Moving along

Everyday I'm reminded of how much I want a simpler life. Today just watching the fabric blowing in the breeze while hanging from clothes pins on the clothes line, made me long to leave this house of stuff and town of pollution behind. Four years is a long time to wait, but it is the way it has to be for now.

I was looking at my furniture today, trying to see what would be "easy" to get rid of. I have a cabinet that once I clean out, I have no attachment to. I also have no attachment to our couch and loveseat. There are other pieces as well that can go. The hard pieces are the ones I do have emotional attachment to. Like this black shelving unit that belonged to my grandmother, then my father, and then my parents together once they married. Standing in the entry of our home you could see it in the "toy room" holding all my childhood toys and books, along with my younger sister's. It then came to live with us. We have used it for all sorts of things, currently it is a bookcase. What makes it neat is that you can take it apart and put it back together very easily. Only one other time in my life do I remember seeing a piece like this.

Yes the memories will still be there if the piece is gone, but letting go is hard!

Where will all the stuff go?

If the world didn't produce another vase, I'm positive we will still have plenty for everyone who needs one. I'm noticing a problem with cleaning out my house.....most people already have full houses and don't need my stuff either. I have been offering boxes of stuff for free and here they still sit. No one has come to claim them. That got me thinking....what will happen with all the stuff that is still good and can be used, but no one needs it? If we stopped producing products today would it really be so bad? Certain products people use once or twice and then give away. The same group of these items that was made 2 years ago could probably circle the earth and everyone who wants one can have one without one more being made.

Will that ever happen? Probably not since most companies have the goal of making money and without a product to sell, they don't make money. Thrift shops exist to sell what is already out there, but I have sadly discovered if it doesn't sell there within a certain period of time they throw it away. Is there a solution, yes, will it happen, hopefully, we can only pray!

Huge progress today!

I worked this morning and that always wears me out! I have some fun with the family and then hubby and I decided to watch Hoarders. We don't have cable, but we have a free trial to Netflix and the Hoarders DVD arrived in the mail today. After having my heart break for the people who struggle with that burden, I was determined to clean out something....anything! I walked into the kitchen and the cabinet under the sink was open again. I shut it, and it popped open, I did this for a few times before finally getting on the floor and pulling everything out. It took a few hours to go through everything, but it is done! I'm getting rid of 18 cleaners, 11 vases, 2 dog products, 20 candle holders, a bag of candles, a bag of plastic cups, and a 30 gallon bag of trash! I am still left with more than I care to keep, but for now, this is great!

I kept some of the cleaners, but ultimately my goal is to have one cleaner concentrate that I can put into a refillable bottle. I kept 6 vases of varying sizes that my younger daughter picked, and I kept a few of my favorite candle holders. Now there is space and finding everything is so much easier!

Hubby is really on board!

Today my hubby sold his paintball marker and supplies! He enjoys paintball, but doesn't get to play often. The paintball marker is NOT going to be part of his 100 items! Wahoo! I'm so glad he is on the save page with me. Together we are going to plow through this "stuff" and move onto a happier life together!

Praise be to God!

Tugs at your heart

I am done cleaning out the cup, dish, and bowl cabinets. I asked my family what their favorite pieces were and that is what we kept. The hardest moment was when my little one said "mom, we collected all those tea cups". We did, it is true, she and I spent several months looking at yard sales and thrift shops in order to have enough teacups and saucers for her princess birthday party. What a beautiful memory! I told her that she could pick two set to keep, it was hard, on both of us. My heart wanted to let her keep them all, to hold onto childhood and memories. My mind knows that there just isn't room for them all. My hubby is pleased with how the cabinets look now. So much cleaner and neater, no risk of breaking one item while pulling out another. My counters and table are now filled with pieces that will need to move on to another home. Some I posted on craigslist, others will be donated. Tomorrow I am meeting someone who wants to buy the crinkle cutter and fly-saucer maker that I was telling you about earlier. One by one the pieces will leave, but the memories are always mine to cherish! Dreaming of the day I'm out in the sun next to my cabin in the woods, with my children playing or reading nearby and my husband holding my hand!

Today is hard

I'm going through my dishes, they are harder than I thought they would be to part with. I'm extremely sentimental and every dish has a story. I prayed the rosary today for my priest, the school my daughter is going to starting on Monday, and for money to pay tuition...I guess I should have also prayed for strength to let go and do as God has asked me. These are just things, pieces of material that one day will cease to exist....why do I cling to them so? Why is it so hard to let go of something that was never mine? Every thing I have is because of God, it all belongs to Him. God please help me today to let go of these things that clutter up my life and keeping me from what is important.

