my single regret in life – i wish my 16-year-old self had not been a total yard sale / curbside / craigslist junkie. i wish i could start again with zero, and work my way up from there. much easier than looking at your possessions and realizing you’re in a much bigger house than you need because of all this stuff you don’t love.

So I will still buy a DSLR camera because I will use it every day, and I will still go to the spa because those things are important TO ME. But I will not spend money on a big TV or an expensive handphone because those things are not important TO ME.

Having lived abroad for the past couple of years, I’ve realized that a) I don’t need as much as I thought I did to live comfortably, b) simplicity as it’s being practiced in America is still often very much about being in a privileged position, about having the choice to live that way rather than living that way out of necessity.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

I clip coupons on Sundays and will drive out of my way to save 4 cents a gallon on gas, but I don’t bat an eye at spending $7 or more (usually more) for a nice glass of wine when I’m out with a friend. That’s something I value and I’ll continue that way.

But I also disdain the idea that I need to have a flat screen TV or a DVR (video tapes still work fine, thank you!). We all make our choices…

http://www.simpleliving.net/co.....part_1.asp

So the answer?

Yes, it’s a trend, and some people see it as a movement. No, it’s not new – although I think it is resurfacing as the same ideas resound even more strongly now, a generation later.

I think the point Gayle was trying to make is not that Hummers and Hilfiger are simple, but rather that simplicity is becoming just another status symbol. Instead of bragging about their new SUV, they’re crowing about how progressive they are for buying a Prius.

It’s the same old elitist smugness, but now it’s tied to who can out-simplify everyone else.

1. Do I need/want it?
2. Is it cheap?
3. Do I have to have it now (basically will I survive without it for the mean time)?

If the answer to 2 of the questions are yes, then I buy the item, otherwise I pass it up. I personally don’t like a lot of things in the house. My mother tries to put a lot of stuff and decoration in the house when she visits, but I put them all away once she goes back home. Space is beauty!

The part that sorta bugs me about it is the sanctimonious “Simpler-Than-Thou” folks who think THEIR version of simple is the only right one. They self-righteously look down their noses at those who are not “AS green” or “AS simple” or who make different choices than they do, as if they were somehow wrong.

Simple means different things to different people, and people need to do *what works for them in their own lives*. Otherwise, we’ve just traded “keeping up with the Joneses” for a different kind of competition called “one-upping the Joneses simplicity”. And who needs that kind of pressure?

So if you’re inspired to live simply, greenly, frugally, and more deliberately, GOOD FOR YOU! But for Pete’s sake, don’t be judging others whose simplicity choices might look a bit different than yours.

~Monica Ricci

Living near Berkeley CA I see this everyday. Folks here will brag about being eco-friendly, going organic, or their bohemian “simple” lifestyle. I’m sorry, but their “simple life” is just as expensive and (quite often) nearly as wasteful as the Gimme More class. It’s name-dropping (think Prius/Hummer), it’s brand-name driven (think Anya Hindmarch/Tommy Hilfinger). Check out this article in Time, “Paper, Plastic, or Prada?” Plastichttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1649301,00.html to see more of what I mean.

They’ve made “simple” into another trend to separate people from their money.