Learning to Live Without: 50+ Things We Never By as Homesteaders

Learning to Live Without: 50+ Things We Never By as Homesteaders

Here are some items we no longer (or never) purchase on our homestead and what we buy or do instead.

Social media has filled our lives with advertising and consumption. Instagram Reels, TikTok’s, and YouTube videos are full of sponsorships, unboxing, and hauls. Even many homestead accounts constantly plug the next “must-have” garden tool, workwear, or appliance. 

But isn’t part of the homesteading journey, learning to live a simple life focused on what matters? This year, I’ve seen many folks pledging to complete a “no-buy” or “low-buy” year and what a great idea! 

That said, we definitely won’t be pledging a no-buy year. In fact, there are items I’m already planning to purchase. In 2025, we’d like to make some major upgrades like adding more batteries to our solar system, but also make some smaller purchases like new work boots for Scott and another peach tree for the garden. But, I think it’s an interesting being careful about your consumption is a worthwhile pursuit. Here are a few of the ways we’ve reduced our consumption and alternatives that work for us.

Kitchen Items We Don’t Buy

Kitchens are the workhorses and hearts of homes, but this often means they accumulate a lot of clutter and in today’s world, a lot of disposable products. 

• Ziplock Bags. We use mason jars and other glass or metal reusable containers instead of bags.
  
• Dish Soap. We make our own soap with coconut oil and lye. Both are fairly affordable and allow us to make soap for a variety of uses. A few drops of essential oil can add a pleasant scent.
  
• Paper Towels, Sponges, and Napkins. We keep cloth napkins, rags, and washcloths on hand to deal with messes and do dishes.
  
• Cleaning products. We use vinegar or soap and water as general all-purpose cleaners. We also keep bleach on hand for serious messes. Some folks object to bleach, but we use it sparingly. When you live in a tiny house with a plethora of injured animals, you sometimes end up treating wounded or ill chickens in the chicken sink or on the table. The bleach comes out after.
  
• Plastic Water Bottles. We use glasses and reusable bottles to drink water from our Berkey Filter. On camping trips, we’ll use Nalgene bottles or camelpaks, but at home we reach for mason jars which are easy to clean and have lids.
  
• Plastic Wrap or Tin Foil. We use containers rather than plastic wrap to store food and a damp tea towel to cover rising bread. Items we would bake in tin foil, we usually place in one of our dutch ovens which have lids.
  
• Disposable Plates, Cups, Utensils. We just stick with the real stuff. Even when we had a good size gathering for our wedding, we just picked up some extra wine glasses and serving dishes at the thrift store. They were cheap, and we were able to give away or re-thrift any we didn’t want to keep after the wedding. It felt much classier than disposables too!
  
• Single-Task and Small Electronic Appliances. There’s an appliance or gadget for everything in the kitchen now. You can get avocado slicers, zucchini spiralizers, tomato containers, fondue pots, and sandwich cookers. We avoid gimmicky gadgets and only get solid pieces (made of metal or wood) that will last and we regularly use. While we don’t have any of the above, we have 2 cast iron dutch ovens, a giant sauerkraut crock, a blender, and a hand crank coffee grinder. All see regular use. It’s fine to purchase appliances, but make sure they’re ones that will add value to your life.
  
• Cutting boards. We cut and process everything on our huge butcher block, scrubbing it in between uses. Every so often, we rub it down with boiled linseed oil.
  
• Cheap pots and non-stick frying pans. We have a good set of cast iron frying pans, a couple dutch ovens, and some stainless steel and copper clad pots. I doubt we’ll ever need to replace them.

Decor

At 500 square feet, we really don’t have a lot of room to fill with stuff. We keep it fairly minimal so that we have space to work on projects and do the hobbies we love. 

• Christmas and Holiday Decorations. We keep a few Christmas and holiday decorations in one box in the loft. These are all treasured items made for us by family and friends. We don’t feel the need to purchase addition items.
  
