Cleaning?

Welcome to the June edition of the Simply Living Blog Carnival - Around the House cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. This month, we write about what we do to keep the little things from overwhelming us. Please check out the links to posts by our other participants at the end of this post.

I grew up in a cluttered and messy house, my room was an oasis of tidiness and no clutter.  My mother hated housework and still does, only doing what is absolutely necessary.  I have definitely inherited the hatred of housework but as my house is infinitely less cluttered it is rarely as messy.  I would not say I am, by any stretch of the imagination one of those people who cleans, dusts or hoovers on a regular basis.  I am much more of an adhoc do it when it needs it type of cleaner.  You are much more likely to find me with a book, a board game piece or knitting  in hand than a duster.  Personally I would rather spend time doing other things and that does not mean that my house is thick with dust or my carpets covered in bits, well some floors are covered in Lego but I would not try and hoover that up!

I clean when I need to.  In the case of the kitchen this is daily, personally I would rather prepare food on clean surfaces using clean utensils.  In the case of the bathroom this is about once a week depending on how much use it has had.  In the case of the other rooms in the house it is definitely less often.  But I tidy up almost daily.  I clear the floors and most surfaces.  We don't have a lot of possessions so there is never that much to put away.  Friends often comment on how tidy my house is, in an enviable way, they bemoan the 'bits' that get everywhere those very small things that children are wont to collect and attract.  They are not everywhere because we don't have any.  I may be mean but I will not let them come into my house and if they do they make their way back out again quickly.  I know that it is those little bits that can create a mess and make it much harder to tidy up, as if it is not difficult enough being a parent without making life harder for yourself, they are staying away until the day when my children keep their own things tidy.

So we have simple toys, Lego excepting, that are easy to tidy away.  Lego is kept to one room in the house in an attempt, that seems to be largely working, to keep it fairly contained.  We have a small house which means we simply cannot store many possessions as we do not have the room, less space also means that there is less areas to keep clean.   Decluttering takes place on a regular basis, it has to particularly after birthdays and Christmas and in the case of the children's clothes, after changes in the seasons.  By owning less it is easy to keep our house tidy and then when I do feel the need to clean, I can do so with minimum effort.

Thank you for visiting the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. Read about how others are incorporating simple ideas around their homes. We hope you will join us next month!

• Embracing the Schedule - Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy writes about how her family learned to keep on top of household life by creating a family calendar.
• Simply: Car Free - On the one-year anniversary of selling her car, Lyndsay from ourfeministplayschool, reflects on her family's decision to go car-free in urban downtown Toronto.
• The Importance of Finding Your Housecleaning Rhythm - Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama outlines how she keeps her housecleaning under control with a daily rhythm. Even her 4 year old gets in on it!
• Keeping It Simple At Home - At Living Peacefully with Children, Mandy shares some tips for keeping the clutter and cleaning at bay.
• Cleaning? - In her post, sustainablemum outlines how keeping clutter to a minimum makes for an easy life when trying to keep her house clean and tidy.
• Simply Downstairs - Jorje of Momma Jorje has found a way to simplify laundry AND bedtime... all with one simple move.
• In Shares, not Chores: Helping your Kids Help You Without Coercion Laura from Authentic Parenting tells us how she gets work done with two little kids and without coercion.

Green?

Welcome to the April edition of the Simply Living Blog Carnival - Going Green cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. This month, we write about going green and environmentally friendly living. Please check out the links to posts by our other participants at the end of this post.

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When it comes to labels, those that apply to people that is, I find them difficult to apply none more so than that of being green or environmentally aware.  This is not because I don't agree with it as a principle but rather that I fear that some choose to apply it to themselves because it is what they think they should be doing.  But should I be critical?  If it means that more people are recycling is that not a positive step, well of course it is, but if we are truly signing up to being green should we not extend this further and look at other areas of our lives.  That does not mean that it has to be an unreachable goal, it is about paying more than lip service and thinking mindfully when we make decisions.

