Since next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday – the day we start the Food Stamp Challenge – I figured that I only had a few days left before I wouldn’t be eating desserts (and a bunch of other beloved foods). In the spirit of Mardi Gras I made my favorite dessert – mousse – and portioned it out to have just enough to last me till February 22. (Jim, don’t you eat any more.) Since I usually give up desserts for Lent anyway this isn’t technically part of the Food Stamp Challenge but it will make it a little more palatable to keep to my $4.50/day allowance.
Living Lightly
Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantlyBrowsing Posts published by Susan Vogt
$4.50/day (or $31.50/wk.) is the national average food stamp allotment for about 49 million Americans. Could you do it? I’m pretty frugal and my husband, Jim, (who does most of the cooking in our family) is a careful and health conscious grocery shopper. We decided to try to do it as part of the National Food Stamp Challenge. I am passing the challenge on to my readers.
Several background articles are: Interfaith Groups Kick Off National Food Stamp Challenge and The Food Stamp Diet and How It’s Different from Being Poor, and a You Tube video about grocery shopping.
The problem is that often the healthiest and most socially responsible way to eat can cost more money and time to buy local, organic, fair trade foods, and avoid fast foods. Eating out quickly busts the budget. Jim and I have been moving in the direction of eating healthier for a while. We’ve reduced meat, increased organic, and drink more water than juice; but we’re not purists. (I love my chocolate and it’s not all dark.)
Although the most recent National Food Stamp Challenge took place the week Oct. 27 – Nov. 6, 2011, I thought that this would be a valuable Lenten experience. We will start on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Our goal is to do it for all of Lent, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my health for an awareness raising experience. It may be that we only do it for a week if we find it insane and unhealthy to continue.
Although I won’t be starting for another week, I can already see several questions that I will need to decide soon.
- Can we supplement with food that we already have stored in the house? Hmmm, probably not (or only minimally with staples like flour, sugar, and salt), if it is to be a true experience.
- What about eating out? That would probably blow the budget in one meal.
- What if people bring us food, invite us over for dinner, or offer a snack at a meeting? We’ll have to find a way to calculate that in. Any ideas?
- What about eating while traveling? Eating is so much less expensive when you cook at home, but we have several trips planned during Lent. How should we count this necessary eating out?
- What about economy of scale? Cooking for two means we have $9/day to spend. (Cooking for six would mean we had $27/day.) Food goes further when you buy in bulk.
Logistics:
- The purest way to do the Food Stamp Challenge would probably be to shop for a week’s worth of food, store it separately, and only eat this food for a week.
- Since we’re aiming for six weeks, however, we have the advantage of buying in larger quantities (thus making it cheaper per serving). The disadvantage is that calculating the use of staples that we have on hand (or that will last us more than six weeks) is a trial for my math challenged mind and may take more record keeping and receipt checking than I care to do. We’ll see.
Lent may be too long. Heck, we may find that one week is too long – or too complicated to keep track of. For an ordinary family it may be enough to try it for one day. Whatever you do, it will be enough if your heart and wallet become more open to the reality of our fellow Americans – and those are just our neighbors close to home. Let me know if you try it. I’ll blog more frequently during this Lent since I think I’ll be thinking about food a lot and have ideas to share and questions to ask. Stay tuned.
Jim and I try to take a daily walk around our neighborhood. It’s partly for exercise and partly for reconnecting. On these walks we often see trash. In the spirit of both ecology and multi-tasking I figured why not pick up the cans, bottles, and paper we passed. It didn’t take long to realize that this virtuous idea was both slowing down our walk and resulted in more than we could carry in two hands. The fact that all that stooping was probably good exercise didn’t offset the interruption to our walking rhythm.
The solution we compromised on was to take a bag with us and only pick up cans and plastic or glass bottles. (The paper litter and plastic bags would have to wait for other energetic souls. Watch the short mockumenary, The Majestic Plastic Bag for motivation.) Alas, since our community has curbside recycling that takes almost all plastics, glass, metal, and paper, it’s hard to understand why there’s anything to pick up.
