Mended and Patched

It didn't seem like a huge request, but as I went to store to store the other day, searching high and low for a clothes patch...it struck me. Where had all the patches gone?

Non-verbally, you could see it on their faces...wondering secretly if I had just stepped out from one of the Little House on the Prairie books. (Ha, I wish!) But sadly, store clerks over and over told me, "Oh...we don't carry them...no one mends their clothes anymore."

Say...what?

A sad moment. Somewhere between sewing feed-sack dresses, re-using pieces of tin foil and online grocery delivery...mending became "uncool". Driven by materialism and amazing advertising encouraging MORE; we have become a "throw-away" society.

The mentality of "why would I mend a shirt or pair of pants if I could just throw it away and get a new one?" has become a way of life. We, as a society, have deemed resources as expendable and/or justifiable that we don't have time to fix it. Ironically, the time it takes to sew on a button is shorter then that drive over to your nearest Fred Meyer or the mall. But, hey...really?

This attitude has got to change. Our landfills are overfilling, resources depleting and yet...we continue to throw away our lives.

I was taught to re-use, re-purpose, mend, fix, re-invent it and we continue to hold fast to this mentality here at The Britten Roost. I cut up strips of worn out yoga pants to tie back plants, re-purpose feed sacks into snazzy aprons or use as garbage bags in the barn, gather sticks and branches that have fallen to use in my fires, buy the $1.29 part to fix the couch, and my cats and dogs sleep on old pillows.

It is a mind shift, but I believe I'm a steward of the resources around me and I want to leave the world better. What about you? What are you doing to shatter stereo-types of our "throw away" society?

For me, I use patches.

I Resolve..

As everyone headed off to their perspective morning places (school and work), I finally found myself alone. Pulling my coat tighter around me in the brisk, morning air, I was awestruck by the pink hues hugging the mountain sky. I paused only for a moment as my too-thin pj's were no match for the frosty weather. Carefully navigating the icy stairs into the house, the screen door made a sneering smack as it closed.

Having been busy with family and enjoying vacation in California for an almost combined three weeks, the quietness felt odd. However, with the Christmas decorations tucked away for another year I felt a urge to organize. After taking my shower, I had promptly pulled out the contents underneath the bathroom sink and set to work. Downing another cup of tea, I dug through random items including numerous hair ties, expired medication, bottles of half-used lotion. Yeah me.

Though I rather be out working on the garden even in the low thirties, these chores are a necessary evil in the Winter months. My goal is to ensure I'm as organized and efficient as I can be inside so I can enjoy the Gardening months ahead. This means I am slowly tackling areas of the home that need a "refresh", whether that be repairs, cleaning, organizing, etc. Today even with a cozy fire, I felt cold so I went ahead and set my oven to self-clean to glean any extra heat from this simple chore. I made the mistake of doing this last summer...not a brilliant idea on a 90 degree day, but I learn. 

Later I chopped and prepare a pot of lentil stew to cook in the crock pot, while I finished organizing and folding laundry along with my other daily chores. As I mindlessly chopped, I thought about the New Year...wondering how many of my friends and acquaintances were struggling and/or thriving with their self-claimed New Year's resolution. This got me to ponder what my New Year's Resolutions would be for 2018.

As continued my work this afternoon, I have spent quiet reflection on my goals for this next year. While relaxing from the warmth of a roaring fire with a small quilt tucked over my legs, I give you my New Year's Resolutions. If you are reading this, I hope you are apart of making these resolutions come to fruition here at The Britten Roost. 

1. Live intentionally; slow down and enjoy the moment with my family.

2. Cook and bake from scratch using local ingredients whenever possible. 

3. Take a ride with my husband in a hot-air balloon. 

4. Grow green beans! (Darn those rabbits the last three years...this is my year!)

5. Write and publish article(s) and/or book.

6. Host/Teach a seminar/class about gardening, chickens and/or homesteading on the property.

7. Embrace living more with less. 

8. Write more.

9. Be even more creative with resources - utilizing OfferUp, bartering, networking.

10. Expand edible growing space on the property.