Do More with Less (CLOSED)

Nov
15


As winter races toward us, I realize what a difference a more self-sustainable life makes in my preparations for being snowed in or flooded in, for losing power, or for whatever else this latest season has in store. I don’t need as many things. I can do more, and make more, with less. With just a few basics like flour, sugar, lard, oil, for example, I can make pies, cookies, breads, and soap–and about a thousand other things. I don’t need to stock pile huge boxes of laundry detergent. I don’t have to fill up an entire freezer shelf with loaves of bread. I don’t need bulky frozen pie crusts or big packages of store-bought cookies. It’s all in that big bag of flour and that big canister of sugar, etc. Fewer things to stock up–and it actually means more options. (Amazing.) With a cow, I have milk, butter, cheese, and cream. I don’t have to fill up another freezer shelf with gallon jugs of milk and pounds of butter. (Beulah Petunia even stocks it all for me!) The less I need to buy from the store, the less it matters if I can’t go, and the less space it all takes up in my house even as I continue to clear out, throw out, and give out the clutter that also gets in the way of doing more with the fewer things that are truly special, like my grandmother’s dishes.

I love having less. It’s freeing, and learning how to do more with less is empowering. My biggest achievement this year was learning to make soap. (Second biggest was last winter’s conquering of the wood stove.) I’m also continuing to learn how to make more and better cheeses so I can fill our needs there completely. (I’m not there yet, so that’s a big goal for me right now.) You? What steps have you taken this year to do more with less? And what do you want to do next?

(Maybe learn to use a Windows Phone 7? I HAVE A GIVEAWAY!!)


Enter to win a Windows Phone 7! (Approximate retail value: $500.)

How to enter: Leave a comment on this post! Comments must be at least twenty-five (25) characters and no more than two-hundred fifty (250) characters. I don’t make the rules. YOU MAY ENTER ONCE PER DAY.

Eligible entry period begins on November 15, 2010 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on November 29, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The sponsor’s computer is the official time-keeping device (not mine).

There is one prize and there will be one winner chosen from entries on this site. However, there are other sites hosting this same giveaway and you are free to enter to win on other sites, too. For all the official rules and links to other sites hosting Windows Phone 7 giveaways where you can also enter to win, go here.

The winner will be chosen using random.org and will be contacted by email. The winner’s name will not be announced until their eligibility in accordance with the official rules has been confirmed. The winner must respond within 5 days or another winner will be drawn. (For more details, read the official rules.)

UPDATE 11/30/10: THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED TO ENTRY. The winner has been drawn and contacted according to the official rules. If the winner is not confirmed within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn. The winner’s name cannot be posted until they are confirmed. Please see the official rules for more details.

UPDATE 12/03/10: The winner has been confirmed as comment #166, amandaC.

This giveaway is brought to you by the new Windows Phone 7. Less MIA. More PTA: Learn about Windows Phone online and see it in person at local T-Mobile stores today.







Comments

  1. Shiyiya says:

    This is a comment of more than twenty-five characters?

    I really want to try making my own tangy garlicky ketchup.

  2. judydee says:

    Yes, please enter my name in the contest for the Windows Phone 7.

  3. Stefinity says:

    I would love to be entered to win the Windows Phone 7.

  4. stacy says:

    What would I do with a windows phone 7-GO CRAZY!!! I’d finally have a phone other people would look at and say “wow”-not “who’s phone is THAT”-I think I made the 25 character rule here!!

  5. CindyP says:

    I could do a whole lot more for less with that phone! I could get rid of a few gadgets and be able to read CitR even when I’m not home!

  6. Tracey In Paradise,Pa. says:

    :happypuppy: Enter me please.for WINDOWS 7 PHONE…I canned this year!! I did it..Using some of your recipes..I made bread and rolls. I want to make soap and cheese..Call me chicken. I want a goat too..One day ..dare to dream..
    Thank you for a great blog..
    Granny Trace
    P.s I have salsa and tomatoe sauce on my shelves from my garden..PROUD FARMGIRL HERE :snoopy:

  7. Patti says:

    I never win anything! Saturday I walked into a bookstore & was handed a free reusable water bottle & I was so excited ! You’d have thought I won a hundred dollars 😉
    Winning something like this phone would be crazy !

    Love your blog Suzanne!

  8. Julia says:

    What a great prize! Thank you for participating in the program.

  9. Lori Skoog says:

    It’ worth a shot, so count me in for the running! Simplify, simplify, simplify…

  10. irishhillstrish says:

    I’m not very “gadgety”, but as a single mom with a really awful, old phone, I’d dedicate some time to learning to use a smartphone. Really.

  11. CATRAY44 says:

    I would love to win the phone!!

  12. CasieD says:

    Well now… that’s quite a giveaway! I’d love to have a “smart phone”. I finally got one that will text! lol

  13. HEATHER BASINGER says:

    I just started using your website and I have to say I LOVE IT! i love your recipes and your everyday tips.. thank you!! :woof:

  14. Eve Davis says:

    Okay enter me in the contest also please.
    For me doing more with less also meant that if I have a great assortment of spices and herbs I can make dishes from around the world. My one chicken can either be French, Itlian, Mexican or American just by changing my spices and herbs. My spices and herbs can also double as a medicine cabinet for sore throats or tummy problems because we ate to much of the mexican chicken! So with the basic’s , milk, flour,sugar,egg and spices we can make items for 3 meals a day plus sweets. So yes less is more.

  15. Stephanie Appleton says:

    I would love to have the phone! Mine is on its last leg!

  16. quiltingfarmer says:

    I’d love the phone! As I am starting to make my own cheese,my goal for this year. Thanks for inspiration Suzanne!

  17. Marjorie Wolson says:

    My friend, Sarah, and I grew a garden in straw bales for the fourth year and we made and canned mesquite smoked heirloom tomatoes and spicy salsa and two kinds of pickles! We made plum jam and peach preserves and also baked zucchini bread from our plant and the eggs from Sarah’s three chickie-ladies, Agnes, Gertrude and Gladys Kravitz. We haven’t tried making soap yet but, next week, we will be making mustard for the first time. :snoopy:

    I sure would like to win a smart phone. That would be nice present to give my long suffering husband!

  18. trina says:

    i live my life on the run,and not very organized. i am sure that phone would come in handy.

  19. Jan in Maine says:

    I cannot imagine life with a SmartPhone…my cell is about 5 years old and does nothing interesting…this would be a fun win!

  20. Carol Radtke says:

    Please enter me in the smart phone give away. I, like you, have learned to live w/less. I am able to nourish my family without needing all the “junk” from the store. I don’t have a cow but I do have goats, sheep, rabbits & poultry, all which feed my family in one way or another. I love being self sufficient.

  21. melissashea68 says:

    I actually came to this site by looking for a recipe. I started small this year by making things that, at the time, I thought were just store bought. I love that you have recipes for Homemade Hamburger Helper, that my child loves!

  22. Brenda says:

    Thank you for entering my name in the contest for the Windows Phone 7.

  23. Marcie Babbitt says:

    I love to learn new things and a learning to operate a smart phone would be another challenge!

  24. Suzanne says:

    since i started reading your blog i do more and more homemade! thank you! and i would love a smart phone 🙂

  25. Laurie Hamar says:

    I am learning so much from you! Thank you for the information and yes, please enter me to win.

  26. Connie Rogers says:

    Oh yes I want to be entered in the phone give away.Thanks

  27. Pete says:

    What a great giveaway, and what a great thing it would be to have one of these. My current phone is pretty smart, but we could always use a little more smarts around here!

  28. Kim says:

    You have inspired me in so many ways! Today, I make cheese!

  29. Carol Langille says:

    I want to live with less and get more…..I can cook and bake and make crafts and I realize the freedom less gives you. But I am an antique dealer and I have INVENTORY and I live in a small apartment. The clutter I have is sale-able merchandise and I have to keep replenishing it when it sells. Maybe I could sell enough to retire!!! But until then, I have more stuff on hand than I need. Or want.

  30. rileighsmom1 says:

    Please enter my name in the drawing! I would love to win this, I never win anything! I could finally get rid of my crazy phone I have been using for one thousand years! 🙂 :wave:

  31. Darlene in North Ga says:

    This year saw the last of my kids move out. So I promptly started taking some classes on being self-employed. I figure being self-employed is, in a way, being self-sufficient.

  32. Susan says:

    I make my own laundery soap and I’m learning how to bake bread. I would like to win the Windows phone 7!

  33. heidiannie says:

    LOL! I love to read the comments on this blog! Everyone is so earnest and honest and real. I would like to be entered into the smart phone giveaway, although it is intimidating when your phone is smarter than you are!

  34. Betty says:

    First I would like to say that I read your blog daily. It starts my day off with a smile on my face as I read your posts about your daily farm life, crafts, cooking, etc. I also have goats, in fact we are raising two with a bottle right now and have more in the fields. The milking we no longer do but I sure remember when we did that as well as made our own cottage cheese, butter and whipped cream. Keep up the good work as there are many of us who really enjoy your work.

  35. Gem says:

    I too have taken that same road of simplifying. We moved the kids to a farm seven years ago, and have not looked back since. We have cows, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens, a donkey, cats, and a dog to keep us busy and fulfilled in more ways than we could have ever imagined. I love your blog, Suzanne, because of the many ways it mirrors my own journey. You put into words the very things we treasure here on our farm-the good, the bad and the ugly too!

  36. Marlena says:

    I have been clearing out all the shelves and closets this year and baking gadgets that are never used (individual brownie bite pan?? Did I really buy that??). Trying to make more wise choice not to buy useless items. I have learned to make bread and tortillas from scratch this year and pie crust and poptarts (all thanks to your website!). I do can fruits, jellies, jams and some veggies each year. I would love a cow, but don’t think my neighborhood would allow it! I am looking into buying more from local farmers and getting fresh eggs.

  37. Marianne G says:

    Suzanne – You never cease to amaze me! All that you do to run your farm is unbelievable, but I’m especially proud of the fact that you stood up for your rights regarding your photo! Amen Sista!

  38. NBC in Roane County says:

    i would love to learn how to use a smart phone and learn how smart one of them window phone 7 really are to see if it could out smart me :sheepjump:

  39. Cheryl says:

    Oh my goodness what a great giveaway!! I would love to win the Windows Phone 7.

  40. tsmith says:

    I would really love to win a new phone!

  41. Hazard says:

    We cut all our own firewood and use an outdoor furnace to do more with less – no oil or propane deliveries for us! Please enter me in the windows phone 7 give away!

  42. Landodixy says:

    This year I finally learned how to PRESSURE CAN and I have stored up so much food I can’t believe it! I had already been making my own laundry detergent (and my family LOVES it). Now, thanks to Suzanne and this website, I’ve learned how to make cheese, lard, liquid coffee creamer, and the mushroom plugs I ordered have arrived! I love that I don’t have to stop at the store as often! Would love to win the Windows Phone 7.

  43. annabel52 says:

    For lots of us being more frugal and self-sufficient is not a choice, its a necessity. I recently returned to school so that I could support our family. I enjoy all of the recipes and tips from this website and use lots and lots of your recipes because they are quick, easy and affordable. I grew up on a small farm and can readily identify with all of your struggles. You rock!! A smart phone would be a real treat for someone who has not been able to afford many treats lately.

  44. Amy I. says:

    Enter me for the phone! About time I learned how the new phones work!

  45. BethieofVA says:

    What the heck, I will gladly take it off your hands!

  46. Denise says:

    I would LOVE to have a Windows Phone 7! Also, I am with you on the clearing out of stuff, and making and doing more for my family on my own!

  47. Sherie Adams says:

    We’ve moved to a farm and are learning to live (again) frugally and simply. Had a late garden with a huge turnip crop. A phone would be a plus in my old life. Please enter me – thanks!

  48. Christy Miller says:

    Wow, a new phone. That would pull me out of the dark ages. Thanks for the chance to win it. Good Morning!

  49. jean says:

    I don’t want to be entered in the contest I just want to let you know how much I admire you. Sappy? Maybe. But you are taking life by the horns and making it work for you. You rock.

  50. Langela says:

    I have been decluttering the house, slowly. I look at an object, see if I have more than one of them, pick my favorite, and give away the other. It is so freeing to see the space in my home. I am better organized and less stressed.

  51. Rhonda says:

    Wow.. I would love a Windows 7 phone. Well… any additional phone would be good. All I have is one corded phone atm. LOL. Yes I am a dinosaur.

  52. Granny Mountain says:

    I came from a family that put food by, so it’s second nature to do this. I still buy in quantity and it’s only the two of us now! Sure wish I had a milk cow and chickens to help out. I buy one and put one back, I buy on sale and when bad weather is coming we can hunker down and know that we won’t go hungry! My Grandma used to say, “It’s good to have plenty.”

  53. Hlhohnholz says:

    It’s a pretty awesome feeling to know that you don’t have to depend on anyone outside your household for the things you need. 🙂 Unless you want a Windows 7 phone, that is. 😀

  54. Deni says:

    Like others have said, Suzanne you have inspired me to try to live with less. One biggie is that I am attempting to whittle down all the “stuff” that has accumulated around here. Believe me it’s a work in progress! I would love to win the phone!

  55. Heather N. says:

    We built a greenhouse this spring. We already plant a garden and usually plant some stuff from seeds but building the greenhouse meant we could do MORE seeds and have a bigger garden. I was able to do more canning too! I was able to grow over 150 tomatoe plants and most of those I shared w/ family. It also provided a warm place in the fall to keep some flowers longer. I did pickled beets and dilly beans which were of new recipes I just wanted to try out..YUMMY!

