Simple Living
I've had quite a few people ask me for more posts on simple living. To be honest I don't really think that we live that simply. I love Target, Starbuck's iced coffee, and my smartphone. But I guess that as far as day-to-day life we do live fairly simply, and there are definitely a few things we do to cut down on the stress and busyness of life.
1. Once a week shopping. This makes life so much easier. Instead of running to the store every few days I try to make on big trip once a week (except for maybe having to stop and pick up milk during the week). We also live 15 miles from the nearest grocery store, so the once-a-week-shopping is kinda more by default at this point.
2. Try to combine trips as much as possible. The less driving around we do the better (saves on gas too). I'll try to grocery shop, visit the library, and schedule doctor's appointments for the same day.
3. Eat mainly from scratch. We try to eat most of our food from scratch. Yes, I do keep frozen pizzas and burritos in the freezer but those are for the days that I really don't feel like cooking, or I've missed a shopping day (or two).
4. No dryer. Although we have both a washer and a dryer we only use the washer I hang all our laundry on drying racks. Yes, it takes more time, but it also saves on electricity and our clothes last longer.
5. Recycle. I try to recycle as much as possible. All the cans, glass, paper, and cardboard get recycled, and the veggie scraps get composted.
6. Thrift as much as possible. We love yard sales and thrift stores and we have found some wonderful deals when thrifting (dishes, art, pots and pans, bedding, clothing, etc.) many things brand new or in excellent condition.
7. Buy in bulk. When I do go shopping I like to look for sales and stock up. In the long run it ends up being so much cheaper. If I buy a bunch a meat that's on sale and throw it in the freezer it means I can cut back on buying meat for the next few weeks. The same goes for canned stuff. The only things that I have to be careful here is that I don't buy it and then continue to buy the same amount on groceries the following weeks. The point is to spend more money at one time and save in the long run.
8. Preserve. Last summer we only had two big raised beds but we harvested a TON of tomatoes from them. So many that not only were we eating tomatoes all the time but we were able to can lots of green tomato relish and freeze plenty of sauce (we still have sauce in the freezer). This year we plan on having a much bigger garden and preserving way more produce (yay for dehydrators!).
9. Spend less on entertainment. It's so easy to spend money on gym membership, traveling, shopping, museums, etc.* In this day and age it seems that spending money is a must and everything is so rushed. We try to find things to do that 1. don't require money and 2. are relaxing. We love to take long walks, work in the garden, go hiking, eat outside, go to the playground, and visit garden centers. Of course everyone has different interests, but still, everything doesn't have to be busy-busy. Sometimes it's just nice to slow down and take things easy.
That's all I can think of right now, but if there's more I'll add it. Also, I love to hear of ways others simplify so if you have any advice/tips/ hint/ tricks, please share!
*not that these things are unnecessary or wasteful, but it's good to think about how much something is used or if it's a priority. A museum or gym membership that's used frequently is a good thing, but if it's six months later and you still haven't used it then maybe it's not such a good thing. The trick is finding out what is the right thing for you and your family.
Oh Rosie....I just LOVE this blog post. Simple living is so near and dear to my heart.
ReplyDeleteWould you consider doing another grocery store haul? Love when you do those.
Blessings to you!!
Hi Rosie,
ReplyDeleteOne of your mom's blog readers here :). I appreciate your ideas. We too love to take long walks, go to the beach, read, knit and craft. Also, invite friends in for tea. Gotta do some baking for that. All simple, restful and cheap ideas ( well as long as I don't buy too many books and wool)!
Marney