Simplicity Is Radical?

Who would've ever imagined that things like hanging your laundry on a line, growing vegetables in your garden or cooking for your family, would be seen as a radical lifestyle? My, how times have changed. It makes me sad to see our culture so focused on what we can buy and own, and how little work we can do. Simple living is not just for a certain percentage of society. No matter your race, religion, political bent, income...living simply just makes sense. By getting active we lose weight and build muscle, by cooking from scratch we eat healthier and use less processed convenience foods. By keeping busy we aren't bored. We're more at peace, relaxed, less depressed. By recycling, reusing and moving away from excess paper and plastic we are being less wasteful. The benefits are too many to list. Here are just a few I've found to be true for me: Weight loss, better sleep, more content, cleaner home and clothes, better diet.....and on and on. I stumbled across this article on the YES! magazine web site. Maybe you'll find something on the list that you can use to move towards a more "radical" lifestyle.

10 Easy Steps for Becoming a Radical Homemaker
1. Commit to hanging your laundry out to dry.
2. Dedicate a portion of your lawn to a vegetable garden.
3. Get to know your neighbors. Cooperate to save money and resources.
4. Go to your local farmers' market each week before you head to the
grocery store.
5. Do some spring cleaning to identify everything in your home that you absolutely don’t need. Donate to help others save money and resources.
6. Make a commitment to start carrying your own reusable bags and use them on all your shopping trips.
7. Choose one local food item to learn how to preserve for yourself for the winter.
8. Get your family to spend more evenings at home, preferably with the TV off.
9. Cook for your family.
10. Focus on enjoying what you have and who are with. Stop fixating on what you think you may need, or how things could be better "if only."

Shannon Hayes, author of Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture