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PASSING THE TORCH

Our community has been blessed with the contributions of many parents who bring their passions, skills, and commitment to the Holistic Moms Network and share their gifts with us. The Wise Mom Co-Editors Marla Hanan and Rachel Pasternak have guided our e-newsletter and helped us to deepen our knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a holistic parent. As they pass the torch to our new Editor of The Wise Mom, Aimee K. Wood, we take this moment to thank them for all they have shared with us and to welcome Aimee for taking the helm!

Nancy Massotto, Executive Director

LIVING SIMPLY

I’m excited and honored to be the newest Editor of The Wise Mom! In this quarter’s newsletter, our theme is “living simply”. In my quest for submissions, I have learned that “living simply” means something different to everyone and it can permeate various areas of one’s life. This newsletter contains many thoughtful articles, creative essays, meditations, poems, and recipes all written around this common theme. In this issue you will find fantastic information about decluttering your home, simplifying finances, simple spring herbs, easy-to-make birthday cakes, the importance of good old-fashioned outdoor playtime for children, an easy meditation anyone can do, and a discussion about alternative activities to TV watching. Be sure to read The Clothesline Connection by Tricia Runningen, which will surely take you back!

The Wise Mom is the voice of Holistic Moms, so please do not hesitate to send me your submissions, ideas, and feedback to: wisemom@holisticmoms.org.

Enjoy and Happy Spring!
Aimee Wood
The Wise Mom Editor

HMN ANNOUNCEMENTS

We are excited to welcome new HMN Sponsors to our Community:

Allergy Relief Centers: Natural allergy elimination for children and adults. Located in Pleasanton, CA.

Helene Schneider, MA, MFT: Life Coach, licensed marriage, family, and child therapist, intuitive reader and healer. Located in Walnut Creek, CA.

Growing Healthy Families: Cooking with Holistic Moms,  the cookbook of the Holistic Moms Network, has arrived and is selling like hotcakes! Packed with nearly 300 healthy recipes for simple and gourmet treats as well as for non-toxic cleaning products and more, this is a unique cookbook you will use again and again! Order your copy today!.

Mark Your Calendars! The 2008 Natural Living Conference of the Holistic Moms Network will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2008 at the Sheraton Crossroads Conference Center in Mahwah, New Jersey. This exciting one-day event will feature a new format with breakout sessions on a variety of topics as well as fabulous Keynote Speakers. Save the date!

THE CLOTHESLINE CONNECTION

by Tricia Runningen

In an effort to save the world, I had my husband build me a four-strand clothesline in the yard. There have been times when lugging baskets of heavy, wet laundry around the house to the line has seemed terribly time-consuming and irritating. “Oh, the work I must do!” I would lament to myself.

However, now I have a new perspective of the chore. Being outside in the early morning is now a chance for me to relax. The dew is still clinging to the leaves and grass, water flicking on my ankles as I walk. The air is so crisp and clean in the morning. It is like no other time of day. The sky seems bluer, even through a light fog or maybe because of it. It reminds me of mornings walking with my mother when I was child or waiting for the bus during those first weeks of school.

I set down my basket and hang up the white, nylon bag of wooden pins. First, the baby’s diapers are tacked up, and I smile at how lucky I am to be a mother living my life just as I wish: home with my baby. I raise my head, distracted by the swift movements of birds chirping their noisy conversations. There are the run-of-the-mill grayish-brown sparrows, but also black birds with stunning red coloring on their wings. I wonder, for the first time in my life, what their names are.

I return to my task, hanging the endless number of bibs the baby goes through now that he’s eating solids. The stains don’t come out anymore, but I think it is a testament to their good use. Roscoe, our basset hound who has been sniffing around my feet, suddenly takes off towards the tiny, red shed in the backyard. He is quick for such a short-legged dog carrying an extra five pounds or so, but the rabbit he is after is gone in a flash beyond our yard and the fence-line.

Back to the task again. My husband’s dark blue work shirts are next in the basket to go on the line. I think of him working the fifty or more hours a week we have become accustomed to, and I am thankful for his support of the family and am missing him at the same time. Although he thought I was crazy for wanting such a primitive item as a clothesline, he dutifully designed and built it for me. He’s not a handyman by nature, so I was bursting with pride when he finished tapping the last of the wet cement in the post-holes. At seven months pregnant, I felt the work he put into the project was another sign of his love for me.

