From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood, 2000.

Chapter 13: Seeking Shelter and Keeping House

“Try to make everything you do in your home, no matter how insignificant it may seem, part of your authentic path to wholeness and it shall become so.” Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance: A Datebook of Comfort and Joy 2000

The Least You Need to Know

1. Where you live now might just be the place with a few improvements, some decluttering, and reorganizing.
2. Regardless of whether you rent, buy a house, or build one, there are simple measures you can take to cut energy costs and to help save precious natural resources.
3. Remodeling can make the most of an existing structure while adding features that will make it more cost-effective, efficient, and comfortable.
4. Less conventional options like cohousing, intentional communities, and shared housing may be just the solution to your housing needs.

Some Ideas to Get You Started

1. Go through each room with a pad and pencil and note what you’d like to make better plus any items in that room you don’t use. (This will come in handy when decluttering.) Some things you don’t like you many only be able to change with a remodel. Look first at the things you can do with the house as it is now, but note the more serious flaws as well.
2. Whether you’re building, buying or renting, get some ideas for quality earth-friendly products for your home from the Real Goods Catalog, 1-800-762-7325, or visit their website at www.realgoods.com.

From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood, 2000.

Chapter 8: Location, Location! The Simple Truth about Where You Live

“The country has its charms — cheapness for one.” Robert Smith Surtees

The Least You Need to Know

1. Before making a move, you can make a lot of progress toward your simple living lifestyle right where you are.
2. After researching your own community, you may realize you’re better off staying put.
3. City, suburb, or country — each has its own set of advantages, opportunities and challenges.
4. You’ll make an easier transitionh to a new community if you send plenty of time there in advance, get involved right away, and learn to adapt to the way things are done.

Things to Consider when Contemplating whether to Move or Stay Put

For each catetgory, identify the advantages and disadvantages of where you are now and where you are thinking of moving to (or multiple other places, if that’s appropriate.)

1. Cost of Living.
2. Safety, crime and law enforcement.
3. Weather.
4. Health.
5. Environment.
6. Character.
7. Education.
8. Natural resources.
9. Transportation.
10. Culture and Entertainment.

This poem by an unknown author is an extremely simple (although not easy!) guide for achieving happiness in this lifetime!

Everybody Knows,
You can’t be all things to all people.
You can’t do all things at once.
You can’t do all things equally well.
You can’t do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else’s.

So,
You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others, because no one else is in the contest of “being you”.

Then,
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you’ll be a most vital mortal.

Dare to Believe,
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in all history event.
That it’s more than a right, it’s your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you’ll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down.

There is much beauty and wisdom in this Native American Code of Ethics, originally published in the “Inter-Tribal Times,” October, 1994

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth – whether it be people or plant.

7. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self – all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others – especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.

From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood, 2000.

Chapter 5: Finding Your Own Simple Living Way

“The first step in any kind of change is getting a realistic picture of what is really going on.” Cecile Andrews

The Least You have to Know

1. For a simple living plan to really work for you, you have to know yourself, what you really want, and your life’s purpose.
2. Taking care of yourself is a key step to simplifying your life.
3. Ridding key areas of your home of clutter and choosing your personal relationships according to how they fit with your personal goals are essential to creating the necessary space for a simpler life..
4. By examining your ideas and beliefs about time, you can reclaim more of it to do what really matters to you.
5. Whenever you evaluate whether to get rid of something you already have or to acquire something new, consider its true cost.

