Be Your Own Motivation and make sure to love yourself and treat yourself to a TIMEOUT.Happy Birthday The EDIT Chaos! I’m super excited to say that today marks my blog anniversary that I (officially) published this blog. Although, the thought of blogging entered my mind years ago, I however did not believe in myself years ago. I, remember sitting on the floor in my bathroom crying, while feeding the baby to write my VERY FIRST blog post. I felt defeated and exhausted with everything that was going on in the world and my life.
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I was very happy with how far I had come, but unsure with my emotions of gratitude. I remember thinking to myself, I can do this, I can write a blog. I wanted so badly to write and to express my feelings, to share my cries, my knowledge, to have someone to (talk) with. I had this feeling of emptiness, but also a feeling of grate-fullness. It’s hard to explain. BUT, throughout the feelings I decided to write. Although, I do not have A lot of published posts, I DO have a lot of journaling. Some I will share, eventually and some that is just for me. Those that are just for me, I wrote in the mist of ALL my emotions. Writing the sh*t out was my form of self care. It was my TIMEOUT. Time, to think, to cry, to laugh, be grateful, find peace, but most of all, find Myself!
Please, continue to follow me, as I edit my way through Mommahood, Style, Entrepreneurship, Sustainable efforts,DIYs, Momma Timeouts and all of my wonderful chaos. Grab a tea or wine and stay awhile!! Also go check out my post How To Have Success with Blogging.-A simple Way
Hello Editors! Happy Valentines Day or Galentines Day, call it what you want! Just make sure to love yourself and treat yourself to a TIMEOUT. I’m super excited to say that today marks one year that I (officially) started this blog. Although, the thought of blogging entered my mind years ago, I however did not believe in myself years ago. I, remember sitting on the floor in my bathroom crying, while feeding baby to write my VERY FIRST blog post. I felt defeated and exhausted with everything that was going on in the world and my life.
I was very happy with how far I had come, but unsure with my emotions of gratitude. I remember thinking to myself, I can do this, I can write a blog. I wanted so badly to write and to express my feelings, to share my cries, my knowledge, to have someone to (talk) with. I had this feeling of emptiness, but also a feeling of grate-fullness. It’s hard to explain. BUT, throughout the feelings I decided to write. Although, I do not have A lot of published posts, I DO have a lot of journaling. Some I will share, eventually and some that is just for me. Those that are just for me, I wrote in the mist of ALL my emotions. Writing the sh*t out was my form of self care. It was my TIMEOUT. Time, to think, to cry, to laugh, be grateful, find peace, but most of all, find Myself!
For everyone that has encouraged, shared, read and just listened, I want to say THANK YOU!
The Best Investment one can make, is Investing in themselves!
Please, continue to follow me, as I edit my way through Mommahood, Style, Entrepreneurship, Sustainable efforts,DIYs, Momma Timeouts and all of my wonderful chaos. Grab a tea or wine and stay awhile!!
I enjoy living as sustainable as I can. My motto is “It’s better with a lot of little steps, then one big step” because while I try my best, I’m no where near perfect. The last few years I’ve tried finding the best alternatives to the products I grew up with and continued using into adulthood. You know: paper towels, paper plates, plastic wrap, plastic sandwich bags, foil, straws and other disposable items.
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Below you will find the list of things that “Jenkins Party of Six” decided to switch.
They were one of those things that I knew would be hard to part with. I mean, I have chaos running throughout my house at all times. Between needing to clean up spilled milk, juice or any type of liquid that one can imagine, including the golden shower. I knew paper towels would be the last to go. But, I gave it whirl and I am still whirling it out! I came acrossSeventh generation paper towels and hit the jackpot. They are natural unbleached paper towels that we have used for a few months now and love. Yes, I know we could completely go the terry towel route, but again it’s the little steps.
It’s just something that is supposed to be in your pantry, right? Well, thats what I thought …Nope, wrong. I searched high and low for a good alternative that came from a company that was ethical and I was happy to find Bee’s wrap. It’s made of organic cotton with beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin in Vermont. They’re relatively easy to wash. Just use cold water, dish soap and hang to dry. We have them in various sizes ranging from small, medium, large, sandwich and the bread size to wrap up baked bread. The great thing is that they last up to a year and are compostable when they’re unable to be used any longer.
