“To live content with small means: to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common–this is my symphony.”
Showing posts with label simplicity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simplicity. Show all posts
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Backyard Living: Curing Olives
Living in Southern California has opened up a new world to us agriculturally. Barry and I both grew up in families who gardened, but neither of us have ever lived in a place with such abundant food growing everywhere! One crop that grows here and is ignored a lot of the time is the olive tree. My friend Nellie and I went olive picking at a church member's home last fall and we are now reaping the results.
The following method is one that I decided on after doing lots of internet research. There are many other ways to do it, but we decided on the following because it was less complicated.
After picking the olives, you wash and dry them.
Then you make 1 or 2 cuts in the flesh of each olive so that the bitter acid will leech out. This takes a bit of time but with more than one person helping, it can go pretty fast.
Next you place them in a salt brine (about 1/4 cup salt per quart) and let them soak, and soak, and soak. A large glass container or several quart jars works best for this. (Note: do NOT soak them in stainless steel. We tried this and discovered that, if pressed against the metal for an extended period of time, the acid in the olives would actually begin to eat away at the metal.) The salt water should be changed every 4-7 days depending on the amount of salt you used.
After about 2 months of soaking (although it can be longer or shorter depending on the size), the olives should be quite edible! Taste one and see what you think. If they are still somewhat bitter, soak them for 1-2 more weeks. If they are too salty, place them in clean water (no salt) to draw out the sodium.
You can then season them with things such as garlic cloves, lemon slices, and bay leaves. Place them in a quart jar with a lightly salted brine and the seasonings. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on top to seal. They can then be kept for up to a year (if they last that long!)
To tell the truth, this post is not just about olives. It's about being creative with what you have on hand, instead of spending money in order to satisfy every need or desire that crops up. It doesn't have to be olives or persimmons. For you, it may mean saving and reusing the fabric from old clothing, or making a commitment to avoid food waste. Whatever it may be for you, be assured that it makes a difference!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Clutter
I read recently in an article (I think from Runners World) that there are two reasons we clutter our life with things. The first is by preparing for the future - keeping all sorts of things because we think we might need it someday! The second way is for remembering the past - keeping all the sentimental mementos from our yesteryears. If overdone, both detract from the present.
Over Christmas break one of my jobs at home was to go through quite a few boxes of my stuff. When Barry and I moved to California, we only brought a limited amount of our belongings. For me, a lot of stuff got left at my parent's place. But I began to wonder, if it wasn't important enough for me to bring to California, did I really need it in the first place?
I come from long line of savers. My Dad and Grampie fit the futuristic saver prototype. They keep all sorts of things for that day far in the future when they just might need it. My Mom and Grammie are more of the past saver types. (But I must note that they both have been doing a LOT of sorting and decluttering lately! I'm so proud of them!)
As I sorted through my belongings, I came to realize that I was definitely a saver. Maybe not an extreme one, but at least a mild one. For remembering the past, I have a whole tub full of small notes, letters, and mementos from my highschool days. Birthday cards, mission trip DVDs... They all got tossed into that tub. As far as saving for the future goes, I have a trunk full of little dresses, my favorite doll and all her handmade clothes that my great grandmother (or was it my great, great grandmother??) made, and other things of such nature that I am saving for when I have my own home and family someday.
As I created piles for the thrift shop, I mulled over clutter, possessions, and STUFF. What should guide my future decisions in regards to how much to keep and how much to pitch?
Barry and I have already made some decisions about how much we want to have. We had to start thinking about it a long time ago when people were wanting to know what we wanted for wedding gifts. Basically it boils down to this: we want to live simply, and in order to live simply, sometimes you have to make what seems to others as drastic choices. One of those, for us, is stuff. We have decided that we want quality essentials and not much more. In fact, we've already commented that we feel like we're getting too much stuff. On my to-do list is the task of going through our two closet/cupboard storage areas and deciding what we don't need. If we don't start now, things will start to build up quickly!
But I also think there is a time and place for the remembering and saving for the future. The trick is just to not let things get excessive. Save what is is MOST important, and have firm guidelines as to what makes the cut to be in that category. For instance, I have gotten rid of almost all of my beloved stuffed animals and childhood memorabilia. However, there are 3 that I have kept. These items will be passed on to my own children someday. And I have future plans to go through my box of memories from highschool and weed out everything but the MOST special and MOST important. I think I'll be able to reduce it from a tub full to at least a small pile.
I'm sure there are more lessons to be learned about clutter. I didn't even mention the clutter that we schedule into our lives each day or the clutter that exists in our minds. But those are for another day. I have a closet to sort through!
What about you? What are your guidelines for reducing clutter?
Over Christmas break one of my jobs at home was to go through quite a few boxes of my stuff. When Barry and I moved to California, we only brought a limited amount of our belongings. For me, a lot of stuff got left at my parent's place. But I began to wonder, if it wasn't important enough for me to bring to California, did I really need it in the first place?
I come from long line of savers. My Dad and Grampie fit the futuristic saver prototype. They keep all sorts of things for that day far in the future when they just might need it. My Mom and Grammie are more of the past saver types. (But I must note that they both have been doing a LOT of sorting and decluttering lately! I'm so proud of them!)
As I sorted through my belongings, I came to realize that I was definitely a saver. Maybe not an extreme one, but at least a mild one. For remembering the past, I have a whole tub full of small notes, letters, and mementos from my highschool days. Birthday cards, mission trip DVDs... They all got tossed into that tub. As far as saving for the future goes, I have a trunk full of little dresses, my favorite doll and all her handmade clothes that my great grandmother (or was it my great, great grandmother??) made, and other things of such nature that I am saving for when I have my own home and family someday.
As I created piles for the thrift shop, I mulled over clutter, possessions, and STUFF. What should guide my future decisions in regards to how much to keep and how much to pitch?
Barry and I have already made some decisions about how much we want to have. We had to start thinking about it a long time ago when people were wanting to know what we wanted for wedding gifts. Basically it boils down to this: we want to live simply, and in order to live simply, sometimes you have to make what seems to others as drastic choices. One of those, for us, is stuff. We have decided that we want quality essentials and not much more. In fact, we've already commented that we feel like we're getting too much stuff. On my to-do list is the task of going through our two closet/cupboard storage areas and deciding what we don't need. If we don't start now, things will start to build up quickly!
But I also think there is a time and place for the remembering and saving for the future. The trick is just to not let things get excessive. Save what is is MOST important, and have firm guidelines as to what makes the cut to be in that category. For instance, I have gotten rid of almost all of my beloved stuffed animals and childhood memorabilia. However, there are 3 that I have kept. These items will be passed on to my own children someday. And I have future plans to go through my box of memories from highschool and weed out everything but the MOST special and MOST important. I think I'll be able to reduce it from a tub full to at least a small pile.
I'm sure there are more lessons to be learned about clutter. I didn't even mention the clutter that we schedule into our lives each day or the clutter that exists in our minds. But those are for another day. I have a closet to sort through!
What about you? What are your guidelines for reducing clutter?
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