Inform yourself

Of all the positive, active things you can do to lead a simple and ethical life, this is the most important. Inform yourself of what is good for you, the planet and the people who live on it. Find out which companies, governments and media are ethical and trustworthy. Find out low-cost and cruelty-free ways to go do whatever you do. How? The internet, dummy!

Some simple livers refer to themselves as "neo-luddites" eschewing all or much modern technology. To me this is crazy. Much modern technology is destructive to the Earth and to society but some also can be used as valid tools. The internet offers, for the moment at least (and I can't see it changing), a completely new way of interacting and sending and receiving information. It is too big and heterogenous for even big business or governments to control with any success. Sure, it contains a lot of nonsense and half-truth but if you are conscientious enough you will be able to verify everything you learn annd learn more than you will ever hear on tv or newspapers.

As well as educating yourself on ethical issues the internet is a vast repository of knowledge and techniques about simple living and the thoughts and experience of thousands of people who choose this way of life. It provides support and community when treading the sometimes lonely road of voluntary simplicity. Whatever you skimp on, do not cut yourself out of the world wide web. Even if you cannot afford a computer or an internet connection the public libraries thoughout Northern Ireland offer highspeed internet access for free to all their members (membership is also free). See www.ni-libraries.net for details.

To live a ethical life, one must be informed or be at the mercy of whatever multinationals and their lackeys in government feed us. The internet is the single most important tool the modern social activist has - learn to use it.

Does it all actually achieve anything?

One can live the ethical life to the max - go vegan, grow all one's own food, buy only local, fairly traded and cruelty-free goods, bike everywhere etc. But does it actually contribute in a more ethical society and a better world?

Most of the destruction of the planet is carried out by corporations and in the third world. My carbon footprint may be miniscule but doesn't that just make up for somebody who overconsumes? How can one person make a difference when the media and our whole culture encourages us to consume as much as possible?


To be honest all of these objections are true to one degree or another. Will all of the restrictions you put on your spending and your lifestyle actually persuade multinationals and evil governments to mend their ways? Well, I reckon that on their own, probably not. So why bother?

Firstly, a life focussed on things just does not bring happiness. A consumerist lifestyle is a pointless one. To back it up here are some reports on academic studies that refute the equality of possessions and happiness from CNNMoney and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Personal integrity is another important reason - you gotta be able to "walk the talk". There's no point complaining about sweatshop labour if you are not prepared to make sure that none of your own clothes are made in sweatshops, for example.

Enough droplets of water will eventually fill a bucket. Actually we have come a long way in the last 20 or years or so - many big chainstores do sell organic and fairtrade goods, many local councils encourage recycling etc.. They wouldn't do so if people did not want it. In order for the progress to increase people must continue voting with their wallets.

Reducing, reusing and recycling on their own are not enough to bring about any sort of significant change. I believe that if one is trying to live an ethical, it is incumbent to live that life actively - as Burke famously put it "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".

The next few posts are going to look at the positive things one can and should do, in my opinion, in the pursuit of a simpler and more ethical existence.

Recycling

Recycling does not really save you lots of money - unless you manage to sell stuff on e-bay, or to companies that buy up recovered materials etc or your composted food waste saves you buying commercial compost. For most of us though, recycling is not going to make or save us vast amounts. Why do it then? The main reason is to save natural resources through reusing component materials.

What can you recycle - Local authorities in Northern Ireland - to varying degrees - offer recycling facilities and home collection of waste paper, glass, plastics and garden waste. They also facilitate home composting through provision of composting bins.

Belfast City Council website gives information on recycling in the city.

Buy your clothes in charity shops - There are lots of these in every town in Northern Ireland. There is some amazing quality stuff at a fraction of the price of new. You may need to shop around more and grab stuff when you see it but there is plenty of good stuff to be got. And not only clothes but furniture, books, crockery and bric-a-brac. Plus the money you spend goes to helping people rather than lining the pockets of rich investors.

Renew

There isn't that much to say for "renew" - it kinda speaks for itself. Renew your clothes by learning to mend them - living a simple life style often means learning new skills.

Try to buy stuff that can be repaired rather than just disposed off and replaced when they wear out. Get your shoes resoled instead of forking out for a new pair. Reuse shopping bags again or use them for bin liners. There are thousands of uses for everything things that prolongs their lives or allows for added utility.

Further Reductions

Here are a few suggestions of the things that could be reduced/cut out altogether.

Cosmetics: These are things that really nobody needs.

Dishwashers: This is a household convenience tool that again nobody really needs. Dishwashers pollute and use unnecessary amounts of energy.

