Maintaining My Decluttered Home

 

“Are you still decluttering your home?”  Why, yes I am!  To maintain my decluttered home I am trying to be mindful of what I am bringing back into it.  One of the things I am doing is to make regular trips through my home and gather up items I am not using or no longer want and I am always amazed at how much stuff I still come up with.  Last month I packed up a box and a trash bag full of items and dropped them off at the thrift store.

 

I am working on gifts to refill my empty gift cupboard.  So far I’ve made a journal and some note cards using all items I already had on hand in my craft stash.  I am also trying to make the items I need before buying anything new.  Recently I needed some greeting cards and I used some I had already made.  I also needed to wrap a few gifts and used gift bags, bows and tissue I had in my gift organizer.  Slowly, but surely I am making great progress thinning out that organizer.

 

This was such a fun project

My day planner and daily journal for 2025 I made myself rather than purchasing something,  Using notebooks, one spiral and one composition, and other supplies from my paper crafting stash I was able to tailor make them to my preferences and it didn’t cost me a thing.  I do know day planners and journals are really expensive.

 

This past Christmas I decorated my home solely with items I already had stored in my bins and I even found a couple of things that ended up in the donation bag.  I did not buy anything new.  With that being said, however, I did decide I wanted to up my game as far as décor for some of the other holidays that are coming up, but instead of heading to the store I’m challenging myself to make new things from what I already have in the house.  I loved my little Valentines décor this year.  A garland I made last year from baker’s twine and papers I already had.  This year I added the XOXO that I bought last year at the dollar store and spruced it up with acrylic paint and glitter hearts.  Again, these items I already had on hand.  Who knows what I’ll end up adding next year, but I’m pretty sure it will be homemade.

 

Last month the thought occurred to me to add a first aid kit to the car.  Instead of ordering one online or buying one at the store I went through what I already had in the bathroom and made a short list of items I still needed.  A box of bandaids and a roll of tape was really all I was short on so I picked those up at the dollar store.  Instead of buying a special container or pouch I simply used an extra freezer container I had in the pantry that had never even been used.  I sure couldn’t buy a first aid kit for $2.50 (the price of the bandaids and roll of tape) and other items I already had are now going to get used.

I am related to Katharine so I thought I should read her book

I am not buying books or puzzles this year.  Instead I am borrowing them from the library.  As soon as I am done reading the books or working the puzzles I simply gather them up and return them.  I love not having to store shelves of books or stacks of puzzles because I know I'm not going to read those books again or work those puzzles either. 

 

I love my uncluttered home! 💖

With a little bit of thought and creativity I am able to make a lot of what I need or want and spend far less time and money purchasing more stuff.  In the process things are getting used rather than sitting on shelves or in drawers taking up space and not living up their full potential.  I feel like not using the items we’ve already bought is just as wasteful as buying more crap we simply do not need.  What are your thoughts?

 

Don’t Eat Chemicals

 

According to the American Medical Association and the Mayo Clinic consuming highly or heavily processed foods on a regular basis increases a person's risk of health complications including cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, obesity and Type 2 diabetes and can even lead to death.

 

In my own opinion I believe it causes far worse harm than even that.  Our bodies were never designed to eat this kind of stuff.  We were never supposed to ingest chemicals of any kind and certainly not of this magnitude.  It makes sense to me that by doing so we are altering our own natural chemistry and causing imbalances within our own body’s functioning systems, from the top of our heads all the way down to the soles of our feet.

 

Ultra processed food options tend to contain: 

• Five or more ingredients.
• Added high fructose corn syrup (not found in nature), sugar or artificial sweetener, salts, unhealthy fats & oils, emulsifiers, stabilizers and preservatives.
• Additives that imitate the flavor, color or texture of less processed foods.
• Added vitamins, artificial nutrients, fiber or proteins to replace those lost due to processing.
• Ingredients not found in nature, lab created.

