This is a controversial topic, and I'm pretty sure that my opinion will not line up with popular thought.  :) We wash all of our dishes by hand. A few reasons:
-We don't have a lot of dishes.
-Pots + pans + collander + wooden spoons + my grandma's milk glass mixing bowl have to be hand-washed anyway.
-Pre-washing dishes + then having to inspect + scrub them after they come out of the dishwasher uses time + water (+ is annoying).
-Might as well just wipe a washcloth over it + be done, if pre-washing/rinsing food off of it anyway.
-Each one in our tribe washes her/his own plate + utensil + one pot or bowl directly after eating + it's all done...quickly + painlessly. 
-Washing dishes right away takes less water than waiting until the food is dried on.

We've been doing dishes this way since Julia, our younger daughter, was seven...and only waited that long, because that's when the idea came to us. Jo encountered this method at a friend's house + we've done it the same way ever since! Thank you, Anushka!  :)

In pursuit of a zero-waste soap option, I've tried making my own liquid soap (with poor results). I've tried castile soap as well (which also comes in plastic bottles- whether bought in bulk or not), but don't like it because it's oily, expensive + doesn't lather. I don't like it for my hair (same reasons), and I find no need for it in my cleaning solution. 

I buy the biggest jug of dish soap that I can find at the grocery store + consider it bulk. I then refill a smaller soap dispenser about 1/4 full at a time, because I find that a full bottle dispenses too much soap + we go through it faster. This one bottle of soap works for dishes, hands, and hand washing intimates too. One drop is all it takes.

Love,
Jane

Bobby + Steven Clark's beautiful + simple home via

Less means I'm using less resources.
Letting go means that someone else can get some use out of some of my things.
I only have the ability to wear one outfit...sit in one chair...eat off one plate...at a time.
Creativity can be even more challenged with less...and good things can happen.
There is enough for everybody's need, but some are still in need.
Keeping things until they are way past out-of-style helps no one, especially not the earth.
Having less makes it more likely that my pieces will get used up.
Thrift shops allow a community to share + have access to quite a variety of items.
Making use of second hand (buying/selling/donating) means less new resources are used.
Buying less means less waste.
Less is lovely.
Less makes it easier to clean + care for my stuff.
Less is all I need.
​Less is enough.

I think, for me, my commitment to "less" mainly comes down to preference, but also to resources, waste + need. An even more concise way to explain the second part of this commitment might be...compassion...compassion for other humans + for the planet we share. I choose to keep my hands open...consuming thoughtfully with concern for farmers, garment workers, and the environment...caring for my things mindfully...but not holding on too tight. 

A closet full of blankets might provide warmth for a whole family in a shelter. An extra dress in my closet might empower another mama to show up for that job interview or to face her child's teacher. That second set of dishes in the pantry might provide a family with a sense of home once resettled.

My home + my wardrobe tell different stories now, and I'm ok with that. 

Love,
Jane

​All lovely photos via link.

Recycle ::
-unusable bedding + clothing- Bring them to Goodwill + they will get them to places that reuse the fibers in carpet padding, insulation, + rags.
-unwearable athletic shoes- Get them to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program + they will be made into sports surfaces.
-cardboard shoeboxes
-dry cleaner hangers- return to the dry cleaner for re-use

Rot ::
-pillow feathers
-natural fiber sweater pills or lint (including dryer lint)
-hair
​-fallen plant leaves

Enjoy the uncluttered, restful space...or take a nap.  :)

Love,
​Jane

Minimalism is most often talked about as a choice made after we've over-consumed. We embark on a journey toward minimalism by purging our belongings + taking the resulting carloads full of bulging trash bags to the charity shop.

I've been interested, however, in the concept of minimalism in regards to resettling refugees or our homeless neighbors. How can we use what we've learned about minimalism + the contentment found therein to satisfy needs...rather than overburdening or setting these friends up to be vulnerable to the snares of greed + mindless consumption. I once helped set up a residence for a missionary family returning to the States on furlough. The amount of things that were brought into that house was crazy! Yes, there was well-intended generosity behind all of it, but I could see how it could breed discontent in a family with young children who planned on returning to the mission field.

