We have become overwhelmed with life, to many commitments, to much debt, to much stuff. We are on a treadmill the speed increasing and the incline position studiedly inching its way upward. Our hearts racing we wonder, is there a way off? If I try and step off am I going to fall flat on my face? If I stay on, I am going to kill myself! We run all day long busy, busy and at night we can’t sleep because we worry about all we have to do the next day.
This is my journey...
I shared a video clip earlier about how to save tomato seeds. I want to share another video about why saving our seeds is a good idea. I was talking to someone the other day who was wise enough that one year they kept track of how much they spent getting seeds and plants for their garden. They told me that they spent around $400 dollars putting their garden in one year. Seeds are not cheep and started plants, well they add up pretty fast. Part of the reason we plant gardens is to save on our food costs and to have a nice health food supply for the season and to store for the winter months. But when it costs us so much to put it in we are kind of defeating our purpose of planting a garden to save on food cost.
If you are interested in buying Heirloom seeds you can got to their web site and download a catalog or buy directly from their web site. Baker Creek only offers open-pollinated seeds: pure, natural, and non-GMO.
As for me and my house, I think we are going to start saving our seeds, besides I think this will be a fun project for me and Sarah.
I have been going through my storage (again) and have been sorting what to keep, what to donate, and what to throw away. It is really hard at first to let go of some of my years of stored up stuff after all the reason I stored the stuff in the first place was because I might need it one of these days. As I started to go through the boxes and make the tough decision to really be committed to down size my stuff. I made a pile to keep a pile to donate and a trash can. The first day I didn't get rid of much basically I moved my stuff off the shelves went through them and made a big keep pile. Everything in that pile either represented something I just might need as some future date or had some fond memory. As I looked at my pile that would need to make its way back to the shelves in the garage I was discouraged. How was I suppose simplify my life by down sizing if I couldn't live with out all this stuff. I walked out of the garage left everything right where I had stacked it in the middle of the floor. I didn't go back into the garage for three day, knowing what I needed to do avoiding it hoping that in some magical way it would take care of itself.
Ivan was coming home on Thursday and I knew I needed to get my mess cleaned up before he came home, I either needed to get it back on the shelves or I needed UNLOAD! This stuff has been in boxes at the minimum for two years some of the stuff much longer then that. If I had lived with out it that long why couldn't I just part with it? Well, I did it two trash cans, and a car load of donated items later most everything was gone. Very little came into the house or went back on the shelves. You know what, I survived and I actuality fill liberated. With a little more work I will actually be able to use my garage for what it was intended for, a place to park my car.
My little (big, for me) project today made me realize something about myself that I don't think I really like to well, I have been very wasteful. Sad as that makes me, I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to change. I am a long ways from being done with the d-cluttering process but pray that the Lord will make me willing to let go of the things that are just burdening us down.
My grandma Midge was recycling long before there was any environmental tree hugging movement. She had lived through the great depression and knew what it was like to do without, what it meant to make scant resources stretch. She scrimped and saved, reused and re-purposed everything, even left over scraps on the dinner table, no matter how small was put away in some container to be eaten later. One day as I watched her wash out used sandwich bags, I said "grandma you don't have to wash those we just throw them away and buy more when we need them." I had kind of forgot what she told me until today. "Honey, , there was a time when we had to learn that you couldn't just go buy more because we didn't have any money, my daddy worked hard just to feed us kids and sometime there was not enough to go around so we learned how not to waste. We learned how to use what we had to make do. So we never throw away anything until it had been used so much it could no longer be used, she said. "To throw something away dear is being wasteful, if it can be used for something else or used over again. I wash out these bags because there is more life to them."
I am sure grandma had a list of things that could be reused that I could not even dream of now. But she had learned these things from necessity, maybe her granddaughter should consider doing some of these things before it becomes a necessity.
Today I was watching a youtube clip on a herbal preparation when the presenter said something that started me thinking about what grandma had told me so long ago, about not being wasteful. He said, that he never buy containers to put his ointments in he recycle containers. Another lady showing how she makes her deodorant, said she uses recycled deodorant containers she just takes them apart and washes them out and then fills them with her homemade deodorant. That got me to thinking, of all the little containers I have thrown away that would have worked perfect to store my seeds in.
I have spent a lot of money in the past buying little containers to store left overs from our meal and slowly but surely lids get lost or the kids just don't return the ones you send with them in there lunch. But recycled containers work great for left overs and if the kids forget them or the lids disappear no great loss. Maybe this is an area I could save a little bet. We don't live that far from a recycling plant, what would it hurt to separate some of my trash?