We have several unscientific conclusions as a result of our experience:
- There is appreciably less trash in the very cold weather. (Perhaps it’s because people aren’t standing around outside.)
- There is more trash around schools (our route passes two), bars (we pass one neighborhood bar), and railroad tracks. (We cross tracks in two places.)
Now I will make my one-time rant about bottled water. I suppose it’s better to drink bottled water than bottled pop, BUT it’s generally unnecessary since municipal water is as clean or cleaner, way cheaper, and doesn’t create as much pollution in its creation or disposal. OK! I’ve said it. I won’t continue to harp on this – other than the “Bottle Free Zone” sign I have on our front and back doors. So there! Use a reusable water bottle.
Especially note brown wig I "bought" at a charity auction
Recently I have found myself the recipient of other people’s stuff. Some of this may be due to the fact that I have developed a bit of a reputation as a “go to” person for those who are trying to prune their wardrobes and homes of extra stuff. Other’s know I am frugal and don’t buy much so they figure I probably need more stuff. And then there are always the “duty” gifts that people give around Christmas and birthdays – not stuff I really need or want, but someone’s trying to say they care about me by giving a gift. This increased supply of stuff raises several questions:
- Can I count the stuff that other people give me to pass on, as my generosity? After all, who’s counting the 9 items in the picture? 😕 (Of course I did count it enough to make it the focus of this blog.)
- Is it being ungrateful or miserly to “regift” something I don’t want to another person or thrift store? I’ve decided that regifting is simply a way of sharing the wealth, as long as you are careful not to give it back to the original giver (unless it’s one of those annual joke regifts). How do you feel about regifting?
- Is it fair or child abuse (or at least insensitive parenting) to give away your adult children’s stuff? Recycling our kid’s stuff continues to be a problem for me. I made a futile attempt to get our son, who currently lives in Singapore, to allow me to give away some of his books, tapes, and CDs when he was visiting over Christmas. Alas, he said, “No way.” Although I could have made it an ultimatum and said, “Anything you don’t specify as “a treasure” is going to go to a worthy music store,” I didn’t have the heart to follow through on this advice I give to others. Maybe next year…
First of all: I’m NOT Anti-Christmas. As both a religious holy day and secular holiday, I think it holds meaning by honoring our humanity and promoting generosity and peace. This is good.
But what about all those Christmas do-dads that often decorate our homes. I don’t mean candles, lights, nativity scenes, Christmas trees, stockings, etc. I mean figurines, ashtrays, baskets, dolls, and the like that have a Christmas theme but to my mind are rather tacky. (OK, instant disclaimer: I realize that one person’s tacky is another person’s sentimental treasure.) But whatever qualifies as Christmas clutter in YOUR home, perhaps it’s time to prune the pearls from the superfluous. Remember the first rule of Christmas physics: “What goes up, must come down.”
In this spirit I searched around and found the following items that don’t add grace to our Christmas décor:
- 2 stuffed Christmas figures (a moose and a snow-lady
- 4 Christmas baskets
- 4 miscellaneous figurines
Some have beauty but none have a good display place without crowding stuff. The problem is – who or where do I take these things without just passing the clutter on to my neighbor or folks who have much higher priorities (like food and shelter) than a few trinkets? I suppose a homeless shelter or soup kitchen would be worthy of a little Christmas cheer, but will these items really do it? I don’t know. What do YOU do with unwanted Christmas do-dads other than just pass them on to others in a white elephant sale?
PS: Notice that in an extreme exercise of self-restraint, I haven’t yet indulged my favorite Advent rant about how our society hurries Christmas before its time and starts to celebrate before December 25. Does anybody know when the 12 Days of Christmas really are? 😕
D.C. 32 gal. cans
Recently we were visiting our son and his wife in Washington, DC. It was trash day and I looked out at the street lined with identical green garbage cans issued by the city. It was a strange sight to me. They all seemed so tiny by Midwest standards. I checked and each can was 32 gallons. What was even stranger was that the blue recycling cans were the exact same size. It said something to me about trying to reduce the amount of waste each household generates and also about valuing recycling.
