What do you think of when you hear the term simple living?
A quiet and calm home with few possessions?
Sounds great. But it’s hardly a reality for anyone with a family.
Even if you’re able to keep the possessions to a minimum, the simple and quiet can be a bit of a challenge.
Can you live a simple life and still be a parent?
Yes.
Simple living is not about sitting quietly reading a book on fen shui while sipping herbal tea.
Simple living is about choosing to not work your life away in exchange for expensive material goods. It’s about cooking healthy meals from scratch, even if prepackaged foods would seem simpler. It’s about volunteering for your community, even if that means taking on responsibilities that can complicate your life.
It’s about letting kids have unscheduled downtime, which can be loud and messy.
Because we’re frugal, we’re able to work less and have time to do these things that make our lives rich.
So when you come to my house and see that my kitchen is less than perfectly tidy, it’s because I’m actually cooking from scratch. And if you happen to notice that people come and go off our porch picking up soccer equipment, it’s because my husband volunteers as the equipment manager for our soccer league.
Yes. We are living the simple life. But it’s loud, messy and complicated.
Which is just how we want it to be.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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I’m glad I’m not the only one for whom living simply doesn’t really look like simply living. 🙂
Yes, yes and yes again.