Tiny Houses

The tiny house movement is a magical thing to me.
So compact, so efficient, and portable too!

Of course, the reality is that if I wanted to pursue such a life, I would need to let go of everything but the basics. AND my husband too, because he doesn't want to live in anything smaller than what we already have here! LOL

Maybe, just maybe, if I can pare down my possessions to the essentials of THIS house, my life could feel more efficient too.

Alas, even though I carted another really big box of miscellany to the thrift store yesterday, and my recycling box is overflowing with random paper, I still have very much too much!

It really hit home as I was helping another friend move this month, how much I really have that I don't need.

She has hit a financial snag and had to give up the 5 bedroom house she was renting. I had helped her move in and she owned barely anything as it was with her just fleeing a bad relationship and taking her 2 teen boys with her. After 2 years there, when she found out she couldn't afford the house anymore, she pared down even further! She gave away and sold almost all her furniture and what was left fit into a small storage unit (mattresses, photos, kitchen basics, linens, christmas items and beloved things only). I'm pretty sure that unit could not even hold the contents of my kitchen cupboards! She is essentially homeless at the moment. One son is living with me at my house, and the other moved out of province, the mom is staying with a friend. I feel for her and the tough choices she has made. Living apart from her kids (even if they are older) is very tough on her too. She did the best could with what she was given, but the lesson is how she made it so much easier by letting go of the crap to lighten the burden along the way. (She is seeking an affordable 2 bedroom place right now and will worry about furniture when she finds it)

I would not be comfortable living with the level of sparsity she had in that big house. I would not be comfortable giving up EVERYTHING, but then again I don't think many people would.

Downsizing is different by definition for each person. For some it might be hard to go from 3000 sqft to 2200. For others it might be too much giving up the 2 bedroom house with a yard for a condo of the same size. The more romantically inclined might give it all up for a tiny house on wheels or backpack around the world!

And then there are the ones that are forced into it by circumstance. How they deal with the loss of their stuff and the space they live in is an interesting story... tragedy? or triumph?

My goal is to downsize my belongings to a lighter density. I will keep the fantasy of a tiny home in mind as I search for that magical saturation point of stuff/space.

Tiny home dwellers, minimalists, professional organizers and seekers of balance... thank you for sharing your experiences.

Take THAT clutter!

It looks like the same stuff, but it's two NEW big boxes of stuff leaving!

The contents of these mystery boxes:

a random assortment of linens, 

MORE clothes, 

Toys

Fiction and reference books, 

kitchen doodads

Halloween decorations that don't work with this house

All of which are in good enough shape for donating.

Also, not pictured: 

The books, pottery, clothes and toys that my sister scooped

The small bag of rags

The big bag of recyclable papers

I'm feeling really good about this latest purging success. 

It's like a switch has been thrown, the decisions are coming easier. 

Getting dressed in the morning... If I put something on and it doesn't feel right, it goes straight into the box! "Take that you ill fitting garment! I won't accidentally try to wear you again!"

Looking for something in a cupboard, if I come across something that makes me say "I forgot I still had this" then I seriously ponder why I do still have it. Basically I'm being a harsh landlord "what have you done for me lately?" If the item can't prove it's worthiness then it's off to the donate box!

Instead of pondering an items' value, I ponder whether my life will be missing anything if the item is not here. It's amazing how little we really need if we ask the right questions of our stuff!

For some reason I am past thinking about how much it cost, or how much it used to mean to me or it's "what if" potential! This is a revelation, truly, for how much I can freely let go. 

Making donations helps me let go too. Knowing it is benefitting the charity and maybe a new owner too gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that is so much nicer than hanging on to all this stuff.

More? How is it possible?

This morning I was preparing for the day and put on a top that made me say "ugh". Not that it was a BAD top, it just didn't spark "joy" and I wanted JOY!

I thought I already purged the heck out of all my clothes mercilessly.... But apparently I missed a couple of less than amazing tops. Okay, more like a DOZEN less than amazing tops.

It's not you, it's me... In short I think we should part ways.

I guess love is a fickle thing. 

Last week I still felt happy to own these things, this week I don't. Falling out of love is just as easy as falling in love when it comes to fashion. And I have reached a point in my life where I am getting VERY picky about what items I will share my closet with! None of those items are irreplaceable or valuable. Sorry stuff, it was nice knowing you, but it's time to move along.

