Anyway, I’d love to read more if you feel like writing a post on it. I think a lot of people go cold-turkey (haha!) like you, and give up quickly because of the difficulties. Your experience, with its positive ending, could prove enlightening.

That’s a great list!

It’s funny that many of us are refusing to live without the same things (mainly gym membership and high speed internet). I should add paper towels to my list too, forgot about that one.

Thanks so much for writing in!

Leaving my computer on 24/7
Putting food waste into the trash (I compost)
My dryer
Commerical cleaning products
Plastic bags
Starbucks
Dishwaster detergent with phosphates
Paper napkins

Can’t go without…

So far, my gym/pool membership
High speed Internet service

Great post!

CS is a mostly common-sense type deal, don’t crash with people who are sketchy… but do take a look and see if there’s a regional list for the area you’re going, it might be more effective than just contacting one person who may not be in town. And if you need ideas for packing light, I’m a full of ‘em. Backpacking across Europe for 2 months with only one smallish backpack = packing *light*

Hint: travel-size deodorant stone, menstrual cup & cloth liners, no bras* (if you MUST, 2), no shaving, shampoo bar* & mini-soap in zip-locks…. nothing should melt in heat, nothing should leak when crunched, and most importantly, nothing should be frivolous!

Going vegetarian is one of the best things we’ve ever done. We stopped eating meat 8-9 months ago. We happened across a video that PETA put out on what conditions are really like for the animals we’re consuming, and it was the most horrifying thing I’d ever seen.

After that, we couldn’t bear to be a part of that problem any longer. So for us, it began as a moral choice. After I began to do more research I learned just how bad these large scale farms are on their local environment. So that was another major incentive.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should add that we do eat fish once per week. I suppose that technically makes us “flexi-terians”. We do this because A gets quite ill from several different beans (although not all of them!) and we found out that eating tofu every night can have a negative on our bodies too. Because we live in a rural area, we don’t have access to some of the great options that you can find at, say, Whole Foods Market. So, our dinner options got pretty limited pretty fast.

Our goal is get more adept in the kitchen and explore our options so we don’t feel the need to eat fish any more. And I’m happy to say we’re getting there! I’m learning how to make the “safe” beans in a wider variety of ways (thank you, Thai and Indian cuisines…).

Our grocery bill has definitely gone down since we went veg. We weren’t heavy meat eaters before, but I did have an addiction to those grocery store Rotisserie chickens- the smell alone would turn me into a zombie and I’d have to buy one. That was $6-$7 each time.

It’s definitely been a challenge! When we first stopped eating meat both of us went through a phase where we almost felt ill. We had no energy at all, were kind of grumpy, listless…and it was only because we weren’t getting all the nutrients we needed. In hindsight, if I did it again I think I’d make a slower transition to get used to vegetarian cooking. We went cold-turkey, no pun intended, and weren’t prepared for being vegetarians full time.

Whew, sorry that’s so long! Perhaps I should write a post about this…I’ve thought about it, but wasn’t sure if people would be interested.

Thanks so much for writing in!

I suppose since meat is so expensive it must have also had a positive financial effect. Looking forward to hearing more!

That’s awesome; your list IS almost just like mine!

Heidi,

Thanks SO much for sending along that link! I checked it out and am so excited! I might have to write a post about that site. I might end up using it myself! A and I are wanting to go to the Olympic Peninsula in WA this summer, and we’re trying to figure out how to do it with no hotels. That might be the ticket!

~A gym membership
~yummy cheese
~high speed internet
~a cell phone
~and a camera. I’m going to be purchasing one in the next few days.

Great post!