101 in 1001

I joined a site where you complete 101 things in 1001 days. You make a list of 101 things you want to do or accomplish in 1001 days. I made my list and it was rather hard to come up with 101 things. I may change it, but you can check it out at http://dayzeroproject.com/user/slost. Check the directory for all kinds of lists.

Food Preparation

So a friend of mine wrote an ebook called Co-op Cuisine. It is a great resource you can get from the website 30-Day Gourmet.  There are a lot of e-books there for you depending on what you want and how you cook.  So we started doing this about a year ago.  It started with just 4 of us, had as many as 8, and today there were 7 of us.  We each had chosen a meal, prepared it 7 times, and came together today to switch with the others to get 6 new meals.  Sounds a little complex, but purchase of her book if you are interested, it really lays it all out and includes recipes too.

So now I have 7 meals sitting in my freezer ready to just thaw, heat and eat.  What could be more simple than that.  I won't have to "cook" for a week or so and then there are the leftovers that we usually have for lunch.  It will usually feed me and my son or I can even send some with hubby for his lunch.

I also picked up my box of fresh organic produce today.  I have fresh produce that will last us all week.  It was all picked on Thursday, boxed on Friday, and delivered today.  Talk about the simplicity of that.  No extra packaging, it is all fairly local, withing a 100 miles or so, and so good.  We have learned to eat so many new things and it is really fun to learn to prepare all the different varieties of fruits and vegetables.  During the summer I buy extra, can some of it and make jams or jellies.  I dry the herbs we get in my dehydrator.  We use some of it and some I give to people as gifts.  People love them. 

No one seems to take the time to home prepare their food anymore.  If there is one area that is really easy for me to keep simple, it is food preparation.  I have always made menus and had a plan, so it keeps things simple.  It is amazing what a plan will do for you in keeping your life simplified.

Day 3 of Simplicity and illness

How come every time I get fired up to do something life seems to happen. Yesterday I got my bag of clothes to my charity and today I woke up sick. Then because of that, I forgot an eye appointment for our son. All my plans to get things done today and get another bag started to get out of my house came to a screeching halt. I wanted to get some cleaning done, so that I can get on top of that part of my life too. Simplicity takes a lot of work it seems.

However...

it caused me to slow down. Isn't that what simplicity means? Slow down and take time. It is not just learning how to pare down or become more self-sufficient, but to slow down and enjoy the life you have. I have spent some time on the internet and watched a movie. I am going to start re-reading Eclipse before the movie comes out in June. My son has planned a movie night and pizza with me and my mom here, so it will be a relaxing evening too.

So even though I'm sick, I am learning to slow down.

First Step - 41 bags of stuff

So I have decided that I want to live a more simple life.  Hubby and the kids are just going to have to tag along on this ride.  Of course, the kids are 17 and 19, they are pretty much adults anyway, but they do both still live at home, so they are going to have to come along if they are going to live around here.

The first step is to keep my daily life managable.  I need to keep the surfaces clear and get rid of all the stuff I do not, will not, and cannot use.  Last night I decided I would count the number of weeks left in the year and get rid of one box, bag, or larger item every week.  There are 41 weeks left in 2010, so I started on my first bag.

Getting rid of stuff was a lot harder than I imagined.  I figured the easiet place to start was my extra closet of clothes.  I have one closet of clothes that I never or rarely wear.  I started going through them and realized most of them I had not worn in nearly 20 years!!  I left corporate America in 1990, just before my oldest was born.  I still have all my nice wool suits, travel clothes, and office dresses in my closet.  Yes, I know I wore a few of them in the last 20 years, but not many.  More to the point, I am not that size anymore.  I could not get one thing on.  (And yes I did try, even though I knew I would never wear that type of clothing.)  So I folded and placed clothes in a bag until it was full.  I have more, but I just could not take it anymore.  I never thought it would be so hard and emotional.  It was like losing a part of me even though it had not been me for 20 years.

I cataloged my clothes and they are ready to go to the Discovery Shop. It is our American Cancer Society thrift store.  I will be driving right by there today and I will take my first step toward my 41 bags of stuff.  And really it is just stuff.  Those clothes have not been a part of my life for a long time and they could really be nice for someone else starting their way on the corporate ladder that I decided to jump off of and not pursue.

Watch out people, I'm learning to simplify.

Where to begin to live simply?

So I have been reading a lot about living a simple life.  There are a lot of blogs, websites, and books on the subject.  My blog is just one more in the sea of information that is floating around in cyberspace.  My wish for this blog is to share the ups and downs of trying to find my way to simplicity.  To get rid of things that complicate my world and find peace within both my physical and spiritual life.  While my life is not as complicated as it used to be, there are still many family responsibilities, money issues, and daily living needs.  I would love to be able to find time for everything, but I really want to learn to be content with what I do accomplish and satisfied that I am making an effort without feeling stressed that I did not do it all.


The first part of our simplifying journey began over two years ago when my husband and myself found Dave Ramsey.  We started using his program October 1, 2007.
We made our first real budget in 21 years of marriage and have been making monthly budgets ever since.  While many feel budgets are constraining they have made our life so much easier.  It has simplified our bill paying and there is a plan for where our money is going to be spent before it ever comes into the house.  The most important part of this however is that we have paid off over $33,000 in debt.  We have not used credit for the purchase of anything since January of 2008.  Cash is the most simple way to live financially.  It gives you much more freedom that we ever imagined.