Oil Man's Wife-Not!

The last two weeks were a little strange for me. I think I might have been experiencing some kind of inner turmoil between my wanting to live a more sustainable lifestyle yet not being able to shake the notion of wanting more STUFF!

I started with wanting a house. There's nothing wrong with that except that it really doesn't make any sense for us. For starters, we aren't sure that we are planning on staying here long term. We might move with his company again in the near future or there is always the potential for being laid off. Since moving from Houston, DH has survived 5 layoffs in 8 months. Last reason for not buying a house is that we have relocation benefits for another 2 years.

After I shook the notion of buying a house, I decided that I wanted new furniture/home decor items. Which, after thinking about it, I thought was a silly notion as well. After all, I just wanted new things to deck out the rental place that we currently live in and which we may not be living in much longer depending on the circumstances. We definitely won't be living here after the relocation benefits run out. I do plan on making some smaller purchases since I haven't done much with the house because my attitude has been that we won't be here long. I decided against big ticket items, but I would like to make this place feel like home. So, I'm going to get some things that I know I will use for a long time and that I can take with me wherever we end up.

DH told a friend at work about my wanting more STUFF. His friend said that I was becoming an oil man's wife. When I heard about it, I told DH that he should tell his friend that I am not an oil man's wife. DH is an ecologist's husband...lol! Poor DH doesn't own that 4X4 he wants. He doesn't get to go off-roading since I am opposed to it. I keep the thermostat between 80-82 in the summer and 70-72 in the winter. We replace our bulbs with the energy-saving fluorescent type. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

If I am not a conservationist, then I would label myself as a cheapskate. I had thought about re-naming the blog Cheapskate Mommy, but it just didn't sound as good...lol! I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting or having high quality items. For myself, I just don't believe in paying a premium for things I just want and don't need. I really like abiding by the 3 r's in my life. It's important to me and I think it makes good sense to reduce, reuse and recycle.