Kendra and I have been doing a lot of talking/thinking about being minimalists - parring down on what we have and living on less.

We hope to randomly be able to post on this subject (I think both of us have plans on minimizing our closets soon! :)) every now and then. We’d also love to hear from you all if you have ideas on the subject or have any goals that you’ve decided to tackle in this area yourself.

If you are like us, and want to get rid of “stuff” and start living a more simple life, here are a few baby steps to consider:

1. Get rid of unnecessary stuff (sell it or give it away…don’t throw it away unless it’s truly trash)
Instead of having 10 pairs of shoes, try parring is down to 5…or even 3 or 2. If you haven’t used that kitchen gadget for at least three months, it’s probably not a necessary item to keep in your home. Just take a look at what you have and really analyze what you have/need and start shedding the “stuff”

2. Buy more “permanents”, less disposables

3. Buy quality, rather than “convenient” or “cheap”
Cheap things often break quickly…then you have to go out and buy a new one! Focus on buying quality (for a little more money) and holding on to it for the long haul, making repairs or mending it as it wears down. Use money that you are saving from buying less disposables, to buy permanent, quality items.

4. Resist “buying”
Resist the temptation to buy something simply because it’s on “sale” and you “may need it someday”. If you have the urge to buy something, consider writing it on a wish list , then revisiting the list in a month to see if you still actually “want” it. Often times, you don’t want it anymore.

5. Mend, repair, call the company
Instead of just throwing something away because it broke, be a good consumer and call the company. Challenge them to make quality products and to repair/replace your product (unless, of course, it has been put to good use and has lived a long, useful life). If you don’t know how to repair or mend something, look it up or have someone teach you how.

Four year old Jada was typing on the computer yesterday and surprised me with a sweet little message:

iluvyoowmomy

How smart is that? She also typed one out for her Pappy:

iluvuwpappey

I printed them out, to keep forever!

Thanks to all of you who chimed in and gave ideas on how I can read to my wiggly son who has a hard time sitting in my lap anymore while I read to him.

It seemed like the main consensus among all of you was to continue reading to him, even if he’s playing while I read, because he’s listening and picking up more than I think he is!

It’s funny that you all said this, because only a few days after you all pitched in with your advice, I was reading Amy Carmichael’s biography "A Chance to Die" (by Elizabeth Elliot), and came across this while reading.

The children in Amy’s family were called to daily prayers each day by a bell. During that time, her father would also read the Scripture to them. Here is the quote that hit me:

"Amy remembered the sound of her father’s voice reading the Scripture, a "solemn sound, like the rise an fall of the waves on the shore." Her ear was trained in this way, from those earliest years when a child’s powers of memorization by hearing are nearly miraculous. For the rest of her life the majestic cadences of the Authorized Version of the Bible shaped her thinking and every phrase she wrote.

A child, even when apparently distracted, learns far more than adults dream he can learn. Amy did not by any means always attend perfectly to the reading. Once she found a mouse drowning in a pail of water just at the moment when the prayer bell rang. She fished it out, hid it in her pinafore, took her place at prayers, and hoped it would not squeak. It did."

How’s that to wrap up thoughts on the subject!?

Thanks everyone for your input!

Here is my menu using the stuff from June’s box of Angel Food Ministry goodies. I tried my best to stretch these items for two weeks worth of dinners, but I just couldn’t make it work. So, you get 10 great meal ideas. Oh well, ten dinners for $30 is still a great deal in my book!

These recipes are assuming that you already have some basic staple ingredients. I’m trying to list recipes that don’t need a lot of outside main ingredients. If I don’t have an ingredient on hand, I try to substitute something else for it, or I just leave it out all together. This menu is mostly just for main courses. You can add whatever sides you have available from your own pantry. Depending on the size of your family, you may have enough left over for lunch the next day, or even another dinner!

