Questions for those with less

Here are some questions I have for those people who have few things:

1. If you don't have many clothes, do you have to do laundry more often? Isn't that a benefit of having more clothes? Wouldn't this end up taking you more time and sort-of cancel out any benefit of having less so you can do more?

2. If you only have a very few dishes (say, enough to make it through a day) then what do you do when you have guests?

3. How did you decide what to keep and what to get rid of? Have you gotten rid of something you wish you had kept and what was it?

4. What the heck do you do with memorabilia? Pictures, kids first drawings, really good notes and cards from people you love?

That's it for now!

If you are reading and would like to comment, feel free!! I'd love to know your thoughts, if you have downsized, or if you would like to. Whatever.

Thing Categories

Due to the nature of what I've been spending a LOT of time doing lately (cleaning out my stuff), I've been doing a lot of thinking. Well... while I'm think about when/if I'm actually going to use the item in my hand, I'm watch my 13 month old and make sure her wobbly walking doesn't give her a concussion, and play "house" with my 3 year old, and I've been thinking! Have I mentioned that I love to think? I should have been an analyst. Anyway. Here goes:

Why have I kept so much stuff? I think I was hanging on to stuff in hopes that I would use it, I love useful things. That seems logical, right? Okay... but why? Other times I was hanging onto something because it held some great memories for me. [Infant clothes had amassed in a giant rubbermaid tub. Like, a freakish amount of onsies and pj's. I sorted through those puppies in record time and plan to share them with a friend of mine who's pregnant with a girl.] I am making some great progress, but at times I can get overwhelmed with what to keep. Everything? Nothing? How crazy am I going to get with this sorting thing? I'm working on finding a BALANCE that's right for our family. Not taking someone elses guidelines for important stuff and trying to fit my stuff into their categories and getting frustrated because it's not working for me (are you guessing that this has been happening? :) So while thinking, I've come up with some categories for my things that are listed below.

Here are a few categories for my things (our things, whatever):

I use it every day. Or near about every day. Or I absolutely cannot function without it. There are some obvious things that fall into this category like toothpaste and shoes. It's those things I use every once in a while that I'm having difficulty deciding if it needs to stay or can find a better home elsewhere (more on that category in a second).

I use it to create things. Sewing falls in this category for me. I simply LOVE to sew. I have recently discovered that I don't love to shop, as I had once thought, but only because I discovered how very much I love sewing. Now, I've actually had to question "creating" for once. Because creating for a need is worthwhile, whereas creating for excess is a waste of my time. So I've stopped sewing for the moment until my home has been cleaned out. Simple as that.

It brings me great joy. I love to journal and read, therefore I have lots of books and journals. I particularly love books that will make me smarter (ha) or that I find "useful," such as My art book collection which I once loved (I was an art major), have actually been reduced over the years. Quite frankly, I don't look at them any more. But I kept the really really good one's, one day I'll have time, right? Now, there is an entire shelf of our bookshelf in the bedroom with my journals. Hm... A few nights ago I said to Hubby "I wonder if anyone is every going to want to read those" and he looked quizzically at me and said "Are you ever going to want to read them?" My love of books has spilled over in to cookbooks, of course. But about two years ago we made some serious diet changes and I still held on to a lot of my traditional cookbooks. About 5 months ago I decided since it had been about a year and a half since I had used them, well... they got the boot.

I use it every once in a while. The bread machine, for example, is going on craigslist because I've recently found a fantastic (and I do mean fantastic) way to make bread that I'm a bit obsessed about and will blog about soon. Moving on.

I never really use it but like it. Hm... should I keep it then? Rollerblades fit in here. I LOVE to skate, I did it for years. But since I've had children, I haven't skated. I've run. The verdict is still out on the rollerblades, but I'm leaning towards keeping them because I hope to skate with my girls one day and don't want to have to run out and buy a new pair of skates/rollerblades because I was going crazy getting rid of my things and gave them away. I have a ton of other things that fit into this category, but frankly, I haven't really made it out of the playroom in 3 days because the sorting has been intense (hey, it's where all of my art supplies, the girls toys and craft things, baby clothing, office things, and attic is. I'll probably be in here for a while longer). Another thing that fits into this category is the china we got when we married. China! Agony. I'll have to think about this for a while. I never use it, but I like it.

