“Freedom is the greatest fruit of self-sufficiency” – Epicurus (341’“270 B.C.) A Greek Philosopher

To be self-sufficient means to depend more on you to take care of yourself; finding ways to grow food, bring in water and providing utilities are the most common. Another way to live sustain-ably would be to live with less.

There are the slogans: “Less is more” and “smaller is better” that conveys some of that thought. To have a smaller house where less is wasted is better financially than a larger home. If you are limited in space, a laptop computer may be the better alternative than the desktop computer for making a good use of what limited space you have.

Smaller doesn’t always mean it will save you money, but fewer goods does inevitably bring about a savings. And it isn’t about living a sparse life, but living a life where you buy quality and keep the things that you need. Obviously, over time what is “needed” can very, so it would be a good idea to purge items from your life at least every year or so. Having fewer goods around you gives you a mental airing out and gives your home more openness as well.

For myself, less is more in the form of clothes, shoes and music and movies. I generally wear about 8-10 different ‘looks’ and that wouldn’t change much if I added a whole other closet full of clothes and shoes. I’d stick with the same comfy clothes at home or ‘classic look’ at work and adding more clothes wouldn’t change that. The same goes for music and movies, if I want to watch a movie more than once, I either rent it or wait for it to come on the TV for free. For music it is about the same, I find radio stations that play the type of music I like and listen for free and if there is someone I really enjoy, I buy and download the music to a flash drive/computer, so that I don’t have a pile of CD’s clutter up space.

If there is anything kind of suggestion I can make it would be this:

Don’t buy into Fads ‘“ Ask yourself if you would want to wear or use this item 10 years from now.

Do go through your goods – Keep up in knowledge about what you have in your home so that items don’t ‘disappear’.

Do look for quality – made items for a good value ‘“ for instance I have two towels that I bought 11 years ago from Target that are in great shape, so I consider that when I need any new towels or linens.

Don’t forget that you are NOT what you own

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Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com and is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years. Dawn can be reached at Frugalforlife@gmail.com