Chasing simplicity!

One of the most common questions I get in my inbox is "why do you want to live such a simple life, what is it about it that attracts you so much?".

I think it's no secret that I've strived for many years, to live a simpler life.

Not because I don't like technology or the advances that have been made in our way of living, but honestly I'm of the opinion that while all these ways to make life simpler may be great for some, for me, not so much.

I find that it's taken away from a our way of being and most importantly from personal relationships.

The written word is almost non existent, when was the last time you actually sat down and put pen to paper to write a letter to someone???

In a day and age where communicating has become dependent on texting, facebooking, emailing, you really have to work hard at staying in touch with someone....face to face.

There is more joy in pursuing less than pursuing more.

But those are not the only reasons why I yearn for simpler times.

I am fascinated with the Amish, and most will laugh and think I'm crazy for being enamored by a way of living that revolves around no electricity and sometimes no indoor plumbing, no cellphones, no driving, no make up or pretty clothes.

See, that doesn't bother me one bit, because I don't think that my family's well being is measured by all of the things that we DO have and have access to.  I tend to think we're missing out.

One of the things that most draws me to the Amish ways is the family life, the faith, the love for God and church and community.



The simple meals made from the heart and a home that is not overloaded with material things, but simple, necessary items.

Why the need for so many things around us?  Why the need for a house filled with the latest gadgets, the best furniture, the flashiest of clothes?

I'm not here to judge anyone, I'm here to talk from the heart and for myself, and to hopefully answer the questions that have been asked many times.

First and foremost, my heart knows that possession doesn't equal joy.

And secondly....I don't have to live exactly like the Amish or the Pioneers, to live a self sustaining simpler life.

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” ~Basho

I think it's also why I'm so pulled to country/primitive decorating. I don't like modern stuff, I don't even like Ikea. I know, shocking. But it's not my style at all. I honestly sometimes think I was born in the wrong era and am stuck here trying to make do.

So, to answer your questions about what attracts me to the simpler way of life, it's everything about it. The relationships, the time spent together as a family doing chores, the sitting down for dinner and talking, really talking, about the day. It's the growing of our own food, the making of fresh homemade filling meals. It's sitting in a modest simple living room with lit candles and crocheted blankets, and kerosene lamps on the table....and a fire burning.

Appreciating each other, appreciating the little we have and knowing that we worked hard for it, nothing was given to us on a silver platter and nothing we have is taken for granted.

My ideas for a simplified life are:

Simple food - fresh ingredients preferably home grown, made from scratch, little processed food as possible.
Simple personal care - I don't need a dozen expensive lotions and potions, or the latest make up that is ridiculously overpriced.
Simple home cleaning products - homemade laundry detergent, homemade vinegar cleaning mixture etc.
Simple fun - board games, playing outside, riding bikes, taking walks, going to the library, we do all of these together as a family and we love it.


I'm in no way condemning the way others live, nor am I saying that MY way of thinking is the right way.  I'm merely explaining why I feel the way I do and why we live the way we do.

Our dream is to live in a country home with acreage that we can use to grow our own food.  We are not afraid of hard work, what we ARE afraid of is living a life so fast paced and so packed of non essential things that we will lose ourselves or pull apart as a family.

So we do what we can to live simply, and it's an ongoing journey, one which I'm sure we will never completely achieve.

It's not that I don't like the internet, or phones, dishwashers, and not having to worry about washing clothes in the creek.  I do like it, I just don't think that I should become so dependent on it that I don't know how to do anything without these things.

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” - William Morris

Image credit:  The Watering Can on Chair by Cecile Baird

Sunday thoughts - Pursuit of the Simple Life

 

This journey that I find myself on, is not an easy one.

On the one hand, I do my best to return to simpler times, but on the other hand it's like being up a creek without a paddle.

In this day and age where everything is so dependent on technology, I often think that things have come NOT to simplify our lives, but to make them harder.  To distance people from each other, to create disharmony and heartache.

