Starting a Walking Club

By Dawn, Effective Living, Mom Life, The Minimal Mom

Over the course of this past year I’ve realized that it would be nice if I expanded my circle of local friends. I have a couple of great friends who I love to meet up with for coffee…but that’s like a whole event to plan and it doesn’t happen as frequently as I’d like (or need!).

Growing up, I remember my mom meeting our neighbor for a walk a few nights a week. They’d call each other on the phone and say, “I’m leaving the house now,” and meet in the middle. They’d walk for a half hour, visit, unwind and then head back home.

That seems so nice…and recently I have found myself wishing for a similar friend in the neighborhood to walk and visit with…and I have no excuse– there are three new families on our road that are close in age– one family even fosters!

So I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone and starting a walking club. This scares me for a few reasons:

What if no one shows up?
What if one person shows up and they’re weird or I don’t enjoy their company?
What if I want to quit and can’t because I started it!

I think these are valid….but if I’m looking for friendship, I’m guessing a few others on our road are too!

Tips for Starting a Walking Club

So I did a little “research” and found a few helpful tips for starting a walking club:

Designate a “co-leader” once it gets going so all of the planning and organizing isn’t on my shoulders.
If possible, have a set schedule so everyone knows when the group is meeting each week.
Have a set meeting location.
Have a plan for poor weather days.
Be clear who is and isn’t invited– are kids and pets allowed?

This seemed reasonable, so I set to work making a flyer (this is the fun part for me– actually distributing seems scarier ;) Here you can see a sample of the flyer. We’ve created it as a Google Doc, too, if you want to copy it and use it yourself!

TO USE OUR FLYER TEMPLATE:
1) Follow this link to Google Drive
2) Click on “File” in the upper left of Google drive (not “file” for your web browser! ;)
3) Select “Make a copy” from the dropdown
4) Hit “Ok” — this will save a copy to your Google drive that can be edited!

How I’m going to distribute the flyers:

I thought about mailing them but know that a personal invitation goes a lot further! So my hope is to deliver them in person. Then I can put a face to the flyer and hopefully they can see that I’m fairly normal myself (I know they’ll have most of the same concerns that I did!! ;)

What will happen next?

Overall, I don’t know how this will go…and as much as I’m nervous, I’m also excited. I think we all could use a little more human interaction right now (outside of the humans in our immediate household!) so I’m hopeful that some great connections will be made!

I’ll keep you posted!!!

Baby Scrap Boxes: How I Store Baby Keepsakes (Family minimalism tips)

By Dawn, Effective Living, Mom Life, The Minimal Mom

People often ask me how we store baby keepsakes as a minimalist family.

My mom had a cedar chest that she kept our baby clothes in. I remember going through it and pulling out the yellowed pieces from when we were little. Hearing the stories about her dressing my twin sister and I in boys’ clothes because they had no money at the time to buy formula, let alone matching outfits for us.

Then a few sweet matching dresses that had been gifts. It was fun to look through and to hear the stories.

Why I hold on to a few special items

As I’ve pursued a simplified lifestyle, it’s been fairly easy for me to part with sentimental items. Items from my childhood like toys and school projects and report cards and knick knacks (that I once treasured) have been discarded as we pursue a larger goal.

But now, having had babies of our own, I’ve found that I’ve wanted to hold on to a few things so that one day I, too, can share stories of their first couple of years prompted by little outfits, hospital bracelets and baby blankets.

Or watch this video on YouTube here!

How we store our baby keepsakes

While I’m not generally one to store things that aren’t useful and used regularly (we have one bin each for the kids’ clothes to grow into, one bin for Christmas, one for Easter/Halloween, and a couple for seasonal wear-boots, hats, snow pants), I decided this was worthwhile (and we have the space!).

So I headed to Walmart to look for storage containers that weren’t too big and would stack and store easily. I liked these ones because they could they fit neatly under our bed in our townhouse. Now in our new house, they are stacked in our upstairs closet.

They definitely aren’t a beautiful cedar chest, but they are functional & practical. Plus, I like that they are separate, so I can easily add items to any of them and never have to dig through a bunch of stuff.

And like I’ve mentioned before, I like when storage is limited. In other words, I can only keep what fits in the container. I was selective and felt like I had plenty of room to keep what was important at the time.

