Simplicity versus Frugality - Page 2

[mum4vr]

Great ideas! TY

Some of these seem obvious to me, but some are so novel, haha...

RE bulk foods-- this is a money-saver & food-quality-improvement we cannot do without. I spring ($5 or so) for the food-safe 5 gallon pails from the same co-op where I buy my bulk organics (they last approx forever). We can currently store around 8 of these under the kitchen table w/ plenty of leg space. When we move to the cabin, they will be lined up along a kitchen wall with built-in shelves above them or under a designated counter (up to 12 of them, total). This may seem like a lot of space, but it works for us bc it is around 90% of our food. (each holds approx 25# of beans, flour, etc or 10# of pasta). We cannot afford to eat as well if we do not buy bulk & we feel sickly pretty soon if we buy poorer quality... like PP have said, it's a matter of balance & making your choices work for your space & time & health.

I am a glass-jar-keeper! One thing that helps is letting each family member choose, decorate (even w a glass eching kit!) exactly ONE repurposed glass bottle, to use as a water bottle. Then, one small! shelf space is for keeping useful glass jars. When it is full, no more keeping. This does not include canning jars, which we really do use to LA culture much of our garden produce, but at the end of the harvest, any boxes of canning jars that do not get used,get donated (otherwise I -will- "collect" them!)

Last year we developed a habit of collecting cardboard egg cartons (to be ready when our chickens started laying)... well, we discovered that we really love & eat a LOT of fresh eggs when we can & never used more than 2 storage cartons at a time. My dd painted & decorated 2 good, sturdy ones, & we donated the rest to friends who sell their surplus eggs.

Now, if anyone has good ideas on reducing books in a homeschooling house, I'd LOVE to hear it! They are part of what makes our home our sanctuary, but we haven't found anything like a balance for our books yet!

[LilyKay]

All what Crayfish said! Particularly looking at money as the only deciding factor.

I'd say change the mindset from being frugal with money to being frugal with your time and space, the money will follow. 

I buy certain things in bulk to cut down on shopping trips (gain more time).

Removing a lot of the stuff that falls under I-might-need-it-someday category clears up space, saves time on cleaning and cost in the long run because as others mentioned, you will not need to move to a bigger space (this is a big factor, two families I know just moved to bigger and more expensive apartments because they did not have any more space for all their stuff. Sure I might need this pan one day, but when a hundred pans make me pay twice as much in rent to keep, how much is that costing me?).

I had a hard time giving a lot of stuff up but what helped me get around it is thinking what a waste it is all these things sitting around unused and unloved, when someone out there could actually make some use of it.

Right now I strive to keep nothing we don't use or don't love. The use-items I categorize in how-often groups (once a year goes into the basement/deep storage, once a month or less to hard-to-reach storage, and weekly/daily items in the easy-to-reach and precious space). The love-items are on display either all the time or some of the time, otherwise I really question why am I keeping this? And I don't take any more free-bees home unless it is something I will truly use.

[emilyfaith]

Such good advice. We will be bringing a new baby into our two bedroom apartment in July. The thought is a little overwhelming especially since we had a much larger three bedroom place when my son was born. So.. Im trying to use my nesting energy to de-clutter and get rid of stuff. Question? I want to clean out our closets and save the clothes we really love and wear often. Whats a reasonable amount for a 4 year old boy. how many pants, shirts , pajamas ect. Also any ideas for getting kids involved in donating toys. He doesn't want to get rid of anything.
 

[mum4vr]

I recall asking a friend the how much is enough/ too much question when I had 1 + 1 on the way... She told me she thought 10 of -anything- was enough, bordering on too much. (like <10 pants, <10 shirts, <10 pr undies, sox etc) 10 of fewer TOYS/ toy sets (ie a box of lego counts as 1 toy, not 246 toys, lol)

I totally BALKED! Mostly bc we just had way too much stuff & it felt like throwing away most of what we owned.

I started w a modified version of this (keep in mind-- 10 is not a magic number; choose a # that fits your space & lifestyle; ie, if you can only do laundry once or twice a month, then 10 is not enough)-- first we got rid of anything not used/ useful (I kept the good outgrown boy clothes bc I had another boy coming). Then kept only 15 of each item, except toys-- I'll get to toys later, then kept only 10 of each. Doing a declutter in stages helps (but keep yourself accountable-- make a time limit for each step to begin & end; I think I did the 1st weekend of each month to complete each step bc I had a baby coming & limited time!)

