The topic of doing more with less is on my mind. Every time we’ve added a child to our family, my instinct is to clear out our space, to get rid of gear and simplify wherever possible. It probably has something to do with making mental space for this new person in my life.
Last week, I was packing for our trip to San Jose and thinking about what I should bring for June’s meals — she’s still mostly nursing, but she’s also eating 3-4 meals a day of solids. At first I was thinking several bibs, 10+ jars of baby food, a bag of rice cereal, utensils and bowl for preparations, utensils for feeding, etc. But finally decided it was a short trip, to a town with every convenience, and that all I would need was a baby spoon.
For breakfast, I found plain yogurt and oatmeal among the offerings and grabbed a ripe banana for when we were out and about. And I was able to find similarly soft foods wherever we were. During feedings, I kept a napkin handy to keep her clean and I was good to go. While I appreciate the helpfulness of things like bibs and lots of food choices when we’re at home, it was nice to be reminded that it didn’t take much to keep June happy and fed when we wanted to travel as light as possible.
Another example that comes to mind? The giant table we built after moving to Colorado. It is the most used piece of furniture in our house. We use it for entertaining, for homework, for art projects, for sewing projects, for building things. And when we’re not using it, it does its duty as a piece of furniture that’s nice to look at and that compliments the space.
What about you? What are your thoughts on doing more with less? What’s an item you have that you get the most use out of?
I do more with less by making my own cleaning products (using white vinegar, baking soda, etc) and by making my own laundry detergent. It really helps cut our spending.
One area where we accumulate faster than I like is with books, so my attempt to do more with less is to use the library more. If I here of a good book, I request it right away so that I don’t forget about it and in a couple of days (or weeks if it’s a popular one) it’s waiting for me at the library. I also do this with our kids books.
Rather than spending tons of money on baby food jars, I just make extra at meals for the family, and feed my son the same thing we are having. I will puree or mash when needed, but mostly just give him little chunks.
i am a HUGE fan of this post.
I think the society we live in is constantly trying for the bigger and “better”
my husband and i plan on living in under 800 SF our whole lives. most people laugh when they hear that. but, we’ll live without tons of debt, without tons of stuff we don’t need and we’ll be happy.
I do more with less in a similar way as you are describing . . . I have 5 kids, but kids can really be happy with less “things” if you make it a part of your lifestyle. Then they just know that this is the way we do things.
oh, i do love to declutter! we routinely donate clothing, books, toys, etc. to our favorite non-profit – it’s a win-win! thanks for the giveaway!
It’s so easy to keep piling on the extras until life’s essentials disappear – crowded closets, cluttered rooms, over scheduled lives, and more. Sometimes I worry that my children’s biggest memory of me will be the back of my head, since that’s what they see when I’m driving them around.
I’ve been trying to approach our life with a backwards design by looking at the essentials and clearing out the rest. This holiday season I’m planning on holding a family meeting to identify the important things – then let go of the rest without guilt.
I do the best keeping things pared down when I avoid shopping altogether. I have a hard time resisting the “good deal” which always seem available these days.
It’s all about prioritizing. I splurge on the things that are important to me and my family (when we can) and those may not be the things that other families choose to spend money on. But you can live within your means when you know what’s important to you.
I’m getting married soon on a very small budget. I’m squeezing the most possible out of every dollar, from having my fiance’s stepmom make the cake to doing a lot of the wedding stuff ourselves!
I love all the great ideas and will be putting a few of them to use this week!
Not sure if this qualifies or not, but I always purchase snow boots a size or two large and make the kiddies wear them for a couple of years and always hand the bigger on down to the younger so that I only have to purchase for the eldest.
I love this topic, and am always de-cluttering. After having been in 3rd world countries, I try to instill in my children how wealthy we are, and how little others have. They love to dig through their toys and pick some to give to others less fortunate than them. We have 3 children, yet live in a small 3/bdrm 1/bath home. We often think we “need” a larger house, but realize it is only because we are comparing our house to our friends’, kids’ friends houses. We really get along just fine, and my husband and I even both work from home! Living in a small house forces us to do with less, because there is no place to put extra stuff!
