FERMENTING CABBAGE TO MAKE SAUERKRAUT

By now, you’ve probably heard about the benefits of probiotic fermentation. It’s a new food “trend” with ancient roots. It refers to a traditional way of preserving food without canning or freezing.

Sauerkraut (German word for sour cabbage) is one of those delicious fermented foods that you can make for yourself in fair-sized quantities. Sure, you would need to do some foot (and hand) work to prepare this healthy food but the results should be well worth the effort.

Now, I’ve been reminded a lot that people, in general, either really like or are completely disgusted with sauerkraut. Beyond that, cabbage, however it's served up, is cheap, healthy, and available almost any time during the year. And in my opinion, that makes cabbage just about a miracle food. And, for people who like sauerkraut, having a couple of gallons of the stuff in the refrigerator is always a real plus.

And almost all the recipes for this food are simple and have the same few ingredients – salt, cabbage and water.  And that's about as minimalist as any recipe can be. There are, of course, a number of possible additions to the basic recipe and personal experimentation is the best way to go.

I’m including a sauerkraut recipe that I’ve used. Actually, it was a friend's recipe. (Thank you, Beth Ann.) She and her husband visited us for a few days, and this was my motivation for getting all this done. It’s very basic recipe but can be endlessly elaborated on.

Everything in the jar and weighted down. Then, the wait begins.

You’ll need a large fermentation crock or glass jar. Sauerkraut can be started up in just a couple of hours. Chopping is the biggest task. 

If you like sauerkraut with a crunch, you could eat it straight from the jar after about two weeks.
Otherwise, you can taste it from time to time, after the first two weeks, to see when it gets the flavor that you are looking for. You'll find it's in its most traditional form and flavor - salty, pungent and acidic - after settling in for a month or so. And it's so much better than the canned stuff.

Sauerkraut recipe

2 large heads of cabbage

2 large onions

6 garlic cloves

salt (any kind but natural sea salt is best)

filtered water

2 large carrots (optional)

1 teaspoon caraway seeds, celery seeds, or dill weed (optional)

How-to
Cut finely or shred the vegetables into a big pot. Put in an inch or two of veggies into the crock or large glass jar and add a teaspoon of salt, sprinkling it around. Then put in another layer. Add salt and so forth until all the veggies are covered. Add enough filtered water to cover the veggies. Stir the mixture to make sure the salt is evenly spread throughout. 

Press down on the veggies with a small plate and some weighted object (could be a stone) and check every few hours to see that the cabbage water level is above the cabbage. Cover with a cloth to keep out flies and dust. Let stand for two days in an area that is neither hot nor cold. Then refrigerate for a week and taste the product. If it’s tasty enough at that tine, go ahead and start eating it. Or wait a few more days or another week. This fermented food lasts for a month or so in the refrigerator. The longer it sits, the stronger the flavor. 

Hint: A favorite combo in my family is sauerkraut and mashed potatoes with cornbread and pinto beans.

JOYS OF AN EDITED & ORGANIZED CLOSET

I remember a time - not so long ago - when shopping for clothes meant going downtown or to the mall with any excuse of "needing" some clothing item, or having no excuse at all. It involved hours of endeavor - all morning or afternoon - going in and out of stores, trying on clothes. And often as not leaving the stores with several items, even though I’d gone there looking for something in particular.

 

Ah, and those were also the days when our credit cards had room for a few more purchases – not minding the ever-growing balance of debt that accumulated. Shopping was supposed to be sheer pleasure. On that basis, we bought a lot of stuff. Our closets overflowed.

Today, things have changed for many of us. Shopping for clothes isn’t at all what it was.  We’ve rejected crass consumerism. We'd feel embarrassed to flaunt our exit from the stores carrying so many bags. We also know that we should carry a personal, reusable shopping bag, or at the very least, leave the stores with as few disposable bags - paper over plastic - as possible. 

 

Also, of late we’ve embraced the concept of minimalism – for the home and for the closet. We no longer like to see our closets spilling over with outfits. We’ve found that some well chosen clothes – maybe just 20 or 30 items often work very well. And we allow ourselves something new only when we’re willing to give away a corresponding item. 

