Simple Living: How Connected Do You Want To Be?

In pursuing a simple, thoughtful life, have you given much consideration to how connected you want to be?

Our culture currently places premium value on being connected to everyone everywhere all the time. You have an internet connection, an email account, a Facebook profile, a cell phone, a BlackBerry...is there, in fact, any time when you are NOT accessible to the world at large in one way or another?

Connectivity is not all bad. We want to be deeply connected to our families, our friends, and our local communities, and we need those relationships. But does your technology use foster those deep and meaningful connections or does it in fact detract from them?

I recently read the fabulously titled Hamlet's BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age and found it a helpful framework for examining my own use of technology. The author examines thinkers and innovators from history who lived during similar times of technological change in order to consider ways we might use our technological connectedness as an advance rather than becoming enslaved to it.

On this blog we have long advocated for simple and deliberate living. For most of us, pulling the plug entirely is not really an option, so it behooves us to give careful thought to how we might best navigate our hyper-connected society. If you've considered these things for yourself or your own family, how have you found ways to take the best of technology while still maintaining space for depth and reflection?

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Wendell Berry Quote - The Art of the Commonplace

"If we apply our minds directly and competently to the needs of the earth, then we will have begun to make fundamental and necessary changes in our minds. We will begin to understand and to mistrust and to change our wasteful economy, which markets not just the produce of the earth, but also the earth's ability to produce. We will see that beauty and utility are alike dependent upon the health of the world. But we will also see through the fads and the fashions of protest. We will see that war and oppression and pollution are not separate issues, but are aspects of the same issue. Amid the outcries for the liberation of this group or that, we will know that no person is free except in the freedom of other persons, and that man's only real freedom is to know and faithfully occupy his place - a much humbler place than we have been taught to think - in the order of creation.
(pg.89, "Think Little")"
— Wendell Berry (The Art of the Commonplace)

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How to Hang a Clothesline - the Technical Part

Clothes and linens dried in the sunshine smell fresh and feel crisp. A clothesline is a wonderful addition to any back yard. Here are two ways to install one:

The first method is for a simple, single line that is easy to take down and put back up. The second is for a line that is a loop strung between two pulleys. Both are easy to tighten if they sag.For either version, you can use a cotton or plastic clothesline rope. I prefer the look and feel of cotton.


The height of the line depends on how tall you are -- make sure the line is comfortable for you to reach, and high enough that your laundry won't touch the ground. If you use the pulley system one end can be sent high in the air to catch every drop of breeze.

The length of the line depends on the size of your back yard, but 20 to 25 feet is average. You'll need two strong supports, such as trees or a post of your porch. Choose an area of the yard where the clothesline won't get in anyone's way.

For the single line, you'll need a heavy-duty hook, a metal eye hook, a cleat, a small metal fitting that you'll wrap the rope around to anchor it (imagine the device you use to secure a rope on a flagpole), and a metal ring.

Start by marking the height you want the line to be on each support. On one support, screw in the hook at the point you marked; start the hole with a drill. On the other, screw in the eye hook. Twelve inches below the eye hook, install a cleat. Using a tight knot, tie one end of the rope to the ring. Loop the ring over the hook, and walk the rope over to the other support. Thread the other end through the eye hook, pull it tight, and wind it around the cleat to secure.

For the double-strung line, you'll need two heavy-duty hooks, two pulleys, a line tightener, to allow you to take up the slack in the line, and a line separator to keep the top and bottom lines separate but parallel.

Screw the hooks into the supports at the height you want the line to be. Tie one end of the rope securely to the ring on the end of the line tightener. Thread the other end of the rope through the pulley, the line separator, the other pulley and the line tightener. Hang the pulleys from the hooks on your supports, pull the end of the rope through the tightener until taut and cut away the excess rope. Hook the line separator around the bottom rope.

If this is a little to technical for you, come out to the farm and I can walk you through my system so you can get a good idea of what works.