Covington KY 95 gal. can
I then compared the garbage cans in my city, Covington, KY. The standard issue one is 95 gallons. (I had to call CSI a number of times and waited about six months before I could exchange my default 95 gallon can for a medium sized 65 gallon one. Everybody else on my street has the large size. I don’t know if people fill them but I can’t imagine that people in the Midwest really produce that much more waste than a family in DC. My son tells me that residents don’t have a choice. The 32 gal. can is all you get. It’s a motivator.
I’m a big TIME person. I like to be on time, multitask, and not waste time. I love the timing of good music and dancing. I also love the season of Advent which pulls me out of ordinary time and into the “time of waiting.” It’s hard for me to wait and that’s why Advent is so important to nurturing balance in my life. In our “hurry up, can’t wait for Christmas to open gifts and party culture” this is an important reminder.
I’m also pretty nostalgic. That’s why I’ve been holding on to my favorite Advent calendar that marks the days leading up to Christmas starting with December 1. (I know that technically Advent doesn’t always start on December 1 but this is a reusable calendar made out of wood and the dates can’t be changed every year.) The kids have left home and long outgrown the practice of putting one of the small wooden Advent symbols on the appropriate peg each day. That’s OK, I continued to do it myself the past few years just in case a visiting child would notice.
In a moment of inspiration, it occurred to me to pass the calendar on to my son and daughter-in-law who just had their second child. The older one is just about the age that she will be able to appreciate the slow accumulation of days leading to Christmas. Truly, this is a happy give-away since I don’t feel like I’m losing anything but handing on a tradition.
Are there any Advent or Christmas objects or traditions that you’re ready to pass on?
Recent photo
Older photo
Another versioin
I just changed my FB, Twitter, and blog photo at the urging of several people who are more “hip” than I am. This has prompted me to ponder who I really am. My values and personality have stayed pretty consistent over the long haul, but I’m talking more about the superficial way that I present myself to others and how I feel about myself as a person. Letting go of my more formal photo is a way to remind myself that I am more than my work. (I decided to keep the formal picture for website and PR purposes).
By personality I am a very task oriented, responsible person. I don’t want to change this, but I DO want to become more attuned to paying attention to the person in front of me, be it my spouse, children, the store clerk, or the people I pass on the street. I want to show others the warmth that is in my heart for them and really listen to their needs more closely. I’m hoping that letting go of my older photo will help remind me of this.
I’m also thinking about the dynamic of aging. My formal photo was taken almost 10 years ago, but people have recently been telling me I look younger than my photo. At my age that’s a compliment. Maybe people are just being kind, maybe it’s the different hairstyle, or maybe I’m a Benjamin Button. Regardless, I’m trying to think modern, learn new things (like Twitter, follow me @Vogt_Susan or my new Facebook group, Living Lightly), while holding on to the deepest values of love, faith, and community that make me who I am.
How have YOU been changing?
PS: I’m still open to opinions about the photos.
Click to enlarge.
When I was dispersing my clothes last year, one thing I realized is that I didn’t need any more commemorative T-Shirts. I made a decision not to buy any more. Then, a couple weeks ago I came across one I really wanted to have. Hmmm. I bought it with mixed emotions. Then, I remembered the “1 In – 1 Out” principle and found that one of my favorite T-shirts had a spot on it. Not a fatal spot, but I took it as a sign that I should give it away. Now I feel better. Can you guess which one I bought and which one I’m giving away?
My garden didn’t do too well this year EXCEPT for zinnias. Maybe it’s my reward for not getting upset in June when the visiting cyclists’ sag wagon ran over some of them. Anyway, they resurrected and I’ve been taking flowers as host gifts and many other occasions for the past month. Obviously I still have an overabundance of zinnias. As frost looms, however, soon I won’t have any. Today I cut the remaining ones and am looking for receivers – worthy or not. If you live near me, come on over. The rest will go to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. (Is there a spiritual connection here? See Mt 6:28, Mt 22:10)
In my never ending effort to both simplify my life and still keep up with the Joneses, I’ve started an open Facebook group called Living Lightly and Tweet on this theme @Vogt_Susan. On the one hand I’m still trying to give things away and unclutter my life, but on the other hand I’m trying to use modern technology to spread my ideas. It’s hard to keep up with all the various social media and I had no intention of cluttering my (or other’s) inbox or cell phone with more email or tweets. Still several people advised me that to get my message heard by the most people I should take advantage of these mediums. Aarrgh! This takes time, effort, and doesn’t feel like it’s making my life freer and less complicated. We’ll have to see. I welcome opinions and expertize from others on this conundrum. Meanwhile, follow me, if you dare.
