Gaia: Voluntary Simplicity

Re: Survey

http://yogagurl.gaia.com — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:48:10 GMT

Opps I have more
11) don't drive walk, bike, transit!
12) don't eat red meat (beef ,pork)
13) making gifts intead of buying them I make all natural bath products, and book marks out of old paper and Magazines ..people oddly like thease more that bought gifts ..now I'm going to learn to knit so i can make more

hmm that's realy it for now

Re: Survey

http://yogagurl.gaia.com — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:37:08 GMT

1) by Second hand : clothes, books, cd's what ever i can
2) buying less asking the question do i need this and then actually walking away when i don't
3) walk everywhere possible whenever possible
4) follow the one in one out rule (very hard with books :-D!)
5)eating less processed food
6) going for walks with friends to catch up instead of coffee or dinner
7) BYOC bringing my own coffee cup
8) trying to find a way to reuse everything including my bath water
9) raiding my friends book and movie collections, instead of buying of renting
10) redying faded clothing that isn't worn out yet but especially black stuff

Re: Survey

http://ookami.gaia.com — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:39:51 GMT

Thanks Kelly!

Re: Survey

http://KellyBelly.gaia.com — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:33:17 GMT

1. Drink more water

2. recycle and reuse plastics

3. buy from resale shops

4. get books from the local library instead of buying them. I usually read my books only once and then they end up just sitting on my shelves anyway

5. spend less money, i.e, buying less crap

6. Cooking vegan/vegetarian meals

7. going out to eat less

8. Shopping at the farmer's market

9. using my phone for nothing but talking to people! No texting or music or internet.

10. watching less tv.

Stuff!!!!!!!!!!!! Excellent video

http://ookami.gaia.com — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:30:45 GMT

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Re: Survey

http://mmandkidsathome.gaia.com — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:14:19 GMT

really, really great things in here! hmmm "turn on the computer less than two times per week".....that could be a huge challenge! Thanks for keeping this idea rolling. I do hope we can turn it into a good dialog.

Survey Responses from several people

http://ookami.gaia.com — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:24:25 GMT

The following is a result of the same survey I took on another site. I was hoping for as good of one here. Come on people are we living the awakening life or not? Perhaps these will spur some more response here at Gaia:

      1. Drink more water
      2. Try to get places under my own power (walk or bike)
      3. Buy from local merchants or grow and make my own
      4. Read more library books
      5. Avoid commercial television
      6. Buy fewer, better-quality and used things
      7. Write/garden/sing
      8. Maintain quality long-term relationships with a wide variety of people
      9. Do fewer things but with more attention/intention
      10. Love the natural world and my place in it
      reply to this post
    *

      1. Riding my bike and public transit instead of driving. I spend no money on gas, put no wear and tear on my car, and I don't have to deal with the stress of traffic. People think I must always be late because I ride the train, but I'm honestly late more often when I have to drive somewhere, because traffic is so unpredictable.
      2. I made a sign that says "Simplify: what do you really need?" and put it on my bathroom mirror. It reminds me, every morning, to ask myself, "Uh, do I really need that?"
      3. Taking my lunch. I eat better, I save money. Enough said.
      4. Being more honest with friends about what I really feel like doing. If my friends had their way, I'd be eating out with them and going to movies three or four times a week. I allowed myself to be more open and say no, I don't really feel like it. Not only do I have some down time (which I seriously need), but I save a lot of money. I still see my friends a lot, too - we play board games or BBQ at our homes.
      5. Cutting out red meat. I don't have an ethical issue with eating meat, but I couldn't ignore the toll red meat takes on the environment any more. So I just stopped eating it. And yes, pork is red meat, despite what the ads say! I have a lot more energy. Plus, chicken and fish tend to be cheaper.
      6. Telling people, including friends and loved ones, what I'm doing. They are kind enough to support me, and since they're aware they don't wind up unintentionally sabotaging me.
      7. I use my library card a lot, and I also make use of my local book reseller. I buy all my books used, and then sell them back when I'm done, mainly trading them in for more books. This keeps the money I spend on books in its own little cycle. In a way, I'm still spending the same money, over and over.
      8. Same for clothes. I simply don't buy new clothing unless absolutely necessary. I shop at thrift stores or make my own. Most of the clothing I find is barely worn, super-cheap, and I know my money is going to support a local business instead of a chain.
      9. I curbed my coffee habit. I still drink it from time to time, but I'm no longer on the coffee at least once a day plan. Cheaper, and better for me.
      10. I signed up for my bank's (Bank of America) "Keep the Change" program. They round up each purchase on my ATM card and put the "spare change" into my savings account, plus they match a percentage of it each quarter. That way, when I do spend, I save a little too. This program has piled a noticable amount into my savings account!
      reply to this post
    *
I don't watch TV. I don't even have one. I haven't watched TV in over ten years, save for hotel rooms from time to time, and so I don't even really think about it. I listen to a lot of music, instead, when I need background noise. And if I need something to do, I sew or read or bake some bread or take a walk. I have a very low opinion of TV.

