SRKindredSpirits

~ "there is beauty in simplicity" ~ Look for the beautiful in the simple things.... in daily life, routine, and the unpleasant tasks. Beauty is everywhere and more often than not, it is in the simple things.  

The best thing I've done when it comes to homeschooling is to ditch the idea that it needs to be like a real school!  We used to have a school room with charts, maps, desks, set hours and breaks, etc.  Then, after 3 years, needed the room as a bedroom (we live in a small house), so we moved the schoolroom to our enclosed back porch. We still used desks and had individual pencil cases, charts, maps, posters, and all the stuff you think you need to have for a school room. We used the back porch as our school room for a couple years, but then turned it into a office for our home business ..... But, I still needed a place for school..... turns out, the best thing I ever did regarding homeschooling was to give it all up.  I gave up the idea of having to have a class room, desks, charts and posters on the walls, set hours, and every other extra thing most people think you have to have to homeschool - including the complete encyclopedia set!!! I got rid of it all!  Instead,

Getting rid of stuff -  Round 2 - Year 3 This year, we signed up for Joshua Becker's Uncluttered Course .  And although we have read most of his books and have gotten rid of so much stuff in our first round .... we still had stuff that needed to go. Here's some of it... 5 explorer loads full to goodwill 1 trailer load of junk to the garbage dump 1 trailer load of scrap metal (I forgot to take a photo) Multiple items sold on Craigslist and online sites totaling over $4,000 And... We had over $200 of returns that we took back to Menards for in store credit Let me say again... we are not pack rat people. It amazes me that we have so much to get rid off... if we haven't used it, don't need it, don't like it, or it has no purpose; out it goes. With a family of 5 living in the country on a hobby farm with animals, splitting our own firewood, homeschooling, and, having a business from home... there is a lot of e

Today's guest post is by Emma Hamilton on keeping your home clutter free! Maintaining a neat, cozy and well-organized living environment is one of the first steps towards a stress-free, healthier lifestyle. According to Dr. Charisse Ward, clutter is among the top-five culprits causing stress, which has a negative impact on one's mindset and greatly reduces their creativity and productivity. Many people share the common misconception clutter is just physical stuff. This couldn't be further from the truth. Clutter represents all those old ideas, intentions, bad habits and relationships, we find it difficult to let go of. Follow our advice and take some measures to de-clutter your living space right away. Here are a few helpful tips to get you started.  Learn to Let Go This is the first step towards a clutter-free lifestyle . We all have items in our lives that we feel emotionally attached to, despite the fact they no longer serve their purpose. The truth of t

The Curated Closet By: Anuschka Rees 3 Stars I am a visual person when it comes to learning! So, while reading  'the curated closet' , I loved the suggestion on creating a 'My Style' Pinterest Board . After looking at my style board , it helped me see a pattern. I like above the knee length denim straight skirts, bodycon skirts, denim and leather jackets, brown boots, strappy sandals, cardigans, and chunky jewelry, to name a few. I am a Type 3/secondary Type 2 in Dressing Your Truth - so you'll find lots of Type 3 colors in my style board. I think the most important thing to remember when building your curated closet is that you personalize it to you. Don't try to be someone else's style look alike! Overall, I thought this book had a lot of good useful ideas, the only downside is that the photos were not vivid or engaging, and overall dull and boring - but that may just be my Type 3 personality showing! I am not doing a closet

Fourteen years ago, I was a single mom. I made $12,000 a year, and lived paycheck to paycheck. It wasn't much, but it paid the bills. I provided for my daughter and I. Life was good . We were happy . A couple years later, I married this  great guy . He was every thing I didn't know I wanted. He lived in another state. Owned his own home. Had a good job. Was a man of good values. He loved God. He loved me. Loved my daughter. Asked me to marry him. I said yes. Life was good . We were happy. Over the next few years, we worked hard making our little piece of land into our dream home. Had a two more kids. Hubby continued to have a good job. We bought toys, but never living out of our means. Life was good . We were happy.... most of the time....  Every now and then - we felt something was wrong, but could never figure out what, so life went on. Last year (2015) we paid off the house/farm, bought a new car, bought a new tractor, and w

When I moved into my first apartment at the age of 16, I knew that I wanted some of my mom's recipes. So, I made a homemade recipe book, and spent a few days writing my favorite recipes down. You see, my parents were in the process of moving to another state (Pennsylvania) over nine hours away. I knew that I couldn't just go home and look through mom's recipes when ever I wanted.  Through the years, I added to my homemade recipe book, collecting any recipes that I thought looked good.  Fast forward thirteen years down the road. I was married with three kids. I had a Taste of Home magazine subscription, recipes from other magazines like Country Side, Better Homes and Gardens, and lots of recipe books that people had given me over the years. I had a whole shelf and a half full of recipes. When I wanted to try a new recipe, just the idea of looking through the stacks of recipes made me stop - there was so many, I didn't even want to sort through them.  I never use

