Live Simply

Welcome to our homepage. This site outlines our journey and commitment to a life of empowerment, promotion, and honor of our community, environment, and world. This commitment to living in communion with each other and our natural environment is a daily exercise.

We live in our ecosystem not above it!

We strive to minimize our carbon footprint as well as become more self-sufficient and sustainable, while making a positive contribution to our local community and world.Preliminary Goals Include:

Live the Good Life (Simple yet Happy)

• Abide by the “Golden Rule”

• Utilize and Promote Alternative and Sustainable Energy

• REDUCE - waste, energy use, boundaries

• REUSE - composting, buy used rather than new

• RECYCLE - at least 75% of waste that is produced

• Get Back to Basics

While working in and visiting Sri Lanka after the Tsunami of 2005, I was intrigued by the joy and positive attitudes of a people who, compared to many of our lifestyles in the U.S., had little material possessions to begin with, but lost most if not all of it in one day. Yet they continued to be upbeat, living each day to its fullest.

The simplicity of their lives was refreshing; placing emphasis on relationships rather than material objects. I realized that “Less is More.” In our society where success means having the biggest house, fanciest car, or most “toys”, I have always felt a bit stressed and pressured. In Sri Lanka I worked hard every day in the hot sun with minimal and improvised tools, yet had such a feeling of peace and contentment.

Since that trip in Spring of 2005, I have been working toward getting Simple. One year ago we purchase a small very rough plot of land with a house in desperate need of repair. The land had been logged and the house let go. A year of remodeling has made the house livable, with just finish work to be completed.

As our second spring closes in, the desire to get out and work the land fills our hearts. Recently tried to open our 1500 square foot home to a couple of dear friends and their two small children. After all, 1500 square feet is wasteful for just two people, two dogs, and a couple of barn cats. The challenges were welcomed and it has been interesting and exciting along the way. However, with different ideas of what exactly living simply means and how to go about it, our first experiment in community living was not long lived. We are not totally dissuaded from sharing space, but we look forward to trying again with a more structured outline of expectations, beliefs, direction and process. We miss out friends, but have once again expanded our community past our property lines. Join us for updates on our progress as we continue our journey.