open creates a pyramid of waste that can’t be removed, but leaving it closed means you have to remember to empty it. The power system isn’t meant to handle a lot of things plugged in at once. When the DC fuses blow, you have to go find replacements at an auto parts store. The oven doesn’t have a broiler. The fridge is quite inefficient and small. The list of issues goes on and on. Make sure you’re really committed to the lifestyle.

Okay but this is literally the racist usage of the word.

They’re not the only ones calling y’all out. Stop defending using racist terms.

“Polished,” “tweaked,” or if we want to reclaim a term from the crafters, “bedazzled.”

Thank you for making this post. The number of times I’ve seen the term used here lately has been bothering me.

It’s known as the “Hedonic Treadmill,” and I have posted about it here. People get a small rush when they acquire something new, and mistakenly believe that larger/better acquisitions will result in better/longer good feelings. Really, it’s the novelty of the thing that makes us feel that way, and novelty inevitably fades. The thing is, many people never realize this and end up chasing that feeling for their entire lives, hence: eternally walking on the Hedonic Treadmill that takes them nowhere.

Some people are less susceptible to this than others. If you don’t have a particularly addictive personality, or if you are not in the fog of consumerism as a positive thing, you will probably not struggle with this as much as someone who has one or both of those traits.

Agreed, and it’s a problem we need to nip in the bud before it becomes entrenched.

And to quote /u/anachronic: “Simple living is a state of mind, not a zip code.”

I’ll start!

I really like The Enchiridion by Epictetus, which is a very short introduction to Stoic philosophy. Stoic philosophy ties in closely to simple living for me because it allow me to focus on the things that I can control and that matter to me, letting go of those things that I cannot control. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is another Stoic text, longer than the Enchiridion, that gives insight into the life of someone living their Stoic values. It’s a series of journal entries with much insight into daily challenges, and I have taken away a lot from it. Here’s one of my favourite quotes:

If you seek tranquility, do less. Or, more accurately, do what’s essential – what the logos of a social being requires, and in the requisite way. Which brings a double satisfaction: to do less, better. Because most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, “is this necessary?”