Editing Simple living (section)

==Practices==

===Reducing consumption, work time, and possessions===
[[File:Portland alternative dwellings workshop.jpg|thumb|left|265x265px|Living simply in a [[tiny house movement|small dwelling]]]]

Some people practice simple living by reducing their [[Consumption (economics)|consumption]]. Lowering consumption can reduce individual debt, which allows for greater flexibility and simplicity in one's life. If one spends less on [[goods]] or services, one can spend less time earning [[money]]. The time saved may be used to pursue other interests, to help others through [[volunteering]], or to improve their [[quality of life]], for example, by pursuing creative activities. Developing a [[detachment (philosophy)|detachment]] from the pursuit of money has led some individuals, such as [[Suelo]] and [[Mark Boyle (Moneyless Man)|Mark Boyle]], to live with no money.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite news|last=Osborne |first=Hilary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2009/jul/23/daniel-suelo-caveman |title=Daniel Suelo: Free spirit or freeloader? |work=The Guardian |location=UK |access-date=20 October 2011 |date=23 July 2009}}
|2={{cite news|last=Salter |first=Jessica |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/greenerliving/7951968/The-man-who-lives-without-money.html |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820084055/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/greenerliving/7951968/The-man-who-lives-without-money.html |archive-date=20 August 2010 |title=The man who lives without money |work=The Telegraph |location=U.K. |date=18 August 2010}} }}</ref> People who reduce their expenses can also increase their savings, leading to [[financial independence]] and the possibility of [[Retirement#Early retirement|early retirement]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Robinson |first=Nancy |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/financialfinesse/2012/08/02/retiring-at-age-50-is-realistic-using-unorthodox-strategies/ |title=Retiring At Age 50 Is Realistic Using These Unorthodox Strategies |work=Forbes |location=U.S. |access-date=20 August 2012| date=2 August 2012}}</ref>

The "100 Thing Challenge" is a grassroots movement to whittle personal possessions to one hundred items, aiming of de-cluttering and simplify life.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1812048,00.html|title=How to Live with Just 100 Things|author=Lisa McClaughlin|date=June 5, 2008|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> People in the [[tiny house movement]] chose to live in small, mortgage-free, low-impact dwellings, such as [[log cabin]]s or [[beach hut]]s.<ref>{{cite news|first=Leigh|last=Paterson|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazine-16348594/less-is-more-simple-living-in-small-spaces|title=Less is more: Simple living in small spaces|work=BBC News | date=28 December 2011}}</ref>

[[Joshua Becker]] suggests that people who desire to simplify their lives begin by simplifying their homes.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Minimalist Home|last=Becker|first=Joshua|publisher=WaterBrook|year=2018|pages=3–5}}</ref>

===Increasing self-sufficiency===
[[Image:Forestgarden2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Robert Hart (horticulturist)|Robert Hart]]'s [[Forest gardening|forest garden]] in Shropshire, England, UK]]
Increased [[Self-sustainability|self-sufficiency]] reduces dependency on money and the broader [[economy]].<ref>{{cite conference |first1=Khairul Hisyam|last1= Baharuddin |first2=Nazatul Syima |last2=Mohd Nasir |first3=Fairuz A'dilah|last3= Rusdi |date=2022 |title=Self-Reliance, Simple Living, and Happiness in the Man Who Quit Money |book-title=Proceeding of International Conference on Ummah |url=http://myscholar.umk.edu.my/bitstream/123456789/3952/1/eProceeding%20ICU%202022%20khisyam%20and%20others.pdf |via=My Scholar, Digital Library Repository, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan}}</ref> [[Tom Hodgkinson]] believes the key to a free and simple life is to stop consuming and start producing.<ref>{{cite book|title=How To Be Free|author=Tom Hodgkinson|year=2006|publisher=Hamish Hamilton |isbn=978-0241143216}}</ref> Writer and eco-blogger Jennifer Nini left the city to live off-grid, grow food, and "be a part of the solution; not part of the problem."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nini|first1=Jennifer|title=So You Think You Can Farm?|date=September 2014|url=https://ecowarriorprincess.net/2014/09/so-you-think-you-can-farm/|access-date=1 September 2014}}</ref>

[[Forest gardening]], developed by simple living adherent [[Robert Hart (horticulturist)|Robert Hart]], is a low-maintenance, plant-based food production system based on woodland ecosystems. It incorporates fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines, and perennial vegetables.<ref name=Hart>{{cite book|title=Forest gardening: Cultivating an edible landscape|first=Robert|last=Hart|isbn=978-1603580502|date=1996-09-01}}</ref>{{rp|97}} Hart created a model forest garden from a {{convert|0.12|acre|m2|adj=on}} orchard on his farm at [[Wenlock Edge]] in [[Shropshire]].{{r|Hart|page=45}}

"[[Food miles]]" is a description of the number of miles a given item of food or its ingredients has travelled between the farm and the table. Simple living advocates use this metric to argue for locally grown food, for example in books like ''[[The 100-Mile Diet]]'' and [[Barbara Kingsolver]]'s ''[[Animal, Vegetable, Miracle|Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life]]''. In each of those cases, the authors devoted a year to reducing their carbon footprint by eating locally.<ref>{{cite news|last=Taylor|first=Kate|date=2007-08-08|url=https://www.nysun.com/arts/year-i-saved-the-world/60056/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114072028/https://www.nysun.com/arts/year-i-saved-the-world/60056/|archive-date=2009-01-14|title=The Year I Saved The World|location=New York|newspaper=The Sun}}</ref>

