by Claire
Ever since a reader (or two, or three) made a comment about Texans and their new cars, I have been noticing that new cars ARE everywhere! I don’t think it is JUST a Texas thing but with the recent decluttering and evaluating what I really need, I’ve been noticing this more and more. I’ve taken to reading a bit on doing life with less. I am sure many of you already know about http://www.becomingminimalist.com/ and I have not had a lot of time to read too much but what I’ve read so far intrigues me! After this move is done I want to put together a longer term plan to live life with less. I no longer want to pass time with shopping and buying more stuff. I no longer want to consume so much stuff and welcome any information you have on this topic.
I won’t be posting much this week as it is Spring Break and I’m spending lots of time with the kids. Be well! 🙂
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
These are my two favorite blogs on minimalism:
http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/
http://www.missminimalist.com/
They are both inspiring and worth reading from the beginning.
Thanks for the links: personally I think the Internet and Web has helped those of us who are minimalists: as we can get most of our information and entertainment digitally and without waste.
Hey, don’t mess we Texas, we live everything bigger and better down here and we are proud to be a red state. Stay away liberal northerners.
HS
I don’t think bigger always equals better 🙂
That was probably me. People here definitely like their new cars. Good luck going minimal. Pretty soon you’ll be homesteading too. Chicken coop, goat pen, the whole gamut.
Also – your church’s new leader is on your side as far as simplicity and humility goes.
Have you heard of the cookbook “More-with-Less” by Doris Janzen Longacre? It is a great book filled with basic but yummy recipes. Written by the Mennonite Central Committee the cookbook offers suggestions “on how to eat better and consume less of the world’s limited food resources.” It is a bit older but I was able to find a copy at my library.
I don’t think I can be a minimalist yet even though i’m an environmental person by trade. It’s alot harder to do for me for some reason.
Regarding new cars, it’s not actually a bad thing to have newer cars since older cars have alot of maintenance issues associated with them as well as higher insurance/reg fees.
I have a beater 1992 Toyota Camry and even though it’s a toyota, I have alot of fixing and maintenance issues with it..if i wasn’t neck deep in debt, I would definitely buy a newer car.
You have kids that you must use and have reliable transportation. I think it justifies your possession of a newer car.
I don’t think Claire is questioning the value of a reliable car. I think the comment was talking about having a new expensive car.
Commissioning the production of a new car can use approximately 50,000 pound of raw materials for a 5,000 pound car.
You can’t claim to be reducing waste or to be environmental and ignore this.
I love the idea of minimalism. Maybe halfway there is a good goal. I will never be the person who has one fork, spoon, plate, glass, etc but I think it’s safe to say I’ll never have more than one set! Lately I’ve been paring down clothes. I used to buy work clothes at various retailers and have so many black suits that don’t match pants (fabrics and the tone) and have several sizes. Now I’m getting rid of the mismatches and just picked up a couple things. The Black Collecton at The Limited is a mix and match so now, anything I buy will match the pieces I already own. It’s pretty great.
Stuff is so overwhelming sometimes!
A recent NPR program mentioned thst credit debt is rising in the US again and a major reason is the buying of new cars. This doesn’t sound like a good omen to me about the state of the economy.
Meanwhile we tackle our IRS return this weekend. We will probably owe as usual–complicated by the fact that my husband was on full salary until end of December but took his Social security from the beginning of last year. We did both have 20% tax removed from SS but who knows?
My husband and I decided to try a step in the minimalist direction to make living easier. What motivated us is that we are relocating 3,000 miles away. We cut 2/3’s out of our wardrobe – that alone was a huge space-saver. We sold one vehicle, and we are currently going through our entertainment possessions – books, movies, games, etc. The only debt I have is my student loans, and I sure want those paid off as soon as possible!
I’ve pared down over the years and I can’t say that I am any less happy. I used to shop a lot however it’s been over 13 years since I’ve done that. I love living with less although I would not say I am a minimalist. I would say that I select things carefully. When I am contemplating a new purchase, I follow a series of steps…thinking about what I need in terms of features, researching, reading reviews, checking for coupons if buying new or buying used. When I’ve made the purchase, I know it will last for years and that it’s money well spent. I budget carefully and spend carefully. As for cars, I drive an older car. I have purchased new in the past and then drive them for 8 years or so. The key with any purchase is doing maintenance and taking care of everything so it looks like new.
Are any of these reports on the increase in new car sales mentioning that it could be people needing to buy a new car after waiting out this economy the past 5 years? If the majority if these people had cars that were 3+ years older in ’08 when the poop hit the fan, they most likely continued to drive them until now when most of them would start seeing major mechanical issues/maintenance costs.
I don’t think this is a matter of people just willy nilly throwing money around and going deeper into debt over the desire to own a new car. I think it’s become a necessity as their older cars are now failing. There were reports out last year that the average amount of time people hold onto their cars is now 11 years. I’m pretty sure that didn’t change overnight.
My spring break just ended. It was great, but I wish it wouldn’t have came so fast! I went camping and spent everyday with my friends, enjoying the time we have now before graduation. Time is so precious.
Yay for being a minimalism!