One of the great minimalist resources is a duo called The Minimalists, and one of their more extreme ideas for jump starting your minimalist life style is to have a packing party. Basically they want you to pack all of your belongings into boxes like you're going to move and then only unpack what you need over a certain period of time, then get rid of everything that gets left in the boxes. You can read all the details here. If I were staying in the same house this idea would seem completely ludicrous to me and beyond inconvenient. But I actually am moving so it may be a great time to try it.
One of the most interesting things I have found about minimalism is how easy and almost exciting it is to get rid of things the more you do it. Even though I have "purged" my home several times, as I prepare for our move I am astounded by the number of things I still want/need to get rid of. Some of this is by necessity, because we don't need to hold onto expired meds and the movers won't pack them anyway. And other things are in perfectly good condition but forgotten and now completely useless. I am actually excited to downsize from our 3 bedroom + office house to a two bedroom condo, because it will force us to be really honest about what we value and what we need in our lives.
The hard part I am having right now is that I am feeling extremely wasteful. So many things are unfortunately ending up in the trash. Vitamins, and cotton balls and old bath toys for example. When our junk is no ones treasure, when it has been offered and no one wants it, to the trash it goes. And my guilt increases. I suppose that this will teach me a valuable lesson about only buying things that I truly need and using all of something before buying its replacement.
So maybe the baby step is just pretending to have a packing party. Instead of packing everything and then only keeping what you need as you unpack, what if you went through your belongings room by room and thought about what you would pack. Would you keep all four bottles of hand soap? What about the extra set of curtains you've had in your linen closet for 6 years. And if you're keeping these items for "just in case" think about when that time is going to come. Are you actually moving to a house where those curtains might fit and you'll magically love them? Or where there are twice as many bathrooms, thus needing all the soap? Its probably not going to happen, and if you're not using it now, you're not going to use it in two months once its travelled across the country and you've forgotten its very existence.
Let go. It actually feels really good. And if you have to throw something away, remember how it makes you feel so you think twice before buying its replacement.
family picture
Monday, August 14, 2017
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Dear Husband
I'm not sure if you will ever see this because you have readily admitted that you don't read my blog. But I will write it none-the-less because our life, and our love, deserves to be documented. I want to remember this time, how I felt and how we were.
We are going through another big transition, after getting married and having a baby this one is the biggest, and I think maybe the scariest for you. The fears you are facing and sacrifices you are making do not go unnoticed. This is what marriage vows are written for, this is the better and worse, the fine line between richer and poorer, we've even had the sickness and health. This is taking a leap of faith and holding onto each other desperately so if we fall at least we will still be together at the bottom.
I want you to know that I am so thankful for everything you have done and everything you are doing. I am so proud of the work you have done, the way you have handled yourself and I am so excited to see where you go next. I have nothing but faith in you. Faith in your determination and work ethic, faith in your love for me and our son, and faith in your drive to do what is best for all of us. Thank you for all the support you continue to give, I hope you feel just as supported and cared for by me.
Theres a whole bunch of not so good stuff too, nagging and stress, irritation and anxiety, incessant questions and disagreements. And I love you through all of them. I love you even though the days and our to-do lists seem so long, and our patience is sometimes a little too short. I love you through the tears, mostly Jacksons and a few of mine. I love you through the hours of paperwork and projects and cleaning. At the end of the day I take such comfort in our unconditional commitment to each other and the fact that we still want to go to bed next to each other.
Cheers to us, my darling, and this wild, beautiful adventure we are on together. I couldn't do it with anyone but you.
All my love,
Your wife
We are going through another big transition, after getting married and having a baby this one is the biggest, and I think maybe the scariest for you. The fears you are facing and sacrifices you are making do not go unnoticed. This is what marriage vows are written for, this is the better and worse, the fine line between richer and poorer, we've even had the sickness and health. This is taking a leap of faith and holding onto each other desperately so if we fall at least we will still be together at the bottom.
I want you to know that I am so thankful for everything you have done and everything you are doing. I am so proud of the work you have done, the way you have handled yourself and I am so excited to see where you go next. I have nothing but faith in you. Faith in your determination and work ethic, faith in your love for me and our son, and faith in your drive to do what is best for all of us. Thank you for all the support you continue to give, I hope you feel just as supported and cared for by me.
