The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.428: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.03

This post contains affiliate links.


The weather outside is // 

Hot!  This is the part of summer in Virginia when we tend to hibernate: we complete our outdoor chores/projects/exercise first thing in the morning and then stay inside until after dinner.

On the breakfast plate this morning // cinnamon and spice oatmeal and a big, (not so) hot cup of coffee

As I look outside my window // everything’s looking a little crispy.  Most of our grass is dead and my wildflowers are looking sad.  We did get a few days of rain last week and everything and everybody is grateful for it.  

As I look around the house // I’m happy with what I see.  I have been a crazy lady on a mission – cleaning and decluttering everything in sight!  Hoping to keep up the momentum.


In the garden // is a work in progress.  Woo, am I learning a lot this year!  Both of my squash and zucchini plants died late last week due to squash vine borers, so I pulled everything up, found another open spot and planted both seeds again.  I watched a Youtube video with a gardener in the same zone who said that this should work and that I’ll get a good fall harvest before our first frost.  We’ll see!  Gardening is one big experiment.

On this week’s to-do list //
  • reorganize the refrigerator (it’s a wreck in there)
  • order light bulbs for the dining room
  • list at least 10 things on eBay
  • take donations to Goodwill and the ReStore
  • drop off return at UPS
  • bake oatmeal raisin cookies

On the menu this week //

Monday: pulled pork sandwiches and fruit
Tuesday: grilled chicken cobb salads
Wednesday: Refrigerator Clean-Out Night
Friday: bean and cheese burritos with tortilla chips and guacamole

Currently reading // My fiction book right now is Follow the River by James Alexander Thom, which is way more intense than I expected!  I’m also reading Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand – a random pick for me but so far, so good.  My religious book is Eucharistic Miracles and Eucharistic Phenomena in the Lives of the Saints by Joan Carroll Cruz and I’m loving it.  I keep reading entire passages aloud to Mark.  

What I’m creating at the moment // I’m about a third of the way through hand-sewing the top of my scrap quilt and still enjoying the process.  Since most of my life is focused on efficiency, it is strangely refreshing to do something that is so slow and inefficient.

New recipe I want to try this week // I’m dipping my toes in the skill of preserving and I think this recipe for small batch refrigerator pickles would make a good starting point.

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

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:

  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?




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.

    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!

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