http://computationallegalstudies.com/2009/12/13/visualizing-bank-failures-2008-2009/

• Storage and recycling becomes necessity with limited space. You can’t buy much and bring it home, since there is not an extra closet or space for storage.
• Water consumption is lower, a 6 gallon water heater shortens the morning shower!
• Grey water is separate and can be captured for use in a garden or for plants. We will be growing container vegetables and herbs.
• Electricity is controlled by a 30 amp plug at the utility pole. If you have too many appliances on at once, you blow your circuit breaker.
• Heating and cooling a smaller space is more efficient.
• Natural air and ventilation help maintain climate control. We used open ventilation, screen doors, and fans much more to control buildup of humidity and condensation in the smaller space.

All of these things led to a much greater awareness of recycling trash (no room for a big kitchen garbage can), using items only as needed, and understanding the space and environment we were connected to. The outside and inside began to blur and we were much more connected all weekend. It wasn’t camping, we were quite comfortable. But it was full-time living with nature and raised our awareness of activities for our best interests.

The journey officially begins in May after we finish renovating our 1998 Fleetwood Bounder. We will move into our RV and live in it “full-timing.” Not necessarily traveling, but mostly parked at RV sites in our metro area. Weekends will be spent in town or at our land where we will work on developing a weekend getaway in the country.

After months of research and test drives, we purchased the RV last month from Best PreOwned RV and have started some basic updates and renovations. The 35’ gas powered RV has been mechanically checked and the onboard living appliances tested. We just replaced the carpet with new flooring, but didn’t quite get the chance to make sure the new wood was as earth friendly as possible before installation. It may come out someday and be recycled for something more sustainable, but we will work with what we have for now. We have ordered no V.O.C. paint from the helpful staff at www.newliving.net and are currently deciding on countertop and tankless water heater options. One of our goals is to decrease our footprint, be more earth friendly and responsible towards our self and our neighbors. So far, pretty good. Anticipation is building!

The biggest challenge is rightsizing, but we are finding it easier than expected. So far, quite a few large pieces of furniture have been placed in new homes through Craigslist and we continue to sort smaller items for upcoming garage sales and charitable donations. Some objects definitely hold memories attached, but letting some of those go for new adventures and travels seems like a fair trade when we wrestle with it a few days. The steadily reducing clutter is keeping us focused. Our new life will cause some choices, but we are looking forward to it and the lessons along the way.

How does this fit on the Ready Queen’s blog? We are planning on this providing us with options. Options to be more financially secure, live a responsible life, develop a second homesite outside of Houston for weather related emergencies and allow us to focus on simple living. Not the answer for everyone, but one we find is right and rightsized.

Next, when I realize I may not need something, how do I get rid of it? Most items won’t ever bring back the full monetary value needed to obtain them. Most of our possessions depreciate and are valuable only to us. So when we need to let go of them, through Craigslist, eBay or purely through a charitable donation, we can’t justify the loss of value. So, we keep our stuff. It is an emotional decision really. Logically, we typically spend more money paying for the interest on, repair of, or larger home to store the things we hardly ever use. Kind of a never ending cycle of work hard to get more things and keep the things we have.

If a decision is finally reached to let go of an item, then is it a donation or a possible financial gain? The real value may not come in the resale of the item, but in the reduced clutter, gained space and reduced cost of upkeep or storage. Inherent costs associated with an item continue to build while it’s value may decline. Selling at a loss, may be a perfectly acceptable gain for the long run. It’s also perfectly okay to keep sentimental things, but understanding the why and associated cost are important. One of the exercises I have found from another blog involves a suitcase test. If you could only pack one suitcase and had to leave everything behind, what would you take? Do you really need everything else? It is harsh, and not a good barometer for everyday living. But, the Suitcase Test does make you appreciate even more what you have and realize how much we don’t need some of our cherished items.

One of the tips I found embarrassingly effective from the book Rightsizing was to justify keeping unused items verbally. If you can say it out loud, and convince someone else why you need the expensive dress that no longer fits, then keep it. But in the verbalizing, you may find you can’t even convince yourself. If not, consider other options.

