Ridding Our Homes - and Lives - of Amazon

Rid of the easy acquisition of things, that was one of my resolutions for this year. I decided to quit ordering from Amazon for six months and see how it would affect my family.

I was not alone in this thought process. A study by the University of Chicago Journal found that unchecked consumerism can lead to a disconnect between spiritual and material success, while another study published by RetailBrew revealed that children aged 8 and younger spend more than two hours a week shopping online, unrestricted.

I took my family off Amazon's easy-to-click ordering system and forced myself to shop local. This led me to Valley Ace Hardware, where I bought materials for my school, The School House. My sons became interested in fixing things rather than just receiving them. They learned about receipts and totals and began to understand the value of hard work.

The impact on our budget was immediate. Within a few months, our expenses fell significantly. Amazon now gets 90% less from me, my family, and our school, but we understand so much more.