VSC closes after 6 years

The NYC VS circle that met on the 2d Thursday of the month (at Community Church) has discontinued meeting as of April 9, 2009.

Beginning in 2003, the voluntary simplicity circle that spawned this blog has been a reservoir of resources provided by all who joined in. My deepest thanks to all who made it possible. It was a place for personal transformation to begin again in matters that related to simplicity. There are many people in New York City that are interested and occasionally a circle opens up or seminars are held. If you hear of one, feel free to post info on it. We will keep this blog open. It has great resources for everyone.

We simplify our lives so that we can live more of the lives we want to live, deep down. That doesn’t end here; it is in constant renewal. We'll soon open a item on where we all go to continue to explore this vast topic. Please participate online.

Voluntary Simplicity Circle Thursday – Apr. 9, 2009 – Ecological Simplicity

When: April 9th, 2009 - 7 pm to 9 pm
Where: 28 East 35th Street (between Park and Madison Ave. - red door, ring the bell for the gallery) in Manhattan
Cost: Free
Who: open to all interested persons.

What is a voluntary simplicity circle? In our voluntary simplicity circle, we help each other work toward personal transformation and make better connections to community resources through this interactive dialog. The objective is to provide a supportive environment for individuals who are actively making changes in their lives, within the framework of voluntary simplicity.

This year, we are going to be going through Duane Elgin’s list of different types of simplicity.

On April 9th, we are going to talk about Ecological Simplicity:

Ecological Simplicity: Simplicity means to choose ways of living that touch the Earth more lightly and that reduce our ecological impact. This life-path remembers our deep roots in the natural world. It encourages us to connect with nature, the seasons, and the cosmos. A natural simplicity feels a deep reverence for the community of life on Earth and accepts that the non-human realms of plants and animals have their dignity and rights as well the human.

Voluntary Simplicity Circle Thursday - Mar. 12, 2009 – Compassionate Simplicity

When: Mar. 12th, 2009 - 7 pm to 9 pm
Where: 28 East 35th Street (between Park and Madison Ave. - red door, ring the bell for the gallery) in Manhattan
Cost: Free
Who: open to all interested persons.

What is a voluntary simplicity circle? In our voluntary simplicity circle, we help each other work toward personal transformation and make better connections to community resources through this interactive dialog. The objective is to provide a supportive environment for individuals who are actively making changes in their lives, within the framework of voluntary simplicity.

This year, we are going to be going through Duane Elgin’s list of different types of simplicity.

On Mar. 12th, we are going to talk about Compassionate Simplicity:

Compassionate Simplicity: Simplicity means to feel such a strong sense of kinship with others that, as Gandhi said, we “choose to live simply so that others may simply live.” A compassionate simplicity means feeling a bond with the community of life and being drawn toward a path of reconciliation—with other species and future generations as well as, for example, between those with great differences of wealth and opportunity. A compassionate simplicity is a path of cooperation and fairness that seeks a future of mutually assured development for all.

See here for more about the format of our Voluntary Simplicity Circle.

And join us on Facebook!

Hope to see you there!
Kirsten

Please Participate in a Survey on Plastic Bag/Reusable Bag Use

This isn't my research but I felt it is important so I am passing it along. It doesn't take very long to fill out, so I hope you can participate. Thanks ~Kirsten
*******************************************

This is a research project being conducted by Monique Turner and Jennifer Kane at the University of Maryland, College Park. We are inviting you to participate because we want to understand why people do or do not use reusable shopping bags at grocery stores.

The procedures involve filling out a questionnaire (link below) about using reusable bags instead of plastic bags. Your total time investment in this study will be approximately 10 minutes.

Thank you in advance for your participation:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=F2q6tPSCNFg8oHz3T8Y2kg_3d_3d

Jennifer Kane
Master of Science/Master of Public Policy Candidate 2009
University of Maryland - College Park
United States
jkane@umd.edu

Voluntary Simplicity Circle Thursday - Feb. 12, 2009 – Choiceful Simplicity

When: Feb. 12th, 2009 - 7 pm to 9 pm
Where: 28 East 35th Street (between Park and Madison Ave. - red door, ring the bell for the gallery) in Manhattan
Cost: Free
Who: open to all interested persons.