As most families and individuals are scaling back on their purchase of things, or may be considering Rightsizing to a more comfortable and attainable size of life, check out local resources to make your living space sized to your needs. It can be a slow process, but take one room, one closet, or even one drawer at a time and begin to value the things you really enjoy and need. Enjoy what you keep, and enjoy letting go of the rest.

I am working on the small backyard and raised bed garden to help supplement my families food. We enjoy the local farmer’s markets and have decided we want a bit more control over what goes in our own bodies.

This video from the Dervaes family is amazing, they raise over 6,000 pounds of food a year on about 1/10th of an acre of land. Wow.

Read more Associated Buyers and tips on how to manage a group for bulk purchases. Much like a co-op for larger purchases.

– Coupon carefully. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you can buy a basket of groceries for pennies on the dollar. It involves using coupons, shopping sales, finding stores that double coupons and putting it all together carefully. One site to check for more information is www.hotcouponworld.com.

You can find coupons to match items on sale at your local grocer at www.thegrocerygame.com. Beware: Unless you’re using good coupons on products you would buy anyway, this can be a spending trap instead of a money-saving deal.

– Buy some good containers. Roughly 13 cents of every food dollar goes to packaging and advertising, and you’ll spend a lot more than that if you are always buying 100-calorie snack packs and tiny bags of chips to send to school with your kids. Buy some reusable containers, buy your favorite products in bulk and make your own individual packages.

– Use meat for flavor, not bulk. A mixture of meat and beans over pasta or rice will satisfy those who love the taste of meat and poultry, but cut costs significantly than eating large cuts of meat.

– Make your dollar buy more nutrition. Instead of buying sugar-coated cereals, white bread and chips, buy items like whole-grain bread and oatmeal. Instead of candy, buy fruit. Popcorn that you pop yourself has been heralded for generations for being cheap, fun, nutritious and tasty.

– Buy frozen fish. Almost all of the “fresh” fish you buy has been frozen and thawed. Fish from the freezer section has often been frozen on the boat, so it’s equally fresh — and cheaper.

– Do your own work, as a family. You’re spending more on labor than on food when you buy lots of presliced, prewashed, preseasoned foods. Yet all the experts seem to agree that family mealtime is an important ritual. Extend the ritual by getting the whole family in on the slicing, dicing, cutting and stirring that dinner requires, even if it’s just a once-a-week cooking session. You’ll save money and maybe bond a little.

– Eat out judiciously. Last year restaurant prices actually rose less than grocery prices, but it still costs a lot more to eat out than to cook at home. Americans typically spend about half of their food budget eating out, according to the Agriculture Department. Cut the cost without cutting the fun by mixing it up: Have appetizers and drinks at home before going to the restaurant, or have dessert at home. Or buy a precooked, carry-out chicken, but fix your own side salad.

– Stock up on sales. You know you’re always going to use pasta, lightbulbs and toothpaste, so buy a bunch on sale. Sure, this is inflation mentality, but double-digit price increases on food means we’re in an inflationary environment, food wise. Furthermore, if you already have easy, good food in the pantry, you won’t have to run out at the last minute and buy over-priced convenience items just to throw together dinner.

– Grow your own. Oh sure, anyone who’s gardened has thrown too much money at their tomato plants. But some crops are more worth growing than others. Basil and other herbs, hot peppers, eggplant and lettuce are some items that are very easy to grow and are never cheap at the grocer or farm stand, even when they are in season.

– Make it fun. Save with a goal in mind so it becomes a game and not just drudgery. Shave $10 a week off of your food bill (that’s less than 10 percent for the typical household), and you can all do something special, like go see a movie at the end of every month — Of course you’ll bring your own snacks.

I really don’t like posting things like this. It seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even if it is not true, media attention can make people believe there is a food shortage and cause panic buying. Self-fulfilling.

I will admit my first reaction was to rush to Costco’s and see prices and availability in my area. Maybe buy a few extra things to stock-up on. I didn’t, but will make a regular shopping trip this month. Let me know if you notice any changes in availability in your area.

