What can you live without?

**khjmom** · 03-02-2009, 08:56 AM

That was the catch line for today's Oprah show. It showed families going through cupboards, taping off cabinets (looked like a tv cabinet) and looking through closets...and then mentioned not shopping for 7 days. I am interested in seeing this show..even though I am not a big Oprah show person.

So my question for today is what can I/you live without?
I know that I can go more than 7 days without grocery shopping and more than 60 without shopping anywhere else. I can live without sodas...and am trying to do that more. I can live without cable, and the kids will survive too. I am trying to live with less and less each day...I am tired of the clutter. I just wonder what else I can add to the list. Something to think about while working on my decluttering. Curious to see other responses.

**The Muse** · 03-02-2009, 09:13 AM

*gasp* No shopping for 7 days??? j/k That's a usual week around here.

I live without a lot of things that are the norm for most people: TV, soft drinks, eating out, convenience foods, meat, credit card debt, tons of clothes, electronics & gadgets.

There are more, but it's such a way of life that I don't really think of it as "living without". To me, it's just living.

**cheles2kids** · 03-02-2009, 09:19 AM

I'm kinda along the same mindset as TheMuse.

Things that I live without:
sodas
store bought cookies
cell phone contracts
having a t.v. in every room (we own 2)
new cars (thankfully both of ours are paid off)
new clothes (thank goodness for thrift stores)
credit cards (also very thankful that we don't have them)
shopping weekly

Things that we have that I *could* live without:
basic cable t.v.
eating out twice a week

That's about it.

**cab54** · 03-02-2009, 09:21 AM

I could do without a lot of these things easily, for quite some time. Getting DH to do it though, would be the hard part.

We do without a lot of stuff (TV, etc.) up at our cabin, though.

We have to make less trips for supplies, as we are FAR from everything. Stockpiling is an absolute necessity up there.

**Natalie** · 03-02-2009, 09:22 AM

I can live without all the spam in my email(s). I just deleted some really nasty, filthy stuff... can't even stand it when my email client's put it in the spam folder -- I have to empty that folder, too.

But frugal wise? I can live without shopping for a week... or at least try.

**khjmom** · 03-02-2009, 09:28 AM

I am slowly getting to the point you both are at. It is just a process to change your mindset. For so long we had every gadget, all the cable channels....the folks at the mall knew me...lol. We are getting better. I went to the mall for the first time in months....and just went to see a movie during the day so the price was cheaper. I am finally getting used to less soda....that headache was a killer, and the kids seriously don't miss the cable being gone anymore. I want a simpler life and am gradually getting there. It was just interesting me to me to see that promo and realize that could have been me. Now I am the odd one as my friends say (but they don't mean it in a snotty way...they are actually asking how we are changing things to a simpler life) who is doing without, it just doesn't feel like doing without. Does that make sense?

**Spirit Deer** · 03-02-2009, 09:47 AM

I'm working hard on doing without snack foods, especially boughten ones. Still looking for that elusive flaky cheese cracker recipe. But with prices as they are, it's easy to avoid snack crackers in the store. And now that we've been without pre-made snacks a while, when we do eat them we realize how stale they taste and how bad they really are.

We can do without tortilla chips. We make our own. Various homemade meat rubs and spice blends give us infinite flavor variations without all the fat and salt, and they don't taste stale either.

We can do without almost any boxed mix, too. I've always considered myself a 'scratch' cook, and compared to many I am, but it's been a real eye-opener as the various mixes for pancakes, brownies, and other stuff gets used up and not replaced. Ditto for salad dressings. Suddenly, there's lots more space in the pantry.

Yesterday, we decided we can live without brown sugar. We mixed up our own and it tastes so much better, we don't care if it's any cheaper or not.

I can easily do without the three pounds I lost last month by not eating as much processed foods filled with who knows what and tons of sweeteners where it's not needed.

I can do without all the stuff I would have bought if not for re-purposing what I already own, which saves me money, space, clutter, and gives me a nice feeling of satisfaction.

I can do without the Pullman bread pans I'd love to have, by using a cookie sheet on top the pans I already own. I have lots of cast iron cookware to weight the cookie sheet down, and I'm entertaining a theory that I can slap a coat of seasoning on the cast iron and let that bake while the bread bakes, saving gas in the process. Baking the bread means I can also live without buying expensive bread filled with questionable ingredients.