City dwellers can produce home-grown fruit and vegetables in [[Container garden|pot gardens]] or miniature indoor greenhouses. Tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, peas, strawberries, and several types of herbs can all thrive in pots. [[Jim Merkel]] says "A person could sprout seeds. They are tasty, incredibly nutritious, and easy to grow... We grow them in wide-mouthed mason jars with a square of nylon window screen screwed under a metal ring".<ref>{{cite book|last=Merkel|first=Jim|title=Radical Simplicity. British Columbia: New Society|year=2003|pages=170–171}}{{ISBN?}}</ref>

===Reconsidering technology===
People who practice simple living have diverse views on the role of technology. The American political activist [[Scott Nearing]] was skeptical about how humanity would use new technology, citing destructive inventions such as [[nuclear weapon]]s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Scott Nearing|title=Civilization and Beyond |page=101 |year=2006 |publisher=Echo Library |isbn=978-1406834970 }}</ref> Those who eschew modern technology are often referred to as [[Luddite]]s or [[neo-Luddism|neo-Luddites]].<ref name = Luddites>{{cite web|last=Sale|first=Kirkpatrick|date=February 1997|url=https://mondediplo.com/1997/02/20luddites|url-access=subscription|title=America's New Luddites|website=Le Monde diplomatique}}</ref> Although simple living is often a [[Secularity|secular]] pursuit, it may still involve reconsidering [[appropriate technology]] as [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist]] groups such as the [[Amish]] or [[Mennonites]] have done.

Technology can make a simple lifestyle within mainstream culture easier and more sustainable. The [[internet]] can reduce an individual's [[carbon footprint]] through [[remote work]] and lower paper usage. Some have calculated their energy consumption to show that one can live simply and in a satisfying way by using much less energy than is typically used in Western countries.<ref>{{cite web|first=Anil K.|last=Rajvanshi|title=How to Live Simply and in a Sustainable Way|date=2012-05-27|url=http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/masters/self-improvement/how-to-live-simply-and-in-a-sustainable-way|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219004528/http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/masters/self-improvement/how-to-live-simply-and-in-a-sustainable-way|archive-date=2013-12-19}}</ref> Technologies they may embrace include computers, [[photovoltaic system]]s, [[wind turbine]]s, and [[water turbine]]s.

Technological interventions that appear to simplify living may actually induce side effects elsewhere or in the future. [[Evgeny Morozov]] warns that tools like the internet can facilitate [[mass surveillance]] and [[political repression]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Evgeny |last=Morozov|title=The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom |year=2011 }}</ref> The book ''[[Green Illusions]]'' identifies how wind and solar energy technologies have hidden side effects and can actually increase energy consumption and entrench environmental harms over time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zehner|first=Ozzie|title=Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism|year=2012|publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]]|isbn=978-0803237759}}</ref> The authors of the book ''Techno-Fix'' criticize technological optimists for overlooking the limitations of technology in solving agricultural problems.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Huesemann|first1=Michael H.|first2=Joyce A.|last2=Huesemann|year=2011|title=Technofix: Why Technology Won't Save Us or the Environment|publisher=New Society Publishers|location=Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada|isbn=978-0865717046}}</ref>

===Simplifying diet===
[[File:Figs, berries and cheese.jpg|thumb|Figs, berries, and cheese]]In contrast to diets like vegetarianism, a simplified diet focuses on principles rather than a set of rules. People may use less sophisticated and cheaper ingredients, and eat dishes considered as "comfort food", including home-cooked dishes. Simple diets are usually considered to be "healthy", since they include a significant amount of fruit and vegetables.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Katie |date=February 25, 2009 |title=Slow economy calls for simple living |work=Free Lance-Star |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/126937DCC5E81D90&f=basic}}</ref> A simple diet usually avoids highly processed foods and fast-food eating.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 18, 2020 |title=Women urged for changing culture of extra protein rich, spicy food |work=Daily Messenger |location=Pakistan |url=}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=September 2023}} Simplicity may also entail taking time to be present while eating, such as by following rituals, avoiding multitasking when eating, and putting time aside to consume food mindfully and gratefully, potentially in the company of others.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McDonald |first=Glenn |title=For us, simple living isn't easy—Author advocates the joy of less stuff |work=News & Observer |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/1315CB0B2B616478|url-access=subscription}}{{when|date=September 2023}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=September 2023}} '''Practicing mindfulness and awareness while eating promotes a deeper sense of connection and responsibility toward understanding food as a meaningful and fulfilling process, rather than merely consuming a product. ''' <ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-23 |title=How tweaking your diet can help save the planet |url=https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-tweaking-your-diet-can-help-save-planet |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.unep.org |language=en}}</ref> Moreover, it is common to cook one's own food, by following simple recipes that are not particularly time consuming, in an attempt to reduce the amount of energy necessary for cooking.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weidner |first=Johanna |date=January 8, 2005 |title=Food helps define life, editor says |work=Record, The |location=Kitchner, Ontario, Canada |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/10AA68B2F82643EB.|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=September 2023}} 

A simple diet looks different from person to person and can be adapted to suit individual needs and desires. For instance, in the United Kingdom, the Movement for Compassionate Living was formed by Kathleen and Jack Jannaway in 1984 to spread the message of [[veganism]] and promote simple living and self-reliance as a remedy against the [[Exploitation of natural resources|exploitation of humans, animals, and the planet]].