Ten Things I Learned When I Shut Off My Cell Phone

To be truly minimalist I really should use one of these...

Radical simplification requires looking at everything with unblinking honesty. When I looked at my cell phone I realized I was eyeballing yet another thing I could no longer justify.

I had one of the crappiest phones on the cheapest plans from the world’s worst providers. At only $50 it really wasn’t one of those situations where I was forced to decide between groceries and mobile communication, but I had thousands of unused rollover minutes because I just never used it. Everyone I want to communicate with is on Facebook. I rarely even used it for work. I work from home and the stupid gizmo didn’t get reception in my house!

So we got a cool landline plan from a local provider that’s cheap, cheap, cheap. When someone leaves me a voicemail I get an email with a sound file sent to my email address. I love this feature because I can work in a coffee shop and still know when someone has called my home phone. If it’s important I just email the caller or head home.

If you’re thinking of saying goodbye to your cell, consider 10 things I’ve learned:

1. Very rarely are there emergencies that require that I call someone right this minute, or that I receive a call right this minute. Yes, bad things can happen, but in my case I was paying over $600 a year on the off chance there would be a catastrophe and there wouldn’t be someone else with a phone I could use – or a payphone.
2. But what about emergencies involving the kids? The school can call my landline. When I am at the corporate office an hour and a half away, there’s nothing I can do right then anyway. I have given the kids’ schools the receptionist’s number and she can find me if need be. Plus, if I’m out at the office, their Dad is probably home and reachable on the landline (and here’s some disclosure – he’s still got a cheap cell…)
3. I hardly ever need to carry a purse. The cell was the last thing I was toting around other than my small wallet. Now everything I need fits in my pocket.
4. I never have to worry about losing my phone or dropping it in the toilet – which is something several of my friends have managed to do (although I’m not really sure how…)
5. My phone never rings at awkward moments.
6. It’s illegal to talk on a cell in the car in California. I will never get a ticket for this.
7. I don’t waste a single minute playing Angry Birds.
8. “I was out,” becomes a lovely reason not to get back to someone right away.
9. I control my on-the-phone time, not the other way around.
10.  The freedom of being unburdened by an additional expense far outweighs the convenience of having a phone on me all the time. It is called a “cell” after all.

Every day I’m chipping away at the belief that we have no choice but to be consumers. (I love this interview with Kirk, Jenny’s husband over at exconsumer.com, where he expresses a similar thought.) It’s just not true. I would call you to tell you all about it, but I’ll be out without my phone.

Could you live without a cell phone? Do you think a cell phone is a luxury, a necessary evil or a helpful companion?