The Process

Today I decided to tackle an area that will have an immediate impact on my family. Yes I do know I said I would start with the bookcases, but that won't take care of stress immediately (I'm also really struggling with that!).

We don't own a working dishwasher. We have been hand washing our dishes for 10 years now. You would think by now we would be used to it, but we aren't and we don't like it! I have a little piece by paper by my sink that says "Thank God for dirty dishes, they have a tale to tell; while others may go hungry, we're eating very well" Author Unknown. As I stand at the sink day after day, I read this poem to myself, sometimes it does help. I am also offering it up to God for the intentions of others. One in particular is for a friend whose baby is struggling to nurse. He has had some surgeries to help, but is still struggling. This helps too. When I sit back and think about it, it isn't necessarily the doing of the dishes, it's the time I spend away from my family and other things I would rather do.

One of the last things I had planned to downside was the kitchen (My list of last things to do, is growing!), but today I decided that there is no reason to wait! I pulled everything out of my utensil and special kitchen tool drawers. I should have counted or at least taken a before picture of the drawers, but it is too late now. The utensil drawer is very easy to clean out at this point because almost everything is in the sink. Once I have washed all the silverware, just 4 of each piece will remain. 4 forks, 4 spoons, and 4 knives. We are a family of 4 and that is all we need day to day. Yes I hear you out there saying "what about guests"....well we rarely have guests, something that might change when we have no more clutter, but for now just my mother comes over and I can promise you, she has no problem bringing her own place setting. She doesn't trust things that aren't washed by a dishwasher anyway. For the occasional time that another guest might stop by I have a few plastic pieces that I will use and give my guest the silverware. For those who are still focusing on what we are giving up, let's look at what I'm gaining! By having just 4 of each, dishes will not sit in the sink, washing will take just a few minutes, and drawers that struggled to be open, will flow freely in and out! Most importantly I will not be stressed about the dishes and my family will have time with me where I'm not upset about the dishes! Praise be to God!

Now moving onto the special kitchen tool drawer, this was harder. I opened the drawer filled with shiny metal and colorful plastic tools, tools that can do just about anything :-) I found 5 pizza cutters and I don't even care for pizza... 1 blue plastic one, 1 big metal one, 1 small metal one, and 2 plastic ones that I got for the children to use. According to hubby he doesn't like the blue plastic one because it makes the pizza move when he cuts it, he also doesn't care for the 2 kid ones that my children don't even use. We both agree that we like the metal ones, but we never need more than one at a time, so the little one is gone, along with the plastic ones. Pampered Chef has some great tools, and many have lived for years in my kitchen. Rarely is one used. Today I listed on craigstlist a Cut-n-seal, it's very cute, to make flying saucers out of sandwiches for children! And a Crinkle Cutter, great for making carrots crinkle. Why don't I need these? With the Cut-n-seal two things happen....I get fat from eating the area the cutter, cut off and I spend twice as much on buying bread to feed the little mouths that are eating 2 flying saucers instead of one sandwich! These items are neat if you have little ones, but they take up space and time and I can't even remember the last time I used them! There were also three pokey things to hold meat while you carve it....I have never used a one of them, there is also a zester which I still think is cool, but never have used. Now there is a box half full of all the items that are moving onto other homes!

I'm left with two drawers that my hubby will be shocked open so well and look so good! I feel good! Now to work on the cups, dishes, and bowls!


Contents of drawers sitting on the stove


What the drawer looks like now. It will need to be downsized again, but for now I'm happy

Another beautiful day outside!

The girls and I went to the park today, it was beautiful, no beautiful sun out, but the temp was 70 with a nice soft breeze to blow through my hair. Older daughter was swinging while younger daughter and I worked on her menus for her restaurant. She is calling it Dottie's because her chef hat has that name on it...it belonged to my step-mother's mom.

