The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.435: What I Decluttered // August 2020

Month #11 for my 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge!  Here are the ground rules:

  1. Only spend 10 minutes at one time and only in one specific area.  
  2. Monday through Wednesday, seek out items that we no longer need and make a pile.  Then Thursday through Saturday, make a plan for how to deal with them.  (This has worked so well and avoided that dreaded box of “what should I do with these?” items.)
  3. Possible places to find new homes for items: Ebay/Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, Trash Nothing website or the local Buy Nothing Facebook group and as a last resort, Goodwill

I feel a responsibility for the things I have and want to be intentional with how I dispose of them.  Questions I asked myself: If it’s here, what purpose does it serve?  Can I use it up?  Can I enjoy it vs. keeping it tucked away in drawers and boxes?  And if not, can I let it go to someone who may need it more?

________________________________________________



The one year mark for this project is quickly approaching!  Since this was my last month before school resumes, I tried to knock out as much as I could, digging around in closets and cabinets and the basement.  I’m starting to see the fruits of this whole adventure, though, because it feels like I’m finding less and less, ha!  What a good feeling.

WHAT I DECLUTTERED THIS MONTH

  • 15 books.  I have had a big pile of books in my closet for months now in the hope that I could start a Little Free Library.  And then the world turned upside down!  I decided to try my luck on ebay instead to get books into the hands of people who want to read them.  
  • Two new Ikea duvet sets.  I purchased these right before we moved to the farmhouse for the little boys’ room, but eventually went in a different direction.  I never opened them and three years later, it appears Ikea doesn’t sell this variety anymore.  Sold both on ebay within hours of listing!
  • One book on Greek myths.  I somehow had a duplicate, so sold the extra on ebay.  
  • 2 throw blankets.
  • A baby bouncy seat.
  • One pack of confetti balloons.  From the BWF days.
  • 16 pieces of Mark’s clothing.  I convinced him to go through his closet and he ended up with a big pile.
  • 26 pieces of kids’ clothing.
  • 3 dress-up skirts.
  • One baby winter coat.  This was a little hard to let go because all five of my boys wore it at around a year old.  But what good is a coat stored away indefinitely when it could be used by someone right now?
  • One pullover fleece.  Sold on ebay.
  • 2 coloring books.  Into the recycling bin.
  • 8 empty egg cartons.  I collected these back in February with the intention of posting them on Trash Nothing for a preschool/kindergarten teacher to use in the classroom.  (I was imagining a caterpillar craft or maybe even used for seedlings.)  But then…COVID.  Thankfully, my son works at a farm that could use them and now they’re finally out of my house! 
  • One bath mat.
  • 2 bags of shredded paper.  Junk mail and other personal paperwork that needs to be shredded counts as clutter too!  I’m counting each full container (which is the equivalent of a plastic grocery store bag) as one item.  Added most of it to my compost pile.
  • 7 pieces of miscellaneous clothing.  Off to Goodwill.  These are pieces in good condition, but don’t have much resale value and weren’t substantial enough to warrant a post on Trash Nothing.
    Items decluttered this month: 88
    Money made this month: $82.85


    Total items decluttered so far: 661
    Total money made so far: $824.69


    P.S. To “count,” the item had to physically leave my house.  So while I have listed a handful of things online, those aren’t counted until they have sold.

    No.434: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Strawberry Crumble Cake & a Few New Pieces of Decor

