Comments on: Step One – Buy Less Stuff

By: Fields and Fire » One Small Change February – Goodbye Grocery Store

Fields and Fire » One Small Change February – Goodbye Grocery Store — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:24:13 +0000

[...] in the store. She was becoming obssessed with buying stuff. Ack! You may recall that we are not too keen on stuff. Walking through the grocery store with Ella, she was suddenly aware that everything there could, in [...]

By: adrie

adrie — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:06:51 +0000

Thank you Amanda! Mothering Magazine had a great article years ago on the gift issue – I suggest searching their archives at their website. We’ve just asked people nicely from the start to limit themselves to one gift, and for no plastic. We have, on occasion, returned gifts, or given them away. It can be very hard to do! Keep up the good work!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:12:22 +0000

Thank you so much for the last few posts! They have been so inspiring and I too did a huge plastic purge and freecycled most of the plastic toys and tableware! I’ve still got a bit to go through, but boy does it feel good!
Any advice on how to tell our families we don’t want a bunch more junk for Christmas this year?!?! Our families are very big into gift giving and when we tried suggesting that we should all go easy and that gifts really weren’t necessary for us it caused a big uproar!

By: adrie

adrie — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:05:05 +0000

Jen,
Rock on! And amen especially for beginning with purging any plastic that’s coming in contact with your food or your mouth, ever. Awesome.

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:53:37 +0000

I love so much about this post I don’t even know where to start. A few thoughts:
I am jealous that you found cashmere at the thrift store, and I am in serious fermentation crock envy. Planning to make a visit to Kay Baker Antiques very, very soon.
I’m feeling good that our dining table, which we’ve used for 10 years or so, is one that my mother used for 20-30 years after getting it handed down from my grandmother.
I love that we have never used daycare either– I know we’ve saved a lot of money, and I’ve been able to model the practice of bringing one’s baby to work for others. I know it wouldn’t work for everyone, but I’m glad it worked for my family.
AMEN to taking control of your basic health care in all the ways you mentioned– this is something I think about a lot and was part of the reason I decided to learn about emergency medicine and become a wilderness first responder (I wrote a blog post a while back about that).
I decided that I’m going to do a serious plastic purge, starting with Lily’s eating utensils, cups, dishes, and bowls, and then moving on to toys. Today I went to Goodwill and bought two little metal cups (one copper, one pewter). All of the plastic tableware was given to us either as hand-me-downs or as a gift, which always seems to make me feel I should keep it and use it, but in this case I think it makes sense to get rid of them.
And a “hear hear” for recommending Your Money or Your Life as well as Radical Simplicity.

By: adrie

adrie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:49:34 +0000

Heather,
Thank you for this – it’s amazing how similar our lives are! (And also so different, of course.) We were the first among our peers to have a child, also (still are!), and I’m very grateful that it allowed us to choose our own path in many ways. I’m so grateful for the rhythm and connection of our lives, as well.

By: adrie

adrie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:48:13 +0000

Thanks Louana – those are great tips!

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:23:29 +0000

I have really loved these last two posts. The idea of so radically changing the way that we look at wants vs needs has been taking shape in amazing ways around this country. The idea of not just thrifting, but using up what you have, using it until it is done and spent, that is what I am really focusing on lately.

There is also something beautifully liberating about not needing to fill your home and your life with clutter. But rather, to simply see what it is that you need to use to be the most creative person you can be. I have almost no kitchen gadgets. I still chop everything by hand, and the rhythmic feel of doing so puts me into a great mood. I make our soaps, and our oils, our breads, and as many of our clothes as possible. I don’t see myself doing any of these things for any other reason than I enjoy it. Life is a process, it has a rhythmic flow to it, and stepping out of that flow makes us so out of sync, and out of touch.

I think so much about this in regards to my children. I never owned a crib, did not use a baby seat (just a standard car seat, b/c we used a sling wherever we went). I used cloth diapers, and breastfed them into young childhood. I made their food. We use herbs and homeopathy with them, and we co-slept with them until just two weeks ago. None of this was done to be trendy or “in”. we did it because that was what felt right. We knew almost no one who had children when our first came along. None of our friends were in that place yet. We just went with out feelings, rather than what the books said. The result was that we did spend less, but we also developed amazing connections with our children, and with what they are capable of, and really need to have in order to thrive. It was an experience that now shapes so many aspects of our lives.

I love knowing how tied to my environment I am, and that I am strong enough, and capable enough to create what we need.

Thank you for the reminder, and I am really excited to see how this conversation develops through out the week.

By: louana

louana — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:08:13 +0000

this is such a great post. I often find myself buying too much at the thrift store. I find it helps to write a list about what we need and try and only look for that, or only visit when I need something. So many great ideas to apply