Returning to My Post

It's back to blogging! I have moved yet again, this time to our treehouse in the west side of Portland. So I am embarking on creating yet another minimalist home. We are painting, remodeling, and landscaping. So, I will have a lot to write about.

I will also be writing about ways to save time and money.

Upon returning to the land of blogging, I went through all of my favorite blogs that I had listed and was shocked to see how many were no more. Some stated that their space was for sale, some were just not found and some were just replaced by ads.

So I have updated my blog favorites and added some more I think you'll like. So I hope you'll follow me on my latest journey. Cheers!

Minimalist Thanksgiving

So today is Thanksgiving. How does one keep one's cool among family, friends, and the pressure of entertaining? First of all, I have divided the two groups. We are having an intimate meal with just family at 1:00 and then have invited a variety of friends and neighbors to come over at 4:00 for horsdorves which will be sort of a Thanksgiving antipasti with turkey, crostini, and a variety of stuffed olives, and the sort. So by the time the friends arrive, Thanksgiving dinner is completely cleaned up and restructured into antipasti trays. For me it's the best of both worlds. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Primary Storage, Secondary Storage, Long Term Storage

My dear friends just recently moved from a big country house into a rather small city house. They had to move rather quickly though so their things were packed in a hurry and just put down basically anywhere in the new house. So when I walked in there were boxes piled everywhere and with my friend's husband at work, she decided to just try to set up the living room. We did this pretty easily once we go started by just removing what didn't belong. After a rest and a chat, we were motivated to attack the kitchen. Here's where some real decisions had to be made. Since my friend's husband is a professional chef, he has tons of pots and pans, serving platters, and kitchen gadgets - and I mean all of them! Well this is a tiny kitchen.

So we started making decisions using the three storage categories that I am sure every professional organizer knows: primary storage, secondary storage and long term storage.

Primary storage is for the items you use every day and should be stored right where you use them: cutting board on the counter, glassware near the dishwasher, etc.

Secondary storage is for things you use once a week or so. They can be stored in higher cupboards like crock pots, serving platters, etc.

Long term storage is for things you use once or twice a year such as holiday decorations, certain tools. etc. these things can go into the garage or somewhere where it may take time to get them out.

Back to my friend's kitchen - the amount of secondary storage items in this situation would never fit into this kitchen. So I thought where would you store all of this stuff if you were in a big house? A butler's pantry!

So we took a big shelf and put it in the garage which is right off the kitchen and created a place for all of these over sized bean pots, steamers, mixers, etc. There's even an outlet if he wants to plug one in right there to do some slow cooking without taking up space in the pantry.

So he has his butler's pantry. With the two main rooms done, the others are quickly being organized and I know they'll be happy back in their little city house - especially because they're my neighbors!

Thankful to be a minimalist!

I apologize for neglecting this blog but it seems everything has changed rather quickly. In the past month here is how our lives have changed:

1. The substitute teaching job I described in an earlier post turned into a long term position until the end of the school year, (the third week in June.) More on that later in another post.

2. After months of the doldrums, our remodeling company has landed quite a few bids thus, my husband and son have been working their tails off for the last two weeks! Of course, the business picked up right after...

3. my husband took a job as a crisis intervention counselor.

4. We found a renter for our house that isn't selling and decided to move back to our minimalist town house next weekend.

No wonder I'm so tired. And yes I am blogging at 3:00 in the morning....

All of these changes are positive financial changes. However, they all require energy, and the hardest on the list is the move. Luckily, my little family all believes in minimalism. How else could we play musical houses when we need to? Our son will move from the townhouse to another house we own, the renters will move into the flip house and we will move to the townhouse. Here's the plan:

Will I have a garage sale before I move? No.

Will we be donating stuff before we move? You bet ya!

And although I don't really have that much stuff to get rid of, there are always things that no longer serve us. There is no point in saving this stuff because you might need it one day and you don't want to buy it again because most likely, that day will never come. So tomorrow I'll start packing and purging.

