Knitty Gritty Thoughts

Just Hooking Around

Phew - it's been a rough month or so. Lots of busy busy things going on - Abby is teething with her first tooth so sleep has gone out the window. On top of that we had the time change so now I work an hour earlier. I start work at about 5:30am to get enough hours in before Abby wakes up. Couple that with working during every (non-existant) nap, my husband was traveling for 2 weeks for work. We had lots of family visiting (and showing around). He also has started back to his master's classes again full time at school plus working full time. So, it's busy, super super busy and I'm exhausted. I've had very little free time for myself.

In the few minutes I had, I've been working on my potholder swap project. I chose the gorgeous African Flower Mandala (free!) pattern and coupled it with Tahki Cotton Classic and my favorite hamanaka crochet hook. This was such an enjoyable pattern.

I had a bit of a rough start. I messed up on the instructions and ended up with 5 flower petals instead of 6 so I had to redo quite a few....

The colors are so bright and cheerful! It's like a big ray of sunshine! The potholders have been shipped off and I'm eagerly awaiting the swap and to see which ones they send in return. You can see my ravelry details here (with more photos). In the meantime I'm working on a new project...

The very simple and cute garter yoke cardi in peace fleece. I was totally inspired by this gorgeous version and this one. Can't decide on the button color! What do you think?

Happy Wednesday!

March Meal Planning Challenge

Ok! Now that you've put your list together of your favorite meals now the next step will be to start meal planning.

Typically, you will want to meal plan every week and pick a set day of the week to plan on. This will help you plan your week for errands on when to get groceries. For my purposes, I get an organic bountiful basket every other week. This helps my planning because I pick up the basket on saturday mornings first thing and then I plan what we will eat that week based on what's in the basket.

The first thing to do is gather your template. I like to use this one by unclutterer (scroll down to PDF download) because it has all the slots I need.

Once you have your meal plan template printed out, start by going through your fridge and make a list of all the thing you want to use before it goes bad. For example, lettuce, carrots, yogurt, chicken, tortillas, mozzarella cheese, etc. Then I try to match those things up with what is in my cupboard already and based on my favorite meals list, come up with some meals. Write those down on the back of your menu plan, don't put them in your meal spaces yet.

After you've finished making as many meals as possible out of what you have in the cupboard, you might find you are missing an ingredient or 2, add it to your shopping list to make those meals completed.

Next, you need to figure out what else you want to eat this week. This might be based on your schedule (how many nights will we be away from home or out late and need a quick and easy meal?) Some people like to plan this around what's on sale at the grocery store.

After watching food inc, my method for food planning has changed completely. I cannot look at a hamburger in the same way. :( I no longer do the grocery store sale watching route. I typically do the rest of my meal planning around what is in season and available locally. I do this by going to my local farmers market to stock up on eggs, poultry and meat. They also often have local nuts, fairtrade coffee, goats milk, cheeses, honey and more.

Add anything you are missing from your cupboards to your shopping list. Make sure to include the things you want to eat for snacks and any breakfasts/lunches in the home. I typically eat the same 2 things every morning - toast with fruit or yogurt with freezer jam and raw honey. So, I always make sure to keep those things in my home. The bread is baked or bought in bulk and frozen and I pull out a fresh loaf as needed. I buy the other items in bulk as well

And finally, add any other basics you need to the list - butter? milk? yogurt? bread? Now your shopping list is complete.

Start to write down your meals for the week in each of the daily slots to queue up what you are going to eat. I recommend eating the things that will go bad earlier in the week and also make sure to plan around days and activities where you will be home late for an easier meal.

And that's it - your meal planning and shopping list is done for the week!

