Microsizing Materialism and Mortgage

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Our new house Project
Our new house Project!

I started with my home school schedule. I moved to the laundry/clothes. And now we are going to microsize our house…family style. I have found that a lot of the tiny house people are either single or have one-two children. I haven’t found any that have 5. There are only stories from the older generation. Most of the people I know that are well invested (i.e. paid off their mortgage, large savings, investments…) at some point lived in a tiny house. Our lives, now, are so transient and expectations so high that it is difficult for our generation to get traction and move forward (i.e. pay off our mortgage, large savings, diversify investments). As I said during the laundry post, our family is trying to start a home business. Having the mortgage paid off/ very low is a good step toward that goal.

Reasons for Downsize:

  • Decease Mortgage: Most people that ask me why I want to downsize 7 people into 800 sqft, are completely shocked. Coming from the generation I have, it took me awhile to get to this point. The biggest reason for the move is to downsize the mortgage. “The borrower is a slave to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7 It is true! Have you felt the chains around your ankles, wallet and neck? …pulling at your sense of security, eroding your ability to give and keeping you from a more full life… Some of you are so amazing, you saw this well before I did. Good job!
  • Decreased Materialism: The mortgage is not the only thing I’m hoping to decrease. I would love to simplify our lives. Everything you buy requires something from you (some things more then others). It takes time and energy to maintain, clean up, store and operate each item. No matter what that thing promises, you must calculate the total cost of ownership of every treasure you own. When we traveled across the United States one summer, life was simple. Everyone thought we were crazy for going camping all over the US with 5 children but it taught us the value of less. We had more time and energy to enjoy our relationships.
  • Increased creativity: I have an extremely creative brain and less things help me focus. Have you ever noticed that a clean kitchen inspires you to cook. Well, same thing happens to me in every creative adventure.  One of the reasons I have so much stuff, is that I can see at least 5 things that I could make out of every item I have. Though I highly support recycling and reusing, I couldn’t possibly complete even a quarter of the projects in this life time. I need to give them away for someone else to complete. Space savings is why I love pinterest. I can catalog my ideas and others great creations…virtually.  Another problem is project jumping. I start a new activity before I clean up the other one and then I forget the first. It happens a lot with motherhood and homeschooling. Still finish what you start, before you start something else! (I’m mostly reminding myself.)

Larger House Dilemma:

A house is a container for people and their stuff. The smaller of the house, the less stuff each person can store. The hope is that “hoarding” will get squeezed out. So what’s the problem? The larger the home, the less you have to think about the things that come into and go out of the home. The working procedure is to get another storage box and think about it later. Big houses are largely created for square footage not functionality. In a small house your stuff is always in your face so, there is a great need for discernment (i.e. Is this object worth the space it’s consuming? Since there are 40 other things that could take its place.) For a long time I thought that I was organizationally challenged. Now that I am getting rid of stuff, I have noticed that I am very good at organizing. That is the only way I could get so much stuff in such a small space (1400 sqft). I have to have different thinking altogether to fit homeschool and cooking for allergies into a small house.

Emotion of Stuff:

Stuff has an emotional component. There are many sources for the emotion, but some examples are: inheritance ( I just want to point out that the person that died didn’t take it with them, and neither will you.), security (“Stuff” is a poor investment, since it largely depreciates and costs more to store then it gains.) , familiarity (You’ve had an item for a long time.) and creative homemade/store bought gifts from a well meaning relative or friends (What happens if they come to your house?). If you don’t use it, you don’t “need” it.
Our houses are increasing at an unsustainable rate to hold more stuff and less people. Stuff that makes grandiose promises of comfort and ease, but costs more energy and money to maintain and store then it pays back (in comfort or ease). My biggest example of this is our hot tub. I love hot water baths (We only have a shower). Getting a hot tub promised great comfort to me. I’ve been in it 4 times since we got it a year ago. Why? Daily and weekly chemical balancing procedures and seasonal water exchange is a lot to do. To top it off, we have ants that like it even more then I do. The promise of my hot water bath has been squished by the realities of life. And the question remains, even if all went well with the tub, is that where God wants me to spend my time? Be sure I’m not saying hot tubs are a sin. I’m merely throwing the question out there for us to think about.
My husband and I hope to record our microsizing experience. For now we have a facebook page called microsizing (click to go to the facebook page). Check it out!

