Simplifying Life

ceridwen

To me ...a car was one of the first things to come under consideration. Not quite sure how things would pan out on that front if I were in the depths of the country - but that doesnt apply to me by any manner of means.

I read the calculation of how much in total a car costs sometime ago - think it was by the A.A. - and it came to hundreds of £s per month if one includes everything - ie car parking, depreciation, etc. I just plain dont have hundreds of £s per month available to start with for that and I think its worth thinking about even if one does (not making the type of automatic assumption that an ex of mine once came up with ..."as soon as a man hits 17 its not a question of WHETHER to have a car or no....but "wheres my car?"".)

Personally - I'd go with the phrase "The unexamined life is not worth living" - as in I think its worth examining every facet of ones life, rather than just operating on autopilot.

ceridwen

Rosieben

I'm certainly having a think re future presents I might like from current threads on this Forum. I have basically come to the end of possession-gathering - got 'em all pretty much - sorted. But I was wondering about a wind-up torch/ mobile phone charger and a wind-up radio as future present possibilities.

JoJoB

Some yurts out there are quite spectacular little palaces . However, my finances wouldn't stretch to either those models or the land required (ie land with planning permission for a permanent structure.

As for the problem of not having rooms divided off - first of all you could have partition walls in a yurt. this isn't the option which appeals to me though, as the appeal of the yurt lies in the round structure - i wouldn't like to compromise that really. So I would like adjoining yurts, joined by a walkway, or simply attached by a door space - one living room/kitchen yurt with a smaller bedroom yurt attached and an even smaller bathroom yurtlet attached too.

I envision all rooms having a small stove for heat, possibly the bathroom could have a boiler attached to the stove for a hot water supply. And if I have the dosh left after all this :eek: I will look at various ways of supplying electricity (solar kits look the best bet). I would like the composting toilet in the bathroom yurt, but will have to see how practical this is. I don't see why not though, if properly ventilated. Washing facilities would be pretty basic I imagine until I put some sort of system together, but a solar shower shouldn't be beyond my wildest dreams. The water supply itself will probably be from wells and streams and harvested rainwater.

So some effort required to live this way! Thing is, I have got to the point in my life where it is much more effort to get up in the morning and go to a boring minimum wage job than it would be to chop wood and fetch water and grow food and tend to the chickens. Everything is going to be a problem-solving exercise and a learning experience.

For people with more capital than me it is certainly possible to go off-grid and head for the hills with more in the way of creature comforts. American websites are good for this sort of thing, what with unabomber types holed up in mountain cabins all over the shop. I think it can be a very comfortable experience if designed and thought about well. Check out this baby for instance:

http://www.simondale.net/house/

I love that house . My plans are definitely more stone-age, and what I have outlined here may not be possible for me initially, will have to start out a bit simpler and add-on as I go along I think. But knowing i have these plans has made me look at my life and possessions in a completely new light. i look around me and realise nearly everything has to go. I have pruned a lot in the last month, but I really will have to get down to the bare bones by the time I move!

Hardup_Hester

The least I managed with when times were really difficult was.
A roof over my head, no heating as I didn't have money for the meter.
Enough food for daily needs, it was monotonous & I ate porridge twice a day.
1 knife, 1 spoon 1 teacup & 1 bowl.
Water to drink.
Soap & cold water to wash with.
1 skirt, 2 blouses, 1 bra & 2 prs pants all of these were washed daily & frequently worn damp during my first month at work.

The things I didn't have and really missed were.
Deodorant & an emery board, 2 of the most exciting things that happened to me at this time were, firstly I received a free sample of a stick deodorent & secondly I found an emery board in the road as I walked to work.

ceridwen

JoJoB

I can sympathise with the comment re "more effort" to get up in the morning and go into a NMW job, than do everything involved in more self-sufficient type living.

The thought of only being accountable to oneself would be a major plus point.

ceridwen

[quote=JoJoB;7491957



Check out this baby for instance:

http://www.simondale.net/house/

[/quote]


Yep - a hobbit house. Seen that one before and thought its cute. Theres others like that out there on the Net too.

JoJoB

Wow hester, that does sound rather dreary! Anything is a bonus after that eh?

JoJoB

This house, as featured on Grand Designs, is also very inspiring on the self-sufficient front:

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/ontv/grand-designs/houses/S/sussex_woodman.html

powie69

I am trying to simplify my life in the following ways:

Declutter, declutter, declutter and more decluttering!

Try and get rid of something, when some new comes into the house ie. had a new set of posh mugs for Xmas, so got rid of some older mugs to charity shop to get rid of.

Try and get freebies worth having (i.e. nescafe mug, makeup samples, shampoo etc) and not wasting money on expensive stuff I do not need (unless it works out as value for money in long run)

Try and think twice if not thrice, before buying something i.e. wasting money on clothes that "might" fit in a few months time.

Getting off my @"se and doing more walking, instead of using the car to ferry the family around in.

Using the "free" foods I can get when making puddings or chutneys, jams etc i.e. apples off neighbours tree in exchange for jar of chutney, wild strawberries out of front garden in summertime (when frozen, thay make excellent ice cubes for archers and lemonade)

Be grateful for the great things in my life, i.e. my supportive family and friends, and a job I do not hate etc

And above all, the thing I can do to simplify my life most of all is to act upon most of the advice, collective knowlege and help offered by members of this site. I may not log on often, but I look at this site daily and enjoy the friendly banter and help offered on here. Thanks again.

rosieben

I love the idea of yurt-living (and I love the hobbit house) but I’m too old for such a major change.

I still have a ridiculous amount of ‘stuff’ despite several major decluttering sessions. Two wardrobes of clothes (and the one wardrobe is rarely opened), cupboards full of china and pretty serving dishes for family visits. Now most of my family are abroad and my son isnt the type to be impressed by fancy gravy boats! I just gave away 1 dozen 4-piece place settings of cutlery and my cutlery drawer is still too full to keep tidy. I’ve promised myself that at least half of everything has to go – clothes, cutlery, china, books…. I cant envisage my life without the computer though – that would be the other side of simplicity.

I'm hoping to move some time in the spring and so I have an extra motivation for junk-dumping!!

Am I the only one that has this contradictory feeling around the computer – dont want to need it, but cant imagine living without it?