Simple Natural Living.... is it really possible?

I have spent many years living as simply and naturally as I could. I've been mindful to watch for eco-friendly everything.....home make as much as I can....DIY & Reduce-Reuse-Recycle..... purchase products that are environmentally friendly & choose natural products first that I already own, such as vinegar. I don't wear make-up or use store bought hair & body products. I even cut my own hair and choose a hairstyle specifically that is easy for me to cut & maintain (and it looks cute, too!). So I feel I do everything humanly possible to live naturally and in harmony with the Earth. We are in the country and have a garden full of lovely organic healthy foods to eat and surplus to store. We own chickens that provide love, company, entertainment and eggs! I have done my DIY as Earth friendly as possible, reusing, keeping it chemical free as much as I can, and choosing to not do changes if they were harmful. All of that being said, it can feel overwhelming and exhausting trying to keep a natural home some days! You know, the days you are running tired and behind and don't want to make your Chai to go or carry a large bag of recycling with you. You don't want to collect all the eggshells from breakfast and put them out on the porch in the natural sunshine to dry.....or the towels out in the sun, or the hand washed under garments! You just want today to be easy! I mean, does it really matter or make a difference? Everyone else is doing far worse, right?! Well, maybe, but on those days, I take a breath in slowly, stand still somewhere and exhale remembering all I have and am grateful for and know in my soul that I want to live this way. I want to honor myself, my values, and my Earth. I love living in balance with the gorgeous nature around me and caring for it, for my house, my family, and myself naturally, is the only way for me!

Now, as for living simply, that is an ongoing contemplation that seems to shift with the changing times! One aspect of simple living, to me, is owning only what I need but not more that that as all the "stuff" to me clutters and distracts and is suffocating, which is the opposite of simple living. Another aspect of simple living, is the idea of each day being actually simple. It seems harder to explain in words, so let me describe a day that is an example of simplicity. Our Sundays are sacred and I very much agree with the idea of keeping them "holy". Sundays are lazy, family, do what we want, no running days! We wake up when we want, make breakfast together, and plan nothing. I am usually up first and enjoy a hot cup of tea, rocking in my rocking chair perched on my porch, sitting in quiet solitude with nature as the action in my moment. Ah, the exhale! I stay as long as I want with nothing pulling me from the moment. Sundays have no to-do lists. No demands. No rush. Breakfast is together and leisurely. Sometimes we eat outside and sometimes we just stay in, comfy and in our pajamas a bit longer! I usually take the time on Sundays to putz around the house doing the non-essential fiddley bits that I usually never have the time to do but enjoy doing at my own beckoning on Sundays. You know those household essentials like refilling the salt & pepper shakers or putting up that picture or refilling the toilet paper in the cabinet. It's the day that is all about slowing down, doing not just what I want to do, it's more deep than that, it's homesteading at its finest. It's caring for the things that need care and attention: your home, your family, your self, your soul! At the end of this day, you're not exhausted but energized, you've accomplished more in the slowing down, and you feel in perfect alignment with everyone and everything. This is to me, Simple Living. I cherish Sundays and protect them for all that they do for my life! I try to apply those Sunday principles to each of the following days in the week. If I can keep my days slow, steady, focused, and uncluttered with my priorities true to caring for and nurturing first my family, home, self and soul, then I am accomplishing the art of Simple Living each day of the week!