Packaging: Buy as few packaged goods as you can. Bring plastic bags to the shops - we use individually in excess of 300 plastic bags per person per year.

Disposable nappies: Millions are thrown away every day in the UK. Consider good old-fashioned fabric nappies.

Feminine Sanitary Products: Like nappies, millions are thrown away every day. Check out the numerous re-usable products available.

Junk Mail: Cut down the amount of junk mail you receive (and unwanted sales calls/faxes) by registering with a free service like tpsonline which is a database for those who do not wish to receive advertising that companies legally must check against before mailing/calling.

These are only a few ideas off the top of my head - there are many more things you could do without - think about it!

Reduce: Flying

This never used to be an issue but since the late nineties with the emergence of low-cost airlines it has become cheaper than ever to fly - sometimes much cheaper than to go overland or by sea the traditional low-cost options. Consequently the number of flights has increased and so the damage to environment. A single long-haul flight can cause as much environmental damage as a single car does in one year.

Think about holidaying at home. If you want to travel, consider travelling overland - make the journey part of the adventure of the holiday.

Reduce: Driving

Another difficult one, especially if you have got kids, live in the country or need to use your car for work. But, as you'll no doubt have gathered by now, living the simple life often means a little more personal inconvenience - and sometimes not just a little!

The financial benefits of giving up the car are obvious - it is often the most costly item most people use on a regular basis. No car means not paying insurance, tax, repairs, fuel, parking costs - all of which would make a substantial saving. Even if you can't give up the car are there ways to use it less - do you need to drive everywhere? Do you need to change your car as frequently as you do? Could you go for a used car or a smaller, more fuel efficient car?

Cars pollute the air we breathe and destroy our health and our living spaces for the sake of convenience. Do you really, really need it? Could you not walk or use a bike (a new bike + accessories would only set you back £250-£300 - a lot less if you get a good 2nd hand machine)?

Doing without the car would force you to get more exercise. If you are an urban dweller there is likely to be plenty of public transport options that will often get you to where you want to go faster than private transport. Ever considered carpooling? Givingg up the car is a big step and most people try to hold on as long as possible but think of the savings in terms of money, health and environment.

Reduce: Tobacco

I wondered at including this since it is so bloody obvious. There is nothing about smoking that it good - nothing at all.

Tobacco is expensive - yet many people with very little money spend a generous portion of their income on it.

Smoking poisons the smoker and those around him/her.

Tobacco production uses up good arable land and is heavy in the use of pesticides (when did you ever hear of an organic cigarette?).

Cigarettes are produced by some of the most duplicitous and evil multinational corporations around. Contraband cigarettes (which are very common in Northern Ireland) are produced and distributed by organised crime, made by sweatshop labour and include even more harmful additives than regular brands.

Still many people who support ethical living still can't seem to kick the habit. No excuses - there is no benefit to be found in smoking tobacco (or indeed anything else!).

Reduce: Meat

This is another item that many people will find difficult to cut out or reduce but there are many good reasons for doing. Most people in Northern Ireland have not gone without meat for a single day of their adult lives.

Meat is expensive - it costs much more pound for pound than do most of the fruit, veg, grains or pulses that we eat.

Modern intensive farming methods mean that many animals lead miserable, unnatural lives. Learn more from VIVA, Compassion in World Farming and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Animal production is much more wasteful of land and resources than arable farming. Globalisation means too that the meat you eat often started life on the other side of the world. For example much of the lamb and mutton consumed in the UK comes from New Zealand - even though our climate is fine for sheep rearing. Think of how much waste is involved in bringing meat half-way across the world when the same product can be got right on our doorstop.

We don't need to eat meat to live. Something does not have to be killed to keep us alive. Admittedly no food production is completely free of causing harm to other beings, it is much easier than it has ever been to experience a rich, varied, tasty and healthy vegetarian diet.

You don't have to adopt a full-on vegan lifestyle overnight, try not eating meat every day (easier when you're broke) to begin with, make an effort to understand how those sausages, rashers or chicken nuggets are made, the lives (and deaths) of the animals from which they come. Also a little education into the delights of meat slurry and mechanically recovered meat used in many processed meat products may help you to reconsider you attachment to animal flesh.

Reduce: Television

In fact, cut it out altogether! Get rid of the box! This may seem an unusual money-saving tip since it would probably only save you around £2.50 a week on the license fee ( or c.90p if you you are still using a b/w set) and the saving on the relatively small amount of electricity a tv uses will not make you rich or do much to counteract the greenhouse effect, but television is the main portal through which the warped values of consumer society enters our lives. How can you begin to change your lifestyle if you spend 25 hours a week (and that's the average) absorbing the propaganda of consumerism?

