How do you do it?

I am a mom of four and get asked that quite frequently.  Most commonly I answer, I am not sure, I just do.  Then I will go on to say that life with four little ones seems almost easier than when I had one or two.  Now that sounds like crazy talk.  But I assure you its not.  I am not crazy, although I believe that each day I do struggle with staying on this side of sanity :)  I am more organized and less uptight with four as opposed to two.  I have bigger children to help with littler ones.  Even if the bigger ones aren't "playing" with the little ones, the little ones have someone to watch and parallel play with.

With that said about a week ago I needed the answer to a "how do you do it"?  So I asked two friends of mine, who happen to homeschool, have more children than I do and I look up to greatly.  My how do you do it was on the topic of the dreaded "L" word...LAUNDRY.  I am so bad at it, I have tried so many different ways, two loads a day, different types of laundry each day and the worst system of all, just ignoring the laundry until I have so much I must go to the laundromat and spend almost $40 to complete it all, only to have it piled high in a week or so.  My two friends gave me great advice, actually they gave me the same advice (it could be because they are sisters).  They helped me to realize that my first problem lies in the amount of laundry we produce and then they recommended the once a week "Laundry Day".  I loved the idea.  Mondays are a stay at home day anyway, so why not do all the laundry on that one and be done with it for the next 7 days.

So this is how LAUNDRY is dealt with in our home now:

-If it is not covered in dirt or food and doesn't smell too bad, it is to be worn again.

-Laundry is done one day a week, MONDAY, with the exception of cloth diapers and "wet" things, such as peed in underwear, smelly wet kitchen towels, which are done as needed throughout the week.

-Again I say if it is not really dirty, it is not to be found in the hamper.  And I have been know to scavenge through the hamper for "clean" clothes.  :)

-We now have a LARGE Rubbermaid container in the laundry room, instead of the basket or two that use to be there.  Dirty clothes may be put in the Rubbermaid or in the hamper in the bathroom, wet things go in the small basket that is on top of the Rubbermaid lid.

Before this new laundry plan I was doing about 12-15 loads of laundry a week, plus cloth diapers.  This past Monday I was 6 loads!!  FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK, SIX LOADS!!  YIPPEE!!  I was only consumed by laundry on Monday, not everyday of the week.  I love that the dirty clothes are nicely concealed in a container with a lid, so I do not have to see them all week.   I also love that I can spend less time worrying about laundry and more time doing things that I enjoy with the people that I love.

And the best thing yet, Nick enjoys are new found Laundry plan so much that he has vowed to put all the laundry away.  I wash, dry and fold.  It waits nicely on our bed for him to put it away after dinner.  What an awesome hubby :)

Compacting...7 Months In

As of now we have completed seven whole months of Compacting.  First off let me just get this off my chest...we have slipped here and there :/.  Don't quit reading, PLEASE.  I am trying to not have guilt over the purchases we have made, knowing that there would have been many more if we were not on the COMPACT.  Dang it.  I guess I am just too much of a perfectionist.  I only want to do things if I can do them to the highest of standards, and if I don't I think I have failed, I treat myself as though I have failed.  And in this situation slipping up a few times does not deem me or my family failures in the Compacting department.

We have grown so much due to Compacting, more than I ever could have dreamed and the year isn't nearly over.  We spend more time together, less time shopping and just all in all a lot more mindful of our consumption.  We have been recycling everything we can, buying food and household goods in bulk and have cut our "garbage" down by about half.  We started a garden and have seen the fruits of our labor through the likes of carrots, beans, tomatoes, strawberries, plums and we are still waiting on a bell pepper.  I went from a clothing shop-o-holic to actually not knowing what is "in style".  My kids are wearing hand me down or used clothing store bathing suits this year and they all look cute at the river, can you believe it.  I have been spending a lot less time online, even though Nick thinks I am still addicted.  I have been blogging less and selling less tie dye.  My kids have been enjoying the outdoors and I have been enjoying it with them.

A few months ago I spoke at to my MOPS group about our journey into Compacting, beginning at my insane desire to declutter.  I had such an awesome response, ladies wanted to know more about it and more about natural and simple living in general.

We have begun to pray about and talk about how we are going to handle Christmas.  Honestly, I want to pack my little family of six and go somewhere, escape it all and just focus on Jesus.  However, I think that would be considered running away.  I knew Christmas would one of the hardest parts about Compacting.  I also knew I had all year to figure out how we were going to handle it.  I mean, I am totally comfortable in yelling from the mountaintops that we are Compacting, but when it comes to Christmas (gifts) it affects so many more people than just our little family.  If you know me at all, I hate confrontation.  I hate to tell people things that might not be what they are expecting to hear.  (Thank God for email, hehe)  SO pray for me, for us as we embark on the next stage of Compacting.