Thursday
Apr292010
A simple(r) life
Thursday, April 29, 2010 
Since we arrived here in Berlin, our lives have changed in many ways. We've moved from the country to the city, from English/French to German/Turkish, from a large home to a small apartment. One consequence of this change is that we are leading a much simpler life in many ways.
- We don't have a car, which means we walk or take public transportation everywhere we go.
- Other than a toaster, we do not have any small appliances in the kitchen. No coffee maker, no microwave, no food processor, no electric mixer, no waffle iron, no raclette set, and so on. There is also very little in the way of pots, pans and bakeware. One pot with a kid and two small old frying pans (probably teflon) with no lids (and the pot lid doesn't fit them either). I ended up buying a deep, non-teflon, frying pan and a baking dish to supplement what is here already).
- Since we are living in someone else's apartment (smaller than our house and filled with someone else's stuff) and since we travelled here by plane, we have significantly less stuff than we do at home. A small fridge, two small dressers to put the clothes for all four of us in, one shelf in the bathroom for all of our stuff (including toilet paper and towels).
- We have no TV, very few toys, and no real play space (indoor or outdoor) that can be accessed without leaving "our property" (i.e. venturing onto public spaces requiring supervision for a 3 and 5 year old).
This has had some disadvantages:
- The kids have less freedom to play in the house/yard.
- The fact that the kids have less freedom to play in the house/yard and fewer toys also means that I have less freedom to get my things done (household tasks, work, and downtime) without having to supervise (ensure they don't wreck the place we're staying in or hurt themselves) or entertain (keep them busy, interested, etc.).
- Three year old Emma who isn't used to walking a lot gets very whiny and clingy (with lots of "carry me" requests) when we are out of the house for a while.
- I can't easily cook some of the things that I cook at home (missing dishes, pots and pans or appliances or missing ingredients that I would normally have on stock all the time at home).
But it has also had some distinct advantages:
- The kids are certainly getting their daily quota of sun (Vitamin D), fresh air, and exercise. Between doing errands and doing fun stuff, we probably spend between six and eight hours being active outside each day.
- Despite plenty of stops at local gelato dealers, we are probably eating better than we did at home. I don't have well stocked freezer and well stocked cupboards, so there is less temptation to grab a frozen whatever or a jar of something when I don't feel like cooking. Julian also isn't in school anymore, so I don't have to worry about the school's rules regarding allergens (e.g. nut-free) when making food decisions. Most pleasantly surprising, some of the things at the local organic shop that are branded right at kids (e.g. have a dancing bear and balloons on the front of them), are actually healthy (unlike in North America). The ketchup, for example, has no added sugar and is almost only made up of tomato paste and apple sauce. It tastes remarkably different from the ketchup we buy in Canada (and the other brands here), but the cute bear and balloons go a long way!
- While I'm more stressed by the kids (part of going from being a work out of home mom in my own country to being a stay at home mom in a foreign country), I am less stressed about life in general.
- The kids aren't watching TV. I don't love TV or hate TV, but I do think that most kids, ours included, probably watch too much of it most of the time. Not having a TV here at all certainly makes it easy to ensure they aren't watching too much of it. The only thing they watch at all is an occasional few minutes of a DVD on my computer after dinner. But otherwise, they have to find other ways to stay entertained...ways that require the active use of their brains instead of just passively watching the images go by.
So far, I give the simple(r) life a big thumbs up for family time and health. But wow am I exhausted. ZZZzzzzzzzZZZZzzzz...good night!
Reader Comments (21)
What a lot of changes! I'm glad to hear that it's generally going well. I'm also exhausted by the change from working to stay-at-home mom, but at least I'm in the same house and town for the time being (although parenting solo for a few days). I've been considering ditching the TV with our upcoming move, but turning on a David Attenborough movie for an hour does give me a much needed break sometimes.
Good luck with the adjustment!
That's a lot of change in a short time! I wonder if you will be able to carry any of it home with you. I will be curious to see how it plays out. :)
Oh I love this post! We've been experimenting with some pretty intense simple living since I quit everything a few months ago, and it is *so* much less stressful. We'll be in Argentina for a month this summer, staying with my husband's family. I expect it will be a lot like this: more intense parenting, but simpler living overall. They do have cable TV though, and we don't, so that will be different.