We’re doing little things like eating in — it sickens me to think how much we spent eating in restaurants on a weekly basis. We’re also taking an extra 30 minutes to “map” out our attack on the grocery store — using coupons. I could kick myself for not insisting that we do this sooner. The dollars really do add up in our bank account by just using common sense. This coupled with a good sweep of the house and a trip to several charities to hand over the “loot” is making a difference in our pocket books and our spirits.
We are doing more with less this year for Christmas by capitalizing on our church’s free toy trade! We all have toys sitting around (used and new) that get ignored – parents get together to trade and viola! Free Christmas!
although moving often is rough, i always like that it makes me really think about what i want to pack up and bring to my next home. have i really used the item in the last year? if not, why am i holding on to it?
the other thing that my husband and i have done for the last few years is the cash system. we get out enough cash for our gas, groceries, and entertainment budget at the beginning of the month and when it’s gone, it’s gone. it’s been amazing for our budget and really kept us from impulse buys.
We have implemented a one toy in, one toy out policy. I really struggled with this – it seemed so mean! Our family and friends are so generous, even when we ask for no gifts… we were drowning in toys! Now, we clear out our playroom regularly, the toys that are out the way out are donated to a shelter so other children can enjoy them. The girls get to pick what goes and whay stays, the playroom is under control, and other children benefit. Now I cannot remember why I fought this idea for so long!
I am all for more with less. I’m in my twenties and single so I’m living in a tiny studio with a murphy bed, and I find having less space makes me much more considerate of buying things.
I am a mom of two boys, I work part time 4 days a week so my check is not that amazing but enough to buy the whole food for two weeks. I write my list before I go to the store and stick to it so there is no way I can spend more. We have been saving so much money !!! And of course, my hubby pays for the rest.
Thrifting! Its a great way to find a piece of clothing that is unique and cool for cheap! Also I have learned to ask my siblings, parents and friends for old furniture that I can turn into something useful and beautiful for my house.
i’m really short, so whenever i buy a new pair of pants, i need to trim off about three inches of fabric at the bottom to re-hem them to the right length. i recently used some of that scrap fabric to patch a pair of my son’s pants. the fabulous part was that i had a scrap that was just the right color.
This year for Christmas the kids are getting four gifts each:
Something they want
Something they need
Something for fun
and Something to read
It’s great to simplify!
with a toddler in a third floor condo, I often feel overwhelmed with all the gear that a baby needs – the exercsauser, the hobby horse, the crawl through tunnel, the activity mat, the bouncy seat, the swing….and they use it for relatively short amounts of time. I have been getting a lot of that “stuff” from craigslist or friends and then reselling it or sending it back. Sometimes friends and I swap toys for a few months to expose our kids to something new and fun without having to buy (and store) it. I also recycle Halloween costumes – a great saver.
I felt so free when I got rid of all my old gross knives and kept my two good ones: a santoku and a serrated one. I meant to replace the other essentials, but I’ve just been using the two for a year now!
I highly recommend freecycle. It’s easier to get rid of things when people come and take it off your hands….
We are on a big budget and I’ve found that making baby food is going to save us a ton of money! As a early Christmas gift my mom got me a baby food maker and its a godsend. Seriously.
We like to re-use things. So we bring less into our home.
Thrift stores all the way!!
I am going through a major purging of unnecessary needs at this time as well. Donating the extra items my daughter no longer needs and keeping the essentials and gear for the “next” baby. And, I could really use a phone since I’m down one from the drool damage of my teething baby:)
I try to do more with less now that I am living in NYC. I went from 1300 square feet to 450 square feet. I can’t be a pack rat anymore. Organization is everything. I have filled my home with items I actually utilize, and I have gotten rid of all else.
We have a very small home and I am fatally allergic to clutter so I am pretty ruthless about doing more with less. I fully subscribe to the “one in, one out” method of shopping (although, with gifts and such things that find their way into the house, it usually ends up being more like “one in, two out”). I don’t buy anything unless I can think of something else that I’m willing to replace. It saves space and money and I never feel compelled to give in to retail therapy because bucking my own system would just stress me out more.
Two words: Public. Library!
We needed to cut down on our discretionary purchases rather drastically, and one of the ways we did so was to start “ordering” books in our library system rather than buying them. I used to make so many book purchases on a whim, and then sometimes never even got to the book! With the library, we’ve checked out audiobooks, DVDs, books etc. and then if we really love something, will buy it. But those things are few and far between so far….
