• Home
  • Making a Home
    • Farmhouse Diaries
    • Homemaking Notes
    • Frugal Accomplishments
    • In the Kitchen
    • Decluttering
  • The Farm
  • Goals
  • Books
    • The 20th Century in Literature Challenge
    • Reading the Alphabet Challenge
    • WILLA Literary Award Winners Challenge
    • The 10 Year Reading Plan for the Great Books of the Western World
    • Daily Spiritual Reading Challenge
  • Mother Academia
  • Projects
    • Five Good Things
    • The Wednesday Five
    • Extraordinary Ordinary
    • One Hundred Beautiful Things
    • Small Biz Showcase
    • Snail Mail
  • Shop

The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

October 7, 2020

No.450: Five Good Things // No.03

This post contains affiliate links.

1 // A NEW PUZZLE
One good thing that has come from 2020 is our new love for family puzzles!  We took a break through the summer, but I bought this United States of America puzzle from Mudpuppy to get us back into the habit.  It is 1,000 pieces, very colorful and has lots of fun details.  More importantly, the pieces are sturdy and uniquely cut…nothing is more frustrating than buying a cheap puzzle where every single piece is the same shape.  You can find it on Amazon, sometimes your local bookstore (even through Bookshop!) or there’s even a few on eBay too.

2 // A REUSABLE OPTION FOR LEFTOVER BITS AND PIECES
My older kids cook a lot of their own breakfasts and lunches (omelettes, stir frys, etc.) and we always seem to have sandwich baggies full of half-used onions or peppers in the fridge.  I wanted a less wasteful option, so I found Stashers!  They are reusable, silicone bags that are dishwasher safe and come in tons of sizes and colors.  I bought mine from Freckled Hen Farmhouse, but you can find them on Amazon too.

3 // THIS INSTAGRAM POST FROM ROSIE

View this post on Instagram

🥖🏵️ Just over here trying to cultivate little pockets of beauty amidst the endless clutter. It’s a never-ending struggle, the balance between trying to keep things relatively tidy and not stressing about the steady stream of messes generated by seven young souls. So I clear the island off for the thousandth time after it spent a season filled with tomatoes in rainbow shades of ripeness, and I fill it with fresh sourdough, garden blooms, and rising loaves. The loaves are in bellies and the island is full of crumbs, and we tidy again and thank God for the earthly beauty that gives us a glimpse of the eternal beauty for which we long 🏵️🥖
A post shared by Rosie Hill (@rosiehill425) on Sep 24, 2020 at 5:19am PDT

I’ve all but abandoned my public Instagram account, but hopped on recently to check on a notification.  The first post I saw before closing out was Rosie’s above…and can I just say, AMEN?  In my almost 14 years of motherhood, I learned pretty quickly that if I wanted a houseful of children AND my sanity…well, a perfectly curated, always tidy home was out of the question for awhile.  It’s a special kind of “death to self”, a forced (but necessary) lesson in letting go of control and perfection.  Messes still drive me completely crazy, but I’m hoping they’re sanctifying me a little bit too.   
4 // A NEW WAY OF KEEPING TRACK OF ALL THE THINGS
I’m typically a planner girl, but this summer, I kept track of my to-do list with an old notepad that I used to sell back in the BWF days.  I recently used the last page so I quickly purchased another weekly notepad (but in a new design!) from 1canoe2.  They also sell this mint version, which is beautiful too.

5 // A NEW TO ME YOUTUBE CHANNEL
I somehow stumbled onto a Youtube channel called Megan Fox Unlocked, who is a young Mennonite wife and mother.  Her video about Assumptions was so interesting to me and I learned a lot about her life and Mennonite beliefs.  It made me wonder – what must people assume about ME?  I’m not sure I’m brave enough to ask, ha!


Related Posts...

Posted In: Five Good Things · Tagged: five good things

Comments

  1. Laura M says

    October 8, 2020 at 1:42 am

    All of these are great, I love this kind of posts filled with good, happy things, # 2 the most, probably 🙂

    • Ashley says

      October 8, 2020 at 12:48 pm

      The Stasher bags are SO handy!

  2. Shelly Cunningham says

    November 11, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    That youtube channel sounds intriguing!

About Me
Welcome to the Big White Farmhouse!

Get the Big White Farmhouse In Your Inbox!

Loading

Currently Reading:

The 10 Year Reading Plan for the Great Books of the Western World

Popular Posts

No.498: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.08

No.664: Last Week at the Farmhouse // If You Give a Mom a Crooked Rug…

No.882: Last Week at the Farmhouse // A Restful Winter

No.218: New Habits, Little by Little: Cooking at Home (January 2019)

No.315: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // November 2019 Edition

THE BIG WHITE FARMHOUSE IS A FOR-PROFIT BLOG AND POSTS MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. ALL CONTENT ON THIS BLOG BELONGS TO ME. PLEASE DO NOT USE MY POSTS OR PHOTOGRAPHS WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

© THE BIG WHITE FARMHOUSE 2011-2025.

Amazon Disclosure Policy

The Big White Farmhouse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

Archives

Copyright © 2025 The Big White Farmhouse · Theme by 17th Avenue