I never use it. So why do I keep it? It gets tossed! Extra wires, cords, cd cases, strange fabric, clothes that don't fit, bags (I've had a very long love affair with bags and totes of all kinds), lamps, decorating things...

Now that I think about it, I've actually been reducing my stuff for quite a while. But I've still been holding on to too much and that's why I'm on this adventure!

Made it!

I made this smoothie today and it's awesome!!! Very filling and quite good. My 3 year old liked it because it was pink and my husband asked if it had protein in it (um, no). Try it, you'll like it!

How do you like my iphone photography standing in my kitchen? I didn't remember to take a picture of it until after I had finished it.

Simple as it Seems

Many a year ago (back in 2006!) I started following a blog called Walk Slowly, Live Wildly and was enamored with everything the blog author (Sara) wrote about. Some of it was too extreme for me at the time. Well, not just some of it.... most all of it. But I was challenged to my core and God hasn't let me forget it (he's great like that, isn't he?). To understand why, I am going to give you a very very short version (she has a longer one on her site if you are oddly fascinated, like me, about personal background). She and her husband sold their newly purchased home and gradually got rid of most of their possessions and moved into an RV. With a child. They began touring the country on a personal mission to spread how to Live Lightly (they did a tour in 2007 and one in 2008 and are now officially done touring). Currently they are still living in an RV but now have a 6 year old and a toddler and they travel around the country and are still making a living while doing it. Impressive, no?

Hm.

4 years ago I was hooked. Nothing in my life changed as a result of my fascination. I secretly wanted to be like this little family, though my life was nowhere near it - and let's face it, it still isn't. But back in 2006, my spirit (now knowing my mind had been exposed to living differently) began to be dully dissatisfied with my consumption. Which I mostly ignored. At some point -this post to be exact- I realized I that Sara and her ideals were waaay out of my league (er, comfort zone) and she became on of "those" people to me. You know, them. The one's who are able to do that which I am unwilling to. Anyway.

So I've just gone on my merry way falling into the trap of my culture. I've spent countless hours in stores, malls, super centers, and online and come home with numerous things I either returned or was stuck with. I've stared into my closet, kitchen cabinets, and drawers trying my best to get rid of stuff because I knew I needed to, only to come out with one or two things for the Goodwill pile. Don't get me wrong, I definitely made some improvements during the past several years, but I still felt the dissatisfaction in my spirit that I wasn't doing things right.

At the moment, I cannot even remember how many times I've either journaled, thought, had conversations with my husband or friends, and prayed about this unrest in my spirit. I basically felt like I needed to simplify my life. All of my thinking and talking left me with no clarity and I was mostly discouraged by my inability to make my life simple. Dang it.

Now is a good time to mention what my definition of simplicity is. You see, I have never taken the time to actually sit down and come up with a definition of "simple" until last week. Why I have waited this long is beyond me. Striving for a completely undefined ideal was easier, right? But when I actually sat down and thought about what my life would look like if it were simple, I came up with my very own definition. Here's what I wrote in my journal:

"Simple, for me, is this: I know what's necessary, important, and what I enjoy and I'm able to do those things with my time (in an orderly and not crazy fashion. If I'm crazy then I need to re-think where I've been spending my time). It also means that I know what is unnecessary, not important, and what I don't enjoy (as for entertainment and free time) and I have figured out how NOT to do these things."

Some would say this is just being intentional with your time. And I suppose you could condense what I wrote into that one word:

Intentional



For the next several weeks, or however long it takes, life is going to change here in our household. First off, we're going to be getting rid of a lot of stuff. I say "we," but I really mean me. Hubby has no extra time and my 3 and 1 year olds won't be much help in the sorting process (they usually mess up my piles). One thing I know is that we have more than we need or can use. So we'll be getting rid of it and either garage selling, craigslisting, or giving it to those in need. And guess what? I'm going to blog about it!

