Just to Claireify

healthy food, lifestyle, travel, & everyday moments.

Living a Balanced Life: Make It Do…

by Leave a Comment

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. I’m very into the idea of cutting back lately. Not just in the obvious ways (buy what’s on sale! Ask around for hand-me-downs!) but also questioning what I feel like I/we NEED to buy for one reason or another.

When I was little, my mom was quite frugal. Not because my family was struggling, thankfully, but because my parents were good stewards of their money to save for what was important to them: funding our college accounts, living in a suburb with well-ranked schools, traveling to Europe every two years.… Read More »

Untethered (From My Phone)?

by Leave a Comment

The title is a goal, not a reality. Life has been busy lately because, well, when isn’t life busy with three tiny self-destructive time bombs running around the house? Plus continuing to set up our home, do yard work now that spring is here, visit with friends and family, and engage in personal projects.

I find myself resenting my phone lately. It’s like having a fourth, very un-gratifying child who seems to need attention dozens of times per day. Attention because it draws my gaze away from the real world when life is boring and uncomfortable; and also attention because I have a phone, and people know I have a phone so they contact me on it and of course expect a response. So I feel compelled to check it and respond in a timely manner.… Read More »

Living a Balanced Life: Use It Up, Wear It Out…

by Leave a Comment

…Make it do or do without. I am full of inspiration to be thriftier and in the process more eco-friendly, as I’m reading a wonderful book right now called The Simple Home.

We cook (mostly) from scratch, take hand-me-downs, use up our food stores/art supplies/toiletries etc, and try to buy sales for everything from food to clothing to home improvement items. But there are many ways we could live a more frugal life and make better use of the money and resources available to us.… Read More »

Social Media Burnout in Motherhood

by Leave a Comment

A Mr. 2-year-old project last week: sorting his toy cars by the ones that do go down the car ramp, and the ones that don’t.

I am burned out, friends–burned out on social media.

I’ve written so much before about social media on the blog. A lot of that came from the vague feeling, pre-kids, that in my romanticized traditional world, we wouldn’t have to meet our social needs online; we’d have vibrant real lives, busy lives full of family and friends and support.… Read More »

A Decluttering Journey: The First 100 Items

by Leave a Comment

I recently read two books that inspired me to tackle the clutter around our house in a thorough, maintain-able way.

The first was The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Now, I’m not planning on dying anytime soon, but in the book, she writes that you shouldn’t wait until you’re contemplating death to part with the things that aren’t serving you. Maybe you’re undergoing another life change like divorce, downsizing, or (in our case) contemplating an international move. Whatever the case, life is lighter and freer without the unused excess.

The other book was The Day the World Stops Shopping. It is a fantastic read that inspired significant personal reflection for me and my relation to things. It feels like a foundational book for anti-consumerism in the same way that The Omnivore’s Dilemma or In Defense of Food were foundational books for the anti-big ag/sustainable ag movements.… Read More »

© Claire Walker and JustToClaireify.com, 2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material (including photos and videos) without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Claire Walker and JustToClaireify.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.