After we ran some errands, we came home and spent some time in the back yard. Younger daughter checked on her garden while I relaxed in our green lawn chair with my feet up on a small plastic table. It was wonderful. I enjoyed the beautiful weather, the time with my daughter and when my hubby came home, I enjoyed the hour outside with him. Free from distractions of tv, computer, and chores. We talked, held hands, and enjoyed simply being together. We talked about our cabin and our future. We came inside to prepare for dinner and it was so different, he went on the tv to play a game while I checked email and worked on dinner, we were together, but felt worlds apart. After dinner I came to sit with him and he was watching a movie on the computer and didn't seem to notice I was there. It is so easy to get wrapped up in technology and forget there are people who want to spend time with us. I'm just as guilty as the next person, but today was a real eye opener.

Before hubby went to bed I told him we are only taking one computer with us....that is it! It will be a laptop that can be put away and out of sight. There is so much more to life than computers, tv, and movies....I want to enjoy every minute of it!

Nothing is sweeter!

This evening about 6:30 my younger daughter (who is 10) and I ventured outside. I needed to trim back some tree limbs and she wanted to check on her garden. There was a beautiful breeze blowing with a soft scent of summer. The sun was going down, but there was still plenty of beautiful light. After I had finished trimming as much as I could, I took a break in an adirondack chair. There is nothing sweeter than watching your child delight in something so simple as watching something grow. A squeal of delight could be heard every time she discovered another gourd growing in the garden. Sadly her green beans, carrots, and onions didn't work out, but she has gourds, lots of them! Tomatoes too! After she spent some time tending to her garden, she moved onto collecting apples from our apple tree. She picked enough to fill a large bowl. Once I got my second wind, I decided to trim back our plum tree. Daughter has been selling the plums in fabric bags in the front yard. So I was very careful to cut the branches so she could pick all the plums off. She has about 8 or 9 containers full! We will weigh them and get them into bags tomorrow for her to sell. It was simply wonderful to be outside and enjoying the very simple pleasures in life.

The Eagle's Nest

What a great name for a log cabin! After a fruitless search for log cabins already built, I did some searching for building plans. I already have an idea in my head for how I want it, but since I'm not an architect I shouldn't even try that plan! Tonight while searching I found this home....

http://www.loghomeslogcabins.com/log-cabin-plan-eagles-nest.html

It's call The Eagles Nest! It is 575 sq ft and $34,000. It is bigger and more expensive then I would like and we have to put it together, but it is nice to know these options are out there! I guess my hubby and I should start looking at land!

Finding places for it all to go!

With cleaning out comes a new problem, where should it all go? I would rather to give to those in need or who would really appreciate the item, than just donate it to a thrift shop, but how do you really connect with those people?

Years ago I collected old photographs. No particular reason, other than I enjoy looking at them. One picture is from a wedding. Maybe from the 40's or 50's. It's a great picture and there are names fading on the back. I tried for years to locate a descendant from the picture, but had no luck. I had high hopes of giving it to them. Now it sits beside me and I'm ready to let it go. If I send it to the thrift shop, it will surely be trashed. So the question becomes what do I do with the things I have treasured all these years. My God guide every item I gave away, to the home He has planned for it!

Why am I doing this?

I have been asked quite a few times why I'm doing this. Most people think I'm crazy. Well I might be crazy, but I don't think the reason I am doing it is. My "things" take time away from my family, we work hard to have money to continue to pay for these "things"....we never seem to get ahead and are always falling behind and we see less and less of each other. My husband and my children are important to me, I'm not going to have them forever. My husband has been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, he could live for many years, even out live me, or he could die this week. In fact even without a life threatening illness, we don't know how long our stay is here on Earth. I could be gone tomorrow and how will I have spent my today? Probably cleaning, organizing, digging through a box to find something I am wanting. Wasting time on "things" that could be spent with my family or doing something I enjoy. We work hard and what do we have to show for it? A mortgage and car we can't afford, a house full of "things" that will probably be sold for a quarter each when we died. We have been married 12 years and only been able to take one vacation. I am choosing my family over "things", I'm choosing a life of less because I know in the end it will be the richest life I could possibly have. God has put so many things into my life for me to realize this is the path He wants me to take and I'm not going to resist any longer....I'm going to walk this path with Him.

Yesterday I taught a sewing lesson, made $20 and then had to spend $80 to have my van towed after it broke down in the middle of an intersection, the same vehicle we can't afford. We don't have the money to repair it, so I'm without for however long it takes. God has a plan and I don't always see it or understand, but there is a plan.

Makes you think!

Last night I had started thinking and realized that I don't necessarily need a true "Tiny House", those cute little ones that you hear about. We just need something smaller...less than 600 sq ft. The thought occurred to me a cabin in the woods would be great! I did some searching and let me tell you how hard it is to find a cabin. We aren't ready to move so I don't want to bother a real estate agent, so we will continue to clean out, save, and prepare.

