Have you read Simplicity Parenting?

[MelanieM]

I recently heard of the book Simplicity Parenting, and it looks like something I'd really enjoy. Has anyone here read it? Did you like it?

[TheAutumnOak]

I have that now...I have not finished reading it, but I like what I read so far...I would recommend it...

[Halcyon]

just downloaded a sample to my kindle-will let you know what i think of the sample! :)

[stripe]

I've read most of it. I think it has some great ideas, but I draw the line at the "simplicity in books" thing. I remember when I had one shelf of children's books....not anymore!

[melissel]

I've taken it out of the library twice now and didn't manage to read it either time :lol: It's on my list to read again though. I love the concept.

[MelanieM]

I've read most of it. I think it has some great ideas, but I draw the line at the "simplicity in books" thing. I remember when I had one shelf of children's books....not anymore!

 

Super curious... What does it say about simplicity in books?

[prairiegirl]

I have read it and think I need to have a re-read. I loved this book and think it is one of the best parenting books. With all books, though, you take what works for your family and toss the rest. The "simplicity in books" is what I tossed for us.

[susankenny]

This definitely looks like something I'd enjoy. I'm adding to the list.

 

Thank you!

 

Susan

[Faithr]

I read this book a few months ago and thought it was excellent. I highly recommend it. I even wrote a little review about it review on my blog.

 

Shoot! I messed up my wording and I'm too lazy to fix the link. But you know what I mean anyway!

Edited December 11, 2010 by Faithr

[stripe]

Super curious... What does it say about simplicity in books?

Thin the herd. Don't have many. A few (and I mean few!) for each child, like as many as their age or something like that. I just couldn't do it! I am a book junkie. Er, bibliophile. And I am not sure it is good advice if you're homeschooling, to be that restricted, but I think Charlotte Mason style, really, is pretty lean on quantity, and reading those in very great depth.

 

It did make me put some beloved favorites in my kids' room, though, and resolve to reread favorites with more frequency -- something we used to do.

[LibraryLover]

I've read it, and I like it. While I am very secure in my parenting and don't need validation, I did feel like someone got it. I also thought, "Wow, why didn't I think about writing a book like this?" ;) lol

Edited December 11, 2010 by LibraryLover

[MelanieM]

Thin the herd. Don't have many. A few (and I mean few!) for each child, like as many as their age or something like that. I just couldn't do it! I am a book junkie. Er, bibliophile. And I am not sure it is good advice if you're homeschooling, to be that restricted, but I think Charlotte Mason style, really, is pretty lean on quantity, and reading those in very great depth.

 

It did make me put some beloved favorites in my kids' room, though, and resolve to reread favorites with more frequency -- something we used to do.

 

As many books as your age... hmm... does that count for adults, too? Maybe I could handle it from that angle. lol!

 

I am a fan of quality over quantity, though (in all things) and can certainly see the value in the kids having a few favourites to turn to again and again. Hmm... yeah, can't wait to read that part of the book and mull this over some more!

 

It seems that this book gets rave reviews and that most everyone is finding something of value in the pages. It is certainly in alignment with my own parenting philosophy, so I'm sure I will love it too. Thanks for all the feedback! :D

[daffodil]

I checked this book out from the library yesterday, and all of the positive reviews have me excited to get started. Although I try to be selective on which books I purchase, I could never thin our children's books down to just 7 for my 5 year old + 2 year old. Yikes! I think I'll pass on that suggestion.

[Halcyon]

So i ended up buying this for my kindle as my library didn't have it--anyone else implementing the ideas? I haven't gotten to the 'meat' of the program yet, but methinks my husband will think it's overkill. I think I'll like it!

[stripe]

As many books as your age... hmm... does that count for adults, too? Maybe I could handle it from that angle. lol!

 

Just wanted to say, this is my summary not exactly what the book says.

 

I also liked Peter Walsh's It's All Too Much for the realization that having stuff that brings guilt does NOT make your life better.