7. I use my library card a lot, and I also make use of my local book reseller. I buy all my books used, and then sell them back when I'm done, mainly trading them in for more books. This keeps the money I spend on books in its own little cycle. In a way, I'm still spending the same money, over and over.

            Another way to do something similar is to use Bookmooch. See www.bookmooch.com . You can list the books you don't need anymore, for other people to "mooch". When they mooch from you, you get a point, and you can use that point to mooch a book from someone else.

            Try it, it's fun!

                  1. Bike riding (tho i don't commute by bike)
                  2. library (incl. checking out CD's)
                  3. buying produce at Ma & Pa produce markets as much as possible
                  4. patronizing small, indie bookstores when possible (vs. buying at big chain stores)
                  5. buying more frozen veggies (longevity)
                  6. cutting back a lot on processed sugar and starches

   1. I ride bike, walk, or take the bus everywhere. No need to buy a car and have all the expenses and hassles related to it. No need to work extra hours to pay for it. I get to enjoy my environment and really see my neighbourhood.

  2. I limit processed foods. Might seem like it would add to time management problems, but it actually solves a lot of problems. I don't have to wonder if I am eating healthy, or if I need to be on a diet, because food choices are not left to the last second when my will power is the lowest. I get to spend time relaxing while I do food preparation. I don't have to worry about all the excess packaging for the food items, or all the chemical additives to my food items. I have less garbage to worry about. And I spend less money on food, which means less hours working to pay for food.

  3. I don't buy things on a whim. I have an ongoing list of things I really do need, but don't want to buy new, which I review regularly. That way I can avoid impulse shopping and yet still get things and thrift stores and yard sales and know I didn't buy the item because it was a good deal, but rather because it was on my list. If I have to buy something new, I make sure that I buy something that exactly what I need/want, and that it is built to last.

4. I periodically clean out my space and reflect on each item I sort through, whether I still like it, still use it, still need it. If not, it goes to charity. Having a cluttered space is so distracting and so stressful, at least for me. It adds to cleaning tasks. It requires more space. It requires organization units and storage units. I like my little space, with it's little rent.

5. I schedule my down time. It's just as important as anything else I have to get done in the run of a week. There was a survey out this past week that showed that when self discribed workaholics were compared other workers there was no difference between career arc, earnings, or productivity. Allowing yourself downtime actually increases your productivity, so you can achieve the same amount in less time.

6. I prioritize my To-Do list. Somethings have to be done, like paying the bills, making appointments, doing the laundry when you have nothing left to wear... Most things though, are not so necessary and can be pushed off a day if need be. I work my way through my list, but I don't get stressed if I fall a little bit behind from time to time.

7. I use the public library, not only as free entertainment, but for free information as well. It is a wonderful source on information on any topic, how to compost, how to make a quilt, how to eat healthy, spiritual teachings...

  8. I like to get a great haircut that makes sure that my hair looks wonderful everyday without the need for styling products or a lot of time spent styling it daily. It might cost more, and requires that you take the effort to find a hair dresser who understands what you need/want, but it is so much of an ego boost and a time saver, which makes it worth every cent.

  9. I don't maintain relationships where I feel I have to be someone I'm not, where I feel the need to justify any of my beliefs or actions. I don't mean to say that I have only friends who think and act just like me, but rather that I don't put myself in the position of feeling bad about myself. If they are okay with me, they are okay to me.

10. I always set my goals for myself, not for others, and plan for both the worst case senario and the ideal senario. That way I am always motivated towards my goals, but fine if things are bumpy along the way, or if I have to alter or abandon a goal here and there, it's not the end of the world.

