One of my hobbies is reading about, and attempting to live, a simple life. A person who strives to live a simple life focuses on paring down their work expectations, extra curricular activities, housing, spending and/or belongings with the aim of only being left with what is most meaningful to them. These actions, while very hard to accomplish in our world of materialism, can be truly life changing.

Every day I, like most people I know, strive for a life of peace, satisfaction, enlightenment, and a sense of contributing to the betterment of the world we live in. In many ways I feel Brian and I have succeeded. We have no debt, enjoy our jobs immensely, have plenty of time to pursue our many interests, and can claim wonderful friends on several continents. Every day we get up to a beautiful Gobi sunrise, we know the names of all our neighbors, can buy things at the local store even when we forget our money because everyone knows and trusts us, and can, and often do, take daily naps.

I don’t have much to complain about. That doesn’t mean I don’t see areas in which I wish to improve, though. The number one battle that I have yet to win on my path to simple living is stuff. Belongings, memorabilia, things, crap-you name it, I have too much of it. Maybe I don’t keep things like a hoarder, or even to the level of the average American, (moving every few years helps keep things in check) but I still have a lot more than I would like. Of all those dozens of boxes in storage in America how many actually contain things that I need? Are they worth paying someone to keep in a glorified closet? Wouldn’t my mom like to have that large part of her basement back?

Whenever we move back to America I will definitely be glad to see my bicycle, dishes, favorite books, and handmade gifts from my family and friends. Those things improve my life in a positive and meaningful way.

How about the cheap Target furniture, the clothes I left in America because I knew they would get stained in Mongolia, and all the books I own that look impressive on the bookshelf and “someday” I swear I will read? Definitely not things I need to keep moving around, storing, dusting, and in general, filling my life with. Stuff is one of the hardest things for me to get rid of in America and even here in Mongolia the amount of things we have seems to always be increasing. I try to follow the one-in-one-out rule with new clothes and that works for the most part, but books, childhood toys, and memorabilia are much harder for me. Partly it is due to a worry I will regret getting rid of them, and partly it is the pressure/guilt of getting rid of something that was a gift to me or holds sentimental value for someone aside from me.

Simple living is something I think about constantly and try to take a step towards everyday. I would love to hear from anyone else who is on this journey. I see living a simple life as the way to live in the present, to be able to travel, to meet new people, and to have experiences without worrying about paying bills, someone stealing my car, or a pipe bursting in my house. Most importantly though it is about being able to live the life that makes me happy without being held back by things or expectations that only exists in my life because of societal expectations. Would most people be okay with living without running water like we do? Probably not. But for me, the lack of debt and stress in my life make up for all the things I sacrifice.

P.S.

If you are interested in learning more about simple living here a few resources that have helped me over the years and that I refer to over and over.

The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs

Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominquez

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola and Gunaratana

Zen Habits by Leo Babauta

Also here are two great articles about how to deal with books and sentimental items-the two things I struggle with the most. I am going to try out the suggestions next time I have access to my things in America.