• Knick-knacks. We have some meaningful items on display, like a clay ornament made by my niece, a carving from Scott’s friend in Zambia, and a music box from my mom. We don’t have any items that we purchased for the sake of adding decor or achieving a certain look. Don’t let the advertisers fool you, pleasant homes are built over time and you don’t need little items that add nothing to your life.
  
• Box Store Art. This is basically the same as knick-knacks. We’ve slowly gathered thrifted art, work don’t by friends, and family heirlooms and photos that decorate our walls. You don’t need to buy art from Target or Marshalls that offers no personal connection. Wait until you find something you truly love. 
  
• Faux plants. I really hate faux plants. That is all. 

Utilities

As off-gridders, we’re able to skip out on some utilities. We still pay trash service and propane for summer cooking and hot water. 

• Electricity. Our solar system provides almost all of our electric needs. Occasionally, we do major tasks (particularly in the short days of winter) with a small, gas-powered generator.
  
• Heat. We heat with wood. We still have costs, like fuel for the chainsaw, but they’re minimal.
  
• Landline Phone. When we upgraded our internet to Starlink we ditched our landline phone. We had it previously run on old army telecommunication wire and the rural company we used was constantly having issues, anyway.
  
• Cable/Satellite TV Service. We’ve never purchased a cable or satellite TV. It just never seemed like it was worth the cost for us, but we’re not big TV watchers.
  
• Sewer. We’re nowhere near a public sewer line, so we don’t use public sewer. Currently, we use a composting toilet, though we may put in a septic in the future. 
  
• Water. We collect rainwater off our metal roof.

Food

Despite what popular media will tell you, few homesteaders are truly self sufficient and most regularly visit the grocery store. However, there are a few things we no longer purchase. We also purchase most of our dry goods in bulk.

• Soda, Seltzer, and Other Drinks. We have never been huge soda drinkers, but a few years ago, we cut it out entirely. Instead we drink water, herbal tea (iced in the summer), and coffee which we grind from whole beans. It saves us money and is healthier.
  
• Bread. Bread is one of my favorite foods. We regularly eat toast, rolls with soup, and sandwiches. We have no local bakery and store-bought bread just doesn’t compare, so I bake all of ours at home. Once you get used to baking, it’s a fairly quick process.
  
• Cookies, Cakes, Brownies, & Other Treats. Similar to bread, we’ve decided the quality is worth making these items at home. It also saves us money and I find we eat less of these items. When someone has to get up and make the cookies, rather than grabbing them from a box, we’re less likely to rely on them as snacks.
  
• Brown Sugar. We purchase white sugar and molasses in bulk. Mixing them into brown sugar ourselves is much cheaper than buying brown sugar at our local grocery store.
  
• Seasoning Mixes. We mix our own spice mixes like pumpkin pie spice, taco seasoning, and Italian seasoning. We grow many of our own spices, like basil, oregano, and dill, and the rest we purchase in bulk.
  
• Tea Bags. Most tea bags contain plastic and while it’s impossible to avoid entirely, we try to wherever we can. We grow some herbal tea like mint, lemon balm, chamomile, echinacea, and valerian and purchase other tea from Mountain Rose Herbs or the Ohio Bulk Food Depot, where we get our dry goods.
  
• Frozen French fries. We grow all our potatoes now, so we slice these up for French fries. I fry them in oil in a cast iron pan for an occasional treat.
  
• Sugary coffee creamer. We drink coffee black or with a touch of milk. Those sugary creamers are a lot of extra calories, are bad for your teeth, and are filled with additives.
  
• Summer produce. Most of the summer produce we eat is what we grow. We now have red raspberries, black raspberries, blackberries, figs, strawberries, and peaches. Plus, we produce a wide assortment of annual veggies, like cucumbers, green beans, cabbage, and tomatoes. Of course, we still purchase our favorite foods that don’t grow here, like bananas and are not producing enough to be self sufficient during the winter, yet.
  
