Consumerism Paradox: Acquiring Stuff only to Let it All Go

I came across this meme on Facebook the other month and it rang soooo true.

"I spent the first 2/3 of my life acquiring stuff that doesn't matter only so that I can spend my last 1/3 getting rid of it. What a stupid game of consumerism we play"

And in some way... we all know this...

"You can't take it with you"...

"We are born with nothing and leave this earth with nothing."

Yet, we continue to teach our kids that it's a game in which "Whoever crosses the finish line with the most, wins." Really?

And I get the truth at the heart of this meme too... we need "stuff" in order to live our life. Unless we want to be itinerate hobos with no home, no stuff. Which is always a possibility. And because we are born with nothing... we need to get "stuff".

As we approach the later years of life, we recognize that we can't take this "stuff" with us. But the sad truth is... no one wants our "stuff". We chose it because it fit us and our lifestyle and the consumerist trends current when we bought it.

But... newsflash... china cabinets are no longer de rigeur. No one wants the china cabinet. No one wants the precious china that was soooo expensive and a "collector's item". No one wants the fancy embroidered table cloths. Nope... not even if the china is Royal Doulton or the cabinet is solid walnut.

I do have hope for the younger generation. They at least recognize that the walnut china cabinet is not something that will add value to their lives. It is just one more massive piece of furniture taking up space in a tiny apartment that will never hold china that is never used. It serves no useful function. Don't want it. Don't need it. Would the younger generation want the china cabinet if they could afford bigger homes? Somehow I doubt it. They don't want to be tied down. They don't want the mortgage and the 9 to 5 jobs.

But then I think of the teens today... they do buy things. Lots of clothing. Lots of make-up and jewelry. At least the girls. But maybe the boys too. What will happen when they fly the coop and move into their own apartments, likely shared with multiple roommates? Will they go out and buy new furniture? Probably not. Will they grab free stuff off the side of the road, or for cheap off of Facebook Marketplace and thrift stores... probably.

Maybe this meme is really a testament to the Boomers and Generation X. Maybe this meme will have no relevance to younger generations. Perhaps because they will have been collecting experiences and not things? I hope so. Or maybe they will only purchase stuff "that matters". Perhaps they will be immune to the siren call of tchotchkes? Perhaps they will be able to distinguish what "matters" and what doesn't matter. I hope so.

In the meantime... Minimalism is trending, the Joy of Tidying Up is a thing, and the Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning has its own Facebook group. Go figure. Declutter, purge, let go... because we can't take it with us. And no one wants our stuff.

Closet Chronicles: The Strategy for Wearing More of What You Own

Crowded jeans/pants section of my closet

I wouldn't call myself a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination. My wardrobe generally consists of  jeans, t-shirts, flannel shirts and a few sweaters. Nothing fancy. Nothing overwhelming. And yet... my 5 foot stretch of closet rod is literally groaning with the weight of all my clothes. What the heck?

More perplexing is the fact that I end up wearing the same 2 or 3 t-shirts and pants, week after week. Why keep all these clothes if I just wear a few at a time? Why not... you know... rotate through them? And I have the best laid plans to do exactly that and... it all falls by the wayside. Why? Because sometimes my jeans don't fit well... they are too big... or too small. And so I am limited to the few that actually... fit. Sigh.

Tackling the Closet

So, the other week, I stood in front of my closet and decided to get organized. I tried on every single pair of jeans and pants and figured out which ones fit, and which ones don't. I also took aside my fleece-lined winter jeans and put them with the "do not fit" pile. Then I rummaged through all of the hangers and pulled out matching ones. These are for my jeans/pants that DO fit. The do NOT fit pile got different coloured hangers and got stuff in the back right-hand side of the closet. Now, I can identify them easily.

Backwards Rotation

Reversed hangers and normal hangers - 
Pull from the left... rehang on the right.

I then organized my jeans/pants and discovered that I actually had very few blue jeans that actually fit. So I mixed them in with the beige and black jeans... and the other pants and then hung everything up neatly. But with a twist. I put the hangers on the rod backwards. This is a trick I learned in the minimalism community. Every time I pull a pair of jeans/pants out of the closet, I will put them back with the hanger the right way. This way, after a year, or so, I will know which ones I actually wear!