As I continue, my mind wanders. I suppose the repetitive nature of hanging clothes lends itself to reflection. There is nothing to weigh down the mind, so it drifts freely between topics of importance or frivolity. With all the modern-day distractions out of the way, even old memories have time to float to the surface. These mornings always take me back to the two summers I spent in Montana working on a guest ranch. My co-workers and I woke each day to the cool and misty mountain mornings. Each of the rustic nineteenth-century log cabins we lived in could hold only two people and a family of mice that came and went freely though the gaping spaces between the bottom of the walls and floating floor. We were nestled at the base of the Crazy Mountains, starting each day in awe of their majesty. They could be imposing and embracing at the same time. Early mornings were when the wranglers herded up the horses and ran them across the old railroad bridge, a stampede of hooves and whinnies. It was magical.

Only a few items are left for me to hang, and I can admire what seems to be a representation of my family blowing in the gentle breeze, bringing goose bumps to my skin. I smile again because every day I spend at the clothesline I feel a connection to the generations of women who performed this same task years before. The tools are much the same. I can picture women in long skirts and petticoats, women in day-dresses and high heels, and my own mother in jeans and t-shirt, all hanging clothes in much the same manner. Did they have the same hopes and dreams I do? Did they have the same affection for their families? Did they also use this task as a way to retreat from the pressures of daily life? In a world that barely resembles that of a hundred years ago, perhaps there is wisdom doing things the hard way.

Tricia Runningen lives in rural southeast Minnesota taking care of her son, Wyatt age 18 months, and has a baby girl due in April. She works from home part-time while her husband braves the outside world. Her holistic passions are cloth diapering and environmental issues.

BACK TO BASICS: OUR NATURAL WORLD IS THE BEST PLAYGROUND

by Susan Lembo Balik

My family hiked at Ramapo Reservation recently. We took our favorite path, scrambling over rocks, balancing on a log bridge like tightrope walkers, and playing leap frog on stones in the stream. Half way through, my 6-year-old daughter wanted to veer off a different way. She pointed to the trail marker on the tree trunk, and with some trepidation, we followed her up steep rocky terrain and deeper into the woods. A shy child, it was fun to watch my youngest take charge. With a little bit of help locating trail markers, she led us along this new path and back to the trail head about 45 minutes later.

Our little adventure reminded me that the woods or a field is a better playground than any manmade jungle gym; a leaf or rock a better toy than any store-bought Barbie doll or plastic action figure. Left to her own imagination, with no electronic device to dictate her play, she exhibited self-reliance and creativity, and an ability to interpret her natural surroundings.

“When we inundate our children with junk toys and junk knowledge, we bury one of life’s great treasures – mystery. When, with well-intentioned kindness, we deluge them with things that clang, bang, spin, flash, scream, burp, whine…we numb them to the myriad subtleties of their fellow humans and the natural world around them. Human expression, human behavior, as well as the miracles of ever-changing nature, woods, creeks, oceans, meadows and bogs, hold little if any fascination,” writes Ferenc Mate in his book, A Reasonable Life: Toward a Simpler, Secure and More Humane Existence.

“Most child psychologists agree that every time we give a child a toy we prevent him from inventing it,” adds Mate. Yet, most of us, me included, are guilty of this very thing. In our high tech lives, it has never been more important to help our kids appreciate the kinds of pleasures that don’t come from a factory or require an electrical outlet – in other words, fresh air, clean water, sunshine, trees, leaves, rocks, dirt, and solitude.

What better way to instill in children that the best things in life are free? Or teach them to respect and protect our natural resources? They have to breathe fresh air to cherish it; see an owl, before it matters that their own children may not see one someday; dip their toes in an unpolluted lake to never violate it with an empty gum wrapper or plastic water bottle.

Even more, nature takes children away from all the busyness and distraction that fills so much of our lives. In the woods, a child can hear his or her own inner voice, which means parents can do the same. No ringing phone. No arguing over the TV. No flashing, buzzing toys. Instead, children become comfortable with the planet as their playground, and all the adventure that promises.

Susan Lembo Balik is a freelance writer and parenting columnist living in Hawthorne, NJ.

MEMBER'S VOICES: LIVING SIMPLY

Holistic Moms is passionate about hearing what our members are thinking about. The Wise Mom is the voice of all of the members. This section is dedicated solely to what our members are thinking on a specific topic. Submissions will be accepted by writing: wisemom@holisticmoms.org.

What are your thoughts on “Living Simply”?

