This week, it’s time for something different. Instead of an essay, I want to hear from you! There are thousands of you subscribed - we’re basically a community of simple living advocates. So let’s get talking to each other.
Let this community - and me - know two things:
Who are you and whereabouts in the world are you?
A single thing - anything - about your experience of living simply. How does it look in your life? What are you struggling with? What aspects of your life are simplified and which ones are more complicated than the plot of a David Lynch movie?
I’m looking forward to seeing what y’all have to say.
I'm Emma, I live in rural Somerset, England. I have moved house (and countries) so many times I've lost count. As a result, I travel light and furniture wise I only own a desk I inherited, a bedside table my great grandfather made and a recently acquired bookshelf. Books are my weakness! I try to pass on books I know I'll no longer read, but during an MA in Travel and Nature Writing I seem to have accumulated a wealth of reference books. I'm currently working for Orion as an intern, so I'm finally working in publishing at the grand age of 52! Love your blog, super excited to connect with other simple life lovers 😘
Successfully down-sized to live more simply in Cheshire 2 years ago. My wife is not as committed to decluttering our home as a I am and can already see signs of more clutter appearing! Have plans to work with her to reduce again, one room at a time!
I'm Simone and I live in Canberra, Australia. I'm in my early 40s and live with my partner, young daughter and old blue heeler in a small townhome with small garden, one car and a couple of bikes. I usually work 3 days a week to balance paid employment with home and family time, but I'm taking some leave this year...working less for less money has certainly simplified life in recent years, but it's a struggle at times. When it's hard to weigh up what's important in life, especially with consumer culture all around and cost of living pressures, it's nice to connect with others who are interested in simplicity and keep the internal fire going, remember why I'm choosing time along with less money.
For us, it has been trying to disengage from big-consumerism. So far, that has meant getting use/recycled items , repairing/mending items or shopping very local when we need something (and we aim to lower our personal consumption).
More recently, I’ve disengaged from the 24-7 news, trying to simplify my day to day well being and be conscious about what media I consume. I’m grateful to work in public higher ed and my spouse is in healthcare. It feels to us like those positions contribute to our collective needs.
Where we want to improve: we both work too much which means we haven’t figured out how to make time to garden, to use slower transportation (bike vs car), and to take better care of our bodies (we need more activity and some food improvement).
Getting all of that into alignment will feel like good simple living to us.
I'm Carol and I live in Canada, east of Toronto, as a companion and caregiver (as needed) to my 80+ year old mom. I live simply because I'm a self-employed editor, proofreader, tutor and house cleaner with a couple of regular contracts.
Living simply means I'm in charge of my schedule. On days when I don't have any house cleaning or students, I can get up at 11:00; have a delicious brunch; watch sports or HGTV all afternoon; read my email just before dinner; make and enjoy that dinner; watch some more TV or do a bit of office admin; and then go to bed again. Maybe I won't even spend 12 hours awake on these days. I usually read a book (or finish a few that are in progress) as well.
I try to give myself one of these "relax days" every two weeks. Bliss personified.
My books are trying to take over the house once more. Time for another purge, so I can get some of my most beloved stored books out of their boxes and into my loving hands again. I own nearly every book Arthur C. Clarke wrote, and all the Regency and historical books written by English writer Georgette Heyer in the 20th century. I've worn a few of the Heyers out, since I bought them used, so I need to replace them. Hello, Amazon and ThriftBooks (among other great resellers), here I come.
I spend money on very little else, so that's how I keep my life simple.
My name is Glenna and I live near Richmond Virginia, USA. I began a Simply Living Lifestyle about 6 months ago. The large sweeps and focused examination on what items to keep and not keep was the easy and very fulfilling part for me. I also really enjoyed simplifying daily processes like shopping, housekeeping, and personal care. However, I love, love, love to learn and I have not settled on a niche for the next phase in my career. Therefore, I am not sure which information, docuseries, summits, webpages, etc would be helpful to attend, save literature from, and which associated emails are unnecessarily cluttering my 1500+inbox. Every day, I long for less electronic and information clutter. I am making progress by spoonfuls, not shovefuls, and I have not figured out the balance or a helpful strategy for this complicated part of my life.
I downsized a few years ago to a much smaller home. I was able to minimize the majority of my possessions. But both of my parents have passed in the last 5 years, and I find myself holding on to boxes of family “treasures” (along with my own personal “treasures”). My struggle is letting go of these. I dream of living in a tiny house sometime soon-ish.
