Comments on: minimalizing our channels, maximizing our life

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:37:11 +0000

I highly recommend getting rid of the TV, at least for a trial period. It sounds crazy but it isn’t, I promise. You might be amazed how much time it frees up… and how much nicer the living room can be when not all the seating is directly aimed at that glowing focal point.

(Most good shows are coming out on DVD these days anyway, and DVDs can be watched on computers… there’s also Hulu.)

By: Deborah

Deborah — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:33:08 +0000

I don’t have cable or even networks, but I do have a huge television that my husband insisted on buying. We use it for netflix mostly. He watches more than me, and I will often go off and do something productive and/or crafty, or read fiction while he watches something that doesn’t inspire me. I stopped watching TV completely for a long time, starting in high school when my family’s TV broke and it took us 6 months to get a new one. I realized the commercials make me stressed out and depressed. I will watch movies now with my husband, but I will not watch a commercial (unless you count movie previews). I will leave the room if I accidentally find myself somewhere where commercials are playing.

By: Kahnrad

Kahnrad — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:08:00 +0000

Great post!

I made some similar choices, completely forgoing cable. I found that Hulu offers the few shows I enjoy, and similar to a DVR, they show up in my “to be watched list” as new episodes become available.

Love the minimalist lifestyle!

By: Miguel Wickert

Miguel Wickert — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:02:04 +0000

I like it. I’m not a huge tv guy but I do enjoy watching my Chicago Bears once a week. My weakness is getting sucked into watching the other games knowing I have studying and other important things to complete.

With school (graduate) in full swing, there’s always something productive to do done. And I don’t mean just staying busy for the hell of it. Thanks for sharing.

I like hearing about other people’s stories about the positive changes since tossing their cable, TVs and so on.

By: lynda

lynda — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:24:10 +0000

Several years ago after watching my kids constant battle over the boob tube I had the cable turned off.

The kids stopped fighting so much, started playing with each other more, and I heard a lot less “buy my this” from them!

We finally got rid of our television, though now we watch some things from hulu and places like that.

It is more pleaceful, saves not only the cable bill, but also the money I would spend on a television! I don’t plan to own another one!

By: Janice

Janice — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:31:50 +0000

A few months ago we noticed we were wanting TV less and less and so we decided to have the satellite shut off and really haven’t missed it. If there is a sho we want to watch we just catch it online most shows have it so you can watch the latest episode online any way. I also joined netflix i think its about $14 per month but its nice we can watch all the movies we want and get 2 at a time and were still saving about $65 dollars!

By: Weph

Weph — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:06:10 +0000

I got rid of my television about a year ago and I have never been happier. I don’t have the clutter of it sitting in my home space and can grab necessary information online. One of my greatest decisions- my amount of free time is amazing!

By: Alicia

Alicia — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:39:15 +0000

I loved this article because I related to it. My husband and I decided 3 years ago when we bought the house to save money by not having cable at all. Since not having cable we find ourselves turning on TV flipping through our 7 channels, realizing there is NOTHING we want to watch, turning it off and going to do something more productive with our time. I was very skeptical of this choice when we made it, but I can honestly say that it was the smartest decision we ever made.

I also noticed we watch more TV together also because there is less on and it helps in us spending time together when we are watching TV.

I will admit it’s hard at first but ends up being worth it.

By: Charley Forness

Charley Forness — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:59:00 +0000

This is a terrific recap of the benefits of unplugging from Cable. Were it not for you having to keep up with youth culture as part of your job, this would be an overwhelming win. Even in spite of that, it’s a tremendous list of benefits.

As I go through my own evaluation process of the essential versus the unessential and I undergo my own 100 Things Challenge, I’ve contemplated ditching the cable but as my wife is a new stay at home wife with our three baby triplets, she’s asked that we put off that decision till the children are old enough to interact with and play board games with. For her, the television is her only outlet and means of relaxation from three crying, demanding babies.

Warm Regards,
-Charley

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:33:35 +0000

We also ditched cable almost a decade ago now. At first it was for cost reasons…but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We get Netflix and watch stuff on demand from there as well. The kids do watch TV (sometimes too much, still) but there’s no commercials.

I agree with the programming on cable TV – it truly is 100′s of stations of nothing. When it was just the 3 networks plus public TV, ironically it seemed like the quality was higher. The kids get to watch cable when we vacation and I’m so glad I’m not paying for what I see.