What is a voluntary simplicity circle? In our voluntary simplicity circle, we help each other work toward personal transformation and make better connections to community resources through this interactive dialog. The objective is to provide a supportive environment for individuals who are actively making changes in their lives, within the framework of voluntary simplicity.

This year, we are going to be going through Duane Elgin’s list of different types of simplicity.

On Feb. 12th, we are going to start from the top with Choiceful Simplicity:

Choiceful Simplicity: Simplicity means choosing our unique path through life consciously, deliberately, and of our own accord. It means to live whole—to not live divided against ourselves. This path emphasizes the challenges of freedom over the comfort of consumerism. A choiceful simplicity means staying focused, diving deep, and not being distracted by consumer culture. It means consciously organizing our lives so that we give our “true gifts” to the world—which is to give the essence of ourselves. As Emerson said, “The only true gift is a portion of yourself.”

How do each of us interpret “choiceful simplicity” and Elgin’s definition? What are some examples of it that we see in the world? How does choiceful simplicity fit into how each of us practice voluntary simplicity in our lives? How do we currently enact choiceful simplicity? How do we wish to engage in choiceful simplicity moving forward?

See here for more about the format of our Voluntary Simplicity Circle.

And join us on Facebook!

Hope to see you there!
Kirsten

My post on OneCity - You are not your khakis

Every Wednesday morning, I post on the Interdependence Project's One City - Population: Everone blog. My post this week is also relevant to what we do in our Voluntary Simplicity Circle, so I thought I would invite you to join in the discussion. Here is a segment of the post:

While we may rail against consumerism, sometimes we are just pulled to certain material things. They bring us joy and excitement. Aaron C. Ahuvia argues in his article, Beyond the Extended Self: Loved Objects and Consumers’ Identity Narratives, that some “loved” objects that we own help us create a coherent story of ourselves. Loved objects and activities help to structure our social relationships and support our well-being.

Objects can tell stories. They can hold family histories. They can represent friendships and symbolize marriages. They recreate our culture. We pass them down from generation to generation.

I can find beauty and love embedded in objects – from amazing works of art to my father’s neckties. However I have a hard time putting my finger on the point when this craving for objects goes from meaningful storytelling, family heirlooms, or culture regeneration to excessive disposable waste. When do objects become disposable? When do they go from loved items to just the latest fashion trend?

Read the rest here: http://onecity.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/you-are-not-your-khakis/

Upcoming Events - Feb. 1st Screening of "What Would Jesus Buy?"

FEB. 1st screening of "WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?"
with Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, Werner Films, Directed by Rob VanAlkemade, featuring Reverend Billy, 2007, 90 minutes

WHEN: Sunday February 1, 2009 1:15pm

WHERE: Community Church NYC, Gallery Room 28 East 35th st. @Park ave.

ADMISSION: Free, donations appreciated

Getting creative

One of the things we ended up talking about in VS circle this month was how voluntary simplicity (and trying not to buy so many new things) led us to being more creative in order to fulfill our needs (and our free time).

I am more of a practical person so my creativity has just involved using strips of fabric from old tights and t-shirts to make hair ties, using my dad's old ties as belts, old calendars as wrapping paper and reusing a lot of food containers for storage. I have not yet gone to the next level - but it is something I really want to do. I want to learn to sew and create more of my own stuff from the things that I already have - let's call it in-house recycling.

I have to say that I was inspired when I ran across this (thanks to a posting on the freegan discussion board) :

Andy Gregg at Bike Furniture Design makes furniture out of old bicycle parts (up in Marquette, Michigan). This is way past my highest hopes of what I may do in the future, but I think it is really great to see the kinds of things that can be created when we try to find imaginative ways to reuse, reduce, and recycle.