My winter wardrobe of 25 ítems

 

Closet minimalism is a good way to go. I recommend it. And why worry about limited closet space when what you really need takes up just a small space? If you like the idea, start editing your closet right away. It’s easier than you might think.

 

Start editing

Take all your clothes out of the closet and inventory them. You'll see that you have more clothes than you thought. There are probably several items that you used to love, but have gotten shoved to the back of the clothes rack. Some clothes no longer fit, others show wear, and some need zippers or buttons.

To begin your inventory, make five piles of clothes on the bed or floor.

The first pile is for “keepers” - those that fit and that you absolutely love and wear at least once a month.  

The second pile is for those things that fit but require dry cleaning or some minor repair. If you plan to keep them, take care of these needs right away.

The third pile is separated out for donation, selling or giving away. It includes clothes that no longer fit, are out-dated, or those you just don’t like anymore.

Pile four is made up of torn or stained clothes that nobody is likely to want. (I never recommend throwing out clothes. You can wear them around the house or to bed, or cut them into rags (for cleaning or craft projects.)

Pile five is for seasonal clothes or exceptionally good special occasion outfits. Store them in a box or clothing bag elsewhere in the house. You’ll get them out when you need them.



 All the shoes in my winter closet. (Boots are in boxes.)

Hang the "keeper" clothes back in your closet by groups of items -- such as coats, outer wear, dresses, skirts, blouses, dress pants, exercise wear -- or in some other order that makes sense to you. You may also need to sort through and edit the rest of your clothes - underwear, shoes, and accessories - before returning them to their places. 

Then, if you think that you still have too many "keeper" clothes, here are some further editing options.

Extreme wardrobe reductionism.  

You can further reduce your need for closet space and stop wasting time wondering what to wear. Do this by simplifying your clothing needs to 6, 8, or 10 well-coordinated outfits. Keep clothes that are simple in design and of the same color scheme, so you can mix and match.  Since you are going to have fewer items, you want to choose totally comfortable items.  Get rid of the rest. You never again have to dig deep in your closet to see if there’s stuff in there that you want to wear.

You won’t need many items at all, if you adopt a personal uniform style – everything is usable, by definition. Your uniform should be one of your choosing – a look that represents your inner self or, at least, that part of yourself you want to share with the outside world. Eliminate absolutely everything else. For example, there are women who always wear a suit to work. They have 4 or 5 suits that are simple in style and neutral in color. The individual pieces of the suits can be mixed and matched to create their entire professional wardrobe. Another sort of uniform, for women who are homemakers or casual-dress workers, would be 3 pairs of khaki pants (or nice jeans) and 5 blouses or shirts in similar style but varying colors. This kind of uniform can be worn year-round. 

Don't accumulate useless stuff again
Regardless of your editing criteria, once you've reduced your wardrobe, don’t allow yourself to accumulate a lot of stuff again. Remember, your best wardrobe is one that is full of clothes that you love and wear often.

When you decide that you really need to shop, don't buy several items, when you only need one. Also, think about alternatives to going downtown or to the mall. You don’t have to buy new clothes. Nice, gently used clothes are easily found. Visit yard sales. Go to thrift shops or vintage stores. You’ll probably find something that you like at a great price.

 
Check your closets and drawers every few weeks to see if they are still in the best possible order. You’ll find that your edited and organized closet will be a long-term source of personal satisfaction and confidence.

Note
Due to "popular request" and to my compulsive need to document most everything, here is a list of the 25 clothing items and shoes in my winter wardrobe. Gym/yoga clothes and at home grunges are not included.

2 black skirts/different textures
1 blue jean skirt
1 dress pants/black
2 blue jeans
1 "dressy" dress - LBD
2 cardigans/black & grey
2 pullovers/grey & black
3 jackets/black zip-up, black snap-up & blue jean
1 blazer (still need to buy)
1 parka/black
1 trench coat/medium blue
1 hooded sweat shirt/dark grey
4 short sleeve shirts/assorted colors
3-3/4 sleeve shirts/assorted colors

2 tennis/walking and running
2 heels/ closed with tie and closed with strap
2 boots/hiking and snow
flats with straps
chunky pull-on flats (still need to buy)

Related posts. http://grandmasusansalmanac.blogspot.com/2012/09/things-to-downsize-right-away-case-1.html http://grandmasusansalmanac.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-consumerism-still-tries-to-fool-us.html

CHOOSING TEA OVER COFFEE: ONE HUMBLE EXAMPLE OF VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY.

