Life: 10 x 10

I’ve wanted to simplify my life mainly for personal sanity reasons. But, obviously, there are good social sanity reasons to adopt a tinier lifestyle.

Katy has been talking about reducing use of dishes here and here. As vagabonds, flitting from place to place, Angela and I have found it expedient to carry our personal mugs along with us. Mine gets washed after every use (often just rinsed and put away).

This has been helping me notice (be conscious of) what and how much I am drinking, because I have to wash the substance out of my mug every time, rather than pulling a fresh mug/glass from the cupboard. In this way I’m improving my own health (I drink less coffee/tea and more raw milk now). Great for me! But I’m also saving energy in general by giving my mug the full wash (soap and hot water) less often.

Glenn Campbell posted on Friday about Wal-Mart, and speculated that buying less is definitely helpful, even if what you are buying isn’t highest quality (fair-trade, organic, local, etc):

“If I buy something, it is because I truly need it and will use it well, not because it serves my vanity. I don’t know if I am helping or hurting world society, but at least I am treading lightly through it.”

I try not to shop at “Acme” (Wal-Mart, in Glenn’s parlance). I try to buy local > organic > “natural.” These changes in lifestyle are good, but buying lots of local/organic stuff can get expensive (personally and socially).

So here’s my new personal maxim: Use less first, then use stuff as local/organic as you can afford.

A nice side effect of buying less is that you’ll be able to afford a greater percentage of better stuff!