Simple Living is something I grew up with, it was not a lifestyle choice, it was my life. I often reflect on the lessons taught to me by my parents. They are what guides me and helps me make the right decisions. As we struggle with our troubled economic woes in this country, and elsewhere in the world I am reminded of a lesson I learned from my father when I was a teenager in the seventies. My parents were children of the great depression and as a consequence learned at an early age how to manage their money. [Read more →]

Not only is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle an important component for simple living it is an important component for living lightly on the earth. It brings a sense of accomplishment and well-being, that with this simple concept we can lessen our impact on mother earth. The footprint we leave behind will effect future generations of all creatures who will share this beautiful world, two legged, four legged, multi legged, furred and feathered. [Read more →]

We are Charley and Susan the caretakers of River Rest. Married for twenty-one years we named our place River Rest (actually located on the banks of Anthony creek) in memory of Susan’s Grandma (Helen). River Rest is our dream home sought for nearly twenty years. Our home is a modest eleven hundred square feet frame house with ample room for us and our ten cats and dogs. We settled here in December 2002.

River Rest was born out of a desire to escape the rat race of corporate America. After nearly 30 years of chasing the almighty dollar we decided enough was enough and we began to seek a way to simplify our lives, we wanted more sustainability and therefore more control. We were tired of the television commercials, credit cards, and Wall Street dictating how we should live our lives.

We have learned there is much that we can live without, things that ultimately created more stress in our lives. Being frugal is something that comes natural to us, however as we soon learned we still had a lot of waste in our lives, we still do and take steps daily to reduce our waste even more.

We have varied backgrounds from small business owners, managers, and students. In fact, we consider ourselves lifetime students, learning something every day. We have been simplistic in our beliefs and lifestyles all of our lives, just as we have always had a passion for nature and all the wonders she holds.

Anthony joined our family in March 2008 and brings an extensive knowledge and passion for growing plants, so his responsibility is taking care of our organic garden and blueberry patch. With his help, we will plant our first apple orchard this fall. Next year peaches and grapes. He is playing a vital role in attaining the sustainability that River Rest has the potential of achieving.

Being as self reliant as we possibly can is the desire of the three of us, just as it is our desire to live in harmony with mother nature and all her many wonders, creatures, and plants. As we continue to learn, we will continue to share and hope that you too will find that Living Lightly on the Earth is the right thing to do.