[Caitilin]

I thought much of it was good, but for me, none of it was earth-shattering. This is probably largely due to the fact that I am relatively conversant in Waldorfy ideas, from which this book derives many of its themes. If it's a new approach to you, I think this book would be very helpful. :)

[MelanieM]

Just wanted to say, this is my summary not exactly what the book says.

 

Well, you said it and now you can't take it back. I'm holding you to that EXACTLY. ;)

 

I also liked Peter Walsh's It's All Too Much for the realization that having stuff that brings guilt does NOT make your life better.

 

Perhaps I'll have to check that one out too. I don't feel much guilt around things (I toss happily and freely!) but I love a good book that talks about simplifying life and clearing space!

 

I thought much of it was good, but for me, none of it was earth-shattering. This is probably largely due to the fact that I am relatively conversant in Waldorfy ideas, from which this book derives many of its themes. If it's a new approach to you, I think this book would be very helpful. :)

 

I do have a decent understanding of many Waldorf ideas, so I'm not expecting earth shattering either. But I'm feeling like I could really use some reminders to (re)inspire me, so I'm hoping this book will help to do that!

[stripe]

Well, you said it and now you can't take it back. I'm holding you to that EXACTLY. ;)

Ha ha. Woe to those whose birthdays are months away! No book for you.

 

Perhaps I'll have to check that one out too. I don't feel much guilt around things (I toss happily and freely!) but I love a good book that talks about simplifying life and clearing space!

My favorite is the lady with a drawer full of expensive bras she can't wear but can't throw away! I think there are a lot of people with craft supplies they don't use, that simply inspire guilt. I think he's on to something.

 

I know nothing about Waldorf. Unless Waldorf salad counts. Just kidding.

[MelanieM]

Ha ha. Woe to those whose birthdays are months away! No book for you.

 

:lol: My birthday is exactly one month from today, actually. Not that I'll be expecting a book or anything. :lol:

 

My favorite is the lady with a drawer full of expensive bras she can't wear but can't throw away! I think there are a lot of people with craft supplies they don't use, that simply inspire guilt. I think he's on to something.

 

 

Ah, the craft supplies... We are preparing for a move across the country so I have been ruthlessly getting rid of things, including craft supplies. I had some stuff that was 15 years old that I still couldn't imagine what I'd ever use it for! And I consider myself pretty light on the clutter/stuff issues, so I can only imagine what other people end up hanging onto!

 

I know nothing about Waldorf. Unless Waldorf salad counts. Just kidding.

 

Now I'm hungry, and seriously wishing I had the ingredients here for a Waldorf salad. Oh my goodness.

[stripe]

Ah, the craft supplies... We are preparing for a move across the country so I have been ruthlessly getting rid of things, including craft supplies. I had some stuff that was 15 years old that I still couldn't imagine what I'd ever use it for! And I consider myself pretty light on the clutter/stuff issues, so I can only imagine what other people end up hanging onto!

I confess, I've still got the Aunt Martha Iron-On transfers from my embroidery kick at age 13. And the package of needles. (Mind you, I did embroider, but I've kept everything.) I finally gave away the needlepoint with 8 shades of red and the tablecloth sized to fit a royal household with giant daffodils. So the poem

 

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine

 

And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

 

always makes me shudder a little in remembranceof their never-endingness. I hear you, Wordsworth. I hear you.

[Halcyon]

well, i have a lot of scrapbooking supplies and haven't done the craft in quite a while. But I DID sell off about 60% of my stash when I realized I wasn't doing it as often. And I DO have a stash of knitting yarn....quite a large stash...anyway, this isn't about ME, right LOL.

 

Today I threw away more of my kids' stuff, and am making bags of stuff for the toy library. I need to clear space in the garage for the library! The room wasn't cluttered to begin with, but it's looking even better now.