We did the math and we used approximately 60 plastic bags per month minimum. Just from packing lunch and snacks and food storage. Thats a ton of plastic being thrown out. I didn’t have to search very hard for this alternative because when I read reviews nothing compared to theStasher bags. I bought three just to see if they were worth the hype and I was HOOKED. They’re incredible and we have a total of eight or so now. You can dish wash, microwave, put them in the oven, and on the stovetop in a pot, use them for years. Nothing else that I could find even compared. They have a wide range of sizes and colors and they’re made of silicone vs plastic. We’ve had ours for almost a year now so that means we’ve saved at least 720 Ziploc bags from ending up in the landfill.
This one was the one of the easiest for me to switch out. The hardest thing to remember is to take it with you! We use Simple Modern, which I really enjoy. They come in a variety of colors and sizes to meet, many of your needs. I get ours from Dick’s sporting goods, but I’m certain you can find them at any sporting store or Amazon.
Remembering to bring my reusable bags was the hardest part of making this switch but, when you have bags that preform fantastically they’re easy to remember. I can’t say enough good things aboutBAGGU bags because they’re simply incredible. You can fold these bags down into their little pouches, which comes in a wide range of patterns and sizes.They hold up to 50 pounds, which means I can stuff my toddler into one, if need be! (This is a full disclaimer, stating that I have absolutely NOT stuffed any of my toddlers in any bag.!). They also come in a variety of sizes and they are all machine washable.
My thoughts were similar to the paper towels – time consuming and messy to switch out. Surprisingly it wasn’t! I purchased the reusable coffee filters from GoldTone and they have worked incredibly for me. When the coffee is done, I dump the coffee grounds, give it a rinse and then throw them in the bin with the reusable cloths so they can all get washed together. We also use aCafe Du Chateau French press that I love, and is super easy to clean.
I know it’s more things that could be added to our list, but again little steps. These little steps, made by my family will make huge impacts. At the end of the day, do what is best for your family and what makes you ALL thrive.
Hey, you HEY!! Why are you not thrifting? It’s great for the environment, saves you money, and helps support the local community. I’ve listed a few things that I believe are reasons to start thrifting.
Thrifting helps our environment, plain simple. As someone with a fashion degree, this has always been a very important reason that I try to limit my consumption (or find sustainable ways to repurpose clothing). The BEST and most sustainable way to shop is by shopping secondhand! Whether that’s Goodwill, Salvation Army, a local thrift shop, Plato’s Closet, etc. you are helping the environment.
If you didn’t already know this, the fashion industry is the SECOND most toxic industry right behind oil/petroleum. You probably would’ve NEVER thought that to be possible! I remember seeing the entire creation and consumption process in the documentary True Cost and if you need any more motivation on top of this post, you need to watch it. It really allows you to think about our actual wants vs. needs
You’ll also be sad to find out that most of your clothing that’s donated to Goodwill, or other big chain secondhand stores, is sent overseas to be sold. This hurts local economies and takes away from artisans who need to sell goods to survive! Buying from these thrifts shops helps to keep these items out of landfills and out of resale markets in third world countries.
HUGE reason. Kids grow in the middle of the night, really you kiss and tuck a 2feet tall person into bed and wake up to a 4feet tall person. Believe me, I’ve seen this happen. Secondhand is always a great option for their growing bodies. You can find some great secondhand clothing, if you take the time to look.
I know that a lot of people think of Thrifting as old ragged, ugly clothing. But if you give Thrifting a try, I promise you will find some great treasures. Hey, you might even find your next side hustle! “One closet purge, is another closet treasure”-Closetevict
I’m Shannon, a momma from Virginia running this blog. I’m lucky to say I am still in love with my high school sweet heart. Together we have a wild and chaotic crew of four. Shaun”SJ” (13), Preston (3), Chloe(2) and Nicholas(1). ..NO, that was not a typo, I was hungry and Shaun was starving and BAM!! “Jenkins Party of 6! It’s kind of like we’re best friends or something like that. CHEERS to young love, dumb love, confused love and healed love. I’m a Lifestyle blogger,Pinterest Strategist, occasional YouTuber, small business owner creating content for you as a form of self care. Editing through mommahood and life, while embracing chaos in an imperfect sustainable lifestyle! Thriving from the art of Side hustles, passive income and momma time outs. Grab a tea and follow along on this blogging journey.