Another trick... I am pulling jeans/pants from the left side and hanging them back on the right side, creating a bit of a conveyer belt system. Pull from the left... hang back on the right. Theoretically... I will easily cycle through my jeans/pants! Theoretically...

I did the same thing with my t-shirts (which hang in the closet) and flannel shirts. Since these are more on the left-hand side of the closet... I will pull from the right and hang back on the left (deeper into the closet).

How Much is Too Much?

I have to admit being a bit flummoxed by the number of items I had:

• Jeans/Pants that do NOT fit - 6
• Jeans/Pants that DO fit - 20
• T-shirts - 15
• Flannel Shirts - 10
• Hoodies/sweaters - 10
• Other shirts - 5

It's definitely not a ridiculous or excessive amount of clothes. Or... is it? Considering that our house was built in 1980 and that a 5 foot closet run was considered sufficient for two adults... me having a 5 foot closet rod all to myself would suggest that... in fact... this is a bit excessive. Although... if I watch any HGTV home reno shows and see all of the walk-in closets that seem to be de rigueur for new builds and renos these days... well... my tiny 5 foot span of closet rod is positively paltry in comparison! Compared with those dream closets, I have a piddly amount of clothes.

Glorious walk-in closet
(Image by Mike Gattorna from Pixabay)

But... if I got back to the 1950s and look at closets from back then... they are even smaller... a mere 3 feet or so of closet rod length for a married couple. Which makes me think that we are experiencing wardrobe-flation. Over the years... the number of clothes that are considered "normal" just goes up... and up and up.

And this despite the fact that the Pareto Principle is very much in force... we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time (2 or 3 t-shirts and a few pairs of jeans). It's true.

Fun Fact: The Average Woman owns 103 items of clothing but only wears 10% of them. (That does not... of course... include accessories, outer- or under garments).

And trying to cycle through 100% of my wardrobe is proving to be a bit of a "thing". It's not easy. Some days I don't want to wear slacks (too fancy for grocery shopping) and I just want a pair of jeans but... the Hanger-of-the-Day says that slacks it is. Ugh. I am at the mercy of my closet system. Sigh.

Oh... and then there are the "play" t-shirts (relegated to that category because of stains or holes). These are good for hiking and gardening but not for "going out". Then there are the shorts as well... I think I might be that "average" woman with 103 items of clothing!

But... for now... I am going to give my rotating, hanging backwards closet system a try. Ideally... if there are any hangers that are still on the rod backwards in a year... those items can go. We'll see about that!

Extreme Decluttering

 A few months back, I did the 30 day Declutter Challenge, where you let go of 1 thing on Day 1, 2 things on Day 2, 3 things on Day 3, etc, etc... and 31 things on Day 31. It adds up to a grand total of 465 things, which is pretty good for a month. At least I think so. I know, from experience, that the first 15 days were easy-peasy... the last 15 days... not so much.

But there are even more extreme declutterers out there. Did you hear about the Danish mom who decluttered 1000 things? Yep, her family now has one plate, one mug and one set of cutlery per person. If guests come over, they have to eat off of paper plates. The eco-warrior in me shudders at the thought of all of those paper plates being tossed away. But maybe she doesn't entertain that often?? We can only hope.

A dreamy minimalist office (where do they keep all their papers???)

Then there's the Canadian mom who got rid of 3500 things, including her children's toys!! They too only have 1 plate, mug, etc per person. More paper plates I guess. Or maybe a BYOPC (Bring Your Own Plate & Cutlery) for guests? Wondering too if maybe these news stories are paid for by the PPP (paper plate people)

Bedroom? Office? Is this our reality? Or just a teenager's reality?

 I thought the 30 day challenge was pretty extreme, but apparently not. Have you heard of the envelope decluttering system? You put 90 slips of paper in an envelope. Written on the slips are the numbers 1 to 30 and 1 to 20 (one number on each slip). The 1 to 20 slips are repeated 3 times. This gives you a grand total of 1095 items. Then you take a slip of paper out of the envelope and declutter that many items. So some days, it could be 1 or 2 or 4 and others could be 25 or 30. It's kind of like the 30 day minimalism challenge... just sort of repeated a few times and spread over a year.

And then there's just the plain version of decluttering 1000 items in year. Do it however you want... 2-3 items a day or 83-84 per month or 250 per quarter.