I love to do more with less…especially in the kitchen. My favorite kitchen gadget is a good knife. It’s my garlic press, herb chopper, nut chopper, not to mention cutting utensil for meats, veggies, fruits, squash…you name it! Love the table!
yes! every time i add to the house i must take away. i feel so much better when i have less. my mind is clearer, my outlook fresher. less is more- it really is! if i find that i always use one certain item (and the other items of the same ilk are left unused) i will get rid of the other items. why have things taking up space if i don’t even use them?
I love Natalie H.’s idea above. It always seems the kids are in over their heads around the holidays!
Since this is a techy giveaway, I’ll give you a techy example. My Harmony One remote has de-cluttered my coffee table. Seriously, this remote is amazing. I can do so much with it. I can control EVERYTHING! Anyone can use it.
More With Less #1: Reusable grocery bags. It’s such a nice feeling to cut down on all those plastic bags that we don’t need. It’s a small thing, but it feels SO good not to have to wrestle with plastic bags!
I left my full time job this year to stay home and homeschool my kids. (Kindergarten, 2 1/2 and a newborn). Best decision ever. However, our budget is so tight it squeaks! But, I love not being addicted to shopping or other “stuff.” It’s easy to get caught up in that.
A lot of my holiday decorations I just make out of paper. Then when the holiday is over, I toss the decorations. It makes my house look festive without costing anything since I usually have paper on hand.
My new year’s resolution last January was to go an entire year without buying bottled water. There have been a couple of instances (in the middle of an 8-mile run, for example) where I had to give in but besides that, I always carry a water bottle with me. I’m saving money, helping the environment and staying hydrated! It’s the little things :)
We moved 3 times in the past 2.5 years and got rid of all the junk we didn’t need. Less is more.
This year for Christmas we are going out of town to visit family. We have made a new rule in our home that we will only exchange stockings amongst our immediate family with a limit of $25 each. We (my husband and I) are trying to instill family times shared rather than presents for Christmas.
To me, the most glaring example is reducing to a single car family. Less cars, less cost, but more thoughtful driving, more time together in the one car talking accomplishing errands. More consideration about miles traveled and whether they are really necessary. And more exercise because of needing to get to the bank (or library, or store) while the other one has the car.
we are expecting our 2nd child and de-cluttering like crazy. but it’s hard: those sentimental things, the “i might still wear this” conundrum ….
My rule is: I haven’t worn it in the last year, out it goes.
I try to be content with the things I have. Also, I try to by multipurpose items, instead of things with a single purpose.
Every other year for Christmas, my siblings and I do a service project instead of buying gifts. I’m sure there are a lot of people that do something similar, but it was the first thing that came to mind when you asked about doing more with less. I think that’s exactly what we are trying to do – giving something to someone who really needs it, instead of just keeping stuff around because we can. They get more, we get less.
I try to think the same way when I need to declutter – instead of thinking, “I’ll wear this sweater when I’m skinny again” – I think “I’ll give this sweater to a skinny someone who needs it now”. It makes getting rid of things a lot easier and quite fun!
I use the website Swap.com to trade stuff I already have but don’t want anymore for books, CDs and DVDs. A lot of my son’s book collection comes from swapping! I try to never buy books new, they are so expensive!, but I can’t not have books in our home!
We recently made a pretty big move and got rid of a lot of things in the process. It was refreshing. And while we waited for all of our things to arrive, we subsisted on bare minimums. When all of our things did get here, it almost felt too crowded. So I’ve made a few in roads about getting rid of things we don’t really need. And a calendar to finish up some sewing projects have had in the works for entirely too long. Plus I really want to clean out my closet and buy clothing that is more timeless, less trendy, and could work in more ways. It’s a lot of goals, but little by little we’re getting it done. Even if I just spend 15 minutes a day de-junking I feel so much better.
I find a lot of uses for hairspray some of them really wacky!
Doing more with less is such a great concept and really causes you to think outside of your noggin for a bit. I feel quite accomplished when I can cut corners and come out on top. Don’t even get me started with home many uses I can find for baking soda in our house. I hardly ever buy cleaners!
*Great giveaway (btw). I have been pining for a new phone and this one looks great!