Happy Hanging!

Laundry on the Line

I have been a die hard clothesline fan since I purchased a kit from Martha Stewart and set up a proper line. Sure you can use a couple of hooks and a plastic line from Home Depot in a pinch but if you intend on committing to forgoing the dryer whenever possible you really need to respect the line, especially if you want to enjoy the process.

The first thing to think about is how you do laundry now. Do you like to do a load a day or do you save it all up for one day a week, put your head down and plow through? The answer to this question will determine how much space should be dedicated to your line. I have some Amish friends who have a 300 foot line from the back door to the top of their barn. My line is about 75 ft and with my Ecosmart washer that does me just fine. I have a Fisher & Paykel Ecosmart and with its 1000 rpm spin cycle I can get 5 loads done and folded in an afternoon.

Here is what you need for a great line.

1. Clothes line, I like cotton it runs through the pulley system easily

2. Line tightener - keeps the line good and tight - you tie one end and feed the other through

3. Spacers - to keep the clothes off the ground by pulling the lines together

4. Clothes pins - I like wooden but many like the plastic because they come in pretty colors

5. 2 pulleys - Rust proof is a must

I like to put one end of my line near my back door and the other I will put way up in the air somewhere like a tree or a tall post. The higher the clothes the more wind you can catch and the quicker they dry.

There is truly nothing like clothes fresh off the line for a sense of well being. Guests at our farm ALWAYS get bedding fresh off the line if the weather is co-operating and fresh linens off the line are a gift to my children of wonderful memories they will always cherish.

Small Changes Matter

They say that it's important to always be learning and growing as you go about your life. Sometimes this takes the form of huge leaps forward, but more often people take small incremental steps. You may not be able to make a comprehensive shift to a completely local, natural, sustainable lifestyle all in one fell swoop, but the small changes are no less important. Even little things like planting a new vegetable in your garden can give you momentum and be an encouragement.

Now that we're about a quarter of the way through 2010 (that was fast, wasn't it?), what have you learned about health? How have you changed your lifestyle to be simpler, more natural, or more in tune with the seasons? Do you have any plans to take other steps this spring and summer?

The Fine Art of Letter Writing

Most of those closest to me know of my utter and vehement dislike for Facebook. Unless you have nothing planned for the afternoon you shouldn't ask me if I have a Facebook page.
I have many, many good reasons for shunning this newest form of "socializing" but at the top of that list is the fact that it has changed the face of true, deep and honest friendship and the form of communication that occurs between friends and acquaintances. For that matter Facebook doesn't even differentiate between true friends and acquaintances, oops, you almost got me started!

I am a true lover of the letter and the written word (on paper, can you guess where this is going?). When a good friend came to spend a few days at the farm she mentioned a poem called Elegy for the Personal letter. After reading this mournful poem I felt that it conveyed all of my passion for the letter with my soapboxing.

To help you make the transition from half-hearted, half-sentence, virtual "friend"-rich, relationship-poor, non-conversations back to the elegant, thoughtful art of letter writing we are proud to announce our newest section in the The Farm Shop, The tools of Writing. We now carry many beautiful card sets with fountains pens and a wide selection of scented inks on the way.

Elegy for the Personal Letter

by Allison Joseph
I miss the rumpled corners of correspondence,
the ink blots and crossouts that show


someone lives on the other end, a person
whose hands make errors, leave traces.
I miss fine stationary, its raised elegant
lettering prominent on creamy shades of ivory
or pearl grey. I even miss hasty notes
dashed off on notebook paper, edges
ragged as their scribbled messages—
can’t much write now—thinking of you.


When letters come now, they are formatted
by some distant computer, addressed
to Occupant or To the family living at—
meager greetings at best,
salutations made by committee.
Among the glossy catalogs
and one time only offers
the bills and invoices,
letters arrive so rarely now that I drop
all other mail to the floor when
an envelope arrives and the handwriting


is actual handwriting, the return address
somewhere I can locate on any map.
So seldom is it that letters come
That I stop everything else
to identify the scrawl that has come this far—
the twist and the whirl of the letters,
the loops of the numerals. I open
those envelopes first, forgetting
the claim of any other mail,
hoping for news I could not read in any other way but this.