Also in the donate box is a vast assortment of junk jewelry (some I have had for decades), a nice big wicker basket, and more unread books.

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PS, Eating Paleo/Primal is going very well! 

I still feel good, my weight is steady at a comfortable size. Sure I indulge in the occasional bite of something off-menu, but a bite usually satisfies the craving (or impulse) then I go back to doing what feels best. I don't feel even the least bit ready to give it up, its a good way to be and I really enjoy the food so much! I have even found ways to eat out... though I can't control what oil they cook my omelet in, I can skip the cheese and get extra veggies. Eggs Benedict on a slab of tomato instead of english muffin is DIVINE! Stir fry without the sauce is pretty tasty too. (I do miss french toast, at least I think I do at the moment)

++++++++++++++++++

Diving in to mayhem

My sons are not tidy. (They take after mommy for that)

Sure they love a clean, tidy room but they can't seem to keep it that way. The obvious reason might be that everything CAN'T be put away, but that's not right. There is a space for everything. The items just can't  seem to make it back into the drawers and baskets! 

A familiar lament that I am guilty of too.

Before school I asked my youngest if I could rearrange his room today. He agreed. 

This is why....

Bits and bobs EVERYWHERE

And thats AFTER picking up all the laundry!

After a couple hours of sorting and moving and cleaning I came to this....

I hope he likes it

The desk has more light by the window

Amazingly I didn't have to throw anything out.... But I did toss a small bag of broken things and packages. Just through the act of putting like-things together and rearranging it looks so much better. Of course, this has fixed nothing. All the things in the baskets and drawers can make their way back onto the floor and desk easily!

The cupboard is now the designated home for his R.C. cars (his big hobby) and the cube baskets are for small toys. The desk drawers for Lego and the bins in the closet are sorted into theme (playmobils, bionicles, Star Wars) closet upper shelf for his large RC airplanes. It is organized and presently clean. I will plead with him to let go of more things. First by leading by example!

Big gains through letting go.

This is going great!

I did bags and dresses (but nothing to show there because my last purge was bang-on leaving me only the best, and very few). Ditto with accessories like scarves hats and belts.

But today I did SHOES!

Even after getting rid of some last week, Marie Kondo's method was far better at really streamlining. Sure some of them are cute or maybe even practical, but do they spark JOY when I am holding them? Wearing them? Now THAT is the question to ask!

Here is the "before" photo (don't judge).

Not pictured are the special footwear (steel toed work shoes, high top hikers, snow boots and proper running shoes) they are exempt from removal because of their specialized function.

Shocking that this is a post purge starting point!

I am glad MK doesn't have a numerical limit. I love a variety of footwear, much like how I feel about jackets, they can elevate or cozy-up an outfit. So easily. The criteria is "JOY" and I stuck to it.

Some decent brands and even some hand made cowboy boots got cut. Thank you footwear for your hard work supporting me when I needed you. Thank you for the thrill of finding and owning you and the service of helping me define my style. You were appreciated, and I hope you continue to give service to your new owners.

Feeling buoyed by this success, I went through my extensive DVD collection and packed 2 bags! I loved all of the movies at some point but had either watched them to the point of memorizing them or had moved past what attracted me to them (thank you for the entertainment). Either way, no joy left.

And some books (just because they caught my eye). No joy.

Now the physical part. Loading the selections from the last few days into my trunk.... Oops! They don't all fit! So I loaded the back seat too. (It looked like I was moving out).  

Happily I was able to take the DVDs to a local music store. I agreed to take store credit and traded the 2 bags of DVDs for 8 vinyl records of an artist that I have loved since I was a teen. (Great trade IMO)

The rest of it (there was still all the coats, shoes, bags, and clothing from the last purge plus all the mountains of stuff from this ultimate tidy-fest so far) 

I found a thrift shop that was happy to get it. As I walked in to ask them if they take donations, a porcelain lamb caught my eye. It filled me with joy when I touched it. And even though I wanted to pay for it, the store owner gave it to me as a thank you. It's goofy, but honestly I love it. And this wee trinket will remind me of this lovely experience...

... until I don't feel joy from it of course.

Jackets, coats, etc

Next in line for strick culling is jackets!

This was more challenging to gather up. Jackets (and blazers) are kept in the master closet, front hall closet and mud room. Then there are the off season ones in the crawlspace.