At first glance I did not consider myself to have a “simple” lifestyle. Doesn’t “Living Simply” refer to those on a farm grinding their own grain for bread with only one electrical outlet necessary to run their electronics? … I think when we as Holistic Moms consider “Living Simply” we mean getting back to basics. How basic are we willing to go? How much more complex will our lives be when we get there? … Would I prefer to write this article with a pencil on paper in order to commune more closely with nature so I can say I am “Living Simply”? A resounding NO, I say! You can take away my MTV but not my computer or internet access! I believe that “Living Simply” in a Modern World means balancing the complex items which simplify my life with the simple pleasures of a home cooked meal, time spent in nature, and reading to my children even if take out, driving the car and popping in a video are simpler to accomplish… If we are “Living Simply”, maybe we ought to listen to the simple voice of our hearts in order to figure out our needs and not the cacophony of voices creating a need in order to sell us their latest gadgets stated to simplify our lives. Indeed, after all of this pondering in front of the laptop, I believe it is time for me to grab the puppy and catch up with the rest of my family walking along the waterfront and consider that I do know more about “Living Simply” than I originally thought even if I can never find enough three-pronged outlets where I need them.  --Janine Burnham Ruth is a work from home mother parenting two boys holistically in Lower Bucks County, PA with her husband.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love said on an interview with Oprah “I wanted a bigger smaller life.” More of what really matters, less of the materialisms that so easily turn into burdens. Like so many of the things she says, that really resonated with me… I am trying to find my own “bigger, smaller life”. I no longer go the mall as an outing. I spend more time at the library and with my family engaged in activities. The TVs are getting lonely from lack of attention. And I am starting to feel like myself – a new self, incredibly richer and more satisfied than ever before. -- Janalee Morris-Wales of the South King County Holistic Moms Chapter in Washington State

Michelle O’Neill wrote to us on 5 easy steps for a more simple life:
1. Know what you want. Taking the time to discover what we really want and making sure it connects with our inner values creates the clarity we’re looking for.
2. Set healthy boundaries. When we allow ourselves to be at everyone’s beck and call and ignore our own happiness we set the stage for a complicated life. It’s not selfish to show ourselves love and kindness, it is self-love! And it’s OK to say ‘No’ to others when we need to. Soon there will be more time to do all those things on our “I-wish-I-could” list.
3. Being more and doing less. Connecting with our heart often allows the mind to be the servant and not the master. For those new to this, start by scheduling some being time – meditation, yoga, walks in nature, gardening, playing with a child.
4. Don’t sweat the small stuff. When we use much of our energy in things we have no control over, or are inconsequential in comparison to the bigger picture of life, we are creating a complicated life. “Is this going to matter 3 days, 3 months, and 3 years from now?” If we can answer NO rather quickly, then don’t sweat it!
5. Adopt an attitude of gratitude. If we can begin to see the necessity of the rain, the pleasure of having dishes to wash, or enjoy the sound of lively siblings having healthy disagreements, we’ve entered the realm of gratitude – a state that is beyond the ego’s interpretations of the world, and instead, allowing the openness of a joyful heart that sees the simple goodness in all. -- Michelle O’Neill resides in Wayne, NJ with her three daughters. In addition to being a Corporate Controller she also serves as a Life Coach, specifically for women who wish to shift from relationship dependency to a fulfilling Self-relationship (www.Alchemy-Coaching.com).

SIMPLY BREATHING: MEDITATION

by Padme Livingstone

Try this the next time you are aware that you feel stressed and want to simplify things by quieting down the inner chaos quickly.

Walking, driving, standing still, or sitting, quietly say while breathing in, “I am breathing in.” Say while breathing out, “I am breathing out.” Focus attention on what happens. If you become distracted, simply return your focus to your words and notice what’s happening within. Repeat until you notice a shift, and are ready to stop.

Balance in all things, means use this practice with care, and let awareness be your guide. Sometimes this practice is helpful, and other times, it can be used to distract us from exploring the mistaken beliefs that keep us rushing around.

Remembering awareness is a gift to yourself and others.

Padme Livingstone teaches awareness meditation, shares personal guidance, and co-facilitates Sitting and Speaking Mindfully groups in the Rochester, NY area. Her book, Let’s Not Call It Meditation: Practical Guidance for People Who Think They Can’t Sit Still and Quiet the Mind is available online at Padme’s website www.healingwithawareness.com.

CHILDREN AND NATURE: A NATURAL ATTACHMENT

by Martha Farrell Erickson, Ph.D.