When, a few months ago, my husband and I began to discuss voluntary simplicity, we knew we had a lot of not-so-comfortable decisions to make. This adventure was one that I had been slowly making over the past few years and it was one that I, personally, wholly embraced.  So, when we recently decided to challenge ourselves in new simple ways, we should have known that it was to be a long, strung out adventure, loaded with starts and fits. Unlearning so many things and relearning others is not for the feint-hearted. And, as many posts in this blog attest to, I've had more than a few stumbling efforts toward a more simple life. Yet, yearning for less stress in our lives and more time to enjoy simple pleasures, we continue to travel the rocky road.

Tea gets us off to a good start in the morning.

Luckily, all is going well – so far - and we don’t, even a bit, regret our dedication to a more simple lifestyle. It's the road that allows us to celebrate the joys of gratefulness and appreciation for the NOW of life. So here’s an example of another one of those "everyday" simple choices: we parted from the commonly held belief that coffee is an essential part of a healthy/enjoyable breakfast. And, yes, we were ardent coffee drinkers in the a.m. On the other hand, we tended to drink tea later in the day. 

Beyond that, concern for our health was nudging us to buy better quality products and organic foods, whenever possible. But, what with high food costs, we didn’t have a budget large enough for both good coffee and good tea. As a result, we had been drinking very regular to poor quality tea and coffee. It finally dawned on us that drinking just one of those beverages and eliminating the other was the answer. A quick review of online reports helped us see that tea was the healthier product. We were also aware that tea was a more earth-friendly option as compared to coffee. For example, one source points out that a mug of coffee takes about four times more water in its production than does a mug of tea. (Of course, plain water is a very healthy choice and, by far, the greenest possible beverage. But water, for most of us, doesn't offer the pick-me-up power that coffee and tea do.) 

So, here I’m sharing what I consider to be some more advantages of tea over coffee and why it's our simple choice. 

First, of all, tea has high levels of potent antioxidants and is helpful in preventing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Arguably, coffee has some of these benefits but studies conclude that it has much less than tea. And tea is more relaxing and useful in lowering stress levels while coffee tends to speed up the mind, often adding to stress.

Second, regular tea drinking helps reduce cholesterol levels, relaxing blood vessels and impeding the formation of blood clots. Studies show that drinking three or more cups of tea each day reduce the risk of stroke by more than 20%.

Furthermore, tea tends to be more hydrating to the body than coffee. And tea, relative to coffee, is better for your teeth. Coffee is notorious for discoloration in teeth, while tea is to a lesser extent. Tea even helps prevent of cavities as a result of its powerful antioxidants and serves to fight off many kinds of bacterial and fungal infections.

So, to follow this up, I'll make a plea for organic tea over the non-organic type. It turns out that the huge tea plantations, common in Asia and elsewhere, are among the most environmentally devastating crops. That’s because the chemicals – industrial fertilizers and pesticides - applied to these farms damage the local ecosystem and run down the mountains and to pollute other farmland, rivers and finally to faraway oceans.

The choice of organic teas favors small farmers and small farms over agribusiness. Small farms, often have natural grasses and weeds as ground cover, work better in harmony with nature to manage various pests and usually do not grow tea as a monoculture. In the long-term, industrial fertilizers deplete the soil, making it more difficult for the tea plants to grow without stronger chemicals. This kind of chemical dependence becomes a vicious cycle that harms the tea plants, the farm workers, and the environment.

Finally, as you might imagine, organic tea is better for you because there are remnants of all those chemicals that stay in the leaf structure after processing. And those will be ingested - by you and your family - after the tea is boiled up for drinking.  Some of the negative side effects that people feel from drinking too much tea (such as jitters and sleeplessness) may not be a direct result of the caffeine in tea, but from the chemicals used in conventional tea production.

