Two Simple Things

 I am loving sharing some of our Log Cabin Living
ideas with my bloggy friends.
Just to recap what it is though, in case you missed it…
In my heart of hearts, pre-Ruby, I have always 
longed to move to a remote area 
{with the desert weather!} 
where we could enjoy Log Cabin Living 
as a sweet family.  
I am so grateful that I had the privilege of living in our little log home
before we lost it in the fire. 

No doubt, with Ruby’s fragile health, this is not in the realm of
possibility unless the Lord totally heals her – 
which is, of course, totally possible!



So in this season, we embrace our wonderful home in Phoenix, 
with close proximity to Phoenix Children’s Hospital 
while we enjoy the gorgeous 
although at the moment it’s freeeeeezing 
Phoenix 
weather and all the beautiful perks that come with it!!

The series will be an on-going and I will share our version of 
large family living, on a very limited budget while practicing Simplicity.  
We graciously invite you to journey with us.   

*******




The definition of “Simplicity” for me is multi-faceted.

If I have to climb through a dozen things to find the one 
thing I am looking for, I don’t consider that simple.
For me, personally, having a big party as in invite-tons-of-friends-over 
kind of thing is a seldom kind of event.  
So to be honest, I don’t see a need to store a bunch of
seldom used serving platters. 
Even though all kinds of large platters would come in handy
on that rare occasion,
why do I really need them if they get used once every couple of years?

I can borrow some, if I truly “need” them.   
In fact, if I opened my cupboards
and found a couple of piles of platters, it would stress me out.

So many, many years ago, I ditched all my serving platters
and saved two – the ones that held the most value to my heart.
And some days I am even tempted to ditch those.

At the same time, simply speaking, 
if one item can serve many, many purposes,
I consider that living in simplicity.
SO that is my quest. 
Not too many years ago I had several bottles that I
had on hand to fulfill these needs:

*body lotion
*super-hydrating hand lotion for those days when we are so dry
*face lotion
*baby bum lotion
*Africa lotion to keep their skin buttery soft

Yet, the more I looked at those pretty bottles, the more
 concerned I was when I would turn over
the label and read all the ingredients.

Actually, dare ya’ to turn over your lotion bottle
and check out the ingredients.

You’ll find things like:

Propylene Glycol
{also used as an anti-icing agent in stuff like antifreeze}

Propylparaben
{try a search on the link between this and breast tumors}

Just to name a couple….

And the ingredients listed were enough to cause me deep concern….
and add to it that this Simplicity Mama
wants my life simple, simple, simple.

So imagine my joy when I began discovering the
enormous number of uses for Essential Oils.

Now I use only two things on hand for all of our skin needs:

Lavender Oil

and 

Olive Oil.
That’s it.
And here’s a personal story:
One day I had been washing a lot of dishes,
shelves, laundry by hand
and my hands were sore, dry and chapped.
They actually hurt.
You know the feeling!!
I mean, seriously, if my hands could have talked,
they would have cried!!
So I put my normal Olive Oil on and then dropped
one drop of Lavender Essential Oil 
on the palm of my hand.
I rubbed that one drop all over my sore
and hurting hands.
And then I went to bed.
The thought actually crossed my mind that perhaps
I would have trouble sleeping because of how much
my hands hurt.
Well imagine my joy when I woke up and
discovered that my hands didn’t hurt at all.
It was as though my hands had been replaced in the night.
It was that easy and sweet.
Easy – Peasy.
Two things.
Simply
Olive Oil
and
Lavender Oil

4 thoughts on “Two Simple Things

  1. Thanks so much for your post. With all the aftermath of gifts from extended family decluttering sounds wonderful. As I listened to what you were saying I realized I had loads of stuff in my kitchen for "just in case" times -ie platter, serving dishes and utensils. Instead of getting rid of all of them I'm going to add them to my kids collection box. We are a military family and I've been collecting things from the places we have lived. I want to give them a special box when they move out on their own. I think I'll add some of my extras to their box and give away the rest. Thanks for the great start to my idea!! I'm excited to see my kitchen after I'm all done!!!

    1. What a great idea to tuck stuff away for each child. Love that!! I will say I love living simply however, it has been hard to part with some things because I am a "just in case" person {which I'm guessing stems from my frugality} and also am so stinkin' sentimental. Seriously. It's ridiculous! So I have had to pray and pray that God would give me the want to and not look back! He has answered my prayers! And I continue to purge and de-clutter and simplify! It's ongoing for me.

  2. Linnie, this sounds great, but I think I'm allergic to lavender – the smell of it gives me an instant headache. What other oil would you suggest using with the olive oil for moisturizing skin? P.S. I found a really pretty oil-dispensing bottle at a thrift store recently – SCORE!

    1. Love the SCORE on the oil-dispensing bottle!! Yippee Jesus!! As far as Essential Oils that are good for the skin, I would give Geranium, Frankincense or Patchouli a try with a carrier oil {like Olive or Almond oil}. Lavender to me is a funky smell. I don't love it, but it doesn't give me a headache. Others I know LOVE the smell of it. But I would definitely try one of the others!

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