"Beware of little expenses: a small leak will sink a great ship."

…Benjamin Franklin

Milissa, Jerri, Bob, Micky, Louella, Colin, Elisa, Dennis, Tim, Ross, Vicki, Todd, Dave, Jill, Dick, Lenny, Pam, Woodie, Kim, Don, Jon, Gina, Elizabeth and Mike, welcomed Marty, Dave, Jenni, Kathie, Maggie, Pamela and Jim to their first meeting.

After a round of introductions and explanation of the meeting format, the group listed items for open space discussion:

• "Casual Income" -- from Charles Long book, How To Live Without A Salary (Dave)
• Financial Education -- how to get it, what to do
• How does one "quiet" the tendency toward complexity and over commitment? (Woodie)
• Maintaining simplicity and frugal values when circumstance change (Gina)
• Where best to retire?
• Applied alternative energy (Jon)
• At what level do you become a hypocrite! (Tim)
• VS Chicago "Funding" [to others/projects] (Mike)
• Scaling down lifestyle needs (Elizabeth)
• Cleansing and building the body with raw foods including Raw Animal Foods (Todd)

The group reviewed, arranged and combined the items, deciding to discuss three topics concurrently, in two separate sessions. Here are some highlights from the open space discussions…

{From Mike L… Please note -- This meeting was well attended. Energy levels and participation were very high, and the group generated many, many wonderful thoughts, observations and ideas. To summarize them all in this space is difficult. Following is a snap shot of the meeting}

• reference Charles E. Long's book entitled "Surviving Without a Salary"
• don't define yourself by your job
• all the things you're saving for retirement? Do them now and find a way to get paid for them or use them to barter for things you would ordinarily pay for. (i.e. clean a few stalls for free horseback riding lessons)
• If you don't work full time, casual income opportunities become more available, such as: substitute teaching, house sitting, focus groups (see Don), ushering (see Jill), tutoring, rental income, etc.
• Turn clutter into cash on E-Bay!!!!

The essence is that everyone works, whether you are going to a corporate office or weeding your garden of organic veges, it is still work, the idea is to work where, when and how it suits you best. If you are simplifying your needs/expenses plus bartering for your entertainment then you will need less actual cash. Maybe you could get by on a part time job (to get health care) along with casual income from a couple different hobbies that you want to do anyway.

Books referenced:

• "Making a Living Without a Job"
• "Unjobbing"
• "The Richest Man In Babylon"
• "The Millionaire Next Door"

Woodie has joined Lisa, teaming up as co-administrators of our VS Chicago Intranet site. They are currently working to make the site more serving to VS Chicago Participants. Additional information will be available at the April VS Meeting.

BACKGROUND. In a recent trip to Phoenix, Arizona, Mike and Linda toured Frank Lloyd Wright's (FLW) winter home and school, Teliesin-West. They met two young architect apprentices (Fatma & Fabian) who were working to complete their "senior project" => construction of a simple living structure, based on knowledge gained from the many experiential learning's of the school. Several things about the project and school intrigued Mike and Linda:

• students are required to spend their first 18 months living on the desert in shepherd's tents. FLW said what better way to understand living needs and basic shelter than by living and experiencing both -- something he did for 3 years before beginning to build permanent site structures
• students work "construction" their first year, building senior project structures under the supervision of the senior students -- hands on building experience for the freshmen, while hands on project management/supervision experience for the seniors
• all students spend one day a week cooking -- how can you design a kitchen unless you've worked in one?; doing janitorial, gardening and general maintenance work -- all with the intent of gaining first hand experience in order to be better, practical and nature friendly designers

• Fatma & Fabian's concern for the surrounding fragile desert environment. They wanted to design a structure that would…
• have the least amount of impact on the desert, the desert animals and vegetation
• be a structure not requiring continual, ongoing maintenance

Fatma and Fabian succeeded in designing and building a structure that

• used the least amount of desert space ever in the 50+ year history of Teliesin-West
• disturbed the least amount of desert space ever during construction
• is elevated, suspended by cables from a center mast, which provides unobstructive movement for all desert animals

BUT… they had run $400 short of completing the structure and were in process of raising more funds. Which got Mike and Linda to thinking…

What impact, if any, would there be on all the folks who tour Teliesin-West, if they saw a simplicity group listed as a contributor to this project? Mike and Linda liked the considerate design, the attitudes and outlooks of the students, and would like these students and the others that follow, to know there are folks out there who support their ideals -- someone other than traditional supporters like corporations, building suppliers… And to raise $400, simply divided would be $15 from 25 folks. Hum…

But it also raised many, many questions about implications of doing so. This is what Mike brought to the discussion -- could/should VS Chicago, by name, become supporters of various things? If so, how would we do that?? Oh the implications…

DISCUSSION:

• If we get directly into funding, then structure needs to be established
• 501-c3 status, would require boards, meetings… a lot of formal structure would need to be developed…
• What criteria would we use for funding?
• Is this something any of us would really want to get into?
• Is the "VS Chicago" name owned? Perhaps VS Chicago should look into protecting the name so others could not use "VS Chicago" to do conflicting work
• Perhaps VS Chicago finding a way to support causes, projects… "associated" with simplicity, could serve as an example for other simplicity groups to use
• Government funds may be available for VS Chicago to advertise what we're doing (and what are we doing?)

CONCLUSIONS:

• Formal structures, etc., is something no one is interested in doing
• Formal endorsement of projects, activities… really takes away from the essence and current purpose of VS Chicago meetings => we don't want to lose anything we already have
• Perhaps a better way to address support, is to note VS Chicago participants who are actively (i.e., with money, hands-on…) involved in projects, activities…
• Examples:
  If Mike and Linda are actively supporting a project at Teliesin-West, let the VS Group know and if anyone is interested, they can contact Mike & Linda.
  If Bob and Lew are actively involved in river cleanup, announce it and let anyone interested contact Bob and Lew…
• If several VS Chicago participants are involved in a project, perhaps list their involvement as "Friends of Voluntary-Simplicity Chicago" (as a way to get the word out there)
• If anyone is actively involved in something they would like other VS Participants to know about

1. Send Mike Lenich a note and he'll post as part of monthly notes
2. Post at the VS Chicago Intranet site

(From Mike L.: FOLLOW-UP SINCE the MARCH MEETING)

• Thank you to those who made a contribution to Fatma and Fabian's project -- I will be personally delivering the funds to the Fatma and Fabian at Teliesin-West during a reception there on March 25th.
• I am also writing an article for Simple Living Quarterly about Fatma and Fabian's project

In addition to the monthly VS Chicago meetings, a Northwest Suburb simplicity group is getting started. Kate Maver is going to be facilitating a simple living group as a continuing ed course at Harper College on April 2 and 9 in the evenings. Kate invites anyone interested in starting up a Simplicity Group in the Northwest Suburbs, to give her a call.