As you have probably read elsewhere, not all teas - - black, white, green, etc. - are created equal. My husband and I choose green tea, almost exclusively as our daily pick-up beverage. We’ve made the choice of green tea, rather than two or three different types of tea, because we believe it's healthier  - and, again, mostly for simplicity reasons. We also buy bulk tea, thus avoiding higher costs than the small individual envelops and, with less packaging, is the greener option. We enjoy a cup of coffee only when we go out. It tends to make coffee-drinking something special, a treat to be savored, rather than a regular habit. 

 

Here's a parting word to the wise - keep your tea drinking cool. Repeatedly drinking of very hot beverages increases the risk of esophageal cancer. So, let your tea cool off for several minutes before sipping.

And, now, all this midmorning writing is making me thirsty. So, I’m off to brew up a batch of the good stuff — and enjoy what, today, will make my third cup of tea.

TOP SHEETS BEGONE: A ZERO-ENERGY WIN/WIN

You know you really don't need them. And, despite the fact that your mom and grandma used them... and even though sets come with them, that doesn’t mean you have to use them. It's a European custom that's time has come. SO, OUT WITH THE TOP SHEETS. You can sleep just as well or better without them. And it can save on energy, too.

Beds in several European countries - if not all - have a duvet, a bottom sheet, but no top sheet. While the European duvet, is a bit thicker and warmer than a top sheet, it’s still usable most of the year. And, it's about the same as making a bed with a spread, light blanket or comforter. So, unless the bedroom is around 90 degrees in summer, a spread or light blanket - preferably cotton or bamboo - or a lightweight comforter is what's called for, anyway.

I know I always need a light blanket because my husband insists on air conditioning in the night. He sweats a lot, even in a room that I find comfortably cool - or cool enough - and says the sweat wakes him up. Anyway, the top sheet almost always could be found kicked down to the very bottom of the mattress or slid totally off the bed - all this making for more clutter and confusion in the early morning.

 

Beyond that, my husband is an above-the-sheets and on-top-of-covers sleeper. He’s that way both summer and winter. As for me, I do my best to stay covered up all night but often find myself half awake, tugging to get back some control of my bed real estate. That’s because my husband, free from all bedclothes restrictions and sleeping soundly, usually traps me in a small space on my side of the bed and with almost all the bed linen pulled under his body. So, sans top sheet, I may still have to contend energetically for bed space and cover but, at least, there’s one thing less to fight over.



Beds without top sheets look just as good.

My awakening to this brighter future happened – in a flash - this past week when I ripped off the top sheet and made the bed without it.  Before, it was a real chore and I did it grudgingly.  I find it easier to make the bed and it looks just as good in less than half the time. Now, I've sworn to always make the bed this way.

So, I've just revived this clutter-busting custom that I did years ago when I lived alone. That leaves me with one less chore in the morning. It's ever so much easier to throw a light comforter or spread over the bed than to actually make it - top sheet and all.

And having less total sheets means more room in my closet. And I do appreciate the extra space. That, since I don't actually have a linen closet but make do with a couple of plastic bins in the master closet. So, I’ve cheerfully given my top sheets to the thrift store to be recycled by someone – who still likes top sheets or even better yet wants to make bottom, fitted sheets out of them or convert them into curtains.

Also, without the added top sheet, more dirty clothes fit into the washer along with the coverlet and pillowcases. And that means water and detergent savings. It also means that you have one item less to fold up before storing it somewhere.

The top-sheet disappearance is a part of my zero-energy campaign – that being, both using less outside energy and also less housekeeping energy. So, to me, at least, living without top sheets is a definite win/win.

 

Knit up some lacy curtains for a seasonal look that’s always in style

Before the days of full house heating and air conditioning, it was the custom to put down thick carpets and hang heavy drapes on the floors for winter and then to lighten up in spring and summer with lacy curtain panels and colorful throw rugs. Well, Grandma Susan still recommends that practice. Window opening, at least from time to time, continues to be a good idea, helping to get rid of stale house odors and reminding us of the need to wash windows.  And seasonal window dressing is fun. So, how about lightening up in spring and summer with some lacy curtains? Here’s the pattern for lacy curtain panels that I’m knitting right now to cover up the bottom half of the two small windows in my bedroom.



