Amy Slenker-Smith

Do Good Well – How to Help When Disaster Strikes

September 17, 2018 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Do Good Well. It's what I tried to say when I wrote this post. All credit to Tom Berlin for the phrase Do Good Well. I wrote about ways to help but more importantly, how not to help disaster relief efforts like Hurricane Harvey. The piece included lessons learned from people who lived through a natural disaster and volunteers who helped victims to rebuild. It's relevant to all disasters including those affected by flooding and Hurricane Florence. My post was not perfect. You may disagree. That's ok. But I hope you’ll take time to read this post from a Houston resident. Or this one or this one or this one. My goals were simple....1) increase awareness about how relief efforts work and 2)steer caring people to the best ways to help. Timing Is Everything The message to "send money, not stuff" resonated with many readers. It doesn't mean there will never be a time or place for physical donations — check with relief agencies as time passes. …

Get Uncluttered This Fall

August 30, 2018 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

I've been feeling stuck in my decluttering efforts. Yes, it even happens to me! I know there are things left to donate but sometimes life gets in the way. Good news, I have a plan! Fall Edition of the Uncluttered Course It's the Uncluttered Course by Joshua Becker of becoming minimalist. Several readers signed on to the Spring Edition of the course. I followed them on their journey and encouraged their progress. Here's a quote from one of them... "The space I have cleared for myself and my family is life-changing. It has made a huge difference in the atmosphere and stress-level of the house already. I am so grateful for your help." Becoming Minimalist offers the course just three times each year. Registration ends this weekend, Sunday, September 02 at 11:59pm. If you want this to be the season you declutter your home, own less, and get ahead financially, this is the right program for you. The course includes… Videos with …

Kid’s Artwork – Who Are We Really Saving It For?

June 15, 2018 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

Kid's Artwork is abundant in our house even with just one child. Households with multiple kids struggle to tackle paper clutter because of the volume. I believe every parent finds their kid's artwork difficult because of the memories. Artwork more appropriately falls under sentimental clutter versus paper clutter. And sentimental stuff requires its own process. Currently, I am working on a small scrapbook for my son's elementary years. I collected photos and artwork from kindergarten through elementary school. With each passing grade, there is less and less. I asked for his help with a few large books of his first writing samples. We read them together and laughed at the funny sentences. He noted 6 or 7 pieces that he truly remembered. I snapped photos of those. Without prompting, he said, "I think I'm ready to pass these on. I don't need them." I believe there are three reasons that allowed him to this so easily. Time - Several years had passed since he wrote these …

It’s Okay To Just Be Still

May 25, 2018 by Amy Slenker-Smith 2 Comments

It was Day 3 of our two-week adventure to Hawaii. As a family, we love active vacations making the islands an ideal location. That said, sometimes my son hits a wall and just cannot keep up. Our morning activity included snorkeling at Hanauma Bay where the sharp coral scratched his leg and nearly scared him off forever. I realized that we had crashed into that proverbial wall as I led him back to the beach and tossed the gear aside. I wish I could tell you that I'm really good at recognizing these moments. That I am calm and compassionate. Or that I plan for them and always schedule rest days and early bedtimes. I do not and I am human. :) Thank goodness for grace! Like many moms, I make mistakes and sometimes don't even realize it until we're reduced to tears. My son was excited, overstimulated and jet lagged. We filled every hour of those first three days. After the crash, he and I sat on the beach, snuggled and slowed down. The beauty of the bay encircled us with …

Please Note We Are Not an Overlook Family

May 24, 2018 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

Experiences, not stuff. How many times have I uttered this phrase?! It even affects the way I approach aspects of travel like overlooks and photos. Here's what I wrote last year about limiting picture taking: ...a weight lifted when I decided to not take so many photos. I recalled another trip when I had to download, organize, edit and save 1,352 photos from just two weeks of travel. With this memory (nightmare) in mind, I suddenly looked forward to scaling back and enjoying the ride. Roadtrip If you’re new to Simply Enough, our family of three traveled the US in Spring 2017. We homeschooled my son, took time off of work, worked from the road and simply made it work. Life is too short to spend it buying a bunch of stuff. I’ll choose #experiencesnotstuff every time. I know. You have 100 reasons why you could never do this. I beg of you to consider it. Don’t just write it off. Curious how we did it? Read more here. Traveling from Utah to Sedona, Arizona, we stopped at the …

How to Up Your Game on Recycling

May 10, 2018 by Amy Slenker-Smith Leave a Comment

I was chatting with a friend and mentioned that I decline straws in restaurants to keep them out of the trash and often the ocean. But as the discussion continued, we realized how uncertain we were about what items are Trash vs Recycle. What can you recycle? Years ago, I read that placing non-recyclable items in the recycle bin actually does more harm than good. I just couldn’t remember why. So, it inspired this research to up-my-game around recycling. It turns out that plastic bags jam the sorting machine and most pizza boxes are not recyclable. Good to know! Plastic Bags Traditional plastic grocery bags are best recycled at your local grocery store. Plastic bags, when placed in our recycling bin pose a threat to littering your neighborhood and can be a problem for our recycling facilities. Pizza Boxes The grease from a used pizza box prevents it from being recyclable. It can be disposed of with other solid waste. If your pizza box doesn't have any grease on it, …

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Amy Slenker-Smith

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