Seeking Simplicity

By Sherry Bryant

Whether or not we realize it at the time, everything in life seeks a balance.  If you have lived at one extreme, at some point you may live at another and eventually you will find a balance.

Recently with my children all grown and the nest empty, it seemed time for a change.  Time to clear out the old to make ways for the new.  Time to rid myself of old habits, time to cleanse all areas of my life.  Three months ago my husband and I began a search for simplicity. 

My husband ahs always been a fan of the British seventies sit-com, Good Neighbors, where Tom and Barbara Good decide to chunk it all and become self-sufficient while moving to the quiet side of life. Now we are by no means self sufficient and I have no interest in being so.  We are not farmers, we would starve, and I like my conveniences. However, we did want to see what we could do, what we could change, how we could benefit, how we could make a difference.

We had somewhat done this twenty years ago as we were living in the country at the time, the children were young and life was just easier.  There was space and good soil for a large garden, neighbors shared excess from their gardens.  I didn’t work so I spent time at canning and sewing and other practical endeavors that easily simplified our lives and kept consumption to a minimal.  We were out in the country so there were no outlets convenient for spending excess money like malls or fast food or entertainment.  It went easily and life was good, life was peaceful.

Eventually we moved, jobs were taken, businesses were launched, the children grew older and technology took its boom and little by little the peaceful simplistic lifestyle we had once attained had slowly over the course of the years become an overstressed chaotic dash to have it all.

In seeking simplicity, many things had to change and many things also changed through the natural evolution toward simplicity.  We cut out unnecessary spending in all areas of our life.  We brought transportation down to a minimum and trimmed our diet down to mostly whole foods and home-baked goods. We made more quiet time and more quality time.

Shopping is probably the largest area of waste and complication in our lives today.  Marketing and packaging, advertising and promotions, all lead us to unnecessary spending, consumption and waste.  Excess trash is another subject entirely and I won’t even go there.

In may ways, simplicity equals “green”.  Recalling my childhood, my grandparents and great-grandparents were “green” long before the term was coined.  For one reason, so much of what we use today didn’t even exist then.  Many things were hard to come by or were unaffordable and because of this much of what was used was also recycled.  Jelly jars became iced tea glasses, an old tire became a swing, and empty bread-wrappers became “baggies”.  Most items were not disposable then as they are today either.

As a part of the change, I began shopping at the local thrift and consignment stores rather than to purchase new products.  By doing so I was no longer contributing to the supply and demand.  I was also participating in the use of things recycled.  In the process I found some vintage treasures that I would not otherwise have come across: two unique leather jackets and one full length fur, which because of a rip, I was able to purchase for only fifteen dollars.  I repaired the rip easily and now own a vintage imported full length fur.  I would never go and buy such an item as I do not believe in supporting that industry however in coming across it, I almost felt I was rescuing it, was given the opportunity to preserve it. And I feel the same about the vintage leather. I felt as though I received an opportunity to own a tiny piece of our western heritage, a part of our heritage, simplistic in its own right.

In our search for simplicity, we made the decision to travel only by motorcycle thus saving on gas and emissions.  It was quite a sacrifice but was also the most rewarding and enlivening thing we have done. Rather than being boxed away inside a car we are with nature and the elements. People look and wave and smile, the envy is apparent. It has simplified our life tremendously.  It is so much simpler to use and maintain.  We have no car payments, minimal (and I mean minimal) insurance, no expensive maintenance checks.  It is a very freeing experience.

Because of the lack of a car, I have begun walking more which lead to running.  Bicycling is another option and all are good exercise. The walking adds simplicity to one’s life that can be attained no other way, time to stop and smell the roses so to speak, to admire the sunset, to breathe the fresh air, to say hello to a neighbor, to watch a flock of birds take flight.