• Onions and garlic. We’re now self-sufficient in onions and garlic. 

Bathroom & Personal Care Items

It seems like the bathroom is just like the kitchen. Advertisers have successfully sold the lie that your bathroom should be full to the brim with bottles and throwaway products. But, this isn’t what bathrooms looked like even 70 years ago and they don’t need to now.

• Disposable Razors & Blades. A few years ago I made the switch to a safety razor and haven’t looked back. The blades are incredibly affordable and completely recyclable. Plus, it’s as easy to use as a regular razor.
  
• Soap. As with our kitchen soap, we make it all with lye, coconut oil, a few drops of essential oil, and occasionally shea butter. It smells nice, is easy on the skin, and I don’t need to worry about what chemicals are in it. For those who are new to soap making, don’t worry the lye doesn’t stay lye. A chemical reaction occurs between the coconut oil or other fat and lye called saponification, which breaks both down into soap.
  
• Conditioner. The only time I really needed conditioner is when I was washing my hair too frequently or swimming in chlorine pools. Now I only wash my hair with soap every few days, and just rinse it during my other showers. I also rarely visit pools, so I skip the conditioner.
  
• Extra make-Up. I keep one small bag of make-up. I don’t wear it much, but even if I did, I wouldn’t keep more. You only have one face. You won’t wear hundreds of eye shadows before they expire.
  
• Extra towels. It’s just the two of us, so we only keep four “people” towels. When we’re having guests, we make sure the extra two are clean rather than keeping extras on hand. We have a plethora of “animal” towels which are all hand-me-downs or worn out towels we’ve downgraded. These are used to wipe muddy dog feet, 

Laundry & Closet

Most people need a few sets of clothing and the tools to keep them clean. This is another area where corporations have successfully convinced people they need to spend tons of money to keep up with the latest trends, many of which are toxic for people and the planet. 

• Fabric softener. Fabric softeners are completely unnecessary and full of toxic compounds. Studies have linked fabric softener with serious conditions like asthma and cancer.
  
• Dryer sheets. Similarly, dryer sheets contain toxic chemicals. We don’t own a dryer, so we don’t need dryer sheets, but wool dryer balls make an excellent re-usable alternative.
  
• Cotton balls or wipes. We just use wash clothes to clean our faces.
  
• Tissues. Neither of us require tissues very often. Usually, I just grab a couple of squares of toilet paper.
  
• Extra clothing/fast fashion. We each have some space in a small dresser we share and a small closet. That doesn’t leave much room for extra clothing, so we only have what we truly need. We avoid purchasing fast fashion and when we actually need to replace clothing, we shop second hand or try to go for the most durable brands possible.
  
• Extra shoes. Like clothing, we don’t have room to store things we don’t regularly wear. We each have running shoes, boots, sandals, and a pair of nicer shoes for events like funerals. Keeping your dress shoes in neutral tones like black, navy, or brown helps them blend better with different outfits. 

Electronics

For off gridders, the amount of electronics we own would probably surprise you. Even though we love our tech and have an Xbox box, digital camera, laptops, and phones, we’ve still found places to cut back from the “norm.” 

• Single use batteries. Our solar system means we’re somewhat limited on electricity during the short, cloudy downs of winter. That means come evening, we frequently switch to headlamps and lanterns. These have rechargeable batteries which we can charge up on the sunny days. 

• Brand new phones. Having the latest phone isn’t important to us. We’d rather spend our money and time elsewhere, so we usually shop second hand phones on places like Back Market.

• Expensive cellphone plans. We have Mint Mobile for $15 a month. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works fine for us and is the cheapest provider we’ve found.
  
• Audiobooks. We listen to audiobooks through the West Virginia library with the Libby App rather than paying for a service like Audible.
  
• Lens cleaners & wipes. I use a soft, reusable cloth to clean my laptop screen, camera lens, and other tech. If there’s particularly stubborn grime, I’ll break out the rubbing alcohol we keep in the first aid kid and dab a bit on the cloth.
  
