Lifestyles are a matter of choice. Some people like living
in cities, while others are getting tired of the rat race and are tired of the old 9 to 5 and are opting to
look for alternative ways of living. We
fall into that category.
These are some of the things we have found that have improved
our life. It’s not for everybody, but
for those who want to a less conventional life - keep reading.
Unplug your television. What does this have to do with being more self-sufficient? Plenty. We used to be regular TV watchers, then we
unplugged. It’s amazing how much better
our life is now. TV really does rob you
of your time. When we stopped tuning in,
we noticed that we starting feeling more like ourselves again. Our thoughts were more our own. They don’t
call them programs for nothing. We now
have time to do all the things we always wanted to do. We’ve become more active and more
fulfilled. Television is there to occupy
you, whereas it’s so much better for you and it makes you feel so much better
when you start to occupy yourself doing the things you really like doing – instead
of living in a dream world. We watch
movies and documentaries on the internet for entertainment when we want to. It’s been about 6 years since we went from
daily couch potatoes to not owning a TV or paying monthly cable subscriptions –
we would never go back – this is so much better – living the discovery channel
instead of watching it on a screen.
Grow a garden. If everyone had a garden, no one would be hungry. Gardens
can be big or small. People are getting
very creative with gardens. There are many types of
gardens: vertical garden, raised garden, balcony garden, community
garden, container garden, window garden, greenhouse, your backyard, and
more. Everyone once had their own
garden, but not anymore. People think it’s
too much work. It’s not really though, most of the work goes into it the first
year and then it’s much easier. In fact, the rewards of making your own
gardens far outweigh any efforts you need to put into it. The benefits you get from growing your own
produce are not only financial, gardeners enjoy the health benefits they get
from having fresh food at the table daily
Working in the garden is also very relaxing, it’s good exercise and it’s
good for you to be out in the fresh air connecting with nature. We grow raised gardens, expanding it
every year, until we will get it to the size we want – in our yard beside our house.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – It used to be a popular
public campaign. We need to revive it
and rethink how we live. We are not consumers. Corporations operate with profits being their
bottom line. They don’t care about
sustainability – that would mean fewer sales.
The toll this is taking on our planet is now being seen and felt. Our landfills are overflowing – we live in a disposable
world, there’s just way too much waste.
Instead of fixing things – we throw them away or pile them in the garage
and just buy another. People are addicted to shopping, they love spending money. Shops offering services like shoe repair, tailoring and clock
repair are turning into a thing of the past.
Society needs to stop promoting commercialism,
it’s destroying our planet. We need to
start putting the environment first. Change
like this starts with each and every one of us – don’t fall victim to marketing
gimmicks and follow trends. Take care of
the environment.
We went from the three R's right to the mall. Messages like the one below give "consumers" an excuse to squander money.
Less is more.
The less you have, the less you have to lose, the less you have
to work for and the more you can enjoy
life. This is the opposite of what
corporations and governments want you to believe. The more you work and the more you spend the
more money they get. Meanwhile, the simpler you make your life, the more time
you will have for yourself to do the things you want to do. Think more along the lines of durability and
efficiency – instead of following the latest trends. Cell phones are a great examples of how
society falls victim to marketing scheme and constantly spend hundreds on upgrade
and disposing of perfectly good phones. The piles of discarded phones are huge. This is an image of cell phones! In the United States alone 426,000 cell phones are thrown out per day!
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Choose an active lifestyle. Vitality is a word that will save your life. All doctors will tell you the same thing –
the best prescription to a long healthy life – is an active life with good nutrition. This is one of those things that everyone knows but we all struggle with. There are many temptations out there. Just do your best and keep trying, eventually you will find a regime you can enjoy and stick to. Stay away from prescription medicines, research and use natural cures and prevent ailments by taking proper care of yourself.
Living off gird.
We live in the remote wilderness – off gird in a cabin - 14 feet wide x 24 feet long, we have
a ¾ upstairs loft. For energy we use solar power with
propane and gas generator back up. We’ve
had large homes – the bigger the home, the more stuff you fill it with – which sits
there and gathers dust – and you clean it over and over again. No more of that. This is more than enough room for two people
and a Pomeranian. It’s made of wood
with a metal roof. It’s more work to
live like this, but it costs a lot less.
We prefer working here, for our own survival than to work for someone
else and pay a good chunk of those earnings as taxes. We prefer spending the energy to make a garden than the money to buy produce. You can live in the city, have two new cars,
a great big house, take holidays and lead an expensive lifestyle and you both
can work or you move to a remote location where taxes are low, build your own
small cabin, pay cash for an older car….
This is our off grid cabin:
Life is about choices. For us life is about healthier, happier ones.