Last night something else exciting happened....my hubby is slowly coming on board with the idea! Today he even told me that he is thinking about selling his collection of video games! Now they are all older games, so they aren't worth much, but right now they are taking up a ton of space. I'm not pushing or asking him....I'm trusting if this is God's plan for our lives that God will move his heart to make these decisions.

For an interesting read on Tiny Houses http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house/tiny-houses-suck/ Theses are things I never thought about!

Pictures

Ok, I said I would share pictures, so here you go. Here are some pictures of my books. These aren't all the books, but the ones I was able to easily take pictures of. As you will see most of them are craft books. I greatly enjoy doing handcrafts!

Mainly quilting and cross stitching books. This book case is located in my sewing studio that I use for teaching


These are cross stitch and quilting books that are stored on top of a filing cabinet in the school room.


These are mainly cross stitch books and leaflets that I have collected over the last 12 years. I actually cleaned out my cross stitch booklets a while back and gave away over 400 leaflets, these are the ones I want to do or use regularlly and will be very hard to part with.


This is the main reason I want to clean out the books. This is in my living room. Even though only a few shelves are mine, I don't like how this looks at all. Hubby and both girls have books here.



I also said I would share a picture of what is under my sink. I got a great picture to share that really shows the problem, but out of complete and total embarrassment, I'm going to wait until I have a good "after" picture before sharing the "before".

Proving hard

I have scanned my books a few times, but I am still struggling to let them go. I had cleaned out my bookcases a while ago, so what is left are books I like or still want to read. I'm also noticing a struggle where books over lap, meaning they are both mine and my husband's. So I have decided to start with my craft books, since those are clearly just mine. Since I teach sewing, it will be hard to part with them, but I rarely ever open them. With the help of the internet, anything I need is really at the tips of my fingers. I sorta wish that all books were digital and the need to have so many here would be reduced. There is nothing like holding a book, but when you have to reduce their numbers, digital will work!

Where to start....

Starting anything new can seem overwhelming, especially when thinking of going from over 1200 sq ft of stuff to a minimum amount that can fit into a 200 sq ft house. I have decided to take it one step at a time. My first goal...

Reduce my HUGE collection of books
and Clean out under the kitchen sink

I will focus on these goals until they are done.

I like books, well that might be an understatment, we have 8 bookcases and there are still more books in boxes. I always check the library first, but if they don't have it, I usually end up buying it. I usually buy used at either a yard sale or used book store, but cost isn't the issue at this point, space is. As hard as it is going to be, I'm going to try and reduce the number of books in this house to 1 bookcase. I will try to take pictures of all the bookcases and post them.

My other goal is to clean out under the kitchen sink. I have way too much under there. I recently purchased an earth friendly cleaner concentrate. So I need to rid my home of all the excess cleaners. At one point I thought....I already own it so I should use it. I agree that these need to be used, but there is no reason that someone else can't use them. They are taking up space and upset me every time I go in there to get a trash bag....which brings me to another goal, but I will write about that later when I'm ready to work on it.

Off to finish the dishes and start on the books and under the sink!

Today is August 10 and I'm changing my life!

God has long been tugging my heart towards a simpler life. Today while checking my yahoo email I came across this article. http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/110275/but-will-it-make-you-happy After reading it, I pondered it for a while and decided to google the couple that the article is written about. That lead me to her blog. After reading what I could before running out the door again to my daughter's orthodontist appointment, I feel more driven to this way of living.

This morning at Mass, Father Hahn talked about how we need to live our lives in the opposite way society asks us to live, turning away from greed, status, and want. I wish I had a copy of his homily today, it spoke directly to what has been circling my mind for many months now. Today's reading was very fitting.....

2 Corinthians 9:6-10
6
Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7
Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8
4 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.
9
As it is written: "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
10
The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Today I start with a list of steps. My goal is to be in a Tiny House in 4 years. That will give me time to give away or sell almost everything I own, save for the house (I will only pay for it in cash) and hopefully enough time to get my hubby on board with the idea. My older daughter will be graduating high school at that point, and my younger daughter (at this moment anyway) is willing to live the simpler life and in a Tiny House. This blog will be my record of this journey. I will share my experiences, pains, steps, and everything involving this process over the next several years.