I go to lots of meetings. Maybe you do too. One of the things that continues to amaze me is how some people seem to have little concept of how long they talk. At a recent meeting I witnessed co-presenters, who both had valuable things to say, but one talked so long that the other’s time had to be cut short. This also happens of course in interpersonal conversation when one person is long winded or dominates a discussion. I must admit, even I do this sometimes. (I have this on good authority from my husband.) This week I’m going to try to talk shorter. I’ve had some good practice while on our recent trip to Korea and Japan since everything had to be translated.
Strategies I’ve learned when dealing with long winded people in groups are:
- Ask people to write down their thought on a piece of paper first. This gives the introverts time to collect their thoughts.
- Announce ahead of time that no one can share a second time until everyone has spoken once.
- When the talker takes a breath (or when the leader has the floor) refer to a point the speaker just made, then transition to a new person.
- Break into smaller groups or partners so everyone gets more air time.
- Remember that often extroverts talk in order to think. (That’s me) The talker isn’t trying to dominate, they just need to talk to figure out what they think. (This doesn’t make it helpful, but it can increase understanding.
- Give the talker a job to do – like take minutes or get refreshments.
One of the things I pride myself on is traveling lightly. I usually can fly anywhere for up to two months with only a carry on (and a husband to lift things). Not only is it easier to transport luggage from place to place but it avoids lost bags and my thrifty side is happy not to pay to check a bag. I have to break some of my frugal rules and buy some small specialized items of clothing or toiletries, but it’s worth it to me.
Top 10 travel tips that I’ve cultivated over the years:
- Cultivate “easy hair”, i.e. very short or very long
- Pack for 1 week, i.e. 8 underpants/socks and several versatile outfits. (Plan to wash clothes once a week)
- Ideally take everything in one carry on and a backpack/large purse.
- Wear your heaviest/bulkiest items, i.e. shoes and coat
- Ideally plan your trip for warm weather so you don’t need heavy clothes.
- Use scarves instead of heavy jewelry. They’re light and can make one basic outfit look like 4.
- Avoid umbrellas and simply take a fold up rain hat and rainproof jacket or coat.
- Color synchronize your wardrobe so most everything goes with each other.
- Try to limit shoes to 2 pair: one for heavy duty walking (These are the ones to wear on the plane.) and another that are still comfortable but dressier, i.e. sandals.
- Duct tape (for fixing anything)
7″ purse
Wallet or tiny purse necessities:
- Identification: drivers license (passport, and/or visa for foreign travel)
(copy of passport packed separately plus one left home with a relative) - Tickets/Currency: some cash plus basic credit card
- Information: A phone doubles as an address book, calendar, camera, map.
- Health: vaccinations, Rx info, + Covid mask, menstrual supplies if needed
- Backup info: itinerary to relatives, family photos, business cards
- Miscellaneous: Pen & tiny notebook, comb, hair bands, rubber bands, safety pins, tweezers
Backpack or fanny pack toiletries:
- Hand sanitizer
- Sunglasses, sun screen, folding hat for sun or rain,
- Scarf
- Toilet paper if camping or in a 3rd world country
Suitcase toiletries & miscellaneous:
(Couples/Families: Unless you will be staying in separate places, combine toiletries)
- Medications (+ aspirin, anti-diarrhea, sore throat lozenges, cough drops, vitamins…)
- Health: Deodorant, a few Band-Aids, moleskin
- Personal care items (shampoo, soap, wash cloth, razor, cosmetics, menstrual items)
- Toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss
- Hair products (brush & accessories)
- Laundry bag & washing product (example; Woolite)
- Sewing kit basics
- Mini-mirror
- Phone charger
- Host gifts
Once I diligently finished my first 365 days of give-aways, I promised myself that this would not be the end of giving stuff away. Although my pace has slowed, I notice that I am now more mindful about what accumulates around the house. BUT, I don’t want to make weekly drives to Goodwill or Best Buy (to recycle electronics) because of the time and gas consumption. Taking odds and ends to our parish on Sundays is easier, but it’s a hassle for them to open the “free department store” for one item. So, I’ve developed the following system to take care of those miscellaneous items.
