Hope's Homestead: More or Less? (Reflections while camping)

“Use for yourself little, but give to others much.” —Albert Einstein

Isn’t free will an interesting concept? At its core level it can be a freeing experience, empowering even, but here is where the oxymoron lies, for some of us, having limitless choices creates stress and anxiety. I deeply appreciate knowing this is a first world problem and I don’t take this liberty for granted, but more and more, I am choosing less and less.

I want a simpler way of living.

Our recent camping experience demonstrated that a minimalist approach in life makes me happier. We have been camping for years now and while we always take tents, our van is usually loaded with all sorts of extras that this year I vetoed. This year choosing to take less meant we packed up laser fast. What used to take several days to organize and pack, literally took one afternoon with David and I dividing and conquering the tasks. What took the most time this year was pausing to say, “no.” No to the board games and toys the children never play with, no to the extra pillows and the daily change of clean "ironed" clothes we don’t really need. No to unnecessary toiletries. I didn't even take a tube of lip gloss!

What made it even easier was a seasonal forecast for dry, hot weather. This summer our Province has experienced a record high amount of forest fires and although that has been really tragic and sad for those who have lost their homes or have been evacuated from their properties for weeks, for those of us outside the fire areas, there has been a lot of smoke to contend with. Often really poor air quality and some days it can be depressing seeing only grey and white in the air when you know blue is just beyond all the smoke. It did make packing for our camping holiday easier, knowing it would continue to be hot; a few swim suits, a pair of shorts, a t shirt, some pj's and we called it good.

Also, when I packed our food, the option of having S’mores was gone since camp fires were prohibited and I was hoping that our minimalist camping would transfer over to a simpler diet as well. The day before we left I picked green beans from the garden and gathered cucumbers and tomatoes which would all be great with our lunch and dinners and on our way out of town we bought some corn and various fresh fruit for the kids to snack on. I packed some quinoa and rice, some cans of organic lentil soup and the kid’s favourite Annie’s macaroni and cheese in a box which was a real treat and easy for me to prepare.

Thankfully, none of our children are allergic to peanuts, so bringing some peanut butter, jam and bread filled the lunch bill and breakfasts….well, David went crazy when he was at Costco buying supplies and got the kids little boxes of those cereals that they always wanted to try. Thankfully, I packed a bag of old fashion oatmeal with ground flax seed, nuts and dried fruit and after the first morning eating those sugary cereals, several of the children asked for some of my oatmeal on the following mornings.

Having choices is good! The contrast teaches what you don't and do want in life.

Another huge benefit was the camp set up which was a breeze. In no time our tents were up, our sleeping bags rolled out, giving us lots of time to swim, play on the beach, float around on the one luxury we did bring; an inflatable boat and when we weren’t at the beach the kids played card games and we all had brought books to read. Each evening when it was cooler we went out for a hike and explored the area.

Our camp was simple and easy

One evening on our way to the nature trail, we strolled through the campground and while Victoria was counting beloved dogs, Kathryn stopped every time a chipmunk crossed our path, and William was looking for just the right walking stick, David and I were rather surprised and shocked to see most of the camp sites filled with large, fancy recreational vehicles with awnings and large bump out rooms, and toys of all kinds littered throughout the camp sites. Some had motor boats on trailers behind their large trucks. It occurred to me then that our choice of camping equipment ran towards the line of simplicity, compared to almost everyone else. Some of the trailers and motor homes were the size or larger of the tiny houses that are so popular now…..and in fact, if we didn’t have 6 children living at home right now, that would be my FULL TIME residence of choice.

Starting out on our nature trail hike...this is the main road but quickly it veers off into the trees

I have to say, it was a bit of a culture shock. Instead of listening to the noises of the forest, sounds from T.V’s. and music from stereos drifted out from the campsites. As we walked by one site you could hear the beep of a microwave and smells of spicy butter chicken wafted onto our pathway. As the evening got darker, fire light could be seen flickering through the trees and it occurred to us that many had overcome the camp fire ban by bringing large propane fueled, campfire bowls. As if this wasn’t enough, what really popped my socks were a few campers had strung colourful, LED lights and patio lanterns around their camp site. And another had circled their whole camp site with stick in the ground, solar landscape lighting. You would think they were settling in for the long haul.

Now, I know this sounds rather judgemental but really it is just an observation on choices. Will I have less or more in my life? What makes me happy? Almost 95% of the campers chose to bring all the comforts of home along with them and we chose to bring the least amount. They obviously wanted the outdoor experience but with the luxuries of home; and we had chosen to experience a bit of a contrast from our day to day life. Also, judging by some of their set ups, I'm sure camping is their regular summer experience, whereas we only occasionally go out into the woods. And who knows, maybe their house at home is not very luxurious. Maybe they live in a very basic home and THIS is their luxury. If that is the case, they are experiencing contrast. Something I noticed as we drove home and through the country side is that there were very modest homes with large recreational vehicles in their side yard. Hmmmmmm! This is their choice in life.

