To me simple living means decluttering and frugality. It is synonymous with contenment. It means having less, not in a minimaliste sense of having empty space, but having carefully and purposefully chosen items that are fewer and suits our life better…
Which means simple living is also deeply linked to anticonsumption, at the antipodes of a life style where we always want more of things we don’t really understand and where we don’t really enjoy what we have.
To take my time.
Don’t rush anything. Be it a purchase, or me saying something.
That is why I prefer writing longhand, pen on paper: it’s slower, it helps me think a little more.
And why I keep the vast majority of whatever it is I’m writing inside a drawer too. I don’t feel any impulse to rush on social media to instantly share my latest (obviously, groundbreaking) ideas and creations with the rest of the world.
That is how I read too: without any hurry. I’m not interested in reading as many books as I can in a year, or in a week, or in a day. I don’t obsess about reading whatever is the latest hyped success either.
I do read every single day, that is true, but I can read as little as a few lines and decide it’s enough (even more so when reading poetry). And I read the books I think I should be reading at that moment, not what is hyped. I mean, are older books less valuable because they’re not fresh out of the press? Quite the contrary, as they have already stood the test of time.
That is also how I do shopping. Before I purchase anything I will write it down on a list and… wait. After a while, I will check that list and if I still feel I need to buy things on it I will start considering my options (even more waiting):
And so on for almost everything. It’s not perfect and I often fails at doing it too, but even not perfect it helps in keeping things simple.