Recession prompts Americans to embrace the simple life
"...Pastor Eric Dykstra, of Crossing Church, in Elk River, Minnesota, read a book by Julie Morgenstern, called Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life, then found a blog by Dave Bruno of San Diego called the "100 Thing Challenge" where he encourages people to pare down their personal possessions to only 100 items. Bruno says he reduced his own possessions to fewer than that.
Dykstra started to encouraged the members of his church to follow Bruno's example, and people began donating a lot to charity, including boats, furniture and snow blowers, until they had filled a warehouse. He, himself, went from five suits to one, and from a dozen ties to two.
The Northwest Earth Institute in Portland, Oregon offers "voluntary simplicity" courses and enrollment is up 50% in the past year. A 20-minute film called The Story of Stuff has been shown in hundreds of schools and been seen by 6.6 million people online since December 2007. The film shows the environmental costs of consumerism. Websites on living close to nature are also getting more traffic.
People are freeing themselves from the notion that owning a lot of stuff equals happiness..."
article source - USA today
Norton's comment: Yes, this is true. three years ago I moved from a nin room house to a two bedroom apartment. It has taken me three years to whittle down my possessions to fit. Antique dealers, yard sales, Craigslist, Uncle Henrys, donations etc. And I still will try out the 100 items challenge. I have NO regrets! It is a real lightening of pschological and physical load...and financial!
100 THINGS CHALLENGE - CLICK HERE