And as long as they are happy...I am too.

Life is endlessly interesting to me!

What did take a tiny bit of joy out of our camping experience though was not waking up to the sounds of the forest, with the morning wind blowing through the trees and the birds chattering away to one another, but to the loud humming of generators being fired up each morning. It broke my peace but gave me another thing to observe and let go.

One night we had a wonderful outdoor experience as we woke to a rustling noise in our recycling bag, out by our picnic table. I heard it first and thought maybe it was a BEAR! I woke David and he sleepily told me to go out and see. "I'm not going out there," I said as I passed him the flash light. He grunted and sleepily crawled out of our our low tent. I watched from the door way as he slowly and cautiously walked towards the noise, wearing only his underwear, (I giggle now as it was kind of a funny sight) and then the flash light shone a spot light on a large skunk coming out of the bag and David later told me that it gave him a look that said, "WHAT?" and then waddled away into the forest. David picked up the bag, which was rich with a skunky odor and took it to the recycling bin, which we should have done the night before but we were lazy. Then he washed his hands in the tap by the washrooms and came back under the light of the moon. The kids slept through the whole thing and the next morning listened to the story with regret that they hadn't seen another wild creature.

Well the whole point of this post is not to bash those who choose a different camping experience (and thank heavens we all want something different in life) but to note the difference in various life choices.The contrast if you will. The bottom line is: did I have a great camping experience with my family? YES! It was amazing. Our best EVER!, especially since it didn’t take a lot of effort to plan or unpack from and it certainly didn’t cost us anything since we had invested in our two tents years ago along with our sleeping bags.

Here's a glimpse into some of our camping memories:

Sometimes all you need is a log....Kathryn found her's

Victoria posing for the camera before crashing into the lake....thank heavens the girls are good swimmers this year!

David and Will returning from their long voyage....Will swam in beside the boat...check out how smoky it is...camp fires burning in the interior of our Province but really impacted our air quality

We grabbed a few pool toys before we left home and the kids enjoyed just floating

William and Grace just talking at the camp fire...albeit no camp fires this summer

Grace snaps a photo of us sitting on a log...our nature trail hike

Most teenagers would hate no showers for days but Grace was a good sport about roughing it

The kids were excited about the fungus they found on this tree....reminded them of the fungus we found on the trees on Vancouver Island last summer

Our kids can find ice cream miles away...this floating store rented boats, sold fishing tackle AND ice cream!!!

So now that we are back from holidays I've been reflecting on the stuff we surround ourselves with....

Less stuff, more life is my motto!

While we were gone, our older son's who had to work, held down the fort and cared for our cat and the chickens...Ryuuki our Siamese is so happy that we are home. Watching cats will give you a clue to living the good life....they nap a lot!

Other than having a great camping holiday, the interesting spin off when we returned was recognizing the contrast between a simple outdoor life and returning to a house full of stuff. Upon returning, after a great night's sleep in my comfy bed, I was tempted to throw myself into a massive declutter project, I resisted. Instead, we are focusing on building a rock wall in our backyard. (I'll write about that in my next post) Also, I want to just enjoy the beautiful weather and the few weeks I have with the kids at home. We are not a homeschooling family, although we certainly have not taken the summer off and working with our children on their reading, writing, math, music, drawing, painting, and doing summer activities, like tennis and swimming has filled up our days. Grace is currently doing her Bronze Cross course at our recreation center, I've been doing yoga classes whenever I have some free time (bringing Grace too) and William starts cello camp next week. Our days are full! All the more reason to surround ourselves with less...

Less time maintaining and cleaning everything, less stress worrying about things breaking and having to replace them (with a family of 8 kids, something is always breaking or falling apart) Less time making choices, and of course that means...less stress in life. More time and energy to do what we love. Also, this year I would really like to make little differences in the community and how can I do that if I'm always cleaning or organizing what we own?

So as soon as the kids are back in school, I'm throwing myself into my decluttering project.

Besides, it's been awhile since I did a thorough cleaning and decluttering job, and well things accumulate even if you are careful with what you are bringing into the house. .

If you are walking a similar path as I, or are interested in letting go of some of your stuff for a richer life, you may be interested in a book that I've been reading since returning home. It's Joshua Becker’s new book called, “The More of Less” (Finding the life you want under everything you own)

It talks about how Joshua got on the minimalist path to begin with, like his first book, but gives more wise advice how to get off the materialist path and back into really living fully

Don't carry what you don't need, in your pocket, in your home, in your heart

There were certainly more of these little guys everywhere than less....but the little kids were so happy to see them popping up and smiling for the camera

Before I close I wanted to link Joshua Becker's Youtube video titled, "The More of Less." Check it out and maybe like me, once summer fades away, you will join me in moving room to room in your home and make some choices on what you want to surround yourself with. Isn't life about living and not accumulating?