Now you'd think getting rid of 1000 items in a year would make a big difference. At least it seemed to make a difference for the Danish mom. But then... the Europeans tend to have less total possessions than us North Americans. Remember the Belgian photographer who took a pic of every single item in her home? Just shy of 13,000 items. Declutter 1000 of those items and you've gotten rid of almost 8% of your possessions. Explains why the Europeans are getting rid of extra plates; their possessions are pretty tight as it is!

But for a North American... with an average of 300,000 items... well... 1000 items is 0.3% of the total. A drop in the bucket. To match the Europeans, we'd have to declutter something like 24,000 items to even get close to 8% of our total! We're in no danger of decluttering our extra plates...

Soooo... 1000 items in a year should be easy peasy, right? Do I hear a challenge brewing? I can also imagine my partner's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Another challenge!!??" Maybe... Starting October 1? Hmmm... maybe...

What Does "Simple Living" Look Like?

All of this talk of "simple living" and "simplifying" has got me in a tizzy. What does it actually look like? Is it even possible? Or is life inherently messy and complicated? Is "simple living" actually a unicorn? Like... it doesn't exist?

There are certain things that certainly "simplify" life... like automatic bill payments and recurring events in calendars. But do they actually contribute to a "simple life"? Probably not... if we really wanted a "simple life"... we would sell everything and travel the world. Although... while that may simplify some aspects of life, it complicates others.

So, what does "simple living" even mean? Perhaps it means that we spend less time on activities that take a lot of energy/time but give low fulfillment. Or we find someone else to do those things. Like mowing the lawn... not a lot of fulfillment in that and it's a hassle... get someone else to do that? Or cleaning the house? Although I do get some fulfillment out of that. When I do it... the trick is just getting me to the point of doing it.

Perhaps "simple living" is just less... less of everything. Less appointments. Less stuff in the calendar. Less work. Less chores. In exchange for more fun?

I used to think that computers would simplify life... hah! And digital cameras? Hah! So much "easier" to send photos and store things but... simple? Nope... not at all. Not when you have 10,000s of thousands of photos cluttering up your hard drive. 

And that is an important distinction... simple does not mean easier. Sometimes the simple life is a hard life. So is it really "simple" living that I want or an "easy" life? And if life is easy... without challenges... does that just atrophy me?

The AI Weighs In on Simple vs. Easy

I thought I would ask the ChatGPT AI the question...

"Making life "simple" means reducing complexity and removing unnecessary complications, while making life "easy" means minimizing effort and avoiding difficulty. While the two concepts are related, they are not the same thing.

Simplicity focuses on removing distractions and reducing the number of choices you have to make, making it easier to prioritize what's important and make decisions. It can help you stay focused on your goals and reduce stress.

Ease, on the other hand, often involves delegating tasks or relying on external resources to handle things for you. It can make life more convenient and comfortable, but it may not necessarily lead to personal growth or a sense of accomplishment."

Yes... that is exactly the question I am pondering... do we really want a life of ease? Or are we looking for a simple life? Because a simple life would get to the point where we don't need to delegate things because we have eliminated the things that complicate life. 

So, perhaps the real question is... what would a simple life look like for us? In our situation. How can we simplify things as much as possible?

How to Make Life Simpler

Now, I know this isn't rocket science but... given the tizzy we are in... or I am in... it bears repeating.

1. Declutter: This is a no-brainer. Get rid of the things that are taking up space in the house (and the hard-drive) that are no longer used. And won't be used in the future.
2. Minimize Commitments: This requires me to identify what are the key things I want to keep in my life and to prioritize them. I think this is where "easy" comes in as well. If I want to spend more time hiking... then maybe it's time to de-prioritize house cleaning and delegate it to a cleaning service.
3. Focus on the Essentials: Similar to the one above... prioritize the things that matter the most to me and avoid getting bogged down in non-essential tasks. There are a lot of things that I do which are "nice to have done" but are they essential? Maybe not.
4. Establish Routines: Yep, routines help avoid decision fatigue and make things go smoothly.
5. Limit Distractions: Like social media and the news sites. Because they do suck up an inordinate amount of time and energy. If I say I don't have enough time for things... and then spend hours watching TV... that doesn't... quite... jive.
6. Automate tasks: Yes... like paying bills and grocery shopping. Although... during the pandemic I would go to Superstore to pick up my online order and end up sitting there for 45 minutes waiting for them to bring it outside. I am not sure that automation always simplifies things!
7. Simplify your finances: This could be helpful - rather than having bank accounts in 3 banks... and multiple credit cards... pull it way back and consolidate all of these. Maybe. I don't like having all eggs in one basket but not sure that 6 credit cards, all with different banks, are really necessary!
8. Get organized: Oh yes... this is a big one. My list of "to scan" papers has been growing larger every week and... tax season is always a stress. If I scanned regularly... tax season wouldn't be so bad. But it's a tedious task and so I put it off... even though it would make my life simpler... it isn't necessarily easy.
9. Prioritize self-care: And this makes sense too - taking the time saved from all of the earlier ideas... I make time for exercise, meditation, and spending time with family and friends. It reduces stress and makes me more able to handle the complexity of life...