A few notes on meal planning -

• I always recommend keeping a few easy to make items in your cupboards for those nights when everything goes crazy and you barely have time to eat. For those nights I keep a frozen bertolli pasta dinner and supplement with fresh greens and some bread. Or, we heat up a can of soap, make a salad and slice a loaf of bread.
• If you're looking for an easy way to get started with menu planning, I highly recommend E-Mealz. You download a new menu from the site every week and can choose from many options like lowfat, gluten free, etc. They also plan meals around certain supermarkets deals to make eating at home a little bit more money saving.
• One of the things I've been doing lately is taking cooking classes online through this neat little site. She is a bit of a minimalist in that her meals only ever use 5 ingredients. She had a 10 minute soup class - I love it! Very easy and healthy meals that come together quickly! I'm working on a "reclaim your waistline" class now!

I'll post my menu a little later this week (I went away this weekend so my schedule is a bit off) - but in the meantime, how do you meal plan? Any favorite tricks you'd like to share with the rest of us?

Simple Living Challenge Article Roundup

-Simple living challenge article roundup-

A list of some of my favorite articles I've read around the blog-o-sphere related to simple living, living with less stuff and enjoying life more.

If you only read one article today, you simply must read this one - Loosen the grip of more stuff

What are your 3 things? Mine are fluffy white towels, a basket full of knitting and a pretty hand thrown pottery coffee mug sitting on my desk.

A few other articles that really got me thinking -

Responsibilities of ownership

Erin's story

Create time to change your life

Getting over the want

Any simple living challenge articles you could recommend for reading?

March Challenge :: Make a Meal Plan

Hi Everyone! Welcome to March and with it comes our new Simple Living Challenge - Make a Meal Plan

There are many reasons why you would want to make a meal plan including -

• Save $$$ on groceries by planning what you will eat in advance
• Less food waste and money down the drain by using up what you have in your fridge and pantry
• Less last minute "oh no!" what are we going to eat moments
• This leads to eating less fast food
• You may even lose some weight due to eating healthier items
• You will have more time to sit down with your family at the table
• You can challenge yourself to try new recipes and new foods
• And best of all, it's free! So why wouldn't you try meal planning?

This month we're challenging ourselves to make a meal plan each week and stick with it.

To get started we need to do one thing - Gather a pad of paper and pen and your favorite recipes. I keep all of mine in a massive binder. With the advent of the internet I love using online resources like allrecipes.com and tastykitchen to come up with new things to cook. I print them out and put them in sheet protectors and add them to the book.

Go through your books and recipes and make a list of your family's favorite things to eat. List each and every thing you can think of. Make sure to ask other members of your household what they love to eat and add it to your list.

On my list so far is -

• Grilled Salmon
• Texas Rice
• Salmon Pasta
• Salad with Feta
• Steak and potatoes
• Tilapia with Cauliflower
• Fish Tacos
• Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Chicken Divan
• Slow cooker chicken
• Breakfast for dinner
• Perfect Burgers

and more...

What's on your list too?

Make the list and this weekend we'll meet back here to plan our meals.

Containerization - How to Contain Your Stuff

On the eve of our last day of the Pick 5 Challenge I wanted to talk about containerization. Now that you've started decluttering, learning what you love and use and getting rid of the rest the next step is natural.

Get it all organized, right?

Unfortunately it's not quite that easy. One of the steps many of us took when we tried to get organized without getting rid of anything was buying lots and lots of plastic containers and then sorting our stuff into them. That's where we ran into a problem- without getting rid of as much as possible, we were storing things that had no importance to us.

Now is the time to revisit "containerization" again. And for the purposes of this discussion a "container" could be a plastic bin, drawer, shelf, cubby, etc.

Here is my bathroom containerizing - all my hairdryer/curling iron/brushes in one bin. All my makeup, nail polish, contacts and misc in another. The final bin is all my medical supplies I just decluttered. Make sure to get rid of anything that is over it's expiration date or smells funny.

Containerization makes it easy to pull things out as you use them and put them away on a shelf .

So here it is in the most simple of terms - As you're decluttering, start to gather like things together. All your pens, check! Paper, check! Printer supplies, notebooks, yarn, needles, makeup, and more. Gather them into small piles. At the very least you might be surprised at how much of one thing you own.

