My son is what inspires me to simplify life.

My husband, son & myself live in a 2200sq. ft. house-main floor & basement.  Not small by any means but when we  bought it, I was hoping to fill it with children.  When I was pregnant with my son, I developed a life threatening condition, which meant that we were couting our blessings that we had one healthy baby ,because the risks were much higher of a mom or baby dying in a second pregnancy, we knew our son would be our only child.

So from there I decided to try to simplify our lives so we could really enjoy the things that matter most.

I believe that just because you have a lot of space you don’t need to clutter it up.  The less you have the less you have to clean & you really get to enjoy the things you love more.

My husband’s grandfather made these chests.

In Canada the Diabetes Association comes through our town once a month & they accept donations of almost anykind so its a wonderful way  to unclutter the house & know that your helping people in need.

I try to keep only things that we use & love.  I always remember that I want to enjoy my famliy more so I figure if I’m never going to use this or display that or read it again I might as well donate to so someone else who can. I now try to get all my books & movies from the library that way I don’t have spend money or time maintaining them. I try to only use organic skincare & cleaning products, I love using vinegar & tea tree oil for cleaning & disinfecting things.

I also tried going as natural & organic for my son as well that included using cloth diapers, I only wish more moms used them its really not hard to use cloth diapers & soapnuts really do get them clean=)  I’m also so excited now that spring is here I love to bike ride & use the stoller with my son, it’s SOooo much easier to go shopping that way, instead of taking him in & out of the carseat it also means that I can only buy the essentials.

Life can change in an a second, imagine if you only had a month to live what would you do, what things would you change I bet most of the thing we are running around doing wouldn’t matter so whats stopping you from simplifying your life today?

My favorite saying is yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift that’s why we call it the present.  So try to simplify & go enjoy your “present”=)

Thank you, thank you to Steph and her family!   Isn’t this family such an inspiration?  They really seem to know what truly matters to them, don’t they?  Do you have any favorite thoughts or images of Steph’s home that stand out?  How about that cute white rocking chair in the living room?  Or the handmade family chests and ladybug boot vase?  So much cuteness.  So much wisdom!

Thanks for sharing with us, Steph!

And don’t forget – toss around the idea of sharing a corner of your home with us like all of these people have.  It’s nice to know there are like-minded folks out there.  So get in touch; we’d love a peek at your wisdom.

With that thought, I think it’s time to begin Part II of your questions about The No New Clothes Challenge – a project my husband and I began last May when we swore off new clothing purchases.  Off we go…

Q: Do you feel like you are wearing the same things ALL THE TIME?! -jpritchard

Nope!  I was really expecting to feel like I was.   Here’s a past post about tricks I’ve picked up for making my wardrobe seem bigger, making it last, and just general still-loving-what-I’ve-got ideas.

Q: I’m not sure I can completely stop buying clothes.  I see how it’s a really great, green thing to do.  So do you have any ideas on ways to acquire clothes without buying new? -Jen

Sure do!  You can always check the thrift shops. Comments in this post have a lot of really great tips for sifting through the racks to find some good stuff.  Don’t forget consignment shops for really unique pieces.  I love the idea of trying to buy new clothes that are used and not really new at all.

I also like the approach Katherine is taking to No New Clothes. She wrote, “Since last summer/fall [my goal] is to only buy clothes made ethically. In the US, that mostly means used clothes, handmade, or toss-offs since the rare fair trade clothing stores are not exactly stylish and tend to be way more than I can afford.”

A lot of people enjoy having clothing swaps with friends.  Basically you all bring a certain number of clothes and take turns “shopping” in all of the old treasures.  The only rule is that you have to leave with less than you came with.  Everything that doesn’t get a new owner among friends goes to charity.

Q: How long do you think you’ll keep going with this? -jpritchard

After you do something for a while, it starts to become a habit.  Clothes shopping is like that for me now.  I’ve lost all interest.  So I guess only time will tell how long this challenge lasts (which I think will really depend on how long our clothes last).

Q: When you talk about having fewer clothes, how much do you mean? I am interested in what your definition of fewer is. – Mother of Pearl

When I started this challenge, I didn’t know what “fewer” meant.  Now I know the answer: owning fewer clothes means having fewer clothes than you feel like you want or need.  I know that doesn’t give you exact numbers – like how many pairs of pants or socks.  Our lives are all different, so naturally we all have different clothing needs.  The one thing that I have found regardless of situation in life:  we all need fewer clothes than we think.

So when I think of owning fewer pieces of clothing, the most important thing for me to do is stop buying clothing.  It feels good when we clean out our closets and donate unwanted things to charity.  It feels even better not to acquire those items in the first place.

