Every once in a while when I see one of those articles about some guy who simplified his life and lives in a 300 square foot house, I get a little jealous. What I wouldn’t give to have the gumption to shed all of the unnecessaries in life and only hold on to the important things.
Sometimes I believe I was truly born in the wrong time period. I know that life was harder then. But how good would it feel to go to sleep at night knowing that your body was pushed to its limit by taking care of the farm, or the ranch, instead of just being stressed out from sitting at a desk and juggling politics and general meaningless bullshit all day long? I think that would be rewarding.
And living in a smaller, simpler house – maybe an original one, where all the houses around you aren’t identical – would be so refreshing. You would utilize every inch of space in the home. There would be no junk drawers, no spare rooms, no storage space.
I know this sounds ridiculous. What would we do without internet, or television, or modern appliances? How could we possibly survive without 85 different beauty products lined up in our bathrooms? Where would we store all our stuff without canvas totes and baskets from Pottery Barn and Target? And how could we possibly be expected to clean without bathroom cleaner, toilet cleaner, window cleaner, chrome cleaner, marble counter cleaner, Endust, floor polisher, laundry detergent, laundry brightener, bleach, fabric softener and kitchen wipes? It’s barbaric!
Then there’s the clothing. Oh, where do I begin? To wear the same pair of blue jeans every single Saturday is sheer craziness. What would people think? And what if we didn’t have enough different outfits in our closets so as not repeat one in a two week period at work? People would talk. They would think we fell on hard times!
Don’t get all worked up. I’m not judging anyone. I am as guilty of consumerism as the next guy. And I have no plans in the immediate future of selling off all my possessions and disappearing into the wilderness. But sometimes I think about it. And that one room log cabin with indoor plumbing and electricity, but no wi-fi or attic space... the one with the great big stone fireplace and deep front porch… it’s calling to me. And someday I might just get there. Stranger things have happened.
Sometimes I believe I was truly born in the wrong time period. I know that life was harder then. But how good would it feel to go to sleep at night knowing that your body was pushed to its limit by taking care of the farm, or the ranch, instead of just being stressed out from sitting at a desk and juggling politics and general meaningless bullshit all day long? I think that would be rewarding.
And living in a smaller, simpler house – maybe an original one, where all the houses around you aren’t identical – would be so refreshing. You would utilize every inch of space in the home. There would be no junk drawers, no spare rooms, no storage space.
I know this sounds ridiculous. What would we do without internet, or television, or modern appliances? How could we possibly survive without 85 different beauty products lined up in our bathrooms? Where would we store all our stuff without canvas totes and baskets from Pottery Barn and Target? And how could we possibly be expected to clean without bathroom cleaner, toilet cleaner, window cleaner, chrome cleaner, marble counter cleaner, Endust, floor polisher, laundry detergent, laundry brightener, bleach, fabric softener and kitchen wipes? It’s barbaric!
Then there’s the clothing. Oh, where do I begin? To wear the same pair of blue jeans every single Saturday is sheer craziness. What would people think? And what if we didn’t have enough different outfits in our closets so as not repeat one in a two week period at work? People would talk. They would think we fell on hard times!
Don’t get all worked up. I’m not judging anyone. I am as guilty of consumerism as the next guy. And I have no plans in the immediate future of selling off all my possessions and disappearing into the wilderness. But sometimes I think about it. And that one room log cabin with indoor plumbing and electricity, but no wi-fi or attic space... the one with the great big stone fireplace and deep front porch… it’s calling to me. And someday I might just get there. Stranger things have happened.
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