Good morning, Friends!
I am happy to report that this Saturday we celebrate the first anniversary of Simple Life on Hacienda Hill. We will be out doing work for our ministry over the weekend, and I won't have an opportunity to send out the post then, so we are having an early acknowledgment. I have to say, the year flew by!
Simple Life was conceived to log our progress in change after I saw the need and felt overwhelming desire to make life more simple, go back to the basics, live a greener lifestyle and breath in more peace.
Since last summer, we have made changes that bless us everyday. Life in the world is crazy enough and we have no control over any of it. BUT, we can control the environment in which we live inside our homes, our sanctuaries. No, we can't twitch our noses and have our humble abode turn into a MacMansion, nor would I want to! I have lived in a 6000 sq foot monstrosity and I have lived in a single car converted garage apartment which was basically 2 1/2 tiny rooms. The size of your 'house' has little bearing on the size of your 'home'. Simple Life deals with our homes!
In our quest for a greener, more Simple Life, I stopped using the electric clothes dryer a year ago and still love it. I immediately saw the difference in our light bill, what's not to love there? I enjoy the breaks from the office to hang out the laundry in the fresh air. With my limitation of time in the sun, our clotheslines are under our back porch roof. It has little bearing on drying time and I am protected. It's been a win-win deal as far as we're concerned. Can't you just smell those fresh sheets now?
We have de-cluttered and pared down so much already but 'stuff' multiplies like rabbits and that is an ongoing process. We are still working on our mental de-cluttering...talk about processes! LOL Old ways of thinking can jam up the peace in your home as much as anything else! Just because you've always done something the same way doesn't mean its the best way. Likewise, just because your opinion has always been one thing doesn't mean it's the only way either! De-cluttering our minds of old worn-out excuses and justifications and behaviors is more important than throwing out knick-knacks.
On the practical side, we are about to have to replace our old original A/C system. It's 20+ years old, not every efficient, thought it does still cool the house, it just have to work too hard to do so. Wisdom dictates we replace it before it goes out on one of our 100+ degree days! We are shooting for an energy efficient and allergy sensitive system. Gonna reduce our 'energy footprint' on the earth and help me breathe at the same time.
Over the past year I've come to understand that living a Simple Life does not come overnight and you have to work at in the beginning. Most of us grew up in a time of postwar parents loving the modern conveniences and those of us 'boomer babies' were ingrained believing we deserved them. I'm all for technology, though it is often the bane of my existence, but new and advanced does not always translate to 'better'. I grew up watching StarTrek; I don't want my meals to be wrapped in a pill. I want real food, cooked by real people, and served on a real plate (no paper for me-thanks - think of those trees and landfills!).
I want my hands in the dirt, growing things without pesticides, to feed my family. Can you picture Jesus sitting under a tree with a Big Mac in a styrofoam box? Not hardly. God gave us good things to eat and man turned them into fat-laden, genetically engineered, nutrition-free and emotionally addicting toxic fares in a foam box that will not decompose no matter how long it lives in the landfill. I have composted for years and you can see the quick turnover from kitchen veggie scrapes to useable soil in no time. Is it the easiest way to go? NOPE! But it is a back to the basics, greener and healthier lifestyle de-cluttered of old mentalities and ways.
That's our Simple Life on Haciendas Hill. It's more peaceful and rewarding than I thought possible. Isn't that worth working for? Hope you'll hang around to see what the next year brings! Happy Birthday, Simple Life!
Showing posts with label minimizing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label minimizing. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Day 166! Time Flies
WOW, this is day 166 since we we launched Simple Life on Hacienda Hill and our resolve to live a more relaxed life, less cluttered with consumerism and moving toward a 'greener' lifestyle. We have made many changes and have many more to go. There are still old thinking and habits we need to eliminate and/or replace with greener, more efficient ways of doing things.
I am still in love with hanging the clothes on the line rather than using the electric dryer. Only one day, so far, have I not enjoyed the ritual. It was freezing, literally, and I had a load of my Honey's work clothes that needed to be hung out. Cold air dries clothes, too. It also makes your hands turn into red stumps of agony. We don't have many bitter cold days in this part of the world, so I do not perceive that to be an ongoing issue. We did have a recent stretch of foggy, misty days that threw a kink in my laundry schedule but we lived to tell about it without any major life altering issues. I just considered how the families of days gone by would have dealt with the same issue, and persevered in my determination to stick to my guns and commitment. I can honestly say it has only required planning ahead and more careful attention to the weather forecasts. All in all, it was a positive change to my routines and our lower energy bill. I have no plans plans to abandon this life change.