I’m Hanne from Norway. I strongly dislike searching for stuff, tidying and shopping, so simple living appeals to me in many ways. I love books, but prefer the library or Kindle to owning more than a couple shelves worth. My danger zones are clothes, kids’ clothes and their toys.
I'm Whitney from Johnson City, TN (a small town in NE TN). About seven years ago, I began a simple living journey, and Marie Kondo-ed my entire apartment. At the moment, I choose to live in a 500 sq foot apartment that is walkable to the downtown of my little town. There are a lot of pieces that have to double up. Outside of space, the best thing I ever did was "one thing a day" There was a time in my life when I did not say no to any invitation, and I wore myself out. Now, I practice "one thing a day." It helps me prioritize what is important.
There is not a lot in my life that is super complicated, but I am a consultant, and juggling a lot of contracts is new for me. This question is making me think also about how I can work at bringing ease to that aspect of my life as well.
My name is Jeff. Currently I am living in a rural area of Bruce County, Ontario, Canada.
My main ongoing trouble with simple living is my over developed curiousity coupled with an all in approach to everything I do. Let loose of the restraint of intent and I will find lots of rabbit holes to go dive down.
I'm Kate, I live on Anglesey in North Wales. House is on the market to downsize and have been decluttering steadily all year. Working hard not to aquire anything we don't absolutely need. But I do love dungarees.
I am Kelly and live outside of Chicago, IL in the US with my husband. We are in transition to be being empty nesters now that our twins are in college.
To me simple living is about being intentional on how we spend our resources: both time and money.
I struggle with getting rid of items of value. Everything seems to turn into a project and I am still busy working. From cleaning off and wiping old electronics to getting a coin collection I inherited appraised and sold, I feels like a lot.
Nov 18, 2022·edited Nov 18, 2022Liked by Charlie Brown
I'm Ben, from Vancouver. My wife thinks of me as a hoarder because of my books. It's pretty well the only thing I collect, in my opinion that is. She might have a different take on it. In this techie world I suppose you'd have to say I live simply. My only contact with the outside world is this computer. I don't own a cell phone and I want to keep it that way. I see how everyone around me is so addicted to their phones, while I have a sense of freedom they envy. I say this because they always say: "What? No cell phone? You don't know how lucky you are." Truth is, I do!
I'm Sam and I'm a location-independent worker, or "digital nomad" so the world is my home.
Simple living has given me the opportunity to live the life I want. It simply wouldn't be possible if I had more stuff, more work, more busyness.
But it's a constant battle. Traveling can often feel anything but simple with all the logistics and the difficulty of constantly being out of one's comfort zone.
I'm David, in Spokane. Always been more of a simplifier than a complexifier. My usual online handle is Ockham, and I try (sometimes fail) to think and live without unnecessary entities.
Probably started in 1962 when my dying Grandpa tried to pass on his wisdom.
2- My husband and I recently remodeled our 2bed1bth home to have no cabinets or closets (to maximize all space) and to make vacuuming as easy as possible. We have 3 small kids so cleaning daily is a necessity and it being quick and easy is also a necessity. Where I’m currently struggling is with the kids toys and Christmas coming up. I struggle with this every year but it’s getting easier and easier as each year goes by. Living minimally will always be a work in progress because life is always moving in different stages and we’re always finding new ways to simplify & minimize stresses & struggles in our lives. There is no “end” in my opinion and that’s what keeps it fun and intriguing to me!
Reducing my office hours so I don't have to work on Fridays anymore (without adding a side hustle or other project) has been a great way to live more simply. I can take my time to cook or take a walk or meet up with a friend without feeling stressed because of a tight schedule. And I know I'm privileged to be able to afford that.
At the moment I struggle with buying things I don't really need like decorations. I just really like Christmas stuff 😅
I am Lina and I am currently splitting my time between my house in Oregon in USA and a small studio in Northern Mexico. I have moved houses several times, and it feels great to enjoy the fruits of my prior labors as I have organized closets, since I have significantly reduced with each move. Like many of you, I enjoy books. I read in multiple languages and that compounds the need to manage my inventory. I have one simple rule my sister suggested which is no new book can be added without giving one away. Practically speaking I usually take a bunch of books to Powell’s Books (known for used trade) and that gives me room for new ones as I find them. I am working on a similar idea for online books. One other thing that I have done successfully for clothes is to lay all of my clothes out on my bed all at once in 3 big piles: must-have, don’t need, and maybe. Of course the maybe is largest at first. I pack the must-have’s and then add maybe’s selectively until the suitcase(s) are full. I take everything left on the bed to a resale clothing store to sell/donate. This can be hard because you kind of want more maybe’s than you really have room for, but I found it very liberating and ultimately very practical to have to prioritize “real-time” like that.