My one concern is that I am suppose to be simplifying my life so I don't want to be collecting things for future use and end up again over burdening myself with "stuff" There is a fine line in keeping enough to replace the things you would normally have to buy and keeping things that you could use but you end up with so much you will never use all of it and the TV reality show will come to my house and films a episode of hordes.
What are some of the areas that I can stop waste in our home?
Buying to much fresh produce and not getting it use up before it goes bad. (I need to plan better)
Make sure left overs get used before they mold!
Stop leaving lights on when we are not in the room.
Items that can be reused instead of being replace just because they are disposable
Items that can be taken to the recycle plant.
Looking for needed items at thrift stores rather then buying new.
Using one or two light bulbs in my light fixtures in my living room, bed room and kitchen instead all four.
Line dry at least some of my laundry.
Cut back on the amount of cloths we have would cut back on the laundry.
I am gong to need to really change the way I think about the things we use in our home. How can I change our waste habits and save or stretch our new budget? We already put our organic waste in the worm beds to compost, but maybe it is time to do more. This also goes for the things we buy! I have a garage full of boxes of things I haven't used in at least two going on three years.
To my friends, I am not turning into a save the plant nutso, you will not find me changing my graying hair-do into dread locks or wearing tie dye I am just asking God to help me see where I am being wasteful in my time, and resources because all that I have is really his and I should be using it wisely.
To encourage myself that recycling can be fun and creative I didn't throw away Sarah's last pill bottles. I will show you how I am using them to store some flower seeds that I saved this fall. By creating colorful labels they now look more attractive and the useful information will help me later when I go to plant. Oh, and toilet paper rolls, can be re-purpose for spring planting!!! Which is perfect because I really want to try and start some of my own plants this year.
I have also started to separate more of my trash. Tin cans and aluminum are going into separate containers. Saving containers that I can put left overs in are also going to be part of my recycling plan. Fabric scraps no longer go in the trash I am putting them in my worm beds. The worms love them I am seeing more worms dressing up to go to dinner. The worm ladies must be using the scraps to make clothing for their families. lol.
Make very nice containers for my seeds
these will make nice seedling pots to start my plants in.
If I will make these little seedling pots every time a roll is finished it takes about 1 minutes, then I can toss them in a box and have them ready when we start our seedlings. For us recycling will probably start slow so no one gets over whelmed as we work toward being less wasteful. Maybe keeping a list of things you might need will help you decide what recycled items you need to keep and what ones need to go.
My beginners list:
I am going to need seedling plants - save TP rolls
I want to save seeds from the garden this year - plan how many storage bottles will I need and what sizes
What type of containers would be useful for herbal home remedies? How many do I need to keep on hand?
Make a separate bin for my organic waste. This can be composted
Save old laundry bottles to put my homemade laundry soap in.
Wash out use zip lock bags like grandma did and reuse.
If you have any fun ideas about recycling tell me about it. I am re-purposing shoe boxes to store my growing supply of seeding pots. I will print out labels to put on the boxes so I know what is in them. I think it is helpful to start small and really make an effort to stick to those things and then as you become more accustom to recycling add something new to your recycle list.
Remember the homemade deodorant I made? When I made it I didn't really think it would be all that great but, if I could save money and it would keep me from smelling like my sons socks I would use homemade deodorant.
I have been using this for close to two weeks now it has it kept me from smelling like stinky socks. I LOVE this stuff, if the recipe for this homemade deodorant ever gets out... It might put the deodorant industry out of business. Thanks to the nice lady on youtube for sharing this wonderful recipe. I posted her youtube video on my blog if you are interested in checking out how she makes this wonderful stuff. It is simple and easy to make It took me about 10 minutes to make two batches.
This lady also has a lot of other good tips and ideas on her blog Passionate Homemaking. I would encourage you to take a look at her blog.
We had breakfast and Ivan left to go help feed the sheep. Sarah and I would be going home today and so I started packing up what we would be taking home with us. Cleaned and swept the cabin, by the time I was done Ivan and L had the cows fed too. I ask Sarah if she wanted to walk down and see what dad was doing but she had her own project that she was working on and wanted to stay at the cabin.
Sarah is makes rag garlands to sell to help raise money for a dog that would help have more independence and and keep her safe when she is out of the house walking.
She would like to get a service dog that would help her with her balance. We are doing some research on a balance dog for her.
This is so cool, if it would work for Sarah it could change her life.
This would be a considerable investment so Sarah decided she wanted to help by doing what she could do to help raise the money for a dog like this.
So I left her working on her newest garland and I went to see what Ivan was up to. I found him down on the river clearing out brush so he could make a watering station for the sheep.
