To Live Simply and Sustainably Means Making Your Peace with Inconvenience
Which is no bad thing
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How much of what we do, the money we spend, how we spend our days, is dictated by convenience, do you reckon?
Having just spent 6 weeks in the UK — a country obsessed with comfort and convenience — I’d wager the answer is a lot.
I heard it being used as a justification for everything this summer, from big life-defining purchases like buying a bigger house, to small things like why there are 15 different kinds of cereal in the cupboard.
We’re constantly told that to be inconvenienced or uncomfortable is the worst. You deserve all the good things and that means having everything you could ever possibly want or need at your fingertips.
But sometimes we don’t know what’s good for us.
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One of the main pillars of simple living is knowing what is “enough”. And usually, that “enough” is not very convenient. Sometimes, it’s downright uncomfortable.
An example. I am part of a family of two with no children. My husband and I can happily live in one-bedroomed apartments. That’s our “enough.”
But we’ve always felt the pressure to buy or rent more. That means we can have guest rooms or offices or a room “just in case” we have children.
But more space is more expensive not only to buy but to own, furnish and decorate. Not only that, it adds to my silent to-do list. It takes time to clean and maintain more rooms.
No, it’s not always very convenient. I’m relegated to the sofa bed when guests visit. My office is my kitchen table. If I had kids, they’d have to sleep in the bedroom with me. For some, this will sound like a terrible state of affairs, but the reality is, the kitchen table is just fine to work at for me. I don’t have children. And guests only visit a few times a year.
The trade-off from my “inconvenience” is that I save my money and I’m living more sustainably. Two people living in one-bedroom apartments take up a damn sight less space, energy, and resources than the same living in a five-bedroomed McMansion.
***
Evolutionarily speaking, we’re creatures of habit. Our primitive brains equate comfort with safety. All very well and good back in the day, but nowadays, not so much. Nowadays, convenience could be very bad for us indeed.
For a start, it’s boring. As Leo Babuta says:
The problem is that when you run from discomfort all the time, you are restricted to a small zone of comfort, and so you miss out on most of life. On most of the best things in life, in fact.
I mean sure, heated seats in a brand new car are nice, but have you ever ridden in the back of a pickup truck, feeling the air rush through your hair and every bump in the road in a wholly uncomfortable but exhilarating way? Way more fun, my friends.
Then there’s how comfort and convenience can be physically bad for us. Taking the car out for a short errand that could be easily performed on foot may be convenient, but your body would be much much happier if you’d pounded that pavement.
And yes, processed foods are more convenient than preparing food from scratch or thinking up what to cook (I can help you with that, by the way), but your body isn’t going to thank you for it.
Then there’s what our comfort and convenience does to the environment. Living a simple, slow, sustainable life is not very comfortable all the time. It requires some sacrifices. But the irony is if we don’t change our obsession with convenience and comfort, the world is going to do it for us anyway.
We know the world is burning. To avoid going to a “point of no return,” carbon emissions need to be reduced to two tons per person per year by 2050.
The average American carbon footprint is 16 tons per person. In Britain, it’s 10.
Sustainable, simple living may be a little inconvenient and uncomfortable sometimes, but I’d rather take that (and all the kick-ass benefits the lifestyle offers) than a future uninhabitable world any day of the week.
For those of us treading the simple living road, we know first-hand that living like this isn’t easy. You’re gonna have to think about life in a completely different way, from where you live to the activities you do, to how you eat. But hey, living outside the normal confines of What You Do is what we’re all about here at Simple and Straightforward. And that includes getting comfortable with inconvenience and discomfort.
Because I’m the sort of person who likes to see results right away, I’ve compiled some quick wins that could help you make your peace with discomfort and inconvenience right this minute:
The next time you visit the grocery store, vow to buy as seasonal and local as possible.
Commit to reduce your food waste (again, I can help with that).
Cycle or walk the next short journey you have to make.
Use public transport whenever possible.
Wear your clothes until they’re unwearable, not unfashionable.
Do a digital declutter (digital energy consumption counts for 3.3% of all global emissions).
Don’t forget, small changes make a huge difference. If America drove 10% less, that would be like taking 28 coal-fired power stations offline for a year.
Get yourself a paid subscription and join the fun
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A huge, heartfelt thank you to those who have joined already. The first paid subscription came through in just 15 minutes after the announcement and had me dork-dancing in the middle of my lounge.
Paid subscribers got their first exclusive email on Wednesday - a recipe for gazpacho soup with 19 different ways to make it from what’s in your own fridge.
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Setting up your weekend
3 articles from my collection (paywall free)
Simple Living Is a Constant Battle Against Everything You Previously Thought Was Normal
Use Minimalism to Feed a Simple Life. Use a Simple Life to Make a Difference
“It’s Just What You Do” Is Baloney. Feel Free to Disregard These 13 Social Norms Entirely
2 of the best pieces of content I’ve consumed this week
Article - Why do rich people love quiet?
Podcast - Do you F**king Mind by Alexis Fernandez. As she says, this podcast is all about “mindset hacks to live the most badass life”
You know, I don't think most people recognize the impact they are having on even themselves when expending so much effort chasing convenience, there is no challenging of the self, building patience, trying something new, and I think it leads to lives that get looked back on and are regretted.
I very much appreciate you ending with a list of actionable steps that will challenge me but also make an impact for the world!