I realise that few people who read this will actually go the whole hog and bin the telly since it is so central to our culture and so addictive (it has been even likened to "electronic heroin") but I really believe to live an ethical and truly independent and informed life one must wean oneself off the box.

Television encourages passivity and a need to be constantly entertained rather than activity and independent thought. In the words of Neil Postman, via television we are "amusing ourselves to death".

The choice to live a more simple lifestyle means, contrariwise, that you will probably have less time to sit on your butt. Ethical shopping takes more time than just buying what you see. Reusing and repairing the stuff you have takes time. Sorting out all the crap you want to recycle takes time. Informing yourself about the idiocies and injustices perpetrated in the name of commerce takes time. Who has time to watch television anyway?

Instead of passively imbibing nonsense you could be engaging more with your loved ones, educating yourself, getting some exercise, discovering the wonders of radio (the pictures are much better on the radio), using the internet for information and entertainment - there is so much more on offer than you could ever imagine.

Getting rid of the telly will free up your time and free up your mind. Can you afford not to?

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The now well-worn mantra of the environmentalist movement is central to being an ethical consumer on the cheap. These three actions allow one to participate in a non-harmful way in society and either help save money or cost nothing to implement.

Reduce: means cutting down on or cutting out things. Obviously if you buy less of something its going to save you money. From a ecological point of view you are consuming fewer resources.

Renew: means mending and repairing the stuff you have rather than just chucking it out and getting new stuff. Extending the lifespan of your possessions means that you get more value for money out of them and so, over time, you spend less. And, again, from a ecological point of view you are consuming fewer resources.

Recycle: means instead of just chucking waste in the bin you allow the materials from which it is made to be used again. Paper, glass, some metals and plastics, clothes can all be recycled. This costs you nothing but helps save precious natural resources.

Over the next however many posts I want to throw out a few ideas I have for implementing the principles of reduce, renew, recycle. My ideas may not be useful to everybody but hopefully they might provide some food for thought.

A Happy Medium

If you're stoney broke and up to your eyes in debt then how to go about the simple life is decided for you - ethics are secondary to getting by and all your consuming is dictated more or less exclusive by the imperative to get the cheapest price you can.

If you are comfortably off with a good salary, pension or whatever then again you have little to worry about. You can afford to pay a higher premium for organic and fairly traded products or good quality, long lasting tools, clothes etc.

What do you do if you are in the middle like me? I don't get paid lots but I don't have any debt. I have to watch the pennies but I am not forced to get the cheapest thing every time - sometimes I can afford to spend a little more if it's in a good cause. I imagine there are many people caught in the middle like me - not skint and forced to consume what the big supermarkets and unethical cut-price chains put before them but not so well-heeled that they are able pay over-the-odds for best ethically produced stuff.

How then does someone like me maximise the ethical component in their lifestyle? How do you save the world on a budget? That really is the nub of what I wish to explore in this blog.

Simpleness

In the last post I referred to the two poles that those who engage in simple living engage in gravitate towards: frugalism and simpleness. I suggested that frugalism is more generally lacking in any kind of altruistic motive and therefore implied that those drawn to simpleness are of a more ethical and considerate bent. This is not necessarily true. Many who choose to live a simple life do so for wholly "selfish" reasons but what they are after is not more wealth for themselves but more time for themselves.

At the farthest end of the simpleness end of the frugal/simple spectrum are those eschew material goods altogether and choose to live in communes, monastic communities, kibbutzim etc where all property is shared. There are also those who reject modern urban living and the pressures of a nine-to-five job in favour of a more self-sufficient existence. Known as homesteaders or downshifters these people go the whole hog - growing their own food, often making their clothes, implementing renewable enenrgy solutions etc. Environmental concerns often form a big part of the reason why people choose this lifestyle.

There are also "urban homesteaders" - people not willing or able to give it all up and move to the country and who try to grow their own stuff in a small gardens or allotments. The 1970's BBC sitcom "The Good Life" portrayed one middle-class suburban couple's attempt at this type of lifestyle.

Many who choose the simple life do not or cannot engage in a full-time simple lifestyle. However they do attempt to be ethical consumers, reducing what they buy, recycling where they can, buying organic and fairly-traded products etc. These to my mind are the most important group of simple livers for the reason that the lifestyle, although not perfect, is a more sustainable simple lifestyle than that of those who go the full-on route. It can actually work for milions rather than thousands of people.

