wisconsin trip

last week we were home in wisconsin for the week.  being there always gives me motivation for simplifying.  most of the people we visit and spend time with, including my parents where we stay, live out in the country.  a simple, quiet life surrounded by nature, lots of room for the kids to run and play, contentment.

when we got back to the city, i felt very sure of what to get rid of.  the picture i posted was taken at the end of my parents' street.  it was a beautiful evening, no accessories required.  : )

trying to turn 1 step back into 2 steps forward ....

yesterday was back to school shopping day, and let me tell you, when i was hauling all those bags in the door i sure felt like my quest to simplify was compromised in a major way.  my oldest is going into 2nd grade this year, and my second oldest into first.  they both had supply lists 2 pages long.  they have both grown almost 2 inches since last year, so i had to buy new standard school attire for them both.   i'm trying to re-use the shorts and skirts from last year.  i decided to get rid of a minimum of twice as much as i brought in the door with me.  so i already have a bag of clothes by the door to be donated.  that way hopefully for every 1 thing new we have, we will be getting rid of 2 things.  eh?  eh?  

since my kids are required to wear standard school attire (which is like uniforms) for school, i have to buy that stuff brand new.  otherwise i have decided from now on to purchase clothes for the kids only from consignment shops and thrift stores.  this is a way to save money, resources, and not support corporations.  

starting over

when i first signed up to have this blog, i had no ideas for a direction.  now, i'm going to use it to help me attain a goal.  for years now  i have been thinking a lot about how materialistic our society is, how it seems that people that live with just the bare necessities are so much happier (usually these are people living in other countries), how all we do in this country is consume, and ultimately, how gross this style of living is.  inevitably, when you have children, you acquire more possessions.  well, i have 4 children, ages 7, 6, 4, and 8 months.  our house is full of stuff.

deep down, i think all people thrive on simplicity.  living a life with so much materialism takes away from the enjoyment of life.  it is exhausting to manage all of our possessions.  it takes up so much time.  i am really tired of having to take time away from my kids and my husband because i am busy cleaning, by which i really mean picking up and putting away, generally managing our belongings.  i'm tired of feeling stressed when things take over our house and everywhere i look there is crap.

i had a conversation with my 7 yr. old the other day when she was complaining that out of all of her many pairs of pj's, she didn't have a nightgown.  i explained to her that there are children who have only the clothes on their backs.  i explained to her that not only do we have absolutely everything we need, we have about 100x above and beyond that.  and that that is the way people live in this country, and it causes us to take things for granted.  the rest of the world does not live this way.

my goal is to whittle away at our belongings.  i have no way to make an actual measurement, but it seems to me there is a good 75% of things in our house which are either don't get used, or annoy the hell out of me whenever i have to pick them up, again, or just don't have a home.  

then there are those items which i love, use, and need.  as i go through my house finding items to donate, recycle, or if nothing else throw away, i will feature on here an item that i am keeping, and a reason why.  i know which items i'd miss if there was a fire.  

not many.  : D

food & stitches. uh-uh.

had my wisdom teeth out on weds. & this is sat. haven't eaten other than liquidy stuff. today i chewed a piece of gum with my front teeth. it went smashingly. i think i'm being a wuss about chewing with my back teeth. on the one side my tooth wasn't even through, so it'll be no different chewing. still & all, i don't want food getting all up in there, & i'd really just as soon pretend i don't have stitches in my mouth. therefore i'd like NOT to find out what happens when food and stitches collide.

ech. bleh. getting a blog started seems like pulling teeth. how do people do this?