Money Obedience

Yesterday I was loading the dishwasher. It was already filled with lots of containers that we use for leftovers, and I was getting frustrated because there was little space for what I wanted to put in there. I practically had to run the dishwasher with half of its space filled with these stupid containers. Then I caught myself analyzing some of our household expenses. I was thinking, “What a waste!” We save all these containers (the “disposable” kind that my wife and I never throw away), and then spend the money to put the things in the dishwasher.

On top of that, many times, instead of using even these containers, my wife has started using plastic bags to store some of the leftovers in our fridge. She uses them to store bread (which she bakes gluten free, and these have to be stored like this or they dry out easily). Plastic bags are hard to reuse, and yes, we reuse them, but that drives me batty also. Sure, you can wash them out, it is a pain, and it probably never gets the bags very clean again.

Well, when I was in the process of loading these containers in the dishwasher, I was wondering to myself which option costs more money, plastic disposable bags (and things like tinfoil, plastic wrap, etc. that are not really reused, although we do our best with these things also), or the reusable “disposable” containers? But then, I had to cut my thoughts short. I said to myself, “This is a ridiculous thing to contemplate.” Imagine how much effort I’d exert just trying to get a really good handle on the various costs involved with storing food in reusable containers instead of disposable things, and vice versa? Then, what would the benefit be once I know the cost of either? Would that really change my habits? Would I stop using bags? Would I throw out take-out containers instead of reusing them? Even if I knew the potential benefit of such an analysis, making all that effort was really not worth it. That is why I stopped myself.

In turn I realized though that you can drive yourself crazy trying to be frugal all the time. I think it is ok to chill out once in a while, and to even splurge once in a while. (And yes, I know I’m talking about splurging on a plastic bag!) As with all things in life, it is important to strike a good balance between the cost and benefit of anything. But what really matters in the end is the quality of one’s life. We want to live green, and we want to save money, but it’s quite another thing to waste time and stressful energy and nag my wife who also lives frugally, when our happiness and how we care for the planet and ourselves matter much more. Precious energy should not be wasted on driving yourself crazy with all kinds of obsessions including excessive frugality and living on too strict a budget. As I had to tell myself: relax, and live a little!