  Interesting! Thinking about this the other day (as I was riding my bike past several yard sales, unvisited) it occurred to me that the single biggest thing I do toward simple living is (1) deciding what is important to me, (2) what is not and then (3) planning so that what is important is physically easier. Through a full pantry and modest needs I almost never have any sort of non-medical emergencies, I keep my 1990 Volvo messy and ugly but in good repair with at least a half-tank of gas and try very hard never to over-schedule, so that there is room for the needs of others and a certain amount of built-in downtime. I am reminded of such books _Walden_, _First Things First_, _Wishcraft_, _Voluntary Simplicity_ and _Your Money or Your Life_.

A key trick to getting what you value most is taking the time to figure out what that is, and then remembering that.

      1. walk or ride my bicycle in lieu of vehicle use
      2. line dry the clothes
      3. feed people and animals with raw and local organic foods made with love
      4. turn off the television
      5. practice yoga with joy
      6. breathe deeply
      7. support and promote local farmer's markets and community supported agriculture shares
      8. love outloud
      9. turn on the computer less than twice a week
      10. use rain barrels, rain gardens, and native plants to restore a healthy watershed


            1. put me first in the morning.
            2. do dishes from the night before in the am. after the family has left so that I can look out the window and be glad I can do the dishes.
            3. ask for help
            4. stopped saying yes to everything I can do, just because I can do them, and stopped qualifying
            5. combine purposes for trips to the city.
            6. find time in the day to sit quietly with my thoughts.
            7. developed a measure of my well-being: SPICE-spiritual, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional. If somethings out of balance, I re evaluate what I'm doing.
            8. Stop and listen to my children when they talk. All else pales in comparison.
            9. Work hard at living with intent.
            10. Remember who's important and make time for them.

            during the summer, when it's cooler, I cook everything double. It takes a little more prep time, but in the end saves HUGE amounts of time later and allows for simplicity during the hotter days.

            For example: when making hamburgers, I use the large family pack of ground. 1/2 goes into patties (1/2 of those will be used in that meal, the other 1/2 frozen) and the rest goes into the frying pan while the burgers are being BBQed, then frozen for tacos, lasagna, or soup.

            When the oven's on for a roast, I cook 2. 2 chickens or 2 roast beef. The remainer either goes in the freezer or gets kept for sandwiches and to top salads. One of my faves in the summer is garden fresh salad with chicken, mandarin oranges and sunflower seeds.

            The latest thing I learned was so simple I did a "DUH" on my forehead. When at a Swiss friend's house, she just about slapped my hand for cutting a block of guda with the side of one of those spatula/slicer gizmos. She actually said "What are you doing to my cheese????". I'd always sliced cheese if we were having it for dinner and put it on the plate. That makes a dirty cutting board, plate and knife. She, on the other hand, puts a 1/4 wheel of cheese with a bit of the wax peeled, on a plate with this gizmo. The cheese gets passed around and everyone slices their own cheese. It's a cultural thing, but I'm adopting it.


      Now, the things I have done

      1) living car free. I walk, bike, take public transit everywhere.

      2) Try to live without too many machines at home. I don't have a microwave, air conditioner or TV.

      3) Keep my body/mind in balance and healthy so I don't have to see doctor, therapist etc.

      4) Learn to use all-natural holistic remedies-herbs, yoga, qigong etc. I haven't had the need to take allopathic drugs for years. (no painkiller or antibiotics etc.)

      5) Find creative use/ second life for things to eliminate need for to buy more. For example, i would stack up books (the ones I don't read on a daily basis) and use it as a plant stand or lamp stand. My pencils/brush holders are reused from cans, If I do have any plastic take out containers, they either become plant pot saucers, or used as paint palettes. In other words, reduce & reuse things to their greatest extent before you throw it out or recycle.

      6) Rent, borrow, trade, instead of buying. That include joining a car-sharing service, borrowing videos/books from library, trading plant cuttings etc.

      7) limit my stuff to existing shelf space instead of getting more storage furniture to hold more things that i buy. A good rule for me is, for everything I buy, eliminate another.