It took me longer to dig them all up to pile them together than it did to purge them!

It's a big pile! I know I purged them not too long ago, but I didn't follow MK's method of putting them ALL together before starting. It really puts things into perspective. 

Coats are a category that is so finicky. Dependent on weather, destination, activity and the clothes worn under the coat.... For example, my fall gardening coat is not the one I want to be seen in for a dinner out -- even if the weather is similar. And my dirt bike riding jacket is not something that is comfortable just wear around. Business meeting coats, grocery getting coats, off to yoga and off to a lunch date with friends.... So many occasions.... so many weather situations too...

Obviously I love a good coat!

That's why it's good for me to honestly ask "does this spark joy?"

I did find some that I actually dread wearing (even if they have their function). Those are the ones hitting the bricks today.

It's weird, one of them I have hung onto for so long because it's a "good" four season jacket. Weatherproof, nice brand, lots of pockets, stylish colour. But it rubs my chin and bunches up awkwardly when I sit down. Next winter I may need to go shopping, but it has to leave! I put up with it long enough. The others are so specialized that I can't anticipate needing them for their intended design again.

Still a whole lot of coats in my life, but at least there are empty hangers in my closet and a bit of breathing room.

Bottoms out!

Today, I put MK's "Tidying" audio book back on and dug into the next category..... BOTTOMS!

Shorts, pants, skirts.

Dutifully, I pulled everything out of the closet and drawers, then went into the crawlspace for the off season slacks (lots of corduroy) and piled it onto the bed:

I touched and then sometimes tried things on. The pile for keeping was pretty big in relation to the give-away pile since I am good at getting rid of ill fitting pants quickly (bad pants are so annoying!)

But I still found 14 bottoms that don't give me joy!

The closet looks better, and nothing went back under the house. 

This happened in such reasonable time that I followed up by going through all my sleepwear. I found a box of nightgowns that I forgot I even had.... I had tucked them away when I was feeling fat and unhealthy. These are items I love to touch, very pretty things, so I will be incorporating them back into regular circulation now that I feel good again. I found several tatty and stretched PJs that I happily discarded to make room for my newly rediscovered night gowns. I'm looking forward to getting ready for sleep tonight!

My new favourite things

My new favourite things are digital at the moment.

First off my library membership for digital loans is AWESOME! I have borrowed a few fun movies, tried new music and found inspiring audio books.

More on that in a moment.

Secondly, facebook's local "FREE ONLY" page. I mentioned it before, but since then have passed on several more items within minutes of posting them, and managed to pick up a healthy patch of oregano plants (all I had to do was bring a shovel and bucket). Finally a use that I can understand for that social media super-giant.

Not pictured was the two sets of garden shed shelves that lingered in my yard for too long, but found a new home quickly once I posted them.

Vintage chair that was snapped up in an afternoon

Helpful books picked up by an appreciative parent

Back to the audiobooks... "Essentialism" was inspiring and motivating to be sure, but yesterday I listened to Marie Kondo's book "The life-changing magic of tidying up" and it was a game changer.

Her focus for successful decluttering is on what you are keeping - and her selection method is very simple: Does it bring joy to my heart? If the answer is Heck no! Then say a simple thank you for the lessons the items has taught and then release it without guilt nor hesitation. It's an interesting angle to be sure. I thought it might be a little touchy feely but I gave it a shot with the first suggested category: clothes (specifically tops).

Well it worked!

Over THREE DOZEN items that I had missed on my last purge! (and I thought I had done so well before LOL) Thats just tops! I'm not sure I have reached the "click point" that Marie talks about, but my closet sure looks better. It's amazing how many things were in there that I had kept because of good quality, trusted brand or appealing colour. Some of these things I hadn't even really tried to wear yet (hand-me-downs from my stylish sister). Funny how saying "thank you for teaching me a little more about myself" made me feel far less guilty about folding it carefully into the give-away pile!

Physically touching the tops as they are piled high on my bed, pondering my feelings about it. Pride wasn't good enough, comfort on it's own, adventure, or pretty style wasn't good enough. I had to feel "JOY" at the thought of having it! Ironically some of my less pretty tops do give me genuine joy. (They all stayed.)

I own far less bottoms. That's for tomorrow.

(While I was at it I found a blanket in the back of the closet that I forgot I owned, and a less favourite suitcase. Some books that aren't relevant to me today caught my eye too)

A very good day

I was able to carve out a few hours today to take everything out of the closet!