Due to the shift to a motorcycle, grocery shopping and consumption took a natural turn to simplicity. We wanted to simplify our diets and consumption of goods anyway and with only the room to carry items that a backpack can provide, we had no choice but to stop buying so much.  I decide what I am in the mood for and go to the store that day.  After shopping for food for and preparing at least two meals a day for twenty-seven years for a growing family, I was tired and burnt out on meals.  Meal time is now such a simple process and I have much more free time.

In the process whole foods moved to the top of the list, easier, simpler and healthier, and less expensive. Cans are heavy to haul.  Large packages in boxes like processed cereals and snacks and frozen foods are bulky and take up too much room.  Processed cereals became whole oats. Canned vegetables became fresh vegetables.  Long loaves of processed bread became short loaves of health nut or whole grain bread.  Meats are heavy and messy to haul and are expensive and unhealthy and take time to prepare.

Meats became beans and peanut butter, easy, healthy and inexpensive and little prep time. I began baking home-baked healthy cookies like oatmeal and peanut butter or loaves of pumpkin or banana bread rather than trying to buy large packages of pre-made unhealthy snacks. In making them myself, if I want to I can cut the sugar. This year’s Halloween pumpkin was recycled into the loaves of pumpkin bread rather than ending up in the compost pile. Sometimes now for dinner, I do an easy tray of cheeses, fresh vegetables and fruits and some whole grain bread or crackers, sometimes with cold cuts if we want a little meat.  It is easy, healthy and inexpensive and requires little prep time and less clean-up time. Every other day I make a crock pot of beans, regardless.

And when it comes to bagging it all up, I am using my own bag and cutting down on considerable waste from excessive shopping bags.  For the first time I feel like a good person who is actually doing their part instead of contributing to the problem.

When it came to entertainment, we stopped ordering movies online, stopped going to the movie store and began spending our spare time in more creative endeavors, relying on our own creativity more for entertainment and in the process have produced more in a short time than in a year otherwise.  I read again, a simple pleasure that I had not done in a good many years but rather than buy a stack of books at Hastings, I just go to the library, get what I want, then return them.  No money spent, no trees required, no space on the shelves required because thinning out things like books and movies and CDs was part of the move to simplicity. I only kept my favorites, those I have collected and know that I will return to time and again. We no longer buy new movies just because they were released.  Music is mostly downloaded and digital.

In the beauty arena, I have made considerable changes as well.  I went from using a thirty-six dollar bottle of anti-aging serum, a fifteen dollar tube of cleanser and a thirteen dollar tub of moisturizer to a three dollar (large size) each of good old fashion Noxema and cold cream and quite honestly my face is softer than ever and the blackheads are gone. Six dollars spent and it lasts months longer than the others which were usually about a thirty day supply (not a coincidence,  that is so that we will buy them every month).  I am currently experimenting with shampoos and the fifty dollar hair care system I was previously using has moved over as I try Suave, V05 and some others. 

We found other ways to simplify our lives too in addition to spending and consumption.  We cleaned out our social networks, turned off unnecessary feed, news and photos and just got down to the basics of those people that are important in our lives.  This made an incredible difference and in my opinion lowered the stress level a good notch as we no longer see negative news or unsolicited complaining. We also stopped frequenting the social networks all day long and take rather a moment in the morning and a moment in the evening to see what close family and friends may have to say or to make a comment. This freed up a lot of extra time because since their onset, our last few years have been spent in an immersion of online social activity.

It is nice to take a simple walk, play an acoustic guitar, eat some home-baked, read a book and have some luxury quiet time all the while cultivating a green lifestyle. My house is less cluttered, mealtime is so easy, we are healthier and our lives are simplified.  And though this was an experiment and will come to an end in part, many new good habits will have begun that will last a lifetime and old habits have been discarded.  It is amazing what you can do without that you think you cannot and how much better you feel. 

In seeking simplicity, we have found good health, a cleaner, greener conscious and lifestyle, and a little bit more peace in what is otherwise a very hectic and chaotic world.  We have eased our minds, eased our pocketbook and become better people.  Not too bad for an experiment in simplistic living.

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