PS Teach your children to write before they can type. It will serve them well. These three letters came in the mail for my daughter when she was under the weather.

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Peace Of Yarn Fibers

Yak Merino Roving ready to spin

Once in a while a company comes along that you know you just have to support. It usually includes great products, a wonderful story and someone behind it that is the kind of person you just want to know. Peace of Yarn is one of the those companies for me.

From the first time I saw the quality of her fibers I knew I wanted to sell them in my store. Well, the wait is over. I have received my first order of Peace of Yarn products and I have been spinning away happily since the moment they arrived.

Peace of Yarn is a company that makes fibers available from around the world such as silk from worms that feed on mulberry trees in China, Alpaca from South America, Mongolian cashmere, baby camel and yak plus some of the softest Merino fibers available. All of these fibers are available alone or in blends. Baby Camel/Tussah Silk blend

Melissa's tag line for her company is "The world is spinning" which it is indeed. Hand spinning is on the rise and I don't foresee a slowdown in it's appeal.

Whether you spin, knit, crochet or just love the feel of luxurious fibers come on in to the shop to see what is available from around the world, around the block and around the farm in top quality fibers.

Living Well

I don't believe a day that goes by when I don't hear about the need to "get well" or "eat well" or even to "marry well". We are encouraged to "be well" and certainly to "stay well" but how many times do we learn of someone who truly "lives well"?

Today I spoke with a woman who lives part time in Atlanta, Georgia and spends the rest of her time in France working at a B&B and she actually knows a man who "lives well". "He'll never make a lot of money" she told me, "but he really lives well."

Living well is such an important concept to me that when she told me of Jean Paul my heart skipped a beat. It was almost like hearing a secret code word. She told of his farm and work and for the rest of the day it is all I could dream about.

What exactly does living well mean? Does it entail a boat in a slip or yearly vacations to the South of France? Is it really something acquired with money? We seem to understand the concept early in life and begin to lose it sometime around the teenage years. From my vantage point I believe that to "live well, really well" is something that eludes almost everyone I know but is the one true desire of the seeking heart.

I have come to believe that advertisers, of all people, are the ones who really know what "living well" entails. Almost every advertisement depicts families spending time together, having the spare time to read in a hammock with a cold glass of ice tea or the extra time in the day to garden or just getting together with friends for a great meal with plenty of laughter. If we buy a certain washing machine we will laugh with our family again, sit around the table playing games, loving each other. If we could just afford that stainless 6 burner oven we would cook more with our spouse while happy, well adjusted children sit and watch, all conversing happily. The goal of the advertiser is to take the deepest desires of our hearts and exploit them. Just possibly, if we were already living well as a society these advertisers would not be as effective in separating us from our hard earned 500 billion dollars every year.

SOOOOOO, what does this mean for me? After a full day of thinking over my conversation with Anne about Jean Paul and her life in France I realized that all the things that don't get crossed off my to-do list are the very things that would allow me to live well. The easiest things to put off are the very things that would transform my life into the life I want, where I am in control of the quality of my life and my schedule and the other things of this world can take a back seat.

Here are some examples of the items that get pushed from day to day, month to month....

Have friends over for dinner - often
Read with the children - more often
Spend time in the garden
Invite friends for a knitting circle
Bake more pies
Make a cup of tea before bed and just read
Take more walks - not for exercise
Visit friends
Read Wendell Berry to remind me of the "why's" of farming and not just the "how's".

Today, I encourage you to pull out your Day-Timer and look for the things that are easily put off and rearrange your priorities. Come to see those activities not as the expendable but as the keys to truly living well and just maybe you'll find the answer to teaching your children to live well before they fall into the same trap of busyness and disenchantment with this gift of a life.

