Sometimes we start feeling like we’re not good enough.  We think that we’re not important and that our stories don’t matter.

But they do.

I receive emails every so often with women asking who’s going to care.  I could rattle off a few situations where people would want to know:

1. You  (You deserve to celebrate yourself!)
2. Future generations of your family
3. People experiencing something you’ve already gone through and people who had relatives who did in the past
4. People in the community where you live
5. Tourists

A couple months ago, I got the chance to join a tour of the local archives in my hometown with a college class on records management.  Have you ever been to the archives?  It is amazing!

And I don’t mean amazing in the nerdy way.  I think.  You see, I am not a history buff.  I didn’t take a single history course in college.  In fact, I’d never thought to stop by the archives before I received an invitation.  Wait a second?  We have a local archives?  Who knew!

Boy was I missing out on some really beautiful things.

The archives isn’t just about facts.  Actually, it’s all about stories.

(my grandma in Kansas)

The woman giving us a tour said, “Our job isn’t to decide which facts are right and which ones are inaccurate.  Our job is to preserve things for exactly what they are.”

She was holding a diary from a local priest who had died about a year ago.

His estate donated his writing and photographs to our archives.  They got catalogued, and now anyone has the ability to read his story if she goes to the archives.  And you know what?  People are reading these stories.  We’re learning so much.

What did this hometown priest strive for?  How did he embrace happiness and himself?

How did he perceive our community and his faith?

And ummm…. what did he do on St. Patrick’s Day?!

In the preservation room, I saw a few really cool things:

• the corner of a quilt sticking out of a box of artifacts donated by a local guild years and years ago
• original immigration paperwork and photos from the late 1800s/early 1009s (for some people, these immigration photos are the only photo they have of past relatives)
• old newspaper clippings and yearbooks  (Sweet! I made it in the archives!)
• club notes
• family memorabilia
• aerial drawings of neighborhood layouts over the years
• stories – thousands and thousands of rich and beautiful stories

You and I can – and we should – all embrace every part of ourselves.  We should hold onto the stories that matter.  We should share them.

(my grandpa in Montana)

I never in my wildest dreams thought about sharing anything more than photographs at the archives.  Boy was I wrong.

“So what types of things would you accept from me?” I asked and pointed at myself as the tour wrapped up.  I’m just a young woman.  What could someone like me possibly offer?

She smiled.  “We want your stories.”

My grandma says the best gifts are the kind you can eat!

She also thinks that chocolate from Europe is the cat’s meow.

So I thought I’d give you some.

These chocolates from Germany are my all-time favorites. If you feel like shopping for something at Gadanke, you can have German chocolates. How cool is that?

Spend $35 and get two mini chocolates (36 grams or 1 1/4 oz).  Write FREECHOCOLATE in the note to seller at checkout.

Pssst…. buyers in Europe – there’s a special chocolate treat for you from America instead.

(Sale ends Sunday at midnight MST or when my grandma finds out what we have.)

It’s Tuesday, and I cannot get enough of this warm weather.

Doesn’t it look like I’m practically skipping?  (I should have worn a hat and gloves to be perfectly honest: 42 degrees F (6 C) with heavy wind isn’t exactly warm.)

It’s been a little while since we talked about the No New Clothes Challenge.

For those of you just joining us, Martin and I stopped buying new clothes in May 2009.  The challenge was only supposed to last three months.  Yet here we are…

Have you ever paused to see just how many clothes you’re buying?  It seems like we’re all constantly cleaning out our closets.  The coolest thing about the No New Clothes Challenge at our house is that we don’t have really big clearing sessions because we’ve stopped bringing new clothes into the closet.

I never thought about that before this challenge.  Jimmy Cricket, it would have been nice to have you whispering in my ear, “Closet clutter only happens when you introduce more clothes to your home.”

We’re purchasing a few things – new jeans for Martin, a couple long-sleeve tees for me (still needing jeans).

A couple of you have asked if we shop for clothes at thrift stores.  We do not.  We’re both tall for Americans, and our local thrift stores naturally carry the brands available around here (Old Navy, Walmart, etc.).  For some reason, when you shop for longer clothes, they start becoming wider, too.  So we save up and try to buy clothes that fit and are well-built.  Or you know… go on strike from buying clothes all together.  ;)

I have this one-day dream of learning how to alter clothes.  Then I think thrift store hunting would be awesome.  For now, I’m just doing what I need to: patching holes, reattaching buttons, darning socks, sounding very, very 1940′s housewife!

I was also given these boots:

They are a pair of Ugg Boots by a company named Wooga.  They’re on this big mission to prove that Uggs aren’t just one brand; they’re a name of a particular style of boot.

I took them on my walk to the mailbox and neighbors’ house (in case you’re wondering why I always have a tote bag in my hand – it’s full of mail and goodies to share).  I covered a couple of miles.  Walking is my favorite way to relax and reflect.  My feet were so warm.  Yet these boots aren’t something I’d wear when there’s more ice on the road.

It’s kind of exciting to get free clothes, I’m going to be honest.  But the second I put the boots on, I thought, “Oh noooo.  Am I going to be a major fashion faux pas in four years when I’m still wearing these boots?”

Clothes that come to our house are in it for the long haul.  How about the clothes that you buy?

