Last month I decided I did not want any Google Apps in my Android. I was trying to flash a ROM without those apps when I pseudo-bricked my phone. I found help to un-brick it (due credits go to James, Shane, Ricardo and some fellas at #Replicant) and to root it again (this time on my own, wooohoo!). After Fernando Miguel helped me to get CWM on it I was ready to flash. Or so I thought. Every ROM available for my device either required me to flash a specific kernel that I could not get to work or already came with Gapps. I gave up and resorted to my dumbphone. 3 weeks later I found a nice port withouth Gapps and flashed it. My battle was over. Almost: I needed to get the APKs for the apps I used before the new flash which, without Android Market and without many friends with rooted devices, was a headache. Some of the basic apps, like email and a music player with lastfm scrobbling support I got through a very nice market called Fdroid; other apps, like games, calendar and notes I got through some markets like slideme, along with some nice photography apps, an app for tumblr (through which I am updating here) and tweetcaster. The rest of the apps that I used and needed again, like the fon hotspot app, I only got because a friend of mine had the APKs and sent me. I know there is a way to get the apks of the apps from android market to your pc, and from there you can pass them to your android, so if I did not have the cool friends that I do I would probably take that route to get my fav apps back on my phone. Anyway, all of this just to say that it takes a little time and workarounds, but it is possible to get rid of Gapps from your android and still enjoy your apps, if you want to, without a need to sign-up or register anywhere.
My next step will be to find out if it is possible to live without Google at all and still be a netizen. Stay tuned! ;)