When Less Is More

“Don't own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.” ----  Wendell Berry

So I've been thinking lately about decluttering and downsizing and the inanity of brandname products. I think I could live far more modestly and be just as happy and comfortable. 

I was washing some fleecy jackets today, and it occured to me that my favorite of all is one that I bought on clearance at Walmart for the princely sum of $9. Forget the North Faces, the Marmots, and the Ralph Laurens, that $9 special is the cosiest, most comfortable, warmest, softest, easiest-to-take-care-of hoody I've ever owned. My second favorite is a green jacket, also bought at Walmart, for $5. Both are warmer and softer than my North Face, etc., jackets. I bought one of the kids a fleecy hoody for more than 20 times what I paid for my favorite jacket, and that sucker got its knickers in a knot during its first session in the dryer and now looks like it has mange.

We seem to accumulate so much "stuff." When the freezer compartment of our refrigerator broke down the other day, I threw out the entire contents. Most of the stuff had been there for too long and would never have been used. It's a relief to have it gone. I was able to clean out the freezer compartment properly for the first time in years, and it's now lightly stocked and the contents are easily accessible. I could probably dump 80% of my clothes, and the only difference I would notice is that it would be easier to find things in my walk-in closet. Affluenza is suffocating. 

We tend to eat a lot of packaged foods. Lately I've been cooking healthy, nutritious, tasty, inexpensive vegan food from scratch. I could probably feed the entire family on $10 a day if they would accept steel-cut oats, rice, beans, water, and fresh produce, rather than insisting on expensive, over-processed meat analogs. 

Perhaps we should get rid of everything we own and buy an inexpensive little cottage in Leadville, recently ranked the "cutest town in Colorado." To sustain our expensive lifestyle, Craig spends nearly every waking hour working and is out of town every other week. If we were to live more cheaply, he'd be able to retire earlier, and the quality of our lives would probably improve enormously. The simple life is calling.