    This post contains affiliate links.
    Don’t ask me how or why, but I finally got my groove back last week!  It felt so refreshing to be buzzing around the house, cooking and tidying and working in the garden, and jotting down huge lists of to-dos.  Not everyone’s idea of fun, but it is so very much me. 
    In the garden, we have our first little watermelons growing and still have cherry tomatoes coming out of our ears!  My new zucchini seedling has already emerged, but is looking a little sad after all of the rain storms.  Hopefully it pulls through!  I also created a loose plan for fall crops: broccoli, carrots, brussels and lettuce are on the docket.  We’ll see what happens!  It’s all just one big experiment.
    As part of our debt freedom celebration, Mark and I budgeted a little “fun money” for each of us to spend however we choose.  Since the thrift stores in my area have weird hours right now (and the idea of social distancing in these tiny stores seems stressful), I scoured the Internet for vintage pieces instead.  I had an idea of what I wanted and kept searching until I found the right item at the right price.  (Some pieces are insanely expensive!)  I obviously paid more than I would have at the thrift store, but I’m supporting small business and helping the economy, right?  Ha!  Here’s what I found:
    • a tall wicker picnic basket to hold my fabrics and in process quilt (this one, this one and this one are all similar ideas, but different shapes)
    • a small floral still-life painting to eventually be hung in a gallery wall
    • a Farm Journal cookbook from the 1970s that I bought for decor purposes, but actually want to cook almost everything inside! (here’s the same one!)
    Sophia’s bathroom renovation is finally moving forward!  We pulled out her toilet last November (!!) with the intention of ripping up and re-tiling the floor and shower, but ran into a few problems…and then COVID.  I ordered the tile this week and we’ll hopefully be able to get this project going by the end of the month.  
    I made homemade burger buns for the first time and they were delicious and so easy.  J and I also whipped up a Strawberry Crumble Cake together and while I could only eat a tiny piece due to my dairy sensitivity, it was really good.  I think it would be even better paired with a cup of hot coffee!  Here’s the recipe: 
    Strawberry Crumble Cake
    1 cup sugar
    1 tsp. baking powder
    1/4 tsp. salt
    3 cups flour
    1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
    1 egg, beaten
    4 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
    1/2 cup sugar
    4 tsp. corn starch
    Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a 9×13″ pan.
    In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the 1/2 cup sugar and corn starch.
    In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, baking powder, salt and flour.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until the pieces are about pea-sized.  Stir in the egg to form a crumbly dough.  
    Pat half of the dough in an even layer in the pan.  Spread the strawberry mixture on top of that.  Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the strawberry layer.
    Bake 45 minutes or until lightly browned.

    No.433: 2020 Gratitude // 31 & 32

    zinnias exploding with all different colors
    hearing my farmer neighbors hard at work when I go to my garden in the morning
    the peacefulness of a child asleep
    picking seeds for fall planting
    finally getting the Goodwill boxes out of the house!
    a new spot in my bedroom to read
    a few sales on ebay
    the kids’ excitement when they were able to hug their grandparents after five months(!!)
    evening rain showers
    that our power returned after three hours and we didn’t lose all the groceries we had just purchased that day
    strawberry crumble cake
    homesteading videos on Youtube
    creating a delicious meal from leftover ingredients
    tile purchased for Sophie’s bathroom
    the privilege to homeschool my children
    Lucy’s silly antics
    belly laughs

    No.432: 100 Little Things, Round Seven

    This is my seventh year with the practice of 100 Little Things.  I can honestly say that this practice has changed my life for the better.  That sounds a little ridiculous and extreme, but I believe it to be true.  This list allows me time every summer to sit with my to-do list and my dreams and create a wonderful mixture of both.  It keeps me focused on the memories that I’d like to create with my husband and children.  It keeps me from throwing money away at the Target Dollar Spot because there is a list of things I’d really like to purchase.  It keeps my own health and self-care on track so I can pour from a full cup.  It is just a little list, but it is so, so good.

    Thoughts on Round Six: The final goal was 52 tasks accomplished, which I think is a personal best!  I really feel like I hit my groove with this one and it seemed to be a nice balance of fun things and necessary things.  Last year, I had written: “I tried to focus on the goal of noticing (my one little word for 2019), especially taking care of the things we already own, taking care of myself physically and spiritually, and taking care of the people in our community.”  Even without completing all 100, I think I accomplished that.

    Thoughts going into Round Seven:  I was really inspired with the idea of increasing my skills as a creator versus a consumer, so homesteading skills, gardening and even some handicrafts have a strong presence on the list.  There are a handful of tasks that need to be tackled and half-finished ones to be completed.  And because after three really hardcore years of debt reduction, I allowed myself to dream a little about home projects and purchases too.  So fun.