I’ve designated one dresser top as my storage place. When it gets crowded or I’m ready to make a trip, I transport like-minded objects in one trip. I suppose there could be a problem if I ever am strong enough to give the extra dresser away, but we have lots of unused nooks in this old house. (That’s how I got into storing unnecessary stuff in the first place. 🙂 )
PS: For the curious with aging eyes, my miscellaneous items included a monitor, sheets, books, kitchen supplies, and a purse.
You may remember that several months ago I got a new computer and blogged about Letting Go of the Familiar. At that time I put off cleaning up the convoluted way my files were organized thinking I had enough to do just to learn Windows 7 and Microsoft 10. The day of reckoning came, however, when I couldn’t find the right location to load PDFs onto my website. I finally needed to deal with this.
The specifics are way too complicated to go into now. Suffice it to say that I contacted tech support twice and spent a total of 3½ hours on hold and talking to various tech support people. One of the solutions involved copying all my files to a different place on my computer. I didn’t want to do a global replace since I wasn’t sure it would save my most recent file. This means I now have over 4,000 duplicate documents, all with a cute little “(2)” designating the duplicate. I’ve started the painstaking task of deleting all the duplicates but I have to visually check any document created in the last four months to make sure I save the most recent one.
For awhile I stewed about this time consuming task and my irritation was increasing. It even distracted me from morning prayer. This was good, because I started to pray my gratitude prayer and focus on reality.
- This is going to take time, but computers also save me time.
- This is not a life and death situation and my fretting about it will not change anything.
- It is good that there are people and services like free tech support that patiently helped me through the conversion (despite the decision to copy every document).
- When I hear on the news about the starving people in Somalia, people near me with life-threatening illnesses, the unemployed desperately seeking work to feed their families, and all the other real problems of those near and far, this pales as a problem.
So, just as I have to let go of duplicate material goods, I’m now letting go of duplicate words and the time it takes to do it. Sometimes getting rid of stuff consumes a lot of time.
One of the things I’ve learned about letting go of stuff over the past 1½ years is that choosing what to give away is easier than figuring out how to give it away. Knowing who or where to take it to, carting it there or waiting for someone to pick it up, or repairing/recycling is often the bigger challenge. Although I’ve covered this topic in previous blogs, I still keep finding new sources and related articles.
Thinking that anyone attempting to prune their possessions would appreciate help, I’m passing on my most recent finds:
- Electronics. Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity has partnered with Ohio Drop Off to recycle used or broken electronics. Check if your local Habitat does this also.
- Where To Get Rid of Clothing, Toys, Old Phones, and More. (Oprah, March 2011)
- How To Live With Less (books, clothes, clutter, mail, screen time, sentimental objects, toys, cars) – a blog by Joshua Becker
- A Store Where Everything is Free Unique concept by Victoria Kreha in Green America, June/July 2011. For a humorous look at this notion, check out this YouTube video All That – The Everything For Free Store.
PS: To easily find previous blogs related to where to take stuff, see Days –8, –7 (the Basics), 85-91 (FreeCycle), Extra 294-295 (Uses for Useless Stuff), 309-322 (Books), 323-329 (Electronics), and anything tagged Recycling.
Thanks to Jim for an uncharacteristic face.
I don’t know if I’m madder at our country (think debt ceiling, politics, greed), our Church (think scandals, reneging on Vatican II), or the world (think environmental degradation, abuse of power, wars, poverty). I could go on, but that just makes me madder. So how do I let go of my anger? Lately I’ve been bringing it to prayer. The complaints come unbidden so I might as well integrate it into prayer. What I’ve found helpful is to balance anger with gratitude. Here’s how I got the idea.
