by Randi Hackner

had a few thoughts i thought i would share.
-i want to think about whether i need an item enough to justify it's impact on our $$ as well as its impact on the earth.
-i want to buy used as much as possible and consider what a negative impact a new item may have on the earth.
-i want to think about whether there's any way i can barter when i need something.
-i want to utilize the earth for exercise ("earth gym"). the other book i read emphasized this too.

totally random misc things that stuck out to me--
-plug in air fresheners waste energy and put chemicals into the air
-making changes like using conditioner every other time i shampoo can make a difference in $$ and also in the amount of plastic i use.
-keep some plastic food containers for taking meals to people rather than buying those ziploc container thingies. keep a balance between reusing and decluttering/simplifying
-make/reuse cards

sounds like a great book & you've pointed out some great points.

some of those i already do. another thing you can do is use cloth napkins instead of paper towels. i think i buy 1 or 2 paper towel rolls per year (for dh & visitors who refuse to us cloth). just try to live minimally (like you have no money;))

sounds like a great book & you've pointed out some great points.

some of those i already do. another thing you can do is use cloth napkins instead of paper towels. i think i buy 1 or 2 paper towel rolls per year (for dh & visitors who refuse to us cloth). just try to live minimally (like you have no money;))

i already use cloth napkins. thanks for the idea though.

living minimally is totally my goal. sometimes i do great and other times i don't. i have a hard time keeping balance though. i can get really crazy with living minimally, but it still doesn't even come close to just selling everything we have and going to india and working in the orphanages or the AIDS clinics in africa or i don't know...i have all sorts of crazy dreams...lol. i can also get really crazy with spending money.

Ooh, sounds like a book I would enjoy.

I'll add something... there are now glass containers with plastic lids that work great instead of solid plastic containers. Not as practical for outings and picnics but it works!

come close to just selling everything we have and going to india and working in the orphanages or the AIDS clinics in africa or i don't know...i have all sorts of crazy dreams...lol.

I'm LOL at this. My DH makes fun of me when I say similar things, tells me that for now we need to take care of the two kids we have.

Friends don't refuse to use cloth when it is the only option. ;)

I have the glass containers and I would say they are MUCH better than their plastic counterparts because they can be used in the oven, in the mircowave without putting harmful toxins into your food, and be used in every capasity that a plastic one can otherwise. I took a canvas bag with 4 of these containers to a potluck last week and didn't have a single problem... I did have another mama ask me where I got them. :D

ETA: Living minimally is not a goal of mine. I am, however, commited to living deliberately. Knowing where I am getting my products and when I can get them somewhere else or better yet barter or make them myself. When I can't get something I will use and love used, most likely that is because others use it and love it too and it isn't unwanted somewhere else, and there is value there as well.

I'm LOL at this. My DH makes fun of me when I say similar things, tells me that for now we need to take care of the two kids we have.

aww...glad we can relate.

i switched to all glass containers a while back. i got a couple with glass covers from crate and barrel, and the rest are pyrex. i was mostly referring to keeping plastic containers to use when i take food to people and don't want them to have to get a nice dish back to me...like when people have babies, are sick, etc. i end up taking lots of meals to people at times and have to buy cheapo (well...NOT cheap, actually) plastic things to use for the food.

ETA: Living minimally is not a goal of mine. I am, however, commited to living deliberately. Knowing where I am getting my products and when I can get them somewhere else or better yet barter or make them myself. When I can't get something I will use and love used, most likely that is because others use it and love it too and it isn't unwanted somewhere else, and there is value there as well.

i don't guess it's really a goal of mine either. i mean, really....how can one (me) be living minimally with tivo, a computer, dsl, and a cell phone. if i were to say it were a goal, i guess i'm failing. i don't really have a word for how i live. consciously, reusing, being content with what i have, trying to live within or below my means...i guess that would describe it.

Sounds like a great book. I just read "Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping" by Judith Levine...which made me think a lot as I followed her own journey through not spending money on anything but "necessities" (and she spends a lot of time on what they decided were necessities and why/how).

Random thought: I have to buy paper towels for medical reasons (nebulizer sterilization). Sucks because we end up using them because they're there, I notice. It's hard to have them there and not grab one instead of a cloth sometimes. I find especially for things like wiping down the stovetop - when I didn't buy paper towels, of course I used an old flat diaper for that task. Now, hey, why get it all greasy and stained, grab paper. :rolleyes:

Stop the book recommendations! LOL Books are my weakness.