Lacy panel curtains add charm to any room.

 If you’re like me, you don’t want heavy drapes hanging in the windows in your bedroom (and other areas, too) in spring and summertime. My Mom, Dad, sister and I lived with my grandparents for several years when I was small. It was then that I first remember watching the almost scary seasonal behavior, orchestrated by my grandmother, that was known as Spring Housecleaning. In order to give almost everything in the house a good scrub, this annual ritual added up to almost two weeks of drudgery. The end result was a squeaky clean house with new summery fabrics on floors, windows, and elsewhere. The warm season choice for slipcovers was chintz, chenille for bedspreads, and lace for the windows.

I remember that later, when we lived in our own house, Mom followed at least a part of my grandmother’s customs – at least the part about seasonal fabric changes but without so much rigorous Spring Housecleaning. I am proud to say that I carry on the tradition of seasonal fabric changes. And, continuing this practice (with or without much seasonal cleaning)  provides me with a psychological boost that’s very comforting.

Lacy curtains – and not necessarily vintage ones
Lacy curtains allow you to enjoy the beauty of daylight while maintaining some level of privacy. And they have an airy quality that billow so nicely in the breeze. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?  In particular, I’m recommending the old roller shades rolled up to the top in the day and a lacy, flat panel below. It’s a carefree, summery and minimalist style. The best part is that you can make your own curtain panels with a simple knitting pattern. 

Right now, I’m working on curtains for the two windows in my bedroom. My curtains will fly for a while at least, fluttering in the springtime balmy breezes before the temperature here in SO TX reaches 100 degrees every day and only “cools down” to about 85 at night. We sweat during the day but at night we turn on the air conditioning. So, later, my lacy curtains will be hanging motionless – still letting in the light but with the windows kept shut to block the heat of the day (as much as I regret it for aesthetic and ecological reasons). Sigh!

While it probably seems intimidating, you can easily knit your own lace curtains if you have a little time on your hands. It isn't as difficult as it appears. My own windows are quite small and the café-type panels I’m making are 18” X 34” – covering approximately the lower half of the windows. (I venture to say that it will take me 2 to 3 weeks of leisurely knitting to finish the project.)

Condo knitting
Here’s the Condo (two different size) knitting needle deal. The stitches made on the bigger needle are loose and lacy and the stitches on the smaller needle(s) provide structure – thereby avoiding a tendency to see uneven, saggy or pinched, spots. It’s best to use the size needle indicated for your yarn and then choose how much bigger you want the other needle to be. You’ll get different results depending on the size of the needles you use.

Obviously, you’ll want to use a distinctly larger second needle for lacy effects. It’s a technique that was popularized in the 1970s. Some say it became so widespread when the Hippies of those days were busy making lacy – and, they say, somewhat saggy - knit ponchos. Condo knitting makes fabric like that worked by multiples of YO, K (yarn wrap-over, then knit) and STO (stitch two together). That combination creates large open stitches. Luckily, condo knitting is even easier. You knit with both the large gauge needle and the smaller one, making “normal” knitting stitches. No yarning over or stitching together is necessary.

To make this curtain panel, all you need are two basic knitting stitches (knit and purl) and three pattern rows. There’s just one minor variation on one of the knit rows, but I can assure you won’t have any problem doing it. (Personally, I don’t like to knit difficult things that require counting stitches and am always looking for variations on patterns that can satisfy my desire for interesting results without worrying about fancy stitches. What’s more, this is a lacy pattern. As such, it's based on making holes, so small errors in knitting – that almost always plague us - aren’t easily seen.)

Bamboo yarn
This time I’m using bamboo knitting yarn. It’s a fairly new entry item that’s become quite popular. It’s a green product (renewable resource) with a lot of beauty that wears well and even has some natural antibacterial properties. Bamboo, a grass, is harvested and distilled into cellulose; then spun into yarn. It’s somewhat more expensive than most cotton and synthetic yarns.