The growing disconnection of children from nature distressed my friend, Richard Louv, a San Diego journalist with a passion for nature and the environment. So a few years ago he set out to explore the causes and consequences of this disconnection and seek solutions to what he saw as a major threat to the well-being of children and our society. The result was the best-selling book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder . Interviewing hundreds of people (adults and children), Louv uncovered at least three major reasons why children were staying inside: 1) parental fear (particularly of “stranger danger”, even though statistics suggest the risk of stranger abduction is lower today than it was in the 1970s); 2) technology and its nearly addictive power over kids; and 3) in some communities, lack of access to safe places to be outdoors.

But wherever he went, Louv encountered a powerful desire for change, a longing to reintroduce children to the outdoor experiences most adults remembered so fondly. Thus, with the book as a launch pad, and fueled by the hundreds of speeches Louv has given since the book’s publication, a movement to reconnect children with nature began to gather momentum across the country – a movement sometimes dubbed “Leave No Child Inside.”

To help bring interested individuals and organizations together to share ideas and resources – and to gather research to support and inform the rapidly-growing movement – Louv and a handful of colleagues formed a new non-profit organization, the Children and Nature Network (C&NN). (I’m delighted to be one of the founding board members.)

To take the movement to a new level, in August C&NN convened 70 regional leaders from across the US and Canada for a 2-day meeting at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Together, this diverse and energetic group is succeeding in putting the children and nature issue on the radar screen of parents, educators, urban planners, public officials, and other concerned citizens across the political spectrum. And they are generating creative strategies to make sure all children have safe ways to enjoy – and learn from – outdoor activities.

So, why is this issue so important? Although, in my opinion, this aspect of children’s daily lives has not received the attention from researchers it deserves, a growing body of research yields evidence of the costs to children and society when kids are not engaged in active play and exploration outdoors. These include:

• Childhood obesity and the health problems associated with it
• Difficulty concentrating and learning in the classroom (perhaps especially for children with “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”)
• Missed opportunities for learning that build on natural curiosity and encourage creativity (what many experienced educators see as the best way to learn)
• A new generation of adults who care little about the environment because they have not learned to know and love nature firsthand (e.g., one study showed that children who experience nature in the wild before the age of 11 are more likely as adults to be good stewards of the environment.)

I also would add to the list of consequences lost opportunities to strengthen and sustain a strong, secure parent-child attachment. In my years at the University of Minnesota, my major area of research has been the development of parent-infant attachment, shown to be an important foundation for later competence and well-being. But my own family experience has taught me there’s no better way to sustain that warm relationship with your growing child than to get away from phones, TVs, computers, and distracting household tasks to discover the wonders of nature together. Being together in nature also makes it easy to follow the lead of your child’s natural curiosity and interests – to be sensitive and responsive to your child’s cues, which research shows to be a primary ingredient of a secure attachment.

To learn more about why this issue is so important check out the Children and Nature Network, www.cnaturenet.org. Then turn off your computer and get outdoors!

Martha Farrell Erickson, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow and Director in the University of Minnesota’s Center for Early Education and Development and a founding board member of the Children & Nature Network. With her daughter, Marti also hosts the weekly radio show “Good Enough Moms” on FM107.1 in the Twin Cities, and appears regularly on KARE-TV (NBC) as a child and family expert. The grandmother of three, Marti is delighted to be introducing another generation to the joy and wonder of nature.

*Full version of this article was published in the Fall issue of Wellness Works, a publication of the University of Minnesota. The newest edition of Last Child in the Woods will be released in April.

HMN MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Adrianne M. Rowe

City, State and HMN Chapter: Metuchen, NJ (Middlesex County, NJ Chapter)

Tell us about yourself (number and ages of kids, where you live, where you are from, your age (if you wish), hobbies, interests, education or career (past or present) etc.).
I have one son, 3 and a half, adopted 2 days old. He was born in Harrisburg, PA. We have lived in Metuchen, NJ since 1996. I previously lived on Long Island and grew up in Queens, NY.

I am 49 years old. I have been a business owner for 8 years; I am the Creator and Director of Violet Petals Yoga & Wellness Oasis (www.VioletPetals.com). I previously worked in NYC as a mainframe computer programmer and project manager for 20 years.

I am a registered and Certified Yoga Teacher, Certified Reflexologist, Raindrop Technique® Practitioner, Reiki Master and Natural Foods Chef. I offer group and private sessions in Yoga, Reiki, Reflexology and Essential Oils, Yoga and meditation sessions designed for the beginner to experienced practitioners, Wellness and Healing services include Reiki, Reflexology and Raindrop Technique® by appointment.