  56. patrice says:

    Please enter me in the giveaway for the Windows Phone 7. If I win I would probably use it to call Jack. No, not the cheese! The donkey. As I read your post about cheese I realized that I’m absolutely crazy about Jack!

  57. CraftyK says:

    Suzanne, you are so inspiring! I long for the day that I can do more with less as well as you! Please enter me into the contest for the phone. Thank you.

  58. Jenny says:

    I’d love to win an iPhone! Enter me please!

  59. Dorothy says:

    Do I have to be smart to use a Smart phone? I would try, but I’m not making any rash promises. I am what I am. I would love to win, though, just to say nyah nyah! to my husband & teenage son, both of whom don’t believe I can do technology!

  60. Cyndi B says:

    Ooh I’d love this! Great giveaway!

  61. shirley says:

    I would love to win the smart phone. I have no phone.I need a phone.Please pick me.I need a phone.is that 75 yet?

  62. Paulette says:

    Do More With Less
    We moved to the country almost two years ago, and many of our friends and family thought we were crazy, moving to the ‘boonies’, away from all the stores and markets. Boy, have we learned a lot. I’ve learned that I can bake bread with very few ingredients, and it’s healthier and tastes better. I’ve learned, from sites like this one, how to make laundry detergent and household cleaners, very inexpensively and more environmentally friendly. I’ve learned there are farmers all around me with lovely fresh eggs, milk, goat cheese, etc., that we absolutely love, and love supporting the local farmers. The best thing we’ve ever done is move away from the city, where there is ‘less’.

  63. MNStacey says:

    I can barely get around my current, cheap cell phone, which doesn’t even give me the last number that called! Oh, how much more lost I would be with a Windows phone 7! 🙂

  64. Cecilia says:

    Simple living rules, but a girl still needs a toy or two! Please enter me to win the Windows Phone 7!

  65. Jennifer Grant says:

    Ooh today’s my birthday so maybe I’ll get lucky!

  66. Amy says:

    This post reminds me of a cookbook we have “More with Less”, love the book too. Would love to go as far as you have Suzanne, really should actually. Maybe that is a good New Years resolution!:-))

  67. Donna Mc says:

    Enter me in the contest please.
    As for as use more/buy less….that’s my middle name these days! My hubby was laid off 2 years ago. Yes, I said 2 years! So things are pretty tight around here. I’m a quilter…so my fun filled trips to the fabric store are gone. BUT quilters have stashes – so I’m using my fabric stash to make projects & Christmas gifts.
    I’m also baking bread, and hubby is canning jelly – more Christmas gifts. But honestly, the #1 thing we’re doing – teaching out boys the art of thrifty-ness. My parents were children of the great depression…they passed their wisdom to me, now I share it with my boys.

  68. BeckyW says:

    Please enter my name in the drawing Suzanne! What a welcome surprise this would be….I seem to have lost my lucky clover and don’t win things typically! I actually LOST my phone and had to dig out a dinasour to use..not that I have high tech phone anyway….I can barely send a text message…

  69. Kellie Green says:

    Oh my goodness I would love to have a fancy phone. All my friends have one. I feel left out. How cool would it be to win this? I would love to find out.

  70. Patricialynn says:

    This might actually be perfect timing – my old Razor phone is finally giving up the ghost. I figure I have anywhere from a week to a month left of use, then it will be dead. So I’d love to win a new phone!

  71. laura b says:

    I owuld love to have a new phone, i have been using the same one for a couple years becasue all the free replacements we get go to my hubby, who is always losing or breaking his phone!

  72. Larissa says:

    Enter me as wel, please!!

  73. Liz says:

    Please enter me. Thanks so much.

  74. CrystalGB says:

    What an awesome giveaway. This phone looks amazing. Thanks for the giveaway.

  75. Bonnie says:

    I would love to win the new Windows Phone 7 and even went to their site and had a look!

  76. summerwindfarm says:

    This year was a *take a break* year for me while we started a new business. Though i suppose starting a new business qualifies as learning something new too..boy has it been an adventure lol!

    Last year i learned to can and to make goats milk cheese. Next year i hope to get back to homesteading full time. Ive missed it so much!

  77. Gini says:

    COOL! I’ve been wondering about those phones, and I do need a new one. I wonder how easy it is to text on one of those things…

  78. mygirls01 says:

    I would love to be entered for the Windows Phone 7 pretty please!!!

  79. Patty says:

    Oh please Oh please, we are about to update phones..now is the PERFECT timing!

  80. joeyfulnoise says:

    For the past year I’ve made all my own cleaning products. Cheap, non toxic & I don’t sneeze! White vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, borax, & castile soap are all you need. The phone would be lovely!

  81. Robin says:

    I would absolutely love to win this phone!Would make a lovely Christmas present for “someone”! Out of necessity, we’ve had to simplify our lives this year.I now make our own bread,rolls and sweets.We have 3 laying hens that we dearly love and contribute to the baked goods. I learned how to make laundry detergent and to make more handmade gifts through crocheting and knitting. Thanks for the great blog, Suzanne !!

  82. Michelle says:

    Why not? I’ve never had a high-techy phone, and it might be fun to see what I’ve been missing!

  83. Jane says:

    I would love this phone! Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks:)

  84. Agnes from Antigo says:

    If I had a new Windows Phone, people would stop laughing at me while I’m using my old 5-year-old phone. Please include me in your drawing.

  85. falnfenix says:

    I’ve started making a LOT of things at home…ice cream, pies, cakes, brownies, and even marshmallows. I’m learning to do more in the kitchen to save us from buying so much from the store, as well. In fact, this weekend I made my first marinara from fresh tomatoes! Talk about a major change – the concept of “add this ’till it tastes good” doesn’t factor in when baking, so the marinara attempt was kindof exciting.

    And the best part? It involved nothing more than fresh tomatoes, some spices, and onion/garlic. I already had all of that in my kitchen. It’s nice making something that doesn’t require a trip to the store. 🙂

  86. mommy2kai says:

    It seems like this year has been all about doing more with less for my family. Not only are we watching what we’re spending, but we’re also doing a lot of purging at our house. Donating clothes and furniture that could help others out, and selling a few other things that we just don’t need. It really is free-ing to have less ‘stuff’ lying around, and it makes us appreciate what we do have that much more!

  87. Laney says:

    Suzanne! What a giveaway! A Windows 7 Phone…my son would go crazy!!
    Please enter me into the drawing.
    After the crazy week you had, this sure is a fun spot at the end of the rainbow!

  88. Hannah says:

    Oh, I need a new phone! Please enter me in the contest. :snoopy:

  89. Faith says:

    Please enter me for the phone! I would make excellent use of it 🙂

  90. Lisa Cummings says:

    I am really trying to learn all I can about doing more myself. I have three grown daughters and think they may need to know these things.

  91. IowaCowgirl says:

    I would like to win the Windows 7 phone. This year I am trying to make laundry detergent. My batch last night is very weird this morning: caked top with liquid underneath. When stirred, it wouldn’t dissolve, but I’m using it anyway….help.

  92. Glasslass says:

    Would love that phone. I have a 9 year old Nokia but I need a better one as DH is very ill and we are always having scheduling conflicts with his various doctors. I was thinking that a good appointment calendar on a new phone would work beautifully but can’t figure out which one. So thanks for the chance to win this one. Love your site. You are on my favorites bar.

  93. VaGirl2 says:

    Since I have been reading your blog, I have started making my own laundry soap and grandmother breads, next will be cheesemaking, I hope…

  94. Rosemeri B. says:

    I would love to have this phone. I only have a land line and it’s time I caught up with today’s technology. Thanks for all your fun posts. I really enjoy reading them every morning.

  95. Linda Segerson says:

    I would love to win this phone, my phone is old as I am, just kidding, cracked in 2 places, dropped too many times. It just keeps on working, but for how long? This is a great giveaway!!

  96. Debbie in Memphis says:

    I would love to be lucky enough for random dot org to pick my number so that I could win an e-mail from Suzanne 🙂 The phone would be NICE, too!!

  97. Steve Oswald says:

    Suzanne,

    We are SO all about doing more with less! We have goats instead of a cow for milk, but otherwise are very similar. We have a flock of chickens and ducks; we have our goats for milk; we purchase beef and pork from friends and neighbors, and are also learning soap and cheese making! Love your posts!

    Steve in Kewaunee

  98. aimeespcr says:

    I would love to be entered into the drawing. The way I have simplified is by moving. We left most of our stuff in Arizona when we moved to Indiana, and that has really shown me how much I don’t actually need!

  99. Kelly M says:

    Oh how I need this phone. We are learning to do more with less with our finances. Diapers are expensive. Good thing we never once had to buy formula. My son is 12 months old.

  100. mariah says:

    I would love to plant a garden that actually produces stuff we can eat this spring! Great giveaway. Thanks!

  101. Robin Crittenden says:

    a Windows 7 phone sounds very interesting. I’ll have to check it out more at the store.

    Thanks for hosting. love reading about your life in the country!

  102. lauren says:

    Wow!!! what a great prize!!! Id love to have a new phone besides taking CITR on the road with me!! and I promise now to wash it in the laundry!!!

  103. Heather E. says:

    I’ve love to be entered into the contest to win the phone, please 🙂 On another note – just the past couple of weeks I’ve learned to make Grandmother’s Bread and mozzerella – due to this wonderful blog of yours. I’ve got a fantastic mother in law and she and I got to do these together – first time for both of us and it was so much fun! Thank you Suzanne!

  104. Other Martha says:

    I live by the premise that “More is just more – not better”. So nothing new (other than groceries) comes into the house unless it replaces something that has broken/worn out. I’m also starting to purge the piles of belongs & donating the extras.

  105. Jenny says:

    Well, I was looking forward to hearing the big giveaway, and it didn’t disappoint! Would love to learn how to use one of these!
    Thanks!
    -Jenny

  106. AA says:

    When I got remarried I (2 years ago today!) was the one that had to move and leave my job, which ended up being a good thing since my crazy thyroid decided to lose it’s little thyroid mind on me and make me feel so bad that working would have been very hard. BUT, I don’t have my own money anymore. This is the phone my husband wants. How cool if I won it and could give it to hin for Christmas!

  107. Gen-IL Homesteader says:

    Well, I don’t actually want to be entered in the giveaway.

    I just wanted to say an Amen! to your post about living with less. Learning to make do is such a great skill! Relying on your pantry instead of the grocery store is very empowering!!

  108. Paulette says:

    I’d love to win that Windows Phone 7!! We have a pretty basic phone now – would be awesome to have internet access and all the other cool stuff!!

  109. Lisa says:

    I make my own jam and pickles instead of buying them from the store.

  110. Chris B says:

    Well, of course I want to win. My husband desperately needs a new phone.

  111. Sharon says:

    I was holding out for the new Verizon iPhone, but this seems like a much better option!

  112. marymac says:

    Please enter me in the Windows phone contest. I need a phone to learn how to use. I finally mastered a computer now I need a new toy, gotta keep this old brain working somehow.

  113. Leesa says:

    Because of your inspiring tale we got a milk cow. She’s just a bred heifer now, so far she’s hanging out with the beef calves, she was a bottle baby so not too wild, and we are taming her for when she has her baby. I can’t wait for fresh milk!

  114. Kelly Gregory says:

    Please enter me in the Windows Phone contest! Would love to learn how to use this phone. I am still in the dark ages with the flip phone :dancingmonster:

  115. Karo says:

    I am technologically challenged so this phone could be a great learning tool for me! Plus my daughter would be jealous.

  116. Rachel says:

    Wow, simplify life with a new smart phone! Like your style Suzanne! 😀

  117. SandyCWV says:

    While I haven’t seen the need to buy a new phone, I would not turn down a free one. I am really glad it is a WP7 that you are giving away though! Better than the others!

  118. Sheila says:

    In doing more with less, I too have canned. This year we’ve put up dill pickles, dilled beans, bread and butter pickles, peaches, beets, jams and jellies. We have chickens…so we will always have eggs. I’ll need to retire to get a lovely milk cow like BP! But a Windows 7 phone… would make my teenagers go”WOW!! Thank you.

  119. Kathi N. says:

    My phone is not smart; as a result I don’t use it (or even turn it on) as much as I need to or should. I would love to Win the Windows phone!

  120. Myzzld says:

    You keep making me want to move to a farm. I wish I could be more self-sufficient.

    And I’d love a new phone!

  121. Brigitte says:

    I love your website and I would LOVE to win a Windows Iphone 7!!

  122. Cassie K says:

    Wow! What a fantastic giveaway!!! I would love to win a Windows7 phone, I have already been hearing rave reviews! Come on random selector! Pick me! :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken:

  123. Screaming_Mimi says:

    Wow, all of my fingers and toes are crossed!

  124. Gencie says:

    I use my phone for everything, but it seems to be dying a slow and painful death! 🙁 A Windows 7 phone would ROCK! 😀

  125. Lana says:

    This would be a fabulous Christmas present for my cousin – he is always doing something for me. Thanks for the chance!

  126. Connie says:

    I would love to win this! Thank so much for the opportunity. Here’s hoping my number comes up for once, it would truly be a miracle!

  127. Tammi says:

    Wow! What a great prize! Please enter me in the contest. Love your website!

  128. Angela says:

    Hey Suzanne!

    Have you taken a look at what my favorite weather man Chris Bailey has been saying about the upcoming Winter? http://www.wsaz.com The models that he has been running has been suggesting for Winter Storms like that of 1950 which I wasn’t born yet; 1976 of which I do remember as a child, 4 feet of snow, no school for 2 weeks or longer; and the snow of 1995, of which we had just moved back to West Virginia and thoroughly enjoyed that deep snow! lol With that I am making sure that I have lots of things on hand just in case I can’t get out of here for 2 weeks. I pretty much have my pantry filled to the point that I can no longer put anything else in there!