Wow what huge changes though I have to say that having to do without Heinz ketchup and Timmy's coffee would be enough to make be rebel. If you need a care package e-mail me.
Things like no TV and walking everywhere will probably get much easier as you all get used to your new situation. Not having the cookware to make familiar meals is hard though. How are you finding your new neighbourhood? Is is pretty kid-friendly? I like the Berlin-style playground. :)
I grew up in the US but have spent most of my adult life in the UK. Whenever friends or family come to visit, they seem very surprised at how few appliances and amenities we have. They can't seem to wrap their heads around not having a dryer, a microwave, a garbage disposal, dishwasher or air conditioning. And until last year, no car either. When I go there for a visit, I get overwhelmed by all of the 'things' in the houses. I'm glad you're enjoying the simple(r) life!
What blew my mind is that the washer in our apartment is also a dryer?!?! We aren't using the dryer function (we opt to hang to dry), but the concept kind of blew my mind.
Thanks Renee! I think we'll survive. I'm thoroughly enjoying all the German style treats that I've missed so much since I last lived here.
What are those favorite treats? I'm already making lists of things I'm going to stock up on from México when when we finally return home. :) It's kinda funny to me that I actually talk more about the foods I miss from home rather than the relative ease of getting things done by myself there.
Those are some major changes. Glad you are hanging in there and making the best of it. Sounds like it will be an amazing experience for all of you. :)
Wow, that does take a lot of getting used to. I had a similar experience for our trip over Spring Break, but that was just a week. I can't imagine doing it for longer, although I am sure some things will certainly get easier as you go. What a great experience for you all!
There are many things we convince ourselves that we need. I can't even imagine how many times I used to say "I couldn't live without my microwave/cable TV/whatever," only to discover that it's not only possible to live without them, but often preferable.
The soft pretzels (the kids and I buy them daily now as our "on the go" snack), the fresh buns for breakfast in the morning, the chocolate (which we can get in Canada too, but much more expensive), Flammkuchen (like a pizza, but with sour cream, bacon, onions - no tomato sauce), and many other things that I can't possibly list here...too many of them.
Just realized while writing my next post that the ketchup I mentioned doesn't have a dancing bear and balloons on it. It is a tiger. :)
Oh is sounds like you are having so much fun... Isn't funny where the simpler life is actually found!!!
my 4 grew up in Mexico and Central America, moving house anywhere from each 3 months to 15 (our longest stay anywhere, due to visa restrictions). We had only what we could stuff into our old toyota minivan along with the 5 of us. We all sometimes minded leaving something--or somewhere--but we all still feel so enriched by the experiences. I recently read some research on the value of experience over material possessions, and umm-hmmmed a lot. Things weigh you down in one place, and at some point the limits that puts on your life are just too costly. We learned to make coffee on the stovetop in a battered old tin pot, and to this day, in our San Francisco apartment, we still do it that way...Simplicity is a lasting blessing in life.
Oh yes, the 'combi' washer/dryer. I had one of those in a rented flat once. It uses the water to sort of steam the clothes dry while rolling them about. It takes FOREVER and so not worth it for the most part. The only thing I used it for was the towels because line-dried towels are so hard and crunchy. That's still the biggest thing I miss about having a dryer -- soft towels. As it is, I don't need to exfoliate in the shower, the towel does that for me afterwards!
I think it sounds amazing, what a great way to raise your children
We do have a French Press for coffee, which I am thankful for. However, I am used to making a pot of coffee in the morning and continuing to drink it over the course of a couple of hours. At home, the coffee pot keeps the coffee warm and if a cup I'm drinking gets cold, I can warm it up in the microwave. So I'm just adjusting to drinking my coffee fast (before it gets cold) and making coffee a couple of times during the morning instead of just once.
Neat! Reading the comments reminded me of when a friend from the UK stayed with us--we made a big salad, & she was so surprised by the Cuisinart, to grate carrots & beets, and the salad spinner to dry lettuce! ;p
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