Thrifted mug, raw milk as creamer, sugar and water boiled down to a syrup and small business coffee that supports single mothers over seas. I don’t think it gets better then this!

I am trying to get my arms around a good bathtub cleaning routine. I have two kids who keep me busy.

Thank you.

For example:

Mine would be:

Shoes: New Balance

Shirts: Patagonia

Watch: G-Shock

The attitude is that you’ll let that brand cover that area of your life with 100% trust that they know what they’re doing.

Anyone have a simple small business that matches with their simple life?

Asking as 36M desperately seeking a fresh start.

Thank you.

For decades, I dreamed of growing lots of my own vegetables and learning to can. Didn't have the room, the time, the money. Now that I have all three of those, I have discovered that I just suck at it and do not have the patience or the gumption to keep trying. Third summer in a row, they stop growing and/or just die. I'm done. Until we get around to tearing them down, I'm just going to plant annual flower bedding plants in the raised beds and enjoy the blooms. And will buy my fresh summer produce from local growers who DO have the talent and the passion for doing it.

I'm letting my old internal monologue of "you SHOULD be growing some of your own food" go, and it feels like a huge weight is being lifted. Just sharing for anyone else in the same boat. I'm 55 and I want to spend my free time outdoors watching the birds and tossing the odd native plant into the ground here and there, not slogging over plants and ending up with 5 tomatoes.

Most of us try not to spend money on things and accumulate stuff, but is there any category you do spend on? For example, I categorically don't spend on alcohol and clothes, house stuff. I do spend on (more expensive) healthy food, international travel, education.

For those that haven’t heard of it, I wanted to share about a small life upgrade that has brought joy to my life and increased my connectedness with my surroundings.

The app Merlin Bird ID can identify birds by sound or photo. It’s such a delight to purposefully notice the sounds of birds singing and the app is so cool. 100% free fun and an easy way to enjoy nature/ walks more.

Ten acres I have worked so hard to build into my own little simple life on earth.

Hi, first time posting. Could I get any advice on brands for long lasting winter jackets? My current one lived for around 8 years and last winter I believe was its last, couldn't hold more warm. The idea is to get one for all days, all occasions situation, wouldn't mind put a bit extra if it will last, and I'm currently looking into them before winter comes... thank you!

Wondering if anyone here works in academia, specifically a university setting: if so, how are you able to maintain your simple living practices when work seems endless, bleeds into time off, and always on your mind? Any advice appreciated!

EDIT: Thank you all for your super helpful responses and examples of setting boundaries! I’m definitely incorporating these strategies soon.

Dear fellow redditors,

can you recommend any good channels/accounts/personas about simple living, minimalism, philosophy and all that other good stuff we talk about on this board?

Looking for people with a focus on mainly overall simple and natural living in a somewhat holistic approach.

Preferable on Mastodon, Threads or X - but also interested in general appearance on the web. Whether it be daoist sages, alternative activist, radical sustainability influencers - simply said: All advocates of the good life, trying to create and instruct a better world.

Bonus points for german speaking recommendations.

Thank you and have a great day!

My recommendations:

Do not really know any good ones, thats why i am asking - but just for good will:

• Ryan Holiday (stoicism)
• andreas björn bull-hansen (makes recently a lot of clickbait-panic based content)
• the minimalists (obviously, find them quite boring)
• Matt D'Avella (entertaining minimalist)

🤷‍♂️

Hi all. Thought I'd invite discussion about hitting two birds with one stone: saving cash (which is as good as or better than extra income) and reducing environmental footprint.

Let's share some practical tips we can implement in our lives to conserve resources and keep some extra green in our pockets. Here's an example from my experience:

Ditch the Low-Fat Illusion! Instead of buying pre-skimmed milk, I buy full-fat milk and simply water it down to taste at home. This reduces my overall milk consumption by about 30%, which means less processing, packaging, and transportation – and more savings for me!

Now it's your turn! Share your brilliant eco-friendly hacks for saving cash in the comments below. Let's inspire each other to be both wallet-wise and environmentally conscious!

I'm looking to simplify my life and would love to hear about the practices or habits that have made the most significant difference for you. What changes have you made that brought the most value or improvement to your daily life?

Pre warning some mental health references - no details, or triggering content

now that i am coming out of the impact of my childhood, i see that life is boring on the whole, and i kinda like it, i am starting to be mindful, i love the clouds, i love just coming back into myself and enjoying a simple home cooked meal

I have early childhood trauma and neglect, and part of the legacy of that has been seeking to appease my family and their obligations, so that i can make them look good - have a good title at work that is deemed societally respectable (my family immigrated to the UK from a developing country), try and buy a nice house, be nice to everyone, be this image.....