Questions to Ask Yourself and Answer Thoroughly

1. What area do you feel is most out of control in your life right now? The most complicated? If you could change them, how would they look?
2. If you had your finances completely in order, how big an impact would that have? Do you have a budget? Do you know how much you own? How much you bring in?
3. What issues are most important to the other people you share your life with? Have you asked them? If not, why not? Of all the people in your life right now, which ones would you consider t be part of a circle of no more than 10 vital people in your life?
4. If you needed more information about your situation, in which areas would that information be most helpful? Do you need to have a better idea of your debt and income? Do you know how efficient your home is? Your car? Do you need to know more about employment options? Community services? Other people who are living simply and how they’re doing it?
5. How is your health? Is health an issue? Would it restrict certain simple living choices you might make? How do you envision a simpler life benefiting your health? How do you currently pay for health care?
6. How much clutter is in your life? Can you find things when you need them? Do you have enough storage? Are you storing things you never use? Does your life feel orderly or scattered?
7. How do you feel about the time available to you? Do you feel like you have enough time? Are you always pressed for time? Are you spending time doing the things you really care about?
8. How satisfied are you with your job? If you’re not satisfied, is it the job or the occupation? If you could be engaged in your ideal work, what would it be? (Give yourself some time to think here and don’t censor yourself.) If you are not sure, what would it take to find out?
9. What kind of shape are your relationships in? Look at each one of your most important relationships and evaluate them. If you could change or improve your relationships, what areas would you concentrate on? (Again, look at each one.)
10. How much time each week are you willing to commit to simplifying your life?

Note from Louise: These are great questions to ask yourself whether you are planning to simplify your life or not. These areas are wonderful indicators of just how happy you are in life and what areas really need to change!

From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood, 2000.

Chapter 4: Culture Shock: Lessons from Alternative Living

“America’s current love affair with technology is partly based on the notion that hard work is a bad thing. If you are the smart guy, you’ll think of a faster, easier way to do things than by manual labor. The cleaner one’s hands are from the grime of hard work, the more highly esteemed and highly paid.”– David and Elizabeh Vendley in “The Plain Reader”

The Least You have to Know

1. By studying other cultures and definitions of “simple living”, we can enrich our understanding.
2. Basing communities on simplicity has benefits and challenges.
3. Joining together with people who share your beliefs and principles can make sticking to your plan easier.
4. People with diverse beliefs can also join together and share resources if certain basic principles are also shared.

Some Lessons from the Amish

You don’t have to choose the Amish way of life to learn from them. Here are some great lessons:

1. Having a support group makes it easier to stick to choices that may not be followed by the majority.
2. Restricting or even eliminating mass media, especially television, can greatly enhance family life and personal growth.
3. Spirituality is often a good foundation for simple living, whatever the source of that spirituality might be.
4. Couples who share the same vision and treat each other with respect and love can have an abundant simple life together.

From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood, 2000.

Chapter 3: What’s Old is New Again

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a high order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”– Henry David Thoreau, Walden

The Least You have to Know

1. There are many lessons to be learned from history, not the least of which are from our own nation’s past (America).
2. Like Thoreau, we can create our own experiments to get in touch with the aspects of simple living most speak to us.
3. Although we may not want to relocate to the country and live off the land, we can learn from people who have.
4. Through study of past examples, we can develop our own simple living plan and gather inspiration as well.

Some Ideas to Get You Started

1. If you’d like to get a flavor for what Thoreau was like, his writings, and his experiment at Walden Pond, point your browser to this Xmarks site for a quick overview and introduction with a lot of links.

From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood, 2000.

Chapter 2: Simplicity and the Spirit

“Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.”– Julia Cameron

The Least You have to Know

1. Simple living can be a spiritual journey that’s totally unique to you.
2. Thinking more about your freedom of choice and exercising it more completely is an important part of the simple living path.
3. Seeking silence, nature, and gratitude will help you create a more lasting move towards simplicity in your life.
4. By simplifying your life, you’ll learn to rely more on your own creativity and will have more fun.