Talk soon,
Anna

Blog Identity Crisis

So this blog has been under an identity crisis for a while. At least it has in my imagination, anyway. First it was mostly for sewing, then I decided to post whatever whenever - recipes, thoughts, random things of importance. I've wanted to post SO very many things that float around in my head, but alas, my family blog has won many a (imaginary) battle over blogging. However, I am making some life changes and have decided to start blogging about it. And truly, when am I NOT making life changes... I honestly don't know. I seriously love change. So for those of you who actually read my mumbo jumbo, hang in there and stay tuned!

Anna

First Skirt

So I have this black Old Navy skirt that I bought back after having Ellie (my 3 year old) and I love it. However, it has this goofy fold over waist band that creates bulk around my mid section. Since I don't really need any help looking fat, I thought I would make a pattern out of it and do my best to duplicate the black skirt.

I bought this fabric a while ago from the $1 a yard section at wally world with the intention of making a shirt out of it. But I needed something to make a skirt out of, so... here goes!

And yes, I sew with a baby attached to my hip. In case you were wondering. Aren't her legs cute?

Are you ready for this... vegan chocolate chip cookies!!!

I have been a chocolate chip cookie lover for a very very long time. Just ask my family! Growing up, my mom did a good job of making me watch (or help) in the kitchen. When she baked, it was much more hands on for me and I developed my love for baking in her kitchen. I think it was when Mom went through the fat-free stage that the baking torch was passed to me. I followed her recipes to the T and the results were always predictable, that's probably what I liked so much about it. The reliable predictability. In the recent years, I've done my fair share of reading about nutrition. I've read some fantastic books that have broadened my understanding of what food does to and in your body. And even though I know it's not really good for you/me/us, I still bake! I can't help it! Something about it makes me feel good.

One thing I have worked hard to incorporate are more vegan recipes into our cooking. Baking had started to be a major disappointment for me since dairy is one of the main ingredients in every baking recipe I had ever used. So. I had to do some major experimenting, and the results of most these experiments was.... gross. Just ask my husband :) But I prevailed and have now found a small handfull of excellent baking recipes that I'm proud to say are dairy free! One of my happiest discovery was that of the chocolate chip cookie. My favorite. I've listed the recipe below that I use, have fun trying it out! I make these often and no one every has a single clue that they are vegan. Oh yes, and my changes are in purple!

Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached flour (unbleached whole wheat)
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp.salt
cinnamon to taste 1t
vegan chocolate or carob chips - put in as many as you like (1 - 1.5 c is plenty)
1 cup raw sugar (turbinado #1, sucanat works too but sucks up a lot of the moisture) (1/2c white sugar + 1/2 c brown)
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water (used 3/8c)
I've also added chopped nuts, just make sure the cookie dough part has enough dough to stick together.

Directions:

VERY IMPORTANT-make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. (I've actually thrown it together without being room temp with success) It will work if they're not at room temp but it works MUCH better if they are. Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon (if you choose). Add chips. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a medium size bowl mix sugar and oil. Mix it well. Add the vanilla and then add the water. Mix it well. Add the wet to the well in the dry. Mix it well but be careful not to overwork it. Add more chips if you need to. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. (Ok, these don't spread much, so make them in the shape you want to see as the end result) Put them in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets.(top to bottom,and 180 degree rotation) Bake another 4 minutes and check them. (I didn't rotate these, seems like too much trouble and they still turned out great)

The cookies are done when they seem a little bit softer then you want them to be (I probably cook them for 8 minutes total and they stay soft). They will harden up some as they cool. I usually go in two minute increments from here untill they get to where I like them.

Take them out when they are done and move them to wire cooling racks. If they split or come apart when you try to remove them let them sit on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to the racks.

These cookies have come a long way, lots of time and tasting spent on getting them to where they are now. Vegans and non vegans LOVE them. In the words of my 6 year old son-Mom, you're the greatest because you know how to make the best cookies. Enjoy and let me know if you have questions. Sweet travels.

Serves: almost two dozen

Preparation time: 15 mins?-10 to 12 cooking time