I have a few areas of less than productive results. My raised garden bed has all but been forgotten. It has gone to pot...no, not the brain cell killing, cash crop of pot (LOL) but as in neglected and weed infested. It will be but a few blinks of an eye before it is time to get the spring garden planted. I am not prepared! Nor is my sad, pitiful garden bed.
There is still a ton of 'stuff' of which to rid our lives and home. I'm sad to admit that a cabinet I previously cleared out and de-junked is full again! That's NOT the way to go about things. On a positive note, we've done some reassigning of space allocation. My Honey's studio has become my new office and is smack in the middle of redecorating, as in painting & wallpaper. Working on the book has occupied the bulk of my time and attention, as did the mission trip to Costa Rica. There are only so many hours in a day and I need to re-assess the way I am using them. We all have the same 24 hours a day, many people utilize them efficiently, many more don't. Some days I do, some days I don't. I need to find a consistent rhyme and rhythm that works every day for me. I'm not THERE yet.
I am currently trying to find a good balance and division of time to better meet all the needs I have IF I am to get the book ready for submission, my office cleared out of everything but the necessities of my writing profession and make it esthetically pleasing to my sensibilities and juggle the demands of life in general: meals to prepare, bills to pay, laundry to be done, dust bunnies to chase, clutter to clear, etc. It's difficult to remember that living a simple life is about ridding ourselves of excess so we can manage that which requires managing to maintain a peaceful, less stressful life when you're tripping over paint cans, boxes to sort through and stacks of papers you'd rather just chunk in the trash. There is practical work that must be accomplished if we are to attain that peaceful place. This is where I struggle...finding that balance.
All in all, I'd say Day 166 finds us in fairly good place toward our goal. I am thankful for the positive changes made and am eagerly awaiting the changes to come. Twitching my nose won't get us there, so I must push on.
Let me know about the progress you've made, areas of struggle and ideas to share. I could use some good tips!
I am still in love with hanging the clothes on the line rather than using the electric dryer. Only one day, so far, have I not enjoyed the ritual. It was freezing, literally, and I had a load of my Honey's work clothes that needed to be hung out. Cold air dries clothes, too. It also makes your hands turn into red stumps of agony. We don't have many bitter cold days in this part of the world, so I do not perceive that to be an ongoing issue. We did have a recent stretch of foggy, misty days that threw a kink in my laundry schedule but we lived to tell about it without any major life altering issues. I just considered how the families of days gone by would have dealt with the same issue, and persevered in my determination to stick to my guns and commitment. I can honestly say it has only required planning ahead and more careful attention to the weather forecasts. All in all, it was a positive change to my routines and our lower energy bill. I have no plans plans to abandon this life change.
I have a few areas of less than productive results. My raised garden bed has all but been forgotten. It has gone to pot...no, not the brain cell killing, cash crop of pot (LOL) but as in neglected and weed infested. It will be but a few blinks of an eye before it is time to get the spring garden planted. I am not prepared! Nor is my sad, pitiful garden bed.
There is still a ton of 'stuff' of which to rid our lives and home. I'm sad to admit that a cabinet I previously cleared out and de-junked is full again! That's NOT the way to go about things. On a positive note, we've done some reassigning of space allocation. My Honey's studio has become my new office and is smack in the middle of redecorating, as in painting & wallpaper. Working on the book has occupied the bulk of my time and attention, as did the mission trip to Costa Rica. There are only so many hours in a day and I need to re-assess the way I am using them. We all have the same 24 hours a day, many people utilize them efficiently, many more don't. Some days I do, some days I don't. I need to find a consistent rhyme and rhythm that works every day for me. I'm not THERE yet.
I am currently trying to find a good balance and division of time to better meet all the needs I have IF I am to get the book ready for submission, my office cleared out of everything but the necessities of my writing profession and make it esthetically pleasing to my sensibilities and juggle the demands of life in general: meals to prepare, bills to pay, laundry to be done, dust bunnies to chase, clutter to clear, etc. It's difficult to remember that living a simple life is about ridding ourselves of excess so we can manage that which requires managing to maintain a peaceful, less stressful life when you're tripping over paint cans, boxes to sort through and stacks of papers you'd rather just chunk in the trash. There is practical work that must be accomplished if we are to attain that peaceful place. This is where I struggle...finding that balance.