    Please enter me in the giveaway for the phone too!

    Angela :wave:

  129. CherShots says:

    I’ve mastered the art of baking bread. We can and freeze our own garden produce. We just bought a very functional antique wood stove that will be put to the test next spring. But I dream of living on a little farm and raising cows and chickens.

  130. Amanda says:

    I really want to learn how to make my own cleaning supplies using what I have in my house. I have dozens of recipes saved, I just need to convince myself to do it already!

  131. Laura says:

    I like to make my own laundry soap powder. It costs less than 2$ to make a batch that lasts a couple of months. I would really like to learn how to make pickles and freezer jam in the future.

  132. ayenbe says:

    More with less tends to mean “do more with less money” in our house! I learned how to can so that I can stockpile on fruits and veggies in the summer so we can have them “cheap” year round! Please enter me in the drawing!

  133. Andrea the Kitchen Witch says:

    What a fun giveaway! I agree less is more most of the time. Good luck with your cheese making endeavors! A windows phone would be AWESOME!

  134. Melissa Collins says:

    I will be able to learn Windows 7 because my husbands company just paid for my husband to go to Windows 7 training and learned everything about it for free. So I now have the manual and my husband is going to teach me. So the phone would be perfect because now I can learn all about it at no cost! :o)

  135. lavenderblue says:

    A Windows 7, huh? I was really kind of hoping to move somewhere that didn’t have cell towers, but I guess you can’t really move to the Middle Ages.

  136. Mary says:

    The phone looks Wonderful. I would have to learn how to use it, but I’m game.

  137. Stacy says:

    I would love to make my own goat cheese, but I doubt my home-owners’ association would allow me to keep a goat in the backyard. The phone would make an awesome Christmas present for my husband.

  138. Barbie says:

    Please enter me in this contest for a Windows 7 phone! Suzanne, you are a perfect role model for doing more with less and living better.

  139. Julie says:

    I’m green with envy. I just love to hear all about how self sustaining you are. I hope to someday live your life.

  140. Shannon says:

    I manage to do quite a bit with not a lot and in this economy it’s been a blessing to rely on that innate behavior I grew up with and grew to model as my own. Thrift shops are my retail therapy. Woodstoves are my warmth in winter. Reduce, reuse, recycle is my mantra. A nifty new phone would certainly streamline my life considering my current model does not exactly qualify as “smart”. Thanks for the chance to win from a fellow WV girl who enjoys your blog!

  141. Pam Smyth says:

    Please sign me up for the phone, I think my daughter could teach me how to use it! I have also been working on streamlining my life, I grow a big organic garden, we have milk goats for making soap (that was the excuse for getting the goats, I really wanted goats) I make cheese and wonderful cajeta as well. I have one milk sheep due to lamb this spring, and a ram that we hope to shear for wonderful fiber. My goal is to live as self sufficient as possible. I still work full time outside the home, and dream of the day when I can spend more time at home, baking, sewing, and just being happy.

  142. Amy says:

    I would love to win this phone! In the interest of frugality, I use a prepaid tracphone. It really is a money saver for someone like me who isn’t very chatty. There are so many times, though, that I wish I had the internet at my fingertips when I’m away from my desktop computer.

  143. DonnaTN says:

    Someone’s going to win that phone and I sure would be thrilled if it was me! There was a popular book back in the 80’s called Living More with Less.

  144. Ulrike says:

    My current phone is a Nokia 2760H. I think using a Windows Phone 7 would cause a bit of culture shock. I’m willing to risk it.

  145. Taunia says:

    I’ve checked out this phone and it has some great features, I would love to win it. Thank you for inspiring us to de-clutter our lives, something to shoot for in 2011!

  146. Rose in Vermont says:

    The more I become self reliant the more I love my little indulgences like wicked cool cell-phones!!! Pick me!

  147. Veroncia V. says:

    Please enter my name in the contest for the Windows Phone 7

  148. BuckeyeGirl says:

    Glad I reread the rules, 25 characters, not 25 WORDS! I know that all your regular readers already know how to do more with less Suzanne, this is a nice bonus for anyone to win though.

  149. Leah says:

    It would be an awesome Christmas gift to win the Windows 7 phone!
    Making things myself instead of buying them is fun and saves me money! Great ideas here at CITR!

  150. ElizaRed says:

    five1 five2 five3 five4 five5=25…yep, I want the phone!

  151. Jean YY says:

    This is a very cool phone!! I would LOVE to win this. Not for me but for my husband. I just upgraded my phone less than a week ago but my husband is in need of a NEW phone! Pick me please!

  152. jillian says:

    Hi, just found your site from New England Cheesemaking and am enjoying it. 🙂

  153. marylhall330 says:

    :sheepjump: Hi there..I just want to thank you for the banana split in a jar. I have gone thru about 19- 1/2 pints. YUMMY…..
    Keep the recipes coming!
    Mary

  154. Jeanne says:

    I would love a new toy to play with. I enjoy trying to learn new technology, and this phone fits the bill! Enter me!

  155. Lori F. says:

    My most important task toward greater self-sufficiency is baking. When I realize I would like some special bread for supper, I don’t have to run to the supermarket to buy it, I can make it myself. I’ve also learned a lot more about using what I have on hand and improvising when the need arises. I love the recipes I have prepared from your site because they don’t require special ingredients and they are made with good, real foods.
    Thanks for your inspiration and entertainment!

  156. Lavon says:

    Wow! I would love to win! BTW: Thanks for the birthday shout-out on the 3rd. Made my day!! You are a peach!

  157. LizL22 says:

    I love reading your stories about the animals. It’s fun experiencing farm life without actually having to do chores! Thank you so much for your wonderful site!

    Oh, and um, yes, I would love a new phone!! :wave:

  158. Sheila Z says:

    phone, what phone? mine is a cast off from my son. Be nice to win one, but that is unlikely.

  159. MMT says:

    Suzanne, I am doing things I would never have imagined a year ago. Making soap, cooking from scratch and all kinds of homemade things, I just love it! Thanks for the inspiration. Would like to be entered in the drawing for the phone, please.

  160. Kathryn says:

    :wave: Hi, I would love to be entered to win this phone. So…pick me, pick me. :yes:

  161. Carolina says:

    Yay! Thank you for the opportunity to win this phone only by reading your blog and commenting. Love your blog! As a farm girl now living in the city, it makes me feel closer to home.

    Thanks!

  162. Peggy says:

    You are well prepared having a milk cow, chickens and all the cheese, canned goods and candles. Ii can make bread, cook on a gas grill and have water stored for the winter. A new phone would be great if the towers don’t fall like they did in the last ice storm.

  163. Lindsay says:

    I would love to win a new phone! My baby likes to use my current phone as a boom-box/chew-toy/entertainment device and mine is pretty grody!

  164. Cyndi says:

    I would love to win the phone. I am working on doing more with less. I have set a goal to rid our home of 10 items per day – these are things I’ve been holding onto for someday. By doing more with less, I am finding more time with family, more time on things I like (canning and cooking) and more time to experiment with things I want to try (gardening and cheesemaking).

    I am a city girl who would love to move to a small acreage…doing more with less gets me closer to my dream!

  165. amandaC says:

    I moved across several state lines in order to see more of my family (and allow my 1-year-old daughter to visit her grandparents more frequently) with less travel time!

  166. Susan says:

    How exciting! We get to enter to win a phone AND count characters!

  167. AndiK says:

    I’ve taken a sewing class, and learned how to make my own pillowcase. Now, I’ve got the fever, and I see quilts in my future!

  168. Amber says:

    Wow this phone would be great! It would be nice to finally have Smartphone 🙂 Thank!

  169. Suzy Smith says:

    :fairy:

    Oh my goodness, I want this phone. I would dump my Pantech Jest asap for this.

  170. Erin Morris says:

    My family of 8 planted our first garden this year. It wasn’t wildly successful, but did it feel amazing to serve and eat cucumbers and cantaloupe for free (well my back paid for it) out of our own TINY backyard!

  171. Deb Clemens says:

    :sheep: I have enjoyed exploring your site; this year I have retired, bought a smaller property and house, and will be moving my fiber farm to a warmer climate, 700 miles away from northern new york. We have been pretty self-sufficient for a few years, and plan to de-stash and downsize in our retirement. A smartphone would be pretty cool, but not sure if we’ll get service in our new remote locale! :sheep:

  172. Senta Sandberg says:

    I keep trying to live with less. The powers that be say I can live with even less. Humm.

  173. Samantha says:

    Id love a new phone! I love the idea of less is more especially now as i clean out my closet 🙂

  174. Bahiyyih says:

    I do more with less money by cooking straight from the garden…tastes better too.

  175. Turtle Mom says:

    I started canning my own homemade spaghetti sauce, apple sauce, apple butter, and pickles this fall.

  176. Ellen says:

    I like your blog name- kinda wandered over here for the phone thingy- doing more with less? Hun, I live in the MidWest- snow me in, I am good to go- well unless we all go stir crazy!!

  177. Jan J. says:

    I just lost our cheap prepaid T-Mobile phone while walking with my kids and dogs in the woods, so this would be wonderful to win!

  178. judydee says:

    I’m not very “techy”, but would like to be entered for the phone. I’m willing to learn. Thanks for the opportunities.

  179. CindyP says:

    My life since I started doing more with less hasn’t been happier! Some imagination and a whole lot of determination can make for a very happy woman! So would a Windows 7 phone 😉

  180. Peggy says:

    I did about halr of the list of blogs giving away Windows phone yesterday, but Suzanne your’s is still the best!

  181. NBC in Roane County says:

    I am glad that you fought back agand didn’t let them get away with stealing your picture .

  182. Kelli says:

    We moved to the country about two years ago. On our three and a half acres, we have chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and rabbits. Next spring we are plannning to branch out a little and get a nanny goat and a pig. Still dreaming about 40 or 50 acres someday.

  183. jennifer says:

    I want to get back to baking every day and cooking 3 meals. That would be lovely. So would a new phone! Your blog inspires me and makes me yearn for simplicity.

  184. Tammy/psmflowerlady says:

    Learned to can, make yogurt and MY OWN Hamburga Helpa! Next on the list – laundry soap.

  185. ayenbe says:

    I make my own laundry soap (powder, haven’t tried liquid yet). Sooo much cheaper than paying what they want at the grocery store! Please enter me in the drawing.

  186. Denise says:

    I love reading your blog each day! I look forward to seeing your pictures and reading the accompanying stories! Keep up the good work and have a great day!

  187. Kelly M says:

    Oh how I need this phone. We are learning to do more with less with our finances. Diapers are expensive.

  188. Traci Best says:

    My goal to do more with less is to learn to stockpile appropriate pantry items. Instead of cans and cans and cans of beans (we eat a LOT of beans!) I want to develop several recipes using 3-4 types and stockpile DRY BEANS. They really are not THAT much more trouble to make…it just takes a little planning! Today’s effort is Little House on the Prairie Baked Beans. I’m making a big pot…so I hope they are good! 😉

  189. evonne says:

    i would to win the phone!! what an awsome giveaway
    thanx for doing what you do… i love your blog

  190. Heather E. says:

    I can’t help but think even in the midst of all of these economic problems how truly lucky and blessed we are to live in the US. As I try to make do with less this year (and in some ways more) I am thankful.

    I grew up on a farm with often no electricity, no running water when the pump broke from our well (mom would hall it in buckets to the house) and a wood stove and furnace. Even though my husband and I just bought our first home (a foreclosure- sadly) in the suburbs, parts of me still miss the barn full of hay and all of the animals we used to have. Thank you for sharing Suzanne!

  191. cyndi says:

    Day 2 – Entry 2
    Each day I’m going to share one way I simplify.
    I am canning tonight – Turkey. I should have about 7 quarts. These make quick dinners and can be heated with or without my gas stove. I can cook it over a fire too. Simplify for nights when to much is going on and getting back to my roots. Love it.

  192. Bonnie says:

    Are we supposed to leave day #2’s entry here? Seems confusing, but I hope this is the correct place!

  193. CraftyK says:

    Day 2 Entry – I made Grandmother Bread for the 2nd time on Sunday and it came out even better this time. I’m sill perfecting my technique, but I can’t wait to start experimenting with all of the variations. :snoopy:

  194. Mary says:

    Thank you for your inspiration each day, and for the opportunity to win this great phone.

  195. Leanna says:

    I had a baby, therefore, I do less of anything that I once liked to do.

  196. wvhomecanner says:

    this phone would be fun 🙂 Great idea cyndi on sharing one thing a day! I can year-round – having and using a pressure canner opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Love the ready-to-eat soups and things especially. Better for us too!

    dede

  197. aimeespcr says:

    I would like to be entered again!

    Another way I am doing less is more is with my son. Because we moved and left some toys behind we have come up with cute crafts to keep him entertained and the house pretty!

  198. mygirls01 says:

    please enter me in the windows phone 7 giveaway!!

  199. Mafong says:

    Please enter my name in the drawing for the Windows Phone. I have thought about getting one, but could not justify the expense at this time.

  200. mariah says:

    Great giveaway, Suzanne! Thanks for taking part it in and opening it to us!

  201. Stargirl Heuser says:

    Wow! Great giveaway! My phone is seriously a POS. I’d love to win a new phone!!!!

  202. Ramona says:

    After telling my husband about your blog and cheesemaking. I have him wanting a cow now too!

  203. Sarah says:

    I love doing more with less (like making big dinners and taking leftovers to work the next day)! You’re right, doing more with less is freeing!