Fiber and Reality

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Photo by Jason Vandehey

How “healthy” are you eating habits?  We all hope our genetics are good enough to allow us to eat whatever we want and still be healthy.  The reality is that it is an abnormal rather than a common occurrence.  It is possibly more likely to win the lottery or get struck by lightening–something like Genetic Roulette.  So the first question is…what is healthy food?  There are so many foods and so many types of people.  I don’t think there is a straight answer for everyone.  But the word “healthy” is thrown around all the time.  I like more science then hearsay about this question, especially if I’m giving up things I really like to eat.  There is another point…if we are eating so many healthy things (as per the label on the box) why are we overweight? (as a nation) and have so many medical problems?  As some of my children and I (and many of our friends) develop so many food intolerance and allergies…I ask the next question…is there something we could do that can improve our health?  I was fascinated by a movie one of my friends recommended to me.  It has a lot of science and huge population sample size (statistically that is important).  The movie…”Forks Over Knives” (can be streamed from Netflix).  I’m not going to be playing genetic roulette.  Since I have a family history of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, it’s a bad idea.  I am excited to over the prospect of gaining back some of the ground my gene pool has taken.  Not to mention the added bonus of maintaining a more healthy weight.  Why do we think that we should be able to eat anything we want and not have consequences.  So what is healthy for you?

1. Find out a good weight for your frame (women’s weight chart)

2. Find out how many calories you need to maintain that weight (a quick calculation)

We all know fiber is important for cancer prevention (it carries out toxins), heart disease, diabetes and over all digestion.  I’ve always tried to eat things with fiber in them, but I’ve never took the time to calculate the fiber content in my daily diet.  Given the fact that I have been on a high protein diet for the past 5 years, I’m sure I was ingesting grossly insufficient amounts of fiber (meat has no fiber).   The health gurus recommend to get at least 30 gm of fiber per day.  I’ve even heard of over 50gm.  This goes beyond just keeping the skin on a few fruits and vegetables.  Really this whole reality explains why people are so over weight (one of the reasons).  To eat the stuff I want to eat and the stuff I should eat (to get the fiber and vitamins), puts my daily caloric intake higher then it should be to just maintain my weight. (which means over time I would gain weight) Go ahead and calculate your daily fiber intake.  (a normal day, not just the good days)

Fiber content in food chart (This is really interesting!)

To get enough fiber in my daily diet I would have to be really intentional or become vegan.

The biggest question that comes up is, “what about protein?”  To convenience my teenager that he was getting enough protein, I calculated how much protein was in a cup of quinoa.  Quinoa is a complete protein (by itself) and 1 1/4 cups is roughly equal to 1 cup of meat protein (about 30 gm, recommended intake for women is 40-70gm/day, 100gm for men).  In addition to protein you get 15 gm of fiber, 60% of your iron, and 200% riboflavin (B2).  I’m no longer concerned about protein.  As long as I eat a wide variety of grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, I’ll get the nutrients I need.  (I will add B12.  It is harder to get it in a vegan diet.  It is even difficult to get enough in a regular diet.)  The movie was insightful and it gave me the confidence to pursue strange new ways of eating.  Will I become a vegan?  I’m still exploring the possibility…  The evidence is overwhelming.

While I’m thinking about it, I have been checking out vegan cookbooks from the library.  They are not all created equal.  There are a lot of processed foods that are still considered vegan.  I was looking for a book that didn’t over use them.  And since wheat and peanuts are “whole foods,” I would still be substituting some ingredients.  If I have to substitute over half of each recipe on most of the book, the book isn’t worth the space on my shelf.  I was very impressed with Appetite for Reduction their shepherd’s pie was great.  I’m getting ready to try the famous Raise the Roof Sweet Potato Lasagna from the Engine 2 Diet cookbook.  I tried several of his recipes from his Engine 2 DVD (can stream from Netflix).  They were great!  Even with the shift in the main protein bearing foods, I still think it is important to have a daily source of live probiotics (i.e. kefir, sauerkraut, non-milk yogurt, pickles…)  Wild Fermentation is an excellent resource for live culture foods.  The live lactobacillus helps to balance the digestive flora and maintain a more healthy system.  In the end I want to “eat to live” instead of “live to eat.”