I'm Emma, I live in rural Somerset, England. I have moved house (and countries) so many times I've lost count. As a result, I travel light and furniture wise I only own a desk I inherited, a bedside table my great grandfather made and a recently acquired bookshelf. Books are my weakness! I try to pass on books I know I'll no longer read, but during an MA in Travel and Nature Writing I seem to have accumulated a wealth of reference books. I'm currently working for Orion as an intern, so I'm finally working in publishing at the grand age of 52! Love your blog, super excited to connect with other simple life lovers 😘
I'm John and live in Cheshire, England
Successfully down-sized to live more simply in Cheshire 2 years ago. My wife is not as committed to decluttering our home as a I am and can already see signs of more clutter appearing! Have plans to work with her to reduce again, one room at a time!
I'm Simone and I live in Canberra, Australia. I'm in my early 40s and live with my partner, young daughter and old blue heeler in a small townhome with small garden, one car and a couple of bikes. I usually work 3 days a week to balance paid employment with home and family time, but I'm taking some leave this year...working less for less money has certainly simplified life in recent years, but it's a struggle at times. When it's hard to weigh up what's important in life, especially with consumer culture all around and cost of living pressures, it's nice to connect with others who are interested in simplicity and keep the internal fire going, remember why I'm choosing time along with less money.
From the western part of Massachusetts in the US.
For us, it has been trying to disengage from big-consumerism. So far, that has meant getting use/recycled items , repairing/mending items or shopping very local when we need something (and we aim to lower our personal consumption).
More recently, I’ve disengaged from the 24-7 news, trying to simplify my day to day well being and be conscious about what media I consume. I’m grateful to work in public higher ed and my spouse is in healthcare. It feels to us like those positions contribute to our collective needs.
Where we want to improve: we both work too much which means we haven’t figured out how to make time to garden, to use slower transportation (bike vs car), and to take better care of our bodies (we need more activity and some food improvement).
Getting all of that into alignment will feel like good simple living to us.
I'm Carol and I live in Canada, east of Toronto, as a companion and caregiver (as needed) to my 80+ year old mom. I live simply because I'm a self-employed editor, proofreader, tutor and house cleaner with a couple of regular contracts.
Living simply means I'm in charge of my schedule. On days when I don't have any house cleaning or students, I can get up at 11:00; have a delicious brunch; watch sports or HGTV all afternoon; read my email just before dinner; make and enjoy that dinner; watch some more TV or do a bit of office admin; and then go to bed again. Maybe I won't even spend 12 hours awake on these days. I usually read a book (or finish a few that are in progress) as well.
I try to give myself one of these "relax days" every two weeks. Bliss personified.
My books are trying to take over the house once more. Time for another purge, so I can get some of my most beloved stored books out of their boxes and into my loving hands again. I own nearly every book Arthur C. Clarke wrote, and all the Regency and historical books written by English writer Georgette Heyer in the 20th century. I've worn a few of the Heyers out, since I bought them used, so I need to replace them. Hello, Amazon and ThriftBooks (among other great resellers), here I come.
I spend money on very little else, so that's how I keep my life simple.
My name is Glenna and I live near Richmond Virginia, USA. I began a Simply Living Lifestyle about 6 months ago. The large sweeps and focused examination on what items to keep and not keep was the easy and very fulfilling part for me. I also really enjoyed simplifying daily processes like shopping, housekeeping, and personal care. However, I love, love, love to learn and I have not settled on a niche for the next phase in my career. Therefore, I am not sure which information, docuseries, summits, webpages, etc would be helpful to attend, save literature from, and which associated emails are unnecessarily cluttering my 1500+inbox. Every day, I long for less electronic and information clutter. I am making progress by spoonfuls, not shovefuls, and I have not figured out the balance or a helpful strategy for this complicated part of my life.
I’m Kay, and I live in Georgia
I downsized a few years ago to a much smaller home. I was able to minimize the majority of my possessions. But both of my parents have passed in the last 5 years, and I find myself holding on to boxes of family “treasures” (along with my own personal “treasures”). My struggle is letting go of these. I dream of living in a tiny house sometime soon-ish.
I’m Hanne from Norway. I strongly dislike searching for stuff, tidying and shopping, so simple living appeals to me in many ways. I love books, but prefer the library or Kindle to owning more than a couple shelves worth. My danger zones are clothes, kids’ clothes and their toys.
