As you can probably tell by the fact that I haven't written since the
beginning of March, I can sometimes get a little off track. However, I'm happy
to report that, while the blog might be a little behind, the rest of my life
seems to be moving in the right direction.
Since it's been a while, I'll give you a brief recap on the goals for the year by pasting from my first post:
- Simplify. This encompasses a lot of things, some personal and some for the household. It involves things like getting rid of things that aren't needed, being more organized at the house, and doing anything feasible to make a complicated life as simple as possible. My guess is that this goal is going to be the most-discussed aspect on this blog.
- Better myself and my family by cooking and eating better. Expect recipe ideas for our CSA share and from my favorite cookbook ever (Skinnytaste), comments on those recipes, self-flagellation on how much food we purchased and didn't eat, and similar.
- Purchase no clothes, shoes, or purses for a year. That started on Thanksgiving. I plan to add at least one new thing to that list each month. December was scarves, which were initially excluded from the clothes category. I hope to try to make paper towels the January addition, but I have to work a little to convince my husband. It might be modified to be "no more than one roll a month."
Simplification is bringing me a lot of joy. I am still removing items from the house. There's a box in the dining room in which I'm tossing unnecessary items as I find them, and the box is full. Instead of thinking, "Wow, maybe I should stop getting rid of stuff," I'm all like, "I think I need a bigger box." My wardrobe is decreasing - gradually, but it's happening. Things I couldn't release in February no longer seem so important. When I started on my journey to simplify, I hadn't even considered becoming a sort of minimalist. Now, though, I'm well on my way, and I'm loving every moment of it.
I've also realized that, at this point in my life, I don't have the time or inclination to start a real garden, as much as I want one. It's a complication that I don't want to make time for this year. We will in the future, but there are too many other things I need to take care of first. It stinks, and I was disappointed in myself at first. Then I decided that it's my time, and I need to prioritize it in a way that works for my family - as long as I'm doing that, it's progress, not failure.
Cooking. Eating. These are things I like. Pinterest has become the best friend I never knew I needed. A few weeks ago, I needed to get rid of a lot of eggs, Swiss chard and collards from the CSA? Pinterest was there for me. Italian sausage and kale?Pinterest to the rescue! We've stopped making a weekly shopping list based on what we want to make. Instead, the list is based on what we are making to use what we have on hand. (Proudest moments so far - we had everything on hand to make this other than pineapple/juice, and everything to make this, subbing gnocchi for pasta) It might not seem like much to you, but this is a mega big deal around here) I LOVE having all of these fresh veggies on hand. It's exciting, and it's making cooking a blast. Best of all, though, our grocery bill is still shrinking, and we're throwing away MUCH less food.
We also joined a gym. We chose the YMCA so Aidan can go to the group fitness classes with us. Last week, I convinced Jonathan to try Body Pump. After five or six days of being sore, he now believes it's an effective workout. And last night, I took the kiddo with me to Cardio 30/Core 30. I had a hard time keeping up with the workout because I was laughing at him. When the lady told us to go slowly into a squat, he popped down into something that looked like this. We were kicking to the rear, and he looked like he was in a taekwondo class . When we finished, he said, "Now we just need to find a class for Thursday and Friday." I'm so pleased that he's enjoying healthy choices as part of his everyday life ... hopefully it will be easier for him to keep it up into adulthood than it is for us to kick start it as adults.
Shopping is a bittersweet memory. The only time I've been REALLY tempted is going through Dillard's to see my fantabulous hair dresser and spotting all of the lovely spring dresses. Easy enough to deal with as it's just a momentary pang of desire, but oh, the clothes are so cute!! It's interesting to me that shoes and purses haven't tempted me yet - maybe it's because I'm avoiding those sections of stores? Whatever the reason, I don't want to consider shopping again until my wardrobe is pared down, so I'm thinking the moratorium might last longer than Thanksgiving.
I haven't given up paper towels. We got a puppy - 'nuff said. And while I haven't given up shopping for specific things, I'm really not shopping any longer for anything unnecessary, so it's been a non-issue.
Full disclosure: I did cheat one time, unhappily. It was Superhero Monday at work last week, and my whole team was dressing up. I had no superhero clothes, so I got the cheapest Batman t-shirt I could find. I felt, and still feel, guilty.
In the past couple of months, I've gotten to talk to several people about the minimalist challenge and the lack of shopping. It's fun to hear people's reactions and to convince them to give this a try ... or to have them tell me I'm crazy. Either way, it's an interesting conversation.
Next time: can I go a whole month without a Lofthouse cookie? Hmmmmm.
Thanks for reading!
