I have given up on the Simplify Challenge's weekly goal. It was getting to be too much, and I just do not feel like I have time for it. I am trying to be ok with not completing it all.
First week's challenge: I started my wardrobe ready to go full force, but still have not finished. It is hard to get something done in one room, while trying to also care for children and husband; cook dinner, pack school lunch, check homework, and do farm chores. There is still a pile in my closet to sort, as well as drawers unpacked, and unfinished laundry. Does not help a girl feel good to see that every day. Hoping to make sense of it all by Easter. I would say sooner than that, but my primary goal is to get the paper under control. This weekend's goal, all the laundry done and put away!
Week 2: Paper. It has my love, it has my hate. It is the first thing I see when I walk in the door from work. It is the main thing I am aware of when I try to let the kids be crafty in the afternoon. It stresses me out during bill times (2nd & 17th). I worry I have forgotten something for Boy's school. I started off well but because I did not finish, I did not follow my filing rules, then I had people over and felt I really needed to straighten up, which left the paper in a huge disorganized pile which laughs at me all the time. I need an easier, simple, plain system that makes daily sense. Something I can stick to no matter what comes. Something, that if I leave it for a few days, can still just take a few moments to sort out. Goal this weekend, to at least set up a system to organize.
Week 3: The kid's room. This was by far the easiest room for me. It is finished for now. When we have a yard sale this summer, we will make a few more changes.
Week 4: The pantry. I went through 1 cupboard and cleared and organized it. It is my least used cupboard, but is very pretty now. My basement canned storage is almost empty, but it stays organized. The rest will have to wait.
Week 5: Is anything we want. I guess it is back to what I have been trying to do the whole time. Figure out the sunshine room organization and get the paper under control.
This quote was in my daily reading on Common Prayer - 3/24:
Instead of feeling overwhelmed by a continued challenge on my time and my life, I need to refocus on our family purpose statement.
We wish to live well on God's land, being good stewards of his creatures, plants, and soil. We wish to raise our children healthy and strong - physically, mentally, and emotionally. We wish to be independent of the economic tide. Work well, play hard, create beauty.I think the objectives of this are:
- We want to be self sufficient in feeding ourselves - this means I need to be sure I can care for my animals, have appropriate space for them, and space to store their yields. I find under this a freedom to continue my passion for new recipes, and baking and cooking from scratch. I need to be sure I can find time for these things, and that the space is available for that purpose.
- Raising our children well includes space for them to learn and play and create. The sunshine room is where I focus their energy for that purpose. We also need a regular dinner time at the table together, family devotions. I need to be sure I keep our family spaces neat, organized, and useful!
- Independence from the economic tide! This is a lovely goal - however, it requires not only a capability of caring for my family, but also a freedom from the slavery of debt. Hubby and I often quarrel about the inability to move forward with our farm plans because there is not space in the budget - all of the money is eaten alive by the debt payment. It is hard to move forward with hobby farm goals when the debt free goal is standing like a giant shadow across the landscape.
And so I end, because it has been two weeks, and I feel I must post. Please forgive my rambling.
Food journal
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Tuesday: Breakfast - oatmeal. Lunch - 2 slices bread Great Harvest (http://www.stpaulbread.com/) is so yummy! also applesauce (homemade with just apples). Dinner - ground beef taco meat, ww tortillas, cheese, lettuce, rice, tomatoes. Juice with cider vinegar. When I am home, I try to have either water or juice with vinegar in it - unless I have pulled out the pickles. We eat a lot of pickles lately because I realized they are actually a vegetable (silly I know, but I have always thought of them as a condiment - something to eat occasionally with specific meals, but they are cucumbers with vinegar and spice), plus they help keep back indigestion. I tried to make granola - taste test will be on Wed.
Wed: Breakfast - oatmeal with a little granola on top! Lunch - buttered bread, carrot. Dinner:
Has fallen off the get up early and read bible wagon! Must get back on track. I am still reading common prayer in the am, and ps119 at some point in the day - but I really yearn to hold myself to some consistency in schedule!
Thursday: so i wasn't keeping track, and don't recall alot of this week's food, or weekend.
Friday: breakfast - oatmeal. lunch: um... Dinner: tuna cakes, chowder, bread
Saturday: breakfast - raison bran with milk. Lunch: pbj. Dinner: pizza - papa murphy's.
Sunday: Breakfast - oatmeal with granola on top. prelunch: banana cream pie, and cream cheese danish. Lunch: bacon, spam, and eggs, and bread. Dinner: turkey, potato. Dessert: ice cream, oatmeal cream pie! yum.
Monday: breakfast oatmeal. Lunch bread, yogurt. dinner: leftovers - chowder & chili & fried rice
Tuesday: bread, yogurt, granola, Dinner: scrambled, poached, and boiled eggs on toast - homemade bread baked in cast iron, with a tablespoon of bacon grease on the bottom - made a lovely crispy flavor after toasting.
wednesday: blueberry bagel with butter, coffee - I think I need to cut back on the bread - love it muchly, but probably not so good to just eat bread. I have realized that I crave things on the snack table less now! had the bagel at 9am, and now at 1 i still am not hungry. hmmm. perhaps fasting through lunch. headed out for a walk to the co-op, scoping out flour & honey. Dinner: curry ground lamb, broccoli, pasta.
Thursday: My sister is doing the 30 day no sugar challenge (honey, maple syrup, and such are ok sweetners). I thought about joining, but as it is, we are not doing too much sugar, and I cannot imagine adding one more thing. Plus, I really want to use up the stuff we have in the house. My monthly grocery budget is 200 which doesn't leave much room for really good real food. So I get by with non-organic, make at home ingredients.
B: large oatmeal w/ benefiber, and handful granola on top. No more brown sugar for me.
L: Potato baked in micro butter on top and spike, applesauce homemade apples only no sugar.
D: Curried chicken a la king with mixed grain rice (white rice, wheat berries, cracked oats, wild rice - white rice cooked to fast so it was mushed - but the other stuff had nice hearty chewy flavour! Definitely do again with adding white rice later).
Just came across this post today - awesome ideas:
http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/04/06/eat-well-spend-less-bloggers-money-saving-specialties-shine/
Friday: yippee!
B: oatmeal with benefiber and granola. coffee
L: tangerine, bread w/pb - doing my part to make sure the breakfast bread doesn't go bad! Also a slice of tomato basil bread.
D: Date tonight - so no lenten fish for me - we're doing chinese buffet & movie! Planning to keep cost below $30 gift.
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