Most of you have seen and many have probably participated in some of the various lifestyle challenges that circulate through the Internet... challenges like zero spending for a certain number of days, cooking one complete meal from scratch, or purging a specified number of items each day.
Reader question... "I am wondering how all of you handle serving sizes at meal times? Do any of you actually follow the recommended servings per day when the family is served; and if so, how do you serve up the meal? Do you plate it up and then bring it to the table or do you let everyone serve themselves? What about seconds for family members without weight problems? I come from a family that has always been very overweight and my husband is also now very overweight. I really believe that the answer to the problem is to just eat smaller portions and concentrate on eating healthier, balanced meals. I am concerned about our children's eating habits... I want them to learn good habits for a lifetime but it has been confusing for me as to how to actually accomplish this. How often do you serve treats and deserts to your family? And again, when you do, do you only serve one serving for each person or just how does that work? Our kids love junk food and sweets... and so do we... I know that we must eat a lot less of these things... or do we have to eliminate them completely? Again... I think that the answer is to limit them... but I have no idea what 'occasionally' means. How often do you serve dessert, and how often do you have stuff like popcorn and the 'occasional bag of chips'? I guess this sounds stupid to most of you without any food and weight issues... but it is a big problem for those of us who do. I really would appreciate your input!!! I guess I am just wondering how 'normal, thin people' eat!! Help!! And thank-you!!!" --Anna
The Mister and the Missus stand on top of my refrigerator, and they have been a part of my kitchen for many years. I think having a few non-functional treasures like these around adds warmth and character to any room, and I especially like these figures because to me they look like a cruder version of the people in the Grant Wood painting "American Gothic" (minus the pitchfork, of course!).
I have so enjoyed being outside this spring, although sometimes I have felt very frustrated. I'm still trying to get used to being so limited in what I am supposed to do... and to not being able to do so many of the things I always have done. My husband and the rest of my family are always watching me and jumping in to "help me," and although I am grateful that they are looking out for me... it hurts sometimes that they have to. It doesn't fit the picture I have always had of myself.
Reader question... "I have a stainless steel sink and stainless steel appliances and they always look dull and streaky. I won't use chemical products. Do you have any natural way to keep stainless steel looking clean and shiny?" --Bonnie W.
During my years of doing volunteer work with children, crafts like these salt beads were always a huge hit. Recently I came across the very old recipe I used for making this salt clay and thought I would share it here. Working with this clay would be a fun summer project... doable for a wide range of ages... and the salt beads are especially interesting for older children looking for a quality "something" to make.
Katy, a reader from Idaho who sent me this recipe several months ago, told me that she has had people insist that these meatballs are really made of meat. I must admit I was skeptical at first... but she's right, these mock meatballs are incredible. They actually taste like "real" meatballs... the texture is the same... and they even look the same! Thank you, Katy... this recipe is definitely a keeper.
Several people have written to ask for the oatmeal bread recipe I mentioned in some of my breadmaking posts. I have been making this bread for a long time and it is one of our favorites. I would guess that this recipe originally came from the back of a bag of Quaker Oats... although I am not sure. The recipe as it was given to me is simply a list of the ingredients... there are no instructions given... but here is how I make this bread.
For the past four years our winter wood supply has come from the woods across the road from our house... but finally we have cleared out those storm-damaged trees and this year we needed a new firewood source. The price for hardwood keeps going up... currently hardwood that is stove length, split, and delivered is selling for $300 or more per cord. The standard for "stove length" and "split" in this area seems to be huge chunks that are often more than sixteen inches long, even when we have asked for a smaller size, which means that when we have purchased firewood in the past, we have had to do a lot of re-splitting and re-cutting to end up with firewood that would work in our cook stove. Since we would have to do all that splitting and cutting anyway, it seemed that the best solution for us this year would be a load of logs.
Voluntary simplicity is a philosophy. Often called compassionate living, it is a conscious choice to simplify your life and a deliberate downshifting to create the life and home environment that fit you and your family.
Ten years ago my husband and I were spending most of our time at work running a business we had created. Financially everything was great... the store we owned and operated was in a wonderful location, it was a spacious, attractive and newly renovated space, and the extra large office meant that our children could always be there with us. To all of us our store was like a home away from home, and the only down side was that we were spending so much time there that we never had any time or energy left for our real home or the other things we felt were more important. As the years went by, we began to realize that we never were going to have that time as long as we had the store. Still, letting go of the store was almost unthinkable because we had worked so hard to get to where we were.