1. Pan-Seared Ribeye Steaks, Steamed Carrots with Lemon-Dill Butter

2. Golden Honey Chicken, Pork and Beans

3. Sizzle Burger Hamburgers, Oven Baked French Fries

4. Honey Barbecue Riblets

5. Vegetable Stew (based on this recipe’s filling) with Bisquick Dumplings

6. Supreme Pizza

7. Italian Sausage Casserole (*make sure to save about 1/4 of the sausage for another recipe)

8. Cheddar and Chile Egg Casserole

9. Mac & Cheese Dinner (just mix in leftover cooked sausage and veggies)

10. One Dish Chicken Parmesan

I haven’t tried any of these recipes yet (except for my carrots), so I’m experimenting. Let me know what you think! Since I’ve just started ordering these boxes, I’ve decided to try to plan menu’s based on them each month. Eventually I’d like to add Aldi meals in as well. If you have any suggestions or requests please feel free to send them my way!

Henry and The Great Society

* Thanks to my friend Joy in Australia who just informed me that you can get a free copy of Henry to download and print at this website. So now you can all read it, for FREE! Thanks Joy!

Well, I’ve finally finished this book. It’s a pretty thin, paperback book. I vowed to read it in one night, but my eyelids had a different plan. I have to say that when I did finally put it down, and even throughout it, I was filled with sorrow and inspiration all at the same time.

The story is about the life of a man named Henry. The setting begins back in the ‘good old days’, before electricity and paved roads or even automobiles; when men farmed the land and gathered around the porch of the one local General Store swapping pocket knives and stories. Life was slow, and good. Henry and his wife Esther lived on the land that had been in Henry’s family for many generations, in the humble little home that had been passed down to him.

They were happy, content with life. Their young children were full of wonder and curiosity, and loved exploring the land and pretending wild adventures. In the evenings they would all gather together in a darkened room, lit softly by four oil lamps, one in each corner, and Henry would make up fantastic stories as the children sat wide-eyed leaning on his every word. Before tucking the children into bed, they would all gather around as Henry read to them from the Bible and they prayed. They lived simply, with only a few pairs of clothing each, which made washing day easy for Esther. They owed no man anything, and worked only to sustain themselves. It was a humble, fulfilling life, and they were very happy.

Then “progression” came to town. Modern “conveniences” were being pushed onto this family. First a paved road through town, then cars, electricity, indoor plumbing, telephones, insurance agents, household appliances, television, department stores and credit cards.

I don’t want to give away the whole story, but Henry suddenly finds himself trapped: a slave to that which was supposed to liberate him, he had “prospered into poverty”. These “conveniences” that were supposed to bring them “the good things in life” really ended up taking away all that they had enjoyed about life.

I would love to go into more detail; believe me, I could go on and on. But I really want to encourage you to find this book somewhere and read it yourself. I have to warn you though, it will make you reconsider all that you think is so valuable in your own life. Adelia told me that after her husband read this book was when he decided to quit his blue collar job and they began living off the land.

Before I read this book I found myself wondering how Adelia could live without such things as a steady income and the internet. I thought to myself, “Wow, if she only had the internet it would be so much easier for her to find recipes and herbal remedies than sorting through all of her books.” Well, now I completely understand why they have chosen to live this way. And I have to say that her way of living, humbly, simply, is becoming more and more appealing to me.

I’m sure I will have much more to say on this topic of living more simply in the posts to come. But since this is just supposed to be a book review I’ll leave it at that. I do hope that you are able to read this thought provoking novel. A forewarning though, the ending chapters of the book are a little overwhelming, and I dare say even fanatical (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). I could only swallow so much of the author’s venting, but the story itself is enough to get your wheels turning.

I hope that you are able to share this challenging book with me. I’d love to hear your thoughts once you’ve read the book. How were you inspired? How did you see yourself in this story?

I finally was able to visit my friend Adelia this week! I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to make a trip to see her. So many times I’ve wished to send her an email, but it is impossible since she does not have a computer. When I had a not-so-busy day, I decided to go see her. I tried giving her a call, but was unable to reach her, so I hopped in the car with my daughter and off we drove. I didn’t know if she would be home, but she usually is, so I hoped we would catch her there. When we pulled up the house seemed lifeless; nobody was in sight. I got out of my van and went to the front door. I knocked. Nobody answered. I wasn’t sure if I should leave, or if maybe they were out at the barn. I didn’t want to be creeping around their house, but I thought they may be there, so I got Jada out of the car and we slowly walked behind the house toward the barn. I stopped and listened carefully, and was relieved when I heard voices coming from the barn. I yelled, “Hello!” in my friendliest, non-intrusive voice. I yelled one more time. Then the two girls came running out of the barn happily to see us, and the youngest yelled, “Jada!!” and ran to hug her. They giggled and ran off to play. I asked the smiling, oldest girl if her mom was in the barn. She said, “Yeah! We were just looking at the new kittens.” I walked with her to see the babies, and found Adelia. I sheepishly said, “I hope you don’t mind me just stopping by! I tried to call but couldn’t get you.” She was so kind, and talkative. She seemed fine with me just coming out of the blue.

