I love the bumper sticker that says, "Live Simply So Others Can Simply Live." The saying is at the heart of why I try to live a simpler life than I used to. By simple life I mean one that is slower, more thoughtful and contains far fewer things. The benefits to living a simpler life are, improved health, more time, and in many cases more money. Living a simpler life also includes the knowledge that you are doing something proactive to improve the lives of others by reducing your impact on the environment, or buying products that better other's lives (organic, fair trade, locally grown goods, etc). There are literally thousands of things you can do to live a simpler life but here are ten things you can do today to get started.

1. Walk or bike more and drive less. As with most of these there is more than one benefit. Obviously, biking and walking will help you get more exercise and help reduce your stress, possibly help you lose weight, and help improve your overall health. At first you can replace one trip a week with walking or biking. Not only will this reduce the amount of gas you use (saving you money) it will also lower the amount of toxins your car produces. Eventually, you can replace two trips, and then maybe three...
2. Eat less meat and dairy. This will not only assist in lowering your cholesterol it is also better for the environment. Meat and dairy products take more resources to produce and create more waste (toxins) than grains and vegetables. Try cutting out one meat dish a week and try passing on the cheese, eggs and milk.
3. Eat at home and pack your own lunch more frequently. It generally uses far fewer resources (no plastic containers, no wasted food, etc) to eat at home and it is often far better for your health. When you cook at home you can see, and control exactly how much butter or sugar (or other ingredients) go into your food.
4. Bring your own cup to your favorite coffee shop and ask for Fair Trade Coffee.
5. Bring your own bags to the grocery store.
6. Watch less television. Watching less television will free up your time to do more productive and healthy things like building relationships, exercise, reading, housecleaning, gardening, etc. Less television also reduces your exposure to advertisements causing you to "want" less, and spend less.
7. Recycle all the things you can think of. You can recycle your paper, glass, plastic, clothes, shoes, electronics, etc. Find new ways to recycle as much as possible and make it a goal to throw away less and less.
8. Buy locally when you can. Farmer's markets are a good way to meet the people growing your food, support your local economy and reduce the amount of energy it takes to put your food on your table. Food that is shipped long distances creates far more pollution than food that is grown in your area.
9. Buy less and buy better. So much of what we buy is made to last just a short while (disposable). Try buying less things all together, and when you have to buy something, try buying something that will last a long time and that can be reused and recycled.
10. Replace some of your household cleaning products with environmentally friendly alternatives (almost all stores offer them now).

If you do these ten things you will have taken big steps towards living a simpler life.