Theres a whole bunch of not so good stuff too, nagging and stress, irritation and anxiety, incessant questions and disagreements. And I love you through all of them. I love you even though the days and our to-do lists seem so long, and our patience is sometimes a little too short. I love you through the tears, mostly Jacksons and a few of mine. I love you through the hours of paperwork and projects and cleaning. At the end of the day I take such comfort in our unconditional commitment to each other and the fact that we still want to go to bed next to each other.
Cheers to us, my darling, and this wild, beautiful adventure we are on together. I couldn't do it with anyone but you.
All my love,
Your wife
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The Real Mom's Resume
I am going back to work. Yikes. This means I have had to update my resume, which hasn't been done in about 5 years, double yikes. After begging friends and relatives to send me theirs so I could get some idea of what a professional person was supposed to say about themselves, I came up with one that isn't half bad. But as I was googling "resume adjectives" so that I wasn't just using words like "smart and nice" I started to think about what my resume would look like if I was being my brutally honest, semi-snarky self. Just for fun I thought I'd share.
Mommy Kate Blinn
Objective: Stay-at-home mom desperately seeking an opportunity to have adult conversations and renew my self-worth while adding as little additional stress to my life as possible.
Skills
Multitasking: reading a children's book while cooking dinner and checking Facebook.
Positivity: keeping a child happy and distracted when they have just projectile vomited all over the couch and their father.
Good under pressure: not losing my shit when i've been asked the same question for the 47th time in 12 minutes (don't ask what happens at number 48)
Articulate: able to explain the difference between bras and boobies to a 2 1/2 year old boy with a straight face.
Other skills include; seeming empathetic or interested in ridiculous situations, calming irrational tiny humans under extreme duress, cooking meals that never get finished, and cuddling.
Experience
I used to have real jobs with real responsibilities and I was really good at them. Yet I can't remember exactly what those duties were because I created another life and he took all my brain cells.
So if anyone has a job that could use someone like me i'd really appreciate the opportunity! Also, be prepared for me to talk about my kid a bunch, i'm going to miss the heck out of him.
Objective: Stay-at-home mom desperately seeking an opportunity to have adult conversations and renew my self-worth while adding as little additional stress to my life as possible.
Skills
Multitasking: reading a children's book while cooking dinner and checking Facebook.
Positivity: keeping a child happy and distracted when they have just projectile vomited all over the couch and their father.
Good under pressure: not losing my shit when i've been asked the same question for the 47th time in 12 minutes (don't ask what happens at number 48)
Articulate: able to explain the difference between bras and boobies to a 2 1/2 year old boy with a straight face.
Other skills include; seeming empathetic or interested in ridiculous situations, calming irrational tiny humans under extreme duress, cooking meals that never get finished, and cuddling.
Experience
I used to have real jobs with real responsibilities and I was really good at them. Yet I can't remember exactly what those duties were because I created another life and he took all my brain cells.
So if anyone has a job that could use someone like me i'd really appreciate the opportunity! Also, be prepared for me to talk about my kid a bunch, i'm going to miss the heck out of him.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Starting the "Lasts"
We are roughly 3 months out from our desert departure (yikes!), and the great goodbye tour has started. First we are starting with some of our favorite places, and then unfortunately, as is the way of the Marine Corps we will have to say our farewells to friends. But today we started with the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and Mt. San Jacinto. Its a place we have loved to come to escape the heat of the desert and have visited at least 6 or 7 times with various family members and by ourselves. It's gorgeous, reminds us of Colorado and never fails to renew our love of the outdoors and bring us closer as a family. Today we did about 4.2 miles with about a 500 ft elevation gain, followed by beers and an ice cream. It was cloudy up top, and even sprinkled some rain on us for a few minutes (!) and the visibility into the basin was terrible from heat/smog/smoke. But it was a beautiful day and it will always be a place we hold dear and think of fondly. Bye tram!
Heading up
Top look out
Round Valley meadow
Heading down
Mountain side looking up
Desert below
Friday, June 30, 2017
mommy-ing aint easy
Have you ever had one of those days, as a mom or at work, at school or home, where you just wanted to run screaming from the building and go hide somewhere by yourself for a while? Where your kid, or your boss, teacher or parent won't leave you alone, and you feel like you can't do anything right? At home I would hide in my room or go for a drive, in college I would skip a class, at work I would take a walk or a personal day. But as a mom? You don't have those options.
