On Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:43:19 -0800
Susan Trickett <gmasue AT inbox.com> wrote:
Because homesteading, self sufficiency and outside jobs
take so much time how have you simplified your life?
One way I've simplified life is by not watching TV for the
last 30 years. I decided as a teenager I'd rather be
riding a horse than watching someone ride a horse and
never turned the thing on again.
I am not disconnected without it. I got news by word of
mouth until the Internet arrived. Even though I work (from
home) in the field of advertising design I have been
spared from watching commercials, knowing about the latest
useless product, and developing any desire to visit the
mall. An art reviewer once published a critique of my work
saying I had a healthy disregard for trends. I think this
applies to my entire life. Working from home has reduced
my impact on the earth and my gasoline bill. I can get up
in a pair of sweats and wear them all day long.
I've learned to say NO to people and causes that don't fit
my lifestyle, purpose, belief system, etc. That is not to
say I don't take time to read or listen to alternative
views (I am on this list after all ;) I am open minded and
try to expand myself through reading, which I can pick up
and put down to fit my homesteading schedule. I have
developed deep and lasting friendships with a few people,
rather than superfluous ones with many.
We only make one trip into the city every 2-3 weeks. If we
forget something we live without it. This has taught us to
make better lists. We entertain ourselves with our garden
and animals, cooking good food, taking long walks,
swimming in the river, making music together, and an
occasional card game, all of which cost nothing, and
reading or downloading a movie on the computer which
sometimes costs a little. We donate some of our time to
community building, namely the library and our food group.
My husband, who cannot live without a newspaper gets it a
day late from our neighbor through a mailbox on the fence
between our gardens. We later use it to line the garden
paths before we mulch. To thank them we give them eggs or
arrange flowers at their kid's wedding, etc.
We are always looking for ways to simplify. I think
homesteading requires this of a person. It directs us from
project to project. Projects keep our minds and money
focused. We were talking last night about life without
electricity, and both decided we could make do, if we had
to, except for one thing: hauling water up from our
pioneer well would do us in. So we are considering how to
convert our pump to solar power and looking into a raised
tank over a spring house (since most of you convinced us
not to convert our ancient underground septic into a root
cellar!).