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In the Boston Globe , Beth Teitell discusses Life at Home in the Twenty-first Century: 32 Families Open their Doors , an accessible, illustrated text that summarizes the research of four archaeologists and anthropologists who did a long, deep study of 32 middle-class LA families, and who report that nearly everything that these families had striven for -- material possessions, good jobs, extracurricular enrichment for their kids -- made them wholly miserable. The rise of Costco and similar stores has prompted so much stockpiling — you never know when you’ll need 600 Dixie cups or a 50-pound bag of sugar — that three out of four garages are too full to hold cars. Managing the volume of possessions is such a crushing problem in many homes that it elevates levels of stress hormones for mothers.
Stuff makes us sad, especially in America
About the 100 Thing Challenge | A Guy Named Dave
The 100 Thing Challenge (100TC) has been a way to personalize my efforts to fight American-style consumerism and live a life of simplicity, characterized by joyfulness and thoughtfulness. That said, a lot of other people are participating, too. Thanks! Keep up the good work. 100TC is about creating better relationships of all kinds through the formative power of simplicity.
MacGyver, Survivalist, or Stockpiler: The Urban Survival Skills Everyone Should Know
The fantasy of an impending zombie apocalypse may inspire urban survival fantasies in the most level-headed of us, but zombie apocalypse or not, knowing how to survive the breakdown of social amenities we take for granted is a legitimate skill. Here's a look at the basic urban survival skills you need to know catered to your skill set. Previously we took a look at the wilderness survival skills everyone should know , and a number of those skills apply here, but the daily and significant challenges in a city transform the types of skills needed and methods of survival. To help get a good understanding of what's needed for urban survival, I talked with Dr. Arthur Bradley, author of The Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family and Disaster Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms .
Official: Slouching Is Terrible
by Jamie Frevele | 5:59 pm, April 28th, 2012 Ah, the vintage educational film. Enlightening, casually hyperbolic, ripe for MST3K commentary.Top 10 Highly-Desired Skills You Can Teach Yourself
On countless occasions, you've likely said to yourself "I wish I knew how to do ______." Then, of course, life got in the way and you put it off until you could find the time. Maybe you wanted to become fluent in a language, learn a new instrument, start performing your house repairs, or a master a myriad of other skills. With the vast amount of knowledge online, you're now your only excuse. Here are the top ten most highly desired skills that you can teach yourself—and should.
Constant, Chronic Stress Can Make You Sick
It shouldn't be news by now that stress, especially chronic, prolonged stress, can have negative effects on your health and well-being. We've discussed what stress actually does to your body and what you can do about it, but just to drive the point home, new research shows that chronic, constant stress from things like a busy job and tense home can lead to more than just the occassional headache. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University recently published a study (PubMed link) that indicated that people who live in constantly stressful situations where they don't get much opportunity to escape, relax, and recharge, are also more likely to have more severe reactions to illnesses—even the common cold. Part of the reason is that people who live more stressful lives show an increased resistance to cortisol, a stress hormone that also keeps your body's inflammatory response to infection in check.