Catch more of the No New Clothes Challenge and tutorials here.

Disclosure: the boots were given to me by Wooga themselves.

We vote with our money. Every dollar that we spend on something is a sign to that company that says, “Oh yeah! We support what you’re doing.”

Sometimes I look at my own site here and think, “Well I’m not being very congruent.” I’ll be talking about decluttering. Then I show you something I got at the thrift store or a handmade shop. Get rid of stuff. No wait, buy stuff.  Huh?

I need to work on being clearer.  I believe that it isn’t about buying stuff; it’s about:

• buying the things that have meaning and function for us
• parting with stuff that doesn’t
• supporting the local and handmade communities

At our house, we’re trying to make a conscious shift from buying things that don’t support our beliefs to buying things that do.

We believe in:

• supporting the handmade and local community
• simplifying our home and getting rid of things that don’t matter
• celebrating stories – of our home and journey, our family, and the things in our home

I feel like marching around stating that like all the different groups gathering at the capitol to show Congress where they stand.  How many people would go stand with me, do you think?

With that, I am super excited to introduce some eye candy.  Yes!  I finally have blog buttons.  Making This Home buttons will be on their way.  Here are just a few for Gadanke that you can pick from:

All the html and plenty of other fun buttons are on this page.  Aren’t they a blast?  It’s so easy.  Just copy the code, paste it on your site, and poof!  You’ll have a sweet little Gadanke button that I hope makes you smile.

I’d love your support in the mission to celebrate our stories and support handmade.

Note to bloggers: leave a link to your site below if you’ve added a button.  We’ll have a drawing for a $30 Gadanke gift certificate!  (Winner announced 3/17 – next Thursday.)

* * * giveaway now closed – THANK YOU * * *

What do you like to vote for with your dollars?

Journaling has made me so much more aware of the day-to-day.  It has taught me to pay closer attention to life.  It teaches me to celebrate stories.

Take this picture for instance:

You and I know that it’s Martin.  iPhoto tells me that this picture is from 2009.  We can tell it must be warm since Martin has rolled up his sleeves and has no coat or hat.

What else do we know?

Why would this picture or this story matter?  What was going on in Martin’s life then?  Why did he stop to play in the snow?  Why did I pause to take this picture?

I still remember a lot of these things.  But maybe I’m thinking, “So what.  The story doesn’t matter.” Maybe you’re thinking the same thing.

So then I have to show you this picture:

If you found this picture in your family albums, would you like to know who it was?  How about when it was or where?  What about all the stories?

I know that this girl is my grandma in 1919 – 90 years before the photo of Martin building a snowman.  But I don’t know anything else.  I don’t know what my grandma’s life was like or what she felt and said.  I don’t know who took this picture or why.  I don’t even know: did my grandma build that snowman next to her?

My sweet grandma doesn’t know any of this either.  But gosh, we both sure wish we could!

Does your story matter?  Absolutely.

I am a fan of simplicity.

You all know that.  I think that at some level, you kind of are, too.  ;)

The thing that I do not know is how much of a simplifier I am.  There are days when I see all the beautiful things people are buying or that I could be buying.  I start thinking, “I want that.  And that.  And that.”  Even more often, I want to know how we ended up with so much stuff.  Where did all these papers come from?  I could have sworn I stopped bringing home those free mini soaps from hotels years ago.

Finding simplicity is a journey. It changes with each stage of our lives.  Sometimes we need less.  Sometimes we end up with more.  It’s all about finding the perfect spot between the two that makes us happiest.

You can’t beat yourself up along the way, though.

How many of the items from Monday’s list – How to Clutter Your Home – did you check off and think, “Yep.  I totally do that.”?

A little secret:  I don’t know anyone who doesn’t achieve at least a few of those cluttering requirements.  A file full of articles to read?  That’s me!  Walking into a store when I don’t need anything in it?  Also me.

Oh here’s a little trick.  When you do walk into a store where you don’t need anything or when you just “need one thing”, at least don’t grab a cart or basket.  Trust me on that one.  You buy less when you carry it all.  You also buy less when you have to bike home with it all. (Or at least I’ve learned you buy less after the first time couple of times you can barely bike home.)

Some people say that a life of simplicity is a life of boredom.

(Picture me squinting at that sentence on my screen, thinking, “REALLY?!”)  Is simplifying making your life a little duller these days?

Here we are a couple of months after moving to Germany.  Look how bored simplicity makes you.  ;)

In our case, having less stuff means the airlines aren’t getting rich every time we move to Germany or back to the tire house.  Have you seen how expensive it is to check bags these days?  Sheesh.

Having less stuff means we can move and experiences different places.  It means other people can live in our apartment in Germany without having to fold up their pants and put them next to mine.  How would that be for making yourself at home?

Taking steps to simplify is really what has made our life possible… and so dang fun.  (Okay – I know it’s simplicity + intense frugality + serious luck here.)  The key is to find the happy point of simplicity for yourself and celebrate it. Try the things we’re talking about on Making This Home.  Or don’t.

Just know that you’re never alone.  We’re bumbling along, too.  (I mean, you would be too if drank that much beer just when you got to Germany!)

Where do you stand between simplicity and lots of stuff at home?  Is it a comfortable place to be?