I am thrilled to introduce you to Zoë Morrison, the author of Eco Thrifty Living. I was moved by her slash the budget, not your principles and maybe even improve your quality of life outlook; so I asked her to share her perspectives. You’ll be glad she did!
Around a year ago, I decided that I wanted to slash my spending but not my principles. I have been buying organic and eco-conscious products for a long time now, but until last year I didn’t give them too much thought in terms of cost and how eco-friendly the items really were.
Well that has all changed and I have been systematically reviewing all items coming in and going out of my home in terms of cost and eco-friendly credentials. I still have a lot to do, but some of the things I have done so far are detailed below:
- Learning how to make it myself e.g. yoghurt or liquid handsoap
- Reducing food waste e.g. getting portion sizes right and using up bananas past their best
- Giving it up e.g. going ‘poo’ free and quitting lipsalve
- Switching to ‘natural’ cleaning products
- Getting the most out of my unwanted stuff
- Swapping e.g. clothes and buying items secondhand
- Growing my own vegetables
- Reducing energy consumption and investing in solar panels
- Finding alternative income streams
I have found this journey immensely satisfying. It has made me learn new skills and dust off old unused ones, giving me greater confidence in myself and my abilities. I now know that I don’t need to rely on my day job for income as I can make cutbacks and find alternative income streams. This means I can choose how I want to spend my time and focus on the things in life that I really enjoy.
I also value everyday items far more. Lunch isn’t just lunch – it is a home grown salad picked fresh from the garden that morning. Clothes aren’t just clothes, they are the clothes your friend gave to you that saved you from spending a fortune and that you would never have picked if you were out shopping. A table isn’t just a table, it is the one you rescued from a charity shop – you saved it from going to landfill, it was unbelievably cheap and is such great quality.
Being thrifty makes me feel good about myself, I’m saving money, being more eco-friendly, constantly learning new things and getting more creative into the bargain. How do you feel about being thrifty? I would love to hear your thoughts!
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Zoë Morrison is the author of Eco Thrifty Living. Zoë’s blog documents her experiences as a mother of 2 young boys making drastic cuts in spending via thoroughly questioning all purchases and getting creative when considering alternatives. Her aim is to slash her spending but not her principles! Zoë also works part time as an Internal Auditor, loves motivating quotes, going for long walks in the countryside with her family and taking time to appreciate beautiful views and vistas.
Oh yeah! My kind of woman. Thanks so much for sharing all your juicy frugal tips. I just subscribed to your blog; I’m always in the market for new ideas.
Love and light,
Sue
Thanks and so glad you like it! Just had a quick look at your blog and it looks really inspirational!
Great piece…and love how you present it! I too do thrift shops-and contribute to them too! But as you may read in my post tomorrow. I am not a young mom anymore and things have changed 🙂
Go For The Joy!
Linda
Thanks – I will look forward to reading your post!
What a wonderful article! More and more, we visit thrift shops – you can always find treasures there. And we love second-hand bookstores and we’ve grown veggies for years (preserving and freezing them, too). There’s lots more we can do, too. Thanks for sharing what you’ve managed to accomplish!
Thanks Theresa! I have lots to learn on the preserving side of things – have you got any tips?
Terrific ideas, Zoe–a big thank you for sharing these! In preparation of doing some interior painting at home, my husband & I have just lately done a BIG de-clutter & clear-out…like we’d not done before we moved into this house 7 years ago. We unloaded a LOT of things that just were not used or loved, and it felt great to give these things away to others though we no longer needed them ourselves. Your article and site offers so much good suggestion. We’re learning to mind our expenses more too–being really mindful of what we spend, what comes in, and what goes out. Fascinating stuff to say the least! :o)
Thanks for your comment Tracy!