The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

July 24, 2020

No.427: 2020 Gratitude // 30

the sunflowers have opened!
a renewed motivation to get things done
that my son can make us homemade tortillas all by himself
the shade from our big tulip trees in the backyard

my new chapel veil

tasting cucumbers and cherry tomatoes that I grew – delicious!
air conditioning on super hot days
rain (finally!) after weeks of drought
that we only lost power for a few minutes vs. much longer
Our Lady of Sorrows
a great week of sales on ebay
surprise books in the mail (thanks, Dad!)

planning bedroom and bathroom updates with my daughter
cranberry lime sparkling water
pink sunrises
my six healthy children

July 22, 2020

No.426: What I Decluttered // April, May, June & July 2020

Months #7, #8, #9 and #10 for my 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge! Here are the ground rules:

Only spend 10 minutes at one time and only in one specific area.
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.)
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?

Decluttering: COVID Lockdown Edition!
Well, this has been an interesting time for decluttering! Since we’ve been quarantined, I have focused most of my energy with actually using the things we own vs. getting rid of everything in sight. I did continue to list and sell some things on eBay, which was an unexpected bonus. All in all, not a huge dent in my goal, but something is better than nothing, right?

WHAT I DECLUTTERED THE PAST FOUR MONTHS

13 books.
One math answer book and one teacher guide. Sold on ebay.
One history activity book. I purchased this not realizing that I already owned it! I decided to sell it on ebay versus paying the return shipping. I didn’t get all of my money back, but enough to forgive my silly mistake.
One holster. Sold for Mark on ebay.
One brand new sippy cup. Sold on ebay.
One pair of sneakers and two pairs of slippers. Well loved and too beat up to give away. Into the trashcan.
One pair of boys shorts. Sold on ebay.
Six bags of wildflower seeds. These were from the BWF days. I planted them in our flower beds and they’ve completely transformed the front of the house.
One “throw and grow” pack of flower bombs. Another unsold product from the BWF days. I filled in a few bare spots in the flower beds with these.
One teacher guide and seven picture books that go with it. I’ve started lesson planning for next fall and I took another look at some of the curriculum on our shelves. I didn’t see us returning to this one, so sold it on ebay.
4 pieces of a math curriculum. Another curriculum that I don’t see us using. Summer is definitely the best time to get these sold quickly!
One DVD. Sold on ebay.
One magazine. Into the recycling bin.
3 free samples. I used up two little lotions and we finally tried out a new coffee sample that’s just been sitting in the drawer.
One bathing suit. Sophie’s bathing suit from last year is too small, so we sold it on Poshmark.
4 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.
2 grocery sized bags of random paper I’ve saved for years. Into the recycling bin.
13 pieces of Sophie’s and my clothing. I filled and mailed in a ThredUp Clean-Out Bag right before the lockdown started. So far, we’ve sold thirteen items. The return in payout is really small (like $1-$3 a piece), but something’s better than nothing, I guess!
6 pieces of 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: 70
Money made: $185.44

Total items decluttered so far: 573

Total money made so far: $741.84

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.

July 21, 2020

No.425: Five Good Things // No.02

1 // MOLASSES CRINKLES

A few months ago, I was organizing my cookbooks when I came across a little book toward the back of the shelf. It was given to me years ago by my grandmother (who has now passed away) and was a collection of recipes from members of her church. I finally took the time to browse through the booklet and what a treasure trove! So many simple tried-and-true recipes were inside. I decided to start with a cookie recipe and it’s been a big hit with my kids. I’ve made it many times since. Thank you, Martha R, whoever/wherever you are! Here’s the recipe:

¾ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

2¼ cup flour

2 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1½ tsp. cinnamon

1½ tsp. ginger

Cream butter, brown sugar and egg. Add molasses. Mix together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Roll into balls and dip in sugar. Sprinkle with water. Cook at 350° for 14 minutes.

2 // THE BOX TRICK

Did you see this going around the Internet toward the beginning of lockdown? My kids always seem to rip the cardboard flaps and this has been so helpful to keep food inside their packages.

3 // SELF RELIANCE MAGAZINE

With all of my gardening and homesteading searches, I think the Internet is starting to predict my interests. This magazine was an ad, but I’m so glad I clicked through! Self-Reliance Magazine is chock full of helpful advice, with everything from how to start raising chickens to how to preserve your bean crops to chainsaw care. It definitely won’t win any awards for beauty (the photos inside are just so-so) but a wonderful resource of information. I purchased these three back issues and have already referred back to them many times.

4 // THIS QUOTE

While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this entire book (see my thoughts in this post), this quote made me pause:

In his book Requiem for a Species, Clive Hamilton discusses how attitudes have shifted over the past century. Hamilton writes about how we used to be a production society, focused on producing goods to meet needs in the marketplace, igniting the investor’s confidence. But over time we have become a consumer society, focused on the process of acquiring things, igniting the consumer’s confidence. This causes us all to focus less on what we produce and more on what we own, drawing more of our identity from the latter. – The Year Without a Purchase, p.58

I found it really thought-provoking and it’s made me realize how much I actually crave being a “producer” but often end up consuming, just because it’s easier. I still need to ponder this in terms of concrete goals, but I’d really like to retrain my brain in this area.

5 // NEW SOAP FROM BORDEN ACRES

New soap! I think it would be fun to actually buy soap from each artisan on my list, so I randomly chose to start with Borden Acres (affiliate links) in California. I bought three scents that seemed summery to me: Sweet Tea, Honeysuckle + Citrus, and Grapefruit + Orange. They smell wonderful and lather beautifully. I’d recommend them all!

July 20, 2020

No.424: Intentions for the End of July

When I speak of home, I speak of the place where – in default of a better – those I love are gathered together; and if that place were a gypsy’s tent, or a barn, I should call it by the same good name notwithstanding.

– Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

INTENTIONS FOR THE END OF JULY

order more work clothes for my oldest
bake oatmeal raisin cookies
catch up on snail mail correspondence
work on my new 100 Little Things list (my seventh year!)
completely finish the first six weeks of lesson plans
start browsing around for a new couch
get an estimate on Sophie’s bathroom tile replacement
drop off donations at Goodwill (if it’s open and accepting)
try to sell off the remaining Poshmark inventory – share my closet at least once daily
give my hair another trim
pull out the weeds in the brick walkway