For more inspiration, I recommend checking out: The Visible Trash Society and Michael Reynolds' Earthship Biotechure Sustainable Independent Buildings.

I would love to hear from others (in the comments section below) about how buying less has led them to being more creative to fulfill their needs.

Last but not least - I want to thank all the new people who came to January's Voluntary Simplicity Circle. It was really great and a lot of fun getting to hear new perspectives, ideas, thoughts, experiences, etc...

Join us on January 8th for the first VS Circle of 2009

Get the new year started focusing on simplifying your life in 2009. We will be having a circle this Thursday night if you would like to join us:

7 to 9 pm, 28 East 35th Street (between Park and Madison Ave. - red door, ring the bell for the gallery) in Manhattan and is open to all interested persons.

See here for more details.

You can now also join us on Facebook here!

Cleaning out your bookshelf

If you are like me, you may be a pack rat when it comes to books. One of the hardest things I had difficulty letting go of was my books. I have moved miles and miles from one state to another, hauling boxes of heavy books that I have been collecting over the course of my life. It really made no sense because I am not a person who rereads books very often. I think I just liked to look at my collection of books and think that they somehow represented me. I had them on display when others visited my apartment and people could browse my books to get a better sense of who I am. But when I started to get more into voluntary simplicity, and I started to think about how much unnecessary stuff I owned, all my books seemed like such a waste as they sat still and dusty in my bookcases. And even more, I began to see that I am not my books and my books are not me.

A lot of this started happening when I discovered Paperbackswap. It is a website that allows you to list the books you are ready to part with. When other people request them, you mail the books (via USPS media mail) and get credits in return. You can then use those credits to order books from other people. It has really allowed me to let go of my need to hang onto books because I get rewarded for letting them go - I get new books to read! I have to say I am reading a lot more since I started swapping. There is less risk then when I had spend money on books, so I am more open to exploring new authors or indulging in frivolous reading. I also get to send books (with my credits) to my friends and family. After getting a couple books from me, my sister started swapping as well.

With almost 2 years (and 107 books mailed), I am keen to get rid of even more of my books, just keeping the ones with true sentimental value (gifts from others) or those that I need for reference. In addition to paperbackswap, I recently found that Better World Books (my favorite book seller - If I can't find a book on Paperbackswap, I buy from Better World Books. They are a certified B corporation who supports literacy projects, and has free carbon-neutral shipping.) is buying back books - depending on the value of the book - they will either pay you for your book or they make a donation to one of their literacy causes for each book that you send to them. They even pay for shipping!

So instead of just admiring (or dusting) all the books on your bookshelf, think about what those books could be doing instead:
www.paperbackswap.com
http://www.housingworks.org/donate/
http://www.betterworld.com/
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/new_homes/new_homes.shtml#books

Why we need to reduce and reuse instead of recycle

I remember about 7 years ago when one of my friends first said to me “why bother recycling? It’s not going to fix anything.” I was flabbergasted. What do you mean? I’ve been told for most of my life to recycle. That was what we did in Environment Club in high school - we set up recycle boxes and collected paper so it wouldn’t go in the trash. Needless to say, I argued with my friend for a while and not believing him, went off to do some research. It was the beginning of my journey towards Voluntary Simplicity and the idea of buying less and getting by with what I already have – focusing on the first two parts of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” motto.

This week an article in the New York Times is focusing on one of the problems with recycling: it is still depending on us buying and using new stuff. With the economic recession, there has also been a drastic reduction in the demand for recycled materials.The article states:

"The downturn offers some insight into the forces behind the recycling boom of recent years. Environmentally conscious consumers have been able to pat themselves on the back and feel good about sorting their recycling and putting it on the curb. But most recycling programs have been driven as much by raw economics as by activism. Cities and their contractors made recycling easy in part because there was money to be made. Businesses, too — like grocery chains and other retailers — have profited by recycling thousands of tons of materials like cardboard each month. But the drop in prices has made the profits shrink, or even disappear, undermining one rationale for recycling programs and their costly infrastructure. 'Before, you could be green by being greedy,' said Jim Wilcox, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. 'Now you’ve really got to rely more on your notions of civic participation.'”