What got you interested in holistic living?
Holistic Living started in my early teens, living healthy is something I have always had a passion for.

What are your top three holistic passions?
Eating Healthy
Yoga, meditation and mindfulness
Natural Healing - using therapeutic grade essential oils

What holistic practice or lifestyle could you not live without and why?
I could not live without eating healthy and my daily personal yoga practice. Food is very important to me and has been a mainstay for most of my life.

What unholistic practice or lifestyle do you still participate in (or refuse to give up)?
Aluminum Foil

How has HMN affected your life?
Holistic Moms has given me an opportunity to not feel like an outsider. The ability to share and make friends with other like minded moms and have my son share the same with other holistic minded children is wonderful.

Adrianne’s Simple Recipe for Ginger Tea
Boil 4-6 thin slices of fresh ginger (unpeeled OK) in 2 cups of water, simmer for 20 minutes.

Sweeten with honey or pure maple syrup to taste or drink as is. This tea is great for warming and stimulating the digestion, calming to the nerves and wonderful for reproductive health.

What does Living Simply mean to you?
Living Simply is doing less, no TV, recycling, buying less, cooking simple so foods are fresh and natural and organic where possible. Making time in silence and having quiet time everyday. My primary focus of living simply is living a yoga lifestyle. One of the things I also want to highlight -- being a holistic mom it is essential to take time for ourselves so that we can be better moms for both our children and family.

REJUVENATING & CLEANSING SIMPLE HERBS OF SPRING

by Angela Tiberio

After a long winters rest, I awaken myself with thoughts of spring, getting back into the fields to harvest nettles, dandelions, cleavers, violets, burdock and garlic mustard, the first plants of the season to emerge. Harvesting one’s weeds for food and medicine has so many benefits. It is cost effective, reconnects us to nature and provides tremendous nutrition. Most wild herbs are far superior in vitamin and minerals than their cultivated cousins.

Dandelion is a wonderful spring tonic for the liver. The entire plant is edible and medicinal. The leaves are very nutritive; having more beta carotene than carrots, with 14,000 I.U.’s in ½ cup of fresh leaves. They are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins and Vitamin C. Although they may be harvested at anytime of the year, I prefer to take them before they flower, which is when they are the tastiest and make a good addition to salads. The leaves are also a potent diuretic which will not deplete the body of potassium such as prescription diuretics may do. The roots when dug in the spring are high in taraxin, a constituent in the plant which stimulates the flow of bile, aids in the digestion of fats and improves the functions of the liver in many ways. The roots although bitter, can also be sautéed and added to soups and stews. They are very nutritious and contain high amounts of iron and manganese.

Burdock roots dug in the spring can also be eaten and are known as “gobo” to the Japanese. The chopped fresh root whether eaten or used in tea or tincture is a nourishing tonic for the liver and kidneys and promotes digestion and appetite through the bitter stimulation of digestive juices and the secretion of bile. It helps to eliminate chemicals and waste material normally produced by the body. Burdock root or seeds are beneficial for dry, scaly skin such as in eczema and psoriasis.

Cleavers, although they can be eaten, (especially by my dogs) are used more as a medicine than food. They are very mild in taste and therefore make a nice tea. I use them as a diuretic and to soothe irritations of the kidneys and urinary tract. They are also an excellent lymphatic cleanser and I use them for swollen glands, tonsillitis and ear infections. They don’t preserve for more than a year so it is best to harvest them and use fresh or dry enough for one season to use in a tea. I prefer to tincture them fresh, and then they may be used for years to come.

When harvesting plants from the wild, stay away from busy roads or fields that may be sprayed with chemical fertilizers or weed killers, and of course, be sure to know what you are picking. As crazy as it seems, I recommend that people plant some of these weeds in their garden so they know what they’re harvesting until they become very familiar with the plants. Although there are several good books written on plant identification, you’ll learn more in an afternoon on a lively herb walk then you will from reading books.

Angela Tiberio is an herbal practitioner, educator and owner of Lavender Moon Herb Gardens, located in Honeoye Falls, NY. Her shop, located in a restored 19th century barn, captures the look and feel of another era and contains “all things herbal”, all formulated and made on the premises with herbs grown on their farm. For more info please visit www.lavendermoonherbs.com or call (585) 624-4220.

