September 2020

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P.S. I highly recommend Book Outlet!  Use my link to receive $10 off your first order of $25 or more. P.P.S. Have you heard of Bookshop?  They are an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores.  You can check out all of my favorites on this page and I’ll be linking to Bookshop and Book Outlet as much as I can from here on out.  I hope you’ll support them too!  #64. ONE SECOND AFTER by William R. Forstchen || ★★☆☆☆ At the end of August, I went down a prepper Youtube rabbit hole and stumbled on a thing called an EMP, or an Electromagnetic Pulse. A commenter on the video mentioned this book and you know me – I’ll read just about anything!  The writing is not good, but the topic was a fascinating and frankly terrifying thought experiment.  I pray it never really happens.

#65. GAINING GROUND: A STORY OF FARMERS’ MARKETS, LOCAL FOOD, AND SAVING THE FAMILY FARM by Forrest Pritchard || ★★★★☆ Such an interesting and inspiring book about a farmer not too far from me.  I came away equally inspired to move forward with our own farming plans as well as financially supporting the other farmers in our area.
#66. HOME by Marilynne Robinson || ★★★★☆
I read this along with the Close Reads Podcast and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  (My first experience with a Robinson novel was a flop.)  Definitely slow-moving and sad/melancholy in tone, but also thought-provoking and surprisingly deep. _________________________

MY READING IN NUMBERS FOR 2020

Books Read: 66
Pages Read: 18,783 Fiction: 37  //  Non-Fiction: 29 Kindle Books: 26  //  Paper Books: 40 20th Century in Books Challenge: 29/100 Original 2020 books “to-read” total on Goodreads: 414 // Current “to-read” total: 374

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Well, this month was a blur.  During Labor Day weekend, I made a long list of projects I wanted to accomplish in September and….well, not much of that happened, ha!  Schooling obviously takes up more of my time and even six weeks in, I’m still figuring out how to fold extra tasks into the structure of my day.  What would have taken me no time at all seems to take forever now!  But it’s all okay.  They’ll all get done eventually…deep breaths deep breaths.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, here are a few highlights from this month:

  • We had a great start to the school year.  This doesn’t always happen – on the first day of school last year, I sobbed and was convinced I had made a huge mistake!  This time around, the kids are enjoying most of the books and curriculum choices, are working hard and producing great work.  I couldn’t ask for more.
  • We refinanced on the house for a much lower interest rate.  
  • I finished out a very successful and fun first summer season in my garden.  I learned so much and am anxious to tweak things and try again next spring.
  • I painted Sophie’s bathroom and while we still need to buy a few things for the walls, I can happily say that we are finally 95% done with that project.  Finally!!
  • We celebrated two birthdays and now have a new 6-year-old and a new 8-year-old.  
  • I’ve been a decluttering fool whenever I have a few extra minutes.  Really motivated to finish up the 1,000 Item Decluttering Challenge ASAP.

On my nightstand: I just finished Home by Marilynne Robinson and am almost done with The Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Luisa Piccarreta.  Next up is Versions of Us by Laura Barnett.

My organization project for the week was a unique one, but long overdue: I finally went through my TBR list on Goodreads and removed the books that no longer interest me.  I’ve had a Goodreads account for almost 10 years now and wow, what a time capsule!  Most of the books I removed were books that centered around parenting, family traditions, or cooking, all topics I was absorbing back in 2010 as I attempted to do this new motherhood thing well.  I blinked and suddenly books on teenagers are more appropriate than the ones about sleep schedules.  Time flies.     

Month #12 for my 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge!  Here are the ground rules:

  1. Only spend 10 minutes at one time and only in one specific area.  
  2. Monday through Wednesday, seek out items that we no longer need and make a pile.  Then Thursday through Saturday, make a plan for how to deal with them.  (This has worked so well and avoided that dreaded box of “what should I do with these?” items.)
  3. Possible places to find new homes for items: Ebay/Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, Trash Nothing website or the local Buy Nothing Facebook group and as a last resort, Goodwill

I feel a responsibility for the things I have and want to be intentional with how I dispose of them.  Questions I asked myself: If it’s here, what purpose does it serve?  Can I use it up?  Can I enjoy it vs. keeping it tucked away in drawers and boxes?  And if not, can I let it go to someone who may need it more?



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One year of decluttering!  I was really hoping to reach the 1,000 mark by this time, but honestly, over 700 items doesn’t seem too shabby!  In 365 days, I have removed tons of unneeded items from my home, but I’ve also learned so many important lessons along the way.  (Another post for another day.)  I’m motivated to keep going to the end – less than 300 items to go!

