Back to the post though… part of my New Year’s goal was to start using less plastic and disposable items in our house. I know we probably won’t be a zero-waste household anytime soon but I know that we can have really cut back on single-use plastic items in our home. Continue reading “Plastic Free July Challenge”
I didn’t know this until a few days ago as I saw it mentioned in an article as I was skimming through my facebook at a super-fast rate. Then I was reminded of it again yesterday when going through my numerous emails… the number of emails I get is crazy!
I can see why this would be a great month for finding ways to beat boredom as I’m sure there are a lot of parents hearing those famous words “I’m so bored…. there’s nothing to do!”. My eyes seem to do an automatic eye roll when I hear it from my kiddos. There’s always something you can do, right? Continue reading “Celebrate National Anti-Boredom Month with help from Samko & Miko!”
Whoa!…. That title sounds kinda scary, doesn’t it? Well, it shouldn’t as the Swedish concept of döstädning, “death cleaning”, or “one last sweep”, is actually something that can be quite wonderful. I know from some of my past experiences with decluttering that getting rid of stuff can make you feel so much better. You can even invite your friends and family to help and use this as a bonding experience.
Last summer we did a big decluttering session here and the house felt so much better afterward. Well, that feeling has since worn off as we’ve had Christmas and birthdays which brought in more clutter as well as the fact that other clutter has found its way in the house as well.
With 600 square feet and as many people as we have, things can get quite cluttered quite quickly. When my mom-mom died last year and we went to visit the family I saw that she had done some major decluttering herself. The house still looked the same in many ways but many things that we remembered had been gifted or removed by her before she died.
I can understand how important that decluttering can be for someone as many times we surround ourselves with so much stuff that we don’t even notice how cluttered things have become. Who will be responsible for taking care of the STUFF when we are gone? That’s not something that I want to leave for my kids to do.
I have read a little bit here and there about this Swedish Death Cleaning and there are a ton of books on Amazon about the Swedish Death Cleaning. There are also a ton of blog posts and articles about the subject that you can look into for more information.
This month, starting today, I plan to do our own version of the Swedish Death Cleaning here in our little cabin. Like I said before it is a very small home and with this many people, it gets cluttered very easily.
I’ve really tried to limit the number of things I personally bring into the house but I can’t always control the number of things that come in and our house has become a little bit uncomfortable with all of this clutter.
Not to mention that we have been extraordinarily busy with different things going on and some of the clutter has resulted just from ‘dumping’ things in places that they don’t belong. Much of our homeschool stuff was recently relocated to the shed where it was organized but we do have a good bit of school stuff still in the house as well as books… yeah, we have lots of books which I know will be one of my hardest areas.
There are a lot of strategies to get started with as some suggest going from top to bottom (attic to the basement) while others suggest going room by room, Some suggest starting with the larger items first and working your way down to the smaller more meaningful items for last. Some suggest doing it all at once while others suggest doing a little at a time. The main concept is to sort through your belonging and get rid of the unnecessary stuff.
This is also a good time to get your personal affairs in order and put them somewhere safe. Be sure to include items such as:
The three most important questions to ask yourself while doing this cleaning are:
When going through this process it would probably be best to have a couple of bins or piles for ‘Throwaway‘, ‘Keep‘, and/or ‘Donate‘. A good idea to keep in mind is that some of the sentimental items could possibly be regifted to a friend or family member who would really appreciate them.
Occasionally you will come across an item that you realize may cause problems between family members if it is ‘left’ for one and not the other. I have read that it is suggested to take care of it beforehand, maybe even selling it, to eliminate these kinds of issues after you pass.
Another thing that you should take care of would be personal and private items. If you have any of these that you can’t get rid of right now you should put them in a container and label it with something like:
Do Not Open
Personal and Private
Please dispose of IMMEDIATELY!
-or-
Throw Away Without Opening
Doing these things will not only help you with the clutter in your life but it will help your loved ones later on when the time comes for them to sort through the belongings you have left behind. This should give you a sense of peace knowing that your loved ones will have an easier time going through your stuff.
Remember that this is likely not to be a one time purge that will never need repeating but if you do regular mini sessions you can stay on top of it and not need to do a major purge later on. This can also be an emotional process so go at your own pace and get others to help whenever you can.
We’ve had another death in the family recently and we still need to go through the sheds full of belongings which are taking some time to get started on as this happened quite unexpectedly. I’m sure there will be a lot of emotions and choices to make when we do get around to doing it though.
We have a different reason for this major decluttering that we will be doing and it will not be as thorough as a traditional ‘death cleaning’ but it will be quite helpful for us in the near future. When it comes to my personal belongings I probably will go ahead a get rid of some things as I know I things that I’ve just held onto for no particular reason.
Have you tried the Swedish Death Cleaning Method? How did it help you?
Be sure to follow along with our blog for updates on how our decluttering is going.
** This post may contain affiliate links to products and/or services that we use.
Hey, while you’re cleaning out stuff why don’t you go ahead and get rid of all those chemical cleaners in your home as well!