BIRTHDAY SEASON: SWEET SIMPLE VEGAN BIRTHDAY CAKE

by Marla Nierenberg Hanan

In our house, as soon as the New Year dawns, my attention turns to birthdays. I have three sons, and all of their birthdays fall within three weeks of each other – with the oldest and the youngest actually sharing the same birthday. So birthday season in our home is late February into March.

When my second son’s first birthday approached, I was still sweeping up the crumbs from his older brother’s party a few weeks before. Nevertheless, I decided I wanted to bake a cake to celebrate the occasion. I had never before baked a birthday cake, so I needed a recipe that was foolproof and simple. A friend handed me a recipe for a “Crazy Cake” that was from the Nov/Dec 2003 issue of Alternative Medicine magazine, of all places.

According to the magazine, this recipe “floated around the newspaper circuit for decades” because it is “ridiculously simple to prepare and contains no butter or eggs”. This was all the reassurance I needed to go ahead and bake the cake. So, I am pleased to share this recipe with you. It produces a fairly dense cake so I have usually made it with a butter cream frosting, but it has also been well received on its own. Fresh (or thawed, frozen) berries and a cold glass of milk (whatever kind your family drinks) also go well with the cake. Needless to say, I made this cake for my son’s first birthday, and for quite a few thereafter – it is truly very easy and indeed, very good. Just double it to make a bigger cake or a double layer.

Crazy Cake

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use spelt flour)
1 cup granulated sugar (I use Rapadura, an unrefined cane sugar)
½ cup organic cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil (I use melted coconut oil)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and blend with a whisk. Make a well in the center and pour in oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour cold water over all, then whisk until smooth. Pour into a nonstick 8 inch round or square baking pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (If using another type of pan I would grease the pan first with oil or butter.) Store covered, in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Makes 8 servings.

Marla Hanan is the mother of three sons and lives in New Jersey. Among her holistic passions is sharing information about food and nutrition with mothers.

HAIKU ON LIVING SIMPLY

Simplicity is
Sustainability in
Our daily practice.
-anonymous Holistic Mom member

Haiku is a kind of Japanese poetry. It was given this name in the late 19th century by a man named Masaoka Shiki. In English, haiku are written in three lines to equate to the three parts of a haiku in Japanese that traditionally consist of five, seven, and then five syllables. Wikipedia.com

Please send your poetry submissions to: wisemom@holisticmoms.org. Starting in June we will be taking submissions from Holistic Kids! Kids of all ages are welcome to submit.

SIMPLE LIVING & FINANCIAL FREEDOM

by Molly M. Remer, MSW

Though it may not seem like an obvious connection, living simply is inextricably linked to money—earning money, saving money, and using money wisely. Many simple living experts make the connection between money and “life energy.” We trade our time (life energy) for money and we want to make sure our trade is a good one! In a simple living family, spending decisions are made consciously, based on what you have decided to trade your life energy for. This article is based on the concept of financial independence as introduced in the book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin. Financial independence is defined in brief by the above authors as, “having an income sufficient to meet your basic needs and comforts from a source other than paid employment.” In other words, being able to “make a living” without needing a paid job. This goal is presumably in everyone’s eventual future based on retirement. However, the concept of financial independence in the above book is designed to help you reach that future before the traditional age of retirement—instead you may be able to become financially free at 50 or 45 or even 30.

This article offers simple tips that can be implemented by just about anyone, to get you moving along toward your larger life goals. These tips are designed to start you on your path to financial independence. They will make the journey seem more feasible and your large goals start to seem within your reach. These tips represent simple starter strategies geared for those who may have been heard to say, “I could never do that” and those who have little financial savvy or experience.

Starting Out

• Open a savings account and start saving now—even minimal interest adds up. In fact, a savings account with no interest still produces a financial cushion as long as you keep adding to it! Try to save 10% of your household’s monthly income. If that sounds like too much, try 5%. Once you set the percentage goal, stick to it! Remember that compound interest goes both ways—$20 left on a credit card balance can also become much more.
  
• Follow the tried and true old advice to pay yourself first. Make a commitment to deposit that 10% of your household paycheck(s) into your savings account before you do anything else.
  
• Don’t fall into the “later trap.” As in, we don’t make enough to save now, we’ll start saving later. The truth is that, if you don’t save now, odds are you won’t save later no matter how much money you make.
  
• Stop making excuses for why you “can’t” save any money. Almost everyone makes enough money to save something. As long as you still have cable TV, a phone, one or more magazine subscriptions, drink coffee, or rent movies, you have enough money to start saving!
  