                  1. walk when I can, take public transit when I can't, and very rarely drive anywhere
                  2. save as much money as I can by limiting purchases of things I don't really need
                  3. take a pragmatic / rational approach to life, and reject beliefs / values that don't make sense to me (god, creator, messiah, etc.)
                  4. adopt a much more minimal lifestyle (I adore the beauty of an empty room, for instance)
                  5. try to be more honest with myself and others
                  6. freecycle! freecycle! freecycle!
                  7. limit the trash I generate by being very aware of things like excess packaging (and choosing not to buy them)
                  8. using natural power sources (solar) when I can
                  9. limit the conditions that I put upon other people when I interface with them -- let them be themselves, and let myself be myself, without getting hung up on our differences


                        1. Living a Vegan lifestyle. This enables me to be compassionate, honest with myself and with the animals. I am very aware of what's going into and on my body.
                        2. Composting
                        3. Gardening - growing my own veggies/herbs
                        3. Recycling
                        4. Using soy candles for my evening lighting
                        5. Avoiding frivolous trips to anywhere
                        6. Keeping tchotchkies down to a minimum (I love decorating for holidays)
                        7. Teaching my beautiful kids to be compassionate and loving

      1. Keep minimal material possessions

      2. Stay in touch with Nature.

      1 Meditation
      2 becoming a vegetarian
      3 bicycling
      4 staying home more
      5 drinking more water
      6 spending time with pets
      7 quit watching, reading, or listening to any news
      8 reading more
      9 shopping at local coop
      10 no longer discuss religion or politics

      Live "in the open" and talk about my choices. I am always happy to explain why I wear used clothes and carpool.

      Break ground. I have been 'waiting for the money' to garden because I really thought you had to have the lumber to build raised beds, the skill to build raised beds, the time to build raised beds... Not that I am against raised beds. But I would still be waiting to garden if they were the only way to grow food. I encourage everyone who wants to try something to just go ahead and try without the obligatory trip to Home Depot.

      Put down the magazines. Not only do I save money by not buying them, but I am saving my sanity by not seeing all of those glossy pages full of "stuff". I really don't want that stuff, so why am I looking at it saying, "ooh... that's cute..."?

      Turn of the tv.

      Turn on NPR

      Walk or bike whenever I can. Walking isn't very simple but I am healthier, happier and more connected.

      Stop eating meat. For me, it was the right choice. Most of my family remain meateaters. We live in peace.

      Dress for success. By that I mean, successful simplicity. I don't wear make up, heels, jewelry or brand names across my chest or on me bumm. The used clothes I by are plain and if a small logo is visiable, I run a line through it with a black sharpie. Yes, people have noticed and I use it as a chance to explain I don't support Tommy Hillfiger (or whoever) and encourage the used clothing option. I have never had a negative response.

      Shop locally. Spend a little more cash at the locally owned hometown coffeeshop and not drive to Starbucks.

      Voice my intentions. Even what I can't do yet (ie: harvest rainwater) I intend to and my intentions are powerful...

Re: Survey

http://ookami.gaia.com — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:31:27 GMT

Excellent!

Re: Survey

http://mmandkidsathome.gaia.com — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:18:44 GMT

Yes, it's taken me nearly a month to compile this list but, as they say, slow and steady wins the race...........
1. Continue the conversion of our poorly built house into an energy efficient house. To do now: wrap the water heater, finish changing out the lightbulbs to CF, finish all current remodeling projects. To save up for in the future: install tankless water heater, stucco exterior, build greenhouse using old windows.
2. Refuse all disposable plastics, whether recycleable or not.

3. Continue to teach my children to re-use and re-purpose, not just recycle.

4. Continue to remove all toxins from our home.
5. Buy more locally.
6. Walk more in winter.

7. Un-earth the sewing machine and make those flannel baby wipes (among other things.)
8. Continue on the journey toward making the perfect high-altitude bread.
9. Continue to switch all home fabrics and clothing to natural fabrics. This includes using even fewer disposable diapers.
10. Go veg. At least talk more to the kids about why I stopped eating meat. I'm sure DH could live on buffalo, fish and any other none factory farmed flesh is he can't give up meat entirely.

So there it is! Now i challenge everyone else in this pod (and others!) to dig deep and make thier own list. Prove to me you aren't all talk............
Blessings!
Amanda.

Money and past Karma

http://crudebliss.gaia.com — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:23:10 GMT

What of the theory that money is just a conversion of GOOD Karma....
Just as we earn seeds when we comment on blogs, good karma, (the best of the being 'teaching the path of enlightenment') is saved in your casual body, and that you are just ripping what you had sown...
Please visit:
http://crudebliss.zaadz.com/blog/2006/11/money_baby

Survey

http://ookami.gaia.com — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:25:44 GMT

Please respond with the 10 most significant things you have done/do, big or little, that has made your life more in harmony with simple living!
thanks..I look forward to the responses.