Living a Thankful Life

Last Friday my mother and I took my daughters to the mall to pick up a Christmas present. My three year old, who has only been to a mall a handful of times in her short life, was mesmerized by the Christmas decorations ("Mama! They have snow here and it's NOT REAL!!!") but I was more struck by how quickly my own attitude changed in the atmosphere of acquisition. The day before we had celebrated Thanksgiving together and yet as we walked through the mall I found my sense of gratitude slipping. As I looked at things I had not previously even wanted, I found myself thinking, "Wow, wouldn't life be great if I had...."

There is of course nothing inherently wrong with having nice things or buying Christmas presents, but I think spending too much time longing for more and more things can be the enemy of contentment and simple living. What do we really need? Where should our focus be during the holidays? Can we be thankful for the myriad blessings we have received without constantly coveting more?

We did have fun at the mall and I enjoyed observing my daughter's sense of wonder at the decorations, but most of all I'm glad for the little reminder that I need to cultivate an ongoing attitude of thanksgiving, not merely put it on the shelf until next year.

Book Review: Not So Fast

If you're looking for tips and ideas on how to slow life down for your family, you might find Ann Kroeker's new book Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families
helpful. Even if your family has a fairly good handle on your pace and activity level, I think this book would be thought-provoking and useful in clarifying your vision and commitment to simple living. The end of every chapter includes a list of things you might consider or try to slow down and simplify in a given area, as well as testimonials from parents who have decided to live counter-culturally in terms of slowing down and cutting back on activities.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Thoughts for Monday

"The hurried life loses its rhythm. It just pushes and pushes with no pauses, leaving barren souls, cluttered with activity but emptied of meaning."

-Ann Kroeker, in Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families

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Being Still

I am the kind of person who always has to be doing something. I find it very difficult to just sit. Yet sometimes I think the simplest restorative measure to take in a life that is busy and full is just to be still. Today I sat with my children and we listened to the autumn rain falling on the leaves. We watched the raindrops trickle down the glass of our patio door in interesting patterns. It was peaceful.

What helps you to slow down and savor the world around you?

Baking Homemade Bread

There's something about Autumn that turns the hearts of bakers to bread. In the past week I've heard from three people that they unaccountably feel like baking bread now, after taking time off from it over the summer. As Debbie pointed out in her post on living by the seasons, there are some thing that just fit the rhythm of Fall - root vegetables, apples, hearty stews, pulling out heavier clothes and blankets and baking homemade bread.

As you may know, the Farm produces certified organic grain (which you can purchase from the Farm Shop of course!) and Debbie is something of an expert in the art of grinding grain into flour and transforming it into delicious loaves of nutritious whole grain bread. Next time you're in the shop, be sure to ask her for some tips!

For the novice, baking yeast bread can be an overwhelming task. You might want to start small and build up some confidence before jumping in to a more complicated recipe. On the other hand there is something to be said for naivete if it keeps you from being intimidated by what other bakers might see as a daunting recipe!

The health benefits of using whole grains in bread are well documented and doubtless familiar to you. By baking your own whole grain bread rather that buying it in the store, you can get the added bonus of eliminating preservatives and additives. For families with wheat allergies or for those who just have a taste for variety, baking your own bread gives you the freedom to experiment with different grains or alternative flours.

Aside from purely nutritional benefits, I'm convinced that baking bread is good for the soul. Fitting the timetable of mixing, kneading, rising and baking bread into your day forces you to think about your schedule and maybe simplify your day a little. The rhythm of baking days helps set a productive but not frantic pace. Kneading dough, as even the newest baker can attest, is a marvelous stress reducer and a good upper body workout. And nothing beats the feeling of serving your family a slice of warm buttered bread fresh from the oven!

We're planning to do a few posts on grain grinding, different bread recipes, and general tips about bread. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and we'll be happy to address them!

