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 when i use coupon they really help i would love a new phone
One pot cooking is great. I made the best soup today and I got to use one pot. I chopped all the veggies and had everything prepared. All I had to do was throw it all in!
I really wish that I had applied the less is more approach earlier in life. With 5 kids it is easy to let things take over your house and now we must dig our selves out.
I get more with less by doing comparison shopping using Bing.
I try to double a yummy recipe and then freeze one for the next week. This way I am doing less work and less clean up.
I started using Mint.com, and it was shocking to see how much I was spending on workday lunches. I’ve been trying to pack my lunches more this year. I got this cute little box (http://www.amazon.com/Fit-Fresh-Lunch-Colors-Vary/dp/B000FNCS5M) which makes it fun and convenient to pack the night before and run out the door in the morning.
I got hooked on a TV show called Hoarders and since then I’ve been in a “If I don’t use it get ride of it” mood.
My Kitchen Aid mixer is the only thing on the counter but I leave it there because it get’s daily use.
I try to simply drink water and not buy additional pop and juice at either a restaurant or the grocery store. Cheaper – and healthier!
Baking soda. I love baking soda. I use it to cook and clean. No chemicals and it is way cheaper than other products.
My husband loves putting leftover meat with cheese and toasting it into a quesadilla. One more dinner I don’t have to worry about.
I’m all about doing more with less by using free tools such as the Google calendar to organize my day, week, month, year…need I go on!!!
My more for less: Bake family goodies instead of buying storebought. Make extra and freeze for later. Do the same for meals: cook more, freeze extras.
With the prospect of moving in less than a year, I’ve been on a mission to rid ourselves of the clutter. In the kitchen, if it doesn’t serve at least two purposes, the utensil/pot/dish is put aside for a garage sale or to donate. I’ve gotten rid of three decent sized boxes over the last week alone! Next stop – the office!
I freeze any leftovers for later in the week or the next week. Keeps the kids from eating the same thing day after day.
We only drink water at a restaurant. When the kids started to complain, we told them they had a choice. A) We could all eat at home . . . and drink water. OR B) We could eat at a restaurant . . and drink water.
I, too, am always thinking about doing more with less. I don’t want to accumulate more stuff just to have stuff. Before my husband and I buy anything we always think about where we are going to store it, even down to buying a car. If we couldn’t fit the truck we wanted in the garage, we weren’t going to buy it. I also try to repurpose things that we buy, like clothing. Adult clothing has more than enough fabric to make clothes for my toddler son.
I am loving aluminum foil as an insulation material these days, helps me shape cakes, and keep things warm :)
We left San Diego 3 years ago, and I became a stay at home mom because we wanted less stress in our lives, as well, there are very few jobs for which I’m qualified (the drug industry doesn’t really exist here). So, in this time I’ve been trying to stretch our budget as much as possible, and the addition of a new baby makes my project so much more challenging :) I clip coupons, and make only one major trip to the grocery store a month. We visit the public library in order to vary our older daughter’s nightly story time. Also, we cancelled our cell phone service, I carry a cheap pay as you go phone, and my hubby doesn’t have one at all. We try and wait until the movies are at the dollar theater. We also purchased a more fuel efficient car for the daily commute. I cook more (I have more time now), and we go out for food less. And Starbucks is only a once in a blue moon treat for me. I brew at home now…
Its amazing how much of my former salary I squandered on things I truly didn’t need (12 pairs of shoes, really?), and that weren’t making me happy. Doing without puts life into perspective as to what is really important :)
It just seems like the right thing to do – financially, environmentally.
We only have one car. My husband and I both are blessed to be able to work at home. However, there is the occasional overlap of children’s activities, doctor appts., etc, and so we “rent” my cousin’s car for the cost of a tank of gas. They live just down the street from us.
I read the grocery store weekly ads during my lunch break. That helps me plan out my grocery trip and gives me meal ideas, so I waste less time trying to think “what’s for dinner.”
We are definitely trying to pay attention to our health this winter season to avoid costly doctor visits and medicines. Washing our hands frequently is much cheaper than getting sick!
I do more with less by using awesome phone apps. There are many useful, fun, and creative apps out there that help make life a little bit easier to manage.