* * * * * * * * * *

And with that we wrap up the second Q&A on the No New Clothes challenge.  (You can catch Part I here.)  Now let’s talk about your theory on clothes.  When would you define yourself as having enough clothes in the closet?  Do you have enough now?  Or too many?  How would you even measure it?  And if you have found satisfaction with the number you have, won’t you share that wisdom?  I know a lot of you made the switch to fewer clothes long ago.  Tell us about it.

We walked into KaDeWe – Europe’s second largest department store – and I have to admit I was pretty overwhelmed.  The crowds were okay.  But this time – I was shocked by all the color.  The grays and blacks I’ve grown so accustomed to seeing in Germany (like all of the clothes I’ve encountered in my No New Clothes Challenge), were replaced by this colorful scene.  I’ll be honest.  I didn’t buy a thing.  But the colors sure had me swooning!

Would you like to browse the spring display at KaDeWe with me just to see what’s abuzz in Berlin?

Decorating live branches that are just starting to bud with green leaves seems very popular in Germany.  Every flower shop sells beautiful spring-filled branches.  All you have to do is place them in a large vase and add a little water.  And stores everywhere sell beautiful decorated eggs (some are real blown eggs!) and other spring and Easter ornaments to hang from the branches.

My German teacher even set one up in our classroom.  The dentist’s office has one, too!

This butterfly display certainly had me pausing.  Pastel butterflies graced all the corners of these displays at KaDeWe.

Paper carnations weren’t even for sale.  I sure loved them.  It could be such a fun project to make at home.

This store draws 40,000 to 50,000 visitors every day.  They have an entire floor of gormet foods, little dining areas, and international food.  If you’re wondering where to get your hands on some good ol’ American Crisco Shortening – it’s here along with canned pumpkin puree and peanut butter cups.  Just be prepared to pay!

Speaking of paying, I am sad to report that the “glass” items in the shot below are all plastic.  Talk about a disappointment!  Good eye candy, just not the take-home kind.

Do you decorate your home for spring?  Have any little touches you like to add for Easter?  A little tree of eggs, perhaps?  Or are you more of a chocolate egg kind of decorator?

Long before we had intense chemical cleaners and toxic-if-consumed deep scrubs, families were turning to basic products like vinegar.

A big thanks goes out to buysoapnuts.com for offering a free sample of soap nuts to one lucky reader.  They even sent some soap nuts our way to try out.  But don’t worry if the luck of the Irish didn’t rub off on this particular St. Patrick’s Day announcement.  Buysoapnuts.com offers trial size packages of their product for just a buck.  The sample is enough for 4-5 loads, which could be just perfect if you’ve read this post about soap nuts and really can’t decide if you want to give them a shot.

So who’s the lucky winner who is about to walk away with enough soap nuts to cover somewhere between 150 and 200 loads of laundry?

I’ll give you a hint.  It’s another vinegar lover:

my favorite: Using a vinegar-soaked rag to dissolve all that build-up on our faucets. Gosh, I hate cleaning up after hard water, but this seriously works!

Congratulations to Juliette R!  Random.org says it’s your lucky day.  Drop me a line and we’ll get those soap nuts right to you.

A big thanks goes out to buysoapnuts.com!

(kidding)

There was one thing my collection of thousands of photos lacked.  And those were photos and memories of the corners of our homes and our life AT HOME. I try to remember the details that I really, really loved about life back in America.  But I can’t.  (Sometimes I can’t even remember the simplest English words.  That’s a whole other issue – just don’t ask me how old I am in English unless you can wait a long, long time for me to translate.)

I, for one, wish I had recorded more of the simple stuff where we used to live like -

You know – the good stuff in life!

Martin said to me the other day, “I can’t believe how different you used to be, Katie.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.  I don’t know why I said that.  I knew what he said was true – about me, about him, about our world.

Something tells me it’s the same for you, your family, and your home, too, right?

I just wish we had recorded more of those everyday moments and shots of our homes.  From here on out, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I also want to help you do the same.

Yes!  It’s a whole new type of journal.  It really is a “Making This Home” type of perfect fit – don’t you think?

Best of all:

Of course, if you want to see more, you’re just going to have to swing on over to the shop.  Finally a place to store that old house key you just won’t part with.

Oh what could this all be?  Stay tuned for a shop update with lots of little lovelies that focus on where we are and who we’re sharing it with.

In the meantime, I am snapping photos and trying to capture the last bit of snowy light left in Berlin today.  Yep.  More rain and snow and rain, but it’s not so bad.  Spring is creeping in.

Can you feel spring coming your way, too.  It always makes Mondays feel so much more beautiful, don’t you think?