Re: Simplify your inner life

http://shelivesintheforest.gaia.com — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:11:04 GMT

I think one part of simplifying your outer life, is to realize inside how rich your inner life is and what you can do without being a rampant consumer. I'm not even sure how I came to that conclusion. Just one day I thought I'd try living without buying any clothes or books or any other personal articles like that for a year. I don't need or want or can do without any of that stuff. I have not felt any misgivings or loss or "doing without" since I made the decision. (I get books from the library, which is a big change for me, as I was an English major and always bought books, though was the last few years buying the majority second-hand.) I never would have thought I could even find that acceptable - but in practice it has been great. I am reading more. I can browse through what's new and what there is and put holds on books that I'd like to read online.

Because going from a diagnosis of depression to manic depression recently and going through havoc in changing medications (still in progress), I have been looking for ways for inner peace and simplicity. I have never been a particularly spiritual person, but I think being on Zaadz this year has had a positive influence in that respect. I also read Peace Is the Way recently by Deepak Chopra, and I think part of the clutter or turmoil in my brain is caused by the lack of peace. So I am trying to learn how to be more inwardly peaceful and respectful so I can be the same way in my dealings with others. I think this will also help with stress, which negatively affects manic depressives and therefore my inner self and how I think about things.

Introduction

http://ruaddragun.gaia.com — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:23:06 GMT

Greetings,

I see that there has not been any posts here in some time. I wonder if folk found a way to simplify? :)

This has always been in the front of my mind. Never take more than you need. Always replace what you can. Recycle materials and goods. This year I joined an interfaith church. the focus for the fall program was voluntary simplicity. I knew I found my home when I heard this. They are a dedicated bunch of people. turn down the heat and off with some lights.

My dream is that we all could become self sustained with our own supplies. I am considering downgrading from my apartment to a decent sized r.v. trailer. setting it up to be solar powered. possibly a way for wind generation too. I want to do some urban commando gardening. grow my own organic foods & herbs. Then I don't have to worry about being poisoned by the latest food on the recall list.

Thirty years ago, we grew our own foods. today we depend on a machine to feed us. This is how nutritional value goes away. Processing a food can lead to illness. At least that is how I see it.

I wonder if zaadz needs to simplify and remove inactive pods LOL
Peace and Blessings
Red Dragon

Declutter Method to Bring You Peace and Home Enlightenment

http://shelivesintheforest.gaia.com — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:30:10 GMT

From a Care2 Green Living Series newsletter I received, there is the following article on decluttering your home in order to find spiritual peace and beauty. You may find the decluttering method in the article of some use:

DECLUTTER YOUR WAY TO PEACE AND BEAUTY

By Annie Bond, author of Home Enlightenment (Rodale, 2005).

Practitioners of meditation have long known that spiritual growth leads to less clutter, but a new trend does it in reverse: people are now decluttering their way to spiritual growth! The end result from both processes is the same: simplicity brought about by a yearning for peaceful beauty. Peaceful beauty! Such a place is not where you find old stuck energy that has ended in a confused mess! No wonder the number one rule of feng shui is to remove clutter! Declutter your way to spiritual growth using "Clutter Codes." Here's what they are, and how they help:

SIMPLE SOLUTION:

Decluttering your way to spiritual growth is about dealing with the issues of our lives that come up when dealing with the clutter. Are your mother's ashes on the mantle piece? Are you 50 years old and still have every test and paper from high school? Instead of seeing clutter as a meaningless mess, you can classify it and begin to understand its place in your life. Some clutter can stay, some must go. Coping with the meaning of the clutter provides spiritual healing.

Tag all of your clutter with one of the following Clutter Codes. I've given some examples for each one. Once you've coded your clutter, resolve clutter that falls in the "stagnant" code first. Stagnant energy holds you back and festers. On the other end of the spectrum, "active" clutter can remain. Active energy is alive and vibrant!

Stagnant: Things that you can no longer use
A pile of magazines and catalogs that has been read or are no longer relevant and out of date. (You know you will never go back to them.)
Clothes that no longer fit.
Old vitamins and pills.
Expired coupons.

Stuck: Things that you will probably not use
Papers, magazines, fliers that you think you might peruse but most likely will eventually become stagnant.
Books you may or may not read, but probably won't.
The high school papers, mentioned above.
Broken items that you want to fix, but probably won't.
Unfinished craft projects.

