Less stuff, better quality of life!

A wildly successful entrepreneur, Graham Hill, had the big house, fancy car and lots of gadgets.  However he discovered considerably more happiness after he dramatically downsized.  You can read his story in the New York Times, Living with less.  A lot less.   Among other things he now designs small, efficient homes.

Discarded stuff found during our summer park clean-up

Did you know that we've got way too much stuff here in the USA when we have a $22 billion dollar storage industry and 40 percent of our food gets thrown away? Thanks to bigger homes Americans now have three times the amount of space as they did 60 years back.

In addition to being a burden to maintain, our stuff is also a problem for our planet. One of the biggest contributors to global climate change is all of the stuff that is being produced, used and thrown away. It is about time we take a hard look at downsizing, and refusing to buy all of the latest new and improved gadgets. Not only will it reduce our carbon footprints, it will also likely enhance our happiness, as we have less stuff to worry about!

Buying stuff and homemade sourdough bread

Pussy willows and Canada Geese

I was a bit surprised to read an article, "Who Knew? Shopping is Good for You" in yesterday's paper.  A study done in Taiwan discovered seniors who shop daily live longer.  Having visited Taiwan I'm guessing much of their shopping is for fresh fruits and vegetables, perhaps from street vendors.  This shopping also likely involves considerable amounts of walking or riding a bike.

Despite the crazy American consumer culture, I'm quite confident that he/she who buys the most stuff isn't the winner.  Bertrand Russell, the British philosopher and mathematician noted "It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly."

I'm reminded of my encounter with Ken earlier in the week, who's possessions seem to all fit within a five gallon bucket.  How many fewer constraints he has than most of us that are tied down by all of our stuff.

Sourdough bread

This morning I baked a loaf of sourdough bread.  There is a video on how to make this on YouTube.  It requires a lot of time to rest and rise. Another reminder of the value of patience for good things ;-)