My Favorite Quinoa Recipe: Coconut Almond Quinoa Salad

  • 2 cup quinoa & 4 cups water
  • 2 Tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 Tbsp dry red bell pepper flakes
  • 2 cup coconut
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 cup sliced almonds or pumpkin seeds
  • 8 cups spinach or kale
  • 2 cups fresh vegetables (cucumbers, peppers, zucchini…)

Cook quinoa with everything, but fresh vegetables and almonds/seeds, for 20 min.  Mix the rest of the ingredients and serve or store in the refrigerator.  The extra virgin coconut oil seems to tame the quinoa.  I add 1 or 2 Tbsps of coconut oil to the water every time I make quinoa.

Optional: 1 cup currents and 2 Tbsp vinegar (The kids didn’t like the vinegar.  They really liked the currents but my husband didn’t.  I set the currents on the side.)

Allergy Free Chocolate Almond Butter Easter Eggs

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Chocolate Covered Almond Butter Egg

Chocolate Covered Almond Butter Egg

Does Easter’s arrival make you nervous? All that not-so-healthy, wonderful-looking stuff sitting right beside your seaweed and apples–it hardly compares. It is so much worse for children. We don’t mind being tortured every-now-and -then as adults, but they hate it and can’t understand how to suffer in silence. I’m not sure there are very many people that suffer in silence well…anyway. No one has to suffer! Here are some relatively simple ways to spice up this wonderful holiday.

Chocolate Covered Almond Butter Eggs

Chocolate Covered Almond Butter Eggs

Allergy Free Chocolate Almond Butter Easter Eggs

Egg Filling

  • 4 cups almond meal (try coconut flour if can’t have almonds)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp stevia leaf powder
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups almond butter (sun butter for nut allergies)
  • 1/2 cup agave
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • and a ton of pickles for extra flavor!

Mix all the ingredients and form egg shaped balls. Place on a wax paper cookie sheet and freeze the eggs.

*I use the dehydrated/blended leftovers of almond milk.

Chocolate Coating
Consistency of the Chocolate Coating

Chocolate Coating

  • 4oz. baking chocolate
  • 2oz or 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 Tbsp agave
  • 2 Tbsp coconut cream (top of can of coconut milk)
  • 10 drops vanilla stevia

Set up the cooling rack. Place a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet with a cooling rack on top (to catch the extra chocolate). Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (a small pan placed in a slightly larger pan of water). Remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. The consistency is important. You want the chocolate just to the point that the lines in it stay after the spoon passes through. It is difficult to keep it there for long, so be sure to have the outside pot of the boiler near to adjust the consistency as needed. Roll a frozen almond butter egg, one at a time, in the melted chocolate. Pick it up with a fork and place it on the cooling rack to harden. They can be placed in the refrigerator to help the process along. Store eggs wrapped in wax paper and refrigerated.

Brownie Pops

Brownie Pops

Best Brownies Pops Ever: (Makes 18-20 Balls)

  • 4 cups walnuts
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 20 drops french vanilla
  • 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
  • 2 cups dates
  • 2 Tbsp coconut milk/ kefir

Grease sheet with liquid parchment. Blend walnuts, cocoa, salt, vanilla and flax seed meal. Add dates, as they become smooth add milk. Form ball around the end of popsicle sticks. Bake: at 350° for 5 min., upright

Raw: dehydrate for 4 hr. on 125

Choc. Coating: 1/4c. coconut oil, 1/4c. cocoa butter, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, yacon/agave

Gluten Free Resurrection Rolls

Here are some other ideas I got from pinterest:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laundry Debacle –Solved!

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Great Laundry Debacle -Solved

When I was a young bride, I was so excited to “play house.”  It didn’t take too many children to pop that “play’n house” bubble.  Then, it was all about survival.  Bringing my home from disorder to order is a relentless job.  Though it seemed no matter what I’ve tried, I could never get ahead of it.  I needed to get innovative to over come the laundry monster.  Giving-up some of my freedom to choose can translate to real minutes…hours…days.  I have the freedom to choose where I spend my time.   Laundry is not my first choice.  It easier, now.