When knitted up, bamboo yarn is breathably cool and has a shiny luster. It’s also strong and flexible and quite soft. On the negative side, this yarn tends to split a bit, so it’s best to wash by hand. It’s probably a better choice for things that don’t need to be washed so frequently. I like it because it has a cotton string-like quality but drapes better and is ever so much softer.

Make a Lacy Condo Knit Curtain Panel
Supplies
One set of smaller knitting needles, either the long straight kind or circular (I used # 9.)
One larger needle, either the long straight ones or circular  (I used # 17.)
Several skeins of sport-weight or worsted weight yarn – enough for your windows. (I used a total of 3 skeins of worsted weight bamboo yarn in a bright grape color. I began from what I had in my stockpile, and, as often happens, had to buy more at the store before I could finish the project.)
Crochet hook (to pick up lost stitches)
Scissors
Measuring tape
Yarn needle (if you want to hang it on a rod or hem it).

Instructions
Cast on enough stitches for the width you want for your curtain. I used 64 stitches, working on the length – vertical-wise – because my curtains were more wide than long. The panel I'm making is to be flat instead of gathered. You’ll have to make more knit fabric if you want gathered curtains.

Important: Make 5 rows of garter stitch with both small needles at first and to finish. This makes for stronger ends. Be sure to keep the yarn tension somewhat loose on all small needle stitches.

Row 6: Purl all stitches with the bigger needle.

Row 7: Knit all stitches with the small needle. For the entire row, use the variation that one stitch is knitted in the front of the loop and the next one in the back. This twists the stitches and keeps the work more even.

Row 8: Knit all, normally (with the other small needle and all stitches through the front loop).

Repeat Rows 6, 7, and 8 until the knitting is long enough, or wide enough, depending on how you’re knitting your curtain. Allow an additional inch or two for the top and bottom if you plan to run a curtain rod through the top and have a hem.  (I avoided these extra inches by using bright multi-colored, ½ inch grosgrain ribbon, tied in bows, to hang the curtain on the rod and choosing not to hem.)

Finish with garter stitch rows and bind off. Hang up your new curtains and proudly let them flutter in the wind. That should make you very happy.

LIVING IT UP WITH LESS: DECORATION IN A SIMPLE HOME

To live a greener life and respect our relationship with the Earth, we need all kinds of ways to be frugal and fight our consumer impulses. The best place to start is in our homes. And, as I’ve mentioned many times in these pages, that means living it up with less in a simple home. It's the easiest way to have a smaller carbon footprint – fewer square feet, fewer furnishings and accessories, lower energy bill, less cleaning needs, etc.

And, of course, the main rule for creating a simple home is to cut your possessions back to only the true essentials. Whether considering your furniture or accessories, the few things in your simple home should reflect high quality, sentimental value, or day-to-day personal utility. If you've accumulated more than what you really need, you'll have to find the strength of spirit to edit and eliminate a lot of items.

You probably know or intuit what should be on your floors. That’s right - only your furniture! Nothing should clutter the floor in the form of stacked or stored objects. That means no room-size carpets, although it's useful to have a little rug for your feet at the door or a mat beside the bath tub. The same idea goes for flat surfaces, but an exception may be made here. You may choose to display one or two simple decorations, especially if they have a great deal of usefulness to you or are "treasures" that just about anyone would be pleased to see (often). A potted plant or a vase of fresh flowers are always good decorations.

So, now we come to the walls. You’ll prefer plain, solid-colored walls – with perhaps a subdued texture. Avoid visual clutter on the walls associated with complex patterns such as flowers, spots, stripes, or checkers. You’ll also want basic window treatments or even bare windows.

And, of course, your simple home won’t have all kinds of stuff hanging on the walls. Like the surfaces, your walls should be pretty much clear. Some walls should be completely unadorned. To keep a room from being boring, you can put up one or two pieces of artwork such as paintings, drawings, or photos. Some super-useful, large items can also be tastefully hung-up on the walls. A wall mounted TV, a coat rack, or uncluttered bookshelves are good examples of such things.

