Thursday, July 12, 2012

Intentional living: getting rid of cable TV

We watch a lot of tv. I talked about that here. Frankly, it's gotten a bit out of hand and we have gotten to the point where we watch practically anything. It's always on. I miss the quiet. I miss interacting with my husband in the evenings when he gets home instead of sitting mindlessly in front of the TV. I hope this will encourage us to stop wasting away our evenings and start using them to bond both as a family and as a couple.


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We have been considering canceling our Directv for a while; we're going to have some big things happening soon (will share asap!!) and we'll pretty much need every penny we can get our hands on. What with this whole Viacom business, Adrian decided that it was time and cut the cord last night! I'm pretty shocked, with football season coming up I wasn't sure he would actually go through with it...we'll see if he makes it come August.

Five really good reasons that we cut cable:


1. I miss talking to my husband at night. Like really, truly conversing with him. Now we will be forced to stare at each other's faces or sleep. Or not sleep. Maybe we'll start playing Scrabble or doing puzzles together or some other geeky-fun thing.

2. I don't want my kids thinking it's okay to watch TV all day every day. Targeted, strategic shows that I've chosen for Gabriel to watch - okay. Show after show after show rolling on our TV - not okay.

3. Hello, we're going to be saving approximately $70/month. I'll take it.

4. We still can watch the majority of the shows that we watch online. We got Netflix last month and subscribed to Hulu today. Now instead of having TV as background noise, it will be on purposefully to choose a show. We can also rent from the library, go to the theater, use Redbox, borrow from friends, buy movies that we really like...the options are truly endless if you get creative.

5. This is going to make me sound nerdy, but no/minimal commercials = less exposure to brands and material goods. Every single kids' commercial featuring the newest fad toy Gabriel asks me for. I don't like that, not because I don't want him to have things, but I don't want him to be indoctrinated by the media. I know, I'm crazy. I know.

What do you think? 
Could you go without cable?

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5 comments:

  1. Brave woman, you are. I couldn't do it. But then again, most of the TV I watch is on demand stuff (hulu, netflix, etc.). I totally get your reasoning and think its fabulous!

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  2. I agree. You are totally brave, but I love all your reasons! I couldn't do it, but in reality, we just watch a lot of DVR'd movies lately :/

    I LOVE your new banner, by the way! Hope you'll come link up for Find + Follow Friday :D

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  3. I recommended this to my husband, he laughed;) I think I could do it, but I don't think he can! He loves to relax at night with the tv and he is definitely a football person. But I really don't watch much and neither do the boys...so I think I could survive. You will have to let me know how your husband fares during football season:)

    Julie
    http://www.thechirpingmoms.com

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  4. I don't think you are crazy at all. And to all the above people who say they can't do it, I bet you really could. Maybe even just try a trial run first. You might be surprised what you learn about yourself and how you feel about the experience. Like you, Jess, I used to have the tv on a lot as background noise. The habit started when I lived alone. Somehow having the noise made me feel less alone. We quit cable a few years ago and I completely quit watching tv during the day after my daughter was born almost 2 years ago. We have a converter box so we still get a few channels and we have netflix so we still have options, but we watch a lot less tv and are that much better for it I think. There really isn't anything I miss about it and you find how much more time you have in your life and how much tv actually influences you in a negative way. So props to you, Jess. I'll be interested to hear how you are feeling about it in the weeks/months to come.

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  5. So happy for you both. You've done what we did. We watch online and have our net hooked to the TV through our Wii for Netflix and Hulu watching. It satisfies the kiddos when they get the urge. And the rest we watch on regular channels. It's much easier than most think. Good luck.

    Irish

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