2014 Simple Living Goals

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas surrounded by loved ones. It was nice to have a relaxing day. I kept loosing track of time. Luckily I remembered to get the turkey on in time!

The old year is coming to a close. A new year opens up like a clean page waiting for us to make our mark. As I reflect upon what impact I want to make on 2014 it gives me a chance to see what my current priorities are and what priorities may need to change. There are so many good things to do or to be. The challenge is to figure out what are the best things to do or be. A talk that was given my a man named Dallin H. Oaks entitled Good, Better, Best, sort of sums up how we need to view how we spend our time. What is best is different for everyone. We all have unique circumstances and need to figure it out for ourselves.

This year my family is going to make preparedness our focus, both financial and food storage.

Our Goals

• To have one years worth of food storage. My church has been advising us to do this for years. My parents always had a huge food stash and though I do have food on hand, it is not a years worth. Since being married we have collected some things but never made it a priority. This year is the year.
• To have 3 months of costs saved up. This means to cover our current financial obligations (mortgage and normal bills). For us that is around $9000. I know that other sites/experts recommend 6 months, and we do want to get there, but we need to think smaller for now. Saving up this money was really brought home when we had an unexpected brake repair that we were not completely prepared for. Man did we feel the pinch. I do not want to feel that again.

The more prepared you are the easier it is to help others and not worry about material things. These goals will hopefully help us reduce our consumption, think about purchases and plan ahead. I will let you know how I am doing.

Have you done food storage or a savings goal? What did you do to be successful? What are some of your simple living goals for 2014?

Christmas Is Here!

 Well, I can say without a shadow of a doubt the Christmas season is truly upon us. Last week was a whirlwind of ballet recitals, skating parties, and a kindergarten Christmas serenade. It was not definitely not a slowdown type of week, but it was fun!

On Friday my sister came over and taught me how to make homemade caramels. They are going to be gifts for my daughters' teachers. Man are they yummy. I think I will have to make another batch this weekend. Delectable. The recipe came from the Betty Crocker's Big Red Cookbook. You can also get the recipe here. Even though the recipe says to cut them in 1" squares, I would not make them that big. They are so rich, smaller is better.

My oldest daughter and I then wrapped them up in foil. I hope the teachers like them.

 On Saturday we got a steady falling of snow. In the morning I braved going out to run a few errands. I would say over the course of the day we got about a foot of snow! It meant a lot of shoveling, but I don't mind that. I like shoveling the snow. It is a full body workout. It is also nice and methodical, walking back and forth and throwing the snow on an ever increasing pile. My kids love climbing the snow mountains. Their winter games are so much fun.

 Sunday was spent getting ready for my middle daughter's Christmas Craft Day! She wanted a play date with a few of her friends. So I decided, why not a craft morning and treat day. All the crafts were really kid friendly and the treats were yummy. A big shout out goes to pinterest for some of the craft ideas. I tweaked them slightly, but it was great fun. The kids had a blast and the other moms had a great time too. It was a check for the awesome mom list. We need those every once and a while.

 Of course now my older daughter wants a craft day with her friends. I think I will want until after Christmas and then figure something out. It is hard having multiple kids, and making sure that they each get to do something fun. Of course they never remember all the great things they get to do when they see their sibling doing something fun. It can be frustrating, but I love them and we will work things out. Do any of you have ways that you keep both kids happy and feeling the love?

 Here are some pictures of the treat table. I made the flower arrangement myself at a church activity. It looks pretty nice for a first attempt if I do say so myself. The pine is real and smells heavenly! Also, here is a view from my wintry backyard.

Have a very Merry Christmas next week. Enjoy this time with family and friends! I will see you Boxing Day!

THE JUNK - Time Waster No More!

Though this might not deal with de-cluttering a space per se, a planner is an essential tool to de-clutter our time and prioritize where are energies will be focused.

I am really good at organizing big life events. Vacations, camping trips, birthday parties, baby blessings, are all planned to the exacting detail. My own day to day life... well that is a different story. A whole week can go by and I don't do any of the projects I wanted to do. I then get frustrated that they aren't done and that I have wasted a weeks worth of time. The old saying, "out of sight, out of mind" definitely applies to me. As well, let's admit it. It is much easier to sit and be lazy than to have to actually move and tackle a mountain of work.