We use very little (no?) disposable paper products. Well, part time sposies. We took DS off of cloth in April because he was having such severe reactions. Cloth diaper him ONCE, change him and he'd have a massive rash that would take 2-3 days to go away with sposies on. After a month we decided he had enough going against him (food allergies) and why make his skin uncomfortable on top of it? He's potty learning now (today we've had half a dozen pl'ing milestones!) and using undies & training undies with a sposie at night.

I do want to live minimally. I'm trying. The pc is our means of biz part time so it's a necessity in a way. No cell phone, no dsl, no tivo... I wish I could live without a phone. LOL DH hates phone calls. I'm all for bartering but I'm learning to leave it to things we need and a small amount of non-needs as gifts for family. The word small is key there.

Stop the book recommendations! LOL Books are my weakness.

I do want to live minimally. I'm trying. The pc is our means of biz part time so it's a necessity in a way. No cell phone, no dsl, no tivo... I wish I could live without a phone. LOL DH hates phone calls. I'm all for bartering but I'm learning to leave it to things we need and a small amount of non-needs as gifts for family. The word small is key there.

me too!!! i'm reading 4 books at the same time right now!! the one mentioned above is getting written down to read soon.

i respect you for these choices, schnookies. oh...and i would barter with you any day to get some of the brian's woodshop stuff!

Just a random thought about all of these books from me. Feel free to completely disregard.

These books are meant to change peoples life views. They are meant to alter what you do and how you look at things, and therefor are very convincing they are "right". When sometimes, it is ok to be where you are, and in my experience, until you embrace the things you are doing and research them and find out what they really mean to you, there is no way that any dramatic change is going to last.

I have spent the last 4 years getting down what I really want. Some of these issues I didn't even REALISE were issues until we had enough money to do them (think things like TIVO, although for us it has been eating out, hands down)... if you haven't ever had them, than how can you miss them? How can you truly know if they are going to enrich or be a burr in your life?

I am not speaking out for doing whatever you strikes you as "cool", but there is beauty in voting for things you will use and use well, with your money. There is beauty in being part of a commerse so you have some power to change it, buying organic is one way to do this... you vote for not only the farm you just bought the product from, but you also vote for the movement... is it frivolous? Yes. Strait up, it is. But having comitments that go beyond "wanting to be as minimal as possible" is going to be important for any lasting change... because god knows, minimal is not shown to us at all in the US. It doesn't exsist... even in those who have chosen the uber crunchy, simple lifestyle, that is not "simple" by definition here.

I am in the process right now of embracing where we are. And we spend too much, and we don't plan enough, and I know these things... but we pay for experience. And many we will never pay for twice. ;) I am also reading "The Simple Living Guide" again for inspiration as I start to think about buckling down for fall and getting ready to add yet another person to this tiny house. lol...

These are just my random thoughts and ramblings... but for many these plans to create a "simple" life are just so daunting to me. Where truly, I can be as simple as I am comfortable with, anywhere... with a phone! and perhaps even TIVO.... and whatever you truly, honestly and completely use and love. That is your simple... and it will be much easier to maintain.

Val

i know what you mean about the books, val. i read them for inspiration to continue to live simply, which i do believe we do, and i usually take away a few thoughts/ideas that help me do even better. little steps though. big huge crazy changes just because it sounds really good or cool...nope, not gonna last for me. it's good for me to embrace where i am because then i feel free to be who i am rather than trying to be this person that lives up to this certain standard when i'm not in a lot of ways. don't know if that makes sense, now that i read it. oh well...lol.

No Steph... that totally makes sense... and is very close to what I was saying. :D

Val

No Steph... that totally makes sense... and is very close to what I was saying. :D

Val

oh good! thanks, friend.

selling everything we have and going to india and working in the orphanages or the AIDS clinics in africa

One of my friends does this. Her scrapbooks warm my heart! The experiences she has had are beyond amazing.

i respect you for these choices, schnookies. oh...and i would barter with you any day to get some of the brian's woodshop stuff!

Thanks! :smooch:

I understand what you mean Val. I would rather use my vote to say that I believe consumerism isn't a great thing by opting out of consumerism as much as possible. When I do buy it is US-made, usually wah Family, or it's secondhand so I'm not contributing to the production of more stuff.

DH and I have had the money to have all of the "extras" and we found them to have a negative aspect on our life. Television meant less time outdoors, less quality time spent together, meant declining health, meant less attentive kids. DH and I would find ourselves collapsing on the couch every evening and watching... whatever, it didn't matter. I could go on and on for various consumer products. That we have decided that there are things we don't want or need in our life has meant that we could make the decision to take cut in pay (making 1/4 of previous pay) to live so that DH can follow a dream and we can spend a few years near his family before seeing more of the country. Because of the fact we know we don't need those things we're pursuing careers in what we love (low income) vs. careers that make larger paychecks.

