Living With Less. A Lot Less. – THE NEW YORK TIMES

THE NEW YORK TIMES – SUNDAY REVIEW
By GRAHAM HILL
Published: March 9, 2013
I LIVE in a 420-square-foot studio. I sleep in a bed that folds down from the wall. I have six dress shirts. I have 10 shallow bowls that I use for salads and main dishes. When people come over for dinner, I pull out my extendable dining room table. I don’t have a single CD or DVD and I have 10 percent of the books I once did.

I have come a long way from the life I had in the late ’90s, when, flush with cash from an Internet start-up sale, I had a giant house crammed with stuff – electronics and cars and appliances and gadgets.

Somehow this stuff ended up running my life, or a lot of it; the things I consumed ended up consuming me. My circumstances are unusual (not everyone gets an Internet windfall before turning 30), but my relationship with material things isn’t.

We live in a world of surfeit stuff, of big-box stores and 24-hour online shopping opportunities. Members of every socioeconomic bracket can and do deluge themselves with products.

There isn’t any indication that any of these things makes anyone any happier; in fact it seems the reverse may be true.

For me, it took 15 years, a great love and a lot of travel to get rid of all the inessential things I had collected and live a bigger, better, richer life with less.

It started in 1998 in Seattle, when my partner and I sold our Internet consultancy company, Sitewerks, for more money than I thought I’d earn in a lifetime.

To celebrate, I bought a four-story, 3,600-square-foot, turn-of-the-century house in Seattle’s happening Capitol Hill neighborhood and, in a frenzy of consumption, bought a brand-new sectional couch (my first ever), a pair of $300 sunglasses, a ton of gadgets, like an Audible.com MobilePlayer (one of the first portable digital music players) and an audiophile-worthy five-disc CD player. I had to have an Internet connection too, definitely, so I think I had even looked for an att internet plan to start off with. And, of course, a black turbocharged Volvo. With a remote starter!

I was working hard for Sitewerks’ new parent company, Bowne, and didn’t have the time to finish getting everything I needed for my house. So I hired a guy named Seven, who said he had been Courtney Love’s assistant, to be my personal shopper. He went to furniture, appliance and electronics stores and took Polaroids of things he thought I might like to fill the house; I’d shuffle through the pictures and proceed on a virtual shopping spree. I also took a look at cheap filing cabinets that I found on the internet as I could really do with furnishing a home office – something that I’ve been planning for simply ages. I’ve been wanting to put in a desk, chair, cabinets, and more into an area of the house that I can dedicate solely to my work.

My success and the things it bought quickly changed from novel to normal. Soon I was numb to it all. The new Nokia phone didn’t excite me or satisfy me. It didn’t take long before I started to wonder why my theoretically upgraded life didn’t feel any better and why I felt more anxious than before.

I was actually speaking to a friend of mine about this the other day. There are no doubts about it, living with anxiety and depression can take a huge toll on your mental health. It is for these reasons that it is so important to take time out of your schedule to practice mindfulness.

In case you were not already aware, mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. Moreover, it is no secret that paying more attention to the present moment, both to your own thoughts and feelings and to the world around you can improve your mental wellbeing.

Correspondingly, some people find that as well as practicing mindfulness in everyday life, it can be helpful to set aside time for formal mindfulness practices. I have heard and read that even plant concentrates like cannabis or hash can be used to enhance the mindfulness practice. You can find the details on many a website and blog that provide information about the mindful use of cannabis. Apparently, certain strains can bring about a calmer state of mind by ridding us of the burdens of anxiety and overthinking.

For instance, mindfulness meditation involves sitting silently and paying attention to thoughts, sounds, the sensations of breathing, or parts of the body, bringing your attention back whenever the mind starts to wander. Additionally, yoga and tai-chi can also help with developing awareness of your breathing.

Some women even find that using a yoni egg helps them to reach a state of mindfulness. Furthermore, if you would like to learn more about the potential health-boosting benefits of yoni eggs, you can take a look at this fascinating guide that explains everything from how to make the choice between obsidian and jade and how best to use a yoni egg to encourage mindfulness.

Looking back on my life though, for me, my life used to be so unnecessarily complicated. There were lawns to mow, gutters to clear, floors to vacuum, roommates to manage (it seemed nuts to have such a big, empty house), a car to insure, wash, refuel, repair and register and tech to set up and keep working. To top it all off, I had to keep Seven busy. And really, a personal shopper? Who had I become? My house and my things were my new employers for a job I had never applied for.

It got worse. Soon after we sold our company, I moved east to work in Bowne’s office in New York, where I rented a 1,900-square-foot SoHo loft that befit my station as a tech entrepreneur. The new pad needed furniture, housewares, electronics, etc. – which took more time and energy to manage.

AND because the place was so big, I felt obliged to get roommates – who required more time, more energy, to manage. I still had the Seattle house, so I found myself worrying about two homes. When I decided to stay in New York, it cost a fortune and took months of cross-country trips – and big headaches – to close on the Seattle house and get rid of the all of the things inside.

I’m lucky, obviously; not everyone gets a windfall from a tech start-up sale. But I’m not the only one whose life is cluttered with excess belongings.

In a study published last year titled “Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century,” researchers at U.C.L.A. observed 32 middle-class Los Angeles families and found that all of the mothers’ stress hormones spiked during the time they spent dealing with their belongings. Seventy-five percent of the families involved in the study couldn’t park their cars in their garages because they were too jammed with things.

Our fondness for stuff affects almost every aspect of our lives. Housing size, for example, has ballooned in the last 60 years. The average size of a new American home in 1950 was 983 square feet; by 2011, the average new home was 2,480 square feet. And those figures don’t provide a full picture. In 1950, an average of 3.37 people lived in each American home; in 2011, that number had shrunk to 2.6 people. This means that we take up more than three times the amount of space per capita than we did 60 years ago.

Apparently our supersize homes don’t provide space enough for all our possessions, as is evidenced by our country’s $22 billion personal storage industry.

What exactly are we storing away in the boxes we cart from place to place? Much of what Americans consume doesn’t even find its way into boxes or storage spaces, but winds up in the garbage.

The Natural Resources Defense Council reports, for example, that 40 percent of the food Americans buy finds its way into the trash.

Enormous consumption has global, environmental and social consequences. For at least 335 consecutive months, the average temperature of the globe has exceeded the average for the 20th century. As a recent report for Congress explained, this temperature increase, as well as acidifying oceans, melting glaciers and Arctic Sea ice are “primarily driven by human activity.” Many experts believe consumerism and all that it entails – from the extraction of resources to manufacturing to waste disposal – plays a big part in pushing our planet to the brink. And as we saw with Foxconn and the recent Beijing smog scare, many of the affordable products we buy depend on cheap, often exploitive overseas labor and lax environmental regulations.

Does all this endless consumption result in measurably increased happiness?

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Grow Community Brokers Open

Thursday, March 28th 2013, 12-3pm

428 Grow Avenue NW, Bainbridge Island

Calling all Real Estate Agents! Have you heard about Grow Community? A net-zero One Planet community under construction right here on Bainbridge Island. Want to learn more about the energy efficient solar homes we are selling? Have a client that might want to live here? Join us Thursday 28th for a Brokers Open: tasty treats, model home tours, and even a raffle!

Futurewise Spring Luncheon – Connecting the Dots

Saturday, March 20th 2013, noon

The Seattle Sheraton

Mark your calendar and join us as we celebrate 22 years of promoting healthy communities and cities, while protecting farmland, forests and shorelines for this and future generations. The spring Luncheon will highlight how Futurewise is connecting the dots to create strong healthy communities in Washington State.

For more information on attending, sponsoring or hosting a table, please call Andrea Johnson at (206) 343-0681 x 122 or e-mail at andrea@futurewise.org

Oasis 2013 – Sustainability 301 Event

Saturday, March 7th 2013, all day

oasis2013-logowebThe Oasis at Sodo Park | 3220 2st Avenue South, Seattle WA 98134 

Join speakers Marja Preston, President of Grow Community, and Jonathan Davis with Davis Studio Architecture + Design at the Oasis 2013 event on March 7th. This event will explore advanced techniques for sustainable building and leadership. A full day of inspiring, fast-paced presentations and long-form workshops will provide a forum for practitioners to gain the tools and understanding they need to make a real difference. We will delve into emerging products, installation methods and sustainable systems. This forum brings together the people who are shaping our sustainable future, on a local and national level. The speakers will inspire. The workshops will engage. Expect to master knowledge and skills that will improve your performance and market share while honing your collective ability to make the difference you want to make.

Register for the event here.

Exploring Intergenerational Living Options at Grow Community

The concept for Grow Community has always been based on an intergenerational community. We imagine a neighborhood where families, young children, singles, retired couples, and elders all live in homes that suit their needs. But not only that, the community, in it’s physical and social design is intended to encourage interactions amongst all these residents. We imagine a neighborhood where relationships are formed, spontaneously and intentionally, where young and old play together in the garden, share experiences and care for each other.

To explore what this type of community might look like, we held a workshop last month. In our workshop we asked folks to ‘backcast’ – imagining that they were living at Grow already and they sent a postcard to a loved one about the community.  Here is what they wrote.

Ani – you will love my new house/life in Grow.  We have soup night every month and I am a driver volunteer taking people to the ferry, store, etc. in the community electric car.  I babysit for a 6 and 8 year after school they live 2 houses down – so much to do in the neighborhood.  I lead a writing group at our converted “Grow House” every week.  I’m gardening and eat what I grow – finally.  Still live a walkable life like I used to, but best is my carbon footprint is about zero.  Yay!  Mama 

Dear Racheal, Can’t wait to have you visit when we move to our new community in Winslow (growbainbridge.org).  You will really appreciate the very ecological building and the intentional community aspects.  Love Kate  PS – Check out the One Planet Principles – you would love it.

Dear Gabby, We’re looking forward to your visit with Ava (still our only beloved granddaughter).  Ava will meet other kids her age, and we can all spend some time working in the garden.  The families in our immediate neighborhood will come together for a potluck during your visit, so we’ll be cooking together.  There’s usually some music and dancing before the evening is over.  Cheers, Dad

Wow – I’m finally settled into my new home at Grow Community.  Never thought I’d move again – and here I feel a lot more community support as I got older.  I like being with a mixture of ages and family types – and not just people my own age or older.  Happily, there are quiet places where kids don’t hang out.  And my space is very quiet, which is lovely.  Come visit – I have a guest room!

Dear Lisa, I can’t wait for you to come visit pops and me at Grow Community.  We’ll celebrate your birthday in our community room, pick tomatoes in the garden, listen for frogs in the pond, walk to town for a cookie, then take the gerry to Seattle and ride the wheel.  We’ll read books together in our cozy apartment and we’ll check out bikes to ride from our shared bike barn.  Lots to do together.  Love Mama B

We are constantly using words like inclusivity, walkability, visitability and (of course) sustainability in our conversations about how we design, build, and create opportunity for community to take hold in a place.  Considering all these words and all our hopes and dreams to incorporate in one place can be quite a challenge… and one we are thankful to be undertaking. This is made easier with ideas from our community.

The next buildings we construct will be designed to take this intergenerational concept to the next level. The beginning of an idea has taken shape as we’ve listened to your feedback. A building based on Universal Design principles, with one-level flats, accessible spaces, comfortable spaces, spaces designed for people of all ages.

Couldn’t make the workshop, but have some ideas to share?  Please share your thoughts by clicking the comments link above.  No idea is a bad idea!  We look forward to hearing from you.

 

 

 

Grow Community in the News: Seattle Times

Bainbridge development to be totally solar powered, carbon neutral

Grow Community is following One Planet Living sustainability standards for a planned 130-unit residential development.