More often than not, I find that I want to completely remove myself from these things, from this way of life, and to dive even deeper into the simple.  The home, the family concept, the sometimes harder way of doing things but with so many more rewards.

So many times I am asked why.  Why do you want to go back to simple times?

Why would you want to wash dishes by hand instead of having the dishwasher do it? 
Why struggle with hanging clothes on the line when you can just throw them in the dryer?
Why would you want to make your own homemade products when they're in the store available to buy?
Why do you want to cook from scratch when you can just purchase everything ready to make?
Why do you want a homemade dishcloth?
Why make your own candles, or sew a quilt, or crochet a doily?

Why, Why, Why, Why!  Over and over I am asked this question.

In the beginning I felt like I was being attacked, questioned and that I felt I needed to defend myself and my thoughts and actions.  Like I had to explain or try to make people understand why I would rather do these things myself than fall into line with everyone else and go with the flow or the perfect world at your fingertips.

I have been thinking and mentally defining, for many years,  what a simple life means to me.   My goal is voluntary simplicity.

Some stuff has never made me happy.  Ok, I won't lie and say that I don't use modern things, of course I do, but it's never satisfied me completely.  In the moment you think "great, that is so helpful", but then I always found myself feeling unsatisfied, unhappy, low on the happiness meter. 

Less is more.  I know, I know, for some it means getting rid of all those things that we fill our lives with.  Unnecessary things, I believe.

You know what captivates me?  Pictures of simple cottages with a house that is not cluttered with electronics and the latest gadgets.  THAT makes me happy.

I want to be able to look around my home and smile, and I want to be able to look at what surrounds me and know exactly where it came from and how it got here.  The handmade things by me or others, knowing that time and effort and much love went into them.

Living a simple life doesn't mean you have to pack up and move to the middle of nowhere.  Though I would be remiss if I said that is not my dream, to live in the country, to have a garden, to have chickens and a cow for fresh milk and fields to run through.

But for now, it means being happy where I am.  Being content with what I have.

More specifically, feeling like I'm living for God, and for me, and for my family.  That I'm not just looking for the easy way out and for the things that are supposed to make my life easier.

I would rather take more time, do things slowly and really be able to appreciate the time I put into them.

So onwards and forwards.  I'll get there some day, but I'm having a blast right now, learning the skills that pioneer women excelled at.

Bread baking, pie making, candle making, quilt making, braiding a rug, canning and preserving.......making do.

Do you live a simple life?  What does it mean for you?

Washing dishes.....

"Simple living is about living deliberately. Simple living is not about austerity, or frugality, or income level. It's about being fully aware of why you are living your particular life, and knowing that life is one you have chosen thoughtfully. Simple living is about designing our lives to coincide with our ideals."
- Janet Luhrs -

Thank you all for the wonderful comments left on yesterday's post, it thrills me to know that like me, there are so many out there wanting to go back to the basics too and do things more simply.

As I make the transition to a simpler life, I'll be sure to share it with you.

Now as I stood at the sink tonight with all the dinner dishes around me, I made the decision to wash them by hand instead of hurriedly popping them in the dishwasher and quickly moving on to my next task.

I began washing and as I did I wondered why it is that suddenly we stopped doing things like washing dishes by hand, rinsing and drying and talking to the family while we do it?

I understand that times are different and there are days that we're so busy we need to just get things done, but for me, I've actually stopped using the dishwasher and only do it if I am sick or have a huge amount of dishes, or am in a really big hurry and headed out the door.

It feels to me that there was a time when people used to bond, do you remember doing dishes two people at a time? Standing at the sink shoulder to shoulder, one washing, one drying and all the time talking about the day or your interests?

Just feels that people had a lot more time to bond, nowadays once we're done with the kitchen work we rush into the living room and either get on the computer or on the tv and there we stay, for hours on end, everyone engrossed in their own thing, no one talking.