We do recycle, we compost food and garden waste, we buy products with little or no packaging and we have reduced our rubbish and put out a bag for collection every eight weeks or so.  We grow some fruit and vegetables in our garden, those that we buy are locally grown, where possible, and seasonal.  We have solar water panels to heat our water and have insulated our house to reduce our fuel bills to a minimum.  We used washable nappies, I breastfeed.  We are considering ways to reduce our water consumption and would like to install a wind turbine in our garden to take our house off grid.  Does that make me green, perhaps it does but all these decisons have been made because they felt right to us, we were considering the impact of our behaviour when making them. We own a dishwasher, take baths rather than showers and we have two cars.  Two cars is there anything wrong with that, or a dishwasher or taking baths not showers?  Some critics might say there is.

We made a conscious decision to become car owners.  They are cars with low emissions but cars they are nonetheless.  We recently had to make a decision concerning one of these cars, it failed a test that is required by law where I live.  It needed a considerable amount of work doing to it before it would pass, money that we were not sure we wanted to spend.  So we tried to sell it, unsurprisingly no one wanted to buy it so we ended up selling it for scrap.  I would like to believe that it will be stripped of its parts and recycled completely but I am not sure if that will happen.  I have to take it on trust that that will happen in the same way that anything I place for recycling is actually recycled rather than placed in landfill.  We had another decision to make and that was do we replace the car or just have one.  We live in a rural area it would be difficult to live with one car but not impossible.  My husband is self employed and his work takes him all over the place, often at short notice, it would make planning our lives much more difficult.  It might mean that we could not join in with many of the home educating activities that we currently go to as we could not get to them on public transport.  We had to strike a balance and we decided that for now, we wanted to continue to own two cars.  We wanted to continue to be able to do what we were currently doing.

As we negotiate our path through life we can choose many routes.  We must make decisions that feel right to us, that are mindful and fit with our own beliefs and practices.  But to be green or environmentally friendly or whatever you wish to call it we must care.  It is not about offsetting one set of behaviours against another we must care that packaging is wasteful, or that using less water or energy is a positive step.  When we live simply I believe we have the capacity to do this.  We are not tied up with meeting our own unmet needs by filling our homes with the latest must haves for example.  We have the capacity to consider the impact of our decision making and leave the world as a place for our children's future that we too would want to live in.

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Thank you for visiting the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. Read about how others are incorporating eco-friendly living solutions into their everyday lives. We hope you will join us next month, as the Simply Living Blog Carnival focuses on Daily Lives!

• Green Renovating: A Lot, A Little, Not So Much - Laura at Authentic Parenting ponders about the many things that have an impact on eco-friendly renovating
• Growing Native in My Flower Beds - Destany at They Are All of Me takes the guilt out of her flower habit by switching from high maintenance flowers to native plants which not only lessens her gardening load, but also benefits the local wild life.
• Baby Steps - Kellie at Our Mindful Life shares how her family became more sustainable, one step at a time.
• A Greener Holiday - Sara from Family Organic discusses the overwhelming amount of "stuff" that comes with every holiday and talks about how to simplify instead.
• Forcibly Green--Obligatory Organic - Survivor at Surviving Mexico talks about her family's evolution from passive to active green and sustainable living.
• Giving It Away - Juliet Kemp of Twisting Vines writes about the role of Freecycle, the giant karmic lending library, in her simple and green living.
• Simply Sustainable - Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children discusses her family's attempts to live in harmony with the earth by living simply and more sustainably.
• How Does Your Yarden Grow - Alisha at Cinnamon&Sassafras writes about an ongoing permaculture project, converting her grass lawn into a mower-free paradise.
• Green? - Is it about ticking the boxes? sustainablemum shares her thoughts on what being green means in her life.
• Using Cloth Products To Reduce Household Waste - Angela from Earth Mama's World shares how her family replaced many disposable household products with cloth to reduce their household waste.
• Going Green in Baby Steps - Joella of Fine and Fair shares some small, easy steps to gradually reduce your environmental impact.
• Are You Ready To Play Outside?! - Alex from AN Portraits writes about gardening, and playing in the dirt, and how it's O.K. to get dirty, play in the dirt, play with worms, for both adults and kids.