All in all, I'd say Day 166 finds us in fairly good place toward our goal. I am thankful for the positive changes made and am eagerly awaiting the changes to come. Twitching my nose won't get us there, so I must push on.
Let me know about the progress you've made, areas of struggle and ideas to share. I could use some good tips!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Layers of Life
I'm happy to say I am writing this from my new office! No longer am I situated a few steps from the fridge..a very good thing! I can resist anything but temptation! Also, I am farther away from the scuffles of the hounds, the road noises, the phone, the washing machine...etc. I am revamping what has been (in chronological order from the time we bought the house)...the office, a little girl's garden decor bedroom, a teen boys beach shack bedroom, my Honey's studio and now...TA DA...my office!
As I take down shelves I can see layers of paint of decors past...ah, a moment to reflect...ok, I'm over it! I've uncovered the original color the room was when we moved in and the lovely fantasy garden treatment I painted. Painting over the beach shack wood plank (looking ) walls was a tad bit sad and the sign I painted (Studio B) for my Honey's studio is still in here, I'm taking it to him when I leave the room. All bits and pieces of life we have lived and family traveling through our home over the years. A bittersweet transition, indeed.
Now, I am claiming this room as my own since my Honey graciously sacrificed his studio for me to have a better place to write. Life is a lot like the layers of paint I've uncovered. It's colorful, diverse, and changes over the course of time. What works for you at one point in time might not be so satisfying or suitable at another. Life is just that LIFE, it should not be stagnant. You've seen the creepy crawlies and gunk that grows in stagnant water...that has no place in our lives! We want, need and should pursue all that is vital, healthy and life-giving. This often requires changes to be made in our environments, our relationships, our habits and ways of thinking.
I have a friend that hates change...a lot. Here's one example. Her home looks very much like it did six years ago. Everything sits in the same place, moved only for dusting. The decor has not changed at all except for a wall color change in one room and that only happened by accident. They were planning on refreshing the paint and bought the wrong shade. The new shade was not so very different but it was certainly a change. This threw my friend into a tizzy. It was inconvenient to take the paint back, so they used it anyway. To this day she isn't happy with it. Two more gallons of paint could have taken it back to the shade she had in the first place, but the effort required was not something they were willing to do, so she lives all these years later with a color that doesn't make her happy. Why? I do not understand that logic. Even when I lived in apartments, I painted them and then painted them back when I moved out. Life is in living color...it's too short and precious to spend being unhappy over something as easily fixed as a wall color! Not all things in life can be corrected that easily.
There is nothing that says, "Simple Life" about being unhappy with that around us. Now, do not misunderstand my position, I'm not saying we should all run out and redecorate our homes in the name of Simple Life. I'm saying the things around us that make life less simple, like the clutter and stuff we hold on to just because we've always held on to it, those things can change to free us from the emotional and mental stagnation around us.
With the guidelines of keeping only that which makes you smile, you love or use regularly, we can eliminate a lot of stuff! No one LOVES everything they have in their home. No one uses everything they have in cabinets, closets and boxes in the attic either. Other than seasonal clothing and holiday decor, why are we storing stuff anyway? If we have to store it, we obviously aren't using it. To add insult to injury, some people are paying to store stuff on a regular basis. Life evolves and so should our possessions. We can't take any of them with us when we leave this earth anyway. Do we really think God cannot provide for our needs while we're still here?
The layers of life I've uncovered in the transition of this room alone are a colorful reminder that life changes and we must change with it. As we come to the end of another year, we are different than we were this time last year. My mirror certainly tells me I am! Our lives in our homes are a constant source of change. I am blessed to have a husband that rolls with the punches. We are no where near where I hope to be this time next year in our process of moving toward a more simple, peaceful, uncluttered life but we are much farther down the road than we were this time last year. It's a process to progress.
FYI - my Honey is totally in love with the 'man space' he created for himself. It's edited down to all his necessities (bass guitar, computer, amp, keyboard, books, TV) and customized by him to fit him. He still needs book shelves and a cozy reading chair, which will come, but he's loving his space. It's much more efficient and he's a happy camper. I think if he had a fridge and microwave, he might not ever come out!
My prayer for us all in the coming year is that we keep the good parts, rid ourselves of excess and focus on living in the here and now.
Loving life at Hacienda Hill...........