I examined where my current system broke down.  When laundry goes into the system it:

  1. Needs to be separated into colors (unless you are a bachelor :) )
  2. When it comes out of the dryer, it needs to be separated into person.

It always stopped right about there.  With 7 people, it is a crazy amount.  My husband and I want to start a business (along with homeschooling), not go crazy sorting 50 pounds of laundry each week.

When we traveled across the country for 1.5 months our clothes system was “streamlined.”  My travel sorting has changed since then, but it is still simple.  I have adopted the Duggar’s family clothes packing system for the young ones.  I was wondering if a modified version of that would work in the house?  Less choice equals more time.  Everyone who wants more “choice” can do their own laundry.  I stepped up the Duggar system to include an “already sorted” component.  After the days clothes are worn…just throw the whole bucket into the laundry, put it back in the bucket and on to the self when done.

Central Clean Laundry Organizer

Central Clean Laundry Organizer

Here of the Nuts and Bolts:

Box of the Day:  Each box has a shirt and pants/skirt or dress for everyone who wants to participate.  Those who don’t, are opting to do their own.  It is best to have a separate box for socks and underwear. **All 4 younger kids wear the same size stretchy white socks.**

Sorting:  Sorting happens as you pick the clothes.  All the clothes that go into a day’s box can all go together in the same load of laundry.  No sorting!!!  If you are a smaller family and still want this convenience, have a two day box.

Sock/ Underwear Box:  I found it no fun to dig for individual socks and underwear.  It is best to separate the undergarments from clothes.   In one box I put all the kids underwear, younger kids white socks, older kid’s (different color then white, blue) socks.  I still put mine in the dresser.  Though, I do participate in the clothes of the day event. :)

Number of Boxes:  I made 6 boxes.  You don’t need 6 boxes.  Any number between 4-12 would work.

Day of Choice: Each Sunday is a day of choice.  The hanging clothes lend well to this. Many of their hanging clothes match.  The kids still feel the freedom when they choose any hanging clothes that they want. (selective freedom)

Have extras:  Find a place for two or three extra shirts and pants in a separate box with each child’s name on it.  These are extras for when something gets spilled or I can’t find someone’s clothes for a box.

Bath: Dirty Laundry Organizer

Bath: Dirty Laundry Organizer

Operations:

  1. Buy buckets or find boxes (We have the large Ikea boxes that slide into their own shelf.).  Organize a shelf system near the bathroom
  2. Sort the boxes as above
  3. Each day place the new box in the bathroom (I found it works best to put it there at night.  So that I can get all the used clothes of that day in one box at the same time.)
  4. Put the already used days clothes in the washer all together.
  5. When they are dry put them back in the box and put the box on the shelf.

I have kept on top of the laundry this week for the first time since we have our second child!

Preparing Our Hearts for Easter

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Prophecy Path to Calvary

Crown of Thorns Centerpiece
Crown of Thorns Centerpiece

There is no better way to reinforce our trust in who God is, then to review the prophecies God made in the Old Testament and the fulfillment of them in the New Testament as it pertains to Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Great preparation for Easter!  My pastor wrote the devotionals and I drew the pictures.  (He is so gifted at writing in layman’s terms.)  I used the Lenten calendar as the bases for the time table.  The first 40 days (including Sundays) review a prophecy (Bible and Devotional), the last 6 days (Easter Week) include a hands-on object lesson that will help the children have fun while learning, along with the Bible reading.  This is a great way to bring in excitement and learning to our family devotional time(no matter the family size).  I have just completed  the Devotional Book.  If you would like to purchase this great resource for 7.00 (includes shipping),  just press the “Buy Now” below.  Lent starts next week!

Open devotional

Prophecy Path to Calvary Book $7.00 (includes shipping in USA)

Directions for Crown of Thorns Centerpiece: A great interactive center piece!  Using a grapevine wreath, stick 46 toothpicks into it.  Each devotional time of Lent, light the candle and remove one of the toothpicks.  Easter day they will be all gone…He has Risen! (The centerpiece is not included in the price.)

Find Out More About Lent:  What’s in the Bible Website has a great post on the history and practice of Lent.