Lagom

Welcome to the March edition of the Simply Living Blog Carnival - Clearing the Clutter cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. This month our participants wrote about de-cluttering and cleaning up. Please check out the links to their thoughts at the end of this

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I have been decluttering our belongings for a few years now and until recently was struggling to know how long to continue it for, I was looking for an end to it.  How much stuff did we really want, how much did we need, what could we do without, just when it seemed that I had reached a good state a birthday would come along and with it more stuff.  I felt like I was fighting a losing battle, but I knew I did not want to give up.  A house full of stuff was definitely not what I wanted, I grew up in one, it made me feel overwhelmed.  Then I discovered a wonderful word, Lagom.

Lagom is a Swedish word with, sadly, no equivalent in English it means just the right amount.  I instantly knew that this was what I had been searching for.  I was not looking to reduce my possessions to the point that I had so little and I was doing without, nor did I want so much that I had one of everything and more.  I was looking for balance.

I also realised that I was on a journey that had no end.  It was a continuous one that would go on and on, but that did not mean that it had to be difficult or arduous, more that it needed to be mindful.  I was not fighting against the tide but flowing with it.  When more possessions come into the house I now think it is time for some to leave.

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Thank you for visiting the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. Read about how others are incorporating simple living into their lives by clearing out the clutter. We hope you will join us next month, as the Simply Living Blog Carnival focuses on Going Green!

• 7 Tips for Cutting the Toy Clutter - In a post at Natural Parents Network, Mandy offers easy and child-respectful ideas for downsizing your kids' growing mountains of toys.
• De-Cluttering and Moving to Minimalism - Laura from Authentic Parenting is actively trying to achieve a more balanced life by giving up the things in order to make room for more enjoyment.
• A Minimalist Clutter Bug - Destany at They Are All of Me writes about the daunting task of clearing away years of clutter brought on by disorganization and a dislike for throwing things away.
• The Pack Rat Stops Here - Mercedes at Project Procrastinot doesn't want her twins to inherit the pack rat legacy but is uncertain how to lead by example.
• Clutter Minimized - Jorje of Momma Jorje shares how minimizing different aspects of her life and household have changed her life.
• Uncluttering Childhood - Are fewer toys and books harmful for your child? Does simplifying the stuff in your life, merely mean faster clean up? Find out if "less" is truly "more" for parents and kids alike at Heart-Led Parenting.
• Lagom - Sustainablemum shares her family's search for balance in decluttering their home and their lives.
• Letting Go - Of Things and Thoughts - Amy W. at Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work rejoices in her ability to allow others to teach her to let go - of things and of thoughts.
• From Cluttered to Clutter Free - Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children discusses the changes she went through from growing up in a cluttered household to becoming a decluttering diva.
• Facing the emotional roadblocks of clearing clutter - We all have reasons we hold on tightly to our stuff. Lauren at Hobo Mama offers advice for breaking through those walls.
• Spring Cleaning with Freecycle - Amy at Anktangle shares how her spring cleaning ritual has become much more fun (and productive!) since she's embraced her local Freecycle community and all it stands for.

Simplicity

Welcome to the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. Continue your reading read on at the bottom of this post by clicking the links to the other participants' posts.

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I endeavour to live my life, with my husband and children, as simply as possible.

What this means to me is talking and communicating with others in a manner that is respectful and how I would wish to be spoken to myself.  We always talk things through, especially when they are important to any one of us, and give each other space to reflect on our discussions before making a decision if one is required.  I try to ensure that I talk to my children about what we are doing on a given day at a time that is appropriate for them, in the case of my eldest this is the night before, and my youngest at the moment, in the morning.

