My friend Stacy over at A Simple Six just posted a list of things her family doesn’t buy anymore. We have a lot of overlap on things, and she has some things on her list that I aspire to going without so I’ve decided to create my own “living without” list.
Things We Don’t Buy Anymore:
Napkins – we use what we collect from fast food or use the old cut-up clothes I use for cleaning
Paper Towels – those same cut-up clothes from above
Fabric Softener – I quit using it and no one noticed for a while so I think we’re good to go
“Kleenex” – haven’t bought in years, since William was just a baby, we use toilet paper although I’ve been thinking about hankies recently
Cleaning stuff – we use an eco-friendly concentrate that we mix with water and use on everything from countertops to windows to toilets – once we use that up I’m planning on going the vinegar/baking soda route.
Plastic wrap – I use storage containers for anything I put in the fridge, for things we microwave that need to be covered I just put a plate on top of the container
Conditioner – this one happened by accident and our hair hasn’t suffered for it
Cereal – this one is on purpose – I had a meltdown in the cereal aisle recently – too many choices, most of them bad, and mostly overpriced. The kids now have yogurt and fruit in the morning and I made granola for crunchiness – voila! We always have fruit and yogurt in the house so no big deal, and it’s cut our milk consumption drastically. I have leftovers or a green smoothie.
Single-serving anything – yogurt, juice, pudding, fruit cups, snack packs – you won’t see any of those things in our house
Land-line phone – I have a dumb cell phone (see below), Chris has a work cell and I communicate mostly through email/Facebook anyway.
Things We Don’t Buy/Do Often:
Meat – the only meat I buy is for school lunches
Dairy – William still loves his glass of milk with dinner and we have cheese for lunches also
Processed Food – we have no box mixes in our house, we do still have some canned beans but I’m weeding those out as I cook dry beans and freeze leftovers for soups, stews, and chilis
Aluminum foil – for things that need covered in the oven all of my casserole dishes have lids and for lunches I use reusable containers
Stamps - on-line bill-paying is the bomb
Breads – I try to get our grains in through whole grains instead of through baked goods – we eat quinoa, rice, bulgur, barley, etc. but forgo rolls or breads most of the time, and we hardly ever eat sandwiches – leftovers are our go-to lunch
Makeup/hair spray and gel/nail polish – love me, love my un-made up face, I do paint my nail sometimes
Movies – we have Netflix, we rarely go to the movies, and we don’t ever buy DVDs – we actually just purged some we’ve had for years and never watched.
Video Games - we have a Wii my parents bought us a few years ago, we only have the games it came with. We do use it for Netflix streaming.
Clothes – See my previous clothes post about my clothing issues. For the kids consignment sales and yard sale rule. I’m willing to buy clothes that are currently too big if it’s a good enough deal. We have a large bin of “too big” clothes and it’s the first place I go when before shopping for them for a upcoming season. Our biggest clothing issue these days is trying to keep Nana from buying the children too many clothes – I think we’ve gotten the message across because recently she only bought them items we told her they needed – new shoes and 3 pairs each of jeans. Otherwise, we were already good on fall/winter clothing. The kids enjoy purging – yay! Chris makes his own clothing decisions and I go with it – his wardrobe needs to be “professional” for work but he’s Mr. Casual outside of work. Our old clothes go into consignment or a yard sale, or given to friends, or donated to Goodwill.
Cell Phones – Chris has one through work, I have a “dumb phone” that is part of my in-law’s family plan – they pay for it.
Eat out – we do hit the fast food places still – usually on the weekends as we run around. “Nice” restaurants are a rarity in our lives. During the week we eat at home around the table – no TV.
Things I’m working towards reducing/quiting:
Shampoo – going to try the baking soda thing with vinegar as a rinse – I’ll let you know how it goes.
Laundry detergent – I need to start making my own
Cable – I refuse to pay DirecTV $200 to cancel my service, but once our current contract runs out in June we’re going to get a Roku and obtain our media thorugh Netflix, Amazon Prime ($79/year), and Hulu Plus ($7.99/month). Currently DirecTV and Netflix – $960 (D) + $240 (N) = $1200/year – Netflix/Hulu/Amazon on Roku = $240(N) + $96 (H) + $80 (A) + $100 (Roku, one time purchase) = $516. Hmmmm, maybe I do want to pay that $200.