Well, my planner has changed that. I am still not perfect at using it, it is only useful if I know where it is, but I do get a lot of things accomplished when I actually use it. Even just seeing the cover is a reminder to me to get off my duff and do something. It is my one stop shop for helping me feel organized, well organized with my time, remember don't open up any of my closets.

Planners are not a one fit all type of tool. There are so many on the market that you have to find one that really fits you and your lifestyle. A planner can be a purchased book, a high tech gadget, or a simple piece of paper outlining your day. It can be divided into hours, days, weeks etc. It can have spots to put your goals, or addresses or notes, or just simply be for organizing your time. The combinations seem endless.

I prefer something tangible that I do not have to rely on my computer for, so a purchased book planner is the one for me. Since I am not super busy everyday. and don't want to feel compelled to do household items at a certain time, I do not need a planner that divides my day up by the hour. So, I get a planner with a week spreading over two pages. It is nice to see a week at a glance.

The planner I use is called the Polestar Family Calendar. My mom started using them over twenty years ago and every Christmas she gives me my own copy and I love it! Each week starts with Monday and then each day is divided into three columns entitled family appointments, meals/kitchen, home. There is also a places in the margins for a to do list and a to buy list. These make it easy to plan meals and household tasks, especially since the shopping list is right there. There is also a month at a glance at the beginning of each month, which makes it nice for writing goals for the month and things around the house that need to get done that month. (I am not getting any kind of compensation from polestar calendars. I just really love their product!) 

A planner is good for people who are not list people. Just schedule things into your day. It is not a list, just appointments with yourself.

So, whether you like planners or not, they can be a useful tool to organize your thoughts and make your dreams into realities. It is essential to find a planner that fits you and your thought process, but for me the Polestar Family Calendar fits the bill. It helps me organize my life and and helps me know that I do have things to do and not just empty swaths of time. A planner is a wonderful tool that helps me live my simple life. 

Finding Contentment

I was talking with some friends the other day. They alluded to having a sense of not being happy or full of joy. They desired and craved after this but felt it was not coming to them. As we were talking this thought came to me. If we can't be joyful or if we don't know what will make us happy, we need to settle for being content.

What makes us content is different for every person. Some people find contentment in a nice herbal tea, or a good hot shower. For me being content is having a roof over my head, food in my belly, clothes on my back and my family safe and sound. Anything more than that is an added bonus. The more we find contentment in our small simple blessings the easier joy can infiltrate our being. If we are always discontent how is joy going to dwell there?

As we continued talking it also became evident that feelings of discontentment creep in when we compare ourselves to others. Comparison can be a good thing when it lifts us up to do better without feelings of guilt or discouragement. Yet, what we usually see from others has elements of falsehoods or untruths. People do their best to present their best selves. I know I want to present my best self (so when you come over to my house please don't open closet doors, an avalanche might fall on you). On blogs we never see the failed attempts to get things perfect or the practice it took to complete a craft or sewing project or whatever. We don't see the mountain of dishes in the kitchen to produce a yummy meal, or the other household tasks left undone or stories to children not being read as we do our other projects. We just see the end result that is usually picture perfect. We can't compare ourselves to these misrepresentations or feel we are not good enough if we can't replicate it on our first go. These are impossible ideals. So if you use comparisons make sure they drive you to reach to be better, not lead you to despair and self-loathing.

I think a lot of these joyless feelings come from the stress of perfection which we know is an impossible ideal. And this idea of perfection comes from comparisons, as illustrated above.

One way I get out of my joyless funks is by being kind to others. It feels so good and satisfying to do something for someone when they can't do it for themselves, or even when they can. Being able to be that helping hand means you are of worth and of value. And I think everyone wants to feel of worth.

Of course feelings of unhappiness could be symptoms of something more serious and appropriate counseling my be needed. But, in both cases, a general joyless funk, or a mores serious situation, a loving support system is so important. When you are able to surround yourself with love it makes even the darkest sky seem a bit brighter. It makes it easier for you to get your contentment back.

So, I hope during this time of crazy consumerism and holiday parties and festivities, you are able to take a moment to reflect on what makes you content and focus on that. This contentment will carry you through times when joy seems like an impossibility. When you feel really content joy is but a step away.