A few months ago I was facilitating an Awakening the Dreamer symposium. At the end I asked each person if they could identify one step they could take to create a more environmentally sustainable, socially just, or spiritually fulfilling world. Of course I had to commit to something myself. I felt my plate was already full of commitments so I hesitated to take on one more project. I decided to commit to noticing one thing each day I was grateful for and to do this during morning prayer.
It’s been a good experience for me. As soon as I start fretting about the ills of our society, I call to mind that at least I have electricity and running water, or that we finally decided on which car to buy and had the money to buy it, or that my back pain and cold left in time for me to enjoy a dance weekend, or that there are even folk dances that people still do, or that there’s a gentle breeze…
About 10 years ago we offered a friend a place to live during the week while he commuted from his home in Louisville to teach classes at a local university in northern Kentucky. Isaac was an easy guest. He often cooked, brought international friends to visit through the exchange programs he organized, and even bought a bed and other bedroom niceties to help make his bedroom feel like home.
Well, Isaac has gotten a Fulbright to teach in Norway for a year and thus has moved out. So has his bed. This is fine but now we have quite a big hole in the middle of the bedroom. (We of course got rid of extra beds during our “give away year.” This is not a huge problem, but it does illustrate the other side of giving stuff away – Someday I might want an item that I gave away in a fit of generosity. We’re expecting some Korean guests next month and the floor is fine with them; in fact they prefer it. But other visitors have more American tastes. So, we’re looking.
PS: But we’ve found a car. You may remember that about two months ago our car died. We’ve been living on borrowed cars till a week ago. For all those who have been holding their breath wondering what kind of car we would decide on, the decision has been made. It wasn’t without angst, but after almost buying a used gas combustion car, we found a good deal on a hybrid and are now happy to report that our values and car are in sync. (Not that a high mpg Toyota Corolla would have been a bad choice, I just feel better about supporting the movement to less gas consuming, polluting vehicles.
As my friends and family can attest, I am frugal and thrifty – to say the least. (Our kids often have less flattering terms for it.) So, when a fellow rang the doorbell and offered to do some yard work for us, my first impulse was to say, “Thank you, but No, we would do our own mulching and weed whacking.”
But this guy was persistent and came back several times. He seemed eager to work. My husband helped me see this in a new light when he said, “Hey, the guy needs money and he’s willing to work for it. Why not honor his industriousness and consider it a donation to a good cause.” So we did.
This reminded me of experiences two of our adult children had when living in Indonesia, Mali, and Senegal. When we visited them we were aghast that each of them had a maid. “Hey, this isn’t the Vogt way of doing things. Haven’t you been reared to do things for yourself rather than have ‘servants’”? Each of them explained the local culture to us saying that if one is educated and making a decent income in these poor countries, it is expected that you will provide work for those who need it. Not to do so would be considered selfish. Hmmm. Now I’m looking at things a little differently.
How do you feel about doing stuff yourself versus paying for someone else to do it? What criteria do you use to make these decisions?
One of the first persons to respond to my blog asked the question, “Are you also giving away non-things – ideas or suggestions for programs or talks? Can you let go of any of these intangibles?” That idea has been haunting me for quite awhile since I am a freelance speaker and writer and my livelihood depends on getting paid for my words. I think, however, I’ve discovered a way to give away some of my words without unduly threatening the family income. Following are two “non-things” that I’ve decided to give away.
- I recently did a marriage workshop and decided I would create a Marriage Scavenger Hunt Handout that couples or parishes could use – free.
- More importantly, I’ve written a companion piece to my latest book, Parenting Your Adult Child: Keeping the Faith (And Your Sanity). This supplement is meant for young adults themselves as they manage the various life transitions from age 18-40. At first I was going to try to find a publisher for it, but I’ve decided to donate it to the Busted Halo website. Since most of it is already written, it’s more important to get the ideas out to young adults than to sit on it.