Before you get started, this is a great time to cull a bunch of it. Give away as much as you can and only keep a few of each item. Next, grab a container that fits the pile that you have and organize it into it. Rinse and repeat. If the container you have is too big - put like things together. For example, all of your bill paying equipment or all of your stationary and writing supplies you need to write thank you's. Now here's the challenge- now that you've put it into containers, you need to commit to yourself that this is the most space that this item will take. You won't allow yourself to add more of this item until you give more away to make room.   

Easy Peasy, right? :)

For an additional challenge, if you've already put your things into containers you're ready to take it to the next level. One of the things I find fun (and challenging!) is to take the container I have already have along with the space I've decided to commit to it and make it smaller For instance, I started with a really B-I-G container with yarn. Over time, I challenged myself to move to smaller and smaller containers as I gave away and sold most of it. Now I'm down to the stuff that I have a project for and it feels great.

Here are a few examples of my containerization, all my yarn in one bin, my spinning fiber in another, battlets in another, all my patterns into 1 more container and my needles organized in books

Here are a bin of fabric scraps and diaper fabric scraps. Once I run out of room in my bin I commit to giving the extras that don't fit away rather than grabbing a bigger bin.

This bin is for my current sewing in progress- helps me keep it clean and organized and I always know where I can find it when I have a few minutes to sew.

Your mileage may vary. It's not about getting rid of the things you love but it's about figuring out where you have too much - Books? Fabric? Sewing Supplies? Cooking Implements? Clothes? Makeup? Whatever it is you need to set limits for yourself. It will help you save $$$ and space when you commit to not owning more than you can fit in your space.

Tomorrow is March 1st and the start of our next Simple Living Challenge - We're going to have a "Make a Meal-Plan" Challenge Month! Hope you'll join us!

Pick 5 Check In

Hi All- Boy the week just flew by. Whew! What a week! It's been a big one for me professionally, off this blog. I am officially a scrum master. For those not familiar with Agile Software development it really means project manager team lead but there's a bit more to it. It's just more time, more stress, same pay so what can I say. Not a huge deal but a neat thing to put on my resume. :)

I spent my few minutes of free time sewing a cute little kimono top for Abby. You can find the free pattern here.

I struggled as I always do to create bias tape. For some reason those fancy little tape makers always leave me frustrated and with uneven tape. Then I started googling and found this amazing little tutorial. So smart! Can't believe I never thought of it!

So now I'm considering just donating all my bias tape makers (a great 3 item start to tomorrow's pick 5) :)

Other than that, I just got back from Salvation Army dropping off my car load of pick 5 decluttering from last week and this week. Check out Beth's awesome garage decluttering make-over here. Wow! Great job decluttering Beth!

Some things I've decluttered this week include -

• 2 electronic computer mice from the USB/Corded old-school. I upgraded to a shiny new one with a slickdeal from Best Buy.
• 2 Bags of clothes (one from me, one from hubby)
• Box of fabric
• Bag of fabric scraps
• Rotary Cutter Mat (I had 3 but only used the large one and the small one so I got rid of the medium sized one. I think I might be able to get rid of the small one soon)
• Box of sewing notions (misc binding tape, thread, batting, etc)
• Box of baby toys (the electronic ones Abby didn't like)
• 3 purses
• 1 pair shoes
• 2 jackets
• 5 towels
• 2 sets of sheets
• 3 picture frames
• a box of books
• curtain hanging supplies with rod/hooks
• 1 box misc tools
• 1 suitcase
• 1 box of misc office supplies (paper/ink/tape/etc)
• small rolling cart

Phew! That's it for this week - that filled my car to the brim. What are you decluttering this weekend?

Simple Living Challenge : Article Roundup

Hi Everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. I spent my time sewing some diapers...

A cute little all-in-one with PUL outer, OBV inner and Bamboo/Hemp Soakers...

And did some knitting on the longest sock ever!

I love the idea of this socks construction in theory - you knit 1 super long tube with ribbing on both ends. Then you fold the sock in half and cut it apart. You then knit an afterthought toe.