There is a sweet spot that exists at the intersection of "enough" + contentment. How do we recognize it, stay there, + ultimately rest in it?

A time I keep coming back to is when we unexpectedly found ourselves moving back to the States from London with only the boxes we were allowed on the plane. We had very little money + we needed to spend all of it on housing...either a very small downpayment on a house...or first/last month's rent + deposit on an apartment. Our single vehicle was purchased on a credit card, + there was no money for furniture.

I made drawings + lists of what we would need to function as a family of four. Here is what I came up with:
-In the living room: lamp (it was January) + rug (if there was no carpet). We could do homework + eat dinner there. We could sit + read or play. We could grab our pillows + watch movies on a laptop. We could check out books from the library + stack them by the wall. 
-In the bedrooms: mattresses, pillows + bottom sheets (mattresses are different sizes in the UK). Our clothes would go in closets. The girls' books + toys could go on the floor or in the closet. The laundry could pile on the floor.
-In the bathroom: shower curtain, bath mat, + towels (they took up too much precious space to pack).
-In the kitchen: we would make do with the plates, silverware, few utensils, tea towel, washcloth + pots that we brought.
-Also: stocking up on food, cleaning supplies, shampoo, soap, toilet paper, etc...all adds up too.

After having lived for three months in complete limbo at extremely generous relatives' house...not knowing day by day when we would get to go "home"...or where our home was...finally living in a space, all on our own, felt amazing! It was "enough".

Slowly accumulating the pieces on the round two list made it even better! Round two needs:
-In the living room: seating
-In the bedrooms: mattress pads, hangers, laundry baskets, a bit of storage for the girls
-In the kitchen: table + chairs, skillet, measuring cup, cutting board
-Also: washing machine, drying racks
(Craigslist was our source for furniture.)

Revisiting this knowledge of what we truly need is incredibly useful for me. Everything else is extra + I stay vigilant about recognizing the tipping point that leads me away from contentment + toward too much. I am happy to have some seating that is not on the floor now.  :) I'm happy to have built in shelving, but just because it's there doesn't mean that I have to fill it. We don't need three side tables, because our drinks are fine on the floor. I love that the library stores all of our books.  :) We are living in the sweet spot + I want to be aware of that!

I use this memory of starting (almost) from scratch as a reference point for recalibrating my current outlook toward gratitude + contentment. I consider the experience an incredibly empowering gift to my girls. In the same way, I think it's possible that our resettled neighbors could experience relief, "enough", and contentment in minimalism...not an imposed minimalism, of course, but an offered minimalism. We need to be aware of the possibility of overburdening them with things to "need". There is great kindness in "enough".

Love,
​Jane

"If you have to buy stuff to store your stuff, maybe you have too much stuff."
​~Courtney Carver

Is it vain that I want my life to look different? I think I really want my life to feel different to me. I want to be able to see my values by looking at my home...pulling back the curtain on my closet...opening my fridge...looking through my date book or checking account. I want all of those things to bear testimony to my inner life. I want those things to reflect beauty and light. I want them to reveal a devotion to something decidedly other than consumerism + worldly care. Love and acceptance and inclusion evident. 
​~excerpt from my 2017 journal

In an effort to keep things simple + to reduce my spending, I committed to purchasing only replacements this year. The replacements I was talking about were the things that needed to be replaced. Things like batteries + lightbulbs...kitchen towels + intimates...working plumbing and such.  :) It's a bit surprising to me, but there were actually some significant lessons to be learned from the focus on replacements only:

