For me this simple way of life is growing over the years, as I discover how to simplify more of what was once a household with two full-time workers in stressful jobs and two adult children, into a household with two semi-retired people working in part-time work, and one adult who has just finished studying and is looking for that elusive first position.
The life which is lived simply often requires quite a lot of work, but it is satisfying work -
- gardening and picking the produce of that garden
- feeding a sourdough starter and kneading bread, then serving it with home-made hummus to your guests
- cutting out a pattern for a pair of pyjama pants and then making them up, using fabric you found in an op shop
- walking to the shops, pulling a shopping trolley, and then bringing home only the raw ingredients for food you cook yourself from scratch
The reasons for living the simple life are many:
- a concern for the earth and the way the consumerist lifestyle is killing it
- exhaustion with the ever-increasing busy-ness which often characterises Western life
- dis-satisfaction with the 'sugar-high' like buzz which comes from purchasing pleasure rather than making it yourself.
- need to reduce stress levels for health reasons
- the desire to take control of one's own life, and the food we eat and the things we use -for quality, for taste, for the joy which comes from doing it yourself
I am lucky enough to have a lovely home and a husband and daughter who share this life with me in Perth Western Australia.
My son and daughter in law and my grand daughter live in another Australian state.
This blog is in part just for me -to document my efforts at simplicity, but also to share with others who may also be interested in this way of life.
I hope you enjoy it!
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