When you're ready to gift the socks, or whenever you're ready to determine how long you want the foot to be you try it on and mark where the heel should go. Then you cut the heel portion open and knit an afterthought heel. Pretty neat! I'm a little knitted out on it though, getting a little bored of the never ending knitting.

A few Simple Living Challenge articles I've found around the blogosphere this week that I think you should read -

simplicity is not easy

The less you need, the more you have

Being simple sucks sometimes

banishing drudgery

A food manifesto for the future

Happy Monday! Any simple living challenge articles you could recommend for reading?

Help! How to start decluttering?

View from the grand canyon in winter

I recently had a question from a good friend of mine. She was asking for help!? She knows she wants to start decluttering but doesn't know where to start and feels overwhelmed!

I figured quite a few of you might be in the same boat and wanted to offer a few tips on how to get started, just in time for the weekend.

The first thing to remember is that decluttering is not a race and there is no end point. Decluttering is a process. It's iterative. It never ends. As long as you are alive and bringing stuff into your home, you will always have something to give away.

With that said, it's a slow process. Take it easy, don't force yourself to give away more than you can.

I've spent the last 3 years really decluttering and trying to live with less. It all started when we moved cross country so many times. We moved 8 times in 6 years. By the third time of dragging your stuff cross country, you are just about ready to chuck it out the window. :)

What moving taught me was this - when we moved, all my special stuff (and at that time ALL my stuff was special) seemed to get damaged or broken. Bookshelves broke. Mattresses had holes torn in them. My precious curtain rods, damaged beyond repair. Furniture had big dings. I found movers using my yarn as packing materials around dirty muddy shoes (!!!!). My light shades crammed in with cooking supplies, cracked.

It made me really mad, didn't they know how special all this stuff was to me?

But they didn't, to them it was just stuff. Letting go of all the broken stuff, accepting the damage got me into the mindset that it was just stuff too. Stuff can be replaced, people and experiences can't. If I spend my time taking care of my stuff, do I have enough time to live the exceptional life that I want to? Am I cultivating my friends or cultivating my stuff? That is the question I asked myself.

So I started decluttering. I started in one room and worked my way around the house, room by room. The first round I maybe gave away 0.1% of the stuff. Then, the next time I worked my way around the house room by room and this time I found I was OK with giving away a little more, say 2%. Around and around I worked giving away more stuff with each pass. Around and around I still go, the process never ends.

The lesson here is, if you can't find yourself allowing yourself to give certain items away, it's OK. You might find yourself giving them away later.

Here are some tips to get started -

Step 1, Gather equipment

Gather 1 give away box, 1 put away box, 1 can't decide box and 1 trash bag.

Grab a timer

Step 2, Commit!

Commit to decluttering for 20 minutes in one space

Step 3, Sort!

Set your timer and start sorting. Put the easy wins, the things you know you can give away in the give away box

Put the trash in the trash bag

Put the things you find that belongs somewhere else, like in another room, in the put away box. Don't leave the room to put it away then, you'll get distracted!

If you're having a hard time getting rid of something but you're not sure if you should keep it or give it away don't decide right now, put it in the can't decide box

At the end of 20 minutes, put away the items in the put away box.

Commit to doing this 2 times a day for 20 minutes each. When the boxes or bags are full, put the trash in the trash can and the donate box in your car and grab another fresh box. Keep going, moving from one space to another. Don't spend too much time thinking about getting rid of something or not. You know deep down in your gut if you want to keep it. If you truly can't decide, put it in the can't decide box and keep moving. Get rid of the easy stuff, the stuff you know you don't need and save the hard decisions for later.

What I do is put everything in the can't decide box in my closet and then put a date on it. If I haven't used it or thought about it in 6 months than I truly know that I don't need it and I donate it.

So how is your pick 5 going this week? What have you gotten rid of? Have any tips on how to start decluttering?

declutter, minimize, Simple Living Challenge, simplify

Decluttering tips and cultivating a decluttering mindset

Image from Indian Cliff Dwellings in AZ from our trip. What a view!

I'm so glad to hear you guys are excited about the simple living challenge. Hopefully you're off to a great "pick 5" decluttering start!