On our wedding day, my husband and I were both just out of school. Neither of us had any savings or anything of any value to bring to our marriage, but I don't remember ever worrying about finances then. My husband had just started a new job and we had rented a small furnished cottage. We had student loans to pay off, and a car payment to make. We bought a bookcase and a sofa bed and signed up for monthly payments on them. We managed to save a small amount each month and we never accumulated a large amount of debt, but still almost every cent of every paycheck had a place to go even before the check was cashed.
Although living simply is second nature to us, we do not live a spartan lifestyle. Neatness and order are very important to me and I do declutter and organize on a regular basis, but I am not a fan of extreme purging, and I do not like the minimalist look. We have many family antiques and a few collections and other "things" scattered throughout the house, and I believe these homey touches add character to a room. We also have books... and more books. We are all voracious readers and over the years we have gathered together a large library of books that we go back to again and again. I do not believe that purging any of these items from my life would make me a freer or happier person... quite the contrary, in fact. But that's me (us).
Many of you have asked how our lifestyle has been shaped by the core ideas of frugality and voluntary simplicity. Actually, we had been living that type of lifestyle for years before either concept became popular. Frugality comes naturally to native New Englanders, I think, and most of us already have a strong streak of individuality and an inclination to do things just a little bit differently than the rest of the world. We have always practiced some degree of frugality, always believed in "living green" and conserving. The voluntary simplicity part came later, nearly ten years ago now... but that's another story!
One of the biggest ways we have saved money through the years is to do things ourselves. Any time we can make, repair, or do something ourselves, instead of paying someone else to do it for us, we can save big. Our most recent project, for example, was installing hardwood floors in all of the bedrooms in our house. Somehow that project escalated to include repainting the walls and the ceilings, and of course since we've done all the work ourselves, it has taken a longer time than if we had hired someone. But because we saved so much money on the installation we were able to choose a much higher quality of hardwood than if the installation had to be included in the cost. Like all of our projects, installing these hardwood floors was a learning experience. Before we began, we studied all the information and how-to's we could find on the subject, and then we just jumped in. We "practiced" until we were happy with our results, and then we did our first floor. Now that we have so many great looking finished floors behind us, we're already thinking about a possible next project.
Downshifting means working towards simple living by making conscious choices to leave materialism behind and move on to more sustainable living. It does not mean simply cutting back and trying to live the same life only with less money. Downshifting requires prioritizing, an adjustment in values, and a totally different mindset... not just a change to a more frugal way of living.
People decide to downshift for a variety of reasons. Many want to get away from "living competitively"... job stress, consumerism, and feeling they have to live up to someone else's expectations. Other people downshift because of a life changing experience, health reasons, or a crisis in the family. Often downshifting comes out of a wish to conserve natural resources. Whatever the reason, downshifting isn't limited to any age or income level.
Everybody wants to be happy, but many people don't realize that happiness has to come from within. If you're not content with your life and at peace with yourself, no amount of money or possessions will make you truly happy. True happiness comes from learning to enjoy the life you are living now and learning to appreciate the things you have at this moment. Living for a future time and yearning for the things you don't have will never make you happy.
So what does simplifying really mean? Personally, I don't think it means to empty your life down to the barest minimums just for the sake of the purge. To me, simplifying means eliminating anything that is a drain on your time, energy and soul while giving nothing back in the way of enjoyment, contentment or peace. Use this idea as your guide when deciding what things (if any) should be purged. It helps to remember that simplification, like frugality, is a tool as well as a goal. The ultimate aim is not to just make your life simple, the goal is to make your life balanced, happy and fulfilled.
One of the first things most people discover when they try to live a frugal lifestyle is that extreme frugality is almost impossible to live with long term. It's a lot like dieting. You can cut back on what you eat in a sensible way that you can live with happily for the rest of your life, or you can go on an unhealthy starvation diet that will make you miserable and is impossible to maintain. Some people try to save money by cutting so much out of their life that they end up feeling very deprived... the reason, I think, why some people get so burned out... they try too hard and deny themselves too much... almost guaranteeing that they will end up feeling impoverished and very dissatisfied with their new lifestyle.
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Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners
The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City
Making Bread
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Hostas
Wildflowers
In My Garden
Enjoying Nature
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