Some Ideas to Get You Started

1. Try going through the day without anything in the background. Try not speaking unless spoken to. Keep to yourself and close the door. Do you find you’re uncomfortable with silence? Don’t be alarmed. You’re having a natural reaction to a significant change in your environment. If you practice being quiet more often, it will bother you less. You may even look forward to it!
2. One way you can enjoy nature is to start gardening. Spending time outside planning, planting, weeding and harvesting your own home-grown vegetables provides the perfect excuse to spend time communing with the natural world. For many people, gardening is the perfect form of meditation, too!
3. To help you get started with your nature journal, you might enjoy reading “Nature Journaling: Learning to Observe and Connect with the World Around You” by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth. Another good read is “A Trail through Leaves; The Journal as a Path to Place” by Hannah Hinchman.
4. Start a gratitude journal. Everyday, mentally or in writing, list 3 things you’re grateful for today. At night before you go to bed, list 3 things you noticed or that happened during the day that you are grateful for. It may sound a little hokey, but after a week of doing it daily, see if you haven’t had a shift in your perspective, a change in your attitude? I’ll be shocked if you don’t.
5. Re the gratitude exercise listed above: No fair listing the same things every day, even if it’s true! Stretch yourself when you think about your blessings. Tune yourself in to the changing face of your abundance.

Have you ever had the experience yourself or seen someone else who has a major AHA! moment. Instead of being grateful that they have finally “gotten” it, they immediately start going down the “Why didn’t I figure it out sooner?” road. They are suddenly filled with remorse, guilt, self-anger or some other negative feeling and the magic of the AHA! moment is gone.

Why do we do that? I think it’s for the same reason that our bodies ache in the first 24 hours after seeing a chiropractor. No matter how uncomfortable it was before, our bodies always prefer the “status quo” and (like our brains!) don’t like anyone messing with it. So, being the contrary folk we are, our bodies waste about 24 hours trying to get itself back to where it was before the manipulation. For me, it usually gives up after about 24 hours and then accepts the new improved spine as the “status quo”, a fact that I am extremely grateful for. After all, I went to the chiropractor and invested the time and money because I was in pain. Why on earth would I reject that?

There are so many reasons that we didn’t figure out our AHA! moment sooner: from we were in too much resistance to see the underlying truth to not wanting to accept any responsibility to we just didn’t see it! It doesn’t really matter. Let me repeat that, it doesn’t really matter! The point to remember is that if we could have seen it sooner, we would have seen it sooner. It’s as simple as that.

I think another reason we jump on the remorse bandwagon is because we really are not comfortable with joyful feelings. An AHA! moment is a special magical time. All of sudden, all pieces of the universe (your universe, at least) are aligned together and you and it are in perfect harmony. As wonderful as that sounds, and as often as we say that’s what we want, it happens so rarely for most of us, that we try to get rid of it the same way we would if a fly landed on us. OFF! NOW!

Accept that you figured whatever it was at the exact right moment for you and your life will be so much easier. On top of that, you’ll start getting familiar with what joy feels like. And, in the immortal words of Martha Stewart, “that’s a very good thing!”

From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood, 2000.

Chapter 1: Consuming Passions – How the World Got Un-Simple

Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessaries.” — Mark Twain

The Least You have to Know

1. In order to have a high quality of life for everyone, we need to learn how to lower consumption and conserve natural resources.
2. Advertising helps create our consumerist culture, along with peer pressure and unfulfilled emotional needs.
3. We can begin to simplify our lives by becoming more critical of “buy” messages, experimenting with lowering our consumptiona, and paring down what we already have.
4. Simple living doesn’t mean poverty and doesn’t necessarily mean relocating or living without technology.

Some Ideas to Get You Started

1. Seek out people in your community who either have simplified their lives or are seeking to do so. For now, just start to collect information and notice what people are doing. This will help you sort out what makes sense for you.
2. Visit the dump! Sounds icky, but do it anyway. What do you see that could have been resued, recycled, repaired or restored? What was once useful but now outdated? What was a fad that’s no longerin vogue? Start thinking about how you want to add (or stop adding) to this pile.
3. In one hour of TV viewing, count the number of adds you see. Don’t forget to include products shown or mentioned within TV shows. Write down the name of the product and any secondary motivations being portrayed such as status, acceptance, self-worth or freedom, to name a few.
4. One way to interrupt the “see, buy” process is to delay it. Write down what you think you need in a wish list and give it time. Then decide if it fits into your real values, the goals you’ve set for yourself, the bigger picture of who you are and who you want to be(read ‘best self’).
5. Use the library instead of buying a book you’ll only read once and then put on a shelf to gather dust. Borrow it instead!