I find that I actually love the challenge of doing more with less. If I can buy something for less, I love it even more. If I can make something from nothing, I’m much prouder of it than if I’d just gone out and bought the thing in the first place. If I repurpose, I accomplish two things: clearing clutter and filling a need (for free!). It’s hard not to get swept up in the consumerism (especially at this time of year) but if you make into a personal challenge, it’s much more entertaining!
I cook french toast in the waffle iron! SO much faster than the traditional way.
I do more by sleeping less. It is amazing what you can get done in the morning without distractions.
Since moving back from China we had to make a big decision fast about how many cars to buy. Knowing expenses would be high with our special needs baby we opted for one. Our entire marriage we’ve had two cars, so this was a little scary, but we have found that with one less car we get much more family time. No one gets left behind and there is no “we’ll catch up to guys later.” I think it has been a great teaching opportunity for our kids to see that no matter what our individual needs are we stick together as a family.
Doing more with less means creating a tight budget and sticking to it, avoiding impulse buys, and saving for rainy days.
It’s nearing the end of my first quarter in grad school and … I’ve run out of ink. So while everyone makes their speech therapy supplies with their color printer, I’ve gone back to using crayons and markers. It’s a lot cheaper than buying a new cartridge, I guess.
More with less definitely describes my relationship with make-up!
I get more done by using the Microsoft Outlook junk filters to see less spam.
Me again! Doing more with less this holiday season by taking advantage of homemade gifts (love all your ideas) and Groupon!
I’ve been trying to use less energy lately, and line-drying my clothes. It helps that my dryer is taking about 3 cycles to fully dry my clothes, so it takes less time to do it that way anyway, but it’s actually saved us money on our energy bill, which I appreciate.
I get my screen more organized with less hassle using Windows 7’s Snaps feature.
I bring snacks with me everywhere, especially while travelling. This helps avoid the low-blood-sugar rush to an awful fast-food meal.
since we lost all out Christmas decorations in the move we are starting fresh this year. I want to keep up some of our traditions, but keep things simple at the same time. so instead of buying a new advent calendar to store every year we made one out of brown paper bags. this way we all got to have the joy of making it, we keep the tradition, and at the end of christmas it gets recycled.
I love the less is more concept of our smallish house and 5 kids. We are always near each other and have to get along and spend time together. We are much more involved with each other than if we had a large house.
More for less means buying a gently used car and maintaining it carefully for another ten years.
i love giving out coupons as presents. Like ill watch your kids for an hour or help you clean your house. they are cheap and effective. so everyone is happy
Happy Thanksgiving! During the holidays, when I’m camped out on so many deal sites, I make sure to keep an eye out for kid’s books and toys. This helps stretch my giving-to-charity budget so I can donate more to Toys for Tots, school libraries, etc. Amazon has a Flat Stanley boxed set for $7.50 now!
More for less: Host a get together with your friends and have a clothes swap …exchange your don’t-likes and never-worns for things you can use. Everybody wins!
doing more with less = knowing when to say no.
Today, I didn’t go overboard. THATS doing more with less or eating less than more, not sure which… Happy Thanksgiving!
I like making more than I need to so I can have lunch to take the next day.
You know, this is a concept that I have embraced more and more with age…not that I’m by any means old, but I guess with ” maturity” I’ve realized that, truly, less is more. I try to make intentional purchases and to re-purpose and multi-purpose everything. I seriously embrace the idea that “it all starts with me” and I want to impart in on my children.
Doing more for less is all about doing dishes before, during, and after thanksgiving dinner. Saves a lot of time the next day.
P.S. happy thanksgiving
I delegated half of the thanksgiving dinner today, and had much more fun doing less work. :)
Love this idea of doing more with less. For Christmas we like to donate to our favorite organization in honor of family members!
In our house we try not to replace big ticket items until they are broken so for instance we still have our old style TV (yes the ugly ones with the huge back) and a five year old PC with funny lines going down the screen. They still keep on chugging along
i use coupons and reusable grocery bags. i try to make a menu list for the week before i go shopping so i don’t over buy. i also gave up buying water bottles from the grocery and use my own bottle and just refill it.
all small things but i’m just starting out and plan to make more changes ;)