So next time you go into the kitchen, instead of popping the dishes in the dishwasher, fill up your sink with warm water and bubbles, turn some music on, slide your hands into the warm water and use the time you are washing dishes to meditate, to think, to pray, to ponder, to relax.

You'll be surprised at how good it feels!

Walk with me on this path

Many already know it and others have never heard of it.

I'm talking about the Simple Life path, the one where I learn to make do with what I have and strive to lead a good simple almost self sufficient life.

I feel the calling, pulling me back to my roots, that longing for a more traditional homemaking, making things from scratch, needlework, gardening and so forth.

But I find myself a little overwhelmed, oh there are plenty of blogs that I visit and get good ideas from but it's quite a different thing when you read and actually try to implement it into your own life.

I guess this is where you come in, I know a lot of you already lead a Simple Life, you have your own homesteads and you raise chickens and bake bread and sew etc.

I think there is nothing more exciting than seeing the fruits of your own labor, cooking that meal for your family, baking your own pies, knitting or quilting that special item that you can one day pass on to your children.

I'm hoping that by opening myself up to you all, I will get a lot of helpful information, you have no idea how much I want to learn, so if you know how to make ice cream or cross stitch, if you have stories about milking cows or gathering eggs, won't you share them with me and the other readers?

See I was sitting in bed the other day and thinking about the joys of making something with your bare hands and how wonderful it is to give handmade gifts, to know that you are creating an heirloom.

I feel like I have the prairie girl spirit in me and no matter where I am or how far from the country I live, I think it's something that will always stay in me, there's this connection, this joy that I feel when I'm sticking my hands into a big bowl of dough, it's like for that brief moment I'm a Pioneer woman, back in the day.

Oh I'm sure by now some of you may think I've done lost my mind but I can't help the way I feel.

So what I'm asking for is ideas, advice, how-to's, you can even just drop me some links and I'll go wander on over by myself, what do you say?

It might actually become fun if we teach each other and learn together.

I guess my first contribution will be to show you a neat trick I use for Dryer Sheets. Store bought I way too expensive for me and I can't quite bring myself to spend $5 for a little box, so I use my own.

All you need is a tupperware bowl or even an empty butter container, fill with half water and half laundry softener, then grab a washcloth and drop it in there, when you are ready to use it, pull it out, wring it and toss it in with your laundry.

When done, just toss it back in the bowl and cover it.

Now I'm off to enjoy a cup of hot tea and some fresh warm out of the oven Snickerdoodles.

Enjoying the Pioneer Ways!

I've often spoken about my interest in the Pioneer ways and the simple times, I've shared my thoughts and I've showed you pictures and information that I came across while researching those days.

Recently I talked about 3 books that I had ordered from Amazon and I was so excited when they arrived a few days later. I haven't had much time to sit with them because they came in right in the middle of the sickness pandemonium going on around here. I've slowly peeked here and there, and have been dying to get into them more.

Today I'm taking it easy, I'm trying to get over this bronchitis and just feel run down, so I'm taking it easy, laying in bed with my afghan, watching the clouds move on in outside and surrounded by my Pioneer books, my laptop and my camera. Yes, it feels good to be relaxing.

Let me show you a little of the wonderful books I got, they're not only full of information but they're told in story form, so I can sit back and read a story but also learn about what they were doing and even get recipes and ideas to make some of the things for myself.

Let's take for example the first one which is called Secrets of the Great Old-Timey Cooks. With recipes like Mock Macaroni, Jam Windmills and Coconut Stack Cake....and also kitchen secrets from contemporary pioneer women, vintage photos, folk remedies and chores.

I love looking through the vintage photos, imagining what it must have been like living in those times.

Here's a recipe from the book for Apple Butter:

Effie's Apple Butter

Fill a 6 quart pan with peeled, cored, sliced apples. Effie combines different varieties, depending on what she has on hand. Add enough water to keep apples from sticking as they cook. (The SECRET is to add almost no water, and constantly stir your apples on low heat until they're cooked.) When the apples are cooked, take a potatoe masher to them until no lumps remain. Add:

2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
2/3 cups sugar (personal preference)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup vinegar

Pour into a crock pot and cook 2-4 hours (or more) on low. You can can the hot apple butter or pour cooled sauce into jars and refrigerate for about three weeks.

