Music of the Heart: Living Simply...For Me

There is so much information these days about "simple living." There are books, magazines, blogs, and whole organizations devoted to the idea. The thing I've noticed is, everyone's idea of what is "simple" is different.

One idea of "simple living" is an eco-friendly one. Try not to leave too big of a "footprint" on the earth. Use less energy, and fewer resources. This is the idea of living off the land in a yurt.

Living in a Yurt - Photobucket

Then, there's the similar but slightly different vision of living off-grid on your own farm, and growing all of your own food.

There's the idea of living in a one-room apartment, with only a white couch and a potted plant.

And don't forget the computerized house, where all you have to do is push a button to have anything happen, a la "Flubber."

If you compound all of these basic living arrangements with the options within the walls, you come up with things like

Make your own soap vs. store up enough bars of Ivory for a year.
Eat only organic, homemade food vs. stock a freezer full of microwaveable single-serve meals.
Have all of your bills paid automatically from your online bank account vs. keep all of your money under your mattress and only enter civilization if absolutely necessary.
Schedule your day by 15-minute increments so that you know exactly what you will be doing each minute vs. wake up in the morning with no preconceived notions about what you will do that day.

As you can see, this "simple living" idea can get rather...er...complicated.

So, I've decided to do a series on this blog, to talk about the things that are making life simpler for me and my family. I am sure that some of them may seem to be the opposite of simple for you, but that's okay. I've come to the conclusion that this is not a black-and-white kind of thing. Living simply has to make your life better in some way, and the "good life" is different for everyone. I also don't claim to know all of the answers, as this is really a work in progress. I also hope you'll join the conversation, and let us know some of the things that have made life simpler for you!

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