One of the very first posts I made on this blog back in February 2007 was How To Want Less. That post was basically just a link out to a fool.com article that I found extremely inspirational. The heart of being frugal and the heart of being green is using what you have rather than buying something new. More than two years later, let’s see how I’m doing on those tips.
- Throw away catalogs without reading them. – Done. Even better, I’ve contacted the distributing companies via website, email, or phone so they aren’t even sending me their catalogs anymore (minus a few choice retailers that I do actually shop from).
- Don’t watch commercials on television. – Done. I have a TV but I don’t have cable, satellite, or even get broadcast reception. I only use it to watch content downloaded from iTunes (mostly free) or DVDs, everything I watch is commerical free.
- Don’t read the adverts in the weekly paper. – Done. I have a Sunday only subscription that costs me $0.81 cents a week that I get just for the coupons. I clip the coupons and put the rest directly in the recycling bin.
- Don’t hang out in shopping areas for recreation. – Done. I only make trips to stores when I have a specific item planned for purchase.
- Take a complete inventory of your house contents for insurance purposes. – Done. Good thing too because I actually needed more than the minimum renters insurance thanks to a fair amount of items passed down from my grandparents and great grandparents.
- Do a weekly “27-fling boogie” a la Flylady. – I don’t really do this because I don’t have much excess after moving several times in the past few years. Maybe I could improve in this area but I don’t think getting rid of things for the sake of getting rid of something is anymore frugal or green than buying things for the sake of buying something.
- Visualize moving all of your stuff to a new home, or your heirs going through everything after your death. – Done. I’ve not just visualized but actually done both of these things multiple times, both are a nightmare.
- Keep warrenties. – Done but I could do better. They’re all stuffed in a random drawer in the kitchen or in a file box. I should be more organzied.
- Perform basic repair and maintenance. – Done. I’m especially diligent about this when it relates to clothing.
- Loan things you don’t use frequently to other people. – I could do better in this department but unfortunately I am a bit stingy and have had a few bad experiences with not getting things back.
- Think about what else you might want, instead of more stuff. – Done. I’ve taken a particular interest in travel, am dedicating savings specifically so that it’s possible, and just returned from my most recent week long trip three days ago.
Featured in the Festival of Frugality: The Spring has Sprung Edition.
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Thanks for joining in the parade.
I love this list. I often think about my family having to go through all of my junk and stuff. It really bothers me. I really need to start purging and stop hanging on to little stuff.
Great tips!
Great tips!
About your newspaper: Ask around and find someone who doesn’t care about coupons but wants to read the paper on Sundays only. Then you can share the subscription, it’ll cost you only 40c/week, and it’ll be better for the environment!
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May 14, 2009 at 2:21 PM
This would be a great idea if I knew even one other person who wanted to get the newspaper.
Great tips Thanks for Sharing them
Living in a small house helps too. I just don’t have room to keep a lot of extra stuff around for the sake of having extra stuff around.
great list–i really need to stop the catalogs from coming to my house!
good tips! i so need to do some of these things.
What a wonderful title for this post! As Americans, if we all practiced this a bit more our national savings rate would skyrocket and our landfills would have vastly more space. Since our son was born, we’ve found that what we really want isn’t stuff but family time. That means we’re willing to buy less, buy used, and get creative instead of having to work long hours just to consume more material things that we don’t really need. We’re glad you joined us this Thrifty Green Thursday!
This is a great list! Thanks for sharing!
Great post!
I am starting to cut out certain magazines and channels out of our lives that just make us all want more, more, more.
Great article Carrie, I linked to this on my blog
Love this list. I also try to make myself wait a while so I can decide if something is a valid acquisition or not. ie can I borrow it from someone instead of buying it? do I really need it? can I repurpose something else? but I love your post – ah, the wanting less….
catalogchoice.org will get you off of LOTS of catalogs. An absolute pleasure to get less mail!
Its all about getting the coupons out of the sunday paper. Me and wife do it every week and save alot of money. People need to do this it will save alot of money.
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