I have learned to move anything I cherish in my own car myself i.e. fancy dishes, technology stuff, art supplies, basically, breakable stuff. I have made a list of where I want everything put in the townhouse and will label each piece of furniture and box. My son and crew will likely move us while we are at work, so this is a must! Moving is no easy task no mater how organized we are, so wish me luck! Did I mention we just moved here in September?

When Minimalism is Really Needed!

We are now trying once again, to sell our flip house that didn't sell last summer. The difference this time is we have moved into it. So, now it is staged with our furniture. Our realtor told us that at our open house people kept saying, "Oh wow, this house has been staged," and he kept telling them, no the owners live here, this is how they live. That is what a life without clutter can do.

I have a zero tollerance for clutter. Instead of decorating with items, I try to see the beauty in a shiny stainless steel fridge or the colors I choose to paint the walls. I chose my lamps as art pieces instead of choosing plain lamps and adding nick-knacks on the tables underneath. Small everyday items can clutter a room too. A decoative box for example, is a great way to hide all of the remotes, reading glasses, etc. that get left out. Another trick is to thread a surge protector through the back of a secertary type desk. Then you can charge your cell phones, cameras, etc. out of site yet, still right at hand.

At any rate, I am happy that my minimalist philosophy is working. Now if we can just sell this house!
Here are some pictures:

Minimalist Mom

I was thinking back to when I was a young mom and how I was such a minimalist even then. I refused to carry a diaper bag, just a big purse. I had a car seat that doubled as a baby seat. As for a stroller, I had a lightweight umbrella stroller that I could fold up and dangle from my arm. That's how I rolled, unlike today's moms with their expensive strollers hauling tons of baby items. Here's a cute one from Target.

Saving Money on Christmas Presents Without Regifting!

Most of us have done this or had it done to us at one time or another, regifting. You give something to someone else that someone else gave you because you didn't like it. Well, guess what? They probably won't like it either and people can usually tell too. So donate what you don't want to The Goodwill and pick out something special for the person you're giving to. It doesn't have to be expensive because it's true that it's the thought that counts! Here are some tips that have helped me save money year after year.

1. Evaluate and put some limits on who you're giving to. Remember that everyone you give a gift to feels obligated to give one to you. So though you may feel you're being generous, you may actually be putting more stress onto someone. The same result may happen if you give a gift that is too extravagant.  I have learned these lessons the hard way and I have to keep reminding myself that just because I love to play Santa, it doesn't mean everyone else does. So, with my extended family I give to my sisters, not their husbands and not to my brother because he doesn't want to reciprocate, and I have limited the nieces and nephews to those under 21 because I don't want them to feel they have to get us anything. I do send them all cards with well wishes and invitations to come and visit cool Portland. ( Which has the youngest average populations and most microbreweries in the country.) Limiting your list is a guaranteed way to save money.

2. Now that you have your list to the essential recipients, really think about each one. If you can't think of anything to give them, you should probably  just send them a card. For the kids on your list, call and ask their parents what they're into. Knowing what they'll like gives you time to find a deal on that toy and you'll know they'll want it. I called my sister for example to find out what her three year old was into and she said Thomas the Train so I found a book in the series (cheaper to mail than a toy) and I know he'll love it!

3. Here are some great gift ideas that will save you money. A thoughtfully chosen book is a great gift. To get them for free, pair down your own book collection and take the ones in good condition that you can live without into a used book store and exchange them for store credit. I did this last weekend and got a couple of kids books and Why we Suck by Dennis Leary in hardback for my son, ( it won't be mailed.) Money spent: Zero.

4. Anytime you can make a gift, it will usually save you money. I make and sell jewelry so I give a lot of it as gifts. I also make cards from my artwork as well. (More on that later.) There are many ideas out there to choose from. One year I made a spicy BBQ rub in quantity. My mistake was sending it in spice jars. If I had packaged it in metal spice containers, it would have been much cheaper to mail them. I know better now!

5. Older people can be really hard to buy for and they often don't want you to buy anything anyway. My inlaws always say "Don't waste your money on us." But we want to give them a gift so a food is one option. I'm going to make something special for my peeps this year because they don't always feel up to cooking. 

