The pile of discarded items in my garage is growing each day, but, try as I may, I can’t seem to make a good blog post out of my progress. I’ve been through the bathroom drawers and closet and my kitchen cupboards. I’ve made great headway, paring down the items we use each day to […]
Focus
Saturday Minimalist Mission: Bedroom Closet Cupboards
They must have been calling out to me in my sleep, all of those unwanted and unused linens hovering over my closet, because when I woke up this morning, my foremost goal for the day was to clear out my bedroom closet cupboards. First, I cleared out everything from the cupboard space: sleeping bags, sheet […]
Why I Said No to Organized Sports
Fall is here, and with it brings a whole host of opportunities to sign up, join up, start up. Only, the more we say yes, the further down we slide into lives filled with excess. On this journey toward less stuff and more life, I realized that one thing we had more than enough of […]
To What End Do We Simplify Our Lives?
In the past several weeks, I have immersed myself in the knowledge of simplicity, of minimalism, and of letting go. I have already given away half of my clothes, all but two shelves of my books, countless papers, and a small load of kitchen utensils. But, to what end? Is it a matter of pride? […]
Simplifying in September
I know it seems crazy, with all the back to school, season-changing madness, that I would pick September to write a series on simplifying our lives, but . . . Imagine achieving a peaceful, uncluttered, happy home now before we make a futile attempt to slow down and scale back at the holidays. Imagine saying […]
The KonMari Method: Tidying My Clothes and Accessories
Earlier this week, I shared some of the work I had done with regard to “tidying,” inspired by the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo. Today, I’d like to show you some of my progress. I spent the morning learning how to fold the KonMari way by watching several YouTube videos […]
Minimalism: A Bigger Life with Less Stuff
Over the past several weeks, I have begun to seriously attempt to adopt a minimalist mindset as we prepare to reconfigure the basement space of our home. Daily, I read articles by Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist, and I just finished The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I read minimalist material […]
Confessions of a Messy Cook (plus a few recipes to try)
This morning, I resolved to get some baking done before the heat of the day made it impossible. On the docket: homemade bread, blueberry muffins, granola bars, and something with zucchini (of which I have a plethora). Now, I know how to maintain an orderly kitchen as I prepare food. First, you fill […]
To Color or Not to Color (On Going Gray)
For the past few weeks, my emerging gray hair has had me considering whether or not to let myself go gray once and for all. I’ve had noticeable gray hair for at least a decade, but only in the past couple of years have I had to resort to coloring it. The other night, I […]
What’s for Dinner? June Meal Plans
I got the best email yesterday. It was from Springdale Farm, our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), stating that our first delivery would be on June 2nd, two weeks earlier than planned! Woo hoo! These early boxes are light as air, filled mainly with lettuces, but that is just fine by me, because, as I told […]