A Year of Corked Consumerism

My clothes closet is ridiculous. I started sorting through the clothes last week and ended up with quite a large pile to donate.  I still can barely move the hangers, but it is better.  I found all sorts of clothes I forgot I had in there and discovered items I was unaware matched other articles of clothing.  Clearing some of the unworn clothing out and finding the new / old clothes was like a present to myself.

Looking at the stacks upon stacks of books my granddaughter has, I realize we have so many!  She loves being read to and we love reading to her, but there are a lot of books we don't read, we always choose her or our favorites.  Why are the other books here and why do I keep buying more?  There are so many fun, delightful books, there is no reason to hold on to any that don't bring enjoyment.

The other morning I needed a berry bowl and when I opened the corner cupboard, the bottomless pit of jars and containers assaulted me. I almost shut the door and reached for something else.  I stopped myself and thought, "Why do I have it, if I am not going to use it? And why, when I want to use it, don't I have it in a place that is easy to get to?" Why do I have so much crap?  This isn't the first time I have gone to get something and didn't want to be bothered with getting it because it was buried behind something else. 

Amazon is my shopping paradise.  Anything and everything is there and after I check prices, I run to Ebay to check prices, then do a google search to make sure it isn't cheaper anywhere else.  All of my information is on file, so check-out is a breeze at multiple places or I use Paypal, also easy.  I think if I had to enter my information each time, I wouldn't buy half the things I do.  The companies know this.  My purchases tend to be impulse buys and I nickle and dime myself to death by buying a little of this, a little of that.  It's just too easy.  But here's the catch, I don't need anything.  I mean, nothing. 

Craft supplies for oodles of crafts with the kids and myself fill drawers and dresser tops.  I have enough socks to last me until I am dead.  I have piles of jewelry and always end up wearing the same 3 or 4 pieces.  I have make-up in boxes under my sink and barely wear much more than eye make-up and a little lip color.  I have clothes for every season. I have gadgets and gizmos in the kitchen for cooking or baking multiple different ways, many which sit collecting dust while I grab my old standby pot. We have DVDs filling shelf after shelf and watch Netflix. I have hundreds of unread books and many I have read on every subject I have ever been interested in, both fact and fiction, but I continue to buy more.

I have finally come to the realization I don't need anything else.  I have everything I could ever want and then some.  So why do I keep buying?  I do love the thrill of the hunt, finding the best price, the best quality and I do love getting "presents" in the mail, no matter what it is.  But once I have the object, do I use it or does it get added to my pile of stuff?  Sadly, I can say I buy and then bury the majority of what I purchase. Or maybe I organize it away for later, with later happening, like never.

I have decided 2019 is going to be a year where I make some changes. No more purchasing unless it has been previously used or is consumable.  Consumable includes food, toilet paper, health products, soap, glue, etc.  You, lucky reader, get to witness this and hold me accountable.  The reason I am adding used items is:
#1.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
#2. If  I am doing a project and an item is needed, I could most likely find it used somewhere.
#3. If an item breaks that we use, I want to be able to replace it or buy the parts to fix it.
#4. I might go crazy buying absolutely nothing. (I am being honest.)

I must admit, I plan to add to my goat herd after fencing is complete. We are working towards our agricultural exemption and goats are our primary plan. We aren't very quick with projects, so it might not happen in 2019. I'm just giving you a heads up. 

I will be using up what I have, creating gifts in the kitchen and with my crafting supplies, enjoying my things, finding new ways to use them and fixing what I have.  I will be donating or giving away items I do not use and making room to conveniently store and retrieve the items I want to use. I will be striving to eat less processed foods and more homemade whole food entrees and snacks, hopefully using a large portion of food from our garden I plan to redirect a portion of my time to. I hope you will join me on my journey of buying less and living more.

Moving on to 2019!  A Year of Corked Consumerism! 

Good Hearts Cost Nothing

Book Review: It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh

I love decluttering, but I love buying stuff,especially discount stuff, so it is a never-ending process.  Since downsizing to an 880 square foot home and a monstrous garage, I have to make smarter choices with the things I buy and store.  There were a few key points in Peter Walsh's book, "It's All Too Much" that resonated with me.