I recently spent a day at a seniors craft fair selling jewelry and I was surrounded by knitters. The senior ladies were buying up hats, scarves, baby sweaters, and the like like crazy!  My mother in law explained to me that many of them can no longer knit due to arthritis, but they really appreciate all of the craftsmanship and work that go into knitted items. So that's another great gift for older folks especially if you can knit!

6. Inexpensive gifts for those who have everything: cigars, wine, chocolate, nice beer like Guinness, soaps and body lotions, fishing lures, basically things that are consumable. I'm not a fan of gift certificates because they determine a price and obligate the receiver to reciprocate at that same price.

I hope these tips are helpful. Tomorrow:  Making Christmas cards special.

Save Money on Christmas This Year

I have challenged myself to spend as little on Christmas as possible and here are a few of my tricks. Here's How I saved a huge amount of money on mailing:

1. reusing padded envelopes that I saved from when I bought various mail order items during the year. I just put blank name tag stickers over the old addresses and stuff and wrote over them. So they look funky? My family all know that I am an Oregon dwelling, recycling, composting, unapologetic, tree hugger!

2. I didn't send anything heavy like hard back books or anything glass.

3. The biggest savings on mailing was to mail early so I could use the good old US Postal service regular mail. I sent my last envelope yesterday, so no worries about it getting there on time and it cost way less than rushed delivery or UPS or Fed  Ex.

Getting my mailed gifts out of the way first saved me money and has really lowered my stress level already. It make sense to get this out of the way first because I can shop for the immediate family anytime watching for sales as I go. If you haven't mailed your gifts yet, put it on the top of your to do list and you will feel the stress lift!

Tomorrow: Saving money buying gifts.

Absolutely Fabulous and Minimalism

If you follow the British TV show, Absolutely Fabulous then you may remember an episode where Edwina flashes back to her minimalist friends Bettina and her husband, in college who are dressed all in white in an all white apartment with no furniture and just one tiny painting hanging from the ceiling by a thread. In present day they are yuppies with a baby. When they come to visit, they have mass amounts of baby furniture, diapers, formula, etc and are exhausted - no longer serene and groovy in their minimalism. Edwina is horrified screaming at her daughter, Safron, (Donovan reference,) "Where are my surfaces?"

Desperate, Edwina finally has sex with the husband knowing that Bettina will hear it on the baby monitor. She has no explanation other than, " Well they had to go darling."

New Best Friend

Meme Post

Okay, this is new to me, but for my readers I guess this is a way to turn you on to sites I like to read on a regular basis and don't worry they won't all be about garbage even though you know I love to rant about garbage! I have tagged these six blogs and to participate they can:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag sixish people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

So here are six things about me:

1. Even though I was an elementary school teacher for 20 years, I never really liked it because other people's kids aren't always so wonderful. You know this if you've thrown a birthday party or two right? I did it so I could be home with me son by 4:00 and during the summers.

2. I am very ambitious: I got married at 22, had a kid at 24, got a masters degree at 26, and bought my first house with my husband at 27.

3. My son and my husband are best friends and business partners. They are my heroes and have allowed me to finally chill out!

4. I love my cat and dog and love to hang out with them. They're laying all over me right now!

5. I really wanted to be a rock star or an artist and now I actually am an artist.

Enough about me! Here are some great blogs:


No Impact Man
This guy is living green in the city. A guilty liberal who swears off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nut etc.

Life Less Plastic
This blog is all about a gal who tries to live without plastic. It's really fascinating how much plastic we really use!

Granny Miller
This lady writes about her life on a subsistence farm. She cans and has critters. It's like a blast from the past and very well written with lots of great pix.

Bad Generation
I just like this kid. It's nice to know what the next generation is thinking!

The Offended Blogger
This chick is absolutely hilarious!

Paganway
This a cool blog about the pagan lifestyle. Gotta have an open mind for this one, but it's always a good read.

