90% Reduction weeks 1 and 2

I didn’t get an update posted last week, sorry. I had a bad cold (courtesy of my brother, who brought it home from his job and subsequently gave it to me) and I was busy with the first week of school. Here are my advances thus far:

Gasoline: I haven’t really been able to reduce my driving too much yet. I’m working on it, but it is hard. I’ve had to turn down several offers from friends to hang out, both because of the 90% reduction and money issues; I just can’t afford a lot of gas right now.

Electricity: My usage went up slightly last month but not much –especially considering that I finally had to turn on the A/C.

Garbage: I forgot to way it last week, but this week it only weighed 3 pounds!

Water: I’ve been more careful with water usage, but I’m not yet able to tease out what’s mine, what’s my brothers, and what’s the garden’s.

Consumer Goods: I have spent a grand total of $26.05 on consumer goods this year. $4.05 of that was on a bale of straw, and $20 of it was at my church’s yearly yard sale. What I got out of the latter was mostly useful stuff –towels, dish rags, and the like. I haven’t discounted those things yet, so I don’t have my actual total. I'm going to use the linens for things like cleaning (I only have a few and they're getting worn out fast) and am going to turn some of the more ragged ones into cloth pads.

Food: This one is hard for me. I’m not sure how to calculate totals and percentages. If I do it strictly by price alone, then non-local wet and bulk will take up the most of my diet. For example, I may buy 3 pounds of squash in a month at $1.25 a pound at the farmer’s market, and then one half gallon of non-local organic milk at $3.50. Right there, the one half-gallon of milk has outdone my 3 pounds of squash! And then there’s the stuff from my garden, which I don’t pay for at all. Any ideas?

Oh, and for those worried about the snake, I didn’t kill it. I can’t since its not dangerous –my religion forbids unnecessary killing.