#1.  If you value an item, you need to show it the honor and respect it deserves.  What good is an item stored in a box, pulled out every 5 years to glance at?  Take a photo of the item, he states, or display it in your home framed, on a shelf or whatever else you can come up with. 

#2 Do you own your stuff or does it own you? Every time you look at an item in a room and contemplate whether you should keep it, imagine the life you want to live. Does this item fit your vision or detract from it?  Is your bedroom peaceful?  Front entrance welcoming?  Dining area usable or full of clutter? 

#3  Mementos are not memories. 

#4 Every time you stop yourself from making a spontaneous purchase, put the money you would have spent in an "experience fund", ie, trip, zoo, museum, beach, etc. This makes not spending, fun. 

I looked around, as I was reading the book, and I saw so much excess. I thought about the boxes I had in the garage of family mementos and how I could display them, so I could enjoy them and explain to my children and Granddaughter what they were and meant to me. I thought about all the clothes in my closet, so many I won't wear because they make me feel fat. I also considered the consumables we tend to stock up on and the items in the garage we choose to store rather than our vehicles.

This book makes me consider what we have and where we have it.  It is definitely thought provoking.  4 out of 5 stars.

Your Freezer is Your Friend

If you are lucky, like me, you have a good friend who shares grapefruit from their tree with you, or maybe there happens to be a fantastic sale at the grocery store you can't pass up.  A few years ago I discovered grapefruits freeze wonderfully with no deterioration in texture or flavor and I was pumped. 

I generally stick a mindless show on TV or listen to Kelly Clarkson and start cutting.  One grapefruit will fit just about perfectly into a 1/2 pint jar.  Leave 1 inch head space on the top, cover and freeze.  In June, when the grapefruit look ill at the store, you pop one of these in the refrigerator and when it thaws, total bliss.  Not only are the little jars of grapefruit good all by themselves, but they are amazing in cocktails!  Ask me how I know.

The fun does not stop here.  The peel from the grapefruit make excellent compost.

If you happen to have a donkey or two, give them a few and see if they like them.  I generally toss mine into the compost and if the donkeys want them, they walk over for a snack.  I haven't tried to give any to the goats yet, but I will.  I have a feeling Jesse would eat them.  He likes just about everything I have offered so far. This is Jesse.  His adopted brothers are on the pickier side. 

There are so many foods you can save for later in the freezer.  Not only meats and ice cream, but bananas that are overripe or not, can be peeled and frozen in freezer bags for later use in smoothies, breads, ice cream toppings, etc.  Peppers and onions freeze terrifically along with berries of any kind.  Once in a while the grocery store will have ugly fruit marked down, maybe a tad past it's prime, and I bring it home, chop it up and stick it in the freezer for later.  You can take apples in season, for less than a dollar a pound, and peel and slice them for the freezer for pies or crisps later, too. 

I like to can, but sometimes you can't beat a freezer.  My husband, JR, is looking into a solar set up to run a smaller freezer/refrigerator in the case of electricity outages.  I don't know about you, but it would make such a difference if we didn't have power to have a way to keep the meat frozen and certain foods cold.  Such a difference!

The next time someone offers you produce from their garden or you see a super good sale at the market, snag it, prepare it and freeze it.  It might take a little time, but the rewards are there!

Truth

Making It Yourself : Dog Food, Stir Fry Sauce

More and more foods these days are being recalled.  Just recently, romaine lettuce was pulled off the shelves, followed by beef, then baby medicine.  If you visit www.foodsafety.gov there are lists of recalls of dog food, baby foods, milk, cheese, meats, veggies, eggs, etc.  It's extensive.

Even if food isn't recalled, the list of ingredients is crazy in so many products.  MSG, artificial sweeteners, BHA, food dyes, trans fats, nitrates; all man-made chemicals that our bodies do not need and may even cause harm to us.

It makes sense to make your own foods.  Not only will you avoid chemicals that aren't necessary, it will save money, create less waste, portion size can be controlled, allergy causing or food sensitive ingredients can be removed and the highest quality of ingredients can be used.