The Self Taught Artist

Here's a great artist who is not only living a minimalistic lifestyle, she makes really beautiful clocks and other artwork from  found objects. It's really worth checking out. You could end up with an fascinating clock in your living room!

So I hope you'll check these blogs out cuz I just love 'em!

Thanks to Flat Badger for tagging me. He has lots of cool film clips and interesting articles on his site too!

I'm Here! The Minimalist's Move

Well, I'm here in my new house and in spite of my best efforts to avoid it, I have been stressed out. After all, I thought I was a minimalist! The idea was that I should be able to pick up and move at any time since we are real estate investors and need to be flexible especially in this market! But the new house is beautiful and we're basically moved in. It's a different feeling to be in such a larger house. Ironically, this house is bigger than the one I downsized from when we moved into our row house. However, I am for now resisting the temptation to buy more furniture to fill it up. I just put the wicker garden furniture in the living room for now.

From this move I learned an important lesson. I learned that that moving things into the garage isn't really minimalism! It was the garage that really made the move harder because it was filled with tools, left over paint, and everything that I had pitched from the house to make it minimal.  To make matters worse, I have moved into a house with a garage filled with the remnants of various people's belongings who lived here while our son renovated the house, as well as building materials and tools. But I'm not going to freak out. I'm just going to take it one bite at a time and get rid of as much as I can. 

Freecycle is a great resource for getting rid of things. It's a Yahoo group where people post things they are looking for or looking to get rid of. Of course, this isn't a money maker. But why should we think we should make money on things that are no longer useful to us? Did we think about their resale value when we bought them? Of course not. We bought them to use or just because we wanted them. Be it a painting or a paint brush, most things unfortunately end up in the land fill. The only way not to participate in this travesty is not to buy the stuff in the first place. But for now, I'll just lighten my load by passing it on to someone else.

Am I Moving? A Minimalist's Move

Well, you all know how unpredictable this economy is right now. As a result I may have to move! You see we've had a beautiful property on the market all summer and it's time to stop the hemoraging of cash flow. We have one more person to look at it today and if she doesn't buy it we're moving in to keep it on the market while we live in it and renting out our downsized Minimalistic Lifestyle townhouse. The big house is on 1/2 an acre and has 2400 square feet.

Not to panic  though because it's only 1.5 miles away! That's how Portland is, country in the city. I'm not looking forward to packing but because I have decluttered on a regular basis there aren't that many loose items except for the kitchen of course. That's really the key to a together house and easy move, having things in containers. The worst parts are disconnecting mounted TVs and things like that. Really glad I use a laptop now!

What happens if  it sells in a month? We'll put our furniture into storage and rent a one bedroom apartment for awhile until the lease on the townhouse is up, then move back here. Phew! I couldn't even have thought about such things if I hadn't minimized our belongings. 

You might think for a minute and ask yourself. What if I had to move suddenly due to a transfer, illness, or other unforeseen event? What would that look like?

Minimalistic Stress Reduction

Most of us are pretty organized at work. We walk in, check over our emails, create a list of things we need to get accomplished, enter deadlines into our planners, etc. As we all know, if we fail to do these things, we will certainly hear about it. (Oh, sorry I forgot about that meeting doesn't cut it at work.) Yet, it is all too easy to feel like we've had enough of this ultra organization by the time we get home and just want to relax, as if our personal lives would just flow along without any organization at all.

But we can use the same tools we use at work at home without over organizing our lives. Take email for example; we can set up many bills to come to us as emails and then pay them with on line banking which gives us a record of when they were paid. This is a huge time saver and cuts down on paper mail which helps me to be a better tree hugger!

Sadly, we spend less waking hours at home than at work,  so our to do lists for home should be much shorter, say two items. This may not sound like a lot, but after a week, you will have crossed off 14 items that you may have been putting off for months! It may be sending a thank you note, making an appointment, or making a phone call, etc. You may have to make a call during business hours and thus accomplish this on your lunch break. You still get credit for this though, because if you assign yourself too many of these things to do you will get even more stressed out. As you clear these types of items off of your list you may want to add items that help organize your home such as go through one drawer, organize your wallet or purse, or list an item on eBay, Craigslist or Freesell.