 

Examples of ultra processed foods include: 

• Fatty, sweet, savory or salty packaged snacks – pretzels, chips, candy, cookies, crackers, meat sticks, fruit snacks, etc.
• Lunch meats, pepperoni, salami, deli meats, hot dogs, sausage
• Ice creams, frozen desserts, ice cream cones and toppings.
• Cola, soda and other carbonated soft drinks, flavored sparkling water, energy and sports drinks.
• Canned, packaged, dehydrated and instant soups.
• Pre-prepared packaged meats, fish, vegetable or fruit sides, desserts, breads and buns.
• Readymade meals – frozen or deli pizzas, frozen entrees, refrigerated entrees and sides.
• Sauces and gravies, packaged ramen, boxed macaroni & cheese products, pasta, rice mixes, flavored instant potatoes, packaged stuffing mixes.
• Breakfast cereals, pastries and bars.
• Baking mixes, boxed puddings and flavored gelatins, pancake syrups, jams, jellies, pie fillings, corn syrups, artificial sweeteners, baking chips, imitation vanilla.
• Condiments, bottled salad dressings, marinades, barbecue sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise.
• Sweetened juices or artificial fruit flavored beverages.
• Margarines and spreads, shortening, most vegetable oil blends, non stick cooking sprays
• Infant formulas and drinks.
• Meal replacement shakes and bars.
• Non dairy whipped toppings, coffee creamers, non dairy milk products, flavored yogurts, processed cheese products, cheese spreads, low fat or non fat dairy products, premade dips.

 

Last year I began to really limit the amount of processed and ultra processed food I consume and found I felt a lot better and tended to be more alert.  I had more energy during the day and slept better at night.  Whenever I did allow myself to indulge in something processed it left me feeling sick and sluggish.

 

I am much more aware of what I am buying.  I seek out better quality cuts of meat, fish and poultry and better more wholesome dairy products.  I read labels and select items based on what is listed.  The fewer, the better.  If I don’t know what an item is I will pass on it altogether.  I enjoy the bulk of my produce fresh or frozen.  I make my own condiments, yogurt, cereal, soups, breads and desserts so I know exactly what is in them.  In a nutshell I literally do my own processing.

 

I recognize I am aging and there is nothing I can do about that.  But what I can do is control how well I age and that will enhance my quality of life.

My Tireless Retirement – Week 150

 

Winter has arrived.  A little late as this is the type of weather we typically have in January, not February, but okay.  Last Friday I was awakened early by my boss asking me if I wanted to stay home since the overnight storm had dumped four inches of snow and they weren’t expecting much traffic at the senior center.  I said “Yes!”.  And then she contacted me half an hour later to tell me my fellow employee’s babysitter wasn’t able to get to her house that day and did I want to come in after all?  “Yes!”  I jumped into my snow boots and headed out in my coat and pajamas to shovel the driveway.  Then I warmed up Cecil and he got me to work safe and sound.  I had no doubt.  I worked all day then headed to the library to pick up more books before meeting friends for dinner and a live performance one town over.  Then home before temperatures dropped and made everything icy.  It was a pretty good day!

 

I took the weekend off.  I relaxed, read my book, did some writing, watched some TV, snuggled with kitties, ate some good food, drank some wine and just enjoyed being at home.  It was really nice.  I have a friend that absolutely hates to be home.  I can’t even wrap my head around that.  My home is my sanctuary and I love it.  Sunday I did a load of laundry and a little bit of meal prepping as well as a little bit of housekeeping before getting back to that book and finishing it up.  For me, it was a perfect weekend.

 

I worked Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday.  On Tuesday I escorted two dozen seniors on an excursion into the mountains for a sleigh ride into a herd of elk.  It was a lot of fun.  We stopped for lunch midway to the elk herd destination, hopped onto a great big sleigh and went to see the elk herd and then rode back to the senior center.  It is days like this that make me really happy that I have my little part time retirement job.

 

Wednesday and Thursday I didn’t work as I’m now on my three work days a week schedule and I am enjoying that quite a bit.  Wednesday I ran errands – the bank, dropped off the glass recycling, etc.  Thursday we got a nice little snow storm.  I pulled out a large 10# bag of potatoes I had in cold storage and processed the majority of that bag into frozen steak fries.  Then I spent the rest of the day quietly relaxing.  I did some writing, a little bit of crafting and read.  While the snow blew and fell outside I was quite warm and cozy inside. Plus!  Now I have plenty of fries in the freezer ready to enjoy with some upcoming meals.

