Simplicity

For many years Justin and I have talked about living a simple life, simplifying in our home, getting rid of clutter and making better financial decisions. All this is wrapped up in simplicity, at least my version of it. Due to the economy and various things we see in the world we live in we are making 2009 the year of beginnings and I thought I would start by making myself accountable on my blog. I am not sure to whom I am making myself accountable since there are not a lot of readers (...heelllllloooooo!!!!) but whatever, just in case...LOL.

We want a better healthier life for us and our children and we want to leave them a legacy that is filled more with the character of God than what the world thinks is important. We want to have fun as a family in ways that are frugal and promote our relationship with each other, to God and to the people around us. We are so blessed to live in the country we do where we do have so much more than others, even though I sometimes feel like the rope is tightening we are still freer than some. I would love to not look at my home and sigh because of the mountain of laundry but instead find joy in my home. (Laundry never ends, but my perspective can change!) I want my kids to enjoy nature and know about the world they live in because they are in it, not because they read a book about it. I want them to touch and feel the world around them and appreciate it.

I have no idea what this will look like...we are on a journey. Here are some things we are doing to start:

No Spend January:

(which may extend to February, March, April....you get the picture...:)

• During this time we are basically going on a spending fast. We will pay the bills, use up what is in our pantry and only go to the store for the necessities (are they really necessary?).


• We are going to build up our savings account with any and all extra $$ and apply it towards our credit card. Basically that is our main goal and reason for this..PAY OFF DEBT.

Use What We Have:

• We have a coat closet size pantry and an extra freezer. We plan to empty that during this process. :) Creativity will be playing a huge part in this!


• We are going to use the local Farmer's Market in order to pay less and get fresher produce.


• We have a Netflix account which is our one luxury for entertainment and we will use that as well as our local library for reading and movies.


• We are so lucky to have the backyard that we do. It is a great source of entertainment for the kids and it houses a large garden that we will be putting to even better use this year. Our seed catalog is in the mail!