Radical Simplicity: The Good Life

When I moved to LA last October I thought it might make me desensitized to my activism, especially my environmentalism. Or maybe not desensitized, but distracted. By the flashing lights and the glamour. Or something. But it turns out that Hollywood life quickly drove me other way.

Since I moved into my apartment, a hardwood one bedroom in Wilshire Vista, just south of the Miracle Mile, I've tried to keep things simple. Radically simple. As an environmentalist and social activist, living on a small budget, an attitude of radical simplicity ensures I leave a lighter footprint, even in such an urban environment. Sometimes I feel like I'm not reducing enough... so I've decided to try to write a little bit about the work and energy and thoughts that come with this sort of lifestyle. It's much easier to reduce our "need" than it is to create enough energy to fulfill it.

Thriftiness is next to...
My reality is that, while I try to find beautiful, some times designer items to post, I don't buy them. I buy entirely thrift. Shopping this way is much more satisfying for me. Finding that one unique piece rather than pulling one of twelve off of a rack. I've been shopping like that for so long that, while I like to browse a new store or two, I can't even imagine what it would be like to buy something new. It just seems crazy.

One Can Harry's
I only have one trash can. In the kitchen. En route to throw something away I'm able to think before I throw. Can I reuse this? If not right now, maybe later? Usually the answer is yes.

Bring Back the Classics
I haven't bought a knickknack since about 2 weeks after I moved in. When I moved back here I realized that I had some boxes of stuff from my childhood stashed a friends' houses and most of my tchotchkes come from there. Small tin soldiers, toy cars, a few stuffed animals and some very odd posters. It's amazing how I kept so few things and they all fit so brilliantly into my current aesthetic.