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Thread: I Haven't Had Enough of "Enough".

  1. #11
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    Kat, I got the idea that the list would make me look at my stuff in a different way from you! And, you were right about the detachment, and the simple fact that seeing things on a list just makes things look, well, different -- and opens up other possibilities. The U and L helped me see for sure which things I really did use and love. Today I looked again at the list & wrote an R next to items that, should something happen to them, I would replace. This has helped me see what I NEED (& the number of these items was so much smaller than my total number!) -- as well as the recognition that some items, should they disappear, would simply be irreplaceable (personal art work, special gifts, etc.). Also, if I imagined all my clothes somehow disappearing, when I thought of what I would need to replace, it tended to be a made up number of what I consider "enough", so I see that at present I have MORE than enough clothing, for example.

    Another idea is a B or G, for whether an item was something I bought, or was given to me. The B helped me see how I've spent my money. The G helped identify whether I was hanging onto something simply BECAUSE it was a gift -- or sometimes engendered a feeling of gratitude for the care of loved ones.

  2. #12
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    Oh, I love that B and G idea, too! The Bs would be serve as a reminder to me that I have enough and don't need to buy more, and the Gs would help me to look at the item more critically. Is it something I actually love and use, or am I only holding on to it because someone gave it to me and I feel guilty giving it up?

    Ah, good stuff, sumarie! :-)

  3. #13
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    OK I LOVE the B/G (I'm going to add and I for Inherit, which makes up the bulk of my posessions) and U/L ideas! I think I've lived with other people's stuff for so long it sometimes doesn't even occur to me that I could get rid of it and replace it with something I love, or not replace it at all. My living room for example, is decorated with pictures of Paris my mom and Grandma had. Nothing against Paris, but it does tend to make me think of the smarmy frenchman my mom ran off with. Hmmm. I don't want to hijack this thread any further, but I think I'll start my own thread about stuff and it's stuff drama.
    My blog: www.sunnysideuplife.blogspot.com

    Guess why I smile? Because it's worth it. -Marcel the Shell with Shoes

  4. #14
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    This list thing really worked with DH.

    He was complaining about now having enough clothing (he has more clothing than I do), and so i told him to make a list of what he has, and then from there, a list of what he needs. Once he made a list of what he had, the only thing that we came up with that he would need is: 1 warmer sweater; 1 warm pjs (sweats, we think); some new socks. He seemed quite pleased that he didn't really need anything. We also discovered that some of his clothing needs repair -- like his suit needs to be hemmed, as the hem fell out. He rarely wears the suit, but it's good to have it in good repair for when it is used.

    I did the same, and it's worked well for me. I only need to replace two shirts that are now rags. So, that's good.

  5. #15
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    That's awesome, Zoebird! I am going to do the same thing with my clothes after I have the baby. Even if I am able to lose the pregnancy weight, my body will likely be different, and I am not expecting that all of my pre-pregnancy clothes will fit. So I plan to make a list of all that fits to see if I really even need to fill in anywhere. I probably won't, but I know I will feel like I do until I see it all written down. :-)

    I already started a list of the baby clothes I have so that i don't accumulate too much of that, either.

    Lists rock!

  6. #16
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    What an awesome thread!!! I'm still new here and discovering things every visit.

    I had enough of being under someone else's thumb after a series of really craaaapy jobs. I longed to be free...from what? Everything??? You need some money, but...

    I took it one step at a time. I kept a journal about every little thing I did or used from the time my feet hit the floor in the morning. Then I did a web search for homemade __ to see if there was a cheaper way of getting/making what I needed/wanted. It felt good to learn that I could make substitutions for so many things I'd been buying at the store. A gradual diet change (more vegetarian meals, recipes using less meat, more beans, etc) was pretty easy. Gardening/freezing extra, planning ahead..we eat better for less $$.

    I've never been a shopper, so that helped. I donated all my dressy work clothes, high heels and purses. My every day clothes are my gardening and work clothes. Jeans and any t-shirt or sweatshirt will work. I have chipped fingernails and chicken poo stuck on the bottom of my shoes, but I don't care. The kids bring all their clothing donation bags here first. We pick out what we want, then donate the rest.

    Next step is to loosen the grip from the local power company. We already installed wood burners, cut downed or dead trees, but buy some wood. Passive solar space heaters using scrounged materials is next! I'm already scrounging materials to make three VAWTS.

    I discovered that I didn't have to go back to the stone age to live cheaply and sanely.
    Marianne
    My lame blog: http://2atthefarm.blogspot.com/
    Eco Friendly Tightwaddery and the Fine Art of Substitution

  7. #17
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    Wow.. that's impressive. I was thinking about getting estimates on solar panels. Any idea how to start? Where to look?

  8. #18
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    A guy on another forum raves about this company and products:
    http://www.morningstarcorp.com/en/home
    He buys them through Wind/sun.com and the charger is called the SunSaver 10, 10 amp charge controller, ss-10-12v, (by Morningstar). He said that it's easy to keep adding to the system as you can afford the panels. He's living off grid now, with ONE solar panel! Talk about scaled back.

    I have a love for passive solar - you get more bang for your buck with that. Different types of 'heaters' can be built using scrounged materials and they don't have to look bad on the house, either.
    I also have a strong desire for scrap heap VAWTS - Vertical Axis Wind Turbines. A lot less efficient than the typical wind turbines, but can be made by anyone with basic tools and knowledge, low to the ground (no towers required), can be made relatively inexpensively, and the faster the wind blows, the more power is created and stored in batteries (instead of shutting down like HAWTS)

    http://builditsolar.com has tons of plans, articles, etc etc. One of my favorite sites.

    (Climbing off soap box now)

    As I said, for me, it's all one step at a time. Anything I can make or create (like one watt) still lessens my dependency on some corporation. I don't have to take the dirty clothes to the creek and pound them on a rock, either. Hey, I have standards. :o)
    Marianne
    My lame blog: http://2atthefarm.blogspot.com/
    Eco Friendly Tightwaddery and the Fine Art of Substitution

  9. #19
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    Thanks Marianne.. I passed this on to my DH. I think he will be the decision maker here.

  10. #20
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    What a great thread!

    I had ENOUGH with working a full time research job and two small children. Everyone was miserable. No time for each other, no time to do what was really important, just shuttling back and forth from daycare to job to daycare to home and collapsing until we did it all again the next day. I am LOVING being a Stay at Home Mom! Some "enough" adjustments we have made that I can't get enough of:

    No cable TV - don't miss it at all. probably dropping the Netflix too, we are finding other things to do instead.
    No book store - discovered our local library, and endless source of entertainment and knowledge including interlibrary loan for our whole state!
    Less packaged food - cooking from scratch, baking from scratch, making snacks from scratch. Suprisingly fulfulling work and great tasting.
    More gardening - I am still a novice gardener and have made a lot of mistakes but it is really enjoyable and we can hopefully get things going successfully in the next couple of seasons.
    homeschooling - no worrying about more expensive housing, school supplie lists, teacher's gifts, fundraisers, ect. We are living and learning!
    natural healing - we do have basic health insurance for vaccinations and big things but the world of herbal and natural healing has really opened my eyes to the way food, herbs and lifestyle changes can cure SO many of our basic health problems without having to pay a doctor's bill.

    Some other "enough" things that I want to do but haven't mastered yet but hope too in 2012 -
    -brewing beer
    -yogurt making
    -preserving and canning

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