To Live Simply

It seems to me that in some ways being environmentally conscious and economically conscious go hand in hand. Being frugal is an act of sustainability. As a frugal being one gets by on less and thus makes a smaller impact.

Growing up, I was often embarrassed when going into a second-hand store or garage sale with my mom. I could never quiet understand why it seemed everyone else I knew shopped primarily at the mall and my family did not. I would get angry and ask "why can't I just have this or that". I think it's natural to get caught in this race of course as it is how our society operates...bigger is better. I know that growing up we got by on less for economic reasons but by today's standards we would have been perceived as a very "green" family. I have wonderful memories from childhood and I know that the principles that I stand firm on are grounded on what I learned and experienced early on. We went to the farmers market, we used canvas bags, we shopped at second-hand stores, we had a garden, we lived in small houses, we didn't travel far for vacation, we camped, we turned off lights, and we had a clothing line. I grew up eating vegetables from our garden, fish from Wisconsin lakes and venison from local deer. Do I think I had a perfect childhood..well No. (does anybody?) Do I think I had a happy childhood...Yes, very. I have a lot to learn about being sustainable and environmentally conscious, but I feel fortunate to have had such a good start.

We were not the "Joneses".
To not "keep up with the Joneses" could be perceived as social and cultural failure. Unfortunately for so long, "keeping up with the Joneses" has lead to a lot of waste. Too many cars.... gas guzzling cars. I curse the Hummer driver...unless you are in a war zone what is the point of your big inefficient vehicle. And there are big houses that require too much gas to heat and electricity. Clothing that lasts one season and is then tossed aside, not to mention the amount of food prepared and then thrown away.

Now I'm not saying that I don't respect and sometimes envy the people who live in their dream homes and drive their dream cars. They have worked very hard to be successful and everyone deserves to do what they wish and be happy. When I walk by beautiful houses in my neighborhood, I do marvel at their greatness. And mostly I think, how wonderful it is for the people who live there. It may be that someone finally purchased their dream home and I for one am not opposed to people achieving their dreams. Plus, I need to remember that there are people who live luxurious wasteful lifestyles but who donate thousands of dollars to charities, adopt and foster children or make other amazing contributions to society. To these people we should all be very grateful, however I am opposed to people who forget that there are other people who live on this planet or who say "why should I care what happens to the planet in 100 years, I'll be long gone".

Luckily for us, a lot of manufacturers have jumped on the GREEN bandwagon. Since it is unlikely that society is going to stop trying to "keep up" we now have options to help reduce our impact on the environment. There are wonderful cars on the market now that are gas-efficient and they're not just hybrids. There are Energy-Star appliances that use less energy and front-load washing machines that use less water. Plus, there are so many sustainable materials for building and decorating homes now!

Here's a nice website that links to sustainable Home Furnishings
http://www.sustainabilitystore.com/index_home_furnishings.html

I too need to remind myself that when I have the urge to splurge I should be looking at local and responsible goods and since being GREEN is "in", there are a lot of clothing stores that have moved to more sustainable materials.

I know that Patagonia has long been an environmental champion.
http://www.patagonia.com/us/environmentalism?netid=2

And I've had my eye on FAIR INDIGO, a socially responsible fair trade clothing store.
http://www.fairindigo.com/about/

I'll leave you with a quote that I love, often attributed to Ghandi
"Live simply so that others may simply live"

Let us try to tread lightly my friends.