Toys-- I had a large kitchen floor with big square tiles, so it was a fun staging area for sorting things. I marked a big X with red or blue masking tape on 20 squares (masking tape is ok on carpets, too, btw), then told DS to go get his favorite toys/ sets & place one on each X. (Expect this to take a LONG time, like all afternoon.) He didn't come up with even 20 favorites & I learned something-- *I* am more emotionally attached to some of my DC's toys than they are (it was a gift from g'ma when you were nb, etc). So, we washed out his enormous toy bin & cleared & dusted some shelf space & put up his 17 or so favorites. Then I put up the couple things that I felt were impossible to part with bc  they are family heirlooms or that he played with a LOT as a toddler & would be good for new baby, etc (one SMALL roughtote, no more). Then I put all the rest into roughtotes in the garage. I told DS if he missed any of the things we put up, he was allowed to swap any toy in his room for any toy in the bin every Saturday (no limit on number of trades Sat, but one for one-- we'd still end up w 17 toys in the room). He had so much more fun when he could easily get out & put back things in his room! He (& I) was shocked how much he liked the arrangement (& he didn't have to feel like he'd lost it all!) We didn't fuss about tidying up toys much anymore either & he could easily clean his own room by his big-kid self!-- it really improved our relationship. He traded a couple things the first few weeks, but next time traded back-- he'd chosen his favorites pretty accurately the first time. After a few months, we went to the thrift store on a watching mission & checked out the toys available to buy & the kiddos buying them. He got very excited & said we should bring all our extra toys here & there'd be more for kids to pick from. (I was prepared to nudge in the right direction, but didn't need to). It was important to let him "let go" emotionally, although if push came to shove, I was ready to give him time, but get rid of them after a pre-set time limit-- weeks or months, even if he wanted to keep everything. When we later reduced to 10, it was no problem & we didn't need the "process" again bc he knew the benefits of it.

We never acquire more than 10 of any clothing item or toys; if we receive gifts, we donate an equal # of that item & just decide what we prefer to keep. My DC are never pressured to accept a gift they will not use & the g'parents/ fam know this, so there are fewer frivilous gifts (bc g'ma knows if DD likes all the jeans she has better than the new jeans from g'ma, then g'ma's jeans will be at goodwill soon).

Eventually, we focused even more on helping curb materialism, esp at holidays; each child could receive exactly ONE storebought gift (not from each g'parent/ side of the family-- ONE TOTAL); they could receive unlimited books, clothes, homeschool items, or homemade gifts, but may have to make hard decisions about what to keep later. At first they balked, but then next year, a gma &gpa who'd been divorced 20 years collaborated to buy a much-desired wooden train set & tracks for DS; another year gma decided that TIME would be a much better gift than things & took each gchild, individually, out for cocoa & ice skating. In short, it worked-- less materialism for the DC & good lessons for us all about what is lasting & important. Now my DC are older, it encourages them to develop their interests into real skills-- DS1 made DD a cedar jewelry box one yr bc he's good at woodworking. This year DS2 & DD are knitting those skinny fluffy scarves that are popular for some ppl. (this is just to encourage & let you know, it's such a good life lesson you're teaching your DC now while he's young & it can grow & have lifelong benefits.)

That was 15 years ago... now if only I can do this w DH's stacks of chaff... LOL! And my books... we do need & use & love our library, but I wonder what a good starting number should be... idek how many books we own, but I think my new limit will be the built-in shelves at the cabin-- what doesn't fit, must go... wish me clutter free good sense! HAHA

& ty mamas-- your posts are helping keep me accountable to the principles I cherish/ & in some ways (books) to get back on the bandwagon...

[sunshineafterrain]

Love your reply mum4vr!

I have a home daycare and the toys are such a stumbling block. Every time the children start to have behavior problems reducing the amount of toys always helps.

I think I will use your idea of having them choose which toys to have out- and I'm sure they'll be more ruthless than me! lol  Less is more
 

[chel]

Originally Posted by emilyfaith 

Such good advice. We will be bringing a new baby into our two bedroom apartment in July. The thought is a little overwhelming especially since we had a much larger three bedroom place when my son was born. So.. Im trying to use my nesting energy to de-clutter and get rid of stuff. Question? I want to clean out our closets and save the clothes we really love and wear often. Whats a reasonable amount for a 4 year old boy. how many pants, shirts , pajamas ect. Also any ideas for getting kids involved in donating toys. He doesn't want to get rid of anything.

 

Clothing is hard to set fast rules. Some kids are messier, how often you are willing to do laundry. Harsher/variety of climate can increase the amount.
I always suggest, Put some away and see if you more.

For toys, do your best to atleast limit the toys coming in. Overtime, the remaining toys will be wornout or outgrown.