How to live more simply - minimalism and freeing yourself

  'Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life's excess in favour of focusing on what's important - so you can find happiness, fulfillment and freedom' 'The Minimalists 

Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus 

We live in a society that has got us always wanting more; the latest gadgets, trends, clothes and shoes. All around us is advertising and social media shows us what others have. This in itself can be stressful and children growing up can always feel like they are playing catch up to the latest trends. This in turn has lead us to lived cluttered lives, full of stress. The more we have, the more we want. 

You might think of minimalism as living in an nearly empty house but this is not the case. It is about being mindful of what you have and what you buy. I am sure I could spend just 20 minutes in my house and find many items that are not used or have not been thought about for years! Freeing yourself of excess and being mindful can be liberating in so many ways. 

Now I am not saying go and throw everything away as we don't want to be wasteful. There are many options when sorting through your things. 

Re-purpose items- get creative and find ways to re-purpose unwanted items.

Donate - There are many charities and organisations that take items (clothes and homeware). You unwanted items can be used and needed by others. 

Give it away for free- give your things away. There are many sites that do this and local pages where you can advertise. Giving your items a new home where they will be used!

Sell it - There are many selling sites where you can make money from selling your unwanted items.

Create a group for sharing - create a swap group with friends/ family to swap items no longer needed. I have been thinking of doing this for home educating items (books/resources). Not all books, curricula work for everyone; so by lending/ sharing we can create less waste and stop pointless buying. 

Recycle - Try to find recycling for your items rather than sending them to landfill.

With children and especially home educating, it is easy to accumulate items - toys, books, clothes and gadgets. Often we see posts by others recommending something and jump to get it (I am guilty of this). There then becomes a time when you feel like you are drowning in 'stuff' and have the feeling that your house is getting smaller. 

I defiantly want to live a more de-cluttered life and want to teach my children good habits so they won't be sucked into consumerism and wastage. I want them to be mindful about things they need and have, grateful and aware of sustainability. 

Ideas to create a more simple life:

• Clear out your things - room by room, cupboard by cupboard. Things that you don't use/ need/ have attachment to - get rid of using the methods above.
• Be mindful when buying things - ask yourself some questions before you purchase:

1. Do I really need the item?
2. Can I borrow it off of a friend, relative or from a library?
3. Can I get it second hand?

Small changes can have a big impact on your life and well-being. By teaching your children these values you will be creating happier, more content individuals that are not always chasing something. 

Teaching Children about Real Food

Food is such a main part of our lives and I think that over the past 20 years real food has took a back seat to processed convenience food which has been detrimental to our health and well-being and our children are growing up with processed food the ‘norm’. 

 

We need to take back our kid’s taste buds, our kitchens and homes that have been taking over by the food industry.  The food marketing industry is huge, it is no wonder children crave and chase the processed foods. It is our job as parents to market healthy, home made food to our children. We mainly eat a North African diet which is fresh cooking but I find the more my children are exposed to processed and fast food, this is what they prefer and crave. Of course it is addictive - these food contain many additives to enhance flavour and appearance of food.

 

As a society I feel there is much disconnection to our foods; how they fuel and are needed by our bodies. A way to create children that are knowledgeable about fresh foods and how to cook from scratch is to GET THEM IN THE KITCHEN. Discuss foods as you eat and prepare them to help children understand how they are needed and are impacting our bodies.

 

When children are involved in their food, they are more likely to eat them, enjoy them and not chase the processed fast food that is everywhere! By cooking fresh and teaching this, we are all avoiding many chemicals that are packed in foods to preserve them, colour them and enhance flavour.

 

We have started making homemade tomato ketchup and oat-milk and more bread. Is great knowing what exactly your children are eating and for them to see how simple it is. We also have been re growing our lettuces!

 

        

Take your children’s favourite take away or processed dishes (burgers, pizza etc) and create them with them at home – a healthier version. 

