It has recently come to my attention that I am a TERRIBLE consumer! Seriously... sometimes I go to the store to buy something and actually talk myself out of it, decide I can do without, and walk away with nothing. 

I'm afraid I'm not doing my part to keep our economy going. I'm not contributing much to Jeff Bezos' billion dollar retirement fund. I hardly ever get packages. 

But on the flip side, my credit card bills keep going down and my bank account is growing, even though I'm traveling more, working less, and enjoying life to the fullest. I produce very little trash, and my life feels simple, sweet, and inspired. 

So I decided to put together my top tips for how to be a terrible consumer so you can see how bad you can become too!

1. Grow a garden. Absolutely my favorite. There are so many benefits, but one of them happens to be that I don't need to go out and buy food as much! We all have to eat, and it's so helpful and delicious to have my own fruit, berries, veggies, herbs, tea, eggs, and more. But be careful that this doesn't become one more activity where you have to buy a bunch of stuff! Most of it is totally unnecessary. 
2. Forage. Did you know that there is tons of free food out there in nature if you just look for it? Availability is seasonal, but if you spend some time freezing berries and fish, making preserves, digging roots, and drying tea, nature provides. Remember to use the honorable harvest and don't take more than you need. 
3. Stay home more. Besides sav
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I wrote out my big, overarching holistic goals for my life this morning and I'm on fire! 

I am currently walking my students through the process of Goal Articulation in my Green Thumb Course. 

Articulating your goals on paper helps you to create more deliberately. It helps inspire you, motivate you through the hard work, and gives you purpose in your garden. It gives you direction for the decisions you need to make. 

I like to revisit my goals often, to keep me focused, and also to re-evaluate. Is this still important to me? What is true for me right now? 

So yesterday I sat down in front of the wood stove with a pad of paper and a pen and got to work. I even got the boys' input on what is important to them (friends and experiments, as it turns out.) 

As I worked it, I got more and more excited. Can I really provide for 75% of my needs?? What does that mean? What are my needs? It sounds thrilling and challenging. 

When I finished and read over what I wrote, I got a little tingle up my spine. My whole body said, YES! This is what I want! 

Here's my big, overarching holistic goal: 

Our home is a beautiful gathering space filled with love, light, and laughter. It is surrounded by gardens which provide abundant food, medicine and beauty which we share with others. We grow, forage, and barter for 75% of our needs. 

We tend the land we are on as if it were our own, and for future generations who may live here. Within the fenced garden we have fruit trees, berry bushes, mushr...