All of these seem to have one thing in common... reducing stress. Consolidating things so there is "less" to worry about. "Less" stuff to take up mental energy. So it is for me to look and see... what are the main things that are causing me stress. Because it's going to be different for all of us. And really... I should clear the decks and then start with #9 - Prioritizing Self-Care... because when I neglect that... things start to fall apart quickly.

How to Make Life Easier

When you do a search for this on Google, you find a lot of the same ideas as above... ways to make life easier overlap quite a bit with making life simpler. But there are a few extra ideas...

1. Delegate Tasks: If I have done the above items... and re-evaluated my calendar and my priorities... I might decide that lawn-mowing is not a good use of my time. In which case I could get someone to come and mow the lawn. I am trading money for more time. Is it a worthwhile trade?
2. Stop Procrastination: Ugh. Again?!! Still?? Yep. Because the things that I procrastinate on really complicate my life eventually... and everything becomes harder when it is pushed and pushed and pushed into "tomorrow". Procrastination just makes life harder than it has to be.
3. Plan Ahead: Yep, this is a good one. Do some meal-planning for the coming week. So we aren't standing there 30 minutes before meal-time wondering... "What are we going to eat". There are lots of ways to create efficiencies that make life "easier".
4. Clear Emotional Space: This is one that bogs me down a bit. Forgiving people. Letting go of toxic relationships. Letting go of old grudges. 
5. Grab some Perspective: Compared to most of the world... we have incredibly easy lives. We don't have to carry potable water for miles. We don't have to scrounge for firewood to heat our food. We can communicate easily via email, phone, text. That helps to put things in perspective. And a daily gratitude habit might help as well...

The Nubbin at the Heart of This

Well... I see that I have some work to do. Before I get to the exterior stuff "out there" though... I think it requires me to start with the interior stuff first.

Step 1... get my self-care back on the front burner and stop nudging it to the back burner.

Step 2... clear some emotional space and practice some gratitude.

Step 3... stop procrastinating

I keep thinking that if I make the exterior of my life "simple" and "easy"... then that will reduce my level of stress. Truth is... if I don't handle the interior stuff first... then exterior changes aren't going to make one jot of difference. Less Stress is an inside job...  Sigh...

Time to Sell and Simplify?

 We've lived in our current house for 10 years. That is the longest that I have lived in any place, other than at home when I was a kid and teen. Our house has a basement suite that we've been renting out on Airbnb. And we have a large yard (8200 sq ft) which requires a lot of maintenance. With a partner that has a chronic health condition, a lot of the work for the yard, house maintenance and the Airbnb falls on me. While my partner and I had both hoped that the health condition might improve... it would appear (7 years into it) that that is not the case. I'm not getting any younger and I am tired. Tired of the yard maintenance. Tired of the never-ending house maintenance. Tired of everything that we put into the Airbnb.

And so... a few days ago (Feb 28, 2023)... we began to seriously consider selling the house. We could sell it and then buy a condo, for easy, simple living. No Airbnb. No yard. No roof maintenance. No gutters. No perimeter drain. Somewhere in walking distance of stores and coffee shops and hiking trails.

We scrolled through the Realtor.ca app and identified a few top contenders. We messaged our realtor and said... we are ready to pull the trigger. Her response "Cool! So you have decided life is too short and want low maintenance, inexpensive, easy living and time to travel?" YES!! That!! Exactly!

So, tomorrow we are going to look at some places.

Now... this might all seem ass-backwards. Shouldn't we be selling the house before we look for something? Or at least know what we can sell our house for? Probably! I'm sure our realtor will have all of that ready for us tomorrow.

