An Unfortunate Announcement Concerning The Year of Less blog

We had no idea when we started this year of less how much it would change our hearts and bless our growing family.  More than ever we are committed to downsizing our lives, to be content with less, to give more, and to make greener choices, not just for the sake of the planet, but for the sake of it's people.

We also had no idea how overwhelming it would be.  Sharing your life online is a lot of work.  Every blog post involves so much work, from brainstorming, writing, taking photos, answering comments and emails, not to mention the introspection and emotional work involved in sharing yourself with would-be strangers.  It's hard.  And right now, with so much else going on in our lives, it is too much. 

I've spent the last week realizing that one of my blogs needed to come to an end.  A Unfortunately it is this one.

Our commitment to a simpler life is still going to be reflected in the blog posts on my other blog, The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking.  Many of the posts I had in the works for this blog will be shared over there.  We have no interest in giving up our journey, we just won't be blogging about it here anymore.

Many of you have contacted me to let me know that we have motivated and inspired you in your own journey to a simpler, less stuff-filled life. I am so glad to have encouraged some of you and I hope you will continue in that momentum to let your life reflect your priorities more and more. 

I will soon be closing comments on this blog because I have been receiving a massive amount of spammy and offensive comments, and monitoring to remove them has become quite time consuming.

Thank you so much for those of you who have followed along and left comments of encouragement and support.  

So I guess the task for day 111 of The Year of Less is this: Blogging Less.  Thank you for understanding.

The November & December Challenge: A Buy Nothing Christmas

This monthly challenge is a big one. So big that we're going to spend 2 months on it.  For November and December we are going to gear up for a Buy Nothing Christmas.  Will you join us?

Before you call me a Grinch and run away screaming, please watch this video.


I think we all get a little disillusioned with Christmas sometimes. We know it's not about the stuff.  We know that even if we strip away the gifts and the wrapping paper and the decorations that we can't strip away the meaning and the joy of the season.

But we don't shop as if we believe that, do we?

And so many of us have tried before to have a simpler Christmas, but somehow we get off track and end up giving in to the pressure to give the perfect gift or to have everything just right so that our kids can really soak up the magic of the season.  As if all the right stuff will create that warm fuzzy feeling we get at the end of It's A Wonderful Life.

So this year I am daring us all to rethink Christmas. And to do something that is very radical in our culture: to opt out of the empty,commercialized, stuff-based version of Christmas by choosing not to buy more stuff for people who are already drowning in too much.  To not cheapen our love for other people by giving it in the form of a made-in-china trinket.  To practice an environmentally and socially sustainable Christmas by not buying, giving, and hoping for things we don't need.

The best thing about a Buy Nothing Christmas?  You make the rules. You can choose not to buy anything except the materials for homemade gifts, or choose not to buy any gifts except for second hand items in good repair (it is absolutely okay to give someone a thrifted gift!)  Or to only buy local, or to really truly buy nothing at all except the bare necessities and give all the money you save to the poor. You decide how deep you will dive in.

For our family, this is what our Buy Nothing Christmas will look like:

What we will buy: 

• Materials for homemade gifts. 
• Second hand items for upcycled gifts.
•  Local, natural elements like a live potted Christmas tree (more on that to come). 
• And actual necessities, like food and soap.

What we won't buy:

• Gift wrap.  
• Cards.  
• Christmas gifts. 
• Any new consumer goods that aren't a) actual necessities or b) materials with which to make handmade gifts. 
• Fancy new Christmas outfits for the kids.  
• Baubles/Tinsel/Mugs with little snowflakes on them.  
• Clutter.

I've made a button you can share on your own blog if you are joining in on the challenge.  Just copy and paste the  code below:

<a href="http://theyearofless.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-november-december-challenge-buy.html"target="”_blank”"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHYjNP7t6bXmHyy5fbypfzaEEe43LS6zaJudGLNLVyArU3hQjlzQI1wh-ndRgcbaIaVqLJ9c9VaFowWE5xZtT6kNeuA6UTI6BrQU65yefD2h-bLwcoJVIyZ8vloBikFPg-fmOArGetl1U/s300/buynothingchristmasbanner1.jpg" /></a>

Check out BuyNothingChristmas.org for some ideas on alternative ways to celebrate Christmas. And stay tuned to the blog because I plan to share some ideas for homemade gifts (even if you aren't particularly crafty) and some ways to enjoy a simpler, greener, more intentional Christmas this year.