Preparation was the key to my success. There was an excellent audiobook playing on the iPod, I cranked up the heat to a comfortable "naked" temperature, I had large bags and totes for sorting at the ready and a ruthless attitude!

It was daunting seeing the great mounds of clothes on my bed... But I started at one end (dresses) and worked my way through office attire... I tried everything on, spun around, reached up, sat down and looked it over carefully for wear and tear. (Note:I am about 8 pounds lighter than I was this time last year, I am sure I can sustain this and maybe even get a bit better!)

There were beautiful clothing items of good quality that fit fine, but I never have the occasion to wear. What to do?! Then I remembered there is such thing as consignment stores! Oh ya! 

One large tote was filled to the brim with the more precious garments. I will go to the most respectable consignment shop this week and see that they say. I think these things are worth the effort.

Then I tackled the more daily wear items. Tops, bottoms, casual and the decent-for-public ensembles.

Of those categories I found 5 largish shopping bags STUFFED to donate to the thrift shop and another bag for rags. 

Feeling bold, I pulled out my shoes and purses. I pulled out 6+ pairs of dress shoes and 4 purses. Some are excellent construction and barely worn, so I will try to take them to consignment too.

How did all these extra things make it into my closet?

2 reasons: 

1) a generous sister who shares her awesome hand-me-downs

2) a really good thrift store boutique next to my bank (but they have moved now so that temptation is gone now thankfully)

So my financial commitment to these items is quite minimal, and that in itself makes it so much easier to be brutal with my conviction to pare down the clothes!

Amazingly, I still had some time and energy left after all that. (And a big pile of empty hangers) so I went into the crawlspace and dug out my hot weather wardrobe from storage. This is a big deal! The summer clothes and winter clothes have NEVER both fit in my closet at the same time. Embarassingly, there were 4 bins of summer clothes down there (though one tote is all hats and strappy shoes). 

This batch was harder to purge. I did a decent cull before packing it last fall, and it was fun to say hi to old favourites too. Still I found some more for donation and a few pretty little tops and dresses for consignment. 

My hair was a disaster from all the trying on of clothes, and I kind of felt like having a glass of wine at the end, but somehow my body-image survived all that critical energy and I feel absolutely liberated having my closet filled only with stuff that fits, is flattering, in good shape and that I LIKE!

I put all the donations straight out into the car, Including some books and some gifted perfumed lotions that I've not even opened. Then I drove to the thrift shop closest to my library (I always multi task my excursions if I can)

It was gone without a second thought and I felt good that these items are all in decent shape for the charity to sell.

When my husband came home he immediately noticed the tidiness. He liked it so much that he tried on ALL of his hanging shirts. (He has lost quite a bit of weight this year and never wants to gain it back)  he was laughing trying on the shirts and how much space he had in there. So he only has a few shirts now (more empty hangers than shirts ). He also tossed some slippers into the pile. I guess I will be heading back to the thrift shop LOL

Less, only Better

I am listening to the book "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown. (thank you public library) . Only in the first part of the book and I am so moved by the concept!!!! I recommend it for anyone that feels too busy to have a life. Half hour into the book, and I've already posted stuff as "FREE" on line, because I want less, only better. Oh I want it so bad!

The only reason I ever found the book was when I came across a mention of it at a pretty blog ( http://dallas.citymomsblog.com/why-i-got-rid-of-my-wardrobe-capsule-wardrobe/ ) about an organized closet referring to something called a capsule wardrobe that she heard about on (unfancy.com). It sounds too good to be true, but just maybe..... If I am brave......

Un-fancy was clever enough to take the idea of "Less, only Better" and removing the millions of trivial decisions to give proper time for the few important ones. Their capsule wardrobes keep the "what should I wear today?" question and keeping it so simple with a quality, coordinated quantity of clothes. No choice fatigue in her wardrobe!

I admit, the concept is very appealing to me!

My husband enjoys that freedom. Every pair of jeans goes with every T-shirt he owns. He only have comfortable socks and undergarments and has few shoes (all neutral colours). There is his small selection of button up shirts and his one "good" pair of slacks. That's all he needs and other than dirtbiking, it suits all occasions!

Not saying I will switch to only T's and jeans, but the un-fancy contributors look pretty slick! I will be working my wardrobe in that direction.

