Consumption...

Now for those who have been with me a while...you will remember that I started Car Free Friday mostly in response to gasoline prices.  I am also an environmentalist, so the green mentality provided part of the uumph as well.  Mostly however, I am cheap.  Really cheap.  Ask my husband about the leftovers stashed in the fridge.  Well, maybe don't ask him.  By the time he throws them out, some are covered with green furry stuff...No, this doesn't happen on a regular basis - just sometimes.

Back to being cheap.  On Monday, I made my quarterly pilgrimage to Costco.  I like to stock up on certain things there because the price(s) just can't be beat.  In particular, there are great deals to be had on organic peanut butter, almond butter, books, laundry soap and bread.  And sometimes...getting such good deals gives one a sense of giddiness.  I am also a bit of a snoop.  I like to sneak a peak at what others are buying, sometimes because I am just plain nosy.  All my snoopiness led me to realize that people buy and spend heaps 'o' money on stuff that really, in my opinionated opinion, they don't really need.  Imagine having all that money to yourself? Maybe it would total up to a vacation somewhere or who knows what else?

I call these "not-needed-to-be purchased things "non-products".  I think my friend John Dacombe coined the original term, and it all started with his hatred for Bounce.  So, because I am cheap, and because I think we just consume WAAAAAAAAY too much, here are some things I think we could all do without:

1. Plastic cups, cutlery and dishes
2. Paper napkins
3. Paper towel
4. Pre-soaked wipes (uuummm...I am guilty here of using diaper wipes.  I could do without.  I should try)
5. Bounce
6. Hair conditioner
7. Special household cleaners (in particular the one that sits in the Microwave and the one that goes off every time you get out of the shower).  There are lots of recipes for homemade cleaners on the Net, or at the very least, I used diluted Windex and soap and water for just about everything.
8. Juice - kids drink way too much (rots their teeth).  Cut back if you can.  It's expensive anyway. 
9. Books (yes, I am oh so guilty here - I like to buy cookbooks but I get my novels from the library now)
10. Individually wrapped toilet paper (my goodness, what is the need for this?)
11. Pop (again, guilty. I think I am addicted to diet coke)
12. Individual yogurts (get the handcuffs out - I will switch to bigger containers from now on)
13. Anything that comes with excessive packaging, particularly the indestructible, hard plastic, that ones needs a chainsaw to open
14. Garden pesticides

That's the list for today. What do you think? Do you know of any non-product that should go on the list? 

Until next week (this time I have a reminder in my calendar!)...

J