  204. Suzanne Perry says:

    I would love to be entered in the giveaway. I am trying to gradually simplify so many things in life. It is amazing how much “extra” crap there is in this world to fill our time and homes with.

  205. Mandy says:

    Less is more! Especially when it comes to cooking–at least for me. The simpler the recipe and ingredients, the better chance of success that my family will eat it!

  206. Cassondra says:

    I had no idea you could freeze milk! I have been wasting so much milk not knowing that! Is it gross when it is unfrozen? This is probably a bad post to ask that on. I’d like to win the phone too! 🙂

  207. Laney says:

    Freeze milk? I love it! I had no idea!
    And would love to win that phone too!

  208. Jean Morford says:

    Please enter me in the Windows Phone 7 giveaway. I do more with less by going through my closet and giving anything I have not worn in a year to the thrift store.

  209. Em D says:

    What I’ve done is to simply do less… I decided if it’s stressing me out, then it’s probably not worth doing. It’s freeing to say no to things!

  210. Lori Ann says:

    I would love to be entered to win the Windows Phone 7. I need a new phone.

  211. Gienah Ghurab says:

    Wow, what a giveaway! I’m game to enter and try for the phone.

  212. Paula Bogdan says:

    We are decluttering slowly and I grin each time another box goes to GoodWill! We’ve started to can, and looking at all those jars lined up makes us smile!

  213. cheryl says:

    What a nice giveaway…I also have learned that I don’t need cabinets and shelves full of ready made foods and “convenient” products. Have cut down grocery list by about half. Makes me be more creative with what is on hand and I have found out it is fun to try and come up with my own recipes. No complaints yet… :yes:

  214. Dianne Seavers says:

    I would love to be entered in the contest to win the phone!

    Thank you,
    Dianne seavers

  215. Gem says:

    What do you use to freeze your milk in? What’s a Windows Phone?
    See…-been livin’ on a farm a bit long enough to not know the latest gadgets. Fine with me if I do win though!

    • Suzanne McMinn says:

      Gem, I freeze milk in gallon-size freezer ziploc baggies. (Don’t use the slide lock bags–the milk will leak. Use the zipper lock bags.) I freeze a half gallon in each gallon size baggie. I use it for drinking milk, cheese, whatever. Milk thaws great!

  216. Shae says:

    Multi-tasking is the key to my powers. If I’m not doing two things at once I consider my time wasted. It’s amazing how many blog posts one can read while blow drying hair.

  217. Jane says:

    Well, I made some homemade yogurt today. I have a gallon of yogurt all for about $4!! Plus, I bought 64oz of Stonyfields Farm (my fav.) cause it was on sale. So, all in all, I am making do with MORE.. lots more!
    Okay, just putting my name in the hat for the phone – again!

  218. Annie says:

    Love your website – I visit every day!

  219. Kirsten S says:

    Well, with 5 kids, I need all of the organizational help I can get! Enter me please!

  220. Betty says:

    I thoroughly enjoy your blog. I too enjoy the country life, having lived in the city for several years, I now live here in the country where I love it. I have animals, am bottle feeding two goats and the look on my grandchildren’s faces when they are here is amazing. I would love to win the phone.

  221. Cecilia says:

    I canned salsa for the first time this year using the Wonderful Salsa recipe from this site! And I would so love to win the Windows Phone!

  222. mommafox says:

    Since I grew up in the era of the rotary dial phone and “party” lines, this new fangled phone might be a challenge, but I am always up for a good challenge. :shimmy:

  223. Samantha says:

    I freeze whatever I can so I do not end up throwing stuff away in the end, and can use it at a later time. Awesome giveaway

  224. nell morell says:

    Would love, love to have a phone that actually works in the country. This one does work in the country doesn’t it? Not like cell phones that you have to park your butt on the porch railing and lean over to the right and oh theres the signal.

  225. KB says:

    I would loooove a new phone! Mine keeps shutting off spontaneously. Drives me nuts. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!! Loove it!

  226. Vicki says:

    I’d love to win a phone. Then spend the next year figuing out how to use it! lol

  227. Journey11 says:

    Woo-hoo, right on! When you’ve got your pantry well stocked with staples, less trips to the store means more money in your pocket!

    This year I learned to pressure can. Canning some of my meats means I won’t be outta luck if we have another big ice storm that knocks out the power for a week (currently don’t have a generator.) I’m also looking forward to canning my own soups which is so much more cost effective.

    I’ve been studying up on dairy goats and preparing to build a pole barn. That will be next year’s project. I only have one acre, so no cow for me!

    Don’t know if I really need a fancy phone, but I suppose I could find a worthy relative to gift it to. 😉

  228. Tobey says:

    I would love to win a phone, too. The change I need to make is to get rid of the mindset that a “still good” that I don’t NEED NOW should be passed along to someone else.

  229. Kathy says:

    Your giveaways are getting spectacular! Please enter me for the phone.

  230. alpacamomma says:

    Please enter me for the windows 7 phone ! Better to keep in touch with my addiction “chickens in the road” I love this site, I have learned so much about keeping it simple !Just canned 15 quarts of my home grown chickens ! YUUUmmmm

  231. Maureen says:

    By visiting this site and trying things like baking bread I have found that you can store some basic items and create many different things.

  232. Gem says:

    Ohhh – the things I am learning from you Suzanne! Thank you for all you do. And that phone thingy…there’s a whole-lotta-arm wrestling going on around here. Must be something coooool!

  233. wvhomecanner says:

    It would be fun to actually have a phone that’s cooler than my adult kids have :happyflower:
    Another thing I have done on a lesser scale than most.

    dede

  234. Cassondra says:

    That’s so awesome you answered my question Suzanne! Thanks so much! I’ll start freezing milk asap! I love saving money! Anyway, please enter me to win the phone again!

  235. Julia says:

    I really enjoy reading about the animals.

  236. Denise says:

    I love reading all the different posts each day. Often, I have tears in my eyes as I read.

  237. Linda Segerson says:

    Boy do I need this phone, don’t know how much longer my current phone will last, had it a long time, its actually very outdated!

  238. NBC in Roane County says:

    i think this phone would be awesome then i could get on CITR anytime i wanted to :fairy:

  239. mygirls01 says:

    I would love to be entered in the windows phone 7 giveaway!!

  240. Mary Ellen says:

    I would love to win this phone. It might take me a while to learn how to use it, but I bet I would have fun learning. Imagine me with a fancy phone. Woo hoo!

  241. Kelly says:

    Please enter me to win the phone. We are doing more with less, or should I say I am doing more with less by breastfeeding. My son is 12 months old and we haven’t bought formula one time!

  242. Nikki says:

    I was so excited this year to have my first garden. Being newly married, and building a home on my husband’s family’s farm, I was anxious to start living the domestic farm life! I did all sorts of canning this year for the first time, and look forward to doing things like growing enough tomatos to make my own sauces next year!!

  243. CraftyK says:

    I made your homemade tortillas this weekend and they were awesome as fajitas last night. Most of them looked more like the state of Texas than the perfectly round store-bought tortialls, so I called them “rustic” tortillas. 😆 They were a big hit! :hungry:

  244. ayenbe says:

    We started making homemade doughnuts. Who knew that they could be so inexpensive??? Would love a new phone… 🙂

  245. windspiritwhimsies says:

    Wow, it would be so awesome to win this phone! My current phone is so ancient. So fantastic of you to have this giveaway! Thanks!

  246. Mary says:

    I am really getting into the down-sizing by cleaning room by room and getting rid of stuff. I didn’t know I had so much. Well, at least a phone doesn’t take up much space.

  247. cyndi says:

    Day 3 – going to continue canning the turkey. And I’m going to make some quick mix so I can have pancakes for supper for my DS. He’ll like that and quick mix is new for use – we have no more bisquick…

  248. Amy M. says:

    I would love a new phone. Thanks for the tip about freezing milk, I think I’ll do that so I have milk for my tea when someone else finishes the milk and doesn’t tell me!

  249. Kellie Green says:

    I really would love to win this. I hope I do. Fingers crossed.

  250. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the Giveaway :woof:

  251. Tricia Fields says:

    I love making homemade bread and cinnamon rolls. Living on a farm, our freezer and pantry are stocked w/veggies. Homemade salsa is my favorite! And I recently started making my own laundry soap. I love it! Good luck w/you cheesy adventures!

  252. Mafong says:

    I believe than people who do more with less are happier. Please enter my name in the drawing for the Windows phone.

  253. Marjorie Wolson says:

    Please enter me in the SmartPhone contest!

  254. Brandy M. says:

    Oh my, what a fabulous giveaway!

    I must say, you have inspired me to make cream cheese. I can’t WAIT!

  255. Lisa says:

    You’re right about feeling more prepared for winter and bad weather. When you have or raise what you need at home, you feel more secure. Oh – and I also would like to enter in the giveaway ~

  256. Erika Williamson says:

    :sheepjump:
    I would like to learn how to make my own soap and hair care stuff.
    this last year i been wanting to do more, and i plan to do it!!

  257. Mike says:

    I’ve learned to make breads, scones and corn and flour tortillas, done some of my own gardening using found materials as raised beds, making a lot of my cleaning supplies from low or non toxic ingredients around the house, and reused and recycled as much as I possibly can including re-purposing as much as I can. And yes, there is the element of conservation but there is also a large element of need, budgetary restraints are a great motivator.

  258. mommy2jj says:

    I have tripled the size of my garden. I also have mastered the pressure canner. If it can be eaten I am using it. Now if only I had room for a cow!

  259. Cindy M. Roberts says:

    I like to make candy.

  260. debbie says:

    Since my father in law died a few weeks ago and we are going thru his house I have decided I will not leave that to my kids….I had already started purging last year..and now I will get rid of the thinkgs I couldnt brng myself to last year….I STILL have not worn the clothes I saved and thought I would wear…I STILL have not used to extra utensils and pots and pans…my goal is to have my home cleared out of clutter by the new year….my biggest obstacles are my sewing and scrap booking and crafting supplies in general…this is SOOO hard to get rid of things I think I might want down the road, but ya know what I have learned…once its out of sight..its out of mind!!!!!

  261. Mandy says:

    The bread machine makes my life so much simpler. I through the ingredients in for the dough, let it get to the first rise, then its ready to turn into dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, or just good old fashioned bread.

  262. Bonnie says:

    Day #3 entering myself in the Windows 7 phone giveaway. Thanks!

  263. Kellie Henninger says:

    I have just found your site throught the Cheesemaking newsletter and I LOVE it!!! Thank you for posting your pics & recipes and successes you have had with cheesemaking. I’m looking forward to trying some of your recipes soon. We have 3 Milking Shorthorn cows and a dozen dairy goats, besides numerous other farm critters. Keep up the funny stories!

  264. Roxana Banatzianou says:

    Hi, Please enter me in the draw!Wow, this is big! 🙂

    I love your blog! Greetings from Europe!

    Roxana

  265. evonne says:

    oohh got to remember to enter every day!!!!!!!!!!
    *makes mental note and then realizes that wont help and goes to find the stickynotes*

  266. Laney says:

    First Grandmother Bread… then Mozzarella cheese and now a Windows 7 phone giveaway?
    Sign me up…

  267. Layla says:

    Oh my Lordy! This is a fantastic giveaway!

  268. Jane says:

    Okay, here I am again.. angling for that phone! Is that 25 characters? I think so! (You’re going to get so bored of this!)

  269. BeckyW says:

    Ok…so I entered this contest on the first day and the more I have thought about the Windows 7 phone….I HAVE TO HAVE IT!!!!
    I’m so tired of having dial up internet at home, and my hopes for high speed through our phone company are now SQUASHED! I’m a half mile too far to get it…and they have no plans to add further access due to people using their CELL PHONES FOR INTERNET!

  270. Jennifer says:

    I want to win a Windows phone!! Pick me! Finances are super tight right now, so please pick me!!!!!

  271. Gienah Ghurab says:

    Since we can enter once per day, I am going to try again for the Windows Phone 7. Even though I don’t think I NEED it. *’.’*

  272. Rys says:

    I would love,love,love to win one of these phones!!!

  273. Erika says:

    I love how you make so much of your own things. I made my own Laundry soap this weekend. Yay me! I’m trying.

  274. Deni says:

    Now I seem to be living without a car. I would love to win the phone so I can call someone for a ride!

  275. heidiannie says:

    Your giveaways are always so much fun- from party doorprizes to books and cheesemaking kits to phones! I’m hoping the next one will be a mushroom log! Until then, the phone is a wonderful prize!

  276. Peggy says:

    One of the things I have less of is money. No I don’t want lots of money, because I know many people with money who are not happy. Many of the people I know with “money” are just pretending to have money. What they really have is debt. I have less money and except for a really small EMS bill I have no debt. What I do have is happiness….and lots of it.

  277. patrice says:

    I would really enjoy the Windows phone. hubby always gets the new phone and I get the hand-me-down. I’d get to be top dog in the household phone world! “Hee-hee-hee. Look at me!”:dancingmonster:

  278. Cecilia says:

    I love your blog Suzanne! (shameless flattery). It was your site that finally pushed me to start making my own bread! And I would love the phone. 🙂

  279. Megan says:

    Huh, that’s interesting. I wonder why the comment character rules are so specific? Oh well! I can pad my comment a little bit to be entered, I suppose!

  280. Darlene in North Ga says:

    Wow, it would be fun to have a nice phone. I’d like to win.

  281. drucillajoy says:

    I’ll bet less realy is more with that cool new phone…I’d love to win it :yes:

  282. Tawanka says:

    Cause I dropped my cell phone in the toilet and it did not float.

