Yes, you read that correctly! I live with less because I want to. I love it when people find out this fact about me. I get asked all kinds of questions because they are bewildered! This happened at a meeting the other day. And they even referred to me as the hippie.(no, I wasn’t offended!) so here’s a little bit of what we do that seems to be out of the norm.

1. Yes, I keep worms to compost scraps of fruits and veggies. Why? Because the worm poop is the most amazing fertilizer that you can put on plants!

2. We bake and cook from home almost exclusively. Why don’t you go out to eat?! Well, we do on rare occasions. But, cooking and baking at home allows us to know what’s in our food, saves us lots of money and there isn’t a lot of garbage produced! And yes, I do work full time and still find time to do this!

3. I keep a small flock of chickens. Why? Because I know exactly what they eat. No creepy food or antibiotics. And they give me some great fertilizer for the garden! (And of course delicious eggs!)

4. I grow my own food without owning lots of land. Why? Because I known exactly how they were grown. No strange fertilizers and chemicals. And the produce only travels a couple of feet instead of being transported thousands of miles!

5. I preserve that produce that I grow. Why? Because I know that I will have healthy food for my family all throughout winter! I know that you can get a can of whatever for super cheap, but it’s definitely not the same quality !

6. I make my own soap! Why? Because yet again, I know what is in it! No weird chemicals, and no excessive packaging!

7. I compost my coffee grounds, veggie scraps and chicken manure. Why? Because it makes amazing soil for the garden! Plus, it keeps all that out of the landfill.

8. This one usually gets me the strangest looks! No, I don’t use paper towels! What?!?! How?!?! Well, we use these serged cloths that I made a while ago and I end up washing them about every other week. I have certain cloths for cleaning countertops and others for the bathroom. (And we used to buy lots of paper towels!)

All in all, I actually enjoy living like this. It’s a conscious choice that allows us to teach our son about a minimalistic approach at life. And I guess that I can now just direct people here to understand why I do what I do!