Living SimplyChoosing Less in a World of More
Environmental pollution, global warming, rising sea-levels, stressful living and other pitfalls of modern life are pushing thinking people all over the world to take necessary counter-measures. The ‘live simply’ movement is one of them. It basically means using less of the earth’s resources to create a better quality of life for everyone. How is that possible?
The simple living movement has several variations.
The advocates of frugal living put the emphasis on living within one’s means. They argue that this helps save money, promotes healthy living and reduces environmental pollution.
The proponents of slow living advocate slowing down the pace of life so as to restore natural harmony. Among other things, it also promotes the idea of cooking your own food from scratch, be it banana bread or yogurt or tomato sauce, instead of buying it ready made, and picking fresh tomatoes and onions and herbs from your own vegetable gardens.
The proponents of homesteading or self-sufficiency want people to become self-sufficient by growing / producing everything they need within their locality using locally available resources.
This means you have to grow your own vegetables, raise your own livestock, generate your own electricity and possibly process your own sewage as far as practicable. So the next time you want spaghetti sauce, you will be able to obtain the required ingredients from your own vegetable garden.
The advocates of sustainable living state that reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is the best defense against environmental-degradation. They argue that this also leads to a more healthy and ethical way of living.
All of the above and other approaches to clean, green and healthy living are products of the idea that the modern way of living with its emphasis on fast food, consumer goods and workaholism is detrimental to the health of planet earth and to the long-term survival of the human civilization. The central idea is that only by living simply can we make amends.
 The Moving Survival Guide: All You Need to Know to Make Your Move Go Smoothly It’s not every day in a man’s life that he… get’s married? Sure, but I was actually referring to that other event that calls upon vendors, friends, and family and a full day of your life: moving! Relocating from one home to the next is something most people regard as a less than fun filled day, and rightly so. It’s not a true moving day unless two things happen: something breaks and somehow, against all odds, you have to make one more trip to get the last of your things.
There are a few ways to take some of the stress out of the modern day chore though, the least of which is to hire a moving company. That was is too obvious that we won’t even mention it. (Or at least we won’t count it towards our three tips. Consider it a bonus!)
The greatest tip I ever learned that in order to get your friends and family involved, you have to give them something back. Yes, I’m talking about the basest of most desires and transactions: cheese pizza and soda. You can rally your friends to war by offering them pizza and a drink – surely, they’d do much less – like carry a couple of a boxes and break a sweat for one on a Saturday afternoon – for the same thing. So first things first: commit to feeding everybody and when you ask people, let them know they’ll get a tasty, unhealthy meal out of it!
Secondly, don’t try and move things that have other things inside them. Yes, it might sound wise – why unpack when you don’t have to, but it results in two things: hurt backs and broken objects. You would never want to move something big, bulky, and heavy, like your Maple South Shore Armoire or any kind of wardrobe closet with all the clothes inside it, and whatever you do, don’t even consider moving the fridge with all the food inside it! (But we both know you would never sneak that one in, right? Right.)
Last, but certainly not least – don’t ever try and save $10 by getting what you think will “probably” be enough room in your moving van or truck. That extra $10 is peace of mind – and if you don’t have enough space, you’ll easily spend more in gas with the extra trips, to say nothing of exhausting some precious emotional stress pent up from a hard says work!
Finally, a true bonus tip: keep things lighthearted. Make conversation, have good music playing, and if you can, move on a day with good weather. These little perks will keep everyone happier and in a better mood, making moving day something one notch up from doing jury duty or visiting the DMV.
 Sterlite Large Plastic Storage Boxes (Click Image for Details) Large plastic storage boxes are the best answer to spring cleaning.
Spring cleaning is always so much more than just cleaning. It starts with organizing. And organizing begins with making decisions about what you want to keep, how and when you will use what you keep, where you will store what you keep, and then packing and identifying what you keep so that it is safe, accessible and usable when you need an item.
Whether you have a lot of storage space or just a few closets, plastic storage boxes are the best way to store items and be able to see what you’ve stored.
Once you’ve sorted through your items, thrown or given away what you don’t want and decided what you want to keep, decide on where you will be storing items that you don’t use on a daily basis.
If items are used everyday or every week, it’s better to keep these items inside your home for easy access. Anything that is used in your home at least once a month should be stored in an indoor closet or cupboard, with items used less often relegated to a top shelf or deep into a lower shelf where it won’t take up valuable ‘up front’ space.
