Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Holidays..
With the holidays approaching I have definitely felt a little anxiety over the impending amount of things that my children are going to receive that we do not need. It's an extremely stressful time for me and about the only time of year I'm thankful that I do not have a large family and am not exceptionally close to those I have. Most people do not value living simply anymore and it makes me very sad. So in an effort to do what I can I have been doing the following:
*Destashing diapers that I do not love and we do not need. Especially now that our 2 year old is potty learning.
*Giving away some of my older daughter's clothes that I do not want to hang onto for 3+ years until our younger daughter can wear them.
*Asking friends and family to be very conscientious when buying my children things. Especially to purchase needs and not wants.
*Encouraging my husband to do the same. Buy things for me that I need, not want.
Hopefully I can also encourage my children to get rid of some things they do not love anymore and can go onto a new home. <3
Sunday, September 23, 2012
We lost a MONTH there
So life in the third trimester got a bit busy and I was unable to finish up my final course in college, manage a household of 5 (soon to be 6), sew and knit all my orders, as well as keep up with the vast world of the interwebs.
In the last month more came in than went out, oh no! But today we did a bit of 'fall cleaning' if you will and are getting some things out.
Here are some things that we got done:
*1 Large Chinchilla cage
*2 tubs of clothing that are being stored away (so not getting rid of but at least out of the living space)
*1 bag of clothing to give to a friend
*1 bag of clothing to donate
*1 Roomba got exchanged out for a new one
Even though it's not the inside of the home I'm really wanting to get our outdoors under control. We didn't have to mow for an extended period of time because our part of the country was in such a bad part of the drought. But now it's rained and the weather has gone back to normal(ish) and it's time to pick up those sticks, mow, weed eat, and start packing things away for the upcoming cold season.
Onwards to the next project!
In the last month more came in than went out, oh no! But today we did a bit of 'fall cleaning' if you will and are getting some things out.
Here are some things that we got done:
*1 Large Chinchilla cage
*2 tubs of clothing that are being stored away (so not getting rid of but at least out of the living space)
*1 bag of clothing to give to a friend
*1 bag of clothing to donate
*1 Roomba got exchanged out for a new one
Even though it's not the inside of the home I'm really wanting to get our outdoors under control. We didn't have to mow for an extended period of time because our part of the country was in such a bad part of the drought. But now it's rained and the weather has gone back to normal(ish) and it's time to pick up those sticks, mow, weed eat, and start packing things away for the upcoming cold season.
Onwards to the next project!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
2 More Things + Compost!
Two more packages went out the door today, cloth diapers and some mama cloth that I made for a trade. (<-- Which is something I wanted to highlight really quick).
Trading is an EXCELLENT way to get things you need and get rid of stuff you don't. We exclusively cloth diaper and I've gotten a large amount of my stash from trading clothing the kids have outgrown, my knitting and sewing skills, maternity clothes, and even things like games and toys the kids don't play with anymore. The best thing about cloth diapering is that they hold their resale fairly well. Disposables are money out the door and trash that stays in your Earth. The best thing about trading is it allows you to barter for things that you might really want that other people are willing to let go of for something you have. No money exchanges hands and you end up with something better for you/your family.
Composting. I stated from day one that we wouldn't include food in the things we keep/toss because it just doesn't make sense. I coupon but I'm not food hoarder and with 3 kids + 1 on the way - things get eaten pretty fast here. But I must share that I'm so excited that we started a compost. My husband is digging growing peppers this year so the compost should come in nice and handy! Plus it helps keep waste out of our trash.
With cloth diapering we got down to 1 bag of trash a week. Now with composting I suspect we'll be even lower. Now our recycling.. that's another story. It takes up more than the whole can they give us!
Trading is an EXCELLENT way to get things you need and get rid of stuff you don't. We exclusively cloth diaper and I've gotten a large amount of my stash from trading clothing the kids have outgrown, my knitting and sewing skills, maternity clothes, and even things like games and toys the kids don't play with anymore. The best thing about cloth diapering is that they hold their resale fairly well. Disposables are money out the door and trash that stays in your Earth. The best thing about trading is it allows you to barter for things that you might really want that other people are willing to let go of for something you have. No money exchanges hands and you end up with something better for you/your family.