-In a simple home, this is a great way to live. Period. Since we've moved quite a few times (+ twice overseas...without a shipping container), I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about what we truly need to live comfortably. Once we have these necessities, there is really nothing left to do...but live...and replace as necessary.
-This is a great way to slowly + thoughtfully convert to fair. I don't mean that we just replace good, functional pieces with fair pieces. That would be wasteful in most cases. But as things wear out or cease to work over time, we can replace them with sustainable, fairly made pieces...that, yes, may cost a little bit more.
-Replacements often feel like boring purchases, but when we buy less...they just might become exciting. Maybe replacing worn, cream towels with white towels sounds boring...but when the new, white towels are fair-trade certified + organic cotton + dry faster + can be bleached + you've waited and saved...it is sort of exciting. Drying off with that new towel is a notable experience each morning + they look so nice and bright hanging there.
-Not everything needs to be replaced. If the item is not necessary, take this chance to realize that... + don't replace it. Try living without it for a while. Empty space is often a valid + desirable replacement.  :)
-Replacements often make the best gifts. Mr. Tribe received replacement (+ upgraded) headphones for his birthday. Jo received a replacement (+ handmade) bathrobe for Christmas. Julia received that replacement, wooden comb in her stocking. All were genuinely appreciated, happy makers.  :)

I'm definitely carrying this habit through to 2018!

Love,
Jane

My love/hate relationship with jeans is not news around here. I love the idea of soft, worn, pale denim patched + loved over a lifetime. At the same time...I often find that the denim I own is too tight or loose or stiff or dark or low-waisted... I just can't seem to find the right ones for me lately.

So, I decided to stop talking about it and test out the idea of going without jeans. They just seem so essential...and in another version of my own life, they may be. For the month of October, I decided to set my jeans aside + dress without them. It's no big feat...I have other pants.  :)

The thing is that I just didn't even miss them.

When November rolled around, I let one of my two pairs of set-aside jeans go...and tried wearing the other pair. I wore them to run errands one day...but changed when I got home. I tried to put them on a few other times, and they just didn't last. So...am I ready to let that last pair of jeans go...not exactly. Yesterday I put them on + they just felt right...so who knows.  :)

I share this here...not to encourage others to get rid of their jeans...but to offer a thought about it being ok to step away from something that no longer serves our needs + desires. The world tells us that so many things are necessary + normal...but it's ok to let some of them go if they just don't add value to our lives...and especially if they conflict with our values. Here are a few of the "normal" things I/we have let go of:
-meat
-single use plastic + packaged food (as much as possible)
-tumble drying our clothes
-paper towels
​-fast fashion
-a TV
-a second income
-facebook
-having a lot of clothes
-a dresser
-a fabric/yarn stash
-a second living room
-lots of seasonal decorations
-fleece

​Letting go might just let us breathe easier (sort of like elastic waisted pants!).  ;)

Love,
Jane

We've been going to yoga lately, and the littlest things will bring me to the edge of tears. When we are nearing the end of our practice, our teacher often says that we may want to say "thank you". A thank you that I realize I almost never say...to my own capable body. When we take the stance called five star, we stretch our hands up wide + spread our legs...and our teacher says, "Take up all the space you need. You belong here. You are enough." My usual tendency is to try to take up as little space as possible when I am in a group. I want to be small, to attract no attention, to get in no one's way. 

I think that "stuff" can be a way that we try to pile identity onto our small selves in order to matter...even if only to ourselves. We can use "stuff" like stickers or hashtags to label ourselves. Wear a leather jacket...put on the laid-back badass sticker. Pile up the intellectual books that I mean to read...put on the smart sticker. Cover the walls with concert posters, collect 1000 vintage records, + fill the closet with band tees...put on the cool, music lover sticker. 

Am I still a badass if I show up to the protest without the leather jacket? Am I still thoughtful + curious if I simply check out a couple books at a time from the library (+ read them)? Am I still a music lover if my music simply streams through my headphones? These questions just sound silly...of course.

But I also know that we can get hung up somewhere between the last two paragraphs. And by all means, if the leather jacket or the record collection makes you happy... and there is enough room for it...and caring for it is a joy...keep it (or the best parts of it). If it has become a burden or a source of frustration...you are enough. Our things don't make us who we are. Two band t-shirts that get rotated every Saturday could be just right. A collection of the 12 books that really made an impact on how we think might be treasured rather than buried.

At some point we just might realize that that there isn't a "thing" that adds to who we are.

I am enough. You are enough. We get to take up all the space...not our stuff.

Love,
​Jane