Don't forget to involve other members of your family in this too if they're interested. Your kids and hubby certainly have 5 things they can pick to give away as well. It's a great opportunity to teach your kids about giving away toys to those less fortunate than you and cultivate their ability to sort through clothes that are too small or they don't like and keep only the things they really use.

Depending on where you are in your decluttering journey, you might find that you have quite a bit to get rid of. Don't despair. It's much easier to accumulate items than it is to give it away.

You might be thinking, why are we decluttering? How is this going to make my life more simple?

Here's the thing - the less stuff you have, the less time you spend maintaining it, worrying about it, replacing it.

When you have less, everything has a place and when we're done with this exercise you will know where it is.

-Your home takes 5 minutes to pick up because it's just a few items to put away.

-You spend less time cleaning and more time doing the things you love.

-What would you do with your time if you weren't spending it cleaning? Would you take your kids to the park? Go for a walk? Knit? :) Sew something? Whatever that ideal image is, focus on it when you're decluttering.

As you drop more and more pounds of "stuff" you'll start to feel lighter. You'll smile when you walk into a room.

Cleaning the kids room will no longer be a struggle. You'll no longer be embarrassed when someone stops by unexpectedly and before you know it, you'll be welcoming them into your home and offering to show them your decluttered bathroom drawers! :)

Heather brought up a great point and one I was going to mention -

Every time you spend $ on something you are sacrificing a bit of your future. There is an excellent article at the Unclutterer that I'd like you to read. Here's the thing, decluttering is great. However, if you continue to bring things into your home and more than you're taking out- the piles will grow and your life won't feel any simpler.

What you need to do is really sit down and figure out why you want to declutter. Why do you want to simplify and focus on bringing less into your home? Hold onto those goals as you declutter. Keep envisioning them, and it will make the process easier.

Hilary also brought up a great reason for decluttering -

...one thing that really helps me when trying to decide to get rid of something is, "Would someone appreciate this more than me?"

I know when I ask myself that question the answer is usually, YES.

Ok! Now that you're cultivating the decluttering mindset, I wanted to share with you a few other decluttering tricks I use to really clear the excess out-

Decluttering Tip #1- Last 6 months

I'm not going to lie, this one is hard for me and it still a work in process. Here's what you do - if you haven't used it in the last 6 months and you don't plan on using it in the next 6 months, get rid of it.

This tip is really great for craft supplies. Think about what you're using and what is on your list to make. There is always something else to make, another item to create and another "ooh - shiny! must make!" distraction. The 6 month plan allows me to really decide - if I haven't made it in 6 months and I don't have plans in the next 6 months, will I ever really do it? Do I really want to make it if I can't find time in the next 6 months for it?

This technique has really revolutionized my crafting. A lot of things I was putting off because I wasn't quite sure of the technique or didn't feel like I had the time, I just tackled. And before you know it, the item itself only took 10 minutes. I'd been waiting years for a 10 minute task?!? Crazy!

Decluttering Tip #2 - Empty container technique

This is one of my favorites! What you do is take a container, or a drawer or an area of a room and empty it all out. Yes, everything.

Clean out the space where it just was - wipe down the drawer, the baseboard, wash the linens, etc. Now, sort through what you just took out. Keep only the items that you love and/or use. It's only the items that give you that pull in your stomach and make you claim proudly, "I love it!" or "Ooh, I can't get rid of that, I use it for XYZ!" Now, just put those few items back. See how much cleaner and open your space is now? Enjoy that feeling. Now, look at the pile of stuff remaining. Consider putting it all in the donation or trash bin as applicable. You've figured out what you love and use, now why keep the rest?

I play a little game with myself to empty as many containers as possible. That means those little rubbermaid plastic bins, shoe boxes, drawers, bags, boxes, etc. It's a fun little game. Then I pile all the empty ones up in the corner so they are ready for use when I get to my next stage of decluttering, Containerizing! Once you've got rid of your excess stuff you're ready to organize it and devote space to it. I'll talk more about containerizing later.

