holiday thoughts

Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming and I can't wait! What a fun time of year! However, in the interest of not getting all crazy buying things to decorate with or too many Christmas-themed cookie-dough cutters, I have made a few promises to myself.

1. Decorate for Christmas much the way I would decorate the house anyhow. Make it all go together and that way I don't necessarily have to take it all down! As I think more and more about my future cabin I want to own, I realize I like stuff like this tree above. I want to bring nature into the home and not shut it out so much.

2. Really think ahead of time about gifts for folks and buy/make them something special instead of a bunch of junk to fill the box!

3. Make more food gifts, like cookies and candies, instead of giving "stuff."

4. Start up a Gluhwein pot and keep it going throughout the season!

5. This year I'm going to purchase a smallish Christmas tree, put it on the "dining room" table (away from little doggies who like to eat weird things) and decorate it up with what I have. Then, I think I'll keep it alive and use it next year and the year after. When I buy that cabin I can plant it nearby.

6. I think I'll have to catsit at ERG's place for Christmas..... darn it! Who wants to sit by a fire, with four cats, a puppy and a mug of Gluhwein for Christmas?? :)

just one cup

As I continue to figure out what I really need, like and will use in my all-too-cluttered life I find that less is truly more.

Esther and I were talking a while back about all the coffee mugs we tend to collect. She said she doesn't really like large mugs and so had gotten rid of all the big ones she used to have and was only keeping the small (tea-sized) cups. Which made me think.... yeah, she's right! I no longer drink tons of coffee at any one sitting and often I find that my coffee gets cold before I drink the whole cup. Also, who needs a dozen coffee mugs?? We all have our favorites that we use over and over and and the rest just sit on the shelf, looking pretty.

So, I looked at my mug shelf. Sure enough, many of them I never touched and all of them were just too big. They had to go. Now, I have this one mug. It's the one I purchased at the Green Bean Cafe in the old embassy in Baghdad several years back and it's been everywhere with me. I'm making it do for now, until I find some small mugs I like. Surprisingly, it's not that big of a deal to only have on mug!

Lesson learned.

simple, emily. simple

I have to confess, I kind of fell off the "simplicity wagon" a bit the last few weeks. Things got busy around here and I stopped thinking living simply and just was worried that I wouldn't get out of bed on time!

Now I'm pausing again to think about what else I can do to make things easier. I learned a few lessons this past month:

• The less clothing options, the better. And the more everything in your wardrobe works together, the easier your mornings are! (Thank you Army)
• I need to stop purchasing food I just won't eat. Even if it's healthy for me. Even if I would like to think I'm going to roast those veggies tonight when I get home. I won't.
  
• The less stuff in the house, the less I have to clean. Obvious benefit here.
• I no longer want to spend my money on crap. I'm still in the process of getting rid of stuff and it is amazing how much money I spent on it all, only to take it to Goodwill. I work hard for my money. I am going to stop spending it on junk.
• By deciding to grow my hair for a full year and not to use hair dyes, etc. has been a good one. The longer my hair is the less I have to fool with it. Again, obvious plus.

So, a re-affirmation of my ongoing struggle to slow down the consumerism a bit and stop investing so much time into stuff. I like making the time to walk the dog, go on hikes, knit, read, watch movies, etc. The simpler things are the better.

minimalist by default

When I began the latest version of my "minimalist/simple living" journey, I never realized the roads it would take me down. Granted, my latest conundrum is not necessarily something I would have come to all on my own, but it counts!

Here's the deal, I live in an apartment complex right? Yeah. Well, I cheaped out and got the smallest (most minimal, thankyouverymuch) apartment in the complex thinking hey, I can do my laundry in the public space. Less cost/energy waste. Well, little did I know the communal laundry space is in another building. But, that isn't what irritates me. What irritates me is that is costs me $2 to wash 1 load and $2 to dry 1 load. AND THERES NO CHANGE MACHINE! Who the heck has a minimum of $4 in quarters a week these days??? NOBODY THATS WHO. I currently must go to the laundrymat to change my dollar bills to get quarters to use in the laundry room in a different building in my apartment complex. Talk about a hassle.

And so, time to downsize/simplify!

I started with clothes. No longer will I own white/light colored clothing. From here on out all my clothes need to fit into one load, which means they all need to be dark.

And now, I contemplate things like how many towels does one person need?? Sure, they're useful, but if you have to wash them and dry them all in one load.... too many towels take more than $2 to dry.... And so, I'm thinking two towels for me/guests use and 1 for puppy use. That's it buddy.

Huh. I laugh/scoff at those people trying to "downsize" who don't just have to because they have to!

just the essentials

So, it's been about a week since I decided to start really trimming things down in my life for real this time. And well, I'm making some progress.