Just as you use a planner at work to make sure you are where you should be when, you can use a home calendar in the same way. Just like at work, when you make an appointment you write it down. You can go one step further and write a detail that gives you a record of what that appointment was about. You can note phone calls as well, giving you a record which may come in handy in the future.

I challenge you all to try my two item personal life "to do" list for one week and see if you can declutter 14 items from your stress list. Good Luck!

Save Energy: Sleep Naked

In my efforts to be creative about saving energy, I have tried to cut down on laundry and especially using the drier. I was noting that I don't have to wash any PJs for my husband because he sleeps au natural. It actually cuts down on a lot of laundry, assuming one would wear sleep wear once and throw it into the wash. That's 365 items! That's got to be a lot of laundry! So, I decided to join him in this conservation effort. After all, less laundry means, less energy used, less water used, and less work for me! Here's a pastel drawing of someone contributing to this cause. If you'd like to see more of my art work you can visit my art blog: Banba's Artful Realm.

Minimal Daily Routine

I just found a great site by a Texan called The Fly Lady. She is really encouraging. She starts from the idea that if you're reading her site, you're probably feeling overwhelmed by all of your obligations, and your house my have become cluttered and dirty. That is not where I am, but I am always looking for new ways to give myself more time. She suggests baby steps that build into a routine over a month. If followed, by the end of the month one's house should have improved dramatically. I 'm not going to go into complete detail because you should really check this lady out, but here's my routine. (Bear in mind I keep house for a 79 lb boxer and fluffy cat as well as for my husband and myself.)
Morning Routine:
Make Bed, Wipe down upstairs sink and toilet
Shower, Get dressed
Take down glasses and one garbage pail
Put in a laundry load and empty either garbage, recycling, or compost bucket
water backyard and scoop poop
Clean Kitchen & Sweep floor

Afternoon Routine:
Wipe down guest bathroom, dust living room, wash hardwood floors
Fold and put away one laundry load
Hit a hot spot for 15 minutes

Possible hot spots: ( Anywhere clutter accumulates or places you rarely get to)
Shower
Downstairs
My closet and chair
Brian’s closet
Bathroom drawers
Bedroom end tables
Hall closets
Bookshelves
Spider webs, vacuuming
washing walls and windows

Minimalist Living: Fifteen Ways I Have Saved Energy

1. By turning off the lights! Sounds simple, but when I really became conscious of it, I realized we left lights on all over the place. Outdoor lights left on during the day were a big offender.

2. I connected surge protectors to both our TVs and now turn them off there. This cuts down on standby energy drain. I do keep my DVR cable box plugged into the wall though because I record only what I want to watch and then watch it when I'm in the mood. This has cut down on my TV watching as well.

3. I plugged in my make up mirror, flat iron and blow dryer into a surge protector. This helped me because I turn them all off at once on the surge protector and I never leave one of them on by mistake any more.

4. Every time a light bulb goes, I replace it with a compact fluorescent bulb. I like to get the longest lasting bulbs possible because that means I won't have to deal with it for a long time. Our house has some tall ceilings and stairwells!

5. I installed floor to ceiling thermal curtains in the hottest parts of our home. They keep it cool in summer and warm in winter.

6. In the winter time when it's cold, instead of cranking up the heat, I fire up the stove and do some batch cooking. It warms up the whole house!

7. I placed umbrella tables on my front and back decks in front of large windows to block some of the sun as a tree would. They also provide shade for my cat and dog.

8. I set my Energy Star washer to the quickest setting - 35 minutes. Everything seems to come out just as clean as they do on a longer cycle.

9. I hang up a lot of the wash. I try to have a hang up load and then a dryer load. I don''t have a clothes line,  just a tension shower rod in my laundry room where I hang things on hangers. (It's mostly shirts and my fluffy skirts.)  Socks, towels and jeans always come out better tumbled I think. I also set throw rugs and comforters outside to dry.