I've always know I wanted to be a mom and as I got older I hoped I would get the chance to be a stay at home mom for a while. I wanted to be there for all the little things, I wanted to drive kids to school and sports and be there at the end of the day to do pick up and snack and homework. My mom had a job that allowed her to be home with me during the week when I was little and I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my own children. But man, some days I honestly think I am not cut out for this. Which probably isn't what i'm supposed to say, but its the truth.
Don't get me wrong, I of course adore my child, and I wouldn't trade these last two and a half years with him. I have gotten to witness all of his major milestones, I know everything he likes and doesn't like, I know his capabilities, things he needs to work on, his routines, and every single detail of every single day. And some days, even just writing that sentence is exhausting. I would be sad if I didn't know any one of those things, but with those things also comes the tantrums, and the testing of limits, the tears and the 743 requests for tv shows or snacks. There are the days when we don't get to shower or eat a full meal because you have a small child literally attached to you all day having a meltdown every five minutes and needing more attention than you can give.
I'm saying, its ok! Moms are SO hard on themselves sometimes, an unfortunately hard on other moms too. Stop that. We're all doing the best we can and we need support not more judgment, I promise we are already second guessing everything we do.
So here's to you momma. The mom who hasn't showered or put on a bra. The mom who fed her kid packaged food all day because they refused anything else. Heres to the mom who left the tv on all day, or who hid in the bathroom a little too long. To the mom who called her friends and dragged the kids to the park so she could half ignore them while she had an adult conversation. Heres to the moms that have it all together, wearing make up and clean clothes and eating organic everything. And heres to the moms who haven't brushed their teeth. Here's to the fun moms and the neurotic moms, the anxious moms, and the moms who feel like they're failing. You are all beautiful, powerful, incredible women. You're doing the best you can for your kid and I promise, they love you for it.
I've always know I wanted to be a mom and as I got older I hoped I would get the chance to be a stay at home mom for a while. I wanted to be there for all the little things, I wanted to drive kids to school and sports and be there at the end of the day to do pick up and snack and homework. My mom had a job that allowed her to be home with me during the week when I was little and I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my own children. But man, some days I honestly think I am not cut out for this. Which probably isn't what i'm supposed to say, but its the truth.
Don't get me wrong, I of course adore my child, and I wouldn't trade these last two and a half years with him. I have gotten to witness all of his major milestones, I know everything he likes and doesn't like, I know his capabilities, things he needs to work on, his routines, and every single detail of every single day. And some days, even just writing that sentence is exhausting. I would be sad if I didn't know any one of those things, but with those things also comes the tantrums, and the testing of limits, the tears and the 743 requests for tv shows or snacks. There are the days when we don't get to shower or eat a full meal because you have a small child literally attached to you all day having a meltdown every five minutes and needing more attention than you can give.
I'm saying, its ok! Moms are SO hard on themselves sometimes, an unfortunately hard on other moms too. Stop that. We're all doing the best we can and we need support not more judgment, I promise we are already second guessing everything we do.
So here's to you momma. The mom who hasn't showered or put on a bra. The mom who fed her kid packaged food all day because they refused anything else. Heres to the mom who left the tv on all day, or who hid in the bathroom a little too long. To the mom who called her friends and dragged the kids to the park so she could half ignore them while she had an adult conversation. Heres to the moms that have it all together, wearing make up and clean clothes and eating organic everything. And heres to the moms who haven't brushed their teeth. Here's to the fun moms and the neurotic moms, the anxious moms, and the moms who feel like they're failing. You are all beautiful, powerful, incredible women. You're doing the best you can for your kid and I promise, they love you for it.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Minimal-ish: Getting Started
I got started on my road to minimalism for lots of different reasons, the biggest were my overall feeling of clutter, chaos, and dissatisfaction with my house. It's been a slow process over the last year or so, and I honestly didn't know what minimalism was when I started. I started trying to create more organized areas in my house, and doing more organized things in my life; creating a "command center" meal planning and keeping track of activities on a big wall calendar. But none of it made a huge difference, probably because I was just moving stuff around instead of doing what I really needed to, which was getting rid of stuff! Around the same time my friend mentioned minimalism to me, and a light bulb went off. I started researching, and following lots of different blogs and Facebook pages, I pinterested the crap out of various organization guides, and finally I dug in.