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Now let me show you a bit from The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life. This book is so chock full of goodness, I just can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it is. I actually sat down and looked through it for a few minutes and Jasmine was right next to me, she was amazed at the wonderful things on the pages and all that we could make together.

Who doesn't want to know how to steep the perfect pot of tea? I certainly do.

I think for me the one thing that makes me turn my nose up is the fact that hygiene in those times was just not a big deal. I can not imagine having a bath only once a week OR a month or every couple of months, not shaving, you know.......the stuff that nowadays us women could not do without.

Imagine taking a bath only once in a while.....my word, I can't even think of how badly some of these people smelled LOL

This book is also filled with the sweetest stories. I think that is what caught my attention to begin with, it's not just a book of facts or crafts, it's read like a fiction book with stories thrown in here and there.

Mix Lavender Linen Waters....I LOVE lavender and I love the linen water, I have this cute little bottle that I spray on the clothes before ironing and it leaves them with this sweet clean wonderful scent.

This book teaches you how to make your own.

What you will need:

Sealed jar or container
2 teaspoons lavender essential oil
5 tablespoons 100-proof vodka
1 cup distilled water
Spray bottle

Combine the lavender oil and vodka and shake vigorously. Add the distilled water and pour into a spray bottle (glass is preferable).

Shake gently before using. To use, mist on clothes before ironing your linens. Use it on your Sunday best, petticoats, work clothes, whatever and whenever you want to smell crisp and fresh. Heck, spray it on your curtains before pressing.

Yields approximately 1 1/2 cups.

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The last book I got was A Pioneer Sampler and oh my goodness, what a great book it is.

I actually sat down with the kids the other night, we were all feeling poorly, but cuddled in my bed with this book in hand and read two chapters.

It's sort of like reading Little House on the Prairie. We follow the life of the Robertsons in 1840 in a backwoods farm.

I think my kids were amazed at how much work the little kids in the book had and exactly what they did, it's hard for them as modern children to wrap their minds around the fact that these young kids had chores that included getting up really early in the morning and tending to the animals, or carrying big buckets of sap to make maple syrup.

It shows you how to dye fabric using flowers and vegetables. How neat is that?

Just like the previous books, it's full of wonderful stories that always follow with details and illustrations and recipes.

For a tasty pioneer snack, mix one cup of honey with 1/4 cup of butter. Spread some on toast or a cracker. Store the rest of the honey butter in the refrigerator.

Here's Sarah's homemade Ink Recipe:

Mash walnut shells and boil them until the water is a deep brown. Add vinegar and salt to the boiling water to set the color. Add lampblack for a black color.
(To make lampblack, ask and adult to hold a small dish over a lit candle and collect the black soot).


So there you go, three books that I think anyone would find and interesting read, not just for the adults but the kids too.

I'm off to go read a bit more, there's so many projects I want to try and so many recipes I want to experiment with. Most of all, I just want to relax and be transported back in time, back to simpler times.

If you have any books you think I would enjoy, let me know in the comments section. I'm always looking for new reads.

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, Or Do Without

Image Credit: Debbie Mumm

Remember the old saying?

It seems so fitting for today's struggling economy, doesn't it? For me, personally, I try my best to live by that saying....I use the things I have at hand, wear them out as long as I possibly can, make do with what I have or I just do without.

It's really not that hard to adapt once you realize that pretty much everything you have in your house has more than just one use. It's fun for me, exploring and researching and finding new uses for an item which otherwise I would have just thrown out.

I guess I could attribute this love for the simple things, to my love for anything from days gone by. The pioneer days, the time when they struggled to make a living with what they grew in their gardens, with the tools they had nearby and so many times cooking by candle light.

