I’m inconvenienced by modern conveniences much of the time. They break, they suck up money, and when their full cost and upkeep is taken into account, they don’t seem make my life much more convenient. I like pumping and carrying water more than I like dealing with tempermental plumbing systems. I like composting toilets more than I like septic systems, pumps and sewers. I like cutting wood with a saw and an axe to heat my woodstove rather than relying on the oil truck to deliver. In short, I like to live in a world where I’m not at the mercy of countless things that are outside of my control. To live simply, for me, is to feel in control of life and not controlled by it.