There has been a theme running in our family lately. While I have been working for years to establish order, routine, and organization in our lives, I have continually failed. I just couldn’t seem to make it work. But lately, we (my husband and I) have been analyzing why that is.
The fact that we look around and can easily see that we are not the only ones struggling in this area was not comforting. Rather, it was frustrating. How were we supposed to figure this struggle out when tons of other westerners are struggling with the same thing with little or no success?
Well, to begin with, we realized through trial and error that we were doing way too much. We began to methodically remove commitments from our lives.
We kept non-negotiables. For us, that is church, homeschooling, and family time. Yes, doing less was great, but it didn’t cure the problem.
Life still felt chaotic. We just couldn’t keep on top of things.
Recently, I figured out another part of the problem.
Simplifying alone does not make things work. Having less commitments won’t either. It might make things functional but it won’t make things flourish. Ready for my breakthrough?
We need both simplicity and order.
I know, obvious, right? But applied to real life, it can revolutionize our homes.
So what does this have to do with a pioneer lifestyle? Everything! They are the ones who actually did apply this way of life to their homes.
How did the pioneers survive?
They didn’t have all the crazy comforts that we had. Think about it. If they didn’t have time to cook, they didn’t eat. There was no restaurant in sight. Often not even a neighbor close enough to beg food off of. Can you imagine? Really. Literally. No work, no food.
There was no quick fix solution to dirty clothes either. I picture it going something like this. “I don’t have any clean clothes, Mom.” “Well, um. I’ll get right to that. It will take all day, so there won’t be lunch or supper today, but by tomorrow there will be clean clothes!” Obviously, the pioneers didn’t do that, did they?
So, what did they do?
They didn’t have panic times when they were out of clean clothes, nor did they run and get fast food when they “ran out” of time to cook.
Why not? They led structured and organized lives. Also, they had very few possessions.
Let’s continue to use food and laundry to understand this better:
Food reality: They knew what food was available and understood what they would need for long periods of time. Forget fast food, they didn’t run to the grocery store a couple times per week, let alone once a month. They were organized enough to plan food for an entire winter!
Laundry reality: The pioneers had only a few changes of clothes (if that). They knew how many times to wear each thing and planned a specific day and time for washing clothes.
By just looking at these two areas we can get a glimpse into their way of life.
There was a pattern to their work which enabled them to get everything done. Isn’t that amazing? And obviously it goes far beyond food prep or laundry.
Their lives were ordered because they had to be. It was the only way the pioneers could survive.
In our age, we no longer rely on order or structure for our survival. As modern conveniences made their way into our lives, we lost something more than work. We lost the skills to order our lives and live intentionally. I think we all realize this in one way or another. But we are hard pressed to know how to fix it.
The pioneers came with very, very little and they lived a rhythmic, ordered life. And they did more than survive. They thrived. They settled wild country and built a nation. That is no small feat.
All I am trying to do is establish a healthy, vibrant home…not a country! In comparison it’s really not too hard. Order, routine, and structure, coupled with simplicity are a good place to start. I am excited to work more in this area of our home and lives. For today, I am happy with my little discovery.
**This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on those links, I may earn a commission (at no extra cost to you). For more info on our policies, click here. Thank you for being a part of this community and supporting this blog!
We’ve linked-up to some really neat blogs – check them out!
2017 update – I really wanted to share this post with all our new readers, so I’m bringing back to the front page today… Hope you enjoy this post from our archives!
Just found your blog site and this entry really resonated. It was always at the back of my mind that if I had less stuff I would have more time to devote to the garden, clothes making etc. I almost have a sense of relief and I`m going to start simplifying my house- sometimes it takes someone else to point out what you already know! Cheers, Corinne
So glad you stumbled upon our little community – I’m so happy you’re here! I agree, simplifying does bring a sense of relief and it feels so, so good.
~Karina
Lovely post! I am continually on a journey to live counter culturally and to simplify. I’ll have to check out the books you’ve posted! I read Sally Clarksons book and it’s a wonderful and inspiring read!
Sabrina – It really is an ongoing journey – love how you put it! Hope you like some of the books…I am working my way through Unstuffed right now. I love how blogs and books can inspire us and help us to know that we are not alone in trying to live a meaningful simple life.
~Karina
I just found you. What a great post. You are very right in the knowledge of B coming after A (food, laundry, etc) bringing a sense of order to things and like you say avoiding panics. Have a happy Monday.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Karina
I encourage you as you pursue this. My husband and I set out to live as homesteaders shortly after we married. We were inspired by the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We lived in a camper while we built a tiny home on 4.5 acres in the Ozarks. Our homesteading lifestyle embraced chickens, milk goats, gardening, canning, grinding own grain to make home-baked bread, and a few failures at rabbit breeding for meat. Our family grew from one child to eight. They are all hard-workers and extremely thankful to all that God gives them. We continue to homeschool though we no longer homestead. Living with an alternative water supply and wood heat became too hard for my husband after a health crisis. 4 months ago we moved from our farm after my husband lost his job. While homesteading was hugely rewarding for our family these last 16 years, it can be trying and terribly lonely. Only Christ kept us from failing as a family.
Blessings,
Leslie
Thank you for sharing your story! I think we tend to sugarcoat the “homesteading dream” nowadays. I am not so sure I would be good at homesteading on the level your family did – congrats for making it work for so long – sounds like a lot of work!
God Bless,
~Karina
Karina, I think simplicity and order go together–can’t really have one without the other. And chaos sets in pretty quickly when I lose sight of either! Love how you portray the lives of the pioneers realistically rather than romanticizing it as many of us tend to do. #HomemakingParty
Jean | Delightful Repast recently posted…Guildford Manchets – A British Historical “Receipt” (Recipe)
Thanks Jean!
I loved this. They do set an incredible example to us of how well planned their routine of life had to be. I always enjoy reading the Little House on the Prairie books for inspiration.
I have just found this post and would like to say, I do hope you’ve found some of that order and peace 🙂 One thing I’ve been pondering about the pioneer lifestyle is the size of the home. While I can’t ever see myself as a minimalist or living in a tiny house, I do think the scale of our possessions has become absurd. I like how you connected the time and the order. Having fewer obligations helps the schedule as having fewer possessions helps the order.
Thank you for these words. They’ve been encouraging and have me pondering even more 🙂
Lady Locust recently posted…Other Ways