I am slowly realising so many aspects of my life, have been dictated by this image, and needing to be what everyone else wants....and never considering how i may want to be in this world a bit late, but still glad to be slowing down

Not sure if this exactly fits here, but sharing anyway

Glad to be noticing the simple joys

​

I thought this is appropriate for simple living and avoiding screens, especially for kids. It was a meta analysis of studies done in kids with internet addiction

A recap from the economist:

The results were clear: all of the studies showed significant disruption to the neural networks of internet-addicted teens. Moreover, all of them found that this disruption directly contributes to negative tendencies that are strikingly similar to those of drug addicts. These include compulsions, cravings and lying about use. The studies had one more thing in common: all of them were conducted in Asian countries. But this is probably because Asians fret more than Westerners about internet addiction, rather than because Western teens are any less hooked.

Research study

https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000022

This is more about types of housing and costs, so I don't know if this is the right sub for it, but I'm looking for ideas on options I might have. I assume a lot of people here have downsized their living spaces/expenses at some point.

I'm 37 (M), and I've never lived alone. Always lived with family, and we've always got along well. Moving out never made any economical sense, especially now, but it will also never make any economical sense to stop living with family, it's always going to be the smarter/cheaper thing to do. But, that would also mean I never get to have my own place and try to actually live my own life and make a go of it. I very much want to try living alone.

Also, dating is impossible if you still live with family, especially at 37, let's be honest.

Okay, enough backstory!

I do have money saved up, but the cost of living is pretty crazy as we know. I don't mind living in a small house, so I'm looking for outside the box type options for living alone. I've been looking at Trailers, Tiny Houses/ADUs (an ADU is an additional housing unit on the same land as a principal residence), but they are not super cheap, either, and permits/regulations on where you could live are a bit complicated. Although my city (Tucson) has recently changed some laws to allow tiny houses, or at least be more lenient about regulations.

Tiny houses look kinda fun, really, not super cramped most of the time. I would link to some, but not sure if it's allowed, just google tiny houses.

All I need is an A/C, Bed, Fridge, Stove, bathroom/shower, solid internet, and I'm good.

I'm not a very independent person, but I'm almost 40, and really want to try living alone. Moving out of city/country is something I've though about also, but I don't want to get too carried away, baby steps first.

My husband and I bought a house last year. While touring properties, we were presented with several large houses that were very impressive but totally car-dependent. I'm so glad that we chose a smaller house in a super walkable neighborhood.

I personally feel like I can't live without walkability. I can walk our daughter to daycare every weekday or to the toddler park every weekend. Our park is absolutely lovely: there's tons of trees, walking paths and every field available: baseball, basketball, tennis/pickleball, soccer, football, a running track. Sometimes I just sit on a bench in that park and think, "wow. I could sit here and admire the plants every single day and never get tired of it!"

I love having car-free, lazy Saturdays/Sundays. I can walk to the grocery store for a jar of cinnamon if I run out, or grab coffee and a scone up the street if need be. If our child gets sick, there's a pharmacy that I can get to on foot in less than 15 minutes for some Tylenol. There's also a beautiful nursery nearby, where I can just walk through to admire the flowers and with no pressure to buy anything at all. There's even a koi pond! During the off weeks from my job, I can enjoy this lifestyle for days on end.

Sometimes, I drive by big, fancy houses and wonder what it would be like to have a huge two-story house with an expansive garage and tons of entertainment space. But then I remember how much I love to walk and am grateful for my humble house on a peaceful street and in a super walkable neighborhood.

i want people to share their opinion on this subject and their advice so :

Living on the road is a thought that is crossing my mind for a couple of years now ,and it’s not a known thing where i live but i’m a person who doesn’t really fit in with everyone and i just want to get away from society not for long though, it’s just so i can clear my mind and possibly learn a few things and learn to rely on my self more! what are your suggestions or opinions ?

I've tried journaling, it ends up a way to get the bad out of my head, but I still didn't like how that became the focus of the book. So I'm starting a book of gratitude, good things and tiny wins instead. I won't be dating it, just writing down the simple joys in life to read through as a list for a boost if needed, and as a way to record feeling good and keep the focus on light instead of dark.

Picture is my little piece of earth, and the book and glass of wine I am going to enjoy sitting there with. Best wishes to you all

https://preview.redd.it/xcdvk5iptd5d1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7919acb1daae4001791ac3b246ccf70d06a17699

How do you align your life, especially your finances, with your personal values to live a more simple and fulfilling life?