We worked all afternoon getting this cleared up I built rock steps down the bank to keep it from being to steep for the sheep and save the bank.
It looked very nice when we were done and it was time to grab something to eat and head home. Sarah did not want to leave she said he liked it here and wanted to stay, I would have loved to stay too. Lambing time would be starting any day and there was plenty of things to do to keep us busy.
We headed back up the muddy track to my car at the top of the canyon loaded it up kissed Ivan good-by and headed back to civilization. I had no more got back into cell service and my phone beeped telling me I had eight messages and as I was just starting to listen to them I got a call from someone needing me to do something.... I really didn't miss all this while I was at Wild Horse.
Saturday we took our time getting around it was the ranch owners birthday and she was going out to have lunch with some friends in town so she would be gone most of the day. Ivan went out and helped her get the sheep fed so she could get an early start.
By the time Ivan came back to the cabin Sarah and I were ready to go help him
feed the cows. I got Sarah all bundled up in her pink snow suit so she
would stay warm. Poor girl her body heater does not work well for cold
weather she is always so cold.
Waiting for breakfast
When I was not in the pickup or helping Ivan I was having fun taking
pictures. It was so beautiful even if it was gray and dizzily, the top of the canyon was shrouded in clouds making me feel even more separated from the outside world. When Ivan was backing up to the barn to load some bails of
hay I could see some movement up on the ridge behind the barn, a doe had just come into
the horizon and was grazing up the ridge.
Ivan had me drive the pickup while he through out the hay for the cows. He told me to watch out for the main line risers and to make sure I didn't run over any of them. After I has successfully navigated around the risers and Ivan had thrown out the last flake of hay the cows were strung out behind us happily eating their breakfast. Ivan took over the driving as we headed back to the cabin. I think he did that so I could open and shut the gates. lol
After returning from feeding the cows we went back to the cabin and Ivan took a morning nap. I decided I should get out some paper and start a journal. That has never been something I have enjoyed because I always felt that my life was kind of boring and uninteresting. I wish now that while Sarah was going through the whole cancer thing that I would have kept a journal because now in times of discouragement or even in times of joy I could look back and remember with greater detail how God has worked in our lives, how over and over he has always been there. I wish I could remember in more vivid detail how he brought comfort to me in my most frightening hours. But at that time my excuse for not journaling was I didn't really care to ever relive those terrible times. How foolish because in-spite of the terribleness of watching your child struggle between life and death those are the times I came to know God best. His faithfulness, his goodness, his loveliness, his tender heart for a hurting family. How could it be the worst of times and yet the best of times?
I have found writing this blog has made journaling a little more fun for me.
Rex got a chance to show off his stuff to the two ewes at the barn when he brought them in to their pins for the night. I took more pictures talked to the sheep and locked up the chickens. The ranch owner came back from her trip to town and her birthday party she is seventy but looks younger then most 60 year olds. She was very pretty dressed up in her town cloths looking very much a happy birthday girl.
When I got back to the cabin Ivan had the fire outside ready for the beans and had got them on cooking, we went back in and played more bible games and I journaled a little more. By the time the beans were done on the fire I had started making tortillas, I added tomatoes a can of corn and seasonings to the beans hoping to change their color and make them look a little more apostatizing. I still was worried that black pinto beans were going to be hopelessly unappetizing. Ivan chopped up tomato and lettuces and by the time we were done the beans were boiling again on the stove.
Don't tell Ivan I said so but I think those black pinto beans were some of the best beans I have ever eaten!
By the time we were done eating it was dark. Ivan and Sarah played a game of Uno and golf while I cleaned up.
What a nice ending to a very Happy Sabbath day
Friday, Sarah and I left the house at Middleton at around 7:50 we are off to spend the weekend with Ivan at Wild Horse. The car is packed like we are moving out, it is loaded down with bedding, food, kitchen utensils and Rex the dog and his bed and food. Sarah and I decided that it would be good to have a few extra things to do while we were down there so we also included in our packing a few games, books and crafts.
It was not really foggy when we left Middleton but the farther down the road we got the foggier it got so going was slow until we got to Weiser and things finally cleared up. The rest of the trip to Wild Horse was nice except for a few snow packed spots just before Wild Horse Canyon road.