  283. Samantha says:

    a new phone would be great. i can barely afford a new gadget right now so this would be awesome

  284. judydee says:

    Would love to win the phone. Sometimes I need to be pushed into learning “hard” things-like new technology.

  285. Gem says:

    Here I am again-and will make it a point to not get lost in reading all the wonderful posts and stories. I will FIND that post on how to make your own Laundry Soap as I am down to the last scoop. That is one way I will make my life simpler – I hope 🙂

  286. wvhomecanner says:

    Da phone, da phone! Wait, that’s supposed to be da plane…. oh well :sheepjump:

    dede

  287. Peggy says:

    We are getting less comments and that give us who comment daily more of a chance to win!

  288. Lynn Wood says:

    Because of the tightening of finances, I’ve had to learn, or re-learn frugality, such as all the uses for white vinegar. (So much!) And, yes, I’d love to win that phone. :dancingmonster:

  289. Pastor Jim says:

    Pick me! Pick me! Ooooh, ooooh, pick me!

  290. Marjorie Wolson says:

    Please enter me in the SmartPhone giveaway!

  291. Granny Mountain says:

    I have a TracPhone that’s almost 10 years old so that’s about at frugal as it gets! It fits my calling, “I’ll be home soon”…”I’m gonna be a little late”…”Bring home milk!” But I would LOVE to have the Smart Phone! I use my husband Iphone so I’m not completely out of touch!!

  292. mommy2jj says:

    Please pick me. I am so thrifty that I still have an old razor phone.

  293. Bonnie says:

    Day 4 of signing in for the Windows phone drawing! Thanks for the chance.

  294. Sjarpm Wolfe says:

    I love your blog! I refer to your recipes often. Would love to win this contest.

  295. irishhillstrish says:

    Silly me, I forgot you could enter more than once.. so whoop de doooooo here I am again 🙂

  296. Linda Segerson says:

    Hope I win, Hope I win, need a new phone so badly!

  297. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the giveaway :sheep:

  298. patrice says:

    The Windows phone would be great to have. I’m all for the concept of doing with less, but there are days I really want MORE. I could go back to work fulltime and make significantly more, but my kids are my biggest priority. Less can sometimes be more:)

  299. Kellie Green says:

    I really want to win this! I am hoping I will. Positive thinking, positive thinking:)

  300. NBC in Roane County says:

    I WANNA WIN ! I WANNA WIN ! I WANNA WIN ! i WANNA WIN !
    DO YOU THINK IF I REPEAT THIS ENOUGH IT WILL HAPPEN ? :snoopy:

  301. MamaKoch says:

    We’ve always tried to live “homemade”, but love to try new things. I want to make homemade soap but am worried about it getting out our “farm yuck”.
    Would love to have a smart-phone. When you live in the bonnies, you don’t always have internet reception, so I think a phone might be another option.
    Thanks!

  302. Jenn G says:

    Thanks for sharing your ideas on how to simplify our lives while enriching them at the same time. My goal is to de-clutter my home and my mind and focus more on what is important in life. Our world has become too focused on “stuff” and people are becoming more isolated from each other. I’ve got plans to bake and share those goodies this holiday season to show my family and friends just how much I care about them. Your site is my resource for some great ideas. Thanks!

  303. lauren says:

    EVERYDAY!! Well darn it I didnt know that 🙂

  304. Mandy says:

    PLease enter me into the contest for the phone! I love reading your blog Suzanne.I love making things homemade and you have so many useful recipes. I come here everyday to see what is new!

  305. Kelly says:

    Please enter me to win the phone. I really, really, need it. I have a free phone that we got when we signed up for our cell phone service. It isn’t fancy and I realy want a fancy phone!

  306. Amber says:

    I do believe my phone just took another step toward dying, so I better enter this contest.

  307. drucillajoy says:

    I’m hopeing the person who really needs the phone the most will win it & that’s probally not me…but if I do happen to win, I’d be very appreciative ~ :yes:

  308. evonne says:

    adding my entry for today!! *enter every day… enter every day… enter every day* MUST REMEMBER!!!

  309. Darlyn says:

    Clover told me to tell you to pick me to win the phone!

  310. pattyb says:

    Could I be entered into the phone drawing, please? It would be awesome to have a phone like that. My husband would be jealous!
    Thank you,
    pattyb of ohio

  311. Jean Morford says:

    Entering the phone contest again, 11/18/10. I used to have a plaque that said “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

  312. Mary says:

    Back again, in hopes to win the phone. Well, back I go to my cleaning.

  313. CraftyK says:

    If I can just track down some washing soda, I’m going to make my own laundry detergent this weekend to do more laundry with less money and less plastic packaging! It’s hard to find washing soda around here, however.

  314. Yogi says:

    Would love to have a Windows Phone.

  315. Cyndi says:

    Day 3 – do more with less – okay today I’m not going to do more with less, I’m not going to do period. I’m taking the night off. I’ll check email/blogs once about 9:00, but outside of that, I’m spending the night with my DS, figuring out where his phone is, chatting and just being 11 year old silly with him.

  316. Beth says:

    First, I LOVE your site, and even more I love the pepperoni roll recipe. Yumyum! I would love to win a new smart phone!

  317. Maureen says:

    For me, I am trying to get a good amount of simple recipes that my family likes so that I can have the ingredients on hand.

  318. Erin H. says:

    Having less is inspiring! My husband and I have never regretted buying a smaller house than we could afford, giving us less to take care of and more opportunity to actually enjoy it.

  319. Amber says:

    This would be so awesome to win, this smartphone has a host of awesome features I want to try out so bad! Thanks!

  320. Denise says:

    I would love to win this phone. Please enter me in to the drawing again 🙂

  321. Rys says:

    Did I mention I fished my current phone out of the toilet last week? :hissyfit: Please put me down to win a new phone.
    Thanks!

  322. Nancy Straka says:

    Suzanne as I get older I find myself trying to get rid of some things. I have to much clutter. I have chickens and love having fresh eggs. I want a goat for milk and butter and am trying to convince the hubby to let me have them. I would like to be back to the land like you. You are truly an inspiration!!

    I would also love to win this phone. Enter me in the drawing.

  323. Mandy says:

    With a new smart phone I could definitely learn to do more with less. I’m all about trimming down things in my pockets!

  324. mygirls01 says:

    ooh pretty please enter me for the windows phone 7!!

  325. Craig says:

    Less Christmas shopping means more time for everything else! By mutual agreement, my friends and family have scaled back gift giving plans this year to focus on shared activities and good food to celebrate the season.

  326. BeckyW says:

    Sign me up….yet again for this wonderful giveaway!!!!! I hope I win…I hope I win…I think I can…I can…. :dancingmonster:

  327. Deni says:

    This living with less has inspired me to get rid of one thing every day until the end of the contest. Hopefully at the end I can get rid of my stupid phone!!! Today I got rid of a shirt that while wearing for the first time I got an unremovable stain. :wave:

  328. mirela blajan says:

    Most people whine, saying “I never win”
    I win once in a few decades, but big : I won the U.S.A visa lottery, played in Eastern Europe. That was the most fantastic win I could dream of! Working hard I built a great life for my son in the U.S. I am SO grateful for that win, no matter how hard it was to make it here!

  329. Mafong says:

    Last year I made a New Year’s resolution–I would take items to Goodwill at least once a month. I haven’t missed a one of them!!
    I need a Windows phone.

  330. Connie W says:

    How very exciting! My daughter would love this! I love this give away and you’re lucky to already have so many comments.

    I’m also a big fan of freeing yourself. Although it’s so simple, I absolutely love our hens and their fresh eggs. We have about 9 chickens :chicken: and they ensure that not only we have enough fresh eggs for our family, but our friends as well. We’re able to educate them about store bought eggs, the horrible lives most of those chickens live and let’s all remember, omelets aren’t just for breakfast!

  331. Jane says:

    Oh my gosh, I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO want this phone!
    Hope this is my winning entry! Have a good night.. J.

  332. KB says:

    Dear random generator, pick me!!!

  333. Samantha says:

    i love using wax paper for everything, lining dishes, easily move sifted flour, so useful and cheap!

  334. mommafox says:

    This would make a wonderful Christmas gift for my DD. She LOVES all those techy things. :snoopy:

  335. Diane Gordon says:

    Please enter me in the contest for the windows 7 phone.
    Making soap today!

  336. judydee says:

    Stopping by to leave my comment for today. Hope this is the one to win the phone. Have a great day!

  337. Yogi says:

    By using Quick Steps in Microsoft Outlook, I do more and do it quicker.

  338. Maureen says:

    Making do with less can become quite a fun challenge and it’s always fun to find new ways to do it.

  339. patrice says:

    I’m forever borrowing hubby’s phone because it has all kinds of interesting features. This phone would free me from begging. Begging is ever so unattractive!This way I can be even more attractive to my hubby!

  340. Bonnie says:

    Day 5 of signing up for the Windows Phone giveaway! Just keeping count for myself.

  341. kerri says:

    I’d love to be entered in the phone giveaway. Thanks Suzanne!

  342. Other Martha says:

    I’ve never had anything but a landline. Might be fun to have a cellphone. Pick me!

  343. wvhomecanner says:

    Throwing my name in the pile once again for a shot at this phone :shimmy:

    dede

  344. Mary says:

    We are cutting way back on buying Christmas gifts this year. This phone would make a fabulous gift!

  345. Mafong says:

    Making bread today. Please enter my name in the drawing for the Windows phone.

  346. Denise says:

    I am so in love with the do more with less concept. Right now, I am in the process of clearing out my kids toys and clothes, which will be passed along to others.
    Have a great day!

  347. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the Giveaway 🙂

  348. Kellie Green says:

    I hope I win this phone. Wondering if it could make me smarter? Hopefully I will find out soon.

  349. ~Shannon~ says:

    I work with a lot of young-uns and they laugh at my old school phone!! Help bring this momma up to date! 🙂

  350. Carrie Johnston says:

    I would like to win a Window 7 phone. I am going to try making mozerella over Thanksgiving weekend…all due to your adventures in cheese making!

  351. evonne says:

    today’s entry for the phone… is it drawing time yet?? is it?? are we there yet???

  352. NBC in Roane County says:

    :snoopy: I WANT TO WIN :snoopy: I WANT TO WIN :snoopy: I WANT TO WIN SO I CAN BE UP TO DATE :snoopy: DID I MENTION I WOULD LIKE TO WIN :snoopy:

  353. heidiannie says:

    I don’t even know if I would know how to use the phone, but I’m still learning every day, so it would be a challenge. Thanks for the chance!

  354. Helen M Walker says:

    We just moved to the country in January of this year. After 30 years of sitting at a computer, I have been fencing, building, re-routing creeks and caring for horses and now a few (9) hens. Wasn’t time for a garden this year but it’s on the list for next-did plant fruit trees this year though. Also thinking of raising meat goats. Wish I had done this 30 years ago! I’m getting back to my baking/canning skills and love it. Also on the agenda is learning how to quilt and getting back to my counted cross stitch Please enter me in your contest for the phone, thanks.

  355. Mandy says:

    I think your recipes and tips are going to help me do more with less. Great site. 🙂

  356. Wendy says:

    I’ve started canning seriously, and that is a blessing. I also have stocked up on grains and pastas. I even tried canning cakes. (It works.) Using my wood stove I finally had an electric bill lower than I have had in ages.

  357. Layla says:

    Whoopity whoop whoop! I’m entering again!

  358. Amanda says:

    I would love to win the Windows Phone 7!

  359. mommy2jj says:

    I want a cow too! I guess I will have to just milk my friends instead. Please enter me.

  360. cyndi says:

    Day Five (right – messed up the count yesterday)- Entry 5…
    To do more with less today I am going to clean out my freezer and plan all my December meals with meat I already have on had. (I am buying about 150 lbs of 93% ground beef and need to make some room for it in the freezer – so this is a great excuse to do that.) For years I’ve been meal planning and everyone once in awhile you just gotta do with what you got in the freezer!

  361. Rhea says:

    I’m jealous. That’s so cool that you’re pretty self-sufficient these days. I love the winter, but our winter weather here in North Texas isn’t that severe. We only have a day or two of snow, tops. Maybe one or two ice days.

  362. Pete says:

    Oh well, trying to catch up here, and at least get another entry in! Would still like to win the phone.

    And be completely self-sufficient…

  363. Crystal Huhn says:

    Used to live in the 12th largest city in the world…now I have 12 neighbors in a 5 mile radius. So…I’m a hippie who can’t waste. ANYTHING. I do bathe though. Love the blog and would truly apprecite the phone. Peace all!

  364. geena22 says:

    I want the phone. i think it would be great.

  365. irishhillstrish says:

    Another entry, another day. Touche’ 🙂
    I still wanna win!

  366. Cindy M. Roberts says:

    I also like to make my own pancake mix with whole grain flour, dairy free for my daughter. It’s not easy to find dairy-free mix in-store.

  367. Lara J says:

    I am going to have a milk goat to do more with less this year. I’d like to enter to win the phone too. Lara

  368. mygirls01 says:

    another day, another entry for the windows phone 7!!

  369. lauren says:

    Entering for Friday!!!!!!!!! 🙂

  370. Gem says:

    I am now going to master bread making-if its the last thing I do!
    Here is my daily entry for that phone thingy.

  371. Lynda Treen says:

    Just love your site. I visit it every day to find out what great recipe or canning idea you are coming up with. Keep up the good work. Lynda Treen

  372. Julia says:

    This year for Christmas to save money I’m making lemonade out of lemons, or in my case, making a lot of presents out of a cedar tree that fell in our yard during a large storm. I’ve made cedar planks to give to my friends who cook, platters, etc. Being green has saved me some green 🙂

  373. Jane says:

    Hi Suzanne, I am glad things are calmer in your neck of the woods! I am entering for the phone again.. thanks and have a good night.

