Virtuous Cycles

Reducing your footprint can help you free up time in your schedule. (For example, by downsizing possessions you can get rid of your storage unit. A friend of mine is doing this and will be saving himself $5,000 a year! This reduces the amount of time you need to spend working to meet your financial overhead.) One great use of that freed-up time is to stop and chat with a neighbor who’s passing by. So many people living the harried modern life can’t spare a few minutes to even meet their neighbors, and we all lose out. Taking back our time is a good step to rebuilding the frayed fabric of our communities.

Yes, reducing your footprint gives you more time to forge ties with your neighbors. And conversely, connecting with neighbors can help you further reduce your footprint, because people who are socially bonded tend to share more resources (tools, transportation, ideas, helping hands…).

It’s a virtuous cycle! A good kind of reverse catch-22.