Composting. I stated from day one that we wouldn't include food in the things we keep/toss because it just doesn't make sense. I coupon but I'm not food hoarder and with 3 kids + 1 on the way - things get eaten pretty fast here. But I must share that I'm so excited that we started a compost. My husband is digging growing peppers this year so the compost should come in nice and handy! Plus it helps keep waste out of our trash.
With cloth diapering we got down to 1 bag of trash a week. Now with composting I suspect we'll be even lower. Now our recycling.. that's another story. It takes up more than the whole can they give us!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Monday - Day 1 TOSS
Over the last week we've really done a good job of getting some things ready to clear out. I've been pulling cloth diapers that we are no longer using or will not be using for a long time for the new baby, my husband has went through his closet and drawers and pulled an entire bag of clothing to donate as he's starting a new job with a stricter dress code, I went through a huge bag of fabric I had gotten for free and will be donating everything that I will not be using personally, and lastly we sold some electronics we had been storing in our spare bedroom!
At my count there are 5 diapers leaving us tomorrow, 27 pieces of clothing, 5 yards of fabric, 3 spools of ribbon, and 2 electronics. That's 42 things that won't be in this house as of tomorrow.
It feels FREEING. :D
At my count there are 5 diapers leaving us tomorrow, 27 pieces of clothing, 5 yards of fabric, 3 spools of ribbon, and 2 electronics. That's 42 things that won't be in this house as of tomorrow.
It feels FREEING. :D
Why?
So the whole theory behind this blog is to keep me accountable. I got the idea from a good friend who shared with me this page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/100thingchallenge/ - I love the premise. Use less. Consume less. OWN less!
Here is some background: I'm a stay at home mom to 3 kids with one on the way. My husband is a software developer. My oldest has Aspergers and Tourette's. My youngest is a primordial dwarf. I do not have extensive amounts of time to focus on keeping up with our things. I knit and sew too, which means having excessive amounts of STUFF.
A family of 6 has lots of STUFF. And boy have I really realised this recently with our newest addition. I was going through tubs of clothing, blankets, shoes, etc. and realised that it was just way too much. Why couldn't we live more simple? Why did this baby need hundreds of pieces of clothing, toys out the wazoo, and so many blankets that I could create a fort that went across the whole house (may be exaggerating, now I feel I need to try it).
Ultimately I'd love for each person to have 100 things. We would also include 100 things for our home (vacuum, tools, etc). So this would mean there are no more than 700 possessions in this entire home. Every thing counts!
Our rules: pairs of things equal ONE, if you can create an outfit do it and it equals ONE, food and necessities do not count, sets of things may count depending on what they are (i.e. my husband's magic card collections count as ONE thing per box instead of ONE per card). And so on. If the rules become more elaborate I will post our update.
We are also attempting to remove 1000 things from our home by the end of the year. This will surely be a challenge considering the baby is due in October and we will have a surplus of baby things for at least a few months after he/she is born. I may or may not be counting down the days until we are done having babies so that all the little tiny things that all the mommies get so attached to can finally go out the door.
In my next post I will be describing some things that are leaving us tomorrow...
Here is some background: I'm a stay at home mom to 3 kids with one on the way. My husband is a software developer. My oldest has Aspergers and Tourette's. My youngest is a primordial dwarf. I do not have extensive amounts of time to focus on keeping up with our things. I knit and sew too, which means having excessive amounts of STUFF.
A family of 6 has lots of STUFF. And boy have I really realised this recently with our newest addition. I was going through tubs of clothing, blankets, shoes, etc. and realised that it was just way too much. Why couldn't we live more simple? Why did this baby need hundreds of pieces of clothing, toys out the wazoo, and so many blankets that I could create a fort that went across the whole house (may be exaggerating, now I feel I need to try it).
Ultimately I'd love for each person to have 100 things. We would also include 100 things for our home (vacuum, tools, etc). So this would mean there are no more than 700 possessions in this entire home. Every thing counts!
Our rules: pairs of things equal ONE, if you can create an outfit do it and it equals ONE, food and necessities do not count, sets of things may count depending on what they are (i.e. my husband's magic card collections count as ONE thing per box instead of ONE per card). And so on. If the rules become more elaborate I will post our update.
We are also attempting to remove 1000 things from our home by the end of the year. This will surely be a challenge considering the baby is due in October and we will have a surplus of baby things for at least a few months after he/she is born. I may or may not be counting down the days until we are done having babies so that all the little tiny things that all the mommies get so attached to can finally go out the door.
In my next post I will be describing some things that are leaving us tomorrow...
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