Simplicity

I need to SIMPLIFY!

I am beginning to see how much I complicate and muddy things up in my little life here on Earth.

For one, I try to control EVERYTHING! And for two, I try to be EVERYTHING!

I really just want to be SIMPLE...to live SIMPLE...

I got my first taste of simplicity when I made my own homemade laundry detergent! (Silly, I know)

Now I need SIMPLICITY to spill into other areas of my life.

I don't think simplicity always means to make easier...sometimes, simplicity takes a little work on the front end.
Kind of like two things that my family is going to take a try at...
I LOVE these two ideas...but I have complicated them into failure in the past...and the hubby, well, he does not like to embrace organization...he is the kind that flies by the seat of his pants...

BUDGET & MEAL PLAN

Being a full-time working mom and wife is tough...so in my mind, these two things are lifesavers...but when I get home, I am tired and just want to relax, so I have never taken the step to move forward into action instead of just planning. And like I said, I complicate the planning...like I have to have a fancy way to display my menus before I can actually begin planning. So then I never get around to making the fancy board, therefore never planning meals. Complicated into Failure

But now, we are kind of being forced into these options.
My husband's job this month will be less hours than normal, which in turn means less money than normal.

We cannot afford to eat out every night like we have been. We cannot afford to buy groceries and never cook them, letting them expire before we consume them. We cannot afford to pay our water bill late. We cannot afford to go to Target or Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby five time in a week "just because".

We are going to take a shot at living a little more SIMPLY than we have been living. And I pray with my whole being that it STICKS! I see big things in our future if we could just do a little hard work in the beginning so that the end will be sweeter and mean more.

Like my laundry detergent!
Grating 3 bars of soap by hand was some hard, tedious work...but IT WAS WORTH IT! I have enough laundry detergent to last me about 6 months! No extra trips to the store because we ran out...no more paying $18 for 60 loads of laundry...We simplified a tiny area in our lives and it makes a big difference!

And I believe that this "simplification" (is that even a word?) will help us to rely more on God...to seek Him for our daily needs. I want to live in accordance to His Will for my life. And I do believe that this is part of His plan for my family...that when we become less focused on what we can attain here, and more focused on SIMPLY LIVING FOR HIM, He will reveal more and more of Himself to us and we will see glimpses of the Treasure of being in His company eternally!

So, if you have any tips for family budgets or meal planning, please share.
I would love some advice and/or guidance on this foreign subject!

This is a whole new world for my family, and we are excited, nervous and ready to make this change!

Thanks for allowing me to blah, blah, blah for a little bit :)