 

I really like her talk about how too much 'stuff' clutters up a kid's brain and prevents/inhibits imaginative play. We'll see how this works!

[Firefly]

I really liked the main ideas of the book. As with most things though, I took from it what I wanted and left the rest (another book hoarder here!!)

[kathkath]

just put it on hold at the library, but NO WAY am I getting rid of books!

[MyLittleWonders]

just put it on hold at the library, but NO WAY am I getting rid of books!

:iagree: I'm the second of two holds, though, so I won't have it until January. I long for a simpler life - not necessarily in the things we do. I feel homeschooling gives us built-in simplicity (though being the queen of multiple curriculums for each subject, I can see how that simplicity can be easily lost!), but I wish for less stuff cluttering our lives. I am one of those people where physical clutter becomes internal clutter - it can clutter me down to my soul. I'm married to someone who seems to not notice the clutter. It makes things interesting around here. I'm looking forward to reading the book.

[MelanieM]

I am one of those people where physical clutter becomes internal clutter - it can clutter me down to my soul.

 

This is me, too. In fact, I was just trying to explain to my mother how really horrible it feels to me when people give my kids a mountain of things for Christmas rather than sticking to my 'one gift only, please' request. It completely stresses me out to have to deal with a huge influx of new stuff, and I find it strange that no matter how many times I express this people seem to have difficulty understanding it. It really does feel like a weight on my soul.

[yellowperch]

We have been talking about these issues all day--in fact, since Dh got home from Afghanistan two days ago.

 

We (I) tried so hard to buy less this Christmas, but I still think we already bought too much. Without opening a single gift we still have twice as much as we can use and keep orderly.

 

It's a weird problem to have, really. But I know we are not alone.

 

My friend is also feeling this particular pain. She has been posting pictures of the piles of stuff she has in storage and in her house. Stacks of unloved games. A pile of broken bikes, including two broken trikes. Her son is getting a new one for Christmas (from grandmother).

 

MAdness.

[justamouse]

I've read it, and I like it. While I am very secure in my parenting and don't need validation, I did feel like someone got it. I also thought, "Wow, why didn't I think about writing a book like this?" ;) lol

 

 

I think you and I fall into a peculiar category with books like this, though. For the sheer # of people in our families, we come to these conclusions on our own through trail and error. You just can't live like that with five, six, seven kids and not be bat**** crazy all the time. You find your priorities very, very quickly.

 

And I've thinned my books down to a few thousand. No more will leave. :tongue_smilie: and, I just may add more.

 

ETA, I don't have it yet: but by reading the excerpt it sounds like a Slow Movement for Parenting type thing.

[Joyofsixreboot]

For the sheer # of people in our families, we come to these conclusions on our own through trail and error. You just can't live like that with five, six, seven kids and not be bat**** crazy all the time. You find your priorities very, very quickly.

.

 

That's what I thought. I had come to the simplicity thing out of self-preservation.

[justamouse]

That's what I thought. I had come to the simplicity thing out of self-preservation.

 

Self-preservation, yes! :D

[Halcyon]

We have been talking about these issues all day--in fact, since Dh got home from Afghanistan two days ago.

 

We (I) tried so hard to buy less this Christmas, but I still think we already bought too much. Without opening a single gift we still have twice as much as we can use and keep orderly.

 

It's a weird problem to have, really. But I know we are not alone.

 

My friend is also feeling this particular pain. She has been posting pictures of the piles of stuff she has in storage and in her house. Stacks of unloved games. A pile of broken bikes, including two broken trikes. Her son is getting a new one for Christmas (from grandmother).

 

MAdness.