    Here’s my list for August 2020 – July 2021:

    1. Complete Baby Step #3: save six months of expenses
    2. Refinance the mortgage
    3. Pay one extra payment on the mortgage
    4. Make homemade Greek yogurt
    5. Learn how to make pickles
    6. Make cinnamon rolls from scratch
    7. Make a cookie cake
    8. Make a new flavor of homemade ice cream
    9. Make homemade vanilla extract
    10. Bake a two-layer cake
    11. Make and can tomato sauce
    12. Invest in half a cow
    13. Learn how to make a homemade caramel macchiato
    14. Sew cloth napkins
    15. Sew a piece of clothing
    16. Learn how to darn a sock
    17. Set up a clothesline
    18. Make my own laundry detergent
    19. Expand the garden
    20. Grow herbs
    21. Plant flowers along the outside perimeter of the garden
    22. Finish painting the garden fence
    23. Build a wood shed
    24. Build a chicken coop
    25. Get chickens

    26. Build a pig shelter
    27. Raise pigs for meat
    28. Add more apple trees to our orchard
    29. Add a nut tree
    30. Buy a citrus tree to keep inside

    31. Learn how to crochet
    32. Learn block printing
    33. Finish the scrap quilt
    34. Finish the princess cross-stitch pillow
    35. Finish the flower garden quilt
    36. Finally finish my “winter” cross-stitch
    37. Complete a new embroidery project
    38. Make citronella candles
    39. Finish the 1000 Item Declutter Challenge
    40. Buy a new couch
    41. Decide what to do with the first floor textured walls
    42. Paint Sophia’s room
    43. Replace the tile in Sophie’s bathroom
    44. Hang the dining room chandelier
    45. Grow paperwhites indoors
    46. Purchase new electric candles to put in the windows for Advent and Christmas
    47. Choose a new piece of art for our 15th anniversary present to each other
    48. Make sure every bedroom has its own crucifix
    49. Buy outdoor lanterns
    50. Make a firepit
    51. Finish painting the second floor shutters
    52. Fix the basement drywall
    53. Buy a snake plant for the master bedroom
    54. Plant lavender under my bedroom windows
    55. Install more shelving in the laundry room
    56. Buy a master bedroom headboard
    57. Get Lucy a new dog bed
    58. Whitewash the fireplace
    59. Sew a slipcover for the living room chair
    60. Add another bookcase to the school room
    61. Finally finish the Bible reading plan
    62. Get to 50% on my 20th Century Reading Challenge
    63. Read Don Quixote
    64. Read The Pilgrim’s Progress
    65. Read another book from Agatha Christie
    66. Read another book from Wendell Berry
    67. Get Goodreads TBR to under 375
    68. Say five different novenas
    69. Celebrate the kids’ feast days with special dinners
    70. Pray a 54-day novena
    71. Read the Catechism of Saint Pius X
    72. Learn about a new Marian apparition
    73. Print pictures of all of the kids and make photo books
    74. Hang a few family photos on the walls
    75. Make another Extraordinary Ordinary video
    76. Make a “1 Second Everyday” video to share on the blog
    77. Find a new dentist
    78. Invest in a new pair of winter pajamas
    79. Buy myself a pair of snow pants
    80. Invest in a new pair of spring/summer pajamas
    81. Buy new slippers
    82. Go to the eye doctor
    83. Order new glasses
    84. Find simple stud earrings
    85. Invest in a high-quality linen dress
    86. Read Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family
    87. Send someone flowers, just because
    88. Send Christmas cards
    89. Donate to our local volunteer fire department
    90. Donate to the food bank
    91. Donate to a semi-local veteran retreat center
    92. Sell the remaining inventory from my little Poshmark business and officially close
    93. Participate in Project Feeder Watch
    94. Thank the mailman
    95. Thank the workers at the dump
    96. Finish my self-defense DVD course
    97. Get a haircut
    98. Help place Christmas wreaths on veterans’ graves at the cemetery
    99. Take the kids to the beach
    100. Use Amazon as little as possible

    Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

    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.

    Archives

    Copyright © 2024 The Big White Farmhouse · Theme by 17th Avenue