The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

November 20, 2019

No.319: The Wednesday Five #03

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Happy Wednesday! Changing up my five prompts with a whole bunch of bullet points:

A QUOTE

Let’s take back the honor of small donations, small care packages, and small movements toward fellow image-bearers because love isn’t measured in inches, grand gestures, or dollar amounts…
Let’s take back moments that are lovely even if they are imperfect, words that are powerful even if only one person hears them, company that is meaningful even when we don’t say any words at all.
– Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman, p.18

A BOOK (OR THREE)

My brain has been filled to the brim with all things Advent and Christmas, so I’m already preparing my reading list for December. Here’s what I have so far:

Christmas and the Saints by Hertha Pauli, a little vintage book from 1956
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is the planned read aloud for school
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie, just for fun

A LITTLE WISHLIST

big art for the foyer: I just found this artist and her landscapes are beautiful
baskets to better organize living room toys
this fresh wreath for the front door
a chunky black open cardigan
this Fontanini piece to add to our collection

THREE THINGS KEEPING ME SANE RIGHT NOW

NOT folding socks. I don’t mind doing laundry and actually find folding clothes therapeutic, but the socks…the socks will be the death of me. Right now, I throw everyone’s socks in a big Bean bag and then we have a “sock folding party” when it gets full.
Writing a meal plan in pencil on a monthly calendar. I will usually plan five or so meals a week and pencil them in. But you know how life goes…some days you decide to eat out after activities, some days you’re exhausted and just have cereal for dinner. When that happens, I just erase the meal and rewrite it somewhere on the following week. I throw the meat in the freezer and put the non-perishables together in the pantry, so I won’t use them for something else. This has saved me from wasting ingredients and often keeps grocery costs down the following week.
A new vacuum. I’ve been trying to keep my old vacuum alive all summer because #frugalaccomplishment. But by October, when Lucy was shedding her summer coat everywhere, it was barely doing the job and I was going crazy. So I invested in this new one and I couldn’t love a vacuum more. It works on rugs and on hard wood, it swivels and gets in those hard to reach corners. The ridiculous dog hair situation is now under control.

A CROWDSOURCING QUESTION OR TWO

What are your favorite “old school” blogs? Who is still out there writing without pushing the latest new product? Who still writes about their day-to-day life or their hobbies? I want to read and support blogs that aren’t constantly focused on being “influential”…you know what I mean?
What is your go-to weeknight meal? I’m in a big dinner rut right now and need some new ideas!

November 18, 2019

No.318: Intentions for the End of November

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
― Mother Teresa

INTENTIONS FOR THE END OF NOVEMBER

prepare to potty train P
wrap birthday gifts for J and P
get a good start on Christmas shopping
make a list of gifts to look for Black Friday deals
prepare supplies for December Daily
write lesson plans for “Advent School”
put flannel sheets on the kids’ beds
buy bathroom floor tile and grout
finish reading Story of a Soul
bake a pie

PREVIOUS INTENTIONS

If you’re reading on your phone or in a reader, be sure to click over to see what I checked off the list!

~~buy wrapping paper and wrap gifts for M~~ (I have a teenager in the house! I can’t believe it…)
~~finish collecting items for Birthday Boxes~~ and drop off at the food pantry (on the list for this week!)
~~start thinking about Christmas~~
send off broken crayons to The Crayon Initiative
make homemade playdough (100LT #58)
list 10 things on Poshmark/ebay (not quite – I listed 6/10)
~~bake bread~~
catch up on snail mail correspondence (sooo close – just one penpal letter to go!)
replace the foyer light

November 15, 2019

No.317: What I Decluttered // November 2019

Month #2 for my 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge! In case you missed it last month, here were my 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 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?

I lost a bit of steam this month. Thankfully, because of all the work I put into the project in October, I managed to still make a nice little profit. Two months in and I’m realizing that with our crazy life, decluttering is going to ebb and flow…and that’s okay. It’s a marathon, not a sprint! Something is always better than nothing.

WHAT I DECLUTTERED THIS MONTH

19 books.
One Halloween costume and one Halloween-themed shirt.
One educational DVD. I really hoped my kids would click with this Times Tales DVD after hearing so many moms rave about it. Unfortunately, we watched it once and it just wasn’t for them. It’s just been sitting on the shelf ever since, so I decided it was time to let another family try it – hopefully with better luck! Sold on ebay overnight for (after fees) $7.
2 teacher guides. Sold both on ebay in less than a day!
1 math answer booklet.
One pair of boy’s pants and one boy’s dress shirt. Sold on Poshmark.
One pair of soccer cleats. The kids have no desire to return to soccer, so after holding on to them for years, I’m finally getting them out of the house! Sold on ebay.
4 pairs of kids shoes.
One car seat. TJ moved up to a booster seat, so we’re down to only one kid in a five-point harness car seat! Our Diono Radian still had seven years of life left (did you know Dionos don’t expire for 10 years?!), so I was able to pass it on to my sister-in-law.
2 old magazines. Into the recycling bin.
3 winter coats. Sold two on Poshmark and one on ebay.
One faux fur bridal shrug. From my wedding 14 years ago! It’s in near perfect condition (I wore it for less than an hour) and has just been collecting dust in my closet all this time. It’s ready for a new bride. Sold on Poshmark.
12 pieces of a Christmas-themed porcelain dinner set. This was another hard one. I remember purchasing this four-person dinner set shortly after we were married and setting my table at Christmas. And then I blinked, I have a family of 8, and this set just sits in a box! I posted it on Trash Nothing and am happy to give them to another lady who will use them.
11 pieces of math flash cards and manipulatives. I’ve held on to these boxes of flash cards for years and years, but am finally realizing that we just don’t learn math that way in our homeschool. I made a post on Trash Nothing and a sweet lady took them for her son.
One game.
One Vera Bradley cosmetic pouch.
6 pieces of various 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.
Two 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. And bonus: I can use most of it in my compost pile.
One pair of men’s shoes.

Items decluttered this month: 73
Money made this month: $196.62

Total items decluttered so far: 198

Total money made so far: $321.34

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.

November 13, 2019

No.316: The BWF Super Specific Gift Guide // Trains

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With Christmas just around the corner, I wanted to start a new gift guide series, but with a twist! These ideas have super specific themes, but are all things that my kids use often and love. Today I’m starting with P (almost 3-years-old and my family’s little caboose) and his absolute favorite subject this past year: trains! Here are five of his best-loved things:

1 // TRAIN TRACKS
We have actually had these wooden Brio pieces for over a decade and they are definitely one of those heirloom toy purchases. I sometimes daydream about my grandchildren playing with them someday! Even my bigger kids enjoy making very complicated layouts, all around the living room. They’re made from beech wood and very sturdy – we’ve only cracked a few in all this time.

2 // THOMAS THE TRAIN WOODEN TRAINS
Over the years, we’ve slowly accumulated the wooden trains (like this Thomas) from the Thomas & Friends collection. I like that they have a more vintage feel, while still being the beloved characters from P’s favorite show.

3 // ZIP UP TRAVELING CASE
We keep all of P’s trains inside this zip-up storage bin. The bin can be unzipped to a playmat on the inside. A cool combination of organization and play.

4 // ALL THE BOOKS
Two of his favorites: Go Train Go and the “sequel,” Stop, Train, Stop. He also got Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo last Epiphany and still loves to look at the pictures.

5 // DUPLO TRAIN
One last toy that keeps P entertained for long periods of time is this number train. Duplo is another great heirloom quality toy that is fun for years and years. We’re big fans.

Do you have a train enthusiast at your house? What are some of the favorites at your house?