I'm Whitney from Johnson City, TN (a small town in NE TN). About seven years ago, I began a simple living journey, and Marie Kondo-ed my entire apartment. At the moment, I choose to live in a 500 sq foot apartment that is walkable to the downtown of my little town. There are a lot of pieces that have to double up. Outside of space, the best thing I ever did was "one thing a day" There was a time in my life when I did not say no to any invitation, and I wore myself out. Now, I practice "one thing a day." It helps me prioritize what is important.
There is not a lot in my life that is super complicated, but I am a consultant, and juggling a lot of contracts is new for me. This question is making me think also about how I can work at bringing ease to that aspect of my life as well.
My name is Jeff. Currently I am living in a rural area of Bruce County, Ontario, Canada.
My main ongoing trouble with simple living is my over developed curiousity coupled with an all in approach to everything I do. Let loose of the restraint of intent and I will find lots of rabbit holes to go dive down.
I'm Kate, I live on Anglesey in North Wales. House is on the market to downsize and have been decluttering steadily all year. Working hard not to aquire anything we don't absolutely need. But I do love dungarees.
I am Kelly and live outside of Chicago, IL in the US with my husband. We are in transition to be being empty nesters now that our twins are in college.
To me simple living is about being intentional on how we spend our resources: both time and money.
I struggle with getting rid of items of value. Everything seems to turn into a project and I am still busy working. From cleaning off and wiping old electronics to getting a coin collection I inherited appraised and sold, I feels like a lot.
I’m Erin, and live in Alexandria, VA, USA.
Simplifying has helped me feel less crowded and a very crowded place.
I'm Ben, from Vancouver. My wife thinks of me as a hoarder because of my books. It's pretty well the only thing I collect, in my opinion that is. She might have a different take on it. In this techie world I suppose you'd have to say I live simply. My only contact with the outside world is this computer. I don't own a cell phone and I want to keep it that way. I see how everyone around me is so addicted to their phones, while I have a sense of freedom they envy. I say this because they always say: "What? No cell phone? You don't know how lucky you are." Truth is, I do!
I'm Sam and I'm a location-independent worker, or "digital nomad" so the world is my home.
Simple living has given me the opportunity to live the life I want. It simply wouldn't be possible if I had more stuff, more work, more busyness.
But it's a constant battle. Traveling can often feel anything but simple with all the logistics and the difficulty of constantly being out of one's comfort zone.
I'm David, in Spokane. Always been more of a simplifier than a complexifier. My usual online handle is Ockham, and I try (sometimes fail) to think and live without unnecessary entities.
Probably started in 1962 when my dying Grandpa tried to pass on his wisdom.
http://polistrasmill.com/2022/07/10/regeneration-reprints-4-x/
1- I’m Ally and living in sunny☀️ Florida!
2- My husband and I recently remodeled our 2bed1bth home to have no cabinets or closets (to maximize all space) and to make vacuuming as easy as possible. We have 3 small kids so cleaning daily is a necessity and it being quick and easy is also a necessity. Where I’m currently struggling is with the kids toys and Christmas coming up. I struggle with this every year but it’s getting easier and easier as each year goes by. Living minimally will always be a work in progress because life is always moving in different stages and we’re always finding new ways to simplify & minimize stresses & struggles in our lives. There is no “end” in my opinion and that’s what keeps it fun and intriguing to me!
Hi Charlie, hi everyone,
I'm Corinna, I live in Bonn, Germany.
Reducing my office hours so I don't have to work on Fridays anymore (without adding a side hustle or other project) has been a great way to live more simply. I can take my time to cook or take a walk or meet up with a friend without feeling stressed because of a tight schedule. And I know I'm privileged to be able to afford that.
At the moment I struggle with buying things I don't really need like decorations. I just really like Christmas stuff 😅
I am Lina and I am currently splitting my time between my house in Oregon in USA and a small studio in Northern Mexico. I have moved houses several times, and it feels great to enjoy the fruits of my prior labors as I have organized closets, since I have significantly reduced with each move. Like many of you, I enjoy books. I read in multiple languages and that compounds the need to manage my inventory. I have one simple rule my sister suggested which is no new book can be added without giving one away. Practically speaking I usually take a bunch of books to Powell’s Books (known for used trade) and that gives me room for new ones as I find them. I am working on a similar idea for online books. One other thing that I have done successfully for clothes is to lay all of my clothes out on my bed all at once in 3 big piles: must-have, don’t need, and maybe. Of course the maybe is largest at first. I pack the must-have’s and then add maybe’s selectively until the suitcase(s) are full. I take everything left on the bed to a resale clothing store to sell/donate. This can be hard because you kind of want more maybe’s than you really have room for, but I found it very liberating and ultimately very practical to have to prioritize “real-time” like that.