The Heart of Simple Living: 7 Paths to a Better Life

by Wanda Urbanska

Overview

The Heart of Simple Living is your road map to a more balanced life - a life centered on self-discovery. Fewer possessions. More time. More friends. More meaning. This book will help you identify objectives for your life and create awareness of your actions and finances, while planning for your future.

This inspirational book delivers seven tangible and actionable paths, woven together with real-life stories and humor along the way. You can follow these paths sequentially or cherry-pick them one at a time. Pursuing a life of simplicity is a journey, and as you blaze the trail to your simple life, celebrate the magic and joy of family, ritual and community - the perfect prescription for essential good health and well-being.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440215292
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/15/2010
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Wanda Urbanska is an acclaimed author and nationally recognized simple living expert. For more than 20 years, she has helped to define one of the top trends of our time—the quest for simplicity in our overbooked, environmentally challenged, high-tech era. The author or co-author of seven books on voluntary simplicity, she produces the PBS series Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska, currently airing on PBS stations nationwide. Urbanska has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, and NPR's All Things Concerned. She hosted the PBS primetime special Escape from Affluenza: Living Better on Less.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Path to Financial Independence 17

The Lesson of The Table

Be "Resourceful" When Young

"I Buy; Therefore I Am"

"New-Found Frugality"

The Frugal Mind-Set: A Mental Transformation

The Power of Financial Affirmations

My Journey Toward Frugality

The Frugality Mentality

Yard Sales are Good for the Soul ... and the Billfold

Destination: Financial Independence

Avoid Debt Like the Plague; Retire What You Have

Hattie Brintle: "Wisdom" Is Knowledge Gained the Hard Way

Hattie and Her Car

"Petty Change"

Money and Kids: From Spend-Centricity to Generosity

Giving!

The Benefits of Frugality

Chapter 2 The Path to Meaningful Work 49

My Professional Adventure

How I Found "The Work of My Life"

Redefining Success

Reining in Overwork

Tracking Your Time

"Career Discovery": Finding Work You Love

Getting Started: Commit Your Thoughts to Paper

Planning to Soar

Visualizing Success

To Achieve Results: Get Started

Put Time on Your Side: Take Your Dream Sabbatical

Leonard's Sabbatical

Personal Pointers for Professional Discovery and Success

Benchmarking Success: Your Golden Moment

"Ecopreneuring": Cobbling Together an Income With Idealism and Flair

Builders of Hope: Rescue Homes, Create Communities

Chapter 3 The Path to Housing Happiness 86

My Evolving "Dream" Home

Housing Size: Taking the Long View

Housing's "Big Three"

Rethink Housing Choices

Small is Beautiful

Serving the Soul

Exploding the Myth of the "Starter" Home

Harvesting Space in Your Own Home

Mama's Roomer

Green Energy-Efficient Homes

Toward a Smaller Footprint

Green Upgrades: What I Did to My Sunflower House

Think "Paid-for"

Smart Mortgage Financing and Refinancing

New Purchase Tips

Refinance Tips

Reclaim the Good Life With Housing

Chapter 4 Reclaim Homemaking 124

My Abode, Myself

Your Décor; An Extension of You

Clear Your Clutter; Start Anew

Home-Office Clutter Cutters

Bedroom Bliss

Less is More

Home Décor

Residential Transformation: Bringing "You" Into Your Home

The "Wabi-Sabi" Look

"Things That Refuse to Die"

Age Is the Thing

Commit First; Buy Later

Reduce Your Personal Waste Stream

Commit to Reusables

Green Cleaning

"Body Burden"

Simple Solutions

Minimizing Cleanup

Buying Commercial Products

Green Your Wardrobe - and Closet

Toward a Manageable Wardrobe

Closet Organization

New - of "New to You" - Clothing

Lightening Your Laundry Load

Chapter 5 Back Into the Kitchen 165

Reclaim the Pleasures of the Table

Organize Your Kitchen

Rethink Food Storage - and Plastic Bottles

Reduce Your Personal Waste Stream

Laptop Lunch

Aesthetic Touches

Source Your Food

Start Cooking

Create Your "Signature" Recipe

Eat Lower on the Food Chain

Cooking Parties

Cook in Bulk

"Reciprocal Dining": Not a Dinner Party

Ritual of the Meal

Chapter 6 Beating a Path to the Garden 189

Beating a Path to the Garden

Save on Your Grocery Bill

The Good Earth

Start Gardening

Common Garden at a Charlotte Condo

The Joy of Composting

Flower Gardening

Create a "Room Outside"

Wildlife and Bird-Friendly Outdoor Spaces

Chapter 7 Reclaiming Ritual and Community for Life 211

The Rituals of My Life

My Morning Rituals

Raising Your Consciousness Through Life Themes

Ritualizing Community Involvement

Get Involved

Are You "Game" for a Good Laugh?

Co-Housing Gives You Your Village

Celebrations and Rites of Passage

Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

A Progressive "Green Wedding"

Green Burial: Redefining the American Way of Death

The (Toxic) American Way of Death

My Journey to the Good Life

Your Journey to the Good Life

Resources 239

Index 243

About the Author 255