I went room by room and started purging. I found a 6 week calendar that gave me an accessible way to tackle the challenge of decluttering my house. This first sweep through each room was so motivating and invigorating! Who would have thought getting rid of stuff could be so awesome! The kitchen/panty was where I saw the biggest difference right away. My shelves and drawers were so much cleaner. I could see everything I needed and used on a regular basis and so much of the clutter was gone. I have done a second and third purge of almost every area in my house since that first time, and now i'm realizing how easy it is for me to see something, recognize that I haven't used it in months and let it go.
After I went through the initial purge, that friend, Camille (The Burley Tribe) told me about a documentary by The Minimalists that took my views on minimalism one step further. It made me think about all the things we buy, and all the things we throw away, and how little we think about those actions. It made me realize that very few of my physical possessions bring me any real or lasting happiness, and that I should take that knowledge and live my life accordingly. Its an incredible documentary and I highly recommend it!
So now where am I? I hit a wall recently where a lot of my motivation seemed to have left me. I was feeling slightly defeated because I still thought the house was so full, and we still seemed to be spending money on things I wasn't sure were bringing us happiness. And so I didn't think about it for a while. Then magically, my husband cleared out a huge bag of his clothes, and somehow that restored my inspiration. Also for the first time, I didn't go back through his clothes and try to convince him to keep things (a huge downfall for us). And then I went through some of my clothes, and tried things on and was honest with myself about what I actually liked, and what I was keeping "just in case" or because I thought it held monetary value. But the thing I like so much about minimalism is finding that value of things that aren't actually things. Finding the time and the space and the energy that I have because i'm not cleaning or organizing or fighting with the clutter of things that aren't actually making me happy.
Sometimes minimalism can seem confining almost, that I cannot be a minimalist because I don't fit into a certain mold with bare rooms and a certain small number of possessions. One of the things The Minimalists say is that "minimalism looks different for everyone" and I'm finding that to be true. Really i'm more in search of simplicity than minimalism, or authenticity; authentic simplicity. Trying to find real happiness and joy and purpose in my life and I know that I won't find it in any of my things, but in the people and experiences I allow myself to see and have when I clear out the clutter.
I went room by room and started purging. I found a 6 week calendar that gave me an accessible way to tackle the challenge of decluttering my house. This first sweep through each room was so motivating and invigorating! Who would have thought getting rid of stuff could be so awesome! The kitchen/panty was where I saw the biggest difference right away. My shelves and drawers were so much cleaner. I could see everything I needed and used on a regular basis and so much of the clutter was gone. I have done a second and third purge of almost every area in my house since that first time, and now i'm realizing how easy it is for me to see something, recognize that I haven't used it in months and let it go.
After I went through the initial purge, that friend, Camille (The Burley Tribe) told me about a documentary by The Minimalists that took my views on minimalism one step further. It made me think about all the things we buy, and all the things we throw away, and how little we think about those actions. It made me realize that very few of my physical possessions bring me any real or lasting happiness, and that I should take that knowledge and live my life accordingly. Its an incredible documentary and I highly recommend it!
So now where am I? I hit a wall recently where a lot of my motivation seemed to have left me. I was feeling slightly defeated because I still thought the house was so full, and we still seemed to be spending money on things I wasn't sure were bringing us happiness. And so I didn't think about it for a while. Then magically, my husband cleared out a huge bag of his clothes, and somehow that restored my inspiration. Also for the first time, I didn't go back through his clothes and try to convince him to keep things (a huge downfall for us). And then I went through some of my clothes, and tried things on and was honest with myself about what I actually liked, and what I was keeping "just in case" or because I thought it held monetary value. But the thing I like so much about minimalism is finding that value of things that aren't actually things. Finding the time and the space and the energy that I have because i'm not cleaning or organizing or fighting with the clutter of things that aren't actually making me happy.
Sometimes minimalism can seem confining almost, that I cannot be a minimalist because I don't fit into a certain mold with bare rooms and a certain small number of possessions. One of the things The Minimalists say is that "minimalism looks different for everyone" and I'm finding that to be true. Really i'm more in search of simplicity than minimalism, or authenticity; authentic simplicity. Trying to find real happiness and joy and purpose in my life and I know that I won't find it in any of my things, but in the people and experiences I allow myself to see and have when I clear out the clutter.