Frugalism

I've been looking around the web over the last while in an attempt to get an overview of the type of people who are attracted to simple living and and it appears that there are lots - and for lots of different reasons. There are appears, however, to be two main ideological poles to which people seem to be attracted: ideas of frugality (what I'll call "frugalism") and ideas of simplicity ("simpleness").

It would appear (and most of my evidence for this comes from american websites) that the notion of frugality is embraced by the political right while simplicity seems to attract a more left leaning following.

At the far end of the frugalist spectrum are survivalists those who advocate a complete self-sufficiency from the State either as a precaution against an impending Armageddon or a complete distrust in institutional government. In some ways these survivalists share a lot in common with those on the far left who reject institutions and are inspired to live as self-sufficently as possbile. However, while most left-leaning adherents of the simple life, do so out of ecological or other ethical concerns, the frugalists tend to be more concerned with looking after number one.

Slightly less hardcore than the survivalists - and a substantial presence, it would appear, on the web - are the "tightwads". Essentially sites that glorify parsimony and thriftiness to a quite amazing degree. Here the emphasis is on frugality as an economic strategy - you'll become a millionaire more quickly if you stop spending. In its most blatant manifestation this is just plain miserliness. Again the emphasis is on maximising personal material wealth.

There also appear to be several frugalist sites which extoll the religious virtue of thrift. The purpose of thrift is seen as an essential part of an orderly, disciplined life. It's something I can sympathise with - up to a point, anyway.

Towards the centre of the frugal side of the frugal/simple spectrum lie those site who are aimed at people in debt and which give tips and advice on implementing a frugal lifestyle as a means of overcoming debt or living within a limited budget. These seem to have little in the way of an organised political or philosphical agenda.

Frugalism most defining characteristic, for me, is it's lack of altruistic motivation. That is not to say that all those who aim to live a frugal life for the personal financial benefits it brings are selfish - how much can you really think of others when you haven't enough to feed yourself? Living a life with less, however, has so many more benefits than the financial!

Why Simplify V

My last reason for opting for voluntary simplicity may make me sound like a conspiracy theorist who has been over-influenced by the Matrix films but there is a great pressure in modern multinational capitalist societies not to question the world around us but simply to fork over our cash and consume what we are told will benefit us. Hypnotised by advertising and vapid television entertainments we are living a semi-conscious existence.

Simple Living promotes independence of thought - A simple life demands one investigate one's commercial and social interaction minutely and take control of what and how one consumes.

There are many ideas, theories and variations on the notion of voluntary simplicity. Below are links to some articles all with slightly differing but ultimately consonant notions of the term.

The Value of Voluntary Simplicity by Richard Gregg. Gregg first coined the term "voluntary simplicity" and laid out the main ideas behind it in 1936.

Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. Elgin is a leading modern theorist on voluntary simplicity. Some of his ideas are a bit "hippy" for my taste but this and the following article by him contain useful information.

Choosing a New Lifeway: Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. This is a chapter from Elgin's book, Promise Ahead: A Vision Of Hope & Action For Humanity's Future.

Exploring the Simple Life by Clay and Judy Woods. This is a site made a couple who've lived the simple life for years. Look around it has lots of sound advice.

Why Simplify IV

A simple life is a healthier life - It may seem a bit of a rash statement but from my own experience I can testify to the truth of it. Simplifying one's life invariably means paying more attention to one's diet - avoiding junk food, cigarettes, overindulgence in alcohol can only benefit one's health. Most people who embrace simple living cook for themselves and eschew pre-prepared foods on price grounds and so have to put thought and energy into what they eat. Many who choose the simple lifestyle do not own a car but prefer to walk or bike it to get around. Actually, I've found that living the simple life makes me a lot busier since I have to shop around a lot more - I get more exercise than I ever got before!

Why Simplify III

As well as concern for social justice living a simple life allows for a better use of the world's resources and those who live simply do a whole lot less damage to the world than those who simply consume without thinking.

Concern for environmental impact is another major ethical factor that leads me to attempt to live the simple life. As with concerns for social justice leading one to sometimes pay more for things, so concern for environmental impact of one's may lead to you paying more at times. For example, I try to buy organic veg if I can - it does cost more (often a lot more). However, this is rare. Being environmentally friendly in purchases and lifestyle more often saves you money than not. Many who choose the simple life grow some of their own food, try to buy second-hand clothes were practicable, learn to repair their possessions rather than simply buying new stuff etc. All of these strategies are cheap and all good for the world around us.

