- The potential government shutdown left many people wondering how they were going to pay their bills.
- April 22nd we celebrate the 41st Earth Day.
- According to CNN, the #1 New Year’s Resolution is to Lose Weight.
What do these three things have in common?
They are all about living with less, either less money, less garbage or less food. As a nation we are one of the leading consumers of products such as oil, grain, cement and wood, we produce the most garbage, and we are the third heaviest nation in the world.
I’m excited to be partnering with Kraft 2% Milk Singles to challenge you to live with 1/3 less in April!
I look around my house and know without a doubt we have too much stuff! I look at our budget and know we could be spending less in many categories. I look at my closet (and those too tight jeans folded on my shelf), and realize I could be eating less junk too!
It’s time for a challenge. I know many of you are following the Grocery Budget Makeover Challenge this month, but this challenge is open to everyone!
The Challenge
We are almost 1/3 of the way through April, so it’s a perfect time to start the 1/3 Less Challenge. Pick an area of your life or two, that you need to reduce. It could be money spent eating out, trips to Starbucks, bags of garbage, clothes in your closet, or junk food consumption, it is up to you.
Challenge yourself to reduce this area by 1/3 over the next 3 weeks.
For example, we usually have 7 bags of trash every week. (It’s bad, I know). I’m challenging myself to reduce this amount by 1/3. So next week I hope to only have 4 or 5 bags of trash.
I also have a few pairs of pants that could stand to be a little looser. During soccer season I’ve been bad about munching on junk food instead of sitting down for dinner. I’m challenging myself to cut out 1/3 of the junk food I’ve been eating lately.
What are you going to reduce this month?
The Reward
Aside from the intrinsic value of reducing something in your life, I’m also giving away a $50 gift card courtesy of Kraft 2% Milk Singles. Kraft 2% Milk Singles have 1/3 less fat than the leading sliced cheese*, hence the 1/3 less challenge. 
How to Participate in the Challenge
To be eligible to win a $50 gift card from Kraft 2% Milk Singles leave a comment sharing what you plan on reducing in April on this post.. I will post two additional 1/3 Less Challenge posts and you’ll need to check-in with your progress on those posts to be eligible to win the gift card.
Remember leave a comment on this post sharing what you are going to reduce in April to enter the giveaway.
Kraft Foods is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me. This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by The Happy Housewife.
*KRAFT 2% Milk Singles have 2.5g of fat per slice compared to 4.5g in the leading process cheese slice
I’m going to reduce my trips to stores by 1/3!
That should help in reducing EVERYTHING else, too!
Less gas, groceries, clothes, and stuff!
I am going to reduce not only our closets by 1/3 but our living space too ~ trinkets that just build up with dust, toys that just sit in the toyboxes… also reducing my grocery budget ~ just did the 1 whole chicken in the crockpot for 3 meals! For my family of 7 this site is SO encouraging. Thank you!
1/3 less clutter around the house! What a great way to start spring!
1/3 less food eaten and hopefully the other 2/3 is healthier so cuting down on junk food
I’m going to reduce my screen time by 1/3 and increase my family time by 1/3 – - a win-win situation for everyone, I hope!
My goal is to reduce the cluter in my craft/sewing closet by 1/3. I am beginning by removing the indoor shutters, waiting 6 or so years to be painted,to the Goodwill stack.
Why have I kept them? They were used to shutter a passway from the kitchen to the LR. I like the opening better without them.
I’m going to reduce the amount of TV my kids watch by 1/3 and replace it with 1/3 more family time such as reading together, board games and getting outside when the weather is good.
I plan to start an organic vegetable and flower garden in my backyard.
I’m entering this challenge late, but I think I can do it! We are going to reduce our closets and clutter by 1/3. The yard sale is already scheduled for April 30th!
Great challenge!
I am going to purge 1/3 of each of my kids’ clothes and pass the clothes along to friends who need them and/or Goodwill.
We’ve been eating out too much since soccer started and my tutoring hasn’t let up at all. We are going to eat more meals at home, AND we’re going to reduce some of the clutter we have in our library and attic (after all, Spring Break is coming up and we have to do some Spring Cleaning as well!) . This is such a great challenge! We always donate our extra stuff to a local charity, Cherryville Area Ministries. And by not eating out as much, we’ll be reducing our spending as well. What an intentional challenge!!
I just found this site and subscribed today. It looks wonderful and inspiring! I will be reducing the amount of time I spend watching tv by at least 1/3, and the amount of time I spend on Facebook by 1/3. I also plan to reduce the amount of calories I take in per day (which has recently gotten excessive!) by 1/3. Thanks for the inspiration!
Love the challenge… I’m going to reduce the amount of clutter in our home including clothes in our closets by 1/3. For those reducing clutter, if you have something big or difficult to donate, consider finding a freecycle yahoo group in your area and giving the item to someone who can use it (and keep it out of our landfills). I’m also going to cut down my sugar intake by 1/3 (I already gave up soda drinking over a year ago and feel fantastic about that) so that my daily exercising starts paying off more.
I am going to reduce my craft supplies by 1/3.
I am going to have 1/3 less coffee per week (4 instead of ….or maybe 12 oz instead of 16oz daily
We’re doing pretty well with trash and recycling, but I’m going to say I’m going to reduce by 1/3 mealtime stress by planning ahead. I do end up getting food on the table every night, but I’d like to be less stressed about it by planning ahead and pre-making some items.
I plan to reduce our utility bill and coffee spending. I will no longer purchase coffee on Thursday mornings. I will hang dry our laundry and use cold water more often than hot water. I will use the crock pot more than the oven and only use the heater when ABSOLUTELY necessary. I also contacted PG and E about reducing our bill.
Update ! 2 weeks ago we had 4 cans and 2 bags. This week I had 2 cans and 1 huge trip to the recycling stop at the AFA. Woohooo
In my family of 8 we have been working on reducing the junk we eat. I am cooking more from scratch and buying less boxed items. We always have some sort of fruit in the house and I am giving my boys more fresh veggies cut up withlunches and they are actually eating it!
Great goal! I feel convicted! LOL
I’m going to reduce my clothes closet, the extra clothes in the basement (Now that we’re no longer having babies), and the amount of junk food I eat. I also plan on decreasing my electric bill (unplug, baby, unplug), and the amount of TV we watch by decreasing the number of channels we get to the basic package.
Am I allowed to increase my exercise by 1/3?
I love this idea! We are going to try to eat out less- we have been doing it WAY too much!
Pretty sure I commented before, but just wanted to make sure. I’m in for the challenge.
I am reducing clutter!