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Resolutions: 6 months later
I set some big goals for myself and our family at the beginning of the year (which I talked about in my first post back to the blog). I wanted to check in, with myself mostly, about where I was with the goals I had set and how I feel the year is going. Its crazy that it's June already and in about 4 months we will be heading home! June also marks Jackson's half birthday, which is kind of a big deal when they're so little. He seems like a totally different person than 6 months ago! Mostly I feel pretty good about where I am with my goals for the year, but i've still got room for improvement.
Goal: Camper and spending more time outside as a family: Done and Done! Bu this one is definitely something that will be continued. It will especially take work now that summer has arrived and its looking like 100 degree days are the indefinite future. We took an amazing trip for mothers day and have one planned for fathers day weekend as well! There will be a blog post about our camping trips soon. The camper has given us so much as a family, and I seriously treasure the time we get to spend in it together.
Goal: Reducing plastic use: I did a whole post about this and what we changed. While we have made some big changes, I see us slipping a bit for the sake of convenience, and I would like to buckle down a little more. I'd also like to find some other ways we can be nicer to the environment. Oh! I just ordered wool dryer balls to replace dryer sheets! I'm probably way more excited than I need to be about them, but i'm hoping they work great. (more suggestions welcome!)
Goal: Health and Fitness: Ehhh. I set a few goals for myself this year and i've stuck with some of them. I completed a huge run that was on my bucket list and it felt so great. However, I hurt my knee a little while crushing that goal and so my running has taken a huge nosedive. Getting back into yoga was another one of my goals for the year and while I've done it more, it hasn't been enough. My new June goal is to do yoga at least twice a week, and also run twice a week. Starting small so I don't set myself up for failure!
Goal: Minimalism: We're getting there! This is one of those things that takes a lot of thought and effort, and lets be honest its not always the most fun. I think a little of my enthusiasm for minimizing our things has subsided since my initial push and house purge. But i'm slowly working my way back to find a groove. Once you've purged your house of the easy stuff, it gets hard to keep going. But our impending move is helping me get back on track. Its also a mental game you have to play with yourself...more on this in a separate post soon.
There are a few other little goals, some I can easily track the progress and some I cannot. I am constantly working on my marriage, my parenting, my relationships with family and friends, our finances, and planning for the future. I have off days and weeks, but i'm proud of my overall progress and the changes we've made as a family. Its also good to see what still needs work and where my energy needs to be focused. What goals are you working on?
Goal: Camper and spending more time outside as a family: Done and Done! Bu this one is definitely something that will be continued. It will especially take work now that summer has arrived and its looking like 100 degree days are the indefinite future. We took an amazing trip for mothers day and have one planned for fathers day weekend as well! There will be a blog post about our camping trips soon. The camper has given us so much as a family, and I seriously treasure the time we get to spend in it together.
Goal: Reducing plastic use: I did a whole post about this and what we changed. While we have made some big changes, I see us slipping a bit for the sake of convenience, and I would like to buckle down a little more. I'd also like to find some other ways we can be nicer to the environment. Oh! I just ordered wool dryer balls to replace dryer sheets! I'm probably way more excited than I need to be about them, but i'm hoping they work great. (more suggestions welcome!)
Goal: Health and Fitness: Ehhh. I set a few goals for myself this year and i've stuck with some of them. I completed a huge run that was on my bucket list and it felt so great. However, I hurt my knee a little while crushing that goal and so my running has taken a huge nosedive. Getting back into yoga was another one of my goals for the year and while I've done it more, it hasn't been enough. My new June goal is to do yoga at least twice a week, and also run twice a week. Starting small so I don't set myself up for failure!
Goal: Minimalism: We're getting there! This is one of those things that takes a lot of thought and effort, and lets be honest its not always the most fun. I think a little of my enthusiasm for minimizing our things has subsided since my initial push and house purge. But i'm slowly working my way back to find a groove. Once you've purged your house of the easy stuff, it gets hard to keep going. But our impending move is helping me get back on track. Its also a mental game you have to play with yourself...more on this in a separate post soon.
There are a few other little goals, some I can easily track the progress and some I cannot. I am constantly working on my marriage, my parenting, my relationships with family and friends, our finances, and planning for the future. I have off days and weeks, but i'm proud of my overall progress and the changes we've made as a family. Its also good to see what still needs work and where my energy needs to be focused. What goals are you working on?
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