Living a Simple Sustainable Lifestyle

Yikes! You might be tempted to move along rather than consider the possibility of a simple sustainable lifestyle. Visions of having to purge your treasures make you shiver. Imagining the amount of time it would take makes you shaky.

But wait! Do you feel overwhelmed by “stuff”? Do you feel a tinge of guilt when an item goes into the trash bin? Do you want to recycle but you are not sure what to do with everything?

Fear not! I am here to help you move from fear to freedom.

Less is More

The fear of how much work it is or would be to reuse and/or recycle our used and unused things can be defused. By taking simple steps to put systems in place that make the process easy, it becomes seamless part of your life. Here is a simple way to think about personal sustainability. It is the 8R concept and has 8 steps to analyze what to do with “stuff”.

If you start thinking of “stuff” in this way it truly changes things. Instead of making things more complex it simplifies so much. A series of small decisions become big changes. Rather than simplifying being a one time big process, begin here. Starting now means that the accumulation stops. Applying the 8R process to your current state of disorder will be easier as you become accustomed to the thought process in everyday small steps.

What Exactly Does It Mean
Sustainably –

What do I mean by sustainability?

It is a word that is thrown around a lot these days. Dictionary.com states:

1. The ability to be sustained, supported, upheld, or confirmed.
2. Environmental Science. The quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.

For me sustainability means to be a conscious human being; conscious about the food I eat, where and how I shop, the products I use, how I use my resources such as electricity and water and reducing my footprint on planet Earth.

Simplifying leads naturally to a more sustainability. For instance; when cleaning out the hall closet there is a pile of unwanted and or unused items. There are many ways to move them out of our lives. The things we don’t want or use anymore can be of service to others, by donating to various organizations or consignment shops. We can find a resource that will recycle the used items. Locate these resources in the local community with the help of friends and family. Consult community groups, community newspapers and social media group pages. Libraries have seed libraries and used book sales. Call the librarian at the local library, they will help you with answers to any number of questions including recycling.

The EPA is a good general source of recycling information www.epa.gov/recycle and specific information about where to recycle almost anything here is a link www.how2recycle.info/check-locally/. There is a treasure trove of answers as well at www.211info.

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Simplicity – What Do I Have to Give Up?

Since I integrated a simpler lifestyle, I have found that I have gained much more than I gave up. In fact, as I began to settle into a simpler life I discovered I did not miss anything from my complex cluttered life. I have found such freedom that the things I let go of have faded from memory. Living simply has increased my time, space, money, energy, and attention. My to do lists are shorter, my calendar has “me time” penciled in, I room in my life to breathe and stop to “smell the roses”.

When I have a treasure that is special but does not have much purpose or place anymore such as special gifts, heirlooms and memorabilia, I first see if there is a way to re home such items. If a new home with family or friends is not found, I take a picture of it, . A digital record can be reviewed and shared along with the memories when ever I like. Then apply the 8R process and let it go.

Simple living doesn’t just mean the outward world of life either, it includes the inner working of mind and heart as well. Clearing the mind and heart of the burdens carried around day after day allows us to focus on what really matters. Relationships, obligations, old grievances, worry all can be purged. Write them down then let them go. You can always pick them up again if you wish by going back to your writings, but the freedom from too many thoughts is addictive.

Simplifying a lifestyle takes putting one foot in front of the other, biting off smaller projects so there is a feeling of success along the way. It is likely that making huge change will result in a recurrence of the state of disorder. Allow time for habits to be formed. Start with the most vexing area, Make a list of the categories in your life you would like to simplify. Add the tasks it will require to move in the direction of simplicity. Freedom will spring from completing the tasks little by little. By the way making these lists helps to get it out of your head and on paper of a computer where you can visit any time but not have it all spin around in your brain.

If you are computer savvy, you can use tools like Excel to help you organize your thoughts. If you like pen and paper, you can use a notebook. Step by step, one project at a time creates change, space, extra time, freedom from worry, possibly even better sleep.

Start with tiny projects like the drawer in the kitchen, to medium projects like a linen closet, then larger projects like a wardrobe, on to the bigger one’s like a garage. No need to do them in a day or even a week, it may take a year to feel like you can refer to yourself as living a simple life. Moving toward your goal feels so good once the process is started that it even be fun.

Step In

I encourage you to use this blog as the tip of the iceberg to a healthy, simple, sustainable lifestyle. Whether you’ve already made a start, are an old hand or just want to mull over the possibilities this is a step in the right direction to a Simply Simple Sustainable Lifestyle.

Stay Tuned

You’ve made the first step! Reading this blog was your first step to green living and simplicity. I hope you will continue to read this blog, learn from it and share your insights and experiences of living a simple and sustainable life.

I look forward to sharing more insights with you and hearing from you soon.

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Linda, Simply Sustainable Lifestyle

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Clothing is one of the most personal expressions of who we are. In her landmark investigation Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, Elizabeth L. Cline first revealed fast fashion’s hidden toll on the environment, garment workers, and even our own satisfaction with our clothes. The Conscious Closet shows exactly what we can do about it.

One of things I’ve changed is not buying and using disposable plastic storage bags. To do this I have a few tools. I reuse a paper bag when possible as they are easily recycled in the regular recycling pick up. I also purchased 24 Pack Dishwasher Safe Reusable Bags Silicone, Leakproof Reusable Silicone Food Storage Bags, BPA Free Reusable Freezer Bags for Meat Veggies (6 Gallon 9 Snack 9 Sandwich Bags) – Grey. See my review of this product here. Click the link and you can purchase as well. I find that this 24 pack serves me well and feels good every time I use them to store food or carry with me for snacks and picnics. My dauther uses them in the kids lunches as well.

For years now I have used dryer balls instead of liquid softener or dryer sheets. Softerners in plastice containers and dryer sheets contribute to more trash also here is reseach on the unhealthy aspects of dryer sheets. The wool dryer balls last for ever and do a great job of softening my clothes. Here is a resource if you want to purchase your own. Oh, btw, you also save tons of money not having to purchase softening agents over and over.

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