 

I have a friend like this. You literally CANNOT WALK in her childrens' rooms because they have so much stuff on the shelves, on the floor, on the beds. Literally hundreds of stuffed animals, little figures, games, pieces. It's mind boggling and it actually makes me stressed to be in her house. Not only is it messy (hey, we've all been there) but there's just SO MUCH STUFF everywhere. Actualy, I don't think she COULD neaten the place up much as there isn't enough space for everything. She was doing laundry while I was visiting and I kid you not-her entire room, including the bed, was piled to her head with clothes LOL. She thinks it's fine though, and I told her about the book and she laughed at me :lol:

[rafiki]

.

[Heather in Neverland]

I am a RUTHLESS declutter-er. I cannot handle clutter at all. And since we have moved several times I get lots of chances to declutter. I have the same rule for everything in our house...if it has not been used in the last year, it goes. PERIOD. With the exception of a few precious mementos of course, like my son's baby blanket... I do not get emotionally attached to stuff.

 

In fact we moved back to Michigan from NC a few years ago and there were several boxes in our garage that, for whatever reason, never got unpacked. When it was time to leave Michigan to move to Malaysia I found these boxes in the garage, still unpacked. Guess what I did? I gave them to charity without even opening them. :D My mom (who is a clutterbug) thought I was nuts. But my theory was, I have lived without whatever is in those boxes for the last year or so...I obviously don't need it.

 

So my question is....is there anything I could get from this book besides don't have too much stuff? Even thought I declutter, I still feel like "life" is cluttered, ya know?

[yellowperch]

Oh dear, I'm afraid I made my friend sound like a packrat. She really isn't. I think she's just reached a point of total frustration with what is an American middle-class normal amount of material possessions. The pictures are from her basement, garage and closet; her living spaces are fairly neat. She'd rather fix the bikes, but hasn't. And Grandma is stepping in. So she's asking, in what kind of a crazy world is it easier to just buy a new thing than to fix the old.

 

A very good question.

 

Likewise, I am something of a neatnik and have low tolerance for junk. However, I have too much good stuff--too many (albeit well-thought out, open ended) toys and materials for my kids. So the effect is the same. The house gets messy if I don't ride herd on the kids. The best things--say the chess board and the Kapla blocks and the clay--get overlooked because the kids jsut move from thing to thing. And it just feels like to much. We've stored (I know!) most of the games, and now we find ourselves playing more games than ever, more chess, more set, more uno, more backgammon.

 

We live for two summers with just what we could pack and carry on an overnight train ride. Granted, we were seaside and it was summer, so the kdis needed very little to amuse themselves--we picked up some sand toys and markers and brought books. They were never bored and the play was very active and creative. I loved how hassle free our lives were. Each person had a few clothes, books, and toiletries. Clean-up and staying organized was so easy.

 

The book itself does more than just encourage simplifying toys. There are chapters on simplifying food, media, clothes. What I found most compelling and interesting and new in the book was the section on speaking less and letting children just be. Also, the sections on the division of labor between parents was thoughtful and provocative (this word looks weird. I wish there was spellcheck o this board).

 

There is another thread on this book floating about.

[stripe]

So my question is....is there anything I could get from this book besides don't have too much stuff? Even thought I declutter, I still feel like "life" is cluttered, ya know?

The book is not really about cluttery stuff. It includes things like simplifying routines like eating, bedtime, and family time.

[CandaceC]

Heather, I think you could still enjoy this book and gain from it. When I read it, I didn't take away getting rid of stuff as the MAIN thing...of course, everyone is in a different place and will take different parts to be important. But, a lot of what I valued about the book was simplifying LIFE for my children...clutter can come in forms other than "stuff" I think and the book discusses some of that too.

[In the Rain]

It completely stresses me out to have to deal with a huge influx of new stuff, and I find it strange that no matter how many times I express this people seem to have difficulty understanding it. It really does feel like a weight on my soul.

 

I totally get what you are saying. When we went to visit my inlaws at Christmas, dh would point out that we needed to leave space in the car, lots of space. They tended to buy large gifts, and lots of them. Even though I was grateful for the thought, and gifts, I panicked at the thought of receiving mountains of unknown items. :001_huh: