Time to Simplify!

The world has been taken over by stuff.  Consumerism is at an all time high and the trend is not going away anytime soon.  Visit "The New Consumer" to see some shocking statistics on this national and global trend.  Including some mind numbing numbers like, "$30.5 trillion—amount spent on goods and services worldwide in 2006, up from $4.9 trillion in 1960 (in 2008 dollars)."  Spending on goods world wide has increased nearly six-fold in the last 48 years.  Whether or not these numbers have been adjusted for inflation was not clear from the article.  However, it is clear that we have gone crazy over technology and the desire to have the newest gadgets, "400 million—# of toxic electronic products discarded each year in U.S."  The thirst for the latest and greatest leaves many nearly new electronics to be destined for the dump.  Yes I do use these stats to shock, in hopes of bringing awareness, but please don't misunderstand my message.  I love technology, innovation and the freedom to start a business that is offered by the great country that I live in.  I just worry that we have become so inundated with stuff that we have lost  the other beautiful things that this country has to offer: forests, lakes, fertile lands, freedom, hard work and great rewards.  We have become slaves to technology, screens and the latest fads.  Its time to unplug temporarily, regroup and find a new path to follow as a family.


As hard as it is to admit, even our little hunting family has been consumed with stuff lately.  All these fun gadgets and gizmos have run amok and stolen our time, finances and quite frankly a piece of our happiness.  Unfortunately, for all the time and money that we have poured into our toys we have received little in return other than distraction.  We've decided that it's time to unplug and step out of this overwhelming and all consuming cycle of consumerism and move back to a more simple life.  Where hard, meaningful work can and will produce amazing results both financially and personally.  Join us as we document our journey to get closer to our roots and dump the junk.  Below are some of the ways that we plan to change our lives over this summer.  As we make progress on our list I'll post links here.

Quality Family Time

Time Savers

Grocery Budget Savers

Home Cooking

Mid Summer Vegetable Gardening

Canning and Freezing

Smoking Fish

Venison Jerky

Wild Berry Picking

Farmer's Markets

Preparing for Hunting Season

Free Summer Activities

Community Service

After you sit down with your family your list will most likely look dramatically different and that's the point.  Instead of following what we see in other's lives it time to follow the paths that are right for our individual families.  I just hope that the wins, losses, mistakes and fun that we have along the way will help guide even just  a few families on a new quest for happiness and adventure.  If you have other ideas that you want to try out please list them below.  We are always looking for new ideas and might even try a few of yours out if they fit with our plan.