We said goodbye to our pool today. We had a grand party - one last hurrah - a pizza party with homemade ice cream floats! There's a few things about it that I'm gonna miss.... the beauty it brought to our backyard. the sound of the water. going for a late night swim- just hubby and I. cooling off on a hot summer day. the memories we made together as a family. and especially the reflection of the water dancing on my ceiling in the evening. We bought the pool to have something to do as a family, and to be honest - I feel guilty taking that away from the kids.... but there comes a time in life when you gotta face the facts. And the fact is too much is just that - too much! The excess of things and luxuries are not always worth it. The pool was costing us hundreds of dollars a year to run, It took time to balance, sweep and upkeep it. The supplies, toys, towels, chemicals, sweeper, hose, - all adding to extra clutter . Where we live, it is always windy, a pool cover

The More Of Less   By Joshua Becker Rating: 5 Stars In 2014, I stumbled across Becoming Minimalist and started reading with interest. In January 2015 , My husband and I decided that we were going to make the choice to get rid of clutter and simplify our life. Since then we have cleaned out the house, garage, shop, barn and attic and have gotten rid of truck loads of stuff. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve never been ‘pack-rats’, but we simply had a lot of stuff that we didn’t use, just taking up space. You can find my blog post with pictures here. I like to think of myself as a cozy, comfortable minimalist…. I’ll never have total bare walls or get rid of all my photo’s, etc., but I do love a clean, non cluttered home and continue to get rid of things on a daily basis. "Living with less isn't about having bare walls and no furniture. It's about getting rid of the clutter, so you can enjoy the things that you love." –Rhoda A Kindre

I have found over the years, that having a clean, simple, refreshing home offers many benefits....  We can welcoming guests into our home without feeling embarrassed by a messy house or a sink full of dirty dishes. It gives my family a place to relax, to be ourselves. But most importantly, having a clean home is refreshing to my soul. I love my home and the peace and comfort it provides. If you find yourself in the midst of a home full of clutter, and you're not sure where to begin... try these ten simple things....  1. Fresh flowers on my table are a must . I buy a small bouquet about every 3 weeks during the winter to keep on the table. In the Spring and Summer, I pick flowers from my garden. It is my ray of happiness and is refreshing to my soul! It makes me smile every time I stop to smell them as I walk by.... (I am blessed to have a florist shop that gives me a discount if I pick out and arrange the bouquets at home myself, so I can purchase floral stems

Slow down. OK, so here's some thoughts. We are a family of 5 . We each go to the dentist for checkups and cleanings 2 times a year. 5 x 2 =10 My oldest daughter volunteers at the vet clinic on Mondays = 1 x 52 = 52. Our special needs son gets Speech Therapy 2xs per week = 2 x 52 = 104 My daughter takes violin lessons every week 1 x 52 = 52 I am a certified crisis counselor and volunteer at the Pregnancy Crisis Center every week =1 x 52 =52 My hubby works on average 6 days a week 6 x 52 = 312 Our daughter has braces and goes to the orthodontist in Ohio 6 times a year. 6 Weekly grocery shopping =1 x 52 = 52 Sunday morning church 1 x 52 = 52 Date nights.... 1 x per month = 12 ....our total is now over 700 things. .... this does not include the other shopping trips like animal feed, or house projects, visiting family, holiday get-togethers, driving to Ohio to pick up fruit for canning, vacations, school field trips, library, eating out, date nights, etc. Nor does it

In 2014, I stumbled across  Becoming Minimalist  and started reading with interest. In   January 2015 , My husband and I decided that we were going to make the choice to get rid of clutter and simplify our life.   It was one of the best choices we have ever made! Since then, we have cleaned out the house, garage, shop, barn, and attic, and have gotten rid of truck loads of stuff ( I wish now that we would have kept a total count ). Don’t get me wrong, we’ve never been ‘pack-rats’, but we simply had a lot of stuff that we didn’t use, just taking up space. Here are just a few pictures, but  they do not include all the truck loads of good things that were donated... We used our garage as a place to put the things that we gathered and then gave them away, donated them, recycled them, sold them, or took them to the trash. Our load to the landfill - isn't it sad how much stuff is wasted? This stuff was donated....  We sold some of the things that we