For Green Simpletons (like me) - A Short List for Simple Sustainability

 

Just give me a bike, a clothesline, and maybe a mason jar. Don't worry, though, I won't try to electrify them. Not this time.

 

Okay, well, that's close enough.

Simple stuff. I keep being drawn to simple stuff. And frugality. And minimalism. And figuring out what's really important.

I read a novel in college - Love Among the Cannibals. I didn't get it. I was a just a dumb kid. I may need to go back and read it again. Now I'm a dumb middle-aged guy with at least 5% more wisdom.

I remember a (subplot) new car that broke down on the side of the road in the book. The local vandals immediately started stealing all the parts off of it. They left it a shell. Then the local vandals brought a few of the parts back and got it running again, but it no longer had things like windows and doors.

The professor explained to us the symbolism of getting something (or someone) back to a simpler place, a more stripped down version that has only what it needs - and none of the distractions.

Some days I feel like my pursuit of the green good life is that car, but the local vandals haven't taken all the parts yet.

I really should read that novel again.

Speaking of books, I just ordered a used copy of this book:

The Seven Sustainable Wonders of the World

I learned about it a few months back while following a link trail from a Katherine Martinko article. (I really like KM articles!) The concept has haunted me since. Even this post has gone through multiple drafts that never seemed quite ready to publish. It still doesn't quite.

So, what simples appeal to you? Outside of the seven on the book's cover, what simple things do you depend on to make your life greener and simpler? (No, I won't foolishly try the survey thing again, but feel free to shoot me an email.)

I plan to spend some time over the next few months exploring the idea of what an individual needs (or doesn't need) to live simply (and greenly).

[Blogger note: Part of my quest for the simple will mean less blogging - maybe some miniposts and pics, but there will be fewer posts for a while. Thank you for the time you've spent reading this particular brand of drivel.]

May you figure out what you (and we) need, and may you eschew the distractions that bog you down.