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<< Previous   of   Next >> Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Owen Strickland, 7, eagerly awaits the start of his birthday celebration Friday night. The family ate homemade pizzas and Owen's favorite birthday treat, a chocolate-chip cake made by his grandmother. Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Seven-year-old Owen Strickland (left) watches as his brother Avery, 13, teaches him the finer points of a computer game Friday night. Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Owen Strickland (center), 7, makes his first attempt to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. Owen's grandmother, Susie Wilson (left), watches along with Owen's older sister Jamison (right) and his aunt Joanne Wilson.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, October 30, 2008 How an Everett family is learning to live well with less By Sarah Jackson, Herald Writer When Jim and Dana Strickland's investments in the Everett real estate market tanked last year, it was time for a reality check. They ended up in debt, which distracted them from their focus on family, community and simplicity. "Going into debt, perpetually, is just the American way to do things," said 46-year-old Jim Strickland, who works as a special education teacher in Marysville. "That frustrates me. "Even though we had certain values, we just got lazy about how we were living." Now, with the global economy faltering and no guarantee of relief in sight, families such as the Stricklands are talking about learning to live with less. There's talk of a return to the frugality of the Great Depression, modern-day victory gardens and a renewed interest in sewing, knitting and home cooking. Some people see this cultural shift -- a movement away from mass consumerism -- as the silver lining in the financial crisis. In Snohomish County and nationwide a "voluntary simplicity" movement is already afoot. It's a way of life focused on buying less, living sustainability and building community connections. The second most popular discussion course at Northwest Earth Institute, based in Portland, Ore., is Voluntary Simplicity. The class, offered periodically in Snohomish County, addresses the complications of accumulating possessions and the conflict between the desire to make and spend money and the quest for a simple life. "We've been, in large part, sold a bill of goods through large-scale marketing efforts that make us feel like we need more to be happy," said the institute's executive director, Mike Mercer. "People, when they have less, they aren't really less happy." Simplicity has been catching on, in part, because of the growing movement toward green living and sustainability, Mercer said. "What's happening now is there's a whole portion of the population that is receptive to living more simply," Mercer said. "It's much greater than it was 10 years ago, and not just because of the economy. "We can live more simply on this planet and still have a strong economy." The Northwest Earth Institute's most popular class -- Menu for the Future, a course about food and sustainability -- has ties to the simplicity movement as well. Advocates of eating food from local suppliers, including the international Slow Food organization, urge a return to farmers markets and home-grown produce. Seattle author Cecile Andrews, who was the keynote speaker at the Sustainable Energy Fair in Everett in 2007, encourages an escape from materialism in her books "Slow is Beautiful" (2006) and "The Circle of Simplicity" (1998). The Stricklands, who have three school-age children, are trying daily to de-emphasize the role of money and material possessions in their lives. "I value very much my freedom to live my values," said Jim Strickland. "You can adjust your income level and your lifestyle a good bit, and it's always possible to live within your means. You just have to want to do it." The Stricklands sold their family's new van, which was costing them $500 a month, and bought a used, fuel-efficient car with cash. They moved their children from Montessori programs in Monroe and Sultan, and enrolled their two younger kids in the Marysville Cooperative Education Program at Quil Ceda Elementary School. Their oldest son, who is 13, is now home-schooled. They eliminated recreational shopping trips to retail destinations such as IKEA. Visits to Red Robin, one of the kids' favorites, are for special occasions only. At home, they've cut back on single-serving, prepackaged foods in favor of more economical home-cooked meals. They stopped using credit cards. They bike instead of drive, buy more second-hand goods and shop at locally owned businesses. They seek out low-cost entertainment, including family time at Zippy's, a community-focused coffee shop that features regular art and music events. In the family's biggest financially motivated change, Susan Wilson, Dana Strickland's mother, will move out of the Nautica condo complex in downtown Everett in November and into the basement of the Stricklands' 1,900-square-foot north Everett home. Though the Stricklands had hoped to keep the Nautica condo in the family, perhaps for their own retirement, they decided to downsize instead. Jim Strickland dreams of the family living entirely within its means, maybe even working toward paying off their house, which carries an unwelcome adjustable-rate mortgage. "With the crunch, it's made it all that much more important that we make the changes," he said, "And there's a lot more pressure on us, real pressure." READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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