One of my never-ending sources of inspiration is Miss Britt. After discovering her blog, we were fortunate enough to meet her and her family in real life during the first leg of their cross-country RV adventure.
This past week, she wrote a piece for TLC Parentables about the things her family has learned to live without. I am constantly grateful for all that we have. More and more, I have been feeling this pull to minimize and scale back. While there are some things that I love and can't seem to live without (more on that later), I find myself asking the question, "Do I really need that?" quite a bit lately.
Britt shared the things that her family has eliminated from their life (without much sacrifice) so I thought I would share my own list:
1. Cable TV We dropped our cable in July and I haven't missed it. There are times when I wish I could watch something on NBC (our antenna doesn't seem to get a good signal for the local affiliate). I'm sure that I will be buying a subscription to Mad Men on iTunes when season 5 comes out. But since we cut the cord, I find myself reading more, watching quality television (rather than just running the tv as background noise), and being more selective about the shows I watch (on TV or online).
2. Soda Like Britt & Co., we don't buy soda for consumption in the house. I will drink an occasional soda when out at a restaurant but I've really tried to limit my intake, both for health and cost reasons. I don't really miss it and it saves a lot of money.
3. Fancy cleaning products I used to peruse the cleaning aisles looking for the latest new-fangled cleaning products. I was convinced that these products would make cleaning eaiser. Who wouldn't want that? What I found is that the products that seem to make it easier (toilet wands with pre-soaked cleaner, swiffer-type brooms and mops, pre-moistened glass wipes) are way more expensive, waste more, and clean just as well as the old standbys. I found a great cleaning mop by Rubbermaid that lets you use a swiffer-type mop with your own choice of cleaner and a washable cleaning cloth. I use rags instead of paper towels. I buy 409 and Windex in bulk at Costco and use it to clean just about everything.
4. Bottled Water In my opinion, bottled water has one major purpose: for use in emergencies like hurricanes and natural disasters. Sure, it's convenient at sporting events and other large-party gatherings but I think that people could make better use of the tap and a pitcher. It's better for the environment and it tastes just the same. We are lucky to have great tap water in our community. I just don't buy bottled water for personal use.
5. Individually packaged snack foods We try to limit this for two reasons. First, if the snack food is in the house, I'll eat it. Plus, transferring things like chips, pretzels, and even nuts and other snacks from bulk containers into small containers for lunches or meals on the go is better for the environment and better for the pocket book. I try to buy healthier snacks (nuts, whole grain chips, dried fruit, etc.) and that has helped the waist line immensely.
So that's my list. Have you found some things that you can live without? Are there things you are trying to learn to live without? [My laundry list on that is miles long]. I'd love to hear what's on your list.
This past week, she wrote a piece for TLC Parentables about the things her family has learned to live without. I am constantly grateful for all that we have. More and more, I have been feeling this pull to minimize and scale back. While there are some things that I love and can't seem to live without (more on that later), I find myself asking the question, "Do I really need that?" quite a bit lately.
Britt shared the things that her family has eliminated from their life (without much sacrifice) so I thought I would share my own list:
1. Cable TV We dropped our cable in July and I haven't missed it. There are times when I wish I could watch something on NBC (our antenna doesn't seem to get a good signal for the local affiliate). I'm sure that I will be buying a subscription to Mad Men on iTunes when season 5 comes out. But since we cut the cord, I find myself reading more, watching quality television (rather than just running the tv as background noise), and being more selective about the shows I watch (on TV or online).
2. Soda Like Britt & Co., we don't buy soda for consumption in the house. I will drink an occasional soda when out at a restaurant but I've really tried to limit my intake, both for health and cost reasons. I don't really miss it and it saves a lot of money.
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| The Rubbermaid Reveal Mop |
4. Bottled Water In my opinion, bottled water has one major purpose: for use in emergencies like hurricanes and natural disasters. Sure, it's convenient at sporting events and other large-party gatherings but I think that people could make better use of the tap and a pitcher. It's better for the environment and it tastes just the same. We are lucky to have great tap water in our community. I just don't buy bottled water for personal use.
5. Individually packaged snack foods We try to limit this for two reasons. First, if the snack food is in the house, I'll eat it. Plus, transferring things like chips, pretzels, and even nuts and other snacks from bulk containers into small containers for lunches or meals on the go is better for the environment and better for the pocket book. I try to buy healthier snacks (nuts, whole grain chips, dried fruit, etc.) and that has helped the waist line immensely.
So that's my list. Have you found some things that you can live without? Are there things you are trying to learn to live without? [My laundry list on that is miles long]. I'd love to hear what's on your list.