After earning his B.A. in English literature and professional writing from Millikin University in 2003, Brock Peoples spent some time in the north woods of Wisconsin before returning to his hometown, C-U. He now lives with his wife and son in Savoy, working as a freelance writer and editor. Brock also edits Riverbed Haiku. A beer snob and bicycle commuter, he spends as much time as possible outdoors cursing those who litter trails with empty cans for all their poor choices.
Our home phone was connected today. This is after two and a half years of being a cell-phone-only household. This in and of itself is likely unremarkable, but in conjunction with signing up for the landline phone, we canceled our cellular service.
This is a move that has been seen as radical — almost to the point of sacrilege — by many people we know. The very thought of being without a cellular phone has become a nightmare scenario for many. Why on Earth would we choose a cell-free life?
We decided that cellular phones are not necessary for our lifestyle.
This realization came when I sat down and evaluated our lives for ways to live more simply. Finding ways to simplify was not as easy as I thought it would be. We live in a two-bedroom condo. I commute to work by bicycle. We use homemade cleaners, and we are a vegetarian family. So I focused my attention on the two pink elephants in the room: our cable TV, and our cell phones.
Our Internet connection is through our cable company, therefore our cable TV doesn’t cost much more than just the Internet connection alone. Considering that my wife is a student, and I manage three different Web sites, not having high-speed is probably not a good option for us. The cable TV, while we don’t get much use out of it, gets enough use to justify the cost.
The cell phones were a different story. Before our son was born, we had no problem staying under our minutes on the lowest rate plan offered by our company. We were very satisfied with the service and saw no reason to change. However, after he came along our phone usage changed.
To start with, our usage increased as calls for advice to sisters and parents went up, but also as a natural correlation with the fact that one of us was always home. That leads to the second usage change: nearly all of calls were made from home.
To be fair, we are not completely without cellular service. We did pick up a pre-paid phone to take with us when we’re out of town or when we have left our baby with a sitter. This phone is for very limited-use, however.
I realize that cell phones are so fully integrated into most peoples’ lives that giving them up is not likely to occur, especially in this day and age of iPhones and their kin. Some people legitimately need this level of connectivity for their jobs — others simply prefer to be reachable.
As our modern lives become more hectic, the impact on our health (through stress) and on our environment becomes worse. Simplifying our lives can include easy steps towards more sustainable lifestyles.
How can you simplify your life? Maybe start with locally grown food from Urbana’s Market at the Square. Visit the Champaign or Urbana Public Library the next time you’re in the mood for a new book or magazine instead of buying one. The next time you feel the urge to walk around the mall, visit a park here, here or here instead.
In general, consume less and live more. Your health, your wallet, and your planet will thank you.
Comments (10)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 1:20 PM
Brock - I admire you and your wife's decision to abandon the cellular telephone. I wish we could be so bold and do the same...but my husband would shout, "You can take my cell...when you pry it from my cold dead hands!"
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 1:25 PM
Are we going to have our first married fight over the internet, via the website we help run?
Christ, I hope not...
Brock -- great article. I am envious, and yet, I still feel the need to go outside and make a call...
My Precious, My Precious...
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 7:52 PM
Aww... come now. I don't want to be the catalyst of marital problems ...
Thanks to both of you! Its been a full week now. The biggest problem we have faced has been training people to not call after 7 (the baby's bed time) unless its an emergency.
Everyone was accustomed to calling and leaving us voice mail.
Other than that, it really hasn't been too much of an adjustment for us.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 8:17 PM
I've been plotting a scheme like this for a good while now, but I haven't pulled it off yet. Bravo!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 8:36 PM
Best of luck to you, CW!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 8:44 PM
I have to wait 'til December since I'm in contract...but I just might do it!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 6:56 AM
My wife and I are in the process of eliminating half of our belongings. I came to the realization after losing my keys for the zillionth time that the reason I couldn't find anything was because we had too much stuff. The new mantra: If we haven't used it for a month, we don't need it.
Thursday, July 3, 2008 4:31 PM
Man, this simplifying is complicated. Five years ago, when I ditched my landline to go exclusively with a cell, I thought that was making things more simple. Now the reverse is also true. I'm confused.
Saturday, July 5, 2008 7:07 PM
Joel - When I first purchased a cell phone (nine years ago), I thought it was an act of simplification.
In a way it was, as I was a college student and the dorm phone was good for about a five mile radius before they charged you up the you-know-what.
Life and priorities change. I am positive that the situation is likely to change again and at some point in the future, I will once again have a cell phone.
For now, for our life style, a cell phone was a complication. Hence, it was eliminated. The trick is to determine which of our conveniences assist us, and which hold us back.
Saturday, July 5, 2008 9:45 PM
Please, please, please tell me you leveraged your existing broadband and didn't go for a POTS but went with a VOIP service like Vonage???
I get offers from AT&T saying 'we can get you cheaper rates' and they quote me their introductory 3 or 6 month price and I laugh because it's more that the $22-23 a month non-introductory rate I pay for Vonage (and that's including taxes, and we actually USE the line).
Toss up a HD antennae and start pulling down some swank HiDef TV 4FREE, hook up a TiVo and Time Shift it and you'll quickly build a library of solid High Quality WILL-PBS content (and HiDef) for your kiddo (WILL puts out 3 HD channels, plus one more if you can get in WEIU)... WordWorld, Seasame Street, Between the Lions, Cyberchase, VeggieTales, 3-2-1 Penguins, WordGirl, Super Why! Signing Time! All 4Free with no late charges/fines...
Plus as adults shift your favorite TV to when the kiddos are in bed -- ie, when YOU want to, not when they're on (or since you have broadband, torrent 'em down). You still go to the park, the Farmer's Market, take the kiddos on a bike ride, play outside late on a summer's eve, and TiVo's got your back. Never worry about missing 'the game' or 'the show' again...
Multi-task 'the game' with picture-in-picture while you do your web work on your 52" HiDef computer monitor/TV while you're kickin' back on the couch using dyour bluetooth keyboard/mouse...
Simplifying doesn't mean having to eliminate technology... it just means finding the tech that simplifies your life and allows you to focus on your family/life. Cell phones make you focus on THEM.