More than 35 years ago I wrote a book on simple living.
You can find an e-version here. It hasn't been updated so it has nothing up-to-date on social security or Obamacare.
I saw a list of simple living blogs this morning and want to pass it on to those who might care. It comes from a Christian simple living site.
To me simple living in America is a brilliant synthesis of many simple living traditions ranging from Quaker to Bohemian to military. From my secular point of view there are two primary reasons for simple living.
By living simply and being able to live on very little income one has the world-historic-opportunity to live freely doing what one loves. An opportunity granted only to those of us who live in the 200 year old decades of modern commerce. Few people ever had such opportunities. To me, it is the greatest blessing of commerce.
The second reason is that owning few objects means less time one has to spend on maintenance and a comparable less cluttered mind dedicated to keeping track of worldly clutter.
Simple living is not for most people. One needs to know what one wants to do with one’s life, rather than get a job. I’ve never found a way to help people figure out what to do with their life.
Here is the list:
- "Christian Simplicity -- Conversations about God, trust, and money -- Money Lies // God Ideas // Finding God // Mindfulness // Simple Living // NEW, under construction, being developed by Kevin Tupper: Five guides first, blogging second, and then money-help third.
- Dave and Sheryl Balthrop: Simple Life Reboot -- Making Room for That Which Matters Most: Transformational, healthy minimalism. The Balthrop's 2-3 minute episodes are simple reading of their brief 'essays.'
- Simple Life Together, a podcast dedicated to leading a simple life in the modern world by Dan and Vanessa Hayes.
- SimpleREV Conference -- Revive and Rev It Up! + All Things SimpleREV Podcast. Besides, SimpleREV, Joel Zaslofsky is the Chief Simplifier, Curator, and Founder at Value of Simple. He also hosts the popular Smart and Simple Matters show. When he's not enjoying nature, making his wife smile, or playing with his two young sons, Joel's busy minimizing, being Paleo, doing public speaking gigs, connecting, reigniting his personal renaissance, and Experience Curating.
- Joshua Becker is the Founder and Editor of Becoming Minimalist, a website with over 500,000 regular monthly readers dedicated to inspiring others to find more life by owning less. Motto: Caring for Your Whole Self. His rational approach to minimalism, focusing on passion and purpose, has made him one of today's most-influential simple living advocates. He has sold tens of thousands of his books, has been invited to speak all across America, and has made media appearances in TIME Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post Live, and the CBS Evening News. His most recent book, Clutterfree with Kids, consistently ranks among the best-selling parenting books in America. Currently, he lives in sunny Peoria, Arizona, with his wife and two young kids.
- Sarah Wehkamp is passionate about helping families find balance and simplicity in their home life. She and her husband, Chris, are founders of Parents Who, a website that equips parents with tools to create and maintain a simpler, more meaningful family life. She's the mother to the youngest firemen in the world, identical twin boys Mr. B & Mr. C, a fair trade chocolate enthusiast, a former elementary school teacher, and an avid traveler."