The Comfort of Fall

I have been in a serious bread groove all summer. I think because sourdough seems like a light, summery bread it has been my bread of choice since spring. So while I sat under the maple tree in the front yard with my bread, cheese and wine, all those single-celled organisms (yeast) sat ignored in the freezer.

I am a big believer in living by the seasons and each fall I bring out all the feather comforters and get them ready for snuggling and cuddling my babies (18 and 12) during the cold, blustery nights. As I get older and hopefully wiser, I am "being attentive to thyself" more than ever and that introspeciont has me seeing some interesting patterns.

Right now I am noticing how my spinning wheel, the comforters and the yeast find their way back into my life in the autumn. I believe that there is an innate "knowing" that has come to be buried under the weight of sitcoms that find their way in to our lives. Isn't it time to shake off the unwanted burdens that are weighing us down and keeping us from doing what we really desire? It can, and possibly should, begin slowly. One step at a time.

In this next series of posts we will explore activities that just belong to the fall. It will warm and comfort you to live closer to the seasons. Try to think of the activities you most think about as the weather begins to change, foods you crave or activities you wish you had time for. Send us a comment for ideas you may have for future posts and let us know how you desire to live closer to the seasons. If you have conquered the pressing-in to live a homogeneous life please drop us a comment to let us in your secrets to living life to its fullest.

Catching up with our bodies

Today as I barreled down the road on my "leisurely" walk, the story of the Missionary and his African guides came to mind.

On his first trip to Africa to set up a mission in a remote portion of the country, a young, driven missionary met his guides in town. "How long will it take to get to the village?" he asked. "Seven days" came the reply from his guide. "Well, we'll make it five" stated in the missionary in no uncertain terms.

Throughout the next few days the missionary drove the group of villagers hard, resting little and barely stopping to eat. He refused to unpack the entire camp either to eat or to sleep. The trip was meager even though they had plenty of provisions. On the fifth day when the missionary rose early to get a good head start on the trail none of the villagers would rise to pack. Frustrated the missionary demanded that everyone pack the provisions and head out on the trail but no one moved. Finally he demanded from the guide "why won't you listen to me, we are close to the village and we have made very good time. We have saved ourselves two days of traveling."

The wise guide made his reply. "Good Sir, we have obeyed you these five days, but we have moved too fast. We can not hear our spirits calling us. We must wait here and our spirits will catch up to our bodies then we will go to the village together."

Doesn't it seem as though this world tells us to move faster, ignore what is before our eyes and to look forward to things that are not yet here? Our spirits are calling but if we are lucky we only hear the faint whisper and if it has been so long since we actually slowed down that we barely recognize the sound. Maybe our Great Great Grandmothers knew the sound. Maybe it is missing completely from our lives and our souls cry out for what we have never known.

Today, don't just eat, savor. Don't just hear, listen. Don't just pray, commune. Don't just survive, live.

Book Review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life is Barbara Kingsolver's memoir of the first year her family experimented with eating ONLY locally-grown foods. In order to abide by their agreed-upon rules, she and her family began growing more of their own food on their land in Virginia, and became much more connected to the sustainable farming and animal husbandry of their region. The family learned to eat food in season and grew more adept at preserving food for use during the winter. Each section of the book describes one season, how the family procured food, ate, and preserved in that season, and includes recipes they liked for seasonal foods. Interspersed in the narrative are Kingsolver's thoughts on the importance of local sustainable farming and the health benefits of eating locally-grown foods, as well as sidebar articles giving the perspectives of her husband and daughter on the year-long experiment.

In addition to being a memoir, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle also contains a wealth of interesting and useful facts and tips for organic gardening and notes about the history and importance of different foods. Although Kingsolver espouses some political opinions and conclusions that might not be in line with those of all readers, for the most part the book was useful and inspiring.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Simple Living: Renew Your Mind

In the pursuit of simple living, it's important to remember why exactly you're attempting to slow down and lead a more deliberate life. Often growing your own vegetables, hanging out your laundry, baking your own bread and other valuable simple pursuits take up a bit of time and it's easy to find yourself getting too busy being simplified!