• Multiple subscriptions. We currently have a Hulu subscription. Some day, we may switch to Netflix or a different option, but we don’t need to keep multiple.

Garden

Gardens are supposed to save you money, right? Just like everything else these days, garden supply companies have jumped on selling the “must-have” garden amendment, variety, or tool.

Not that we haven’t spent any on the garden. We have extensive gardens and have naturally spent some good money on them. We’ve bought bulk quantities of amendments like lime, invested in fruit trees, and bought quality equipment like our Hoss wheel hoe. Sticking with the basics saves us money.

• Digital garden planners. If you enjoy using a planning app or find it helpful for maximizing your space, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with investing it one.
  
• Fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides. We use our animal manure, cover crops, old leaves, and hay to boost fertility and avoid using herbicides and pesticides.
  
• Gimmicky tools. Some tools I see these days are just as gimmicky as an avocado slicer. If it’s made of plastic and has one weird purpose, it probably won’t make gardening any easier.
  
• Corn seed. I wish I could say we reliably save all our own seed, but that isn’t the case. The own we’ve continued to save without fail is a strain of Bloody Butcher dent corn that Scott’s family has grown for years. 

Pets & Livestock

We have a lot of animals and we’ve never spent a lot of money to acquire them. One dog showed up, the other was a $40 donation to an animal shelter. The chickens were all free. 

I’m not saying pets aren’t worth the money and you better believe they have been costly in other ways, but not picking a specific pedigreed animal can save you a ton of money upfront. It also provides a home to an animal in need, particularly when we’re discussing dogs and cats. Adopt don’t shop.

We also got many of our chickens after what I like to call the “pandemic panic buys” and I predict a similar thing will happen now. Soaring egg prices will drive many to purchase chickens only to figure out that chickens are complex animals that have specific needs and expensive feed, medical care, and housing. 

It’s all fun and games until you have to spend an afternoon figuring out how to de-worm chickens. 

Crafts & Hobby Supplies

We each have a ton of hobbies. We both enjoy gardening, hiking, caving, camping, fishing, reading, yoga, and weightlifting. Scott also plays disc golf and I sew and knit. Naturally, this all involves a bit of gear, but we’ve found ways to minimize the financial and environmental impact. 

• Brand new fabric. For recent sewing projects, I’ve had good luck finding used fabric at thrift stores. I watch for large garments, sheets, blankets, or tablecloths made of 100% cotton or other organic material.
   
• Gym membership. Even though we both strength train four days a week, neither of us has a gym membership. When we first started, we each purchased a set of dumbbells and used our old yoga mats and bench/foot rest as a weight batch. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. Once we had been following routines for several months, we upgraded, purchasing a weight bench and more weights.
  
• Gear upgrades. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the latest, nicest gear. Scott disc golfs with people with vast collections of discs, and I get passed by other runners in hikers decked out in the latest Solomon or Osprey gear. Ultimately, you’re trading your time for those upgrades. Would you rather have the latest and greatest or spend more time out there?

Vehicles

Over the years, our vehicle choices have raised a few eyebrows, but it has saved us thousands along the way. We currently both drive older pickups (a 95’ and a 98’). 

• Brand new vehicles. The average American car owner now has over $23,000 dollars in debt. This number is especially staggering, considering the average American only makes $37,000 per year. With overall debt, delinquent payments, and interest rates all on the rise, I’m elated to say I owe nothing on a vehicle.
  
• Expensive insurance. It’s much cheaper to ensure older vehicles, especially if you have a clean driving record.
  
• Car accessories. American consumers are sold gadgets to make like easier everywhere. Get a chemical filled air freshener for your car or weird cup holder organizer. None of these things provide a happier life. 

What have you stopped buying since you started homesteading? For me, the important part isn’t what you spend your money on, it’s having a clear vision of what brings value to your life. Buy whatever brings true joy into your life, but be damn sure it does because you’re trading pieces of your life for it.