• Start to live in a way that encourages your future financial goals. This does not mean a life of deprivation. Do not feel like you have to eliminate everything fun in your life. Look at your priorities and your goals and eliminate things that do not support either. If you really enjoy reading books and it enhances your life to buy new books, by all means continue to do so, but try cutting out things that offer only a fleeting reward (such as that candy bar or pack of gum in the check-out line at the grocery store).

Molly Remer, MSW, CCE is a certified birth educator and activist who lives in a straw bale house in central Missouri with her husband and two young sons (ages 4.5 and almost 2). She co-leads the HMN Rolla chapter, is an LLL Leader, and is on the Board of Citizens for Midwifery.

WEIGHING IN WITH CLUTTER

by Wendy Thomas

With 6 kids, a husband, 3 dogs, a full-time job, and a 4,400 square-foot house that was over-stuffed with years of accumulated clutter-weight, I needed to put my house on a strict diet to eliminate excess and unwanted poundage.

Deciding to publicly document my journey, each month I wrote a column for our local newspaper detailing how I interviewed organizing experts and then decluttered each room keeping track of items previously lost but now found and excess weight (trash and donations) eliminated. After 16 months, I finally decluttered my entire house and ended up removing 5,303 pounds (almost 3 tons) of unnecessary and unwanted stuff along the way.

I remember how my family's lack of confidence initially hit me hard. The first room that I decluttered was the living room and like the Little Red Hen, no one wanted to help me get started. I finally pulled everything off the walls, shelves, and out of the drawers and stacked it all into a huge (and I mean huge) pile in the middle of the floor.

"You'll never do it,” said my husband.

"You'll never do it,” said my kids.

"Watch me!" I said. (Knowing full well that my column writing contract would be over if I didn't get the job done). Oh boy, that first experience was painful, I had to pick up every single item and make a decision about whether I would keep or get rid of it. It was emotional and exhausting work that didn't make this Little Red Hen very happy.

What did make me happy was the final result. I had turned a once unusable room where it had been difficult to even walk from one end to the other in a straight line due to clutter into an area where my family could sit, read, and play games. The momentum from that first success spurred me on to tackle the remaining rooms in my house. What I found was that with success came belief and encouragement from my children and husband that this actually could happen. After awhile, I even had volunteers who would spontaneously say "I'll help you with that mom".

Some of the lessons we learned on our journey to decluttering our lives include:

• Different people have different storage styles. My storage style tends to be in piles. I like to have piles at my desk and more importantly I can find things in my piles. Some people need to file everything, find out what your style is and use it.

• Decluttering is a difficult job. The good news is that the more you stick with it, the easier it gets.

• Family members start helping out when they see that progress is being made and that life really is easier because of the organization. Be patient and they will come.

• Decluttering is an individualized and never ending battle. Even now I can go back to each of my rooms and still get rid of more. Constantly be alert to things that are not being used and move them out. Be ever vigilant of what comes into your house and be ruthless in what goes out.

My entire family's life philosophy has changed because of this decluttering experience. Now when we buy things, we ask "Do we really need this?” When we do want something, we wait and pay cash for it, if we don't have the money, we don't need it right now. Oftentimes the waiting allows us the time to realize that we didn't really want nor need it in the first place. When we outgrow or don't need items, they are immediately bagged for donation and get moved out of the house for others to use.

After decluttering I've found that our household runs smoother. My kids know where to find things and more importantly have finally figured out how to put them back. We always know where the homework papers and supplies are because they are in their clutter free designated spot. We sit at an uncluttered dinner table and eat our food without mountains of paper falling into our plates. We literally breathe easier in the more open space of our home.

I know that it's a cliché, but as a result of our journey we have found it to ring true that when clutter is concerned, less is certainly more.

Wendy Thomas is a freelance writer who recently documented her family's year and one half long journey to rid their house of what ended up being over 5,000 pounds of unwanted clutter. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, 6 children, 3 dogs, and as a result of her decluttering, much more peace of mind.

Resources:
Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern
Organize Your Home …In No Time by Debbie Stanley

MA-JEAN'S MAGIC JAR

by Nancy Blakey

It was my idea of a great rummage sale. I skipped the tables with crowds around them and headed for the empty corners where creative possibilities lay disguised as junk. I found old transistor radios and alarm clocks for the kids to take apart, horn rim glasses and a scatty wig for the dress up box, a tin of colored thread on wooden spools, and best of all, a large cardboard box of ancient Coleman parts (valves, screens, springs and brass coils) just waiting for the uninhibited to reinvent the lantern.