Their wagons tightly packed with all their belongings....cast iron skillets, kettles.....do you want an idea of what you may have found in one of their Conestoga wagons?

Bedding And Tent Supplies

Blankets, feather beds, ground cloths, pillows, tent, poles, stakes, ropes.

Weaponry

Rifle, pistol, knife, hatchet, gunpowder, lead, bullet mold, powder horn, bullet pouch, holster.

Food

Flour, bacon, coffee, baking soda, corn meal, hardtack, dried beans, dried beef, dried fruit, molasses, vinegar, pepper, eggs, salt, sugar, rice, tea.

Cooking Utensils

Dutch oven, kettle, skillet, reflector oven, coffee grinder, coffee pot, teapot, butcher knife, ladle, tin tableware, water keg, matches

Miscellaneous Items

Surgical instruments, liniments, bandages, campstool, chamber pot, washbowl, lanterns, candle molds, tallow, spyglasses, scissors, needles, pins, thread.

Clothing

Wool sack coats, rubber coats, cotton dresses, wool pantaloons, buckskin pants, duck trousers, cotton shirts, flannel shirts, cotton socks, brogans, boots, felt hats, Palm-leaf sun hats, green goggles, sunbonnets.

Tools And Extra Equipment

Set of augers, gimlet, ax, hammer, hoe, plow, shovel, spade, whetstone, oxbows, axels, kingbolts, linchpins, ox shoes, spokes, wagon tongue, heavy ropes, chains.

Luxuries

Canned foods, plant cuttings, schoolbooks, musical instruments, dolls, family albums, jewelry, china, silverware, fine linens, iron stoves, furniture.

Something I learned through all my reading, is that what we usually see in the movies, you know, the family in the wagon travelling through the rough terrain on their way to a new homestead, is not exactly how things would have been.

The wagons were so small that unless you were injured or very ill, you walked....imagine if you will, walking around 2000 miles to your new home?

Nowadays we complain if we have to walk from the parking lot to the door of the store, we fight for that spot RIGHT in front because really, if it were up to us and it was socially acceptable, we would just drive our vehicles right inside and travel down the aisles shopping.

When God made man,
He seemed to think it best
To make him in the East,
And let him travel west.

One of the places I get my inspiration from are books and Amazon has this wonderful series called Historic Communities. With titles like A Child's Day, Games from Long Ago and Old Time Toys.

While browsing through Amazon, I realized I had a $20 gift card to use, so I picked up 3 books.

The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl

Frontier fun meets a home-spun touch in this heart-warming mixture of pioneer projects and wistful nostalgia. Jennifer Worick teaches readers how to sew a quilt, master the art of bread-and-butter pickles, speak old-time slang, and much much more. This is for the legions of Laura Ingalls Wilder fans who have dreamed of what a pioneer life out on the prairie would be like. Combining step-by-step how-to on crafts, with tongue-in-cheek instructions on prairie slang, winning a spelling bee, and singing a lullaby, The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life allows fans to finally act out their childhood dreams or to simply enjoy the vicarious thrill of reading about it one more time. This is a book that will pull at the heart strings of every childhood Laura and also teach us a few prairie-time crafts along the way.

A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840

There are instructions for simple, fun activities such as growing a potato plant, dyeing fabric using an onion, or making a cardboard jumping jack; pioneer games that will even entertain today's children for hours such as shadow shapes or knucklebones; and recipes that are easy for children.

Secrets of the Great Old-Timey Cooks: Historic Recipes, Lore & Wisdom

Reminisce about a simpler time as four 20th century mountain pioneer women share their cooking secraets. These great old-timey cooks stir in their own wisdom and tales of growing up on rural farms, where they prepared delicious melas by lantern light on wood cookstoves. Included are heirloom recipes, proverbs, folk remedies, 80 vintage photos, 19th century autograph rhymes and lots of stories. 72 pages.

So I leave you with a question? Are you trying to live simpler times? Are you also using it up, wearing it out, making it do or doing without? And if so, why don't you share with us what you've been doing.