  374. M Ewalt says:

    :sheepjump: I love living simply with less too! It makes us USE what we have – which I think today is a big problem – there is just too much hoarding of EVERYTHING and with the running around here and there that goes with it – no one is taking the time to enjoy & really use ANYTHING! And that is just sad 😥
    It makes my heart & home a happy place when things can be put to good use daily :snoopy:

  375. Darlyn says:

    Ok, today…Poky told me to tell you to pick me to win the phone!

  376. Taunia says:

    This phone is the Bomb-Diggity. Please pick me, Mister (or Ms.) random.org!

  377. Rys says:

    Another day another entry. I would very much LOVE to win this phone!!!

  378. Lisabeth Olson says:

    Well, I found a “Chicken in the road.” Here I was buzzing along looking for the comment area for me and here is Suzanne telling someone to use the correct type of bags for freezing their milk. You are a wonder and you never miss an opportunity to help someone. I think you Suzanne should win the phone actually!
    I milk cows,raise pigs, and beef cows, we have a donkey, and chickens and they get in the road out here and I shoo them back into their pasture because some crazy driver could kill them in the road. We also have 3 cats and a dog. I bake, all kinds of things, make make cheese and can anything I can get my big hands on even nuts. I make candy and sew, knit, crochet and do a number of other crafty things. I am also going to start canning cheese. I make mozzarella, ricotta, farmer cheese and fried cottage cheese. Fried cottage cheese is something my grandmother used to make when I lived in the hills of Virginia about 3 1/2 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway in a country place called Fancy Gap. Alot of years ago.
    I don’t want the phone, I have no use for a newer one. I have light years to go before I use this 3 year old one up. BLESSING Suzanne

  379. Jearv says:

    Hmm, doing more with less. Well, my family has decided that it would be beter for us to make homecooked meals than order out on some weeknights and it’s definitely more with less. More healthy with less money!
    It would be awesome to win this phone!

  380. Samantha says:

    I love using chicken broth to take shortcuts during the holidays and food. Its inexpensive and adds tons of flavor to any dish

  381. CindyP says:

    Doing more with less makes for a very imaginative life!

  382. lauren says:

    Saturdays entry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  383. judydee says:

    Here is my Saturday entry as well. Now I’m off to get started on Saturday chores!

  384. Pete says:

    Another day, another opportunity to win a phone! How is THAT for doing more with less?

    PS These smart phones do still dial telephone numbers, right?

  385. patrice says:

    I’d like the Windows phone. I also like the idea of doing more with less. One would think the current economy would have more folks thinking that way. I can have a new phone and I’ll do with less of something else. Not chocolate!

  386. Gem says:

    Must one be smart to use one of these thingys?
    Anyway, you can still teach on old dog new tricks! Thank you for the opportunity.

  387. irishhillstrish says:

    Wow, lots of comments and entries. Enter me again too!
    Thank you!

  388. mommy2jj says:

    I am entering for Saturday!

  389. wvhomecanner says:

    Dinner last night came from the canning shelves, dry storage, and the freezer. No run to the store needed. Would like that phone to play with! Does it have a way to store a shopping list? 😉

    dede

  390. Marcie Babbitt says:

    I’m not sure that I’d be able to figure out how to use it, but I’d sure like to give it a try!

  391. Kellie Green says:

    So exciting. I saw the commericial it looked super cool. Which I am not so this would be a lovely edition to my life. Thanks!

  392. Maureen says:

    For me, I think the trick is to find ways to make do with less without it being a chore.

  393. Dele O says:

    Calendars are a huge help. And the Outlook Quickstep is a great shortcut tool that helps me quickly create some of my common tasks, appointments, and emails while on the go. The win phone 7 will be a great mobile tool to aid in this.

  394. Jeannie says:

    It is a hard transistion from being a ‘stuff’ owner to being a self sufficient person. I envy your knowledge. I have a small farm but have not been able to put it to work yet. My sister doesn’t understand why we would ever want to live in the country. It is too hard to explain how it renews your spirit and makes you feel empowered the first time you sit down to a meal that came from where you live.
    I applaud you.
    Jeannie

  395. Christine Davis says:

    I love Chickens In The Road! It starts my day out right! Thanks Suzanne for all you do!

  396. Darlyn says:

    Now, Jack told me to tell you to pick me for the phone!!

  397. Amber says:

    Here to do my daily entry. Woke up early and was glad to see you’d already posted so I have something to read.

  398. heidiannie says:

    So many comments!
    Although, I LOVE comments so it must be a boon -but when they are just asking to win?
    Thanks for the opportunity, Suzanne!

  399. Suzy says:

    Even though my heart belongs to Steve Jobs, I would love a Windows 7 phone!

  400. Denise says:

    I love your site and it is the first thing I read each day when I log on to my computer!

  401. Cindy M. Roberts says:

    I like to make my own pizza crust, quick breads and cookies. It’s good not to have to drive to buy all your foodstuffs and rely on stores for every little thing!

  402. chickens consigliere says:

    I’m a little (okay a lot) further behind you. My goal this year is to produce less garbage. We gave up bottled water and I try to make more at home so that we buy less processed/packaged items. We tried our first container gardens this summer and grew tomatoes, herbs and peppers. This new effort is how I found your site,actually. I was looking for craft ideas for Christmas gifts. I love your site. The extra plus has been the photos and stories about your animal friends.

  403. robyn says:

    I would like to win the windows 7 phone. None of my family are close and the phone is a great way to stay in contact. Found out last month that my husband’s relative also enjoys your site in wisconsin. a small world after all. thanks

  404. Jean Morford says:

    When I see something that I really think I need, I force myself to wait a few days and think about it. It’s amazing how much I don’t need at the end of that period.

  405. Rian says:

    The library, buying in bulk and taking leftovers for lunch are all new sort of developments for me. I know they aren’t groundbreaking, but they’ve made a big difference.

  406. Mary says:

    I was looking up your pie crust recipe when I was reminded of the contest once again!

  407. windspiritwhimsies says:

    I just read that you can enter once per day! So, please enter me again today to win the windows phone 7! :woof:

  408. Rys says:

    Another day-yet another entry…
    I would LOVE a new phone!

  409. ElizaRed says:

    Enter for the phone…..willtet my children to teach me how to use it!

  410. Ann B. says:

    I just found your post. I think I will be spending a good part of my weekend catching up. So much to see!

  411. Kim says:

    Please enter me in the Windows 7 phone contest.

    Easiest way to simplify… move away from THINGS and move toward PEOPLE in your life.

  412. Bonnie says:

    Day 6 of signing up for the Windows phone!

  413. Barbara Wilson says:

    :yes: Wow would love to win the phone would make me a nice xmas gift

  414. Susan Hoelscher says:

    Sounds like a great prize I wouls love to win. Please enter me.

  415. Cyndi says:

    Day 6 – Today I did two things not exactly making simpler, but focusing today on important things. I got up at 5 this morning to have the chance to volunteer within my community. and then just after that we left to visit my grandmother. so reconnecting with my family also.

    Oh, and I also found a great sale on meat and bought a bulk of it. I will prep it when I get home later.

  416. Laura says:

    What a great giveaway. I love to read your site. I’m also trying to bake more of my food at home. It’s so easy to get in the habit of buying food already made up. But homemade is SOOOOOO much better, plus you know exactly what ingredients are in it.

  417. ElizaRed says:

    11/21/2010 – entering to win the phone

  418. Yogi says:

    I’ll be able to get more done with less by consolidating my devices when I get a Windows Phone.

  419. Gem says:

    Today I enter (again) in hope to win this new-fangled-phone!
    And today, I will try to master Suzannes’ Velvetta! (attempt #2)
    Attempt #1 was pert-near perfect, just a bit too soft for my liking. Maybe I will not add the extra cream….

  420. wvhomecanner says:

    Cleaning out clothes that we haven’t worn and do not need – most will be donated. Looking good in the basement! Phone please….

    dede

  421. Cyndi says:

    Day 7 – headed home today so I’ll be back in the normal swing of more with less this afternoon. I’m going to break down and freeze the bulk of meat that I bought yesterday before I left for my grandmothers and I’m going clean out my freezer to make room for it.

    I’m also going to clean my living room with the goal of purging 10 items or more. there are things there I don’t love. but I do tolerate because I don’t “see” them anymore. If I don’t love it – it’s got to move on or move out.

  422. judydee says:

    Leaving Sunday’s entry, still hoping to win the phone! Another big clean-out day here too.

  423. Denise says:

    Please enter me in the drawing again today! I would love to have this phone!

  424. Mandy says:

    I use Photoshop Elements instead of the full PS suite–and I still am able to do just what I need to do!

  425. Jane says:

    Hello again:) Here’s hoping this is my lucky entry… I love this phone! (Oh, and it’s my birthday this week.. just sayin’)

  426. Jean Morford says:

    Looking at everything in my house, starting with my closet. If I haven’t worn it in a year, it goes to the thrift shop. This is my phone entry for Sunday.

  427. Mary says:

    I made the no fail pie crust for two apple pies yesterday for the church pie sale. It turned out great. I had always previously had some trouble with pie crust.

  428. Mafong says:

    See catalogs are arriving at my house. I always say that is the best part of the holiday–planning next year’s garden!! Phone entry for today.

  429. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the Giveaway :sun:

  430. Bonnie says:

    Day 7 and still keeping up for the Windows phone drawing!

  431. Turtle Mom says:

    I am making homemade gifts for Christmas this year.

  432. Sharon says:

    I shred nearly everything that comes in the mail. I save the shredded paper for stuffing in packages and I also use it as filler in the bottom of my very large flower pots.

  433. Maureen says:

    In the coming year I’m hoping to do better at doing more with less time.

  434. jan~n~tn says:

    I don’t know what a ‘Windows Phone 7’ is. So as I am writing this comment-I’m thinking to myself that, since you just got use to the phone you have-you will probably be lucky enough to win this new one. It will be truly DUMB luck.

  435. Kellie Green says:

    It has been 24 hours now, entering again:)

  436. Peggy says:

    I am commenting less often due to more comments, but that is good for you!

  437. JGrimsley says:

    I am learning every day to do more with less…it is quite a learning process.

  438. Debbie in PA says:

    Well, I know two kids who would sure be thrilled if I won a Windows smart phone! I keep simplyfying everyday, cutting down on the clutter and learning to live with less.

  439. Deborah Anway says:

    Sign me up! I would love to win a new windows 7 phone for Christmas!

  440. Erica Best says:

    i do more with less when i use coupons they help so much

  441. judydee says:

    It’s Monday, a new day and a new week! I’m leaving my comment for the phone. Hope everyone has a great Monday.

  442. lauren says:

    Please enter me again!!!!!!!

  443. Gem says:

    Okay, now I really NEED this phone. After I had printed off a whole slew (what’s a slew?) of CITR recipes, I leaned away from my desk and handed the pile to my unsuspecting son, who I asked to “put a staple in this for me , honey.” Well, I DID hear the big-bang, but since I was re-glued to CITR, I didn’t suspect a thing. Until later. I picked up my poor old cell phone, to see if our oldest-living-out-of-the-house-turning-my-hair-a-not-so-pretty-shade-of-gray daughter may have texted me a reply “hello” and noticed the large crack on the face of the phone! See, I need a new phone! (there are others around here that want it too…hmmm?)

  444. Mary says:

    I have lots to do today, but cannot pass up the opportunity for another chance that that awesome phone.

  445. wvhomecanner says:

    Have bags and bags ready to go out for donation this week – taking them to the Humane Society thrift store. We can do with less and they need the donations!

    dede

  446. Yogi says:

    I get more with less by doing comparison shopping using Bing.

  447. Bonnie says:

    Day 8 entry for the Windows Phone giveaway!

  448. Denise says:

    I spent the weekend clearing out stuff that we have accumulated in the past 6 months to give away. I feel better already!!!

  449. heidiannie says:

    Living with less is a great idea, especially if it is a life decision rather than a necessity. In most cases, as in mine, it is both. Another repeat comment for the Iphone.

  450. mygirls01 says:

    just want to be entered in the giveaway again please!

  451. patrice says:

    Hi! It’s me again, just trying to win a Windows Phone. The most challenging part about trying to win this has been getting the right character count in the comment. 1-2-3-4-5, yikes! I knew I’d get stuck with higher math at some point in my life.

  452. evonne says:

    i think i forgot a day or two… dang it…..
    entering again…..

  453. Kellie Green says:

    I am determined to win this and enter every day.

  454. Maureen says:

    One of my goals is to start quilting so I save fabric pieces and hope that someday I will put them to good use.

  455. Jane says:

    @ Patrice.. that is so funny! I know what you mean, but I gave up counting after the first entry and now just ramble on. I think I am going over the 25 character count … or at least I hope so! Thanks for having this great giveaway Suzanne!

  456. Carrie Johnston says:

    I made 3 batches of rolls and froze the dough after the first rise…new phone please 🙂

  457. AA says:

    If I won a new phone maybe I could call more friends to come help me clean out all the unneccesary junk I have, and then my life would be simplified!

  458. Jean Morford says:

    For the Windows 7 phone giveaway. I only do laundry after 9:00 p.m. up to 7:00 a.m. or on Sat. or Sun. The electric rate is approximately one-third what it would be during the daytime.

  459. Mandy says:

    My husband loves putting leftover meat with cheese and toasting it into a quesadilla. One more dinner I don’t have to worry about.