And what happens when things are not made with these recycled materials? They end up in the landfill.

So what is the moral of this story? It is important to be mindful of the life cycle (or linear line) of the things that we buy, see the Story of Stuff. Recycling is not enough. We need to focus more on reducing and reusing.

Holiday Simplicity Links

Happy holidays! Here's a few links to help out, to keep the spirit in the holiday. Voluntary simplicity is about living our values (voluntarily!). I didn't have a particularly good fair trade link but included one where you can go to "find products" and I think it's fairly broad. There's plenty more to find. I track "ten thousand villages" for example. Remember also to send back any unused catalogs to avoid increasing both paper and transportation services. I look forward to seeing some of you at our circle on January 8 (same place, same time). Happy holidays!

Simplify the holidays, tips from the Center for a New American Dream:
http://www.newdream.org/holiday/index.php

This registry is a free service provided by the Center for a New American Dream. You can add a link to your favorite charity, ask for givers to sign up for babysitting time, or request favorite recipes etc.: http://www.alternativegiftregistry.org/

Pick gifts from Alternative Gifts. Org: http://www.alternativegifts.org

Reduce unwanted catalogs: http://www.catalogchoice.org/

Finding fair trade products: http://www.fairtradefederation.org/

What happy people don't do

Research highlighted in the New York Times that I thought you might find interesting:

Although people who describe themselves as happy enjoy watching television, it turns out to be the single activity they engage in less often than unhappy people, said John Robinson, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and the author of the study, which appeared in the journal Social Indicators Research.

“We looked at 8 to 10 activities that happy people engage in, and for each one, the people who did the activities more — visiting others, going to church, all those things — were more happy,” Dr. Robinson said. “TV was the one activity that showed a negative relationship. Unhappy people did it more, and happy people did it less.”

But the researchers could not tell whether unhappy people watch more television or whether being glued to the set is what makes people unhappy. “I don’t know that turning off the TV will make you more happy,” Dr. Robinson said.

Still, he said, the data show that people who spend the most time watching television are least happy in the long run.

Read the full article here.

January Reunion

The circle that meets monthly will take a break for November and December, but let's get together for a January Reunion ... January 8, 7 pm, same time, same place (28 E 35th, NYC)! We can continue this blog for those sharing events and ideas. Some people may be facing not so voluntary simplifying in their budgets, but it's a good time to remember why simplicity enriches our lives. How does it enrich your life? Click on Comments and let us know.

VS Circle tomorrow - Thrusday Oct. 9th, 2008

Hi everyone,
We have a Voluntary Simplicity Circle this Thursday Oct. 9th, 2008 - 7 to 9 pm, 28 East 35th Street (between Park and Madison Ave. - red door, ring the bell for the gallery).

For more information about the basic format for our circle, see detail
here:

http://vscirclenyc.blogspot.com/2008/01/about-our-voluntary-simplicity-circle.html

See you Thursday!
Kirsten

Things to think about from a future of less

Here are some info/quotes from the Miller-McCune article A Future of Less by David Villano that I thought might provoke thought and discussion as we start our VS Circle season:

The US only makes up 5 percent of the world's population but it:

• burns nearly 25 percent of the world's energy
• is the highest consumer of all traded commodities (corn, copper and rubber)
• eats three times more meat than the rest of the world on average
• uses about one-third of the world's paper.
• produces 30 percent of the world's waste, 25 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and throws out 96 billion pounds of edible food each year.

"John de Graff, co-author of the book and PBS documentary Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, is national coordinator of 'Take Back Your Time,' a Seattle-based advocacy group that promotes flexible work options and employee benefits like guaranteed vacation time and maternity leave. De Graff, who's lobbying for a bill that will make it easier for part-time workers to receive health insurance and other employee benefits, notes that countries with the most progressive worker-benefit laws — Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands — also rank the highest in surveys of happiness and satisfaction. (The U.S. ranks 13th, just behind the Philippines.) 'I think it's pretty clear that a higher quality of life — as measured by far more than just income — will actually reduce the desire to spend and consume,' de Graff says."