We are doing one small thing (almost) every day for a year to create a simpler, greener, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!

How was Sermon On the Mount Month?

If you are new here, we do a small monthly challenge every month and October's challenge was to read The Sermon on the Mount every single day.

I confess that I missed a few days,and that there were definitely some days where I was reading it more out of obligation than to really seek the face of an almighty God.  But I was definitely blessed by this challenge.

A few of the days I switched things up by listening to it as an audio file on BibleGateway.com.  That was a nice change and I found that every time I listened to the audio version I would get chills at the very end when the narrator reads the part about how the people were astonished because Jesus taught as one who had authority.  Sometimes I needed to be reminded that the scriptures aren't just nice heavenly advice. 

What struck me over and over again was how much folly there is in my desire to fit in and be normal and look like a super holy soccer mom who has it all together.  God wants so much more for us than that.  God's call on our lives is a radical one.

If you did the challenge, how was it?  What did you learn?  Did you  miss a few days, or give up mid month?  Did God show you something you hadn't noticed before, shake your heart up a little, tenderly lead your life in a new direction?

What's that? You want to know what the November Challenge will be?  Well...normally I announce the monthly challenge a few days early, but I am so excited (and nervous...) about this one that I want to wait until November 1st to announce it.  So you'll have to come back tomorrow to find out what it is!

We are doing one small thing (almost) every day for a year to create a simpler, greener, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!

Day 100: Eight Towels

 The Task:  To have only one bath towel per family member, and give away the rest.

The How:  We kept eight because our sixth baby is due in December and she'll need a towel too.

 Mostly we got rid of baby towels and hooded kids towels and instead kept the more versatile regular bath towels.   The nicest of the extra towels were given away to people expecting babies, a few became rags.

The Verdict: We really don't miss the extra bath towels at all. I'm not sure why we ever had more towels than people.   It's just another example to us of how not intentional we were being about the things we brought into our home. We want to be more mindful of what we need and not hoard things in our home that other people could be using!

And when we have overnight guests we can use beach towels as extras!

In other news:  Today is day 100! For one hundred days now we've been purging, decluttering, simplifying and making greener choices.   We've given away van loads of stuff, everything from knick-knacks and vases to furniture, kitchenwares, toys, books and clothes. Our home is so much more functional, comfortable, organized and easier to keep clean.  But more importantly, we are more content than ever with what we have.  Consistently giving away our possessions has brought us to a place where we can really see the difference between something we need and more clutter.  We almost never need to shop, we aren't looking to the stuff in our home to provide us with a sense of comfort and security and community, and we're spending less and living more!  Hooray!  I am loving this year of less!

We are doing one small thing (almost) every day for a year to create a simpler, greener, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!

13 Reasons to Live with Less

1. Because time is too precious and short to spend it looking for, organizing, sorting, cleaning, buying, desiring and managing our stuff.

2. Because to somebody, we are the Joneses.  Somebody is watching you and I and trying to keep up with our lifestyles.  By living and thriving with less we help to create a new status quo.

3. Because the world simply cannot afford the American dream.

4. Because everything we bring home must eventually be disposed of.

5. Because being the hands and feet of Jesus to a starving world costs something, and having less leaves us with so much more to give.

6. Because nobody has ever found joy by acquiring more trinkets.

7. Because the appropriate response to our own gratitude is generosity.  If we are truly thankful for all that we have, we will give it away.

8. Because wanting to buy as much as we can for as little as we can drives an economy that loves money at the expensive of people.

9. Because all of the most beautiful things in life are simple, often intangible, and almost always nearly free.

10. Because less stuff means more room for people and life. More room for epic board game battles and monster Lego creations and impromptu tickle fights on the living room floor.

11. Because someday somebody we love is going to have to sort through every item we chose to hang on to.

12. Because it becomes increasingly difficult to see the difference between our needs and our wants when we are surrounded by so much more than we need. 

13. Because we have the choice.  And with choice becomes responsibility.  Much of the world cannot choose to live with just enough because they don't have enough to begin with.  We must choose to live simply so that others can simply live.

We are doing one small thing (almost) every day for a year to create a simpler, greener, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!