I've also noticed that with "must-have" things they detract from our (meaning my family's) quality of life. I figure that I only have a certain allotment of time and after that my time is up there's no making up for all of the TV I've watched, the time spent moping over coulda, shoulda, woulda's. If something doesn't enrich my life, do I want to have it in my life?

But, as I've said, these are my beliefs and I don't feel that everyone must have the same beliefs or do the same things that I do. In fact, I'd find that pretty dull. :hippy:

Thanks! :smooch:

I understand what you mean Val. I would rather use my vote to say that I believe consumerism isn't a great thing by opting out of consumerism as much as possible. When I do buy it is US-made, usually wah Family, or it's secondhand so I'm not contributing to the production of more stuff.

DH and I have had the money to have all of the "extras" and we found them to have a negative aspect on our life. Television meant less time outdoors, less quality time spent together, meant declining health, meant less attentive kids. DH and I would find ourselves collapsing on the couch every evening and watching... whatever, it didn't matter. I could go on and on for various consumer products. That we have decided that there are things we don't want or need in our life has meant that we could make the decision to take cut in pay (making 1/4 of previous pay) to live so that DH can follow a dream and we can spend a few years near his family before seeing more of the country. Because of the fact we know we don't need those things we're pursuing careers in what we love (low income) vs. careers that make larger paychecks.

I've also noticed that with "must-have" things they detract from our (meaning my family's) quality of life. I figure that I only have a certain allotment of time and after that my time is up there's no making up for all of the TV I've watched, the time spent moping over coulda, shoulda, woulda's. If something doesn't enrich my life, do I want to have it in my life?

But, as I've said, these are my beliefs and I don't feel that everyone must have the same beliefs or do the same things that I do. In fact, I'd find that pretty dull. :hippy:

don't ask me why i'm still up! not sleepy...but anyway...
i just read dh your post, and we are both so inspired by your decisions. dh does not like his job (higher paying) and we (half jokingly) came up with a way to save a few hundred dollars a month so that he could do something else...whatever that may be...not sure. i'm not where you're at at all right now in my life, but i think it's so very cool! can i be you for a little while and then go back to my life if i decide i want more stuff :hahaha: ?

Whats funny is that we are very similar. We don't have cable or TIVO or anything like that. We have a dvd player and a small collection of dvds. Along with a swing screwed into our patio which is covered and where we spend much of our time. lol... We have also made HUGE sacrifices so dh could be doing something he loves instead of just something that pays well... We buy everything we can second hand or I make it. I buy in bulk most of the time when I am not making something or able to find it second hand and I plan ahead for all purchases that don't fit in any of those three catagories. I don't have my money in the consumer market for the most part and we are glad to be rid of it. My post was simply to say that there can be much value in that side as well. I see the value of it... and choose not to do it... I don't pick and choose where I buy, I just usually don't buy. I am so far removed from the system that I don't think I effect much change in the buying of this country. Does that make sense? I just enjoy the idea that the people who are buying the higher end organic foods, and the new "not sweat shop" clothing are really voting with their money. They are putting their money into something that they believe in, and becuase I don't need money for the most part, I don't do that. I enjoy not being part of the consumerism machine, except for this aspect. I wish I could support people more who are putting out a good, friendly, non-sweat shop, organic, free range products. I do what I can, but with how little I buy it seems like very little.

Anyway.. just rambling now.

Val

Whats funny is that we are very similar. We don't have cable or TIVO or anything like that. We have a dvd player and a small collection of dvds. Along with a swing screwed into our patio which is covered and where we spend much of our time. lol... We have also made HUGE sacrifices so dh could be doing something he loves instead of just something that pays well... We buy everything we can second hand or I make it. I buy in bulk most of the time when I am not making something or able to find it second hand and I plan ahead for all purchases that don't fit in any of those three catagories. I don't have my money in the consumer market for the most part and we are glad to be rid of it. My post was simply to say that there can be much value in that side as well. I see the value of it... and choose not to do it... I don't pick and choose where I buy, I just usually don't buy. I am so far removed from the system that I don't think I effect much change in the buying of this country. Does that make sense? I just enjoy the idea that the people who are buying the higher end organic foods, and the new "not sweat shop" clothing are really voting with their money. They are putting their money into something that they believe in, and becuase I don't need money for the most part, I don't do that. I enjoy not being part of the consumerism machine, except for this aspect. I wish I could support people more who are putting out a good, friendly, non-sweat shop, organic, free range products. I do what I can, but with how little I buy it seems like very little.

Anyway.. just rambling now.

Val

i know...i could handle being you for a while too, val! i want to have all of your gardening/canning/sewing skills especially!