Simple Thoughts Sunday (only a day late!) ;)

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

-Teddy Roosevelt

One Small Change

So far, so good!

I'm doing well, so far, at getting rid of a few things each day. I have to say, it feels really good to actually look for things to either toss or stick in the garage sale box in the basement!

Today's five were:
Junk Mail, Small Drawstring Bag, Left-over Diapers (disposables! I'd never toss my cloth!), 2 Broken Toys, and 7 Magazines.

I realize that's actually 12+ items, not 5, but I was a bit behind from Sunday. ;)

It's kind of fun, getting rid of things- it's sort of like being able to take a deep breath.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Feels so good! :)

On another note (well, pretty related actually), this sounds pretty cool!

Our change for January? Sewing our own cloth diapers instead of buying disposables or buying pre-made cloth. This is good, because we aren't spending as much (per diaper), we're not contributing to adding grossness ;) to the landfills (and, by extension, water supply), and buying cloth diaper fabric online once a month uses less fuel to be delivered to us than when we were ordering a couple of diapers a week to add to our stash. I can make several diapers out of one yard of fabric, which is one delivery trip from the postal service rather than several a month.

How 'bout you? Wanna join in the fun? Go sign up at Hip Mountain Mama!

I'll let you all know how the diaper sewing goes (gulp!).

Wish me luck!

Clutter Challenge!

So, my own personal New Year's Resolution is to live simply.

That means, I have GOT to get a handle on my CLUTTER!

I know that, for me, a cluttered environment equals a cluttered mind.
I feel frazzled and stressed.

Unfortunately, my "frugal" side (save it, we can use it again/later) conflicts with my need for a well organized environment. Add to the fact that in our truly "blank slate" house we have next to "nil" built-in/ready-made storage (you know, things many people take for granted, like an entire set of kitchen cabinets instead of just two, or a linen closet instead of... well... nothing- that kind of thing!), and it all adds up to a recipe for disaster! A cluttered, messy house.

(Sigh....)

Okay, my moment of self pity is over (for now- wink, wink!)- the question is, what am I going to do about it?

Well, one of my favorite magazines, Mothering, issued a clutter challenge for the new year that I'm hopping on the bandwagon with! The "Five a Day for Thirty Days" challenge is a great idea- get rid of five pieces of clutter a day for a month and, if a new item is brought into the home, five extra things have to go. Even I can accomplish five little pieces a day! I'm hoping to continue this for well past a month though- my goal is to keep it going until I truly have a place for everything, and everything in it's place.

Wish me luck! So far, several things have made their exit from our home, including daycare toys that were never played with, two cooking pots and a skillet, and lots of junk mail (hey, I figure junk mail can at least count as one item!).

Wanna join me in the challenge?

Here's to a year of much less STUFF!

:)

Simple Thoughts Sunday

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life,
to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean,

why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience ... ~Thoreau

Resolutions

Well, I'm a week late in sharing my New Year's Resolutions for 2010, but that's because I've been thinking long and hard about them. About what I want this year- about what I want out of life in general. I've discovered that I'm inspired by the blogs/lives/pictures of others- other women (mostly here on the web) who are working at home, being with their families, raising their children, making it by hand, baking it, making it from scratch. Reading their words and looking at their pictures makes me feel more....centered. Gives me a clearer vision of what I want our life to be.

And so, here goes:
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.
.
.
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In 2010 I Want:

-To begin to truly learn what it is to live simply.


That's it.
But, to me, it's a biggie. And, I think it entails smaller resolutions like the following:

-To pare down our belongings.
(Do I really need three great big cooking pots? Or 10 flower vases, when I rarely put out fresh flowers? Hmmmm.)

-To live by the "Less Is More" mentality.

-To create things by hand.

-To start recycling again.

-To find a way to work ourselves into a daily rhythm- one that involves a regular housework schedule.
(Ahem! That's something that's rather spotty around here!)

-To stay home more.

-To grow (and tend to!) a food garden.

-To (successfully) can or freeze our extra garden produce.

-To cook and bake more.

-To spend less.
(On everything. Food, clothes, entertainment- all of it.)

-To stay on our (very strict) budget.

-To remember that "it" won't be this way forever.
(I have many "it"s- feeling frazzled and overwhelmed from running a daycare and caring for a small baby of my own, keeping up with the house, the budget, the schedule, etc., etc.)

-To knit more.

-To sew more.

-To make sure it's not an option to NOT do something I LOVE everyday.
(It makes me a happier person and, by extension, a better wife & mommy.)

So, what about you?
What are you resolving to do in 2010?

Wordless Wednesday

For Pete

Because we miss you....