The minivan – we recently bought a older Corolla which runs great and gets great gas mileage. We are currently trying to sell our minivan - anyone need a minivan??
The dryer – planning on buying a dryer rack (or two) and a retractable clothesline for the backyard.
The grocery store – we buy as much as we can from farmer’s markets and produce stands, we are part of a CSA, we garden, we get stuff from my in-law’s garden, we freeze a lot, my MIL will be teaching me canning in a couple of weeks, I’m working on buying more staples in bulk. I’ve created a wish list on Amazon with bulk items (choosing based on price and if I can use the Amazon Super Saver Free Shipping on them) and will be comparing prices at the grocery store. Another option is driving to Lexington every three or four months and buying in bulk at a food co-op there. This may not sound cost-effective but we love roadtrips and hardly ever take any these days – we could fit in a daytrip + grocery shopping and I would get to spend my money at a place I really want to support instead of a “big box” grocery store. I’ve been making a list of things I could buy in bulk there. I could also buy smaller portion than the Amazon bulk – 25 lbs of rice may not be a good thing, unless I can split it with friends – hey, friends, want to go in together on some food??
Things We Do Just Because:
Don’t drink coffee – neither of us drink it
Use reusable grocery bags – We’ve had the same sets of bags (one plain jane and one fancy) for over five years and I always carry at least one with me while I’m out and about in the world and we keep a boatload in the car for groceries.
Cut my own hair – I haven’t had my hair cut in a salon since I was 12
No spa days/manicures/pedicures – just not into it
Own only one TV - It lives in the living room.
Garden – There’s nothing more local than your backyard.
Don’t use candles – I used to be a candle freak until I had kids, now I’m a safety freak.
Walk – I’ve never had a driver’s license – I’ve mostly lived in large cities with good transit systems, I’ve always chosen where I live based on walkability and ease of access to public transportation. I currently walk the kids to school, to buy produce at a local stand, to my dog nanny job, to the library, to my weekly run to the printshop (I do the bulletins for my church), to church, to the park, to downtown for activities/outings, and we have a small grocery around the corner from us. This is why we chose this house – and why we only searched for our house in a very small geographic area.
We don’t use babysitters Chris and I do go out in the summer when the kids stay with the grandparents, we also used to go out on Mondays and Tuesdays during the day while the kids were at school as those were Chris’ days off – he has a new job and new schedule so that won’t be happening anymore. If we go somewhere the kids go there, too. We’re cool with it and I think the kids are better for it and have grown up going to art galleries, museums, festivals, restaurants, and parties where they’ve had lots of fun, had great experiences, and learned to be polite and interact well with adults – all good things. If we get an invitation to an adults-only thing only one of us will go (usually me as I’m the party girl). We do have friends who have helped if there is something that we need to go to without the kids (I had a meeting in Charleston recently and Chris was out of town and a friend babysat so I could go). Yay for good friends!
Other Things We Do:
Give our time and money to our church
I volunteer at a food pantry
Recycle and compost
I host a discussion group called “Eat Your Veggies” that meets once a month to talk about all things veggie – we share recipes, talk about places to get local produce, gardening, eating healthier, etc.
Share Food – with our neighbors, with people at church – I recently started a program at church called Home Harvest – anyone can bring in excess produce and leave it on a designated table and anyone else can pick it up – it’s a great way to share and a great way for people who don’t or can’t garden to get some fresh produce. I also love sharing food and have been known to knock on my neighbor’s door at 6pm and say – “I’ve made too much soup, come on over!” I also like to entertain.
Buy Art – Our home is not filled with knick-knacks but it is full of original art. Art is essential for me.
Help out our friends and neighbors – You’re moving? When and where and we’ll be there! Need a ride to church? We’ll pick you up. Going on vacation? I’ll water your plants, feed your cat, pick up your mail. It takes a village to make your way in this life and I try to be a good villager.
Now what does this last category have to do with the others?
It’s because we’re not about denial and asceticism. We’re about using our (financial) resources to the best of our ability. We’re about treating our bodies and minds as the amazing gifts that they are. We’re about using our time to its fullest potential and squeezing out as much time with our family, our friends, and our community as possible. We’re about treating our planet with respect. We’re about caring for the people around us. We’re about teaching our children our values and “walking the walk” instead of just “talking the talk.”
Living with less is how we get more out of life.