Sarah and I arrived at Wild Horse Canyon road about 10:20 and pulled over to park. The road into the canyon can be bad in the winter. Mud, ice and a study supply of rocks rolling down onto the road make it imposable for a city bred car like mine to wonder into this wilderness this time of year. Ivan told me he would meet us at the top of the canyon around 10:00 so Sarah and I pulled over to wait...and wait. It was beautiful the sun occasionally peeping through the clouds highlighting the white of the snow against the trees, soft breezes eddying up from the canyon gently moved the pines. The scenery was inspiring the music was playing it was a great day to be out in the woods! Still no Ivan, I got out and walked down the road maybe the road wouldn't be that bad and I could just drive in... I had just got in the car when a Fish and Game rig went flying by, hmmm I thought maybe I could follow him in and if I get in trouble he would come back eventually and help me out... But Ivan had told me to wait so we waited and waited. I started reading the book Clever Queen to Sarah. The Fish and Game rig came flying back by and then, as if as an after thought, it backed up and the officer asked, do you need help?
"Well my husband is at the ranch and his is supposes to be coming to get me. Are you going to be going all the way down, I questioned?" "No, not planning on it, have a good day." With that he was gone.
It seemed like forever but around 11:30 Ivan showed up and we loaded all the stuff out of the car and we made our way down the snow packed road which turned into a muddy track.
My little city car would have never made it!
As we descended in to Wild Horse and began to come more into the open the canyon unfurled its wild beauty before us. It is like entering a whole other world down here. Time seems to come to screeching to a snails pace, as we creep down the road. If you look up you can see the power lines stretched across the canyon making there way up from the bowels of Hells Canyon to some land far away from this place. Down here on the Wild Horse far from those surging power lines we enter a world lost to civilizations mad dash to oblivion. Time travelers jolting down the muddy road, time as we had knew it ceased to exist.
Could I live in a place like this, so far from all that I know? Would coming to a place like this help me in my journey to simplify my life?
Ivan has been helping here for about a week and this is the cabin he is staying in, this would be my home for the weekend. What would it be like living with no power, no phone, no computer, no tv, no blinders, toasters, or crock pots. I was already for the fun of the challenge! I was already to cook on the wood cook stove except Ivan warned me before I came it was not hooked up we only had a wood stove to heat with and it did not cook anything very well. But I had my heart set on cooking over wood heat and so I thought I would try cooking on the wood heating stove instead of making use of the gas stove in the little trailer connected to the cabin.
Inside the cabin after I rearranged so it would fit the three of us comfortably
Even Rex had his own bed
Sarah loved the window seat it was a great place to take a nap
Ivan made us all sandwiches for lunch then he was off to work and I got busy putting away my things that we had brought with us. After spending time rearranging the cabin moving the beds so Sarah could take advantage of the window set we got our warm cloths on so we could walk down and see what Ivan was working on.
He was working on repairing a generator for the ranch owner, yes, she has the option of solar power... I will say more about that later. I am still enjoying the romantic idea that oil lamps give off such a antithetic simplify your life glow.
We had a nice visit while he worked but Sarah was getting cold so her and I walked back to the cabin it was getting late but I figured I had lots of time before supper so I took a nap and another walk by the time I got back to the cabin, it was starting to get dusk and I figured that I should think about what to have for supper. When I want into the cabin it really was getting dark! I lite the lamps thinking that would help but the romantic idea that oil lamps giving off such a antithetic simplify your life glow, quickly vanished as I tried to see to put together the meal. Light from my two lamps did not shed light to the far reaches of my little cabin. I gave up boiling water on the wood stove and opted to cheat and heat the water on the gas stove. In the end we ended up with a fair meal of spaghetti, just spaghetti.
Lesson learned start meal before it gets dark!
No, late nights here!!! As I looked out the window across the way the soft yellow light of a light bulb glowed from the ranch house. I'm thinking solar is not a bad idea and it still from this point of view had the warm glow of a simpler life.
It is dark even with the lamps can't see to read with out straining your eyes so when we were done visiting we went to bed about 7:30 or 8.
Happy Sabbath
I don't have much time to write tonight, but we just got back from a weekend at Wild Horse Canyon. I have to show you the view from the back yard of the cabin we are staying in.
Monday I bought a tortilla press so I could start making my own tortilla. I had to pay 29.00 for it but it won't take long for it to pay for itself. It has already paid for itself in yummyness, the family loved the homemade tortillas.
Ivan left Tuesday to go to Wild horse he will be staying there for about a month before he goes back to work on the trails. He will be helping Laurie with her lambing and calving. I am looking forward to going up to see him this weekend and do what I can to help. We will spend Sabbath in the canyon, but I can't think of a better way to spend Sabbath then in the beauty of Gods nature.
The picture of the cabin on my gallery page is the cabin we will be staying in, talk about downsizing by the time we get our bodies in there and our food there is not any room for "stuff" that is a good thing though we are all about downsizing...this is going to be fun, this is going to be fun. Should be easier to keep clean anyway.