10. The refrigerator is supposed to be the most energy thirsty appliance in a home. They run better when full, so I fill the freezer with bags of home made ice, bread and frozen homemade food. My husband does a pretty good job keeping the fridge filled up with beer! I also vacuum the coils regularly and try to have an awareness about not leaving it ajar!

11. We installed a programable thermostat and turn the air or heat off when we leave the house.

12. I alternate between sweeping and vacuuming the hardwood floors.

13. I bought a Voltair Solar Backpack and keep it on our super hot deck and charge our cell phones, iPods, and rechargable battery charger with solar energy.

14. I set our Energy Star dishwasher to the lowest setting - 35 minutes. The dishes still get clean and I don't have to wait around so long to put them away.

15. We moved into the city. This saves us gas because we walk a lot, and a lot of stove time because we hit every happy hour in our neighborhood!

Feeling a bit broke? Start cleaning your house!

If the price of gas has got you down, here are some hidden resources you already have that you can tap into:

1. Get out the vacuum and vacuum your house from top to bottom. Get rid of the spider webs, vacuum our curtains, vacuum under the beds and the mattresses, under the couch cushions and inside your closets. Now open up all the doors and windows to air your house out. You have just improved your air quality greatly without spending a dine except for the electricity. You will undoubtedly find a lot of change along the way. Put that aside for now.

2. Take everything out of your closets and see what's in there. We have a way of not appreciating what we have. I know right now I have clothes in my closet that I bought without trying on but never returned for whatever reason that still have the tags on them! They are perfect for a consignment store. Whenever I go through my closet I always find clothes that I have forgotten about too.

3. Take out and dust all of your books. Are there any you don't really care about? If so, you can sell them back to a used book store or trade them for a new one. Now you have a book to read that didn't cost you a dime!

4. Take out and dust and alphabetize all of your DVDs and CDs. This really gets you in touch with what you have. You can resell these either on line or at a used record store. Or give them away to friends - hey free gifts!

5. Go through your kitchen cupboards and see what's in there. Wipe them all down. Check for expiration dates on cans. Challenge yourself to come up with dishes that you have everything for. Invite a friend to dinner and watch a DVD you haven't seen in awhile. hey- free entertainment!

6. Remove all non essential items from your bedroom, wash all the dirty clothes and sheets and bedding. Make up your bed as if it were in a luxury hotel. Pick some flowers from your garden and put them in a vase on the dresser. Now snuggle up in bed with your new book or favorite snuggler. You get the idea!

7. Here's the best part! go through all of your drawers, coat pockets, and anywhere else that change can be found. Add it to the change you found in step one. Take it to the bank and have them spin it for you. Now you have money in your pocket and are no longer broke!

Why do I have to do all that cleaning? Why can't I just look for change and stuff to sell? you may ask. We live in a time where we are practically ordered to consume more and more. We feel broke if we can't buy something new. It's all too easy to forget about what we already have. If your house is a mess, then you're not taking care of what you have already spent your hard earned money on. Dusting books and alphabetizing DVDs puts us in touch with the disorder that too many posessions cause. And lastly, creating a peaceful, serene environment is the best way to feel rich.

Reducing Plastic Bags: Why it's worth it!

Once again I feel I need to write about garbage. 

I am quite opposed to the use of plastic grocery bags. It looks like there will soon be  a charge for them here in Portland if our wonderful new mayor, Sam Adams has his way. I backed him on this before he was elected and perhaps now we will start living up to our green reputation!

Here's something that happened to me in a local supermarket just yesterday. I was in line and when the checker asked me if plastic was okay, I said, "Oh no, I have my own bag."

The woman in front of me turned as she was leaving and said, " Now I suppose the green police are going to get me."

Taken aback, I replied, " Oh, I just don't like them accumulating in my cupboards."

Ignoring me, she turned back to the checker and said, " No, I really mean it."

So here I am, trying to sell this woman on using her own bags, (which is in my nature,) instead of being insulted by her accusatory remark about me, a perfect stranger. Heaven forbid, she think I am the green police! 