 

Throughout the week I focused my meals around using stuff up so nothing goes to waste around here and things are getting used up.  Last Friday I had put a bone in chicken breast into the slow cooker after seasoning it with lemon pepper and allowed it to slow roast.  It was the perfect topping for a couple large dinner salads I made.  Sunday dinner was to simply thaw out a small NY Strip steak I had in the deep freezer, make myself a baked potato and a small salad.  It was so darn good!  I had rice in the freezer and some leftover diced ham so I made a batch of fried rice.  I also made some more egg rolls using up some cabbage I had shredded last week and another half pint jar of pork sausage in my LTFS to go with the fried rice.  I enjoyed the fried rice and egg rolls twice last week.  Overall, I had a lot of variety as I used up this and that.

 

What kept you busy last week?  Did you get snow?

 

FYI - My retirement week runs Friday through Thursday

 

One Bite At A Time

 

Sometimes even the simplest projects can seem overwhelming.  So can life.  I find the best approach is to simply tackle it one small bite at a time.  I take my days minute by minute and then hour by hour.  I don’t spend a great deal of time looking far ahead into the future.  I have some small goals to complete this year, a couple the next and a possible goal in ten years, but other than that I just focus on the day at hand.  I find I enjoy life so much more now that I have chosen this approach.

 

For a long time now I’ve approached big projects in much the same way.  Recently however, I have applied this principle to the smaller ones too.  Right now my project is to do a little bit of damage repair to some walls in my house and then freshen up the paint.  The project on the whole may seem rather large, but little bit by little bit I am tackling it one step at a time with no concrete deadline so it doesn’t seem daunting to me at all.  I’m trying to approach my projects with softer deadlines now so my goal is to get this project done before the warmer weather starts back up and I want to be outside.

 

I realized that my approach to my projects could really be the approach to my life.  Unless it is an emergency there is no reason for me to move at the rate of speed and power my way through.  I can take a much more relaxed approach and really enjoy the process instead without feeling stressed out or overwhelmed.  One bite at a time.

Consumerism & Over Consumption

 

We are bombarded with so much advertising.  It used to be that we saw it on our televisions, over the radio, in magazines and newspapers, and in the junk mail that arrived in our mailboxes, plus occasional signs or billboards, which was bad enough, but now we are relentlessly hammered with it on our computers.  Our cell phones as well.  We receive emails and texts, banner ads across every site we visit plus our streaming is interrupted with advertisements galore.  Our cell phones listen to our conversations and then tailor what we see in these ads to what we’ve been talking about.  Our online searches do this too.  I can’t seem to get away from it and to me it borders on complete insanity.  I despise it.

 

Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week we are receiving the constant message to buy, buy, buy stuff.  It is exhausting and it turns my stomach.  I’m sorry Big Business but your attempts to get me to purchase your products are having the opposite effect on me.  I don’t want your crap.  None of it!  I swear, the more it is pushed my way the less and less I want it.  It is just too much!  Nothing about anything that is advertised sets anyone apart and makes what they have to sell all that special or enticing.  Instead it nauseates me.  It’s just become noise.

 

For a very long time now we have lived in a society where consumerism and over consumption has been a way of life.  Corporate greed has been rearing its ugly head for a long, long, long time.  Consumer debt has been at an all time high and continues to rise.  Landfills are filled to capacity and overflowing.  I want nothing to do with it.  I’ve grown weary. 

 

In the past few years I’ve become an anti consumer.  I try not to purchase anything I don’t need and I live with more intention.  Unlike my neighbors my trash bin goes to the curb about once a month and is rarely full.  My recycle bin is the one I tend to fill and it only goes to the curb once a month as well.  I try my best to be a good steward and not be wasteful.  In my circle of friends and family we’ve come to the same conclusion.  We’ve had enough of all of it.  We no longer wish to participate in any type of over consuming lifestyle.

 

If more people joined us it would make a huge difference.  Contrary to what a lot of people believe, businesses wouldn’t shudder and go bankrupt.  Instead they would need to realign their business practices, advertise less (it is mind boggling what companies spend on advertising) and lower prices in order to attract customers.  Inflation would normalize – supply and demand, you know?  Our environment would heave a sigh of relief.  People would have saving accounts and money to invest.  People would stop accumulating astronomical amounts of debt.  Bankruptcy courts would be less busy.  More importantly people would be happier, less stressed and much healthier.  They would also appreciate what they have and seek out experiences over stuff.  Sounds pretty good to me!