There's lots more but that's a few of the things I can think of at the moment.

**kitchendiva** · 03-02-2009, 09:52 AM

Most of the women I work with are big into designer purses. I don't get that one at all. I like having a cute and functional purse just like any other girl, but no way will I pay hundreds of dollars for one.

Other things I can live without:
fast food
popular new music
going clubbing
sports events

...I could go on forever!

**TexasPeanut** · 03-02-2009, 09:58 AM

I'm with cheles2kids and The Muse, we live without a lot that some would consider normal to have.

New cars...we will always be a "buy used pay by cash" family, New clothes (except the kiddo and undergarments and socks of course lol), DH and I only buy one pair of shoes a year (DH also replaces his workboots when needed though, that's a safety issue)....our shoes from the previous year become our "outside and play" shoes so the new ones last until the next year. Credit card debt, New gadgets (our cell phones are 5 years old), convenience food, fast food, junk food, tons of clutter...we de-cluttered our home all through the last part of last year and it feels wonderful. There are many more things we do without, not because we have to, it's a choice we made.

What we could live without that we have...t.v. and the internet *shock*!

What we couldn't live without? Our garden, books to read that take your mind somewhere, our bikes for fun family time, and similar things along those lines.

What's our reward for living without those things that most people can't? A simple life, one that's free of debt and stress but full of happiness and some awesome food and fun!

**craftypam** · 03-02-2009, 10:10 AM

I haven't had cable since the 70's and have never missed it people that happen to find out in conversation are surprised. The only reason I see to buy one of those expensive purses (I've been told last forever) is that you only buy one for a lifetime (too boring for me) And ever since I've started thrift shopping for clothes its really easy to not buy at the mall

**frugal is fun** · 03-02-2009, 10:54 AM

I could also do without cable. Unfortunately my 4 yr old wouldn't agree.

I can do without boxed mixes, processed foods. YUK!
I can do without turning my heat past 65
I can do without eating out every week
I can do without going into any store, except for groceries, for weeks.
I can do without a new car, payments of any kind, credit card debt, etc.
I can do without trying to keep up with the Jones's

**sunshine** · 03-02-2009, 12:23 PM

We do without:

cable, dish or satellite TV

new cars (mine is a 1999, and it's the newest one we own)

many pairs of shoes - I own a pair for work, a pair for home, a pair for dress

I own 3 dressy outfits : one pantsuit, one summer dress , one winter dress

we do without meat at every meal -- we do eat it occasionally, as a treat, or as a condiment

we do without lunches while at work or school -- we pack a light meal or hearty snack

**boysnberries** · 03-02-2009, 12:31 PM

We do without a lot:

cell phones
gaming systems
fast food (we keep kosher)
prepared/convenience foods
soda and juices (we're big water drinkers)
GPS (whatever happened to maps?)
snowblower (we use a shovel, dh is out there now LOL)
leafblower (rake)
gas/electric lawnmower (we use an ancient hand-me-down push mower)
haircuts, manicures, pedicures, etc
perfume
makeup
disposable products

**stinkbug** · 03-02-2009, 04:23 PM

Actually, I've lived without (at some point) pretty much everything that I have now....so everyting I have is a luxery in some ways. We are fortunate to be in a good place financially, but I've been in a hole so deep I thought there was no way out. So now...it's all good and I try to appreciate the little things and keep away from people who don't.

**thefrug** · 03-02-2009, 05:02 PM

I could go without all kinds of crap. If you're talking about the episode about Simplifying life and living with less, I didn't like the fact that O made the one woman's stockpile seem excessive. But, then again O could BUY all the food her and her mate Gail could consume. It was on in the background here so I heard some of it. I RARELY watch O's show. She's a fake and I don't like her. Just like dr phil was saying the word "coupon" like it was a filthy, dirty word the other day on his show. I rarely watch him either. This show was about these people who were going to lose their house and stuff.
OK, that was OT, sorry.

I can do without a bunch of stuff. If it comes down to it, then I wqill. Until then I'll enjoy it all. LOL