 We have all seen the ‘eat 5 fruit and Veg a day’ campaign but in my opinion is does not go far enough.

There are 13 essential vitamins that are needed by our bodies and many minerals – each have a function and I think it is important children understand these and in what foods you can find them.

Some ideas for activities:

Make a list of all the main vitamins and minerals and draw under each one what food you can find it in. You can make this into a poster, PowerPoint or leaflet.

Make a ‘eat the rainbow’ poster. Draw foods from each colour of the rainbow and how they help our body.

Draw around a child on a big piece of paper. Label the parts of the body alongside the vitamins, minerals and foods that are used to help them function.

 

Obviously for younger children it can be simplified.

Example:

Red food such as apples, tomatoes and watermelon help to keep your heart strong.

Orange foods such as carrots and mangoes help your eyes.

Yellow foods such as pineapple help your body to heal if your have a cut or scratch

Green food such as salad, broccoli and kale helps you fight off sickness.

Blue and purple foods such as blueberries and grapes help keep your brain strong and functioning.

White foods can give you energy.

 

Not only is it important that children know how to prepare fresh food and what benefits they contain, it is important for children to think about where their food has come from.

Questions below are some that can be used as conversation starters.

Where was it grown?

How far has it travelled to get to my plate?

What impact does this have on the environment?

One idea is to get children to check the labels of where their foods have come from and them look on a map to see the distance it traveled.

Would it have come on a lorry, train, boat or plane???

 

Talk about the importance of eating locally and how this is beneficial to the environment.

 

In some countries I have visited, it is as simple as some fruits and vegetables are only available at certain times of the year when in season and they are delicious. I think we all know that strawberries in winter are not nearly as good as in the summer.

 

Some of the benefits of eating seasonally are:

The flavours are better and is more nutritious as it gets to the shops and your plates quicker.

They are cheaper.

More environmentally friendly and you support local farmers.

I am only just touching on this subject as there is so much to say, but my leaving comment would be 

Get them in the kitchen cooking from scratch 

start growing some food

visit farms

pay attention to food labels.

Making a bug hotel

We have a small garden, but we wanted to make a bug hotel so after some looking we came across this smaller one using tins. This is the tutorial:  https://youtu.be/DcKFVmvGK_k

I decided to task my dad to making it with the children when we went to visit last week. Memories with their Grandad they will have forever ♡

We saved up used tins and had the wood lying around.

We collected some pine-cones, moss, twigs, bark and bits and bobs from our nature walks to fill the tins with.

The children learnt so much creating this with my Dad. He is a retired self-employed builder and some of the houses and things he built over the years are great so they are learning from the best.

Cutting the wood for the frame

   

The final product and we already have a couple bugs in it!

   

What is education for sustainable development and why is it important?

Education for sustainable development (ESD) promotes and teaches the knowledge, skills, understanding and actions that are needed to create a sustainable world for us to live in.

 It includes:

•    Environmental protection and conservation
• Respect and concern for other people in the local community and across the world.
•  Economic sustainability
•  Equality between people – social justice

How to teach it?

Incorporate it into everyday life and demonstrate how it is beneficial for long term of the planet and ourselves. Treat it as a lifestyle and not a ‘subject’. Explain and research what effects are happening as a result of plastic waste (how it is affecting our oceans), over consumerism, food wastage, excessive travel, inequality and the throw away, convenience society we have become.  Create a mindset. 

Teach skill and involve in activities such as:

•                   Sewing
•             Mending and re-purposing clothes.
•             Cooking from scratch
•             Up cycling
•           Cleaning up local areas (litter picks)
•           Recycling
•             Planting and growing plants and food
•            Volunteering for projects to help those less fortunate- (refugees etc)
•           Teach sustainable choices when buying products (Bamboo toothbrushes, not single use)

using household waste to make resources

Learning how to sew on a button 

       

Taking part in a local litter pick