Wish me luck, in this Essentialism evolution. Choices are power, I don't want to surrender my power to all the things in this house. ....

I will keep you posted.

* freely given away (it only took about 5 seconds for the first mom to hop on the offer) My yard is that much less cluttered now!

... you lose some

All in All the Paleo diet is going so very very well! The health improvements are monumental and the food is so yummy that it almost feels wrong. LOL

I have also pinpointed some foods that give me inflammation and bloating. Definitively connected cause and effect by first eliminating then introducing the foods.

Not surprising:
Grains/ Sugars give me brain fog, moodiness and slowness.
Dairy gives me immediate pain and bloating! (soft cheeses, milk, ice cream, sour cream, yogurt)

Completely shocked:
Tomatoes give me GI distress and joint pain.
WHAT?! I love tomatoes! L-O-V-E tomatoes... sauced, fresh, dried, stewed.... yum.

How did I learn this terrible news?! Since I cut out pasta, the tomatoes are not served as often (spaghetti was a staple dinner before).  And fresh tomatoes just aren't good around here this time of year so I haven't been adding them to the salads. I was easily able to make a direct correlation between my gastric issues and when I ate the tomatoes. :(  And now the intermittent joint stiffness makes sense too.

I was completely sidelined by that revelation since tomatoes are fine on Paleo. Now, I need to follow this one step further and cut out ALL the nightshades for a month. What if it's not just tomatoes, what if it's the whole family? Potatoes, Peppers, some spices, they could all be affecting me this way making my gut "leaky" and spastic. I have come this far with my food education, I will do this next step too. After the clean month I will try potatoes first and then the spices. HOPEFULLY all will go well and I just have to worry about my beloved tomatoes, why couldn't it be turnips that bugged me, I could easily leave out turnips!

Knowledge is power.

Through this process I have learned so much about my own body. Now I can choose to feel good! Just by knowing which foods make me feel bad and making conscious bites.

You win some...

I'm happily decluttering like crazy lately!

Sold a digital camera that was not me "good" one. I still had the software, cables and docking station and even a memory card to go with it. I wasn't using it and for $20 it made a fixed income grandma very happy to have an easy to use camera that didn't cost much!

Also I talked my younger boy into selling 3 large toy trucks. Good quality ones too.

And I have made a monumental choice to sell my beloved Chaise Lounge.

It's generous, its comfy and its a wonderful place to read a book by the window.... BUT it's HUGE in the space, it blocks a lot of light coming in and it's fitting the style I want for my home. I want the space more than I want the furniture at this point, so it's presently listed online.

Also, I took more books to the local elementary school as library donations.

And a stack of kitchen tools that I don't like and even MORE clothes to the thrift shop.

With every box that leaves, I feel lighter inside.

Food glorious food!

Feeling good! 

It's so much easier to get things done when you don't feel like a puffy toad, don't you think? 

The bad food cravings are a thing of the past. I am in love with the Paleo whole foods way of life. 

75% veggies + 25% meat = 100% delicious!

(Note 0%  processed foods, sugar, grains)

Sure some days don't go as planned and the crap gets in, but not much and not often! The result is worth the initial hassle of learning the rules. Seriously, I feel so good! And my husband and kids do too.

The extra energy has gone into just naturally moving more (sitting for hours in front of the TV is simply not appealing now). So decluttering is easier, the dog is getting more walks, the laundry gets put away, we are all sleeping better (husband has snored as long as I've known him -that's over 20 years- not snoring anymore!)

I'm gushing like a proud momma because it's just so good. If you are feeling pain, slowness or depression, or tired of acne and bloat, research the "Whole 30" first (it's the best plan for breaking the processed food cycle), then Google all the gorgeous, easy Paleo recipe blogs and pintrest boards. If your first reaction is panic at giving up something, then maybe you aren't ready to feel better. But if you the least bit excited about the food... Give it an honest try for 30 days!

The first 10 days can be a roller coaster of ick with your body panicking and all those things you are trying to fix go into hyper drive (aches, acne, bloat, lethargy, headaches) then the clouds lift, the cravings back off and the healing begins. Slow at first... Depending on haw damaged your system is it can take months to really feel "good", but you should feel "better" by the end of the 30 days, enough to maybe want to keep going! 

