Sometimes I am not sure where this life is taking us since it is always changing. The longer I live the more I wish I had just kept life simple since the beginning of marriage. I think about the money that could have been saved if I had not let modern times convince me that we need to live modern.
Maybe modern is not the right word, maybe being a constant consumer is more like it. We are almost brainwashed to keep consuming and now there are mini warehouses all over the place that people rent to hold the extra stuff that they have.
I will first update just a bit on where we are with the remodel. Remember the issues we had with our new HE (high efficiency) washing machine? I spent a good part of this summer in upper 90s to triple digits washing the laundry outdoors by hand because this expensive machine would not work. Our washing machine is my back up for when my back is bothering me or I am sick or it is too hot or cold. I can get our laundry clean by washing it by hand and my preferred way to clean our laundry. I posted several times on how I do this.
We ended up hauling out the expensive under two years old machine and purchased a older used machine for $80.00 that works just fine. I have used it quite a bit lately because I had been sick with an upper respiratory infection and have been so busy working on the house. It helped me to get the laundry done and I am thankful to have it.
During our remodeling this summer to divide our house to make a guest apartment in part of our home and remodel the side we would be living in, we changed our laundry area and added a mini water saving bathroom.
We had to build a few new walls to make the house function better for us to live in a smaller space. The building part is over for now and we hauled a lot of things out of our home and sent boxes and boxes to donations but there is still more to do by going back over things a few more times to make everything fit loosely.
We want to continue our life to live simple but we will have a few modern things such as the washing machine and dryer, air conditioner and mini fridge. Now saying this, the washing machine is for when my body is not well, the dryer is for long periods of rain which we wish for right now since we are way too dry. The heating and cooling has been downsized as we removed our central unit and we have two heating/cooling window units. We program them to go off and come on when we need it and this has drastically dropped our electric bill. Here in the deep south the high humidity and heat can make us sick if we are not careful so we do use the air conditioning when it is needed.
We have found many ways to live a more simple and less wasteful life. Many of our living like the past studies and experiments have helped us to learn that we don't need many of the modern things today.
Just because we have running water does not mean we have to use it from the faucet. We have learned to fill jars with spouts and control the flow. We have learned how to bathe with much less water and use less water washing dishes and laundry. We removed our dishwasher from the house and I wash dishes by hand and no longer need electricity to run a dishwasher or special expensive soap that goes in a dishwasher.
All of this is simply a choice. Anyone can do what we are doing, it really is a matter of changing how we do things. When we chose to not waste it takes extra steps and time but isn't it the right thing to do? We need to be conscious of what we do and how we do things.
This past weekend we changed the cotton clothesline to wire clothesline. It was time to replace the cotton or change to wire.
We chose wire this time because our Great Aunt Evelyn had a clothesline that had wire that lasted many years and is still probably still there ready to use.
This is what we purchased from Ace Hardware in the laundry/clothesline isle.
It seems to be just the right size to hang the laundry and it is not suppose to rust.
To keep it clean just take an old damp cloth out with you when you hang the laundry and give it a wipe across.
There are many reasons I enjoy hanging the laundry outside. It helps me to get my day going and get outside in the fresh air. I can observe the garden and what is going on outside. It brings me peace.
I am keeping my big toe in the modern world while my feet are living old fashioned. :) I want so badly for those that read my blog to understand that life can be less hectic and there are ways to live frugal without living poorly.
When we live simple and maintain what we have which means keep things repaired, clean what needs cleaning, patch and paint when it is needed. Hang our laundry to dry instead of running a clothes dryer, prepare meals at home and turn a house into a home it just feels right.
The other day I was cleaning the house and around the windows on the inside, dust builds up. Condensation mixed with dust turns to dirt. This is somewhere I don't clean as often as I should.
But this particular day I got an old toothbrush and some soap and water and an old rag and started cleaning this window.
Something felt very right. I realized that I was finally at a point in reducing clutter that I had the time to properly clean this window.
At that moment, as I scrubbed this dirt with the old toothbrush and it turned into mud, I realized that I had to reduce our clutter even more because I must have the time to clean and maintain our home properly. I had let too many things become cluttered.
When I can notice those things that need cleaning and not only have the time to clean them but to take my time doing a good job, then I know we are making progress.
I will continue this journey to more simple and less clutter because it also is becoming more healthy. Grandma Donna