"Maniates a professor at Allegheny College is making the case that the battle against climate change (and the related challenges of resource depletion and environmental degradation) will be won or lost not through government edict but when people choose lifestyles that lead to real reductions in how much they spend, acquire, drive and, in general, consume. And those reductions, he insists, must be substantive, not superficial symbols like recycling newspapers or switching to low-watt light bulbs. He's trying to shift the public discourse away from these baby steps of conservation and toward what is, to many, the unthinkable: steep, absolute declines in per-capita consumption of oil, food, minerals, timber products, fresh water and other finite resources."

"Real change — steep declines in per-capita consumption of energy and raw materials — will occur when Americans are allowed to choose lifestyles that initiate low-consumption patterns of behavior. Invariably, those lifestyles are the consequence of trading a degree of work (and pay) for time — a tradeoff that Maniates and others say plenty of Americans are willing to make. The equation is simple: Less work = less money = less consumption. Maniates says government must make it easier for workers to make those choices: 'We need to allow people to do the right thing — policy measures that allow them to follow their noses to happiness and satisfaction.'"

VS Circle this Thursday!!! Topic: Welcome (back) to the NYC VS Circle!

Hi everyone,
We have a Voluntary Simplicity Circle this Thursday Sept. 11th, 2008 -
7 to 9 pm, 28 East 35th Street (between Park and Madison Ave. - red door, ring the bell for the gallery).

Topic for this month's circle: Welcome (back) to the NYC Voluntary Simplicity Circle!

I hope you had a wonderful summer. At this meeting I thought we would spend a good amount of time going over a refresher (or introduction for new people) on the focus of our VS circle and then finish up by brainstorming about what topics people are interested in talk about over the next few month.

Just to get people started, I will put up a blog posting (by tomorrow at the latest) related to this topic. For more information about the basic format for our circle, see detail here:

http://vscirclenyc.blogspot.com/2008/01/about-our-voluntary-simplicity-circle.html

See you Thursday!
Kirsten

Reducing NYC stress and increasing quality time

My fiancé and I have a lot of the typical NYC daily stress factors - we live in Brooklyn and our daily commute to work can total 1.5 hours to 3 hours depending on our train karma. We both work hard at our jobs and usually have to run errands or do chores (grocery shopping, laundry, washing dishes, etc...) after we get home from work. This leads us to both be cranky and tired at the end of the day. And we have fallen into a bad habit of unwinding/relaxing/eating dinner in front of the television.

And even as I write this post, I'm thinking how I should know better than to have this kind of bad habit. It is just a weakness that we have (it is more me than my fiancé who is better about turning off the tv). I tend to think way too much and tv is easy way for me to stop thinking about all the stuff that happened that day or stuff I should have accomplished but didn't. It has gotten worse since I got a laptop and this allows me to check my email and do work/school/blog related things with the news on in the background (I have a news-addiction at the moment with the presidential election).

I know tv-watching is "bad". I have "improved" my tv watching by getting a DVR (digital video recorder - it is like "tivo") so I only watch what I want and don't have to deal with commercials. I have considered, but have decided not to throw out my tv. That might be the right choice for some people. And maybe it is something I would do some day. But it is not my style - I like things in moderation. And I think that is what has happened as of late - my tv watching is no longer being done in moderation. As my stress levels have gone up, so has my tv watching.

But it has started to catch up with me. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that having the tv on and not having quiet time is increasing my stress instead of reducing it. My fiancé and I aren't taking the time to check in with each other and talk about how our day went. It wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for the fact that we have been so busy this summer with traveling or having visitors from out-of-town, etc... that we don't get to have quality time on the weekends then either.

