5 Ways to Live with Less
Living with less is not about going without. Instead, it creates more space in your life for what you want. It also doesn’t have to be about hard choices or big sacrifices.
Here are five ways I have learnt to live with less.
1. We don’t really do gifts
I am very protective over what comes into our home. Quite simply, we don’t need more stuff. When it comes to children’s birthday parties, we have a ‘no gift’ rule. Over the years I realised that children often just receive gifts that they don’t really need. Often they just end up clutter. The experience of having friends over for a slumber party is much more appealing. Also, my husband and I don’t buy each other gifts. Instead, we’d much rather go out for dinner together.
2. Curated clothing
Years ago I got tired of trying to mix and match my clothing. I had some skirts and tops that were colourful and patterned and really struggled to find other items of clothing that were a suitable match. I decided to edit my wardrobe to a neutral palette and now everything matches! It’s made life so much easier.
3. We loan what we can
There are times when a trailer comes in handy, such as when we need to buy a new load of mulch for the garden. But we have a neighbour who is happy to loan us his trailer. And we’ve also borrowed one off my brother-in-law. We don’t always have to buy everything that we need. Often the best solution is to loan or hire.
4. Simplifying cleaning
Bicarb soda (baking soda) is one of our favourite cleaning products. It cleans dirty marks off the walls, makes the bathroom and kitchen sinks sparkly and can be used in so many other ways. Cleaning doesn’t have to involve lots of expensive products or unnecessary packaging or harmful fragrances.
5. Made to last
Buying products that are made to last is really important. We also look if they have replaceable parts. Our coffee machine, for example, once belonged to my mum who decided to upgrade her machine (although we think ours is actually better) and passed down her Gaggia Classic coffee maker. She had it for about 10 years, and we have now had it for about five years. A couple of times we have had to replace a part — but they are easy to buy and replace. It means that the product has a long lifespan and doesn’t end up in landfill due to natural wear and tear.
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