Living Simply :: Simply Living

I don't buy a lot of things. I bought a "new" car in November. Really, I bought a car with the same amount of miles on it as the last one, but the "new" one has AWD because I was going on a roadtrip to the midwest and if there was snow, I'd need AWD.

I just bought a new pair of boots. The last time I bought shoes was last May. The last time I bought a shirt was for a charity dodgeball tournament last week, but before that was in July, which is also when I bought socks and underwear and a new pair of shorts and a new pair of Levi's. The last time I bought an electronic device was a new phone in August, but I had the phone before that for 2.5 years.

I do buy books. I buy a lot of books...

My computer is five years old. My iPod was a gift last Christmas (a refurbished gen1 iPod Nano, which I specifically asked for). I have a lot of cameras, but they're mostly thriftstore snags. I do have a very nice bike, but that was the primary means of transport while I lived in Portland.

I could probably fit everything I own (except my books) in my car.

All in all, I think I live simply.

<>

When I bought the shoes, I was very very happy. I'm so proud. They're black with white soles. I bought purple laces for them. They're super simple and nondescript. They could be any brand, or no brand, which is how I like all of my apparel.

I think I'm always really really excited when I get a new thing. I'm always very particular about letting them come into my life, so when they do come, I really enjoy them. I think about them a lot before hand. I create anticipation. I gaze at them in my mind's eye. In my head, I arrange them next to all of my other stuff. Then when I have them, they fill all the niches that I imagined for them.

I don't really want a lot of things anyway. I want less. Less tools. Less gagets. Less clutter. Less clothes. I have too much of an emotional attachement to most of the clothes I have right now, otherwise I'd have much less clothing. For awhile I thought about only owning Levi's, white t-shirts, white button-downs, and colored sweaters. I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of the clothes I had at the time, otherwise I would have.

Not wanting things is so freeing. Often I want a really nice cocktail, or a vacation to see good friends, or an extravagant meal---but not things. The desires in my life are not for material goods, but to simply live and enjoy that.