Each time I read it, which is typically at least once a year from cover to cover, I have to ask myself to value the choices I make in my house, at the grocery store, in vacations and more. I am in no means advocating the giving up of travel, family, and those things that make life so enjoyable. But, you are challenged to value the cost of a, say… new shiny pasta maker for example. Pasta maker, that you probably use once every few months if you stretch it. I remember this example from the book, but please insert your favourite, had to have it so I rationalized it, gadget that was going to save you time and make dinner with you family more enjoyable. Don’t smirk at me… you know we all have something equivalent.

You paid somewhere around $50 for the “pasta maker”, how long did you have to work? and the time to research and go pick one out, have it shipped or go to the store and purchase said new shiny kitchen coolness machine. Great! It is a blast and the family loves it. Now you have to clean it, find cabinet space to store it with the other cool machines. How many hours do you have to work to pay for that larger kitchen? and store all the devices in that larger kitchen and clean them so you will see them and use them more often? See where this is heading. The initial cash outlay compounds terribly over the years as you hump the pasta machine to each new kitchen, work longer hours to pay for the larger kitchen, work longer hours for someone else to clean the newer bigger kitchen full of stuff, so now you have no time to use the kitchen devices and just go out to dinner with family or worse, go out for work and networking events to keep you on the right track to keep paying for the cool device. WHoof.. I don’t know about you, but I am sucking it up and putting that baby on Freecycle.

This is just one example of how we often get caught up in shiny gadgets and their external and variable costs compile to make our lives more complicated. Less stuff, more valuable stuff, then we become happier. Value might be that one really well made item that IS worth it. Maybe a really good cutting board and set of really nice knives would have served better than above gadget. You can still make pasta the old fashioned way on a flour dusted board and the family can still help. The value of the knives can make the entire process a culinary event. Love it!

The book includes sections on Travel, Lifestyle, Food, Home, Gardening, Finances and Career and a great chapter on Health and caring for family. Stories of real people are interspersed just enough to make me see the reality of living in a more “rich and valuable” manner. Unclutter your house, your office, and your brain. Simple living leaves you room to be more productive.

After talking to my “dahling and brilliant” colleague today, Happy Katie, I pulled my book out of my shelf for a new look see. My household is on a continued mission to simplify and build relationships with friends and family we care about. Time to dust off the cover!

Most of us are aware that the economy is experiencing a bit of heartburn from the housing mortgage crisis, subsequent lending and financial institutional bailouts, and maybe you are even aware that the value of the US Dollar is making the United States the newest travel destination for Europeans. The price of oil and changes in the ethanol and formulations are also having some unsuspsecting effects on both food delivery costs and stockpiles of grain storage. In fact, investors at MSN Money are suggesting food related stocks are a growth oriented area.

Does this really have an impact on any of us? Hmmm. Probably more than we want to realize. Bread, dairy, eggs, the wheat and grains needed to feed both people and protein machines like cattle are all related. If some people have started to notice the price of their grocery cart going up, their right. Both inflation of the basic food costs and the decline of purchasing power of the dollar are starting to change from pennies to dollars. Shortages, either real or perceived, are also inflating costs as outlined in the article above from MSN.

I live in Houston, a pretty large metropolitan area with selection and variety the name of the game when I go shopping. Other parts of the country are rumoured to be posting signs with sale type limitations on quantities purchased. You know, limit 4 per customer or household? These are typically associated with sales to entice customers in to stores. Now, the cost of stocking goods is hurting some stores and resellers and they are limiting goods below the demand.

What does this mean? Two things. Food costs will continue to rise, and availability may become an issue depending on the part of the country you live in. To protect the value of your wage earned dollars, buy in bulk at today’s prices. The cost of rice has increased 13% over the last twelve months with most of that in recent surges. Eggs are soaring at over 25% inflation. We have started using a mixture of Powdered Eggs and fresh eggs to extend the cost. I am not ready to give up eggs, or the flavour of real eggs, but extending our egg omelette’s and such with partially pantry eggs is great.

If you shop at a local Costco or Sam’s or bulk food provider, watch for good deals on things that will keep in the pantry for a long period of time. Buy things your family will use and pay for it in today’s dollars. Tomorrow’s dollars may not stretch as far. Canned goods, pastas, rice, and grains are great to have on hand. It’s nice to look in my pantry and think I am saving both by buying in bulk, and buying now instead of later.