So here I am after how many months of starting this blog and just now posting my second post? That goes to show that I am too busy, thus the need to simplify!

I just spent the best two weeks doing nothing with my kids. That's right, NOTHING. We typically go here, or there. My daughter wakes up every day and says "MOM, where are we going today"? Then off we go to Barnes and Noble, or the grocery store, the farm museum, the park, the farm park, the pool, Target, a play date at so and so's house. On and on. This season my 3 year old daughter said "I DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING!" So, that's what we did! We played in the basement on our new bouncer, watched movies, did crafts, walked down the street to look at the Christmas lights, danced in the living room with Mimi and Pop, and ran out in the first snow of the winter and caught snow flakes on our tongues.

What I learned? This "not doing anything" really amounted to an awesome two weeks of memories. And,that's the lesson I am learning, we don't have to go to fancy places or have fancy toys to have fun together. Time together is the best fun there is. And, that is going to be my mantra going forward.

Now, as I simplify I would be remiss if I didn't try to tackle our biggest mess--the TOY MOUND!

Over two days of Christmas there was a major influx of plastic and cardboard packaging waste and multiple toys (enough for 20 kids). I could write a song about it. TEN mini princess dolls, NINE train engines, EIGHT mini cars, SEVEN VTech Toys, SIX stuffed animals, FIVE tinkerbell dolls, FOUR Thomas the Trains!!!! And on and on! We are thankful to have so much, but it's not right for us to have so much when others have so little. But where do I begin? I know I am not the only mom with this dilemma. I would love to know what others are doing with their massive toy mounds that used to be their living rooms.

One thing I have done to reduce the MASS is create a pile of toys that are no longer age appropriate and plan to either sell or donate them. My dilemma is really with the weeding out of the toys--deciding which ones to get rid of. Everytime I go to do it, I say "so and so likes this, or OH, they may like this next year." Does everyone else go through this? There has to be a method to the madness :) I welcome any suggestions.

Getting Back to Simpler Times

Everyone is on this kick, right?  "I want to eat clean, I want to eat real food, I want to simplify my life."

But, why? Well, maybe because our world has become filled with processed food, toxic products in our kids toys, and a chaotic lifestyle that doesn't allow us the time we need to live our lives in a simple and clean way.

So,what does that mean for our family? It's about doing what we can, when we can, and trying to get back to a simpler way of living. I think back to my grandmother and how she managed food--she grew her own veggies, and made everything "from scratch." Fast forward to my childhood, my mom did the same, for the most part, until the advent of convenience foods, then our diets changed. I am not going to take time to bash manufacturers for making these foods, or for Americans buying them. This blog isn't about me sitting on my soapbox, it's about outlining goals for my family and managing them one step at a time.

And, it's not just about food, it's about every area of our lives and how we can decrease chaos, increase healthy eating and living, and simplify, simplify, SIMPLIFY!

So, how are we going to do this? I am starting by setting goals for myself, and our family, and will tackle them one at at time.

Goal 1: Decrease Chaos: I will start by reducing my physical chaos with the amount of toys and things we all have around the house. Then, I want to look at priorities in my life, for example, do I really need that extra playdate? Can I get my produce or groceries delivered instead of going to the store?

Goal 2: Increase Healthy Eating: I already eat pretty healthy myself, but my daughter is picky, and let's face it, as a busy mom we sometimes eat packaged food. My goal is to "join the food revolution" and clean up our eating as much as we can and eat whole and organic food when we can.

Goal 3: Increase Healthy Living: In addition to healthy eating, I want to focus on healthy living and getting back to what I love, the great outdoors! We used to hike all the time, and I used to focus on exercise, I need to get back to that and include the kids. Keeping a healthy/toxin free house is also a component of this gooal. Using non-toxic cleaning products, finding green toys, when I can, etc.  This one, I am going to make up as I go and ask for help along the way.

Who else wants to join me in this journey?!