What is enough?

How to Be a Savvy Cheapskate - Yahoo! Finance

How can we be more green? How can we be better stewards of the things God has given us:our money, things, our bodies, and the earth? How can we live more simply? What do we really need to be happy?

I read this article yesterday that Caleb sent me. We talk about and challenge ourselves with these things a lot. I was excited to get rid of stuff when we started travelling and try to live with whatever we could fit in my car while we travelled. I was sad to leave behind rock band, our bikes(except in DC) and a few other things, but we were pretty content with what we did have! So, if I was fine with having half of my clothes with me for 5 months, do I really need the rest of them? I thought then that I should get rid of a bunch since I didn't really need them, but as I go through my closet, now I still want to hang on to most of my clothes.

It was awesome to only need 1 car while we travelled. And to be able to walk to places more, being in the city. Here are some of the other things we've been doing to make life simpler, and to consume less. I don't expect other people to do this stuff, but I challenge you to think about some of the things we've been thinking about. :)

Eating less meat(especially red) and eating lower on the food chain. You can still get plenty of protein from eggs, nuts and other things. We started eating fruit for dessert, and eat more vegetables. It's healthier and cheaper. Caleb found a good solution to his constant hunger problem: dry beans. He'd make a crapload of beans either for a meal or to make refried beans and tortillas. I don't go to the extent of being vegetarian or organic, and still pig out on fried stuff and desserts sometimes, but still try to be healthier most of the time.

Trying not to waste stuff is hard. We try to waste as little food as possible and make stuff with what we have. Sometimes it's hard to be creative with that and Caleb is better than I am with coming up with something that tastes good. :)

If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down. This is how we did it in Haiti. There really isn't an endless supply of water. I realized this more out west where it was so dry. People are more aware there of using water cautiously. I know this sounds gross, so that's why we don't do it around other people(forgive me if I forget!). But it is a way to save a lot of water. I also try to reuse water and be sparing with it when we cook.

I try to fix and sew things if I can instead of throwing them out right away.

Reusing foil and ziplock bags.

Pet peeve: not being able to recycle paper unless you are at a job where they have bins. Why don't they have bins for that like they do for plastic and cardboard?

So one of the goals in trying not to accumulate more stuff and being frugal is so we can work less and spend more time with people. It may not always be that easy, but right now in our lives God has made this possible.

Not saying that you can't spend on the things you enjoy. That is part of enjoying life. We just spent a lot on skiing and vacations in the last year.

What are ways you've become content with less? What would be enough money and enough stuff for you? I'm open to your ideas and opinions. :)