using a regular old salade plate *note use of car seat as play seat in background
We received a very nice bamboo child’s spoon, fork and bowl set before leaving Vancouver back in May. It was a gift from our realtor and I decided it would make the move with us in our suitcase. We could use it as Henry’s all purpose eating vessel as soon as we arrived in the Isle of Man.
Sadly, after being used three times a day for a month, and being washed by hand after each use, it bit the dust. The veneer cracked and started to mold. The only other bowls in our furnished rental flat are mammoth and, some would suggest, not suitable for a toddler to eat out of. I had notions of purchasing some smaller bowls, maybe even those plastic ones marketed to parents, just for Henry to use. But, as we do now, I waited on the purchase. And in the interim Henry ate out of a big bowl.
Guess what? He did just fine.
Another way to think of living with less is to be more adaptable.
Before moving over to the UK I couldn’t have fathomed living without a freezer. But it’s been four + months and, yes, we’re still living with just a fridge and a very small fridge at that. ** I wrote in August that we were going to move into another flat that had a fridge/freezer and a bit more space. We ended up negotiating a rent reduction with our current landlord instead. So, still no freezer! But, somehow, we survive.
It’s surprising how you can get by without those things you once thought you needed.
Henry eats off the large salad plates and out of the big bowls. Stacking plastic measuring cups are great holders for little snacks of raisins and cheese slices. He has a small toddler size fork and spoon but often uses a teaspoon to eat. At this age he’s fascinated with the forks we use so is often making demands to use one himself at dinner time.
So no toddler dishware here. No freezer. Still no car. I just have one pair of jeans right now and manage to clothe myself just fine.
We’ve adapted to live with fewer things. We’ve adapted to use what we have for what we need. It works.
We take the bus. We don’t buy frozen food. I wear those jeans A LOT (trust me, no one really notices or cares. Throw on a scarf and change your top. No one notices you’ve been wearing the same jeans all week). We probably spend a bit more time telling our toddler not to throw plates because we don’t want shattered porcelain all over the place, but really, is it that much work? Nope.
What ways have you adapted to buy and own fewer things? I’d love to hear about everything from sharing a cell phone with a spouse to having children share a room so you can stay in a smaller home. Have you ditched the vases you rarely use and put flowers in a water jug instead? Have you switched up your school pick-up/drop-off scenario to drive less? Have you changed your grocery shopping habits like Jo to spend 50% less?
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I am a mother, wife and writer from Vancouver, Canada, currently living in the 
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