Instructions for a DIY wall-art calendar 

Here’s a do-it-yourself wall-art calendar  that’s useful and will be a great addition to your simple home.

You already know the value of getting yourself organized with a calendar, but what about a nice wall-hung calendar? Maybe you don’t consider a nailed-up calendar to be a very tasteful wall decoration. But here’s one that you’ll like - it’s a wall-hung calendar that fits in well with minimalist decor.

You won’t need to do a lot of work to make this calendar. Just buy a corkboard, new or used, that already has a nice frame around it. (I bought mine at a thrift shop for a dollar.) Paint the frame a bright color. If you want to personalize your project a bit more, you can even choose a nice picture frame and cut out corkboard to fit it.

Next, find a commercial calendar or print one out using word-processing software or a calendar template from the Internet. Tack your calendar on the corkboard. Then put colorful scrapbook paper or grosgrain ribbon around (or around and behind) the calendar to fill the gap between the calendar and the frame. Attach everything with large upholstery tacks or self-fastening strips.

Write in birthdays, appointments, bills to pay, and other to-do lists on the calendar. Use colored-stickers, highlight pens, or stamps to visually code different kinds of events during the month.

Then decide where you want to hang your calendar. Will it be more useful in the kitchen or over your desk or somewhere near a front or side door? Find a logical place for your calendar and put it up just as you would a framed picture. Then enjoy your useful and attractive DIY wall decoration.

EMBRACE A SIMPLE HOME

If you want to live simply, don't try to fit your home life into a pre-molded floor plan - even the one that you now have as determined by your outside walls. Instead try to make sense of the way you want to live. Think outside the blueprint and search your heart to create the simple home that you’ve always longed to enjoy. A simplified home will allow you to focus on what's important and relax more when you need to with the added bonus of cleaning less and consuming less - what with lowered energy use and need for fewer material things. (And, as I keep harping in this blog, the best way to help our planet is by consuming less.)

You can begin your adventure of embracing a simple home by making a mission statement - a few lines of text that cover what's true about your home life and minus all that's false. You probably should pass on this statement of purpose to other members of your household to see if there's some basic agreement regarding a common mission. Reflect on how you truly live or hope to live in the not-so-distant future. Don't let other people's purposes or rules guide you choices. Don't try to plan for what your life may look like in 10 or more years.

Look for ideas to create a master plan for simplifying your home - in magazines, catalogues, on the Internet, and in showcases. Most people simplify by downsizing - choosing to live in a smaller space - and using that opportunity to find greater organization. You can easily make this choice the next time you move. But even if you plan to stay in the same house for several more years - or forever - there are ways to down-size and organize - by cleaning out and closing off rooms that serve little purpose for your current lifestyle. Remember a simple home includes only the basics and doesn't need part-time use rooms - like guest rooms and even a separate dining room or living room often is not necessary. Many times, outdoor spaces can be a good substitute for additional or little used rooms. (Putting the hype for McMansions aside, we often can fully live our home lives in one, two or three rooms and be just as well off or better when it comes to some really important things in our lives - like time for family, creature comfort, and spiritual growth.)

To create your simple home, assess your real needs and eliminate any excess. When you have a plan for the spaces you need for your lifestyle, then organize and declutter all areas. Minimize furnishings and decorative pieces in your plan. Use your walls wisely for extra vertical storage. Color can be part of a simple scheme - make use of it on walls, floors, curtains, cushions, etc.

As a place to start, here are the functions and basic spaces that just about all of us need:
- Calm place for individual relaxing, sleeping, meditation and prayer (bedrooms);
- Area for eating, preparing meals, and socializing (kitchen or great-room);
- Area for work at home, including office, laundry, gardening, and crafts (may be separate spaces or just  work areas in the already mentioned rooms).

HOME MANAGEMENT: embrace minimalism in your home

This article has now become a part of Grandma Susan’s website
(See month of February)-

http://grandmasusans2010almanac.yolasite.com

Grandma Susan still publishes her blog with lots of good pages to read, but now the blog includes only recently published pages. Check out those pages now -- available on any link on Grandma's Home Page.