I'm not even sure I want to reintroduce some of the foods... They say you can bring back things for a couple days and see how it goes. Legumes, non-gluten grains, dairy, then gluten grains. But at this point I am doing fine without these things.

I'm pretty sure soy is something I can live without forever now that I've found the coconut aminos to replace soy sauce. Everywhere else, it's kind of hidden in processed foods, and my husbands homemade paleo mayonnaise is divine!

But it would be nice to try peanut butter again. If it turns out to disagree with me, oh well, but it is a comfort food for sure, and far less expensive than the nut butters.

Happy Shiny Me has never been a more honest blog name. I feel radiant these days! Thanks to good, honest food and a family that's on board!

It's not restrictive, it's liberating

Simplifying for a better quality of life is essentially why I started this blog.

Stuff has left the house by the box load, and it's helping clear my head with less bits and bobs to think about.

(Latest box of craft related items for charity)

But in recent times, with this best-ever healthy lifestyle change, my food shopping has been really simplified, and my pantry is streamlined like never before! There are whole departments of the grocery store that I can ignore! Fruit, veg (fresh, frozen or canned) and all sorts of yummy meats and seafood pretty much cover the whole list! No junk, juice or processed anything leaves out most of the inside aisles.  And the bread and dairy section have nothing for me (except milk for the kids). The weekly specials flyer can be looked through way faster too, only a couple pages even hold interest for me anymore. Just because it's on sale, not good enough reason to bring it home.

Reading labels is liberating. As soon as I come across an ingredient that I am rescuing my body from being exposed to I know I never have to buy that again! Of course my mind may change in the future, I may get more relaxed after I am through the "detox" and "healing" phases, but for now I am revelling in the clear and beautiful food choice "rules" and my body is rewarding me with smooth joints, clear thoughts, energy and good mood. All that just solidifies my resolve to keep doing this "easier" way of shopping.

I will admit, cooking and prepping take more time, but I am loving that part - exploring all the pretty and easily found recipes out there.

Wowza

My first attempt at making Kimchi was frankly terrible, then I found this Paleo version and decided to try it since veggies and fermented foods are both so good for us.

http://paleoleap.com/fermented-food-recipes/#s5

After a week of the mixture sitting quietly beside my fireplace, I decided to give it the sniff test. Mmmmm it smelled wonderful! Like spicy fresh saukraut (I loved my dad's  homemade saukraut). Then a tentative nibble.

Wowza! That stuff is electric flavours of spicy, salty and veggy in perfect harmony. 

So happy that it turned out like that. Thank you Paleo Leap for posting the lacto-fermentation recipes!

Confidence

The year is coming to a close. It's time for reflection on the accomplishments of the year's goals and unexpected happenings. The single most important change has been in my diet.

This way of eating has been good. REALLY good. The food is beautiful, tasty, filling and surprisingly easy to stick to in all situations. 

Yesterday, on a nice forest trail walk, I got a little choked up about how good I felt! This sounds strange, but I had resigned myself to feeling "old" in my joints and muscles. Now, suddenly I feel so much better. My body feels like it did 10 years ago (Not young exactly, but it's still early in the game on this way of feeding myself). The parking brakes are off my range of motion, the minor constant aches are not in my way anymore. My breathing is easier and my pants fit the same in the morning as they do at night (that's a big deal for me). The "balanced" diet I had been eating my whole life was making me slow, and I get teared up from joy and a little bit sad and sometimes even angry that I wasted this much time feeling old when it was so EASY to fix!

I'm not being antisocial with it. If there is a special reason to eat a certain food that's not normally on my menu, I take enough to participate. It's rare enough that my health is still improving even with all the Christmas feasting going on. 

On the topic of simplifying...

I have faith that this path of healthy eating is 100% sustainable, therefore I can confidently remove the clothes that fit 10 pounds heavier. 

5 pairs of pants, 12 tops, some sports bras are all off to the thrift store.

Outerwear outa here!

 Sorry for the terrible picture, it's dark this time of year. 

3 decent coats that no one fits and 3 pairs of dressy boots. 

I love the dressy boots look, but I realized that have my favourites and these aren't them, so off they go to a new home. Since I always buy them second hand, I don't feel like I have wasted money.... I just "rented" them for a year from the charity thrift shop for a very reasonable price!

That wasn't a bad purge for a 5 minute look in the front closet! It's amazing what can be lingering neglected behind closed doors. Now these things are off to a worthy cause and maybe a new home, that's a nice feeling.