If you think about it, anything can be made at home that is in a box, can, jar or freezer section of a store.  Yes, it takes time, but you can make more than one serving and freeze or store the rest for another meal.  I make many sauces and foods this way and am always on the lookout for more that pass the "just as good, if not better" test. 

This past week I doubled the stir fry sauce recipe I got from www.familywok.com and froze the remainder.  Easy and clean ingredients, plus ready in a jiffy when I need it.  I tend to stay away from leaching plastic as much as possible, so generally freeze my sauces and foods in canning jars, leaving about an inch of head space at the top to leave room for expansion.  Don't forget to label, because once frozen, so many things look identical! 

I will be sharing with you my homemade recipes as I make them.  These are tried and true recipes that passed my taste test.

Basic Stir Fry Sauce

1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. minced ginger

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce (I omit)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 tsp. lemon or lime juice

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar or sherry

Heat sesame oil in a small sauce pan. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.

I generally make my stir fry with chicken and veggies and add the sauce at the very end.

I also make our dog's dog food.  The last time I was at the grocery store, there was a sale for 10 lbs of thighs and drumsticks for $3.30.  33 cents a pound!!!  I do feed the dogs dry food, but use this as a supplement.  I don't worry too much about the exact vitamin and mineral content because they do eat the dry food with it  It can be tweaked to include vitamins and minerals that dogs need and used as their primary food.   

DOG FOOD

10 lb bag of chicken thighs and drumsticks

Water to cover

Place chicken parts in a very large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour, remove from pot, de-bone, return skin and meat to pot.  

This is where it gets very versatile.  Throw in anything a dog can eat.  lol  I generally put in left over veggies, processed sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, green beans, peas, squash, kale, any fruit that is getting past it's prime, (not grapes), a little oatmeal or rice to thicken it up, sometimes I include garlic and lemon juice to help resist fleas and I let the whole thing simmer for a while. I divide into two cup portions and keep in my frig.  It's good for 2 weeks.  It can also be frozen for up to six months.  My dogs love it! 

I do not put in onions, grapes, corn, bread of any kind or anything spicy.  No chocolate either.  Like that would be left-over. 

We generally spend $1.80 per can of dog food per day split between our three dogs.  This recipe makes approximately two weeks worth of food.  At $3.30 for the 10 pounds of meat, approximately $3.00 or so in fruits, veggies and oats, we are spending approximately .50 cents a day on homemade food and I know exactly what I put in it.   

The possibilities are endless of all the different foods that can be made more nutritiously, cleaner, cheaper, better for our environment and a lot of the time, better tasting!  

Too Much

Tis the season for buying.  Stores are chock-full of toys, decorations and displays full of everything I   never knew I wanted.  It makes me want to buy things, which is exactly the stores goal.

This weekend I donated over 10 boxes to the local thrift store.  10 boxes of items I had, at one time, thought were important enough to buy and bring into my home.  It makes you stop and think, lugging all of those boxes out to your vehicle.  I bought all of this. When I buy more things in the future are they going to end up in boxes to be given away, too?

Looking at the toys scattered throughout our small home, I wonder, as I have many times before, if all of this is really necessary. I get caught up in the hype of colors and marketing and buy, buy, buy for our granddaughter, Elle, and her little friends. But what if there was half as much stuff or 1/4 as much?  Would they be bored?  I don't think so.

We must have 100 little plastic figures, animals and people.  Do you know what they do with them?  Dump them on the floor.  I conducted a little experiment where I took 5 small plastic toys.  I set them on the counter in the kitchen. Elle saw the figures and started playing with them, setting them up in a row, sticking them on the edge of her plate and in the straw of her cup, tipping them over, etc.  I asked her the colors and we counted how many there were.  We turned them upside down and used funny voices to pretend they were talking.  After eating, I moved them to a little table in the living room.  They were like a magnet.  And the rest of the toys, ignored.

I could probably reconstruct this experiment with any number of toys we have: cars, blocks, Legos, puzzles, etc.  Pull one out and watch what the kids do.  Why do I feel the kids need SO MUCH of the things they love when they are just as happy or maybe even more happy with less?  More isn't always better,  it's confusing, stressful, and messy.

