Currently, my Instagram feed runs with scenic views of outdoor adventures with kids, homeschooling, farms, knitting, yarn, textiles, and coffee. Yup, those are mostly what I see! And I can't think of any of those accounts being linked to a "real life" friend, but rather a hashtag that I followed that led me to something pretty, something that makes me #swoon #wildandfreechildren #waldorf #charlottemason #montessori #wool #naturalfibers #weareknitters #coffeeshop #getoutside
This is one area of influence that has helped shape my home rhythms.
Backstory-
I didn't know what I "liked" but rather my home was cluttered with miscellaneous things that the youngest of four kids, and lots of family living nearby, resulted in. Then, we got rid of EVERYTHING, sold our home and moved into an RV. When I say EVERYTHING, here is what I mean- 75% of our clothes, books, kitchen things, keepsakes, toys, 100% of our furniture, 100% of our outdoor toys/ equipment... it all averaged to about 90% of everything we owned. And we still got rid of more during the following year of transition.
And I haven't missed any of it.
In fact, it was in getting rid of it all, living in a RV, moving into a small two-bedroom, one-bath ranch style home, that I developed my own sense of style. When my brother-in-law came to visit last week, he paid me the best compliment on my home. He said something along the lines of, "you can tell that you guys are used to living very small, because everything has a place and all of your furniture has a purpose." Combine that with a conversation with my sister the next day on the phone, who said that kid stuff was taking over her house and it feels chaotic... like how she always felt when she would come over my house in NH... She has twin girls, nearly 3 years old. That was the most chaotic season of my life. And then, when Abby was that age, Jakob was born. {Insert 5 years of chaos!} I know there were good times in all of that, but it still makes me think panicked thoughts when I think back on that season of life. (Don't worry, I'm working through some of those things)
All of that to say, our 1,000 square foot house is mostly shades of white, no carpeting (we don't even own a throw rug), it looks like an advertisement out of IKEA (Life goal= ✔) Our dining table is a long folding table with a Wal-Mart flat sheet as a table cloth that I alternate between 3 identical ones. I had them on hand from when I used them as curtains at our old house in Candia, NH. Our chairs are the super lightweight black ones from IKEA that we used in the RV.
We are slowly acquiring, buying, and creating things to fill our home with decor that we love. If you're familiar with the KonMari Method, we are slowly, purposefully, putting things in our home that "Spark Joy." I take pride in striving to live a minimalist lifestyle. Not to make that my identity, but to have something tangible that I am striving to relate to.
This whole journey of having less has given me more joy in life.
In the last year, I have discovered many hobbies that I enjoy. I remember babysitting for a very intelligent little boy who asked me, "what are some of your hobbies?" I simply replied, "I like doing puzzles... {insert long pause} and people from other countries. Does that count as a hobby?" I came home and cried because I felt like I had no hobbies. I didn't know how to answer this very simple question- What did I like to do? It sounds rather ridiculous, but in that moment, I was struggling so much with my own identity as a person, outside of my roles as Mom, wife, etc. It was that simple conversation starter question from a 9 year old that got me thinking, "what are my hobbies?"
What are some things that I'm passionate about? Passions, that weren't so "intense" like human rights issues, which I'm still passionate about. But I've also discovered "simpler" passions, ones that simply bring joy to me- like natural fibers and textiles. The whole process starting with the farmer, sheep shearer, wool processor, fiber spinner, needle worker, finished product, recipient/ buyer/ gift receiver. And when I go overseas in a few weeks, I will be able to see how other people who have this shared passion, have created a sustainable small business, employing local women who might not otherwise have a stable job. How incredible is that?! It might sound super silly to you, but that's okay.
I'm just a few years into this journey of learning to live more simply, I still have chaos in my life, stresses and worries and dishes in my sink. One thing that I can agree with others on is this-
Living a minimalist lifestyle changes everything.
How I value time, money, food, resources, people, myself, those that I love.
It's a journey.
I am not an expert on any of this. I'm just sharing a window in on some of what I've learned over the last few years. I haven't regretted having less stuff, living in a small home, owning less clothing, keeping my pantry more bare and limited to what we will consume in the next two weeks. This is totally opposite of how I wanted to live before! I never wanted to live in a small house, much less a single story ranch style home, I always wanted an extra bedroom, a bursting pantry, etc. The reason that I wanted a large home was so that we could foster/ adopt and express hospitality. The reason why I never wanted a single story home was because my first born child was a terrible sleeper and I didn't want to creep around the house all the time in fear of waking her. Yet here I am. My kids don't nap anymore, and when Nana and Grandad came to visit a few weeks ago, they got our room and I bunked with the kids while Craig took the couch. Having a guest room might be nice, but in reality, how many nights out of the entire year do we have people come stay overnight with us? And as far as fostering and adopting, this isn't our season. This is a season of resting, abiding, for our family of four.
I'm soaking in and savoring these moments, from my hammock in the backyard, watching my kids jump on the trampoline. I'm learning to breathe deeply as I practice knitting from the couch, while people I love gather in my living room. I'm taking long baths in our deep soaking tub, after having a small, low-pressure shower in the RV with a tiny hot water tank. I'm whispering praises of thanks as I do laundry in our own home, not having to go to the laundromat or lug it to a friends house. I watch the leaves change color, fall and fill the yard from the window above my kitchen sink. I drink my coffee in bed, crack the blinds and just close my eyes. I say "yes!" when my four-year old son asks to paint at 8 am instead of eating breakfast right away. These are the sweet moments that I want to soak up, savor, remember, create rhythms of in our home. This isn't the all-day, every-day, but I'm learning.
It's a journey. To live more simply. So I can be more fully present.
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