Hellobee

Minimalism and living simpler has become a big trend in recent years, especially with the popularity of Marie Kondo’s bestselling book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” While decluttering just made sense to me — we had way more stuff than we ever needed when we lived in New York — it wasn’t until we moved to a remote island in the Philippines a year and a half ago that we embraced a much simpler life. Of course, we didn’t have much choice, but it’s definitely been eye-opening living without many things we would have considered essentials in the States as well as without many of the modern pressures and commitments we used to have. Here are 20 ways our lives are simpler living on a remote island:

sunsets from the past month

1) We have less commitments. There is no PTA, extracurricular activities, work meetings, social engagements, extended family gatherings… there isn’t much demand on our time beyond work and immediate family.

2) We have less friends. We socialized frequently in New York with dinner parties, playdates, birthdays. As introverts, it could get draining at times and we’d need to recharge. We socialize a couple times a month here with a few close friends, and it usually centers around them coming over for a casual dinner… which is always less stressful than going out when you’re an introvert!

3) We are less connected. We only have wifi when we’re at home so when we’re out and about, we can’t surf on our phones. I don’t im with anyone back in the US because of the time difference (12 hours). Landlines don’t exist, cell phone reception is often spotty, and many people don’t even own cell phones. I get way less emails because there is nothing targeted for our area whether it’s stores, restaurants, or events.

4) We consume less media. The kids watched a lot more tv in New York when we were waiting somewhere, when we were tired from a busy day out, and when we had high speed internet and could watch Netflix and youtube videos anytime we wanted. The kids rarely watch tv here beyond movies that we download, and only on the weekends. You’d think that because we have much less to do here we’d watch way more tv. But we often go weeks without watching anything at all.

5) We use less social media. I spent a lot of time on Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest when we lived in the US. The internet was too slow so I gave up Instagram and Snapchat quickly after we moved here. It’s amazing how much of my daily life I used to spend on social media, and now I don’t miss it at all.

6) We have very few clothes. A byproduct of living in year-round tropical weather and only having summery clothes. My entire wardrobe can easily fit in a backpack.

7) We buy less. There isn’t much we can buy locally which is a blessing and a curse. We don’t buy things we don’t need but when we need something, we have to travel 6 hours to the island capital.

8) The kids share a room. Charlie and Olive had their own rooms their entire lives in New York but since we moved to the Philippines, we’ve lived in a 2 bedroom house so they share a room. I shared a room with my brother throughout elementary school, and I think that my family spent much more time together because we lived in small spaces growing up. The same is true for our family now.

9) We spend time in nature every day. We live on the beach and the first thing I do when I wake up is take my dogs for a walk on the beach. I look at the ocean and it gives me a peaceful start to my day. I also try to catch the sunset every evening and look up at the stars as often as possible. Because there is no light pollution, we can see millions of stars and constellations every night.

10) We don’t eat fast food. Because there is no fast food. But we also grow a lot of our own fruits and vegetables, and the kids’ daily snack is usually fresh fruit.

11) We have less stuff. We don’t have anything beyond what we need whether it’s furniture, housewares, toys, etc. And even then we regularly declutter.

12) We appreciate basic necessities that we used to take for granted. Hot water and electricity tops that list because we have hot showers but no hot water anywhere else, as well as regular brownouts. Candles, matches, and flashlights are always an arm’s length away in our house!

13) We do less. There is just less to do here so we spend a lot of time with each other and in nature.

14)  We have a lot of dogs. Technically we only have 2 and the rest live at a shelter we started, but there are still plenty of local dogs we interact with daily. We’ve spayed/neutered/vaccinated/treated/fostered over 20 dogs. Dogs are so pure and innocent they heal you in the same way nature does.

15) Everything happens on island time. In the States we were used to getting instant answers to emails and ims; anything delivered the same day; a multitude of transportation options from taxis to uber to buses to subways. Everything happens on island time here, and you just learn to go with the flow and not stress out about it because everyone is usually late.

16) There is no culture of comparison. The kids are happy with the simple things in life like drawing, swimming, climbing and playing pretend because everyone lives simply here.

17) The kids are much more independent. Because they have so much free play every day, the kids have become so much more independent because they have to figure out how to occupy all that time. They can do so much for themselves from dressing to bathing, to cooking to just not needing us for most of the day.

18) The kids direct their learning. We homeschooled for a year and then they attended school for 6 months. They want to go back to homeschooling which is not only more challenging, but also allows them to focus on topics that most interest them.

19) The kids read a lot. One area where I did not cut back was books. Luckily there are tons of used bookstores in the Philippines. We also use Kindle Unlimited and buy ebooks from Amazon as well. Charlie can read for hours on his own, and one of our challenges now is when he stays up reading late into the night after we fall asleep! Olive also loves reading and has been working hard to catch up to Charlie’s level.

20) Less is more. The kids have far less toys here than they did in New York but I can definitely say they are happier. They play with the toys they do have much more, they take better care of them, they use their imaginations all the time, they do more art, they fight less, they share more, and they play in nature.

It’s not always easy or convenient living on a remote island, but it has really given us time to think about what is important to us. I think the kids are having a great childhood, and that’s definitely the best part of living here.