Every schedule can use periods of built in, productive down time. I think one of the most rejuvenating forms of rest is reading a good book. If fiction is your preference, good literature abounds and can afford you the opportunity of thinking about different places, times, and sorts of people. Perhaps you always wanted to read the classics and you could give yourself a little bit of time each day to become acquainted with the canon of great literature. Alternatively to fiction, or perhaps interspersed with it, you might take time to research a new skill or a topic of particular interest to you. We hope that some of the book reviews we've offered on this site might be a good jumping off point for you to learn more about natural living, and there are other books we have enjoyed linked in our Amazon page.

Whatever you decide to read, we think that taking a little time to renew your mind and pause to sit with a good book is a good investment in simple living. If you run across books on natural living, supporting sustainable farming, organic food or the like, please feel free to leave us a comment - we're always looking for good book suggestions too!

Eric Brende Interview

If you've read Better Off or were just intrigued by the idea of such radically simple living, you might be interested in the above video clip of a recent television interview with the Brendes, who now live in St. Louis and are applying their idea of simple living to a more urban setting.

HT: Like Merchant Ships Tumblr Page

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Book Review: Better Off

In his excellent book Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology, Eric Brende, then a MIT grad student studying the costs and benefits of technology, undertook an 18 month experiment with his new wife to leave Boston and go live in a Mennonite community without electricity, gas, or modern conveniences. The book is well written and full of great stories that will be of particular interest to you if you are pursuing simple living.

The real strength of the book, in my opinion, is Brende's discussion of his thought processes on the philosophy of technology. His measured and throughtful approach is both insightful and piercing as he suggests new ways to think about the impact technology makes on our lives for good and bad. Brende concludes that technology is not inherently evil, but that in our day and age, technologies that are supposed to be making our lives easier are more often than not making them harder when you really consider the expenditure of resources, your stress and lack of true leisure, and so forth.

Better Off is a compelling and entertaining book, and I highly recommend it.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Simple Living Through Ironing (yes, you read that right)

As I tackled a mountain of ironing recently, I thought about how, in a roundabout way, ironing could fall into our Simple Living category.

At first glance, of course, it seems obvious that the simplest way to iron is to....avoid ironing! You could buy clothes and linens that don't require pressing, or you could pay a dry cleaning shop or a maid to do the task for you. There is nothing wrong with any of those options, but I would contend that doing your own ironing can also be a way to promote simplicity in your life.

First, there is the fact that ironing is one of those tasks that allows for introspection. In my busy and often noisy household, I find I value work that allows me to spend time in thought. It's hard to set aside time to sit and think, knowing as I do the length of my To Do list, but as ironing is a job that needs to be done anyway, I enjoy the time to consider, ponder, and mentally unwind while I stand at the ironing board. Watching the iron steam and press the fabric is calming in a way, and may also help you get the wrinkles out of whatever problems or ideas your mulling over in your mind!

Second, ironing is a simple way to add beauty and enjoyment to your home. A pretty cloth or placemats on the dinner table can make even the simplest fare seem festive, and nicely ironed cloth napkins are beautiful as well as being better for the environment than paper. Crisply ironed clothes look good and wear well. And you really can't beat the simple luxury of sliding in between freshly ironed cotton sheets at the end of a long day.

Third is the simple satisfaction of a job well done. There is often more joy to be found in the fruits of our own labor than in something accomplished by somebody else.

It seems that in many ways simplicity has much to do with your state of mind. Household tasks like ironing or hanging out the wash can be seen as mindless drudgery, or embraced as a source of simple enjoyment. If simplicity is about slowing down, paring down, and savoring life moment by moment, perhaps the way we approach our regular duties is a key component to simple living.