Slow Down, Live Well

Years ago, an episode of the Oprah show featured a woman who described how she had turned her household chores into pleasurable rituals: she burned candles in the laundry room, and folded her family's clothes with a sense of mindfulness, using the time to think about the people the clothes belonged to. That image stuck with us to this day, as a prime example of what we'll call emotional sustainability. It's about bringing passion and attention to bear on the littlest details of how you live.

What got us thinking about such things? An excellent article by NaturalPath, posted on the Alternative Consumer blog, about what you can get out of the experience of shopping for your food at a farmer's market instead of a supermarket. Which in turn reminded us that hanging clothes on a clothesline to dry can also be a wonderfully meditative exercise in sun worship.

What other ways can you think of to turn your daily chores into art? For starters, no aspiring gourmet housekeeper should be without a copy of Cheryl Mendelson's Home Comforts, subtitled "the Art and Science of Keeping House." Mendelson's book is a beautifully written encyclopedia that brings intelligence, wit and passion to a much-neglected topic.

Have any ideas or inspirations to share? Contribute to our Share section! And to learn more about how you can design your home for sustainable living, check out our friends at Slow Home.