Getting Rid of Cable and What to Do Instead

I finally convinced my husband to get rid of the cable. I've never been a big television person since the early years of my life were spent without it, but my husband grew up in front of the television so it was a hard addiction for him to break. What finally convinced him was the sudden jump in our bill. We may get it again sometime in the future - but only if the price goes down.

Some people are lucky and get many channels with an attena. We are not so lucky as we live in a rural area. We get two channels - one that plays Spanish soap operas and the other is a news channel. We don't know Spanish and we have never watched the news - too depressing.

So what do we do with our time with no cable?

Worshiping God
I never thought of our family as worshiping television, but that is what we were doing when the first thing we did in the morning was turning on the cable box to see what was on. My husband also had a habit of not being able to sleep unless the tv was on. Now we not only spent our morning communicating with God, but it is amazing how much easier it is to "hear from Him." I used to think that God rarely spoke to my heart, but it was actually all that noise in the background that was drowning out His voice!

Staying Calm
Since the tv has been off, I feel very light on my feet, I have a bounce in my step and I feel calm as well as happy most of the time. A strange side effect, because we never watched anything that would make us angry.

Playing with the Kids
I literally spent two hours rolling around on the floor with my daughter and giggling. Not only good for her, but it was good for me too and I smiled at the memories I am building.

Crafts
I have introduced my 2-year-old to making crafts. Today I traced her hand and was going to make her a Handprint Butterfly but ended up obsessed with the handprint cut-outs. She spent hours playing with them.

Organizing and Cleaning
I have always cleaned, but now without television I do a lot more organizing. I recently cleaned out some shelves and found a tube of lipstick, my favorite lip gloss that they don't make anymore and $10 in quarters.

Breathing Fresh Air
I spend a lot more time outdoors. We either go for a walk, go hiking, take the kids to the playground or tend to my vegetable garden. It feels good not to be shut in all the time and the kids are loving all the outdoor time.

Visiting Elderly Relatives
I spend more time visiting my elderly relatives, especially the ones that are widowed. They get lonely and love the fact that I spend time with them.

Learning
I love to learn new things and am spending a lot of time reading, researching and am even considering taking a few online classes. Don't think you have time to get that college degree you've always wanted? Try cutting the cable and you will discover all the free time you actually have.

Teaching
With my spare time I am able to teach my kids more things and they are advancing quickly. I am paying more attention to the little things they do and we all are having fun.

Games
We have decided to dive into the world of board games and are enjoying it! I had no idea that there were more board games than just Monopoly or Scrabble. There are thousands of new board games on the market every year and a lot of them are really fun.

Getting in Shape
I have lost a lot of weight on the low-carb lifestyle and now I am adding in exercising to tone those muscles of mine.

Video Games
My husband loves video games and now he actually has time to play them!

Movies
I am thinking about getting a subscription to Netflix, but until I make my decision we are renting a few movies a week from our local video store. It is a real treat to sit down and watch a movie as a family and then actually discuss the film as a family.

Going Back to Basics
At one point in my past I was learning to sew, knit and to expand my cooking knowledge (making things from scratch.) I found myself not having the time, but without the tv on, I suddenly have time to do those things.

Volunteer
I haven't done this yet since I have a newborn, but when my youngest gets a little older I plan on taking them with me to do volunteer work. Good for you and beneficial to society.

Intimacy
A lot of couples complain that they are too tired or don't have a lot of time to be intimate, but when you don't have cable you can actually spend your evenings with each other.


What things can your family do instead of watching cable?