Simple Living Is Richer Than You Think

You don’t have to live by Walden Pond & eat lentils.

I was recently at an event and a woman sitting beside me asked what I did for a living.

I told her I’m a writer who specializes in simpler living for complicated people.

She laughed (which was good) and she looked at me and said,

“You don’t look like you’re into simple living. You look amazing!”

I laughed, thanked her for the “compliment” and said,

I’m complicated.

I live simply but I drive a Cadillac.

And I don’t raise chickens or only have 99 things.

I know what probably flashed through her mind when she first heard the words:

Simple Living.

Images of cheap and thrifty people with bad hair and teeth; a backyard full of chickens; an empty bank account; and quite possibly, a massive tinfoil ball.

Which is why my Diane von Furstenberg outfit and red lipstick blew her away. (If only she knew I got the dress with the $150 tags still attached for $6.00 at a thrift store. Evil laugh.)

Why do so many people imagine the movie Deliverance when they think of Simple Living?

I want to change how people feel about it. For the record — I have nothing against homeschooling, coupons or raising chickens.

But I am frugal (which means you value your resources of time, energy and money) and I definitely live simply.

And I am complicated.

I drive a gently used Cadillac; champagne is an indulgence a few times a year; and I get my hair, nails, and feet done.

You would too if you had my goat feet.

Marie Kondo is brilliant but a minimalist I am not.

My husband and I live in an older medium-sized 1200 sq ft house which is small by today’s standards but perfect for us.

We travel yearly to Europe or Hawaii. We spend money on sushi a few times a month.

I buy from Amazon (but perhaps not as often as you do) and I like nice things as much as the next person.

Am I like Henry Thoreau sitting on a stump by Walden Pond and using someone’s land for free and eating lentils all day long?

Nope. (Remember, even dear Henry only lasted 2 years in the woods.)

My love for simpler living started with my simple roots. I grew up on the western Canadian prairies in a small village of 300 people.

I kid you not.

My parents were farmers and so I took for granted the huge garden, the freezers full of organic meat and shelves loaded with home-canned vegetables and fruit.

My mother taught my sister and me how to cook at an early age. I could make a complete roast turkey dinner by the time I was 12.

No, I am not Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prairie.

And even when I moved away to university and to cities far away to further my career in advertising and sales — the skills I had learned about growing and preparing food and being frugal never left me.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes since then. I was influenced by what I thought success looked like.

I bought a new car once (what a waste); I’ve owed money on credit cards and eaten out at restaurants too much.

I even had a second-hand mink coat at one point. It was 50 years old, give me a break.

But when I was in my early 30s, I could feel something shifting. I was no longer in MORE, MORE, MORE mode.

I wanted to make my life simpler and richer on less.

What Does Simple Living Mean To Me?

80% of the time I buy things second-hand.

My husband and I cook at home most of the time. Not because we have to but because we love it.

We don’t eat out much but we do have sushi a few times a month and I meet my friends for eggs benedict every other week.

We’re not misers or hermits.

We love to entertain and throw amazing dinner parties.

Except we cook with deer, elk, moose, and fish that my husband has hunted and fished for. We also buy lamb, beef, and chicken from local farmers. (We have 4.5 freezers and they aren’t itty-bitty apartment-sized ones.)

I’d make you a salad fresh from my little raised garden and bake a peach pie that would blow your head off.

You’d drink nice wine and you’d never know that your crystal wine glass came from a thrift store.

But I’d probably tell you as I’m proud of that sh*t.

Simple living makes your life richer with less.

Hard to believe but true.

Because I live simpler I also save money in a million areas.

It gives me the freedom to run my business from home and to travel. I don’t have to drive to work and fight the traffic.

Instead, I walk down the hallway into my office and my dog sits by my feet. He reads my stories before you do.

Living simpler means I get to work less and have more time for other pursuits.

I volunteer as a Big Sister for two lovely girls. I’m showing them the joy and creativity of thrift store shopping too and they love it. We take long nature walks and collect leaves and make priceless art.

My husband and I recently bought a small older cottage on a lake. We fish when the water is calm and the pelicans are fishing too. I forage for wild mushrooms and berries and listen to the squirrels and birds chatter above me.

You can design your simpler life any way you’d like.

A big part of simple living is knowing yourself.

Making a decision to live simpler is exactly that.

A choice. You evaluate what’s important to you.

You look closely at your life to see where your money, time, and energy are leaking out in big and small ways.

Listen.

You don’t need as much money as you think to have a rich life.

And when you need less and your expenses are less — you also don’t need to work as hard. You start taking control of the direction of your life in unexpected ways.

But you do need to figure your money out. You have to decide what rich means to you in both money and in your own purpose.

Simpler Living Starts Here

Print your credit card statements and sit down with a glass of wine. You’ll probably need it.

That’s just the beginning but it is a good start.

See if where you spend your money matches how you want to spend your life.

And don’t freak out when you see your reality on paper. Changing it is easier than you think.

Because simpler living is really is up to you after all. You get to decide how you can make your life richer with less. And I don’t know about you — but for me — the freedom it brings is the richest thing of all.

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