As I take down shelves I can see layers of paint of decors past...ah, a moment to reflect...ok, I'm over it! I've uncovered the original color the room was when we moved in and the lovely fantasy garden treatment I painted. Painting over the beach shack wood plank (looking ) walls was a tad bit sad and the sign I painted (Studio B) for my Honey's studio is still in here, I'm taking it to him when I leave the room. All bits and pieces of life we have lived and family traveling through our home over the years. A bittersweet transition, indeed.
Now, I am claiming this room as my own since my Honey graciously sacrificed his studio for me to have a better place to write. Life is a lot like the layers of paint I've uncovered. It's colorful, diverse, and changes over the course of time. What works for you at one point in time might not be so satisfying or suitable at another. Life is just that LIFE, it should not be stagnant. You've seen the creepy crawlies and gunk that grows in stagnant water...that has no place in our lives! We want, need and should pursue all that is vital, healthy and life-giving. This often requires changes to be made in our environments, our relationships, our habits and ways of thinking.
I have a friend that hates change...a lot. Here's one example. Her home looks very much like it did six years ago. Everything sits in the same place, moved only for dusting. The decor has not changed at all except for a wall color change in one room and that only happened by accident. They were planning on refreshing the paint and bought the wrong shade. The new shade was not so very different but it was certainly a change. This threw my friend into a tizzy. It was inconvenient to take the paint back, so they used it anyway. To this day she isn't happy with it. Two more gallons of paint could have taken it back to the shade she had in the first place, but the effort required was not something they were willing to do, so she lives all these years later with a color that doesn't make her happy. Why? I do not understand that logic. Even when I lived in apartments, I painted them and then painted them back when I moved out. Life is in living color...it's too short and precious to spend being unhappy over something as easily fixed as a wall color! Not all things in life can be corrected that easily.
There is nothing that says, "Simple Life" about being unhappy with that around us. Now, do not misunderstand my position, I'm not saying we should all run out and redecorate our homes in the name of Simple Life. I'm saying the things around us that make life less simple, like the clutter and stuff we hold on to just because we've always held on to it, those things can change to free us from the emotional and mental stagnation around us.
With the guidelines of keeping only that which makes you smile, you love or use regularly, we can eliminate a lot of stuff! No one LOVES everything they have in their home. No one uses everything they have in cabinets, closets and boxes in the attic either. Other than seasonal clothing and holiday decor, why are we storing stuff anyway? If we have to store it, we obviously aren't using it. To add insult to injury, some people are paying to store stuff on a regular basis. Life evolves and so should our possessions. We can't take any of them with us when we leave this earth anyway. Do we really think God cannot provide for our needs while we're still here?
The layers of life I've uncovered in the transition of this room alone are a colorful reminder that life changes and we must change with it. As we come to the end of another year, we are different than we were this time last year. My mirror certainly tells me I am! Our lives in our homes are a constant source of change. I am blessed to have a husband that rolls with the punches. We are no where near where I hope to be this time next year in our process of moving toward a more simple, peaceful, uncluttered life but we are much farther down the road than we were this time last year. It's a process to progress.
FYI - my Honey is totally in love with the 'man space' he created for himself. It's edited down to all his necessities (bass guitar, computer, amp, keyboard, books, TV) and customized by him to fit him. He still needs book shelves and a cozy reading chair, which will come, but he's loving his space. It's much more efficient and he's a happy camper. I think if he had a fridge and microwave, he might not ever come out!
My prayer for us all in the coming year is that we keep the good parts, rid ourselves of excess and focus on living in the here and now.
Loving life at Hacienda Hill...........
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Mid-Holiday Check Up
How's life treating you? Crazy busy? Stressed? Falling off the Simple Life wagon? Oh, sorry, that one is me...
I have put myself in the 'pickle jar of overload' and my teeth are on edge from the bitter taste it leaves in my mouth. It's all my fault, no one to blame but myself. Don't you just hate it when there is no one else to blame? LOL
Living the Simple Life means ridding our homes, habits and activities of the non-essentials so we have time, energy and interest in the things are most important to us. In overload mode, it often feels that everything has PRIORITY stamped all over it. We become hypersensitive to demands on our time, real and imagined. Life feels like it is moving in fast forward mode and we are not keeping pace.
I've allowed 'busyness' to overtake me. I created most of it for myself. The particulars are not important, they just sound like excuses anyway. The question is, what am I gonna do about it?
