And no, it’s not purging your closets or getting chickens or even starting a garden.
I grew up on a 10-acre hobby farm (we didn’t “farm” for profit). I can’t remember a single moment from my childhood where we didn’t have chickens, and even the majority of the time we also had pigs (eggs and bacon were regularly on the menu).
I bought my first rabbit when I was 11 and joined a local 4-H club the following year. From ages 12-18 I was at the county fair every summer, showing rabbits, goats, sheep, a dairy feeder calf, a beef steer, and I even tried horses once.
My mom had a huge garden every year, and while I often grumbled about pulling weeds, freshly picked peas and cucumbers were a favorite summer snack. We had shelves and shelves of home-canned goods and a full upright freezer to feed us all winter long.
In the bit of free time I had, I took a blanket out under a tree to read a book, or tromped through the woods around the swamp. I didn’t participate in any high school sports, because caring for and showing our animals and attending 4-H meetings took up all of my extra-curricular time.
It’s been almost 20 years since I moved away, becoming a country mouse in the city of East Lansing, Michigan. Thanks to my love of the lifestyle I grew up in, I pursued a degree in Agriscience with a specialization in Animal Science.
But I never could land on a career I wanted to pursue. I loved the subject material (anatomy & physiology of farm animals, intro to horticulture, sheep management) but didn’t want to become a veterinarian or a production farmer or an agricultural journalist. When an opportunity came up to get paid for something else I loved (shelving books), I took it. Then I graduated, got married, and continued to work at a bookstore, then an elementary school, then a library, then a church office.
Fast forward to the fall of 2019. My husband, 3 kids, and I had just moved out of our 1/3 acre city lot onto 2 acres in the woods. After living a relatively suburban life for 15+ years, pieces of my childhood started re-awakening.
I longingly looked at the raised garden boxes that had been created by the previous owners. I started wondering if the falling-apart shed could be converted into a chicken coop. We taught our kids how to hunt for frogs and catch fireflies.
Fall and winter came quickly, and our outdoor dreams were put on hold.
In early February 2020 (yes, just before the pandemic), I was sitting at the local coffee shop one Saturday morning, attempting to write a blog post. And boy was I STUCK. I loved the act of writing, but I just couldn’t seem to identify what topics my blog should focus on. I found myself questioning if pursuing this dream was really worth it.
Instead of continuing to force sentences, I turned to making lists. I knew I was passionate about the idea of “simple living”, but that phrase by itself is honestly pretty vague. So I started writing down anything and everything I could think of that might be described as simple living.
I visited Facebook groups and searched Pinterest. I went down a rabbit hole of research (raw milk anyone?). I discovered new podcasts to subscribe to. And when I left the coffee shop that day I didn’t have a post written, but I had a better grasp on what living a simple life could look like.
Simple living can encompass SO many things. We often think of Little House on the Prairie, growing your own food, raising animals, making soap, line drying your clothes. But what if you don’t have the space or the time or even the desire for some of those kinds of things? Does that mean a simple life is not for you?
My basic answer: no. Even if you live in an apartment in the middle of the city, you can pursue a simple life. Maybe one day you’ll feel a pull toward land and a garden and animals… but maybe not.
I’m here today to tell you the one thing that every single one of us can do — the first step toward living a simple life. Ready?
Start in the kitchen.
We all need to eat. So why not consider simplifying what you put into your body?
Some people have great success switching completely to a whole-foods diet. They make every meal, snack, and drink completely from scratch, using single, whole ingredients. I’ll tell you right now I don’t have the brain space for that. 🙂 At least not at this time in my life.
But in the spirit of my favorite mantra “all or something”, I started making a few small changes over the next 6 months:
- I made a sourdough starter for the first time in mid-February (BEFORE covid made everyone and their sister try it 😉 ). I now make sourdough bread, crackers, brownies… but only about once a month. The rest of the time the starter lives in the fridge and we eat other bread (both homemade and store-bought).
- I found a source for locally-milled, unbleached white flour instead of bleached flour from the grocery store (I’ve since started milling my own flour!).
- I shopped at the farmers market almost every Saturday throughout the summer. I invested in our local economy, and got amazing fresh fruits and vegetables every week. What will I do in winter? Probably go back to buying celery from the grocery store, shipped to Michigan from California.
- I canned and froze some things (not a lot, but more than I ever have before), to continue to eat “local” throughout the winter.
- I started buying my salt from Redmond’s Real Salt instead of in a canister from who knows where. It’s mined in the U.S., and hasn’t been bleached or stripped of natural minerals or had anything added to it.
- I bought a quarter beef in the spring and a half pig in the fall from local farmers. The difference in quality versus factory-farmed meat is astounding. I don’t think I can ever go back to buying ground beef any other way.
- I got a dehydrator, and my current favorite snack is dried apple slices and pineapple chunks.
And to be completely authentic, here are some things in our kitchen that haven’t changed:
- My kids eat sugary cereals for breakfast every day.
- Big bags of chicken nuggets are always in the freezer.
- The “snack drawer” in the cupboard contains Quaker granola bars, individually bagged fruit snacks, tortilla chips, Cheez-its, and animal crackers.
- We go through gallons of regular milk each week. Not FairLife, not raw milk, just plain ol’ cheap 2% milk. (edit: in early 2021 I found a source for raw milk, and now only buy grocery store milk occasionally)
- My husband and I still love our CoffeeMate creamers (though I do have a recipe for homemade that I make occasionally).
Do you feel drawn to a simpler life? Do you want to gather fresh eggs from your backyard every day? Do you want to dig your hands into the dirt, surrounded by flowers or vegetables? Do you want to create things in your own home?
Or do you just feel a pull in the back of your mind and heart and don’t know where to begin?
No matter where you live or what your goals are, start your journey in the kitchen. Fall and winter are great times to experiment! Look for a homemade recipe for one meal, snack, or drink that you would typically consume processed. Look for a more organic (and local if possible) source for one ingredient you use regularly.
And once you’ve gained confidence in that one thing, move on to the next one thing. And the next. And the next.
I’m cheering you on in your journey! I hope to write more this fall and winter about simplifying your food, so let me know where you need ideas.
Share with me in the comments something you already make from scratch, or something you want to learn how to make from scratch, or an ingredient you’d like to try to source somewhere other than the grocery store shelves.
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