So he and I finally had a talk last night after realizing that both of us have been in a funk. We are trying to solve it with a two-pronged approach: 1) find out what causes us daily stress and annoyance that we can possibly change and 2) finding different coping mechanisms for the daily stress. This is what we came up with as a starting point:

• No more eating dinner in front of the tv (particularly when we are both home).
• Instead of watching tv to relax, we are going to go for a walk around the neighborhood. It will give us a chance to unwind and talk about how (badly) our day went.
• I have moved my laptop into my "office" area. No more "multi-tasking" with the laptop and the tv.
• My fiancé is going to try taking the local train home instead of the express train. It may take longer but he may be able to sit and read a book instead of getting irritated about being crammed into the "faster" train with other cranky commuters.

What do you do in order to deal with the stress of living in NYC? what are the bad habits and good habits that you have learned to cope? Post your response here.

Exciting upcoming lecture with Simran Sethi

The InterDependence Project has an exciting lecture series called "Sit Down Rise Up." I am really looking forward to the guest lecture by Simran Sethi. She is an eco-journalist focusing on social and environmental sustainability. I have previously seen her on Sundance's the Green.

When: Wednesday August 27, 2008
Time: 7 - 9 pm
Where: Lila Center - 302 Bowery @ Houston St., 2nd fl.
Cost: $15 requested donation/$10 students & unemployed (money should not keep you away!!! Just let us know if you can't afford it!)

Expect the lecture to be full - email info@theidproject.com or call Lila @ 212.254.2130 to make a reservation.

End-of-the-summer de-cluttering - clothing swap

I think it is time for me to do a little house cleaning and get rid of all the clothes I am not wearing very much (if at all) and shoes that I keep hoping will become comfortable and will suddenly fit my fit correctly. I really don't shop much but somehow I have accumulated things in the last year. So I am going to try to head out to the next clothing swap (see below). Maybe I can get some work clothes (something that I usually avoid buying) and other things I am running low on.

Sizzling Summer Swap - Announcing a new Meetup for Five Boroughs Clothing Swap!

When: August 20, 2008 6:00 PM

Where: St. Margaret's House - 49 Fulton St, NY, NY

Meetup Description: End time: 8:00

This swap has an admission fee of $5.00 which is donated to St. Margaret's House, a not for profit residence for seniors and disabled people. A small amount will also be subtracted for the meetup group organizer's fee. Please pay at the door - thanks!

Please feel free to bring any kind of clothing as long as it is clean and undamaged. As a guideline we recommend you bring items you would be proud to give a friend. You may also bring non-clothing items to this swap. All leftovers will be donated to the thrift shop at St. Margaret's House.

For newbies: When you arrive please check in, pay the entrance fee, put out your offerings in the appropriate areas indicated by the signs. and have at it! You can bring as little or as much as you want and take as little or as much as you like.

Subways to St. Margaret's House: A,C,2,3,4,5,J,M,Z to Fulton Street or Broadway/Nassau. Exit the subway at Fulton Street and Walk towards the water, pass Associated Foods, Burger King, Foot Locker, Dunkin Doughnuts, Duane Reade until you come to the corner of Fulton and Pearl. The swap will be held in the wing which is directly to your left as you enter the front doors.

Light refreshments will be served, music will be played, clothing will be swapped and a grand time will be had by all. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Learn more here:
http://clothesswap.meetup.com/84/calendar/8443397/

Loren also sent out this reminder:
This is our first "after work hours" swap so I wanted those of you who work a regular business type day to know that it's fine to come anytime between the hours of 6:00 and 8:00. I expect there to be lots of dribbling in as people get off of work at various times so I'm sure there will be plenty swapping still going on at 7:00 and later.

Also, for anyone still with questions about "how this works" it's good to know that you can bring a little and take a lot, or bring a lot and take a little - whatever suits you. Swapping is not a one-to-one barter situation, just a free give and take with no strings attached! Beautimous!

This swap also accepts small, non-clothing items like books and cd's, unused toiletries, small household items, so bring some if you like. I'll also be starting a discussion on the site about what kinds of things people are bringing and what they'd like to find, so if you'd like to share this info with the group that would be great!