Waiting: Things you use very occasionally or seasonally
Holiday and seasonal decorations that aren't stored coherently.
Seasonal clothing and sporting equipment that don't have an off-season home.

Active and Disorganized: Things that you use regularly, but not necessarily frequently
Clothes, papers, projects that are may be used within a few weeks but that are "homeless" in that they are not filed, processed, or stored in a way that is out of the way. (This type of issue is more about "mess" than "clutter.")
Kitchen appliances that you use only occasionally.

Active: Things that you actively use
Activities of the day, or the next few days, that are in process.
Things that you like easy access to for daily use--sunglasses, coats, schoolbags, etc.

Downsizing Homes or "Living Small"

http://shelivesintheforest.gaia.com — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:20:42 GMT

Unfortunately, I did not keep the exact date and page of this 2007 article from the Toronto Star which is about architect and author Sarah Susanka's latest book in her Not So Big series, which has more to do with making space for those things that matter in life, that material possessions and activities:

Downsizing
LIVING SMALL IS NEXT BIG THING

Latest book in architect's Not So Big series
focuses on inner life more than houses

Judy Gerstel
Living Reporter

Supersizing is offensive, everything small, simple and supple is lauded and one and all are urged to tread minimally upon the land.

It's no wonder Sarah Susanka, architect, author and seeker, is regarded as a pacesetter and perhaps even a prophet.

In 1998, she published The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live. It quickly became a bestseller and more Not So Big titles followed. "The J.K. Rowling of home design books," she's been called by the Washington Post.

Susanka may be famous for ideas about not-so-big living space but her ideas about life itself are as big as can be.

In Toronto, sitting on the balcony of a 540-square-foot condo on The Esplanade, she talks about no-so-big living and her revelatory books, including her latest, The Not So Big Life.

"Every one of the principles architects use to make space more intriguing," she says, "you can apply to any space, no matter how small."

She acknowledges she was ahead of the curve. People were coming to her architecture firm in Minneapolis and even though they talked about "what they thought they wanted, which was always about square footage and names of rooms . . . I would say 100 per cent of the time what they really wanted was a feeling of home."

Because she's always explored not merely where we live but how we live, her new book is not so much a leap as a flow along a continuum of exploring "our dilemma of scale, pace and proportion, both in house design and in life."

"The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters,"says Susanka, is a logical sequel to her home books. "Just as the sense of home has almost nothing to do with size, the sense of feeling at home in our lives has nothing to do with the amount of stuff we're doing."

Or the amount of stuff we have.

In fact, she writers, "the ability to purchase whatever you want -- or the desire to -- often becomes a huge obstacle to understanding what matters." She urges us to consider "the possibilities inherited in the word 'enough' . . . The opposite of enough is too much."

And just as "architecture becomes art by transcending the materials" from which it's constructed, she says, so can people's lives transcend material things and activity.

Not exactly a self-help book, Not So Big Life is more a meditation on what makes life meaningful, though the author does append exercises to the end of chapters, including ways to explore dreams and to practise meditation.

But references to dream work and meditation practices -- and other "things a cynic would discount" -- almost didn't make it into the book.

Some were objectionable at first to an editor at Random House who otherwise was enthusiastic about what the book had to offer. "And I realized," explains Susanka, "what she was really saying is, 'I've shut the door on my inner self.'"

The author, however, even as she was designing dwellings and deciding where walls and ceilings would go, was opening doors to her inner self, beginning with a meditation class when she was 19.

Now 50 and living in North Carolina, she grew up as Sarah Hills in an English village called Knockholt and then, at the age of 14, moved with her family to a suburb of Los Angeles, where, she says, "there was no people centre."

The sense of dislocation was not just geographical: "People still had plastic covers on the dining room furniture."

The contradiction between ways of living gave her "a way of seeing differently," she says. "We can't experience anything but contrast."

A strong believer in leaving space for the future to unfold, Susanka is unwilling to make predictions. But she's convinced that "as we begin to live in a not-so-big way, societally, a letting-go will happen . . . a vastly more creative, more balanced world will evolve."

She's working on a book about not-so-big remodelling, likely the last in the house series, she says.

"I'm feeling drawn towards and getting a lot of interest from people in (the idea of) the not-so-big community," she says. "People are saying, 'I want to engage my life in this different way and I want to shape my environment to support that."