But in the meantime... in the last few days since Feb 28, I trotted down to the liquor store and came back with armfuls of liquor boxes. We have decided to send a message to the universe... We are ready to sell! So we have started by packing up nic-nacs and tchotchkes... all of the extras that clutter up the surfaces. We've packed up "extra" stuff... craft projects and supplies. We have packed up a bunch of books as we look to reduce the amount of furniture in some rooms.

We are looking at paint touch-ups. We had new door, window and floor trim installed a year ago (2 years ago?) and the brad-nail holes were spackled and sanded but need to be painted. The spare bedroom has a gazillion nail/thumbtack holes in the walls and needs a full paint job. Some closets had the rods taken out and extra plywood shelves put in for all of the craft stuff. So... clear out the stuff... take out the shelves... patch and paint the closets and... pack it full of boxes.

We may get a storage locker in March... we'll see how it goes. We need to hear back from our realtor...

And... yes... this might all be a lot of work for nothing. At the very least, we might be doing The Minimalists big declutter event... pack everything you own into boxes and, as you need things, open up a box and pull out that item. Maybe... after living without all of these "extras", we will decide that we like the open and clear house! Maybe we will be more inclined to let-go of things? Maybe.

And we have legitimately been decluttering as we pack up all of this stuff. The thought of schlepping it around to yet another living space is just too much. "I haven't used this in 20 years... it's time for it to go."

There is a freedom in all of this. And a fear as well! I hate moving. I hate the whole process. I hate the upheaval. I am scare of moving to somewhere new. I have had 10 years to put down roots in this house and a part of me just likes the old and familiar. But the other part of me wants less. Less house. Less responsibility. Less work. Less stress. Less complexity. I want more. More time. More free time. More walks. More simplicity.

Letting go of the old can be hard. It is warm and comfortable and familiar. Even if it is a lot of work. 

Sooo... as I write this on 3 March, 2023... I'm not sure what the future holds. This post is scheduled to come out in early September... that is a full 6 months away. Will next week's post have exciting news about a house sale and new condo? Or will we have reversed direction? Or maybe it will simply be an update on our progress... not sure... stay tuned!

What I Let Go of During the Last Three Days of the Minimalism Game

Right then. The last 3 days of the 30 Day Minimalism Challenge!!

If you've been following along, you can find my earlier blog posts here:

• Week 0 - Playing the 30 Day Minimalism Game
• Week 1 - What I let go of...
• Week 2 - What I let go of...
• Week 3 - What I let go of...
• Week 4 - What I let go of...

This post got a bit delayed because I came down with a nasty sinus cold and just conked out for 10 days but... it is done! I had to dive into the shed and the tool closet to find the 28, 29 and 30 things to declutter. This was brutally hard, these last few days but... it 's done!

Day 28

2 fabric planters - one of which was chewed to pieces by rats, so is not pictured

1 wand watering thing we have never used...

1 very old, very sad patio umbrella (broken)

2 broken saw horses

1 broken plastic container

4 thrashed gloves

1 bag of dead scrubbies

1 bundle of rusted wire

1 rope ladder

1 old goblet

1 broken faucet protector

2 - hammer head and ax head

2 old gloves (found the other one after this pic taken)

1 yogurt container

1 boating emergency kit

2 balls

1 broken compost bucket

1 kite

1 old patio cushion

1 thrashed entrance mat

Day 29

These last 2 days were super hard but... with the help of the tool closet... I got there...

2 broken zero-gravity chairs

3 packages electrical and light switch weather-proofing bits

3 baggies with screw cap thingies

3 bits of bike helmet padding and clips

3 sets of closet door bits

5 thingies - bag with string, handle with string, package of wires, package of small bungy cords, 1 loose bungy cord

5 thingies - bag with closet feet bits, bag with electrical plug, package light socket thingie, baggie with curtain rod bits, baggie with piece of drywall for paint comparison

5 thingies - pile of rando bits, pile of wooden bits, some window track locks, baggie with drywall plugs, baggie with old doorbell

And that's 29!

Day 30

More things from the tool closet!