By Reid Champagne
Special to The Seattle Times

Grow Community has started work on a 130-unit residential development on Bainbridge Island. The development says it will use roof-installed solar panels to provide 100 percent of the power needed for each residence.

The project has received the One Planet Living seal of approval, the fifth community to do so, says Marja Preston, president of Asani, the real estate development company overseeing the Grow development.

One Planet Living is a global initiative launched by the World Wildlife Fund and environmental consultancy BioRegional that promotes zero-carbon emissions, zero waste and car-free cities.

“The most important principle we have committed to at Grow is to design and build zero carbon buildings by 2020,” Preston explains.

In addition to generating all of the building’s energy needs from solar, the Grow Community will feature heat recovery ventilation systems, energy efficient appliances and LED fixtures, she says.

“Since our lifestyle choices from food and transportation have almost three times the carbon impact our buildings do, we have paid particular attention to community gardens of edible plants, as well as an electric car for our car-share program,” Preston adds.

(See Full Article Here)

Marja Preston speaking at BLOOM SEATTLE

February 7th 2013, 6pm

1927 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA

Bloom! is Seattle’s Green TED – an evening of innovative speakers working in sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. Eight speakers, including our very own Marja Preston, will have eight minutes each to inspire us with their stories, and the bar will have all night to inspire us with their cocktails.

Get your tickets for Thursday, February 7th! They’ve got a serious rockstar lineup for you talking about the likes of nuclear power, cupcakes, commercial and residential development, food forests, and re-inventing the toilet.

To learn more about the speakers, see the Bloom Seattle website.

Get your tickets here. Because of Bloom’s history of selling out, they have moved to a larger venue in downtown Seattle: 1927 Events (1927 3rd Ave).

Marja Preston speaks at BLOOM SEATTLE

February 7th 2013, 6pm

1927 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 

Bloom! is Seattle’s Green TED – an evening of innovative speakers working in sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. Eight speakers, including our very own Marja Preston, will have eight minutes each to inspire us with their stories, and the bar will have all night to inspire us with their cocktails. Get your tickets for Thursday, February 7th! They’ve got a serious rockstar lineup for you talking about the likes of nuclear power, cupcakes, commercial and residential development, food forests, and re-inventing the toilet.

To learn more about the speakers, see the Bloom Seattle website.

Get your early bird tickets here. Because of Bloom’s history of selling out, they have moved to a larger venue in downtown Seattle: 1927 Events (1927 3rd Ave).

Grow Community Awarded Most Sustainable Business of the Year!

Grow Community/Asani were honored to receive the 2012 Sustainable Business of the Year award from the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce.   This is an award that was truly achieved due to the support and involvement of our greater Bainbridge Island community.  Thank you.

 

GROW – Community Center Design Workshop

This past weekend we held two interactive community workshops for the design and use of our community center space. We want to thank all those folks that took time out of their weekend to join us and lend their enthusiasm and imagination to what could be possible. Here are a few of the ideas thrown around:

  • tool/equipment share
  • flexible creative spaces with movable walls for art projects, meetings, book clubs, yoga, classes to learn a new skill
  • cross country bocce ball course
  • rooftop green house
  • community kitchen
  • outdoor movie screen that doubles as a climbing wall
  • bicycle powered
  • rain harvested kids water/play feature
  • community bulletin board
  • indoor workshop/garage space for bicycle tune-ups etc.

We have continued to share a common hope and dream of an intergenerational community and that was evident through the course of our workshops. Whether it be young families, teens joining us to add their input, empty nesters, and those young at heart, everyone had something wonderful to share.

All this helps us as we start from here and work toward designing this community space.

Couldn’t make the workshop, but have some ideas for the space?  Please share your thoughts by clicking the comments link above.  No idea is a bad idea!  We look forward to hearing from you.

Our next workshop on January 26th will explore intergenerational living options at Grow Community.  Please click here for more details and to RSVP.