Get rid of everything in my life that I don't want or need.

At a point where I feel very empty, but … I know that feeling will pass. This is just where I am and it is nice to look at see all that I have accomplished just this year. Unfortunately, I have literally thrown the baby out with the bath water. In getting rid of my ex-gf, she took the baby with her and there is nothing I can do about that at this time.

My life is thin and trim. There is no fat to clutter it up anymore. I have a few furniture items left to dispose of, but overall, my life is clean.

That’s a good thing.

Winter makes it difficult. Every time it snows, I have to shovel a path to the basement, and the basement is where all the crap resides. I have made a ton of progress in the rest of the apartment, though.

Removing clutter is about so much more than removing “stuff” though. it’s about changing my way of life. It’s about using what I have and not wasting. This week, I picked up a few cooking items and have been making great progress with the cooking. Home made Au-Gratin potatoes last night. Not boxed. Real potatoes. Real Cheese. Real Butter. Real Milk. I think they came out okay, but were not as cheesy as I’d have liked. I’ll try something new next time.

I’ve not eaten out all week. Haven’t even bought a coffee. I think of the money that I am saving and that is also part of getting rid of what I don’t want or need. Seriously. When I go out to eat, we probably spend the same amount for one meal as we’d normally spend for a weeks worth of groceries. Getting that down to a minimum is huge and it saves the gas of getting there and back as well.

I’m also learning to combine trips so that the gas usage is less and I can get back my driving time.

What else. Oh yeah, reducing paperwork. Reducing trash. Fewer trips to the recycling center. Gonna make my own soda. Save money, fewer cans to recycle if I don’t have to bring the cans to recycle but get reusable bottles.

I know there are uses for egg-shells and coffee grounds. I think you can put them in with compost? The amount of paper I generate is crazy, though. Eventually, I would like to start a garden and when I do, maybe I will be able to compost the paper? Not sure. I know you can do that with cardboard. Maybe a woodburning stove in my next place.

I would love to get my amount of trash down to almost nothing. It’s the plastic that’s gonna be tough. Some is recyclable. Much is not. So I have to be more careful when I buy stuff to reduce the plastic.

I buy eggs from cage free hens but the eggs are packed in plastic instead of the recylable cartons. What is that about?