The items that are often stored in garages, sheds or attics are usually Christmas and holiday decorations, mementos and family keepsakes, out of season clothing, out of season sports equipment, and items belonging to a family member that is away from home for an extended period.
Plastic storage boxes come in all sorts of sizes. Don’t pick a size that is so large that once you fill it, it is too heavy for one person to carry.
Be sure that any clothing you store is clean before you store it away. Wrap breakable items to protect them. Be sure to check items you are storing for bugs before packing them away. A plastic storage box can protect against bugs, but not if they’re already in the boxes at the beginning.
Label the boxes so that you will know what is inside. You can also tape an inventory of items in the box onto the inside so that it is protected, and you will know details of what is packed away.
Your large plastic storage boxes will protect your important belongings from dampness, bugs, dirt, and the elements, and will have you pleased with the results of your thorough spring cleaning.
Some of us have closets packed with loads of clothes and others can get by on a few items. I have now started a “one in, one out rule” as I cannot possibly jam any more in. If I don’t like something enough to make me want to throw something else out to own it, then I don’t buy it!
Here are some guidelines if you just want to a practical guide to reducing the number of clothing items you need.
 How Many Clothes Do You Need? 1. Have Clothes for What You Do
Make sure you only buy clothes for the activities you do regularly. You can always hire for special occasions so you don’t need to store ball gowns (unless balls are your thing of course!)
2. Double Up
Try and buy at least some clothes which are interchangeable for work and leisure so you don’t have to buy so much
3. Keep Up to date with Laundry
Do your laundry often so you don’t need so many clothes because the ones you have are always ready to wear and avoid dry clean only clothes as the things you want to wear will invariably need cleaning at the wrong time.
4. Wear Layers
If winters are severe where you live, wear layers of clothing rather than a completely different wardrobe in each season. Of course, you’ll need some separate winter and summer items but there is a lot you can use throughout the year.
5. Avoid High Fashion
You can stay reasonably up to date with new accessories. Stick with modern timeless classics and avoid being a slave to fashion or you’ll need an entirely new set of clothes twice a year!
6. Restrict Closet Space
When you run out of closet space don’t give into the temptation to add more storage to your home. You will only buy more clothes until it is full again. Prune what you have if you want to make way for more.
7. Look After What You Have
If you look after your clothes they will last a lot longer and will look good as long as they are current. You will have less to buy if you learn to treat stains as soon as they occur and hang clothes properly in the closet rather than leaving them languishing on the floor.
There are things you can do to simplify your life that are actually quite a lot of work to do in the short term and then there are these ten simple things you can do very easily.
1. Turn off the TV
Watch 5 hours (max) a week and pre-plan your viewing rather than 5 hours a day (The average is more!)
2. Stop Buying Newspapers and Magazines
Fewer ads, less trash – and you can pick anything you need to know from the web
 Simplify Your Life 3. One in, one out
If you buy a new one, get rid of an old one to create plenty of space. Works well with books, DVDs, CDs and clothes. No more over-stuffed closets.
4. Do You Need to Buy that Gadget?
Will it be gathering dust in the basement after 2 weeks? Think twice before you buy a new kitchen gadget (think ice cream maker, pasta machine etc) or DIY tool. Does the cost/storage space justify the use?
5. Forget the features
If you do choose a gadget get the simplest one to meet your needs. Do you even have time to read the instructions? Most people buy (pay for) loads of features and then never use half of them. Pay for only what you’ll use.
6. Drink Water
The simplest, cheapest, healthiest least calorie drink.
7. Forget Dry Clean Only
If it’s not washable you will be schlepping it to the dry-cleaners and picking it up ever week (or you won’t wear it at all). Exception – a special wedding dress, ball gown (and maybe then you can hire) and possible work suits which are not made for dumping in the washing machine.
8. Stay Healthy
One of the best ways of simplifying your life – who needs ill health to complicate things. Exercise, eat well, get plenty of rest and keep away from the harmful stuff like drugs and too much alcohol.
9. Get rid of time-sucking luxuries
I know chances are you don’t have these but if you are unlucky enough to have them get rid of them. The yacht, the second home, the Ferrari you use at the weekend all have to be maintained, insured and looked after properly. You can always hire!
10. Don’t Answer
You don’t have to answer the phone or the door bell just because they ring. You can decide whether it’s convenient to be interrupted. And you definitely don’t have to answer an email within 5 minutes of its arrival so why check it every few minutes?
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