Simple Foods: Rediscovering Our Food Dehydrator

Dan and I have mentioned a few times on the podcast how much we love our Exalibur food dehydrator. We absolutely love making our own dried fruit and beef jerky, free of additives and other junk ingredients that most other off the shelf foods have. Funny thing is, we didn’t always feel that way about our dehydrator. For a long time it just sat alone, tucked away in a cabinet above our refrigerator. It was yet another appliance we bought on impulse without thinking through how we would use it and if we really needed it in our lives. Isn’t that the case with most things we purchase on impulse?

We bought it well before we started our simplicity journey and got it primarily because we had just finished a 12 day juice fast and were motivated to continue to incorporate healthier, raw foods into our diets.  Plus we were tired of paying outrageous prices for beef jerky! So we got it, tried it…and then stored it away for months before using it again. Why? Well, like I said, we didn’t think through all the variables of bringing yet another appliance into our lives. And of course it was “out of sight and out of mind” so it simply didn’t get used.

Then one day Dan and I were discussing ways to slow the accumulation of clutter in our lives and curb our spending. We made a pact with one another to revisit and reuse some of those long forgotten items we purchased but never fully used, to see if we could or would actually use them. If not, we vowed to get rid of them for good! Luckily, after a serious interrogation session we determined there was a place for our food dehydrator in our lives. We just needed to ask the right questions:

  • What and how many types of foods do we want to make with the dehydrator?
  • Is there another way to make the same foods with items we already own? Or can we purchase these same foods with the same quality?
  • How often do we want to use it? Are these foods we will eat on a regular basis or only on special occasions?
  • Why are we not using it? Is the process too difficult? If so, can we simplify the process to make it worth using and keeping?
  • Is there a routine we can establish to make sure we use it?
  • Is the cost in time, effort and output worth keeping it?

In the end, we decided that it was worth it…for us. We love that we are creating healthier options for snacks and that they last longer than the fresh fruit that would end up going bad because we never ate it fast enough! Sure it takes some effort to prep the food before dehydrating, but we made the process simpler by creating a bi-weekly routine of dehydrating our snacks and we get the entire family involved making it more of a weekend or pre-camping trip ritual.

So take a look around at those things in your life that aren’t getting the attention they deserve. Is it because they really don’t fit into your lifestyle, or do you just need to take a closer look and strategize how it can add value to your life? It just might be worth the effort.

So, what do you have laying around the house that you could put to good use? What’s something you’ve been hanging on to fully intending to use, but never seem to get around to actually using it? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Interview with Mridu

I’m excited to share with you a video interview I did with a colleague of mine. Her name is Mridu Parikh and she is an organization life coach, simplicity expert and owner of Life Is Organized. In this interview you’ll get her backstory on how she became a professional organizer (like me…she wasn’t always organized). Plus you’ll learn about the most common struggles most of us face in our chaotic world and how simplicity and organization can bring you a little bit closer to having more peace and calm in your life.

Mridu is smart, fun and totally down to earth. She offers tons of tips and advice on her funny yet very informative video blog as well as her online workshops.

 

Mridu is passionate not just about organizing, but about embracing simplicity and taking charge of your life and happiness. I’m so grateful we were introduced and hope you find Mridu just as inspiring as I do!

 

 

SLT062: Stop the Accumulation of Clutter

We all have clutter in our lives. Naturally, one of the first steps on the road to simplicity is to challenge what and how much you consume. The basic idea here is that, the more you consume…meaning buy, acquire, receive, etc…the more complicated your life can be, and the more clutter you have, too! The less you consume the simpler it will be.

Stop the Accumulation of Clutter

So as important as editing is…and that’s an ongoing process…understand that just as important on the road to simplicity is your ability to slow your accumulation of stuff.  Read more…

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SLT053: Fewer Things, Fuller Life! Are You Ready?

On our journey toward a more simple life in the modern world, one point that keeps hitting home is that less is more. We like to say, fewer things, fuller life. Last year, we started the Edit & Forget It Challenge to eliminate 2013 things from our lives and hundreds of you joined us. Well, we’re going to keep it going this year, too! Now, we know 2014 fewer things is a lofty goal and certainly won’t be for everyone. But remember, it’s never about the numbers, it’s about your relationship with stuff. The real focus is to eliminate anything that you really don’t need any longer and to reach a point where you have truly what you need…what you love…and what you use. You’re trying to build some margin in your life and the Edit & Forget It Challenge will help you do that!

So, if you’re considering doing the Challenge…if you’re ready for fewer things cluttering up the margin in your life…we thought we’d share some of the experiences we had as we eliminated over 3000 things from our lives last year. Plus, we’ll tell you how you can sign up too (it’s FREE!), and and we’ll go over the “rules” (think of those rules in air quotes because you can shape them a bit to fit your needs).

So let’s get started! Read more…

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SLT050: Our Top 20 Simplicity Websites

It’s our 50th episode and we wanted to pass on our Top 20 simplicity websites, and also  our favorites for minimalism, lifestyle and more! You know, we have so many resources available to us these days that sometimes it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, as the saying goes.

It’s nice to have one source that you can go to in whatever interest category you have. So, we wanted to put together an episode and talk about some of our favorite websites and blogs that helped us on our journey, and still do…our Top 20 websites!

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