Introducing Simple on Purpose

Over the past few months I have been searching. Searching for ways to sculpt my life into something meaningful.  I want to say yes to the opportunities that line up with my life's purpose. Say no, with out regret, to the things that don't, and create deep relationships and fantastic memories along the way.

A big part of being able to live with more intention is to simplify.

Which is why I am super excited to be teaming up with the totally funny and completely fabulous Shawna over at Dovetail Blog to share some (or maybe all) of the ways we are living Simple on Purpose.

Now don't think we're being bossy and telling you how to run your life... That's not what we're about. We're about sharing stories and experiences and some tidbits that have worked for us. (If you're lucky we'll include some failures just so you don't start to think we're doing this simple living thing perfectly).

I'll be posting over here about books that have inspired my journey, practices we've adopted for keeping clutter at bay, ways I keep white space in my schedule, sharing my life mission statement and more...

So join Shawna and I on our journey to clear away the chaos (well you know not all of the the chaos,  we'll hold on to the chaos we gave birth to and named), breath deep and invite freedom in to our day to day intentional lives.  Keeping things simple on purpose.

Capsule Kitchens

There's a new idea circulating social media.  In the minimalist circles at least... it's called a capsule kitchen.  It's similar to a capsule wardrobe. 

With a capsule wardrobe you only have a certain amount of clothing items and you can generally mix and match those items to create various outfits. Case in point my 33 items of clothing for 3 months commitment.

When it comes to a capsule kitchen replace clothing items with food.  So for 3 months you only shop for and eat 33 food items which you can of course eat on their own or use in recipes with some of the other items on your list.

This fascinates me.  I mean really how great would it be to have your shopping list streamlined for 3 months.  Eat more in season produce and get your creative juices flowing to try new recipes.  Exciting right?

It also terrifies me.  I mean how much zucchini and squash can a person eat?  And what about cravings?  What if I really want Kraft Dinner?  But it's not on my list of 33 foods... so I don't even have it in the house... and then I just stand there staring at my sadly bare cupboard... totally uninspired because there is no mac and cheese!  Do you feel the anxiety?

I promise to let you know if I decide to take this on.

What do you think?  Does the idea of a capsule kitchen appeal to you?  What would be on your list?

33 Clothing Items for 3 months... What I wore Week 1

A couple of interesting twists in my first week of having 33 clothing items for 3 months...

• My husband installed my new full length mirror on the wall... Which made me realize that I gotta get some pants and leggings that fit (and give away the ones that don't)
• I lost a pair of boots for 2 days and ended up wearing Toms in the snow. My three year old found my boots at the end of day 2... I am not totally convinced that she wasn't hiding them in the first place. 

Here is my week of outfits:

Day 1: 

I really love this outfit.  This is my favorite scarf, a new cardigan I bought before the challenge but ad never worn from Target (RIP), Skinny jeans (a fab hand me down from a pal) and my amazing retro black boots... Oh and my grey tank top is hiding under the sweater.   

Day 2:

Another new cardigan and the skinny jeans again.  ( I may be developing a uniform). Layered navy and burgundy tank tops, and the really cool necklace my dad made for me.  This was the day my beige boots went missing... so I ended up wearing Toms.

Day 3:

Super casual hang out at home day.  Black leggings (which is 1 of the items needing replacement), black Target (RIP) cardi and my Sevenly Beauty tank.  I also tried a little something different with my hair that day.

Day 4: 

I went skiing and did not take a picture of me in my snow pants and puffy jacket.

Day 5:

Date night with Craig. Skinny jeans, grey sweater dress, black skinny belt, animal print scarf my mother-in-law made me that goes with nearly everything and my black boots.

Day 6: 

Cute and casual for Hudson's birthday party at the climbing gym... Boot cut jeans, burgundy tank, Sevenly Education Is Freedom Shirt, and carriage necklace.


What have you been wearing this week?

Minimalist Inspiration...

Over the last little while our family had sort of fallen off the "Minimalist Wagon".  We're not drowning in stuff over here... but there are definitely things around here that are just excess and not serving a purpose.  



To slay this clutter dragon (again... ahem).  I'm making a list of inspirational minimalist blogs to give me motivation.

This 30-day minimalist challenge from Into Mind  looks like it will be very encouraging to participate in. It doesn't just deal with cleaning out closets and dealing with your physical junk... the daily suggestions are mostly about doing things that are good for your peace of mind and I could totally use a little sanity here.

Clutter Free With Kids by Joshua Becker is the book that really motivated me to consider living with less ( and it's less than $6 for the Kindle edition).  I suppose it's only natural that I would continue to me motivated by his Becker's blog Becoming Minimalist.  He has some super practical tips for helping you keep your resolution to declutter.

Oh my word!  Make Room for Greatness has the mother load list of articles about exploring minimalism.  I haven't read all of them... but I plan to dive in once my kiddos are in bed tonight.

What are you doing to regain control of your stuff?  Where are you gleaning your minimalist inspiration?

Because This... 14th Edition

Welcome to my favorite photos and links of the week... 

I am weirdly intrigued by this 31 days of no spending challenge... but I think it would make me very grumpy What do you think?  Would you do it? 

101 Physical Things That Can Be Reduced in Your Home ... I am scouting our shelves and bins for more to get rid of... this is a good list to start with.

A very interesting point of view on compassion and loving your neighbour. Jennifer Lawrence may be a victim, but not of the devil.