This is our basic meal plan for the week. Sometimes we will switch the days around if I forgot to set something out or put something in the crockpot. Please feel free to use this or change it around to suit your family’s needs.
I have started trying to do easier meals on days that I have square dancing obligations. This helps me to be able to put a nice meal on the table without feeling guilty about having some much needed ‘Mommy Time’. Some of these meals may also help with those that have busy or irregular schedules due to work or extracurricular activities.
I do have ‘Snacks/Desserts’ listed as well. I always try to keep a bowl of fresh fruit out on the counter or table for the kids to snack on. Sometimes I will make a special snack or treat for us to enjoy.
We have also been using the Trim Healthy Mama books to try to convert some of our favorite recipes to be healthier. Meal planning really does help keep this tired Momma from completely losing her sanity. It also helps when I can quickly locate the recipe and ingredients I need for grocery lists and meal prep. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the supplements and such that we are using. You can always buy them a few at a time or many of them can be substituted or even omitted, if necessary.
Some recipes are from the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook and the Trim Healthy Mama’s Trim Healthy Table. These will have a link to the product on Amazon as I can not post the recipes online without prior permission. In many cases, I have tried to tweak our recipe to be more in line with THM but I can’t guarantee that they would be 100% on the plan but I can say that they are healthier than their previous versions.
I do still have a lot of recipes that I need to convert so this will be a bit of a process for us as well. Some recipes are better as they are and we will try to make them work as best we can. I know the kids need a few extra calories and nutrients so we do usually have a few extras (like bread and rolls) that us grown-ups will need to exercise caution with but other than that it has been pretty easy to follow along with this plan so far.
I know the THM plan says that you may not see any weight loss at first but that your body will be healing from the inside. I know that we are eating much healthier than we were before and I’ll try to be content knowing that we are getting healthier one meal at a time.
I also love to utilize the grocery pickup services from Walmart and Sam’s Club not to mention that Amazon Prime Deliveries can make life so much easier as well.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for Meal Prep Ideas to make this week a little easier.
Sunday
Breakfast:
Banana Crumb Muffins or Banana Nut Muffin (S) p. 277
Lunch:
Super Simple Egg Salad with or without bread
Sliced Cucumbers
Dinner: ++
King Ranch Cauliflower Chicken
Green Beans
Baked corn tortilla chips
Snacks/Desserts:
Popcorn
Fruit
Monday
Breakfast:
Cereal/Oatmeal
The Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook and the Trim Healthy Mama’s Trim Healthy Table both have some great ideas for cereal alternatives you can make at home.
Lunch:
Scrambled Egg Sandwiches w/Cheese
Veggies
Dinner: ++
Creamless Creamy Chicken Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook p. 78
Rice
**(This is usually a fairly quick meal to put together as we have a class/dance in the evening)
Snacks/Desserts:
Fruit
Cookies (** I will try to make a few extra to take along for refreshments at the dance.)
Tuesday
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Soup
Oven Toasted Cheese Sandwiches
Dinner: ++
Snacks/Desserts:
Fruit
Wednesday
Breakfast:
Basic Muffins or Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Glosting (S) p. 364
Lunch:
PB & J sandwiches – Use the Peanut Junkie Butter recipe (FP) p. 481
Fruit
Dinner: ++
Brown Rice
Veggies
Rolls w/butter (As long as you aren’t on the weight loss plan. I am working on a few bread recipes because I know it is one of the hardest things for me to give up.)
Snacks/Desserts:
Muffins
Fruit
Thursday
Breakfast:
Protein Power Pancakes (3 variations) or Trim Healthy Pancakes or Waffles (E) p. 259
Blueberry Syrup (with healthier options) or Pancake Syrup (FP) p. 480
Lunch:
Leftovers
Dinner: ++
Free Day (July 4th)
**Cook extra for tomorrow
Snacks/Desserts:
Holiday Themed dessert
Fruit
Friday
Breakfast:
Cereal/Oatmeal
The Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook and the Trim Healthy Mama’s Trim Healthy Table both have some great ideas for cereal alternatives you can make at home.
Lunch:
Tuna Salad Sandwiches w/or without the bread
Veggies
Dinner: ++
Leftovers
**(This is usually a fairly quick meal to put together as we have a class/dance in the evening)
Snacks/Desserts:
Cookies (** I will try to make a few extra to take along for refreshments at the dance.)
Fruit
Saturday
Breakfast:
PB Toast w/ Fruit
-or-
Lunch:
Hot Dogs
Veggies
Dinner: ++
Breakfast for dinner
Snacks/Desserts:
Fruit
++I have a few kids who seem to be going through growth spurts right now and are always HUNGRY. I have been keeping a pot of beans, blackeyed peas, or another vegetable as a side. I also have been buying a few extra snacks like fruit, veggies, yogurt, etc.
You could also mix up the pancake and muffin batters the night before to make your mornings a bit easier.
**This post does contain affiliate links to products and/or services that we use. We may earn a teensy-weensy small commission (at NO EXTRA cost to you) if a purchase is made through these links. These links help to support our family, our blog, and our homeschooling mission.
–Thank you!
Pollywog's Place Blog 