On my way to the cashier, I cast one last glance over the toy table when an old peanut butter jar caught my eye. Curious, I pulled it out from between the piles of games and books and read the label: "Ma-Jean's Magic Jar (For times when the kids say there is nothing to do but watch TV)”. Inside the jar were orange slips of paper. I unscrewed the lid and pulled one out. "Make a house! Use chairs, couch cushions, blankets." I added the jar to my pile of treasures.

Later that night I read the rest of the slips. "Have a picnic on the front porch", "Pretend you fell down and bumped your head and broke your leg, Grandma can be the doctor", “Have a parade with records." The slips went on to suggest that making Jell-O, writing letters and turning seven somersaults were all a lot more fun than watching TV.

Try some Ma-Jean Magic. Sit down with your children and fill the jar together. Ask them what they consider fun. Add your own ideas. Some of our favorite things to do are as simple as reading a book together or making pancakes in the middle of the day.

The shared pool of suggestions makes this project a success. They are not vague orders from an adult like "Go outside and play," but instead offer immediate and tangible alternatives a child helped think of himself.

Ma-Jean's Magic works for me too. Sometimes I need a piece of paper to remind me how important it is to sprawl on a bed with my children to read Where the Wild Things Are. Besides, you never know where you will find magic. It may even be at a rummage sale.

Nancy Blakey is a writer and the author of the Mudpies Activity Book series: Go Outside! Berkeley: Ten Speed Press 2002, The Mudpies Book of Boredom Busters, Lotions Potions and Slime, 101 Alternatives to Television, The Mudpies Activity Book: Recipes for Invention, books that encourage hands-on creativity in kids. Her writing includes numerous essays that have been published in anthologies and magazines such as Chicken Soup for the Soul and Reader’s Digest. For more projects and ideas visit her website at www.nancyblakey.com.

FAVORITE RESOURCES FOR LIVING SIMPLY

Books:
Choosing Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce
Circle of Simplicity by Cecile Andrews
The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
Living Simply with Children by Marie Sherlock
Nothing’s Too Small to Make a Difference by Wanda Urbanska
Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James
The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs
Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin

Websites:
Center for a New American Dream: www.newdream.org
Simple Living Network: www.simpleliving.net
Simple Living America: www.getsatisfied.org
The Story of Stuff: www.storyofstuff.com

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: ICPA

Each quarter we will feature one of our many HMN Sponsors, to provide you with an inside look at their practice, business, or product as well as how their passion for holistic living was born. This month we spoke with Jeanne Ohm, DC of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.

Wise Mom: Please tell us about how you became involved in holistic living and ICPA.

Jeanne Ohm, DC: I am a mother of six home birthed children and my husband and I have been practicing chiropractors for over 25 years. I became the executive coordinator of the ICPA in 2002. I have been thoroughly promoting this lifestyle to the world through the ICPA and our Pathways magazine.

Wise Mom: Describe some of your personal holistic passions.

Jeanne Ohm, DC: Getting regular chiropractic adjustments, yoga and most of all respecting and appreciating the body’s inherent wisdom and design.

Wise Mom: Tell us about your practice and projects.

Jeanne Ohm, DC: In addition to serving people as a chiropractor, I travel very frequently teaching doctors of chiropractic specific skills to adjust pregnant women and infants. As director of the ICPA, I oversee the fulfillment of our mission and services: Research, Training and Public Education. My newest “baby” is Pathways magazine, a quarterly full color magazine that offers parents informative articles and resources for the family wellness lifestyle.

Wise Mom: What services does ICPA provide?

Jeanne Ohm, DC: For the public, our informative website (www.icpa4kids.org) offers a wealth of information to keep their family healthy. Our Pathways magazine (www.pathwaystofamilywellness.org) is a treasured resource. The research at the ICPA provides the leading, substantial research validating the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care for children. Our numerous seminars train chiropractors to offer the public advanced skills in their care of families.

Wise Mom: What is your professional background?

Jeanne Ohm, DC: Doctor of Chiropractic, Certified in Chiropractic Pediatrics and Pregnancy, International instructor with post graduate status at 5 chiropractic colleges, author of numerous articles and DVDs.

Wise Mom: What message(s) would you like to convey to members regarding yourself and ICPA?

Jeanne Ohm, DC: As a mother, I understand the many joys and challenges you experience. Chiropractic and the vitalistic philosophy it led me to, is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Visit our website and find a family chiropractor in your area: www.icpa4kids.org