 

 

Amazing Meals From The Pantry - #2

 

About mid January it got cold here and I was on a serious soup kick as far as the meals went.  I started out by pulling from the freezer leftover soups and odds and ends to make soups with.  I love a good chicken egg drop soup with a little cornstarch to thicken it up a bit.

 

Along with the containers of soups I had in the freezer I also pulled some of my home canned soups off the shelf to heat up and eat.  Along with these soups I made a lot of green salads and served them with homemade bread and rolls that I had made and put away in the freezer in smaller quantities.  Soup, salad and bread still remain one of my most favorite meals, especially a nice tomato basil soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.  So tasty!

 

In order to not get bored with too many soup meals I decided to make a nice Sunday dinner one day using one of the bone in chicken breasts I had stashed in the deep freezer.  I also had an open jar of pesto in the fridge I had been wanting to use up for a while so I spread that across the top of the chicken and let it roast all day in my medium size slow cooker.  Oh mama!  I used this chicken to add to a very large dinner salad on two nights.

 

The rest of that sauce and all of the drippings from cooking it in the slow cooker ended up becoming a sauce I made with a touch of cream and then tossed in a bit of pasta for a delicious meal.  I had a small jar of Farfalle in the pantry to use up so it was perfect and delicious!  It made so much that I ended up with a bit of leftover to add to another meal the next day.

 

Lastly, I was hankering for some Chinese takeout.  I used cabbage, carrot, a couple leftover mushrooms, some green onions and an eight ounce jar of pork sausage I had canned to make egg roll filling.  From the freezer I thawed and reheated leftover egg drop soup I had made back in December.  That was more than enough to settle my craving.  It was so good!

 

It feels so good to be using up all the odds and ends leftover from the holidays as well as other meals I’ve prepared.  Nothing is going to waste around here that is for sure!  But, I still have a ways to go so stay tuned for an update on my current pantry challenge and see what else I end up making.

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 149

 

Not surprisingly the first week of February has raced right on by.  After working all day on Friday I was ready to have a slow and quiet Saturday, which I did.  I spent the majority of the day with my kitties writing and preparing some blog posts.  Then it was time to get dressed and head out to a friend’s party that evening.  It was fun and I had a really nice time.

 

I picked this up in the craft boutique at the senior center - so cute!

Sunday morning I started out again slowly as I’m trying to enjoy quieter mornings and get over my “need” to hit the ground running every day because I really don’t.  With practice I know I will get the hang of it.  It is just taking the time to embrace a new routine.  I did some laundry and then some meal prepping so I was all set for the week ahead.

 

Sunday dinner

Monday morning I got up to snow on the ground and sipped my coffee with my kitty in my lap and watched the snow fall.  By 10:00 it had turned to rain and by the time I headed out the door to go to work the snow was pretty much gone.  That worked out well.  I worked again Tuesday morning and then was off the next two days.  This was my first week of only working three days a week and I liked it.

 

The latest essentials

On the way home from work Tuesday I stopped in at Cash & Carry to pick up another package of their romaine lettuce hearts and some cream for my coffee.  I also picked up another can of whipped cream because I find it works so well for adding a little pizzazz to a simple dessert or a cup of hot cocoa, especially when a friend pops in for a visit or stays for a meal.

Beans at the ready for future recipes

Wednesday was a cloudy day with a bit of rain spitting here and there.  I concentrated on updating, purging and filing paperwork after completing and filing my tax returns on Monday.  I also canned 8 pint jars of dried beans so I now have more healthy and nutritious beans to add the my LTFS shelves.  The only thing other than beans in those jars is water and salt.  Love it!

 

And soup!

To finish off the week I made a huge pot of taco soup in my largest slow cooker.  In addition to a few bowls of soup I set aside for meals this coming week I was able to can eight pints of soup for my LTFS.  I was dangerously low on that soup with only one jar of it left so I’m very happy to add these jars to the shelf.

 

I refilled all the soap dispensers and used up some shower gel

I put away all the holiday soaps until next season

This week I also started collecting items for future automotive repairs and maintenance I have planned for the upcoming spring.  Call me weird but, I’m getting excited to start work and complete these projects.  So much to do!  Yay!

  

FYI - My retirement week runs Friday through Thursday