The girls climbed up to the loft in the barn to watch as the new kittens nursed on their mother. There was also a new calf wandering after its mother in the pasture. A lot has been going on! We made small talk about the animals, and what’s been going on since we last spoke. After a while we wandered inside and sat on the couch for a wonderful conversation. They always impress me with their kindness and hospitality. I feel like I just invite myself over all the time, but they make me feel welcome and at home.

Somehow we got on the subject of herbs and herbal remedies. Oh, I know, I told her that I had Pink Eye last week, and how my doc. bill was $87! She said smiling, “You know, there’s an herb for that.” She told me that Eye Bright is used to treat Pink Eye, along with Allergies (and probably some other things as well). Then she told me a story of how her husband once got Shingles on, in and around his eye. It was a really severe case and the doctor warned him that if he didn’t get it treated he would go blind. Well, when he went to pick up the prescription he was astounded to find that even after insurance the cost for the med’s would be more than a house payment! He called Adelia and told her to break out her herbal books. She did, and by that night she had come up with a solution. She found that Chickweed is a great cure for Shingles. She made eye drops, a tea to drink, and a salve mixture using Vaseline to spread all over his eye. By the next morning she says it looked a whole lot better; and soon it was gone. Wow! I told her that I was calling her the next time my family had an ailment!

The discussion of herbal remedies prompted her to go and retrieve her newest gadget. She brought out this little thing called a “Cap-M-Quick”. It is used for making your own pills, out of whatever herb or vitamin you want! You just make your powder, fill these capsules, and there you go. Home made meds. She had bartered with her herb shop owner friend, and traded some bales of hay for this neat little device. I didn’t even know that they made such a thing. She hasn’t tried it yet though. She said it will be good to use with the herbs that don’t taste so nice going down.

She also told me during our discussion, that Flax Seed is very good brain food. She has a friend who has three autistic boys, and said that the flax seed really improves their behavior. She just mixes it into their chocolate milk, and they never know it’s there. (By the way, to get a free sample of flax seed call 1-800-333-5813, they are really friendly). I think I’ll give it a try.

I started telling her about my quest to become less of a consumer, and start trying to make more of my own things. She suddenly said, “Oh! Did I give you that book “Henry”?” I told her no. She jumped up and went to her room for a minute, and came back with a little paperback book in her hand. It was called, Henry and The Great Society. I couldn’t wait to get home and read it! She wouldn’t really tell me what it was about.

We talked a while longer about family and living on less. She mentioned a big family reunion that they have coming up. I told her how I just got back from California and my own family reunion. I talked about how I hadn’t seen just about all of them in over 10 years; cousins, aunts and uncles. She said that her family gets together every year for a reunion. There are many of them, by the sounds of it, and they all camp out and visit with each other for about three days. It sounds like a wonderful time of fun and fellowship. I told her how sad I think it is that so many family’s are like part of mine, and don’t see each other very often at all. I love that my family here, my dad’s side, is very close. We always get together for birthdays, and major holidays. I’m glad that my kids see and experience that.

She said that her small living room floor is usually full of sleeping people during these reunions, and her yard is open for tents to be pitched. I marveled at her hospitality. I told her that I feel like I can’t entertain because I have such a small home, but I realize that that shouldn’t keep me from opening my home up to others. I shared with her a recent account I’ve read of a family in a third world country who really has nothing, and a tiny shack of a home, yet they are so happy to invite guests into their humble home for a meal. Though they only have two bowls, nobody seemed to mind waiting until a bowl was washed for their turn to eat. Why can’t we be more like that?

Anyways, I had to leave before I wanted to (as always), so I gathered Jada up and headed back out to the van. They all walked us out and the girls said their goodbye’s. It was so good to hang out with them again. Adelia told me as I was leaving that she would like to take me to her herb shop friend to introduce me sometime. I told her I’d love that. I’m almost done reading the book that she let me borrow. I’ll have to write a review about it for you guys to check out. It’s really thought provoking!