  460. Dele O says:

    I’m all about doing more with less by using free tools such as the Google calendar to organize my day, week, month, year…need I go on!!!

  461. Senta Sandberg says:

    I love that you advised to freeze milk. We filled our freezor with Elk last night. We are all warm and toasty for the winter and now have lots of food for the winter.

  462. Dana says:

    You will never guess what I got the other day, we were at a st.jude trail ride and auction and we bought a baby cow,that had been donated. i have really been reading ur post my baby is an angus beef cow, she was way to little to have been taken away from her mom, we think that the mom may have died, she was 9 weeks old. she is doing good and she is 15 weeks now and her name is anna belle. we are definitely working on leading her and i am basically going to do what u r doing…..

  463. Heather D says:

    Doing more with less is so liberating. Eventhough my husband is working now, we do our best to still only live on one income. We try to save more. We know what we can live on, and know the difference between want and need.

  464. Taunia says:

    If I am picked to win the phone it would make a great surprise present for my husband’s b-day! (December 10th)

  465. Kelly says:

    I really need to win this phone. We are cutting back all the time. For instance, I only have the free flip phone my husband picked out when he signed the cell phone contract.

  466. pattyb says:

    Hello, could I be entered into the Windows Phone 7 giveaway, please? This is an amazing giveaway! Thank you so much for this opportunity!! I still make my own popscicles out of the old time tupperware popscicle containers. I remember my mom taking the leftover Kool-Aid from our supper and filling the cups up. Now you can even use sugar-free Kool-Aid which is good thing since I have diabetes.
    Thank you,
    pattyb of Ohio

  467. windspiritwhimsies says:

    Doh! Forgot to enter yesterday! :hissyfit: Please enter me for today. Would love to win the Windows 7 phone! :happyflower:

  468. Shelby M. says:

    Entering contest like these is how I am trying to do more with less. Would love to have this phone.

  469. Rebecca says:

    Wow! I’d like to enter to win the Windows Phone 7 giveaway! Please enter me.
    Doing more with less – maybe it’s an age thing, but I’ve gotten a lot better at balancing things. This involves saying no more often that I used to, and yes to family “nothing” time. It’s so important.

  470. Sonia says:

    I am putting my 2 cents in for the new Windows phone. Here’s hoping and keeping my fingers crossed that I am the lucky winner!

  471. Grammy Jam says:

    Today doing with less is getting rid of more clothes I don’t need anymore! But I do need the phone!

  472. Turtle Mom says:

    I really would love to have the phone to do more with less!

  473. Samantha says:

    I am loving aluminum foil as an insulation material these days, helps me shape cakes, and keep things warm 🙂

  474. Mafong says:

    I use a lot of coupons when shopping. I don’t buy items just to use the coupon–but only items that I will use. Phone entry please.

  475. judydee says:

    here’s my entry for Nov. 23rd. i’m typing w/ one hand ’cause i’m holding a stray kitten who was cold and wet and hungry on the back porch. another way of doing more w/ less?

  476. BethieofVA says:

    Who wouldn’t love a new phone! I sure could use one.

  477. Mafong says:

    Starting early today so please enter me for the Windows phone. I try to run errands all on the same day so save gas and time–time being the most important!!

  478. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the Giveaway :purpleflower:

  479. Amy Lynn says:

    This year I learned how to make my own home grown organic baby food. I grew the vegetables in my garden. I used expressed breastmilk to thin it to the right consistancy. I have reusable containers to freeze and store the food for my son. I feel pretty amazing about giving my son a healthier option!

  480. Linda Segerson says:

    I need…I need….I need a new phone! This would be so cool to win!

  481. Denise says:

    I am doing more with less at work today – cleaning out files I no longer need and recycling the manila folders they were in.

  482. Bonnie says:

    Day 9 entry for the Windows phone giveaway. Then, on to work on Thanksgiving dishes!

  483. wvhomecanner says:

    My phone is sooooo old it gets the ‘look’ when I use it…. LOL. A new phone and FREE would suit my budget nicely!

    dede

  484. Cheryl says:

    I’m back for another shot…maybe that phone will be mine! 🙂

  485. cyndi says:

    Today’s entry – Today – to do more with less is going to be all about decluttering. And I think this will probably be for the rest of this week. Today at work, I’m going to declutter a cabinet that I keep stuff in. And at home I’m going to start in the living room and entry way today – I should be able to get them done tonight. I am also saying no to something that is important to me, but I do it regularly and I feel the need for a break this week.

    Oh, and I’d love to win the phone, but even if I don’t, I’m moving forward on doing more with less.

  486. heidiannie says:

    Entering the contest once again. It looks like many have given up- the comments could be in the thousands with your following!

  487. mygirls01 says:

    yes I am all for more of a chance to win!!!

  488. Kellie Green says:

    Trying again hoping for the best!

  489. AA says:

    If I won this phone I would have to spend less buying my husband something for Christmas.

  490. Dele O says:

    I do more with less by using awesome phone apps. There are many useful, fun, and creative apps out there that help make life a little bit easier to manage.

  491. Mandy says:

    I cook french toast in the waffle iron! SO much faster than the traditional way.

  492. Maureen says:

    I have to start working on de-cluttering again since there are still things being stored that are hardly used.

  493. Shelby M. says:

    I do more by sleeping less. It is amazing what you can get done in the morning without distractions.

  494. Mary says:

    My daughter’s birthday is in December. I would love to be able to give her that great phone. That way I would get Alot More with Alot Less.

  495. patrice says:

    I’m still entering for the Windows Phone. In order to do that, one must be creative with the 25-250 words chosen. It was easy at first, but today I’m experiencing writer’s block!

  496. Rys says:

    I keep forgetting to enter! I SO would love to win this phone!

  497. Marcie Babbitt says:

    I’m still trying to win this thing

  498. Michele says:

    I could use a new phone. The ear speaker on mine doesn’t work any more…so I have to put it on “speaker” and speak/listen out loud. It feels so obnoxious and rude. Whaddyagonnado?

  499. Miss Becky says:

    well I, for one, had never heard of a Windows Phone 7 so I had to go look up precisely what the giveaway is. This is my first attempt to win this thing, and if I win it, I most likely won’t know how to use it, so it will be a gift for someone I know! Thanks for this giveaway Suzanne, and Windows Phone 7 people. :yes:

  500. Yogi says:

    I get more done by using the Microsoft Outlook junk filters to see less spam.

  501. Turtle Mom says:

    I really need a new phone! Oh mighty random number picker, please chose me!

  502. CraftyK says:

    I just ordered my cheese making kit! I’m getting ready to do more with milk than I have ever done before! YAY! :snoopy:

  503. Jean says:

    I’ve been price-checking at WalMart. If you bring the flyers from other stores-Safeway, Albertson’s, etc.and they have something priced lower, WalMart will match that price. I got my Butterball turkey for $5.

  504. lauren says:

    Entering for Wednesday, wish I wouldn’t keep forgeting. Oh well like I tell my husband if its ment to be one number will do 🙂

  505. patrice says:

    Here I am again entering for the Windows Phone. I’m rather enjoying the challenge of trying to get the right character count for this giveaway. Limiting words is hard for me. I love words! I must be terribly shy with nothing to say:)

  506. Bonnie says:

    Day 10 and still hanging in there for the Windows phone giveaway!

  507. Denise says:

    I would Love Love Love to win this phone :snoopy: Mine is on it’s laast leg and I can’t get a new one until July 2011 😥

  508. Denise says:

    I would Love Love Love to win this phone :snoopy: Mine is on it’s laast leg and I can’t get a new one until July 2011 😥

  509. Gwen says:

    i also have learned how to do more with less, be it in another angle.
    i had an accident now a year ago, and am learning how to do more with what i have left, and amazingly you can really learn to do more than you thought
    One of the things i learned definately is how to appreciate life more, just the everyday things
    like reading your blog 🙂

  510. Suzanne says:

    Love the whimsical nature of your site.

  511. Linda Segerson says:

    Me,Me,Me….please pick Me! :snoopy:

  512. Yogi says:

    I get my screen more organized with less hassle using Windows 7’s Snaps feature.

  513. NBC in Roane County says:

    :snoopy: WELL SENSE I AM UNLUCKY AND HAVE NEVER WON A THING , IT WAS FUN TRYING WITH YOU GUYS AND :shimmy: ALL MY BEST TO THE LUCKY WINNER :snoopy:

  514. Rita Fox says:

    I’ve given away lots of clothing that either didn’t fit or I didn’t wear in the past year or two. And, as I cleaned the house for Thanksgiving, I made a decision about each item I picked up–toss it (if no one would want it), donate it (if it might be of use to someone else), or pass it on to my kids (whether they want it or not).

  515. Mary says:

    I am getting anxious for this contest to be over. I would really love to win this great prize. I will be happy for whoever wins though.

  516. Lynda Swink says:

    For me, doing more with less meant growing my own food. I garden, raise chickens and learned to can and preserve. I also got around to unloading a lot of stuff. I gave the vintage best of it to good friends, sold all my teaching things (I’ve retired) and began sweeping and dusting the cobwebs off of my writing skills.

    So what’s next? Writing Historical Fiction, I want to publish a novel, and I have time to do it now!

  517. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the Giveaway :shimmy:

  518. Kelly says:

    I really need to win this phone. We are cutting back all the time. For instance, I only have the free flip phone my husband picked out when he signed the cell phone contract. And on top of that, I can’t even find it. My 12 month old son has hidden it from me and it is on silent.

  519. Jean Morford says:

    I do more with less gas by carefully planning my trips to town – running more errands in a single day. Now I only go to town about once a week.

  520. Kellie Green says:

    Hoping this is the winning entry!

  521. mygirls01 says:

    just stopping by to get another entry in the giveaway!!

  522. Maureen says:

    I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am making more pies this year for less money with the great recipes I found here.

  523. heidiannie says:

    This is really kind of fun- I just took a look at some of the comments- there are quite a few less than 25 words (my last comment included)- does this mean they are ineligible? Because I’m thinking there are going to be a lot of people unhappy that they didn’t carefully read the instructions.

  524. Dele O says:

    Doing more with less means keeping your cars as long as possible especially when they are paid off.

  525. Peggy says:

    I hope everyone more happiness this holiday season with less stress.

  526. Pete says:

    AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHH! Almost forgot to come over here and comment again!!

  527. Jearv says:

    One example of me doing more with less is carpooling with friends to school (when I don’t take the train). Being college students, we’ll save all the money we can and it’s so convenient that I have a group of friends that all live pretty close! It’s fun to see each other in the mornings, ha and eat breakfast on the go. I hope I win the phone!

  528. wvhomecanner says:

    Actually I think there may be some with TOO many characters to qualify here – they add up FAST LOL! Phone please 🙂

    dede

  529. Rys says:

    Twenty five characters add up quickly in a quest for a Smart Phone! 😉

  530. Gem says:

    Here’s my entry for today! Just getting the finishing touches for our Thanksgiving feast. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

  531. Emmi says:

    My life would be complete if I had that phone *gazes*

  532. windspiritwhimsies says:

    Hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! Please pick me! :wave:

  533. Turtle Mom says:

    Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for people like Suzanne who put their hearts and soles into blogging for us! I am thankful that she is giving away a phone as I am in real need of a new one.

  534. Mafong says:

    Last pie is in the oven for tomorrow. Would like to win the phone.

  535. Samantha says:

    i love giving out coupons for watching your kids for an hour or clean your house its cheap and effective so everyone is happy

  536. irishhillstrish says:

    Happy and blessed Thanksgiving wishes to our fearless leader and all my brothers and sisters in forumland.
    Another entry today..

  537. Denise says:

    Happy Thanksgiving to all and safe travels if you have to go to your celebration. I am at work while my family celebrates 😥 But I am thankful on this day that I have a job to go to.

  538. Chris says:

    Learning how to make cheeses out of more than one type of milk. Normally make goat cheeses, but learning to use cow (yes, there is a difference).
    Purchased an older wood cookstove that I’ll be restoring over the winter.
    Have a pressure canner to can meats in case we lose electricity.
    Downsizing…and will be putting our “stuff” up on online auctions so we can live more simply and be content with what we have.
    Ordering more seeds for early spring garden (put up a hoop house this year) :shimmy:

  539. Kellie Green says:

    Maybe this is the winning entry!!!

  540. Bonnie says:

    Day 11 – Thanksgiving and hoping to win the Windows 7 phone!

  541. Barbara Wilson says:

    :shimmy: Happy thanksgiving u`r way to each of u. & am signing in again for the window`s phone give away

  542. Kate says:

    I would love to win the phone- I really need a new one

  543. Jearv says:

    This might be a little too simple, but I do more with less by always having my laptop with me. Nowadays, since I’m in college, it seems like everything is being moved online, from turning essays in to math homework. It definitely helps me do more when I have free time and I have less stuff to carry around!

  544. Peggy says:

    The days are getting less to see who wins more phone then they every expected

  545. Mary says:

    I ate a little too much food today..should have done with a lot less. I almost forgot to enter for the phone.

  546. Mandy says:

    I like making more than I need to so I can have lunch to take the next day.

  547. Steph says:

    I do more with less by trying to do eight million things at once! More things done with less time would be a lot easier with a smart phone, right now I have a lame flip phone that was free with my plan and I can only tweet/email/etc. when I’m actually at my computer. How 90′s. Thanks for the giveaway!!

  548. windspiritwhimsies says:

    Hope everyone enjoyed their Turkey day! :sheepjump: Would love to be entered to win the Windows Phone 7. Thanks!

  549. Debbie L says:

    Please enter me for the Windows 7 phone! I learned to can this year from you! It was fun, just wish I had more time to do it more often.

