What do we define as luxuries?
When living in our house in Amarillo, I commonly whined over a small kitchen, not enough space anywhere, and how hard life was. I've since repented.
I thought keeping up with the kitchen cleaning duties was difficult when I had a dishwasher. It was not.
I thought it was hard to stay on top of Laundry Mountain when I had my own laundry room. It was not.
I thought keeping up with things was hard then, and well, it was. But not for the reasons its hard now. It was hard then because I had the "more is better" attitude. I thought if I had a commercial grade kitchen it would be much easier to keep it organized and clean. Now I have a kitchen smaller than some peoples bedroom closets. I have my cookware, a small amount of bakeware, and my corningware along with out everyday dishes and a few bowls. Honestly, there are a few things in there that I haven't used in the nearly 2 months we've lived here. I think I'll box those up for the storage building this afternoon. I have enough. I've promised to never take things like dishwashers and my own washer and dryer for granted again. Compared to my current kitchen, my old one (that I thought was small) feels like a castle. I don't really miss the microwave... much.
Things that I used to take for granted now feel like luxury items. I am extremely thankful that we have such a great neighbor that cheerfully lets me use her washer and dryer. If not for her I'd have a wash bucket and clothes line. Not only that, she's a friend. Honestly, I am starting to like it here. The house at least is beginning to feel more like home. I used to think it was difficult to keep my house clean. Then I realized it was because there was too stuff in it. So we got rid of a LOT of stuff. It felt nice, it was much easier to put things up when everything had a place. Then we moved into a smaller place. Now I need to downsize again, but I am not sure whats left to get rid of. But I will. I will find more things that don't have to be here, so that the things that are here are not overwhelming. I tend to shut down when things get overwhelming.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Farewell my old friend
Today I sold our microwave on Craigslist.
I had several reasons for doing so;
1, the rent house we are heading to in Santa Fe has very, very little counter space. I am not honestly sure if the coffee pot and the drying rack for the dishes will fit on it. But as there is no dishwasher, the drying rack is a must!
2, I don't really use it all that much, and in recent research I've come to find that it changes the molecular consistency of your food. I'm trying to get further away from processing anything, and the microwave hinders that journey.
3, A few months back my husband had a dream that we needed to get rid of it. He told me, and I was reluctant. In fact I forgot about it completely until I told him I wanted to get rid of it!! Isn't lovely how God works?
So, yesterday I cleaned it up, took a couple of pictures of it and put it up for sale. In my new lifestyle I find that I am getting further and further removed from modern conveniences. First with cloth diapers, now giving up my microwave. I've been drinking tea most mornings instead of coffee, tea from my nifty stainless steel tea kettle like my great-grandmother used to have perpetually sitting on her stove.
So I have not used a microwave in 2 days, I thawed out my gluten free bread and heated it in the oven yesterday. Instead of gooey, it was more like fresh bread. Interesting? I thought so.
Instead of warming the leftovers from lunch in a big bowl, I simply heated them on the stove. Honestly, it didn't take any longer than the old way. It may have been shorter, and it was heated consistently.
So there it is! I will now heat leftovers in my oven or on the stove top. I will not bake potatoes in the micro anymore.
I will follow the direction of simplicity Papa seems to be pointing me toward. More of what He created, and less of the inventions of man to try and make our lives more convenient.
In a couple of weeks I'll be writing about the adventures of family laundry with a mini washer and no dryer. Clothes pins anyone?
1, the rent house we are heading to in Santa Fe has very, very little counter space. I am not honestly sure if the coffee pot and the drying rack for the dishes will fit on it. But as there is no dishwasher, the drying rack is a must!
2, I don't really use it all that much, and in recent research I've come to find that it changes the molecular consistency of your food. I'm trying to get further away from processing anything, and the microwave hinders that journey.
3, A few months back my husband had a dream that we needed to get rid of it. He told me, and I was reluctant. In fact I forgot about it completely until I told him I wanted to get rid of it!! Isn't lovely how God works?
So, yesterday I cleaned it up, took a couple of pictures of it and put it up for sale. In my new lifestyle I find that I am getting further and further removed from modern conveniences. First with cloth diapers, now giving up my microwave. I've been drinking tea most mornings instead of coffee, tea from my nifty stainless steel tea kettle like my great-grandmother used to have perpetually sitting on her stove.
So I have not used a microwave in 2 days, I thawed out my gluten free bread and heated it in the oven yesterday. Instead of gooey, it was more like fresh bread. Interesting? I thought so.
Instead of warming the leftovers from lunch in a big bowl, I simply heated them on the stove. Honestly, it didn't take any longer than the old way. It may have been shorter, and it was heated consistently.
So there it is! I will now heat leftovers in my oven or on the stove top. I will not bake potatoes in the micro anymore.
I will follow the direction of simplicity Papa seems to be pointing me toward. More of what He created, and less of the inventions of man to try and make our lives more convenient.
In a couple of weeks I'll be writing about the adventures of family laundry with a mini washer and no dryer. Clothes pins anyone?
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