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Simplify Saturday: Decluttering Sentimental Objects

Published on by Kariane

Simplify Saturday: Decluttering Sentimental Objects

I have a group of stuffed animals that I’ve kept, not because I particularly like them, but because they came from the person who was my best friend from the time we were teenagers until he died unexpectedly a couple of years ago. I look at them, and they remind me of him. They don’t remind me of him because he liked stuffed animals (Honestly, he found them rather silly), but because for several years he ran an import/export business selling Beanie Babies on Ebay, back at a time when they were all the rage and people paid huge amounts of money for various specific animals.… Continue reading

Working in the Garden: Planting Irises

Published on by Kariane

Working in the Garden: Planting IrisesWe’re slowly working on reclaiming the garden spaces around our home that have been awash in weeds since the big Boulder flood came through our yard and home in 2013. Last year we pulled all of the weeds in one bed and planted a bunch of strawberries. While they haven’t spread as much as I thought they would, we’re thrilled that they came back again this year (I love perennials) and seem to be doing well.… Continue reading

Simplify Saturday: Cancel Unwanted Magazine Subscriptions

Published on by Kariane

Simplify Saturday: Cancel Unwanted Magazine SubscriptionsThe other day I realized that I get several magazines that I don’t read. They’re interesting magazines, just not interesting enough for me to make it a priority to read them right now. All of these magazine subscriptions came for free so my airline frequent flyer miles wouldn’t expire (isn’t it crazy that you have to order something to keep an account current?).… Continue reading

Why We Cloth Diaper

Published on by Kariane

As my toddler begins expressing an interest in using the toilet (Admittedly, this is mostly an interest in wearing underwear; unless it’s in the middle of the night, than he wants to get up and use the toilet), I find myself reflecting on our diapering experiences.

I stumbled on this rather lengthy email that I sent a pregnant friend when my oldest, now 6 years old, was a toddler.… Continue reading

Simplify Saturday: Love your Leftovers

Published on by Kariane

We just got back from spending a week with my grandparents. While we were there, we all worked together on meal preparation. One of the ways we simplified cooking for so many people was to declare that each day, we were having leftovers for lunch.

This meant that every day we prepared a big breakfast. My grandmother spoiled us with bacon or sausage and eggs in the morning.… Continue reading

Simplify Saturday: Get Rid of Excess Furniture

Published on by Kariane

Simplify Saturday: Get Rid of Excess FurnitureThis may seem like an odd way to simplify. You may look at this post and think, excess furniture, who has excess furniture? But as we’re going through and [very slowly] paring down things in our house, I’ve realized that even in a rather small house, you can have furniture that you don’t use or need.

If you’re not using a piece of furniture, why not pass it along to someone who will use it?… Continue reading

Simplify Saturday: Meal Planning Master List

Published on by Kariane

Meal planning, especially for your main meal of the day, is a great way to simplify your life. Pre-planning what you’re going to make for this main meal – for us it’s dinner – makes it so you can simply prepare the food instead of also having to figure out what to make when it’s time to cook.

This not only helps evenings to flow smoother by not having to decide what to cook at the last minute (or needing to defrost ingredients quickly), it also helps you to ensure that you have all of the items you need to prepare a particular meal on hand because you knew you were going to make it in advance.… Continue reading