Gathering all the threads...

As I mentioned on Monday I am feeling a bit like we have a lot of threads just sort of flying about in the air. Some are old and I can let them go, while others are continuous and need to be woven into our lives in a way that is meaningful and complete, and still others are relatively new. All together trying to gather them up and find how they best fit into this tapestry has become quite the preoccupation of mine. I am currently in a conversation with a few other families about how we are trying to gather our vision and priorities in a way that sets us up to be more mindful in our daily lives. It has been good for me to try to illuminate what it is I am doing and why, and to try to really search out areas where we can simplify things.

So as I am thinking on them I will post them here...

• Need Less: This one is first because it flows throughout everything else. I am trying to have this in mind when making all other decisions. I am trying to really be mindful of what we buy and bring into our home as well as trying to clear out what is already here. I struggle with this because I definitely tend to assign personalities to inanimate objects, so parting with some things is really hard and I usually have to look the other way. This is especially true for anything that has served our family, to get rid of it feels so disrespectful. I know Im a crazy lady, but I really do feel guilty about even thinking about how I need a new car that is better for the environment. Our car has served us so well, never breaking down, keeping us comfortable, trecking us safely across country and back many many times. It isnt it's fault it is a gas guzzling car. I feel so guilty about using something up and then just releasing it. Oh God, Im probably going to be some crazy old lady surrounded by all this random stuff I cant part with because I feel too guilty. LOL

So in the interest of needing less here are my priorities, some things we already do, some we are working on, some we will always have to work on:

• Clean out the STUFF!!! I want everything to have a place, and get rid of the concept of "junk drawers" or storage, with the exception of holiday regalia and baby clothes.
• Buy base ingredient foods. Buy rice for rice and rice flour, buy cream for baking and making butter, buy peanuts for snacks and making peanut butter. I want to use less packaging and certainly less preservatives.
• Toy simplification, get rid of the disposable toys (broken, poor quality) Keeping only the toys they play with regularly (stuffed animals, legos, playfood and board games)
• Chemical free living (cleaners, yard, bathing, detergents, garden)
• Downsize clothing collection (way too many clothes that dont fit us)
• Work out our transportation issues for dh. Get a hybrid or E85 vehicle for him.
• Ride our bikes more. If I can get my leg muscles up, I could bike to most places we love to go, however it will require my riding tandom with GM while pulling a bike trailer with ME and GD in it (180 lbs of kids). Sooo, Im working on it.
• Use less electricity!!! Im bad at this, and need to really focus in on it. Improve our passive solar use.
• Use less water!!! We do well with this, but can certainly improve.
• Borrow and trade more, rather than buying. (tools etc..)

There are more, and as Im going through the house today, Im sure I will think of more. That is the point. I want to be mindful of these values, and then really set up priorities to support them.

Slowly I will gather the threads we want and cut loose the ones that are tying us up in knots. It is a long, ongoing process, but one that I really do want to be present within. Im trying...