Until next time,

Just mentioning the topic swiftly reminds me of the occasional childhood Saturday’s when my dad would call me outside for an exciting chore (note the sarcasm). Neatly spread out on the grass would be our white shower curtain, along with a bucket of warm, soapy water and a scrub brush beside it. My job was to scrub all of the mildew and scum off of the curtain until it was nice and clean again. Yay.

When I finally got married, moved out, and had my own shower curtain to clean, I decided that there must be a better way to clean the thing! To my absolute delight, I found a great method which didn’t include a bucket or scrub brush, and I’ve been doing it for the past 7 years. Here it is:

Place your shower curtain in the washing machine along with two or three white towels. Fill with warm water; add detergent and 1/2 c. baking soda and wash. When it comes to the rinse cycle, add 1 c. white vinegar. Hang dry on curtain rod.

Works wonderfully. No more hand scrubbing for me!

It’s been my trick since my daughter was three: Reverse psychology role playing. (I made that up myself!)

Here’s the thing; my daughter hates brushing her hair. She has long, wavy, often unruly hair. At times it gets quite tangled and requires an extensive brushing session. Now, she isn’t necessarily tender headed, but she can only take so much tugging and pulling on her poor little scalp before she begins to complain that I am hurting her. Sometimes that whining would turn to sincere tears, which of course always make me feel bad.

I decided one night that I’d try to lighten the situation, hoping to discourage the whining, by reversing roles. I told her, “How about I be the Jada and you be the Mommy?” She wasn’t sure where I was going with this, so I began my part (as I continued to brush her hair throughout the dialogue):

Me: (in a smaller, whiny voice) “Mommy, it really hurts me when you pull my hair so hard.”

Jada: (catching on surprisingly quickly; in her best soothing, mothering voice) “Well baby, I know. But I have to get the tangles out.”

Me: “But… it really hurts me.”

Jada: “I know. I’m sorry. I just have to do it.”

Me: “Mommy, do you think you could brush easier?”

Jada: “Yes baby, I’ll be easy.”

Me: (when I realize that I must be really hurting her poor little head) “Oh Mommy, that really hurts!!”

Jada: “I know, you have some really big tangles! I’ll try to be easy.”

Me: “Oww, oww, owww! That really does hurt me Mommy! Please be more gentle!”

And so on, you get the picture. But I was so happy to find her playing along so nicely, and she was so preoccupied responding to me that she completely forgot about her own complaining. When it came to a tough tangle, and I could see her wince, I’d complain before she could. That way, she knew that I understood that it was hurting her, and she was able to respond to me like she would want me to respond to her. If you try this method, and your child isn’t so quick to cooperate, just playfully say, “No, no, you’re supposed to say this…” and feed them some lines for their role. Stay in character, and hopefully they will catch on and play along too.

This is one scenario, but it could be used in many different cases. Eating something that they don’t like, putting medicine on a scraped knee, whatever incites protests in your home. So, if there is one thing in particular that your child whines about every time, you may find that this is a fun way to lighten the mood.

If you have a similar story to share, or a method that you have found works really well for discouraging whining, I’d love to hear from you!

In my latest quest to become less of a consumer, I’ve been searching for a good home made recipe for making deodorant. I think I’ve found a good one to try. Here it is:

Mix:

1 Tbsp. Corn Starch

1 Tbsp. Baking Soda

1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

5-6 drops Tea Tree Oil

5-6 drops Lavender Oil

This mixture makes a paste that you rub into your skin with your fingers. Check out a great demo of this recipe HERE. I’ll have to let you know what I think about it once I try it!

Have any of you tried making your own deo? Does anyone have a recipe to share? I’d love to hear your comments!

Here’s a neat trick: To get those super sticky Band-Aid’s off of your child without the pain, heat it with a blow dryer on low for about 30 seconds before pulling it off. This will melt the adhesive making removinal a cinch!

I’ve also read that soaking a cotton ball in baby or olive oil and rubbing it over the bandage will cause it to fall off easily as well.

Normally, I just let my little one play in the tub with it on until it’s loose enough to easily pull off. But these are some good tips for times when a bath wouldn’t be practical.