Pantry clean out: revisited

This new way of eating that we have adopted - whole real foods - has resulting in very very good things in my family. Not only are we leaner, we just plain FEEL better! Physically and mentally clearer, more energy, a better sense of being ALIVE!

With results like that, I really can't see us returning to our eating habits, so I revisited the fridge and dry goods to get rid of even more processed and sugar or flour based foods.

My sister is adopting most of the open packages, and there is some unopened foods for charity too.

As I do more and more research, I see that there is a word for this kind of eating. 

We have adopted Paleo as our choice for feeling good. 

At first I heavily resisted giving up some of the grains, legumes and beans... And the sugar withdrawal was not fun. But as I read the medical arguments (there are a ridiculous number of medical studies) I appreciate that it might be worth it to at least see if I can live without these things I am just used to. 

Of course I can! Just trying to figure out what to eat each meal was the hard part at first. My go-to recipes and snacks were in question after all. So I am retraining myself to cook without these things thanks to ample blogs and recipe books! - the Paleo recipes are amazing! Full of colour, flavour and texture (all the things I love about cooking and food), this is a really diverse and bountiful way to eat and I have the pictures to prove it! 

And that's just a "taste" of the meals we have been enjoying lately.

Different Perspectives

Recently I found out that my husband doesn't think our 3 bedroom, 2 bath home is big enough!

I was shocked. Honestly for the life of me I can't figure out what he would want more space for! It's so far beyond my goals, that I can't think of anything to say about it. I always thought when the children left home that we would move into something smaller like a cottage in the back yard, then rent out the main house to supplement our old age income, but my husband says this house is as small as he wants. Gobsmacked how we could be so far apart in our vision of the future. I guess we both make compromises at every life-step.

Functionally, I think this is far more house than we need, but apparently he wishes it had a full basement as well. We are a family of 4, but our kids are getting older (17 and 13), less toys are coming in (yay!) and their interests are primarily outdoors or digital. So you would think this 1800 sqft rancher house would be more than ample!

Our oldest is anxious to start a life of his own within the next couple years, and will likely move hundreds of miles away for the best employment opportunities (and take his stuff with him). When that happens his room at the end of the hall has so much potential!

I could move the home office from the front room to there (not my favourite option because I like being in the big room next to the front door), or make a small TV room with hide-a-bed sofa to get the noisy video games out of earshot and double as a guest room that our oldest son could stay in when he visits, or a gym, or a craft/sewing room, or, or, or....

We have never had a "spare" room before! The potential is mind boggling (in a good way).

And our son has loads of outdoor gear that he would be encouraged to take too... bicycles, camping gear, tools, and other boy-interest paraphernalia. It would clear out gobs of garage space and a shed! ( I will love tearing those sheds down one day. Handy for now, but eye sores.)

Once again it makes me wonder why our house isn't "big enough" in my husband's eyes. It's only going to feel bigger from here on out. Especially as the purging continues daily bit by bit.

pretty serving dish.... unitasker whose function can be met by other dishes

hand painted pitcher (and 6 matching goblets not pictured) it is heavy and poorly balanced. A gift that I was hanging onto and using out of respect for the gifter

digital camera, charger and battery that was replaced by a newer faster version some time ago

box of miscellaneous cables, books and too-small-boots

... and more clothing and books and toys not pictured!

The fabulous Tea drawer

Drawers are a wonderful thing! Easy access to all sorts of random items, tidily tucked away with a gentle push. Of course this fantastic organizational tool can get terribly messy very quickly so diligence is needed to keep it all working well.

I have a few designated drawers in the kitchen. Items of one category and ONLY that category.

Saucepans

Plastic containers

Kitchen cloths

Spices

Teas

The drawer defines how much of that category I can store practically. I could have more than the drawer can handle, but that only leads to frustration and clutter (trust me, I know from years of experience). Some of the other drawers are less organized/defined. The chaos drawers!

Dry pantry goods like pasta and random bagged foods

Chef knives/measuring cups and spoons/ awkward utensils (like whisk)

Snack drawer

This drawers wax and wane with degrees of chaos and states of fullness. Works in progress...

But the defined drawers work VERY well as long as I stick to the one-in-one-out and respect the physical limits.

(I am particularly proud of my tea set up, it's a rainbow of tea options!)