Why Simplify II

Choosing to live simply is not just about consuming less but about consuming ethically - being informed about what your buying and its impact on society. Due to the globalization our shops are full of goods from all over the world. Multinational companies source their goods and services from wherever labour is cheapest - often in places where labour law is ignored or non-existent and at the expense of jobs in our own region.

Concern for Social Justice in the way you interact economically is a central part of simple living for me. On the internet one can find many sites to do with living as cheaply as you can (just google "frugal living" to see what I mean) but voluntary simplicity is not just about getting the cheapest. I can buy a cheap shirt in Dunnes Stores or Primark but that shirt was probably made in third world country by someone who was paid a lot less than someone working in an Irish or UK shirt factory (if indeed there are any left). I am not saying that big supermarkets like the ones mentioned necessarily engage in practices that are socially unjust but that as a consumer one should find out as much as one reasonably can about the social impact of one's purchases. Living simply may, paradoxically, mean that you are prepared to pay more for an item sometimes to ensure that those who made it were not exploited.

Why Simplify?

The most obvious reason for choosing a simplified life - having little money - is not the real reason why one should embrace the simple life. By being frugal and smart many people manage to turn their financial problems around and eventually find themselves with greater cashflow. Being careful with money will pay those kind of dividends - especially if you ally them with working overtime, or getting an second job, selling off stuff you don't need etc. But living frugally just to get out of debt or get over a period of cash shortage is to miss the point of what simple living is all about. Over this and the next few posts I'm going to list some of the reasons why I think living simply makes sense and why one should adopt this voluntarily

Things cannot make you happy! Well, of course that's true - even a moron knows that! We all know this intellectually but yet the whole of Western Capitalist society is built on the fantasy the more, newer and shinier things we have, the happier we will be. The entire Advertising industry channels its energies not into selling products but into selling dreams - buy this product and you will be more attractive, successful, have a happier family life etc and not just the owner of a lipstick, a computer or a car. The constant search for more stuff is futile and we waste our lives doing jobs we don't like to buy stuff we hope will fulfill our fantasies but never can. If wealth and possessions were what it took to make you happy then Michael Jackson, Bill Gates, Donald Trump and any other members of the ludicrously wealthy super-rich would live lives of untroubled peace and fulfillment. If you've ever seen them on the TV you'll know that they are no happier than the rest of us and, frequently, a lot more discontented.

The pursuit of wealth or even financial stability is a waste of time. Once you got stuff, you gotta protect it from thieves, from accidents, from decay - even then you eventually lose interest and have to get something newer and more interesting or more fashionable. Nothing lasts and you can't take any of it with you when you die - why waste your time amassing stuff that will only be a burden or you will only take no notice of after a while?

Nothing outside of yourself can be relied upon to bring you stable happiness (that goes for people as well as things). Everything and everyone changes. Happiness lies in appreciating what you have now - however little that is - not in something that will be attained at some undesignated point in the future. If you want to be happy - stop searching for happiness and realise how blessed your life is already. Believe me - it is the only way! Take time to enjoy and develop those aspects of your present existence which delight you and cut out those aspects which get in the way of your enjoyment.

So What Is Voluntary Simplicity?

Voluntary Simplicity, simply put, is the decision to live a simpler, more frugal life, to consume less and to be conscious of what we buy.

Now, to be honest, I'd say that many, if not the vast majority, of people who embrace simple living do so initially out of necessity. This is involuntary simplicity a.k.a. poverty. Many who live the simple life are unemployed, Senior Citizens, students and people with low-paying jobs.

There are also others who, having lived this way out of necessity at one time in their lives, return to it out of choice because of political or religious conviction or simply because they are disllusioned with the false promises of consumerist culture and remember being happier when they had very little.

What I'd like to do in this blog is offer some resources for those who are trying to the simple life whether out of necessity or out of choice. These will include not just money-saving ideas and tips but a look at the reasons why a simplified life is perhaps the best kind of life. I am not well-off myself - I'm in a low-paid job - but I could spend more than I do and could do lots of other things to maximise my income but I don't - preferring to spend my time doing things like this rather than working my ass off to buy stuff I don't really need. I also think it is important to inform myself about the consumer choices I make and to consume in a way that causes as little harm to other people and the world in general as possible.

Voluntary Simplicity

This blog is really just a test for a simple living website that I hope to create soon on its own domain. The idea is to provide a resource for anyone who is interested in the voluntary simplicity lifestyle living in Belfast, Northern Ireland (and anywhere else I suppose). It will also be an online diary for my own attempts to get to grips with living simply.