Decluttering Tip #3 - Car-Load Technique

My 3rd favorite technique for decluttering is challenging, but fun. I call it the car-load technique. I do this every year for 4 weeks between my birthday and Thanksgiving to get my home ready for the holidays.

Here's what you do - it's really easy. Every weekend you make a commitment to fill a carload of stuff and donate it.

I know. That sounds radical, and probably crazy.

Here's the thing, everyone I know has at least 1-2 car loads of stuff they could donate and not even miss. Probably more car loads if we're really being ruthless.

Run around and get decluttering, fill that car! Get it out of your house! And when you've filled the car, you're done decluttering for the week. Drive it over to goodwill or salvation army or your local Church and drop it off. Envision all the people you are helping and drive away smiling.

Rinse and repeat for every weekend in your challenge and really clear out the space. You'll be feeling lighter and more efficient in no time.

I hope some of the decluttering tips really help you on your simple living challenge. It's almost the weekend- make an appointment with yourself to clear out the clutter. Don't delay, today! :)

declutter, minimize, Simple Living Challenge, simplify

February Simple Living Challenge : Pick 5

February Simple Living Challenge - Pick 5!

I wanted to have a simple living challenge each month of this year.

Life is so busy, there are so many things to do, and so many things I want to do. Decluttering and simplifying gives me the space to do this.

When I can get rid of the extra it allows me to be more efficient, minimize the excess and maximize my time. I hone my ability to be creative and be inspired and even find the time to do it!

Each month I'm going to have a new personal challenge for myself to make my life more efficient - to save time, save money, save my energy and maximize my time for what I want to do. I hope you'll consider joining me this year to maximize your own life. I think you'll be amazed at the results by the end of the year.

This month's challenge is Pick 5!

Every day this month you are challenging yourself to Pick 5 things to donate and 5 things to trash.

Grab a donation box. Run around each morning around your house picking 5 things up and put them in the box. Don't even think - just do! It's only 5 things, that's nothing! Grab anything you haven't used in the last 6 months and toss it in the box! Old clothes, shoes, craft supplies, sheets, towels, books and more! Chuck it all in!

Next, grab your trash/recycling bin - Run around the house and pick 5 things to throw away/recycle. Old papers - put them in recycling. Old paperwork, sort throught it! Recycle the envelope, shred the rest! Easy! You're at 5 items already!

Keep going each day and donate 5, toss 5. Before you know it, you'll be 280 items lighter by the end of the month and you won't even miss them!

Really challenge yourself this month to give away all the excess - only keep the things you love and use and get rid of the rest. Remember - we only use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time - be ruthless, get rid of that 80% to get to the 20% that really matters to you!

You might be asking - Why give it all away? I spent good money on that!

Let me in on a little secret- the more I give away, the less I spend.

Let me explain - you probably have a pile of stuff you're thinking of selling. But let me ask you this - how much do you think you would actually make? Is it worth the time and energy to try to sell it? The key I have found is to set aside the few larger items you can actually make money off of selling. All the small stuff (and it's mostly small stuff) you should simply donate.

The first time you give away a large box of small stuff, it's probably painful. You keep thinking about how much money you spent on all that and how yo're giving it all away. It might make you mad, it might make you sad.

Here's the thing - if you can get over it and just give it away (getting a tax receipt if applicable) the benefits are huge!

Number 1, it's gone and you never need to deal with it again.

Number 2, and the biggest one for me is that I remember that painful feeling. Each and every time I go to the store I remember that feeling and every time I buy something that's not a necessity/staple item I think about it long and hard. What am I going to do with it? Is it worth it? Eventually most things will end up given away or in the landfill. Am I willing to pay the price? I think you'll start finding yourself saying "no" more often and saving yourself a pile of cash in the process.

Here is a list of my favorite 3 books related to decluttering/living with less mindset (in the order I think you should read them) -

It's All Too Much

Unclutter Your Life in One Week

The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life

Happy decluttering! :)

declutter, minimize, Simple Living Challenge, simplify