'We Are Creating A Lens'

From The Not So Big Life: Making Room For What Really Matters by Sarah Susanka:

* "I started to understand what my architectural colleagues and I are attempting to do when we design houses that are beautiful: we are creating a lens through which the inhabitants of the house can experience more of who they really are and who they are becoming."

* "If we're struggling, thinking too hard, and worried about getting something done before the next meeting, our creativity is limited and derivative. But when we're attuned to the vitality of the moment, everything is informed by the creativity of the movement."

* "We're buying stuff that fits our image of who we'd like to be rather than tools to help us become who we actually are. This is why so many McMansions or starter castles, as I call them, include top-of-the-line kitchens . . . even though their owners go out to eat nine nights out of 10."

For more, go to notsobig.com

Other Eco Pods (& Related Pods)

http://shelivesintheforest.gaia.com — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 03:47:16 GMT

These are some other pods that deal with climate change and other related issues:

"Act" is the Operative Word in "Act"ivism

Activism: Spiritual/Physical/Psychological

An Inconvenient Truth

Eco

Ethically Hip

Ethics and Life

Environmental Change 101: Let's Show We Care

G Living - Living the Green Life While Caring for Our Planet

Gaiapod

Getting Clear on Nuclear

Great Ideas on How to Improve the World!

Greenpeace

Green Earth

Green Earth Community

Green Fashion and Beauty

Green Investing

Green Party

Global Warming

Go Green

Greenvoice

How to Save the World

How Will We Save the Planet Before It's Too Late!!

I Am Going to Change the World

Knowledge for a New Universe

Leonardo DiCaprio's 11th Hour Action

Life After Petroleum

Local - Global

Low Carbon Diet

Movement for a Sane and Progressive Energy Policy

One Small Change a Day

Petitions Pod

Projects for Our Planet

Real Change

Replacing Plastics

Stop Factory Farming

Sustain-a-Bubble

The Gaia Community

The Nature Conservancy

The World's Biggest Problems

Three R's

Transforming the "Capital" in Capitalism: Change the System

Volunteerism

Wiser

Re: Quality over Quantity

http://tar-21.gaia.com — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 23:43:48 GMT

Oh, I completely agree that there are tradeoffs. I've been lucky enough not to have ever had a bike stolen, and teh last time I bought an electronic was... a couple of years ago. I jsut know that there is something to be said about higher-quality goods.

:)

Tiffany

Re: Quality over Quantity

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:45:46 GMT

Consider:

A high-quality bike that cost you 2 weeks wages would mean a lot to you... and would be more likely to be stolen.

The time you spend maintaining a lower-quality bike may be more enjoyable than the time you spend working to buy a higher-quality bike.

There's no point in buying something that lasts 20 years if it will be obsolete in 5 years. (Doesn't apply to bikes, but it does to electronics.)

So, no easy answers, just tradeoffs.

Quality over Quantity

http://tar-21.gaia.com — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:19:57 GMT

It's something I noticed that my dad did a lot growing up. He bought high quality things only. It's not something that we all consider being able to do. Things that are more expensive are .. more expensive. I've found, however, over the last year or two, the sense of it all.

1. If you buy things you have to fork out a lot of money for- it's worth it to take care of them (which makes your possession last loneger).
2. If you buy something that is good quality, there is less a chance it will break and end up in a landfill next week (especially electronics which most of us don't know how to fix).
3. If you have something that works well, you tend not to need more of that thing. For instance, blankets (only because I'm sitting beside a bed,) -- if you have a really good hiugh quality blanket, you tend not to need 4 smaller blankets to keep you warm.

I'm finding myself seeing things from this angle more and more lately. I bought a bike last year, a poor quality department store bike. It needs so much work now- and it means nothing to me, because two days work paid for it. It's in pieces on my floor, and I doubt anyone wants it. It will cost me more to have it fixed than to replace it with one of the same. So, I've taken it on as my project. Because I'm into biking (another thing I got from my dad), I'm taking it apart, cleaning it and seeing if I can build a bike from the frame (which is in good quality) from used parts, and then sell it.

Since I've had the experience with a low-quality bike, I'm not looking into getting a high-quality bike, which I will appreciate more, and will be fit to me.

This is my experience on the matter.

What do you think?

Tiffany

Re: Freecycle!

http://tar-21.gaia.com — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:03:08 GMT

Wow, I went to teh freecycle site, and signed up right away. It's awesome, cause there's a group in my area!

Thanks for the info!

Tiffany