So,  for any of my readers that are into minimalism, but not going green, here are some reasons why reducing your use of plastic bags is worth it.

1. They junk up our cupboards.

2. They can carry bacteria from whatever food, such as produce was in them.

3. They fill up your garbage can, costing you money.

4. They litter our highways (which is ugly), because they don't break down as fast as paper would.

5. They harm wild animals. You're in favor of animals right? Like the Animal Planet, right?

Here is one reason why the "Green Police" would like you to curtail your use of this vile product. It is a quote from Chrissie Hynde,

" It's ruining the Earth so knock it off, you're screwing it up for the rest of us!"

I hope you'll all check out two of my favorite anti-plastic sites by two great authors:

Life Less Plastic and Fake Plastic Fish

Minimalist House Cleaning: Company's Coming Triage

When company's coming, it's an emergency clean up you'll need. You may not have time to do the greatest job on the whole house but here are some tricks. First, contain your guests to the main floor of your house. This may not work if they've never been to your house because they may want a tour. If that is the case, they at least won't be looking into your closets. This is triage....ready?
Start at the top of the house with a laundry basket - no you're not going to do laundry because you don't have time. Shove the laundry into the closet and close the door along with any other clutter you find. Then dust, vacuum, put the garbage and snack dishes into the laundry basket and move to the next room. When you reach the kitchen load the dishwasher, wash the floor and take out the trash. Go to the store and get some flowers and easy food. You can get some ideas on my earlier post Minimalist Entertaining: Horsdeorves.

Of course, this sort of clean won't last long so hopefully your guests' visit won't either! My next post will be about painless ways to keep your house together on a daily basis.

Minimalist's Backyard - Taming the Mess!

If you haven't tamed your backyard yet due to bad weather, floods, etc. I's not too late. Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Good Design:

First of all, a good design aimed at low maintenance will really help. Decks are great because they can cover a large area, are great for entertaining and most importantly, let the rain water absorb and the earth breathe. Avoid lawns. They are the highest maintenance item in a yard and waste water. If you have one rip it up and replace it with bark or gravel paths through beautiful perennials.

2. Trees:

The best trees are ones that don't drop leaves. Basically pine trees. We plant Leland Cedar on all of our properties due to their quick growth and low maintenance. They can turn a yard with no privacy to a very private one in about three years. The squirrels, birds and cats love them too! Routing the water from your downspouts to your trees really helps relieve the storm drains and here in Portland, we get a discount on our water bill for doing so.

3. Privacy:

Trees don't always solve every privacy problem. When they don't, you can use trellises with vines. I recommend either potato vines or honeysuckle. Star jasmine is also great but takes longer to grow. Clamatis usually dies out in the winter. There are some non deciduous ones but they grow more slowly.

4. Flowers:

To save money and time I grow perennials. That means if you don't have too bad a winter, they come back each year. If you put a cold frame or plastic to keep the frost off them, they'll have a better chance depending upon where you live. Buying a few showy hanging plants each spring really makes you look like a super gardner too!

5. Vegetables:

My vegetable garden is completely grown in containers. They're just ones that trees came in and misc ones I've picked up. I do this because I hate to weed.

6. Watering:

I have two drip systems with a timers. I created them myself. They cost around $150 to do the front and back yards. and I am sure I have saved much more than that on my water bill and in plants saved. It was fun to put together too. It's just a hose with off shoots of little hoses to each plant that I want to get water instead of watering an entire area which encourages weeds. I even have it routed up to my hanging plants!

7. Compost:

I have a compost bin that is open on the bottom so the worms can come up. I just put my kitchen scraps and yard debris in it so I don't have to take them out to the curb. Less work for me! To read more about composting you can read: Minimalist Composting: Why It's Worth It

8. Weeds:

You're gonna have them. I don't let them get me down. I just go out a couple of mornings a week for about ten minutes in my clogs and halter top with a shovel and get my frustrations out. Then I throw them into the compost bin and reward myself by picking some flowers, herbs and vegetables.

Happy gardening!