Simple Living Makes for a Sustainable Life

In 2012, due to the loss of my dad, my mom and I had to make financial changes to sustain our way of life. We decided small changes here and there would be the best way to go. Here are some of the ways we moved towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

We only shop once a month.

Now, this was not easy at first, but it was doable. We make a list of what we need that month and stick to it. This saves us on gas by not making unnecessary trips around town and keeps spending on track. This change means, we only have to fill the gas tank every 2-3 months, and we can more closely monitor our spending.

Search for online deals.

Living in a small town means, it’s not always easy to find what you want at a low price. Therefore we use amazon prime to make bulk purchases on some items each month, with free shipping. For example, this month I purchased 12- 2.6oz Suave deodorant for $14. When you look at the store price of $2.69 each and add the fact that I didn’t have to move my car, that’s a good buy! But you have to spend time searching the site to find the best prices.

We eat differently.

We mainly eat what we grow now. I’m learning to cook from scratch and preserve our food as much as possible. What I can’t grow, like flour and sugar we purchase. We also look for sales to stock the pantry. We rarely eat out, but we love pizza, so we do have a pizza delivered from time to time. Like most families, food was one of our most costly purchases. Therefore it’s simpler, safer, and cheaper to eat at home.

Slowing down.

I was forced to slow down as working outside the home was no longer an option as mom began to age. The loss in income made things hard for a while. Starting a garden and growing our meat chickens pulled us out of the financial hole a little, but every penny still mattered and some months we didn’t have enough. For me, simply living starts in the garden. It is a peaceful place, I find great pleasure there, but growing enough food to eat and sell helps keep my stress away. Therefore this year, we will expand the garden to start selling fresh produce boxes.

Planning.

Staying organized is always a part of the plan. This way I know what we have and need and can create a scheduled time to put these things into action, and a budget to make sure my spending stays on track.

This is harder for me than you would think, but I’m getting better. Creating a daily to-do list, plotting out the garden, and tracking our monthly spending helps keep life simple and sustainable.

Some other ways we have downsized our lives are :

growing our animal feed and bedding.
canceling our cable bill and using amazon’s firestick instead.
only running the washing machine twice a month to save on both our water and light bills.

These are just a few ways we are making life easier for us. As a result of these changes, our day-to-day life is less stressful and more manageable.

Downsizing our cost of living was not easy, but it is worth it. I love our simple life.