I'm going to slow down and do less even though I feel I'm not doing enough already. That false sense of inadequacy is a byproduct of overload and excess. As my good friend, Cheryl, says...I'm going to 'follow the peace.' I need balance in my life or I get wacky. No one functions well in tilt mode!
I started putting my plan in action yesterday by spending some time with my friend, Helen. That was a good start. I also chunked the PRIORITY stamp out the window. Doing a self-diagnostic reality check helped, too. I was being hard on myself in the name of 'brutally honest'. What's up with that? Trust me, it was more brutal than honest! I am painfully aware of my shortcomings and blast myself daily for the standards I do not meet. I would not treat anyone else like that but sure come down hard an myself. Going to take some diligent monitoring to cut that out.
A quick visit with another friend, Pat, brought that to my attention. I saw and heard in her what I was doing to myself. I commented that I wished I could say my kitchen was as clean and looked as good as hers and she started protesting and complaining that it was filthy and she couldn't stand it. FILTHY?! There wasn't even clutter to be seen. It looked great to me, but she couldn't see all that was done and the beauty of it. I pointed out again how nice it was and she still would not hear it. Couldn't even make eye contact with me while we talked about it. I told her if that was filthy to her, she was banned from ever coming to my house again! Egad, what would she think here??
It hit me as I drove home, that's the same way I act about what I do and accomplish. No matter how much I do while I work, I only see what I didn't do. I place more importance on emails left unread, chapters not yet edited, and a long list of 'should have done's' than I do on the good work of the day. I never allow myself to appreciate my accomplishments for more than two seconds before I start zeroing in on all that needs my attention. This can paralyze you into inactivity! I am cheating myself and rolling in the dust when I fall off the Simple Life wagon. Life is far too short and unpredictable for that. So this is me, picking myself up, dusting myself off, and focusing my eyes, once more, on living the Simple Life on Hacienda Hill...What would your mid-holiday check up reveal?
I have put myself in the 'pickle jar of overload' and my teeth are on edge from the bitter taste it leaves in my mouth. It's all my fault, no one to blame but myself. Don't you just hate it when there is no one else to blame? LOL
Living the Simple Life means ridding our homes, habits and activities of the non-essentials so we have time, energy and interest in the things are most important to us. In overload mode, it often feels that everything has PRIORITY stamped all over it. We become hypersensitive to demands on our time, real and imagined. Life feels like it is moving in fast forward mode and we are not keeping pace.
I've allowed 'busyness' to overtake me. I created most of it for myself. The particulars are not important, they just sound like excuses anyway. The question is, what am I gonna do about it?
I'm going to slow down and do less even though I feel I'm not doing enough already. That false sense of inadequacy is a byproduct of overload and excess. As my good friend, Cheryl, says...I'm going to 'follow the peace.' I need balance in my life or I get wacky. No one functions well in tilt mode!
I started putting my plan in action yesterday by spending some time with my friend, Helen. That was a good start. I also chunked the PRIORITY stamp out the window. Doing a self-diagnostic reality check helped, too. I was being hard on myself in the name of 'brutally honest'. What's up with that? Trust me, it was more brutal than honest! I am painfully aware of my shortcomings and blast myself daily for the standards I do not meet. I would not treat anyone else like that but sure come down hard an myself. Going to take some diligent monitoring to cut that out.
A quick visit with another friend, Pat, brought that to my attention. I saw and heard in her what I was doing to myself. I commented that I wished I could say my kitchen was as clean and looked as good as hers and she started protesting and complaining that it was filthy and she couldn't stand it. FILTHY?! There wasn't even clutter to be seen. It looked great to me, but she couldn't see all that was done and the beauty of it. I pointed out again how nice it was and she still would not hear it. Couldn't even make eye contact with me while we talked about it. I told her if that was filthy to her, she was banned from ever coming to my house again! Egad, what would she think here??
It hit me as I drove home, that's the same way I act about what I do and accomplish. No matter how much I do while I work, I only see what I didn't do. I place more importance on emails left unread, chapters not yet edited, and a long list of 'should have done's' than I do on the good work of the day. I never allow myself to appreciate my accomplishments for more than two seconds before I start zeroing in on all that needs my attention. This can paralyze you into inactivity! I am cheating myself and rolling in the dust when I fall off the Simple Life wagon. Life is far too short and unpredictable for that. So this is me, picking myself up, dusting myself off, and focusing my eyes, once more, on living the Simple Life on Hacienda Hill...What would your mid-holiday check up reveal?
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