The other thing I kept in the back of my mind while I was filling these is that we have a million pictures from when the kids were babies. So I don’t need to keep EVERYTHING, we have PLENTY of documentation of their first few years :)

What we keep for each of our children

I made a label for each box and here is what I put inside:

Hospital bracelets, hats and the name cards from their hospital bassinets
Baby cards from family and friends
A few favorite outfits, including the one they wore home from the hospital
The blanket my mom crocheted for each of them
Growth charts from their check-ups
First pair of shoes
First stuffed animals
Cake decorations from their first birthday

Overall, this system has worked really well and the good news is: I don’t regret not keeping anything. This seems to be just the right amount of keepsakes, and even having them out now to take a few pictures brought back fond memories and made me smile.

And I know I mentioned that it has been fairly easy for me to let go of sentimental items by keeping our larger goal in mind, but if you aren’t quite there yet you may find this video helpful: Decluttering Sentimental Items for Peace of Mind

I’d love to know how you keep baby memories! Please share below!

To happy memories,

Find it on Amazon!

Here are some other posts you might like!

The BEST Tips for Organizing Kids Toys

The Trick to Simplify Your Child’s Wardrobe in 10 Minutes!

Transitioning baby from co-sleeping to crib: It was easier than we thought!

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Simple Homes & Homeschools

Mom Life, The Minimal Mom

Please Note: This group served its purpose for a season and is no longer active. However, if you’re looking for support on the decluttering, simplifying & minimizing journey, the Minimal Mom Membership group might be for you!! Get all the details here!

Looking for support as a new or newer homeschooling parent? Would you like help keeping it simple and enjoyable? Would it be nice to simplify other areas of your home and life, too?

First,

We’re honored that you’re here! It would be OUR PRIVILEGE to help & support you. None of this is easy, but if we surround ourselves with the right people, we can do ANYTHING!

Below, I’ll share more details about what you can expect from our Simple Homes & Homeschools group. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below (often others have the same question)!

All my love,

Dawn

Membership for the Simple Homes & Homeschools Group:

WHAT: This is a private Facebook group that can be joined by paying a monthly membership fee

LEADERS: The group is led by myself (Dawn from The Minimal Mom), Angela Braniff from This Gathered Nest and Lisa from Farmhouse on Boone.

COST: $13/month (cancel anytime!)

BENEFITS:
– Support for new and newer homeschooling parents
– Help with choosing curriculum, creating schedules, routines & homeschooling spaces
– A printable homeschooling planner & supply list (see details below!)
– Ideas for simplifying your home & meal planning
– Daily video posts by the leaders with helpful information, encouragement, tips & support
– Monthly group focuses with printables
– The ability to share your progress, questions & wins- we CAN’T WAIT to celebrate with you!
– The opportunity to ask questions specific to your process & family
– Twice monthly Facebook Live Q&A sessions with the leaders & other guests (Replays available for those unable to view live). Questions may be submitted prior to the session or during it.
– Content organized into “units” so that it’s easy to find and re-visit
– Weekly Highlight emails so you know that you didn’t miss anything important :)
– Text reminders for important events* (US residents)

*By completing the registration, US residents will be enrolled in occasional text messages – opt out at any time!

FAITH ASPECT:
While this isn’t a faith-based group, we want to be upfront that we may discuss Christian curriculum and programs. We want this to be a safe place for friends of all faith walks to discuss how their beliefs impact the decisions they’re making and motivation for homeschooling. If this would turn you off, it may not be the right fit!

What you can expect after you join:
1) You’ll receive a link where you can request access to the private Facebook and enter a pass phrase that you’re given after successful registration.

2) Once you enter your pass phrase, you’ll be admitted into the group within 24 hours.

3) Once inside, you’ll see a welcome video that will tell you how to navigate the group and find important information. We’ll also make sure you get your printable homeschool planner that we’ll use throughout the year!

Not sure if it’s for you? You’re free to cancel anytime! Join, take a look around. If you like it, keep it. If not, cancel anytime, no hard feelings ;)

Meet the Leaders:

Angela Braniff: “We are a family of 10 just trying to love each other well and live out our faith everyday. We are high school sweethearts, blessed with 8 children! Four grew in my belly and four grew in our hearts. We homeschool and love to go on adventures, believing that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.”

You may know Angela from her family YouTube channel This Gathered Nest or her personal channel Angela Braniff. She is a mama to 8 kiddos and currently homeschools 5 of them.