3 yellowy outlet covers

2 sets pegboard holders

5 thingies - cover, package drywall plugs, baggie curtain bits, package with hinge, over the door hook

5 thingies - weird electrical extender, old faucet cap, envelope with felt protectors that are no longer sticky, water-saving shower head, saw hole kit

5 electrical covers

5 thingies - 3 dead rags, 1 package cabinet screws, 1 package with 2 GFCA outlets

1 wall mirror

1 roll of various poster sheets

1 picture

1 bulletin board (not pictured - already in car)

1 outdoor solar light (broken - in garbage already)

CONCLUSION

Well, this has been very interesting. The first 2 weeks, into week 3 were very doable. But the final week, particularly the final 3 days were brutal! But... we did get rid of a lot of stuff. The shed and tool closet were very fruitful areas for decluttering. Some of the stuff in the tool closet... I didn't even know what that stuff was!

There is more to declutter too... I could spend a bit more time in the tool closet and let go of various old tools and other things that we have no use for. And there is the behind-the-shed space which is also very fruitful.

Oh... and we let go of a bunch of pampas grass plumes! Forgot to even mention those...

I think we will keep doing the decluttering... slowly... over time... it's the small steps that make the biggest difference.

What I Let Go of during Week 3 of the 30 Day Minimalism Game

Alright, let's be honest here. This is getting HARD!! While the first 2 weeks were moderately easy... this third week is when the pedal hit the metal. This week required both my partner and I to do some serious decluttering.

Day 15

First up... we have 1 game, 3 puzzles and 1 meat grinder. 

We also got rid of a stack of egg cartons... 4 of them (yes I am counting them individually... this was a hard week!)

A bag of cloth masks that I bought as part of an SPCA fundraiser during the first months of the pandemic. We all know how cloth masks turned out... so 6 masks.

All for a grand total of 15... I should also mention here that, as the week progressed, we got rid of a bunch of gluten stuff (vital wheat gluten, real bread crumbs, dried bread, couscous, farro, etc) none of which made the photo cut. So if this week seems a bit skimpy... add that in here!

Day 16

This was a solid day... 5 picture frames, 1 black tub, 1 candle holder, 3 binders, 2 bags beading supplies, 1 guest book, 1 sachet of weird tea, 1 set of three movie posters and 1 empty Body shop box. Seeee... coulda counted those movie posters as 3 but... didn't need that today.

Day 17

Note to self... write all this out as I am taking the pic because... this is hard from the photos!! Today we have: 1 set of mugs, 1 bath salts, 1 beading kit, 1 lunchbox, 1 stained glass hanger, 1 candy sucker, 1 empty phone box, 1 set silver boxlets, 1 gold Christmas decoration, 1 pair pic frames, 1 bundle of Christmas jewelry, 1 key ring, 1 baggie beading supplies, 1 tin, 1 bag weird lip balm, 2 yellow mystery objects, 1 incense box. (I could have broken out the jewelry bits - 4 of them - but I can also assign them to Day 15 too!)

Day 18

Another challenging day... 3 small frames, 1 pic holder, 5 CDs, 2 boxes bagua mirrors (in two boxes), 1 packet weird red candy, 1 CD, 1 packet stickers, 1 wall hanging, 1 pic frame, 2 cloth masks.

Day 19

This was another tricky one... so 4 puzzles and then... well... I'm going to have to just say this includes a bundle of paper bags (we didn't count them before they went into the recycle bin) and a variety of food stuffs that just got tossed into the green bin without photos being taken! (ugh!)

Day 20

Today was an interesting day... we are obviously rummaging through kitchen cabinets and finding all sorts of things that have been hanging around for years and that we think we will get to "some day" but... nope!

4 maple syrup bottles, 3 random glass jars, 4 coffee mugs, 3 glass jars with weird tea, 1 jar coconut oil, 1 jar fermented black garlic that a guest gave us (ick), 1 baggie weird tea, 3 big glass jars. And yes... double check and that does add up to 20! 

Day 21 

Alrightee...  2 empty plastic containers, 1 maple syrup bottle, 2 empty jars, 1 small metal jug, 1 bag mystery food item, 3 pineapple peelers (we bought them in SE Asia), 3 aluminium pie plates, 5 glass jars, 1 glass pie dish, 1 smoothie container, 1 canning jar on the pie plates that a stand-in for the couscous that we let go.

And that's a wrap on Week 3. I'm not sure how Week 4+ is going to go. We are really having to dig deep for these ones. Mind you... we still have the garden shed as a back-up and I know that there are some things in there that we can definitely shed (LOL!!).