To ’simplify’ seems to be our personal family mantra at the moment. And really, it’s the reason for the whole list of core family values, because without it, we’d be crowding out our lives with all manner of things that vy for our attention.

For me to live simply means that I keep my own shortlist of responsibilities and goals. This way I’m fulfilling my current responsibilities (and no more), as well as keeping on track for achieving my goals. This obviously looks different for my husband, but these are my key areas for this year:

• time with God: I am slowly building a rhythm back into my life with my quiet times, as well as reading.
• serving my family: I’m working on cherishing my husband (I’ll post more on that next week), and playing & teaching my little boy
• gaining health: My body has taken a number of months to recover from the pre-ecclampsia I developed during my pregnancy, and I have a number of kilos to lose. This is an area I have often (always?) neglected over the past ten years, so I am changing my habits and now making it a focus so I can achieve better health to love and serve my family with.
• making my home: Our new space is smaller and more functional, so I am working on efficiently managing our home so the work is done, but the focus is on having more fun as a family! I have a few goals here, like menu-planning for a month, and finding a laundry habit that works for me.

I realised a couple months ago that simplifying was on the menu when my blog-reading habits started to change, and I couldn’t get enough of reading decluttering, menu-planning, simple home organisation tips! Here’s a shortlist of the posts that have impacted me the most on this topic:

Goodbye clutter, I won’t miss you @SmallNotebook
Your Family, on a mission @SimpleMom (the inspiration for this series)
Avoiding burnout @BiblicalWomanhood

One of my readers recently sent me this comment on my blog.  He asked for my help, so that is what I am doing.  Helping him try and get his business up and running.  Take a look, it is worth your time!!

I am asking for help from the outdoor community. I have always been amazed at how outdoorsmen offer assistance to anyone in field, from helping with a flat tire to offering information on where to place a stand or walk for birds. Not to my surprise, the responses I’ve received thus far are no different.

I recently started a t-shirt company, http://www.fielddressed.com, showing graphics that demonstrate the rich history of our sports. I like to think of them as a “classier” way to show how much I love to hunt and fish. They show the established dates of archery, gun hunting, and fishing and are offered in earth tone colors. My wife describes them as shirts I can wear when I’m with her.

If you have a minute, could you take a look at the site and let me know your thoughts? Also, could you let your readers know or forward this to any friends and family you think might be interested? They are priced to sell at $4 with free shipping on orders of three or more. I want to get the name to the market, as well as put out my new designs.

Also, your blog looks good. Very clean and easy navigation.

When your CD or DVD (disc) drive starts giving you problems, your first thought may be to replace it or take it to the repair shop, but a good cleaning may be all it needs.  Below are three methods to clean the disc drive. The easiest method is the least effective. The hardest method is the most effective. Since the hardest method takes some time to do, I recommend that you start with the easiest method. If it solves your problems, congratulations. If not, try the next method. Read more