Lisa: “My husband, Luke and I, just moved to our dream farmhouse on seven acres with our six kids, two girls and four boys. For the first 11 years of our marriage we lived in a little craftsmen bungalow in town on Boone Street. We always craved that homestead life, and spent those years learning gardening, preserving, handicrafts and how to take care of our backyard chickens. In January of 2019, we sold our old home and purchased a 2400 square foot Victorian farmhouse on seven acres.”

Lisa and Luke have homeschooled for many years and Lisa looks forward to sharing what she’s learned, as well as simple recipes and other tips for living more simply. You can find Lisa’s YouTube channel here and her blog, FarmHouseOnBoone.com.

Dawn, The Minimal Mom: First things first, I’ve never homeschooled before! Tom and I were planning on transitioning to homeschooling this fall, and the current circumstances just confirmed that decision. So, I’m excited to learn with WITH you! We have four kids ages 5, 7, 9 &10 and my goal is to KEEP IT SIMPLE!

One thing I do know, is that simplifying our home is one of the BEST decisions we’ve ever made and I’m excited to share my best tips to help you declutter your house, too! You can find my YouTube channel, The Minimal Mom, here!

……………..

CLEAN SLATE

Beginning in September, we’ll spend 5 weeks focusing on the routines and systems in our homes. From laundry and morning routines to paper clutter and meal planning, we’ll employ simple tactics that make you feel like a HUGE success when it comes to running your home!!

It’s hard to enjoy schooling our kids when our home isn’t in order, but together, we’ll make changes that stick and that our kids can help with, too!!

FREE PRINTABLE HOMESCHOOLING PLANNER:

When you sign up, you’ll also be able to download a free printable homeschooling planner with everything that you need to get started!

The Printable Planner Includes:
– Supply list
– Tips for setting up your homeschooling space
– Sample letter of Intent for your school district
– Attendance log
– School hours tracker
– Daily block schedule planner
– Weekly prep sheet
– Weekly lesson plan (4 and 5 day layouts)
– Various reading logs & read aloud log
– Password & expense trackers
…and more!

We want to make sure you get started on the right foot and this planner will help!

Simplest Meal Planning Yet!!! Minimalist Meal Planning System with Free Worksheet

By Dawn, Effective Living, Happy Homes, Mom Life, Most Popular, The Minimal Mom

Meal planning doesn’t have to be difficult! This simple meal planning system is aimed to solving these common problems with groceries and cooking:

1. Easy: Meal plan AND compile your grocery list in 5 minutes per week

2. Maintain a smaller inventory: Having cupboards stuffed with food is STRESSFUL, learn how to get just what you need and keep less on hand

3. Waste LESS: with these simple ideas, you can virtually eliminate wasted food

4. Stick with it: this system is designed for busy people, if that’s you, keep reading!!

THE BASICS OF THIS MEAL PLANNING SYSTEM

This system is EASY, but you’ll need to spend a few extra minutes on the front end setting everything up. Here is what you’ll need:

1. Grocery Inventory: I’m including links to the spreadsheet that I use, but of course you can make your own!

Free Downloads:
Excel Meal Planning Worksheet
Numbers Meal Planning Worksheet
PDF Meal Planning Worksheet (unfortunately, this is not a version that can be edited)

And for those interested in my filled-in sheet, you can see that here: Dawn’s Grocery Inventory & Meal Plan

…if you have a problem downloading any version, simply leave a comment and I will get back to you right away!!

2. Populate your form: roughly fill in your grocery inventory and a set of meals that you know you can stick to (it doesn’t have to be perfect, you can revise it as you go!!

3. Marker Board: I created sections for “Use Up”, “Leftovers” and our meals for the week (mine was from the Dollar Tree!)

VIDEO MEAL PLANNING INSTRUCTIONS HERE:

OUR MEALS:

…and if you’re curious what I have for meals, you can see it here:

“IP” means that it is a meal that I make in our Instant Pot. I’ve really come to appreciate my Instant Pot, especially in the summer when I don’t want to heat up the whole kitchen! But year round, I love that it creates minimal dishes. I will be sure to create a video on it, along with our favorite instant pot meals, in the future!

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions (or suggestions!) and best wishes with your meal planning!!!

Most Popular right now:

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The BEST Tips for Organizing Kids Toys: These short videos are SO helpful!