First off is the food situation in this house. As I eat through what I have already stashed in the kitchen I have been thinking about the foods that I really will eat and what I always buy and just end up throwing away. My latest discovery is that I will not likely eat lentils by choice at any given point in the future. Yep, I'm making myself do it right now, but this is the last time. And do you have any idea how much an entire bag of lentils is?? A LOT.

I'm so glad I don't have TV in the apartment. What a time suck. Instead, I've been using Netflix and have seen some pretty good movies. I'm now considering cancelling Netflix and just using the library. As a matter of fact, that is probably exactly what I'll do here in the next week or two.

I started running again every morning. Thanks to the Army I really actually enjoy running. Weird, I know. It makes me feel good and I love the accomplishment of running however far and the way it makes me look (of course). I also like that is it time to myself outdoors. Not something that happens much unless I run. I will never invest in a gym membership. I'll never use it. Instead I'll just run and do push-ups and crunches and stuff.

Having Beulah has made it easy to pare down things like aimless shopping. She pretty much takes up all my free time and so I just don't have time to think about acquiring more stuff. This is a good thing. Also, she is a built in activity. I can take her on walks and to the park and on errands. Good exercise program too!

This afternoon I'll be trying a new lentil recipe. Sigh. Will tell you all about it if it is any good!

living with less

Today I took a load of stuff to Goodwill. For the 757th time I am trying to downsize my life and really prioritize. I want to spend time, energy, and money on the people and things that are important to me and less of all that on "stuff." I've been reading these blogs and books about the "minimalist movement." Daddy, I re-read the book you sent me entitled Put Your Life on a Diet, by Gregory Johnson. Interesting stuff. All these books and authors talk about owning only what you really need or really love and finding other things to do with your time and money.

When I think back to the times I was happiest and did the most with my life, it was when I had the least. In college I had a dorm room and some clothes and bedding. In the Army I had a barracks room (or hooch) and just enough stuff to wear to get me through. During those times I worked out, had dinner with friends, knitted, and read. I basically did the things that feed the body and soul. I find it harder to do all of these things when "real life" sets in and there is stuff to acquire and care for. So, I plan to return to the days of more freedom.

I already emptied my closet for the first go-round. All those clothes I always seem to acquire that take up space and hardly get worn.

Then came the knitting stuff. Somehow or another my long-term interest in knitting has resulted in a huge collection of needles and acessories. No longer. Those have been paired down. That may have been the hardest part so far, but it had to be done. I plan to pare down even further when I figure out what I don't use from the pile I kept.

Next comes the fridge. I realized recently that I tend to stash condiments, spices, and dried goods that I either use once and never again or don't use at all. I have made a promise to myself that I will only buy what I will realistically eat and enjoy. No more buying it just because it's healthy for me. Those foods are certain to languish on my shelves. No more fancy mustard because it looked good at the time. And I have to eat everything in the fridge before I purchase new stuff. Also, I am only going to buy produce at the farmer's market once a week.

I want to waste less and save my money for things I care about, like traveling. It is silly when you think about how much stuff just gets thrown away. The Germans have it right, making you recycle everything. Here in the U.S. it is too easy to just dispose of whatever you have lying around and not think about where it goes or why you just spent $30 on magazines that you throw away two days later. Hmph. Silliness.

I was going to take a photo of the inside of the fridge or my knitting pile for this post, but really it's just too embarrassing. I think I'll just work on paring down to the essentials and the stuff I really use and enjoy and occasionally I'll tell you about it.

Now, I want to find a way to have one of those tiny houses we've been seeing in the news lately. Maybe not as small as those in particular, but do you remember the little shack Esther was living in when she joined the USMC? Something like that. A bedroom, common room, kitchen and bathroom. I plan to move out of this apartment in Feb. when my lease is up and find something more conducive to the pets. A little shack like that would be perfect. Or maybe a trailer. Or RV. Who knows?

herb garden

Introducing..... my little herb garden in the making! These little pots sit on the kitchen windowsill and should eventually produce rosemary, lavender and basil. I started them last weekend and they are already sprouting.

I've been reading a series of blogs about minimalism lately and one guy's post caught my eye. He talked about how he always wanted to plant a garden, but wherever he was living he never had the opportunity. He said he never had a yard or lived anywhere long enough to establish a garden. Then, one day he realized that he might never have the "perfect spot" for a garden. So, he went to the store and purchased tomato seeds. He planted the seeds and ended up with one tomato plant that he kept in his small living space.

I guess I got two things out of what he said. First, don't put off what you want to do just because the timing isn't perfect. What is "perfect timing" anyhow? I'm not sure it really exists. I think maybe we make our own experiences what they are. Second, you don't have to do the full she-bang all at once. It's ok to start with one tomato plant instead of a full vegetable garden. It doesn't diminish the pleasure and practicality of that one plant.

So there you have it. Sunday morning musings on my kitchen window herb seedlings.