Gorgeous!!! Perfect way to clear you head after work.

Great ideas. We’ve got a lot of other wildlife around and my place too. I’m sure he’d enjoy that.

Purposefully constructing my life and orientating my actions in a way that resists the emergent inclination of our modern society to add complexity to life without compelling benefit. Simply put, seeking happiness through simplification.This can look different for everyone. For me personally this means closeness to nature, friendship and conversation, minimizing my financial obligations which minimizes my need to work, limiting screen time and unhelpful technology, striving to be present and appreciative, slowing down and enjoying stillness, caring for what I have, releasing myself from pressure to be someone else’s “better” while remaining ambitious toward exploring my passions. These are just a few aspects that come to mind.

I carry a Leatherman Squirt PS4 in my pocket every day. It’s tiny and doesn’t add bulk to my pocket but is super handy and I use it all the time. Has spring loaded pliers and tiny scissors, a small straight blade and file, and both a flat Phillips head and broader flat screwdriver.

There are scanning apps that automatically crop the photo, let you make multi page PDFs, and automatically upload to your cloud of choice or directly to your computer. This has made it super easy for me. I’ve tried a few and settled on the one-time paid version Genius Scan and it works well for me.

Lol this is very true 🤣. Point taken

I like the idea of trying to come up with categories to fulfill. That’ll also make it easier to balance what we get each of them. Thanks!

Oh this reminds me I was thinking he’d like the Magic Treehouse series. I’ve heard good things about those books

Lol you’re absolutely right

I’ve got this on my radar, he’s already interested in going out at night to see the stars and moon with my constellation AR app, but I’m gonna save for a future Christmas, thank you!

This is a great idea having a physical representation for an intangible gift, thank you!

Good idea he loves that kind of stuff!!!

Great idea!

Southern United States

I was following Light Phone for a long time but ended up not pulling the trigger. For me the hard thing to reconcile was whether ditching my smartphone would really make my life simpler or not. I really value having a good camera in my pocket to catch special moments instead of having to plan to take a camera with me. GPS maps means I don’t have to think about getting where I need to go. Having apps for banking, utilities, etc. Helps me take care of things on the fly and not have to spend time sitting at a computer sorting my affairs.

But smartphones have that temptation to mindlessly scroll reddit, watch YouTube, and Google things you don’t really need to. Sometimes having to use our restraint can be draining, so having a detox is definitely worth it. I’m happy for anyone who’s found what works for them to simplify their life and be more present and happy.

I say one thing about smartphones though, they’re getting to daggum big!!! I wish I could get a thin smartphone with edge to edge 4.5 inch screen. Small in my pocket, not big enough to entice over using, but capable for doing what I need. Someone make it!!! Best ive seen is the iPhone mini 13. Might upgrade to that when my pixel 4a dies.

For nonbinary decisions, You can also tell it to roll a die of any size, like a d10, d20, or a fair dice that doesn’t mean exist like a D7. You can also just have it pick a number between X and Y, but thats not as fun haha.

I didn’t really get that sentiment from the article. To me the author seems to emphasize the importance of religion/spirituality as important for providing an “existential orientation,” although that point is somewhat obscured by their flowery, albeit precise, language. Though they do wrap up with that odd citation about having a cultural council, which seemed a bit out there for me.

Maybe there’s a good middle road. come up with, say, 3 breakfast plans and 5 lunch plans that you rotate between. For what it’s worth, my breakfast is a bowl of pecan granola with homemade almond milk and some fresh berries (usually blueberries) with a cup of coffee. For lunch I have an OM mushroom protein shake to drink and eat a roasted red pepper hummus sandwich with a spinach salad topped with olive oil and vinegar and a side of carrots/cucumbers/apple or something else from the garden.

Now that I think of it. I guess I do change things up a bit. So could have some staple items and them some items that you change for variety, but it’s not overwhelming like planning a whole meal. Like how I change my granola berries and my lunch side fruit/veggie occasionally

Ive started eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch every single day and supper is my wildcard that changes every day. I also have standard snacks that I have in hand that doesn’t change (like apples and grapes). To be clear, I am not a dietitian, and I’m not positive this is particularly healthy, though I do try to make my breakfast and lunch as healthy as possible I’ve found be streamlining those two meals has really cuts down on my decision fatigue and so I feel less burnt out only having to plan for the next week of suppers. It also has made me enjoy deviations from my routine much more, like when eating out. I go grocery shopping every Tuesday after work. Shopping weekly, but not on Saturday or another popular day helps avoid the crowd AND Monday is when my grocery store gets it’s weekly shipment, so everything is fresh and lasts all week. I hope this helps!

Great post and reminder! I find myself sometimes tempted by the trap of seeking simple living/minimalism/environmentalism/general earthiness by doing silly things that aren’t practical. Like just the other day I was thinking about getting rid of my awesome Braun razor ive had and loved for years and buying a simple safety razor instead to simply my life more. How silly. There are certainly times when there are actions needed to be taken to align our lives with simple living ideals, but sometimes we can feel a need to continue to search for changes to be made and it becomes a never-ending pursuit. Sometimes the only real change needed is our perspective!!! Just give yourself permission to let life be simple with just how it is.