Garden time is just around the corner. Last fall I thought that I should be saving seeds just because it would save us money this year when it came time to plant. I didn't get much saved other then some squash seeds but I would like to try and do better this year. I would like to invest in buying heirloom seeds and begin working on saving my seeds for the next year. I was watching a Youtube video on how to save tomato seeds that I think is very helpful, I would like to share it with you. Homestead Series: How to save your tomato seeds
Hope this is helpful information for you, the Homestead series on Youtube has a number of helpful how to videos.
Started making bread at 5:45 this morning by the time everyone was ready to eat breakfast the kitchen smelled so good. That made me feel good, my family could wake up to the delicious smell of fresh baked bread.
Will be making Ivan and Levi sandwich for lunch and have enough to send with Ivan to Wild Horse this week.
I also made two batches of home made deodorant one scented for men the other nice and flowerier scented for me and Sarah. It is really easy to make hope it works as well as the lady who posted on Youtube says it does. I will let you know. But if you are interested in trying it you can watch her instructional video clip here. How to make natural home made deodorant It is really fast and easy and takes about 10 minuets tops to make.
Here is what you will need to make the deodorant: 1/4 cup baking soda 1/4 cup arrow root powder 6+ T Cocoanut oil Essential oils: tea tree 10 drops I also use Young living essential oils peppermint 10 drops Theaves 5drops lavender for us girls 5 drops
Next on my list of things to do today is to get some of my grocery shopping done and keep everything with in the budget. I need to take my shopping list and keep to it.... we will see.
Got my shopping done... we will see how I did at the end of the month.
You know that wonderful bread I made this morning? two loaves got used up for lunch, I shared one with a friend and REX our dog pulled one off the counter and ate it... that leaves us with one loaf! Guess who is going to be making more bread again this week. I wish I could say that sweet scoundrel Rex but I guess it will be me.
Yesterday my plan was to work on simplifying my office it has become a time consuming cluttered up monster.
Goals:
Get rid of the unnecessary stuff, organize the rest and form a plan to keep up with my bookwork.
Ok, I will admit I tend to procrastinate with the things I hate to do. Then I get stressed out when I am up against a deadline to get them done.
This must change if I am to have a simpler life content stress must go.
My plans were sabotaged!
Very little got done yesterday, by the time Sarah got done with school I came home got some laundry done. Then it was time for her swimming lessons. I picked up my Daniel my exchange student and he reminded me I was late picking him up he had wanted to get a hair cut. So after swimming lessons I took him to Walmart to get a hair cut they told him it would be 30 minutes before they could get him in an hour later they said it would still be 30 minutes.... so at 8:15 we gave up and went home. He did get $5 off his hair cut next time he comes in so I guess that is good.
Some days I know there will be failures but I must look for the success even if they are small.
I got 2 loads of laundry done
Sarah got a short nap
Daniel saves $5 dollars on his next hair cut.
Sarah had a GREAT swimming lesson.
More old boxes cleared away at dads storage. (not much more to do!!!)
Best of all Ivan and Levi will be coming home today.
I plan on doing some of my shopping today we will see how little of my $400 food budget I can use today. Hoping for lots of sale items. Wouldn't it be cool to have money left over at the end of the month? Ivan would be so proud of me.
My office is still on my to-do list... just don't know how much will get done with my honey coming home today
Today my credit card comes out of my purse and I pay cash out of my budget for everything. I have to tell you I am just a little nerves about this, but I am going to look at this as a fun challenge.
Food: $400.00
Gas: $240.00
misc: 25.00
Still working out the rest of the bills.
Thrift shopping:
I knew that there are a few items that I will need when we make our move to get off the grid. Rather then buy new I decided to keep my eye out for these items at thrift shops and this summer yard sales. One of the items on my list were oil lamps.
I found these lamps at two different thrift shops I paid $5.50 each except for the red one I paid $8.00. I decided it would be kind of fun to use my new lamps, so one Friday night I lit all the lamps and made supper, working in lamp light is going to take some getting use to. In the end though we were rewarded with a nice supper by lamp light. Everyone liked it and so we have been trying to do that every Friday night.
One other item I have been looking for is cast iron skillets. Ivan will be staying in a cabin this winter helping a friend calve and he will be needing some cast iron dutch ovens and skillets soon. I found the small skillet at the Youth Ranch store and paid 3.95 for it, one skillet at a recycle store and paid 9.95 for it, and the other skillet I found so it was free!!!
The large pot I found at another thrift shop and only had to pay 30.00 for it. I think Ivan will have plenty of cook wear now, not bad for 43.90.
If you would like information on how to care for your cast iron cook ware I found this video clip from YouTube to be very helpful.