The wooden car pictured above was purchased for 5 cents at the thrift store.  No bells, no whistles, no fear of becoming broken or damaged by mud or water.  It's perfect.  I need more of this and less of everything else.

I can not get another shirt hung in my closet.  Last night I tried on 6 or 7 shirts, discarding each one in disgust as it fit me funny or clung to areas I wasn't interested in it clinging to.  I ended up pulling out a top my sister bought me with a cover up sweater and felt good.   I bought a few more of the tops in different patterns and they are my go to tops whenever I want to look a little nicer than the spandex and v-neck t-shirts I generally wear.  Why do I have these other "unwearable to me" clothes in my closet?  The closet is literally stuffed.

Tomorrow I am sorting through my closet. I am going to be ruthless and remove anything and everything I don't love. I might hold on to one box of "I love these shirts, but they don't quite fit", just in case I drop 10 lbs like I hope.  We can all dream! But the rest of the clothes will hopefully find homes with people who actually wear them.  What is their purpose if they aren't going to be worn?

I want my home filled with useful items.  Toys that will be played with.  Clothes that will be worn.  Utensils that are used.  Books that will be read or referenced.  Decorations that make me feel happy or content.  I want to make room and time, for what gives us joy, for what has a purpose and this coming year will be centered on this, among using up what I have before purchasing anything new. I also want to renew my pursuit for more real food in our diets and less processed treats, although I am weak in this area.  Can you say candy?

I have been reading a few different books and blogs on minimalism lately and the repeating theme is: live the life you want, don't be bogged down with material items that require upkeep and space that you have to pay for, use your space for the things you love, surround yourself with what makes you happy, makes your life easier, be content, concentrate on what brings you joy and work for it, be happy.

I love being happy.

Reflection

Relax

Happiness

No Guru Here

Three years ago, my husband JR and I moved from a 2000 sq. ft home in the suburbs to a home in the country less than half the size, 880 sq. ft. Our first home was almost 3000 sq ft, so we were no strangers to downsizing.  We whittled our possessions down to our favorites and settled in to the country life with our menagerie of animals, 3 large dogs, 5 cats and 2 rabbits.  JR worked mostly from home, so we stuck him in a corner in the spare room and I started dreaming of gardens, farm animals, self-sufficiency and a quiet, simple life.

A year later, we built a garage, larger than our home, settled JR into his new “office” and started filling it up.  Around this time, my oldest daughter surprised us with our first grandchild and we went a little nuts with buying stuff for the baby.  We also acquired miniature donkeys, started raising chickens and built coops and pens.  I started caring for other children to give our granddaughter playmates and money to help pay for toys, mostly, and our youngest daughter’s upcoming wedding.  

And here we are, once again drowning in stuff.  Although I am not a big spender or a mall shopper, I am a “lots of little things”, shopper and have learned in my years of buying “lots of little things” how to stack, store and organize “lots of little things”.  BUT IT’S TOO MUCH.  

It’s time to get serious and focus on what makes me happy.  It might not be what makes everyone happy, but that’s okay.  Join me, if you like, in my quest for a simpler life, a healthier life, a more frugal life where the focus is on happiness and quality of life.  

Book Review: You Can Buy Happiness (and it's cheap)

Tammy and her husband, Logan, started off wanting a large house with the best things money could buy, but with credit card debt and school loans, they couldn't afford it. They decided to buckle down and get their loans paid off, but on the way took a trip to Mexico to help the Zapatistas. Tammy had been volunteering for the Mexico Solidarity Network to help earn money for their education and health care and she felt this trip would complement her volunteer work. This trip to Mexico was the turning point in her life. Living out of one bag and seeing how other people lived, opened her eyes to the excessive lifestyle she had been living and hoping for. This book follows Tammy and her husband's path towards a more simplified life to a smaller apartment, then smaller, then finally a tiny house. I thought the book was interesting, she gave a lot of practical pointers about sharing items, living without a car, downsizing, etc. Worth a read. 4 out of 5.