WHAT I DECLUTTERED THIS MONTH

  • 13 books.
  • One Bowflex.  The previous owners left this for us before they moved out.  Three years later, it gets zero use and I have tried everything to get it out of the house.  No one would even take it for free!  After a lot of debate, we ultimately decided to dismantle the monstrosity and bring it to the dump to recycle the parts.  
  • A set of five readers, a language arts book, two math manipulatives, a grammar teacher guide, and a geography teacher guide.  I’m still having great luck selling unneeded homeschool curriculum.  These all sold on ebay.
  • One old workbook.  Into the recycling bin.
  • A car seat travel bag.  I honestly was expecting this to sit awhile, but it sold in a matter of days on ebay!  Somebody must be thinking about happier travel days ahead.
  • One blouse and one t-shirt. Both sold on ebay.
  • Two summer dresses and one pencil skirt.  Both sold on Poshmark.
  • One fleece jacket.
  • One bag of shredded paper.
  • 4 pairs of fall/winter pajamas.  My girl is growing like a weed, so I listed four of last year’s PJs on Trash Nothing.  I connected with a sweet grandmother who is helping with her granddaughter’s care and schooling this year.  
  • 5 reclaimed wood wall arrows.  I had these arrows in my master bedroom at my old house to represent my (then) five kids.  New house, one more baby and an out-of-business company and it’s time to let someone else enjoy them.
  • One pair of winter gloves and a pair of leggings.  More things that Sophie has outgrown.  Sold on ebay.  
  • 4 burp cloths.
  • 4 of P’s outgrown tops.  Mailed to a cousin.
  • One coffee mug.
  • One eye shadow palette.  I had a palette that only had colors left that I never use and is definitely over a year old, so into the trashcan it went. 

Items decluttered this month: 54
Money made this month: $222.12 Total items decluttered so far: 715 Total money made so far: $1,046.81


P.S. To “count,” the item had to physically leave my house.  So while I have listed a handful of things online, those aren’t counted until they have sold.

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More organization projects this week!  We took advantage of a Labor Day sale to buy a storage solution for my daughter’s closet.  It’s definitely not a high-quality piece of furniture, but at least she now has a spot for her books and toys.  The other project was for my growing collection of seed packets!  Multiple gardeners use these plastic photo keepers and I loved the idea, but didn’t want to pay the price.  Amazingly, I found a used option on eBay and I won the auction for $1!   

Finished this week: Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers’ Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm by Forrest Pritchard.  Loved it.

On the financial front, we crossed off 100 Little Things #2 and closed on our refinance on Wednesday.  The much lower interest rate will certainly help in a lot of ways, but we’re most excited for the extra push toward completing Baby Step #3 (six months worth of expenses into savings.)

My brain feels so full lately and while it’s not necessarily stressful, it does exhaust me by bedtime.  I am sleeping so, so soundly these days!  Just a few of things I’m thinking about: + Fruit tree guilds // My little apple orchard is going to get an upgrade! + Cottage gardens // I’m excited to incorporate this idea along the outside perimeter of my garden.  Started my very first steps with a fig tree and a little rose bush that was on clearance at Home Depot. + Building a permanent chicken area using tips from Justin Rhodes’ system + A new white quilt/bedspread as ours is literally starting to fall apart // I went to straighten it on the bed one day and my fingers went right through!  It sure has taken a beating from six years of constant use and hundreds and hundreds of washings.   + Birthday presents for the kids and our yearly traditions // The first two are just a week away! dsc_1668-1020533

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The bathroom tiling is done!  I am so pleased with the workmanship and attention to detail; it looks awesome.  Now for my part – the painting!

My home project for the week was organizing our medicine cabinet.  Cooler weather is on its way, so I’ve been restocking our cough drops and cold medicines.  In between school and all of the other tasks of the day, I took a few minutes to organize everything into inexpensive bins…and even added labels.  Who even am I right now?  P.S. Don’t look too closely at the rest of the house – it’s not nearly as tidy.

I spent hours on Saturday working in and around the garden, pulling out more of the summer garden, amending soil and planting more of the fall seeds.  We had heavy rainfall early in the week and it completely wiped out some of my more tender seedlings, so I’m trying again!  I also started laying cardboard around the outside perimeter to kill the grass and get ready for topsoil.  I’ve got big plans for a cottage flower garden look next spring.

School highlights: + We’re learning about Egyptians in history and this week’s topics were hieroglyphics and mummies.  Nile project update: the grass grew!

+ My 8th grader is following Mater Amabilis’ Twentieth Century History plan this year and really enjoying it.  I like that they’ve included a wide variety of sources to tell the story of the time period (like first person narratives.)

A new month and five new assignments!  Here’s what I’ve chosen for September:

Mother Culture Assignments for September 2020

⬜ ASSIGNMENT #1: Start reading Home by Marilynne Robinson along with the Close Reads Podcast. ⬜ ASSIGNMENT #2: Research edible plants that grow in my area. ⬜ ASSIGNMENT #3: Buy the supplies needed to learn how to crochet. ⬜ ASSIGNMENT #4: Discover and listen to another new musician. ⬜ ASSIGNMENT #5: Learn about a new saint.

I’ll be back with a post about what I’ve learned on the last Wednesday of the month.  Feel free to join in with any or all of the assignments or even create your own!  Let’s all seek the beautiful and good together.