It also means taking life slowly not doing too much in one day.  If we are going out then one errand/visit/plan in a day is enough at the moment.  It is important to me to allow enough time not to be rushing and stressing about being late or getting everything done.  If I need to do extra tasks such as making gifts then I think and plan ahead and to ensure that there is time to get them done on top of our usual day to day, again without stress and rushing.  I don't get to the end of each day and think, I wish I could have done such and such today, if it really needs to be done I will do it, if not I will fit it in when I can.

It is about our possessions, our stuff, being just the right amount.  There is a word for this in Swedish, Lagom, but sadly not in English.  I came across this expression on this lovely blog.  I am still working on finding our lagom, of finding our right amount this is very much work in progress.  I have reduced the amount of items in our house quite considerably in the last year but I feel that we could reduce even more.  Each birthday and Christmas increases our possessions and means that we have to find homes for our new things so sometimes it feels like two step forwards and one step back, particularly as we have had three birthdays and Christmas in the last three months!  All our stuff has a home a place where it can be put away, for the children's things it is important that they are accessible to them, so they are all on low shelves.  If they are stored in a cupboard then the cupboard must also be organised and accessible.  For me, it is also about shopping with purpose, with a list if necessary and not coming home with several items that we bought because they were a bargain and were not really want we need, let alone want.

The most important part of living simply for me is to have a rhythm to our life.  We have a weekly rhythm with days at home, days with friends and a day to do our weekly food shop.  If it is Monday then we are shopping, if it is Thursday we are meeting friends, if it is Saturday it is a home day.  Our days at home do not have rhythm we do not paint on one day or do crafting on a particular day, I never feel that these days disappear into doing nothing, they are always full.  Our 'home' days are also about doing things as a family so we might go for a walk or visit a Museum, go canoeing or swimming.  We have a rhythm with our food too.  I plan a menu each week based on the contents of our weekly veg box, we shop for the food we need to cook that menu.  We eat seasonally, and therefore as locally as possible, so we feel the rhythm of the seasons through our food.

A life lived simply is about being mindful in your decision making and communication, it is rewarding, fulfilling and enjoyable.

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated - Confucius

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Thank you for visiting the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. Continue your reading by clicking the links of this month's posts on what simple living means to our participants. We hope you will join us next month, as we discuss new beginnings!

• The Moments In Between - Amber from Heart Wanderings takes her yoga practice off the mat to focus on the ordinary moments which make mothering magical.
• Simple living - what it looks like to me - Does simple living mean we have to be selfish? And what does selfish mean anyway? Mrs Green from Little Green Blog ponders in search of a more simple life...
• A Simple Life is a Peaceful Life, For Me - Destany at They Are All of Me writes how simplicity is a very necessary part of her daily function and crucial for coping with Adult Attention Deficit Disorder.
• Getting Back to the Basics - Minimalism was the first step toward living simply for Momma Jorje. Now she's got big plans on getting back to the basics of living in order to live a simple, healthy, family-focused lifestyle.
• Simplicity - What living simply means to sustainablemum and how it is woven into the fabric of daily life.
• Simply Living - Sophelia of Sophelia's Adventures in Japan writes about her reluctance to tighten her budget after years of living in poverty, but also her anticipation of the pleasures of simplifying her daily life as she and her husband prepare to adopt a child in Japan. 
• The Simple Life: A Work in Progress - Joella at Fine and Fair ponders her idealized vision of simple living and discusses the steps she's taking to get closer to it. 
• Simple Living is Simply Living - At Living Peacefully with Children, Bart and Mandy hope to help their children focus on what is truly important by simply living.
• Happiness, not Greatness - Lauren at Hobo Mama discovered that ambitions got in the way of simply being.
• Shifting to Simplicity - At Authentic Parenting, Laura shares a couple of ways in which she tries to simplify her life.