By Dawn, Dawn's House, Effective Living, Mom Life, The Minimal Mom

When did organizing toys become such an impossible task!?! How did we end up with ALL of these toys and why don’t my kids play with them?

Why do they always whine that they’re bored, when I would have LOVED to have all of these toys growing up?!

And why don’t they want to go outside and play?? I practically lived outside growing up!

Truly. I was getting SO frustrated with my kids!!!

Our kids aren’t the problem, THEIR TOYS ARE!!

Organize Kids Toys so they Play LONGER

I made a video series to share some ideas that COMPLETELY CHANGED how I view children’s toys! It’s not just ideas on organizing kids’ toys, it’s also tips to help kids play longer together. And how to get them to play OUTSIDE and how to get your well-meaning friends and family to give FEWER toys! And even what to do if you have a mom who guilts you when you get rid of toys ;)

These videos are fast paced, to the point and worth every minute of watch time!

I hope these tips and tricks help you as much as they help me!!

Video 1: Trick to declutter ALL of your toys in 20 MINUTES!

Organize Kids Toys: Decluttering, simplifying, purging or paring down kids toys–whatever YOU call it– can be TOUGH! Where do you start? What toys do you keep??? I’ll show you the three toys we keep that help our kids play independently for HOURS, plus a trick to quickly organize ALL of your child’s toys in 20 minutes–no joke!! It doesn’t have to take a long time to simplify and organize toys in your house!!

Video 2: Should Kids help Declutter Toys?

Decluttering, purging, organizing or simplifying kids toys can be TOUGH! And the question is always asked: Should I include my kids in the process of decluttering their toys??? Will it help them appreciate all that they have or will it cause a major battle and melt down?

Great question! Here are two ways to know if your kids can handle the process and learn a great lesson or if it would be better to simplify their toys when they aren’t home!

Video 3: Three Ways to get kids EXCITED to GIVE AWAY toys!

See the BEFORE & AFTER of our Toy Room transformation! We found 3 ways to get our kids SUPER excited about decluttering and simplifying their toys and playroom. These tips will help you avoid melt downs and drama with your children when organizing and donating toys they’ve outgrown or just don’t play with anymore.

Video 4: How to move past BUYER’S REMORSE Quickly

We’re working our way through simplifying and organizing kids toys, but sometimes regret over toy purchases causes us to hang onto toys our kids no longer play with! Here is a simply way to move past buyer’s remorse over toys so that we can get them organized QUICKLY!

Video 5: How many Children’s Books?

BUT, how many children’s books should we keep??? Three simple questions to determine the answer for your family! (We keep 56 children’s books or 14 per kid ;) Get books under control and the rest of your toys will be easier to organize!

Video 6: How to get Family to give LESS TOYS!

I KNOW! It can be OVERWHELMING when our kids get TOO MANY toys and gifts from well-meaning friends & family! Here are a few ideas to SAVE your sanity and help direct them in their gift giving to your kids!

Video 6.5: Mom, STOP guilting me about giving away toys!!!

Ultimately, moms need to FEEL NEEDED! :) There has been A LOT of feedback that our moms sometimes have a difficult time when we get rid of toys and give us a hard time about it. So what do we do if we want to keep simplifying our toys while avoiding drama? I have two tips to offer!

Video 7: Why its safe to DITCH the BIG TOYS!

For the longest time I thought I was doing something wrong that my kids NEVER played with big toys like playhouses, doll houses, elaborate car ramps and buildings and so on. Turns out, I’m not alone! Find out what toys other moms regret getting and are now getting rid of!!

Video 8:How to get kids to play outside longer + BEST outdoor toys!

How do I get my kids to play outside longer??? This is a VERY common question these days! Here are 5 toys that keep kids playing outside longer, along with a few surprising benefits of kids playing outside.

I hope you enjoy these videos and best luck organizing your kids’ toys!!

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The Trick to Simplify, Declutter & Organize ALL of your kids toys in 20 MINUTES!!

Effective Living, Mom Life

Organizing kids toys can be a big task! Here is an awesome trick to first simplify and declutter your children’s toys and then organize them quickly and easily.

Following decluttering your children’s toys, here are some frequently asked questions that come up. Feel free to leave your own comment in the comments, too!

FAQ about Decluttering, Simplifying and Organizing Kids Toys