50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (named Materialism)

This was written by Anton Flores, one of our valued board members in Atlanta.

Every single one of the 50 habits listed below is a change that Charlotte and I have undertaken. The key for us was not simplicity or voluntary poverty but a theology of enough. However, we are still living at a level of consumption that is not sustainable at a global level. Join us on a journey to right living.

1. Postpone purchases and ask yourself if the purchase is worth the amount of time it took to work to earn that money.
2. Make homemade gifts.
3. Use your credit card (why do you need more than one?) for only essentials like gasoline and groceries if you can’t go to an all cash system. Also, if you can’t pay your credit card balance in full every month, get rid of the card.
4. Resist the urge to keep up with technology. Do you really need that I-Pod?
5. Shop around for the lowest home and auto insurance rates.
6. Dump the dryer. Line-dry your clothes.
7. Take a fast from buying clothes. If you must buy, buy at a thrift store.
8. During the winter, set your heat at 68o in the day and lower at night and snuggle! Set your AC at 78o in the summer if you even have to turn it on!
9. Use CFL lightbulbs.
10. When needed, replace your water heater with a tankless one.
11. Put a brick or half-gallon jug filled with sand in your toilet to decrease the water flow.
12. Track your energy consumption and try to lower your usage.
13. Lower the temperature on your water heater.
14. Raise the temperature in your fridge.
15. Insulate your attic.
16. Seal drafts in your home.
17. Who needs Tupperware when you can reuse food containers for leftovers or storage?
18. If you have plastic bags from grocery stores, reuse them for trash.
19. Turn lights off in rooms that are not occupied.
20. Unplug phone chargers or even unused appliances like TVs and microwaves.
21. Don’t let the water run to heat up the bath or while washing dishes.
22. Xeriscape, plant native plants and/or view your land as being functional. Don’t spend money on fertilizing and landscaping.
23. Develop a sharing cooperative with neighbors for things like yard equipment, tools, etc.
24. Take a vow of stability and don’t move (unless you want to move to Jefferson Street and join Alterna!). Every move has significant economic (and relational) costs.
25. Live in community and share your resources with others by living interdependently.
26. Move into a neighborhood where housing costs are low and buy a less expensive house than what the bank says they’ll loan you. It’s so thrilling to pay off your mortgage!
27. When and if needed, purchase a hybrid vehicle.
28. Walk, not just for exercise, but as a true form of transportation.
29. Bicycle for places too far for walking.
30. Combine as many trips into one outing as possible so as to cut down on time spent driving.
31. Drive your car until it dies a natural death.
32. When grocery shopping, stick to a list.
33. Plan your grocery list around coupons and, when possible, buy in bulk.
34. Forget name brands, buy generic food.
35. Invite folks over for a home-cooked meal. It’s cheaper than going dutch at a restaurant and a nice gift for your friends.
36. Cook more food from scratch.
37. Make your yard an edible one by starting a garden.
38. Raise chickens for eggs and meat.
39. Do away with disposable. Use cloth napkins and real dishware.
40. Give up meat.
41. Never buy bottled water.
42. Plan meals around what is on sale or growing locally in season.
43. Kick the TV addiction. If you can’t go cold turkey, systematically reduce the number of hours spent watching it.
44. Check out free books and movies from the library before spending money.
45. When you dine out, drink water.
46. Enjoy what’s free!
47. Find a family member or friend to give you haircuts.
48. Find creative ways to barter with friends, family and neighbors.
49. Lodge with family and friends when you travel instead of hotels.
50. Be generous with your money! (Yes, this actually helps save money because it puts money in perspective.)

DriveFast - Anton Flores

DriveFast is what I’m calling my 40-day Lenten fast from driving an automobile. You see, I hold two ideals that will collide this Lenten season.

The first ideal is a belief that fear is the greatest wall keeping Americans from loving our unauthorized immigrant neighbors. No law or policy can destroy this wall; only a fearless love can do that. The other ideal that has a grip on my heart is the belief that as a privileged American, I must reduce my carbon footprint for the sake of the world’s fragile ecology and the globe’s poorest inhabitants who bear the brunt of my excess consumption.

So how will these two ideals collide this Lenten season?

“Perhaps this will teach you to stop driving,” is a common refrain uttered by local judges as they impose harsh sanctions against undocumented immigrants who are ticketed for driving without a license. These “un-licenseable” immigrants are often nabbed at roadblocks going to and from work, worship or Wal-Mart. However, Georgia’s anti-immigrant sentiment has given the illusion of short-term political capital and legislators have now made driving without a license a moving violation that can include fines well over $1,000, months of incarceration and can even be elevated to a felony. In a car-crazed culture like ours, in a community like LaGrange that offers no public transportation, how can anyone expect an un-licenseable immigrant to stop driving? This law is a form of entrapment that is designed to further scapegoat immigrants when it is our insatiable greed and incongruous immigration policies which are greater causal factors for the presence of 12-20 million hardworking, faithful newcomers without legal authorization.

So, I am fasting from driving this season of Lent. A major catalyst for undergoing such a fast is to stand in solidarity with these men and women who come here in search of their daily bread in a land where bread is located driving distance away in the area grocery stores.

On the other side, I would love to become a car-free person by choice, not by coercion. I already drive a hybrid, try to walk or bike for transportation and not just for exercise but I wonder if I can do better. I drive about 12,000 miles per year. Can I significantly reduce that? What will I learn about myself and my lifestyle by fasting from driving? What dark corners of my soul will be exposed by this “experiment” in renunciation of a cultural norm?

With this being a Lenten fast, prayer will also be an important component to this period of fasting. Pray for me and visit this blog as I post my prayers and reflections on what living car-less and in solidarity with immigrants looks like.

-Anton Flores serves on the DOOR Atlanta board as well as the DOOR Network National Board. We are continually improved, challenged and shaped by Anton and the other passionate voices of our cities. For more information on Anton's passions and community http://www.alternacommunity.com/