  550. Mary says:

    Oh goody, today is a day of left-overs. No cooking for me today, leaving me with more time to just relax…and dream about my new phone.

  551. lyzcollins says:

    “Doing more with less” is a vary appropriate sentiment for the world we live in today. Excessive consumption has brought us to the brink of economic disaster and if we don’t learn to do more with less our children and grandchildren will live in a more difficult world. We have a responsibility today to do more with less. It can be as simple as recycling something to as challenging (and satisfying) as growing your own food. I navigated to this site because, after my husband made homemade savory pumpkin tamales, we ended up with extra corn husks and I wanted to make something with them. An hour later I have printed out your instructions on how to make a corn husk wreath and dolls!

  552. wvhomecanner says:

    yes, Rys, these characters add up quickly LOL! still wishing for this phone…. :snoopy:

    dede

  553. Kellie Green says:

    Hoping for a win on this awesome phone!

  554. Bonnie says:

    Day 12 – the day after Thanksgiving – and hoping to win the Windows phone.

  555. Mafong says:

    Hip! Hip! Hooray! I hope I will the phone today!

  556. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the Giveaway! :wave:

  557. Gem says:

    I have
    come to learn
    that I
    reeeeeeaaaaaalllllllyyyyyy need this phone!

  558. Yogi says:

    I do more with less redundancy by syncing my files using Windows Live Mesh.

  559. heidiannie says:

    Here’s another entry and a belated wish for a happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you and your family, Suzanne!

  560. Maureen says:

    I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. It’s time to start figuring what to make for people for Christmas using what we have on hand.

  561. Dele O says:

    doing more with less could mean budgeting and adhering to it. It allows us to save properly and spend wisely

  562. Julie Toler says:

    I’m usually makin’ do or doin’ without,
    right now it’s a bath mat for me…
    So I decided to cut up the boys holey jeans, rather than throw them out.
    They were just too ragged to give to Goodwill, more air than clothing.
    Still, it seemed like such a waste to trash that much denim.
    I cut the pants into inch and half wide strips, intent on crocheting a rug.
    I wanted to weave a rug but I didn’t have a loom.
    At least I thought I didn’t have a loom…
    I had a pile of slats that were once used as furring strips that would most likely get burned if I didn’t hide them from my husband.
    Instead, I sweet talked him into cutting them into thinner slats and then fasten them together into a simple loom with screws and a little glue.
    Now I have a bath mat in the making and a loom as well.
    Both were made with re-purposed materials that would otherwise have been at the dump.
    I love your site Suzanne, you inspire me to keep on keepin’ on in the cycle of life.
    Thank you so much!…and welcome home!

  563. robyn says:

    Sorry i blew the budget today with Joanne Fabric online sale for Black Friday. It would be wonderful to win the phone for a christmas present for my daughter. thanks.

  564. Chris says:

    :fairy: Wow-EE! I’d jump for joy w/ this one — waaay cool for this hip Grandma! :happyfeet:

  565. Peggy says:

    It is nice that more people have discovered that less things is actually more love when giving. Making your own gift takes lots of love.

  566. Mafong says:

    Another day and another entry. I am making turkey soup and jook (chinese rice porridge) today with turkey bones. Both will be warm and wonderful.

  567. Bonnie says:

    Lucky Day 13 entry for the Windows Phone giveaway!

  568. Mary says:

    Watched all the people getting More for Less on tv yesterday but didn’t venture out of the house. It was just a good day to recover from the holiday. Thank you for the chance at a new phone.

  569. Taunia says:

    My mom really thinks I need this phone; you better pick me, because Mama’s never wrong! 😉

  570. tea4too0 says:

    I am entering the contest today, maybe I will win.

  571. Linda in San Diego says:

    I would love to be entered for a smart phone.

    More with less – I guess that saving celery ends and tops as well as chicken and turkey bones qualifies as more with less. It is amazing the broths and soups you can get out of the “left over” parts. I am also really shopping sales as much as I can to make the $$ stretch, and since I am teaching just a much as last year and getting paid less, I guess I have to continue to stretch every last penny. But have fun at the same time. Gotta go tend the pot of Turkey Bone Barley Soup I have planned for the day – and the cooking is the only thing heating the house – stretching again.

  572. Kellie Green says:

    How cool would it be to own this phone? Hope to find out!

  573. heidiannie says:

    More for less- just making our own lunches and not going out to eat- EVER- has saved us a lot! Hoping to win the smart phone- or at least giving it a try.

  574. Angela B. says:

    I want to learn more about how to do more with less. I love your site and your posts and your personality AND the animals and their antics. I have chickens, ducks and goats right now. I would like to get some cattle in the future. I haven’t learned how to make soap, but I do have your laundry soap recipe to try when I run out of the store brand. I am still learning how to bake breads and such. I get a lot of resistance from my spouse though as he would rather just go to the store. 😀 Gotta love em’! Happy Holidays to you, your family and all your cute animals.

  575. Gem says:

    I have been using our Jersey milk (more) these days by making Suzanne’s Velveeta, my own Mozzarella, lots of butter and… I really need this phone to call my kids while I am busy making these cheeses from our abundant milk supply! (phew)

  576. Jane says:

    Thanks for the reminder on Facebook! I have been going crazy the last couple of days, but don’t want to forget this! Thanks, and have a great day.

  577. Jose D says:

    I do more with less by taking advantage of days like Black Friday to get present for Christmas!1

  578. windspiritwhimsies says:

    I almost forgot! Please enter me for the windows 7 phone! :happyflower:

  579. Kate says:

    I really hope I win- I desperately need a new phone!

  580. patrice says:

    I was so preoccupied by turkey that I forgot to enter the Windows Phone giveaway again. Leave it to food to complicate things!

  581. Turtle Mom says:

    I am trying to do more with less by signing up to win freebies!

  582. Jearv says:

    One example of me doing more with less is simply turning off and unplugging electronics and appliances. Sometimes people forget and it adds up to the costs. As time goes by, spending a few little seconds on turning appliances off can really make a difference and save more money, more money to spend on stuff I want! I only turn things on when I need to!

  583. Samantha says:

    m and ms are probably my favorite more with less candy. i use them to decorate cakes, i use them in counting games with kids, and they just taste good

  584. Gem says:

    Actually doing less, and thus, gaining more is our Motto these days.
    This really began about 7 years ago, after moving to this farm. A great way of life! We have more now than we ever did. Do I have to mention the phone?

  585. Peggy says:

    I am glad this blog has less comments then some. I saw one with over 4000 comments,

  586. Linda Segerson says:

    I really do need this phone!!!!!

  587. Marcie Babbitt says:

    My son would be so impressed with me owning a phone like this…but he’d probably have to teach me how to use it! 😀

  588. lauren says:

    Dang why do I keep forgeting!!!!! entering for the phone 🙂

  589. Dele O says:

    Doing more with less sometimes means reusing grocery bags, or buying the recyclable types and using those. Saves the environment and saves the grocery stores money, which in turn saves you money.

  590. windspiritwhimsies says:

    Wow! Today is my twins birthday. Hard to believe they are now 17 years old! Gosh, I feel old! Time goes by so quickly! Anyway, please enter me to win the windows 7 phone! :snoopy:

  591. Kellie Green says:

    Fingers crossed. I need to win something and this would be fantastic!

  592. Bonnie says:

    Day 14 and only one more day until the winner of the Windows phone is known!

  593. Mary says:

    I think I have remembered to enter each day. I Never forget to read Suzanne’s blog, so entering the contest is just an extra little bonus. I’d love to win the phone.

  594. heidiannie says:

    Ok- another day- another entry. Doing more with less? Wearing extra clothes and turning down the heat- more with more?

  595. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the Giveaway :duck:

  596. Mafong says:

    This year for Christmas I am giving mittens made from recycled wool sweaters. They are so cute! Please enter my name for the phone.

  597. MissyinWV says:

    Hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving! Please enter me for the phone so I can make my teenagers jealous…lol

  598. Turtle Mom says:

    I need a new phone, please, to do more with less!

  599. Jearv says:

    One way we do more with less is with leftovers. Especially during Thanksgiving time. An example would be using ham for lunch sandwiches and using the leftover turkey for quesadillas or my favorite turkey and tortilla soup!

  600. Cindy Pratt says:

    This year I learned to can venison. My husband is an avid outdoorsman. In the past we froze the deer he harvested. I want to put our freezer to better use so I took a canning class. Now, we have a couple dozen quarts of venison!

  601. Kate says:

    do more with less for me means staying as organized as i possibly can

  602. Jose D says:

    How to do more with less? I have in my own house a soda vending machine, when I feel like drinking one, I buy one. At the end of certain period of time, I open the vending machine to recollect my profit!!!

  603. Samantha says:

    I really like spices and herbs. If you buy them in the ethnic food section, especially the hispanic themed aisle they can be only 99 cents a bag! They add flavor to everything including cheap cuts of meat and inexpensive dishes

  604. judydee says:

    Stopping by on the last day to enter my comment. Hope to win the phone!

  605. Lynn says:

    What steps have you taken this year to do more with less?
    Given away 50% of clothes and books to charity.

    And what do you want to do next?
    Keep on decluttering.
    Motto:
    Magnify (the Lord)
    Mortify (the deeds of the flesh)
    Simplify (my life)
    compliments of A.W. Tozer

  606. Gem says:

    Hmmmmm, I just want to say that winning this phone would give me a one-up on the rest of the bunch here, as I am the one who gets all the hand-me-downs! Nothing wrong with hand-me-downs, just would be nice to have something NEW! Thank You for the opportunity 🙂

  607. patrice says:

    This is the last day for entering the giveaway for the Windows Phone. I haven’t entered each day, but I keep trying! I’m all for doing with less, but I’ll make an exception for this phone.

  608. Peggy says:

    I have entered more times to try to get a phone with more then less.

  609. heidiannie says:

    Today, I am recycling Christmas cards from friends- remaking them saves a lot of money and energy and reminds me of my friend’s love.
    If I had a smart phone, would it remind me to call them more often?

  610. Kelly says:

    Now we really, really need this phone. My 12 month old son put my husband phone is a cup of water. Now my husband is using my phone. Fingers crossed that we win!!

  611. Denise says:

    I can’t wait to try the homemade paper for gift tags and candle tags! I love it!!!!

  612. melissashea68 says:

    Please enter me in the Giveaway :happybutterfly:

  613. Marcie Babbitt says:

    Oh I’d love to own the new smart phone!

  614. windspiritwhimsies says:

    Oh my, today is the last day to enter! Glad I remembered! Please enter me to win the windows 7 phone! Thanks! :duck:

  615. Kellie Green says:

    Last chance to enter. Let’s hope this is the winner!

  616. Muliebrity says:

    I really need a Windows 7 smart phone!

  617. Linda Segerson says:

    I would love to have this phone!

  618. Erica Best says:

    I been shopping at the dollar store alot this year and they got some great stuff i save alot of money but i get everything i need.

  619. Darlyn says:

    I would LOVE to win the phone. I need a way to call Annabelle the Sheep/Dog on a daily basis.

  620. Turtle Mom says:

    I love using coupons to do more with less!

  621. Mary says:

    Well, it’s getting down to the wire. I hope to win the phone today. Have your people call my people.

  622. Bonnie says:

    Day 15 and the FINAL day of the Windows phone sign-up for the give away. I made all 15 days!

  623. Julie Toler says:

    Oh, Suzanne!
    Thanks for blogging about how to make paper, I was thinking about doing that all weekend.
    I was going to check here to see if you had any instructions as soon as I got a chance. I opened the website and there it was!
    Thanks again!
    Julie

  624. Mafong says:

    I really need this phone, well perhaps not need, but realy really want.

  625. Ulrike says:

    I’m entering one last time. Second time lucky? I hope so.

  626. Lisa ault says:

    We have started clipping coupons and eating out less and always look for the specials when we eat out.

  627. Kate says:

    i do more with less by staying organized and multitasking

  628. Jearv says:

    I do more with less by combining my errands into one drive and trip so I save gas. An example would be going to the store, post office and barbershop in one trip, rather than going at different times of the week. This way, I can do more with the money I have because of the less money I have to spend on gas! Phone looks awesome!

  629. Erin Morris says:

    You’ve just inspired me to dig even deeper and get rid of everything, I mean everything I don’t really NEED, or haven’t used in a year or two. I thought I was pretty good (at least much-improved lol) at that, but now I’m thinking of all the stuff I’ve collected home schooling my 6 kids for 3 yrs. It’s some great craft/educational stuff, but it sits there collecting dust, taking up storage space that could be holding the stuff we DO use. The clutter makes me crazy! I’m getting off my computer and going to purge right NOW!

  630. John says:

    I envy you. I wish I could get away from things and live on a farm. I’m yearning for the simple life.

  631. Craig says:

    I need a phone with a Sushi identification app! I had a terrific meal tonight, but I have a tendency to forget the Japenese names for the various nigiri…

  632. Jose D says:

    I used to check my email through a browser; a few months ago I started using an email client. Now I can check all my email accounts at the same time! That’s doing more with less!

  633. Dele O says:

    Doing more with less could be decorating the christmas tree as a family. More work done in less time, and lots of family time together.

  634. marcia says:

    i’ve been getting 2-3 meals out of one package of chicken nowadays when i make casseroles and stuff. where i use to just get one serving. still tastes as good. and avoiding the inner aisle of the grocery store and sticking to fresh veggies, cheese, meats, etc.

  635. Suzanne McMinn says:

    THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED TO ENTRY. Check the bottom of the post for the winner update.

Add Your Thoughts