Update #2: 2014 Items

I planned to update our progress on the 2014 item challenge at our half way point.  But I temporarily misplaced the list in our GSP transitions.  I was pleasantly surprised to locate the it after cleaning out the van. :)

Before I get to the count, I wanted to share some soul searching Steve and I did while at GSP.  Being away from home in a 1 bedroom apartment for 6 weeks can really change your perspective on things. We can "survive" on so much less than what we currently own.  So what's our break even point?  What sacrifices can we make to be content with less yet still be comfortable? What example do we want to set for our family?  Why do we own a 2000 sq ft home when 1000 would more than suffice?  Why do we choose to stay in debt for the next 18 years if we could be debt free in a smaller home? And many more...

Turns out the answers to these questions are far more complicated when you involve the heart and not just the head.  As the troll says, "the heart is not so easily changed."  And our decisions are certainly more complicated when we view these questions from the perspective of our children as adults looking back at their childhood.  So for now, we are embracing status quo, but renewing our efforts to be debt free by 40, reduce our clutter, and set an example of gratitude.

So here's our month by month count:

January - 257
February - 158
March - 104
April - 172
May - 247
June - 102
6 month TOTAL: 1,040

Some fun things went out the door each month.  My favorite things in March were baby related.  We had a couple of friends deliver baby girls in March and one of Katie's friends collected baby care items at her birthday party.  Bye bye Breast Friend pillow.  You served us well!  In April, we took a load of items to a local women and children's shelter which also included many items Katie collected at her birthday party (friend donations not included in our total).  In May, we had an amazing adoption benefit multi-family yard sale at our house.  We personally let go of approximately 150 items at that one sale.  We had such a great time that our small group plans to make it an annual event!  June was a short month because we left for GSP mid-month.  Before leaving, though, I did a clean out of our toiletry collection and renovated the girls' outdoor play area.

Half way through 2014, we are slightly over the half way point of our goal!  I'm still looking forward to passing along some maternity and baby related items later this year, God-willing.  And we are going to hit the CD and DVD collections hard in the coming days.

~Carla

2,014 Items in 2014

Update #1: 2014 Items

Meatless May

Thus far in 2014, I've been meal planning a month at a time.  We've experienced many benefits to this process that could probably be their own post.  In mid-April, I began to think ahead about events, trips, and meals that would occur in the month of May.  I can't recall the exact inspiration now, but I decided to discuss with hubby the possibility of having a meatless month.  We had successfully experimented with some meatless recipes and I felt we could take on the culinary challenge rather tastefully.  To add to the challenge, we are basically dairy free in the house because we all have varying degrees of sensitivity to dairy.  So we couldn't just eat a bunch of meatless lasagna, mac and cheese, or quesadillas.

Steve and I both grew up, like most southern Americans, in steak (cubed, that is) and potato homes.  Since we've gotten married, we've loved trying new recipes and cooking methods.  Somewhere along the line, we added "Meatless Mondays" to our repertoire.  It felt quite radical at the time. :)

Being the nerds, I mean intellects, that we are, we enjoy watching documentaries of all types.  Our favorite genre is food related documentaries.  Approximately 4 or 5 years ago, we watched the movie Food Inc.  Our eyes were opened about a lot of things in the food industry.  Food Inc. is a movie I highly recommend that everyone watch.  Regardless of whether you are a foodie or what type of eating habits you ascribe to, you can take away important information from the documentary.  

Other inspiring documentaries we've watched include Forks Over Knives and Vegucated.  Both of these movies discuss veganism.  Veganism goes beyond vegetarianism to eliminate dairy, eggs, and other animal byproducts. The advantages of veganism are not only health related but also environmental:

• reducing risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity
• reducing carbon footprint created by the meat industry (fossil fuels from animals and processing facilities)
• reducing water usage from watering animals and animal feed

(Source: sustainabletable.org)  

Now don't get me wrong.  We Ate Meat in May.  We attended Steve's brother's wedding in Kansas City.  How can you go to KC without eating some BBQ?!  It was so delicious!

But what did we take away from a month of meatless meals at home?

1. We feel better after a meal that does not contain meat and especially dairy.  We leave the table satisfied but not bloated.
2. Meatless meals can be exciting to create.  We found recipes from around the world.
3. Basing meals around legumes, grains, and beans rather than meat is much cheaper.  When we purchase meat, we purchase high quality meat.  So the savings added up quickly.

What are we doing going forward?  I hope we will continue to eat mostly meatless meals.  I am not opposed to eating meat and definitely not opposed to eating eggs at this point in our culinary journey.  I am personally going to do my best to avoid red meat as I seem to have digestive issues with red meat.  We will likely plan meals with meat at least once a week.  And we will not avoid meat away from home. 

More than anything we are inspired to continue educating ourselves on what we're putting into our bodies.  We are, afterall, what we eat.  We may look back and laugh at what we thought was healthy based on the information we have now.  But at least we can pat ourselves on the back for thinking outside of the meat case and attempting a new challenge.