Less Stuff, More Time
I’m pretty thrilled to say that my family is going on an adventure! A HUGE adventure!
In just about 3 weeks, we’ll be embarking on the most terrifying, thrilling, overwhelming and transformative journey we’ve ever been on.
We’re giving up everything we own in order to focus on something we love – crafting – to provide our income!
For the last 3 years, my husband has been working as a police officer in Colorado and I’ve been stitching away, photographing newborns, and spending time with my son. This section of our lives has been filled with growth, potential, decisions, and amazing realizations. We’ve had time to consider what is most important in our lives, and how to add more of those things in. We’ve also been able to weed out the things that we thought might be right, but ultimately weren’t spot on for our family. I feel so blessed that we were able to work through some of these choices now, while our family is still so young, so we can get on to another exciting chapter of our lives before Charlie starts school and we get even more comfortable.
Yes – we really did buy a ukelele for our trip!
So our ultimate decision has been to SLOW DOWN. We’ve had very little time to stop and enjoy the raindrops falling on the roof, listen to the birds, or play the music that our hearts both long for. We’re going to exchange our stuff and extra space, for the time we’ve been longing for!
At the end of the month, we’ll be moving to Hawaii.
Nick (my husband) will be leaving law enforcement entirely, and he plans to join me working on things we love. He’ll be helping out with Melody’s Makings’ behind the scenes (I can’t tell you how excited I am about handing over the bookkeeping to him!) and he may even help me get an alpaca and start spinning yarn 😉
We plan to either buy or build a really tiny house there….and when I say tiny, I mean TINY! We figure that a tiny house equals a tiny mortgage, and that’s worth sacrificing our stuff so we can focus on things we love. Plus we’re already selling everything we own in order to get there, so why not start over and weed out some of these unnecessary things we’ve gathered over the last few years!?
So here we go. Off on an adventure! An adventure filled with promise, change, and definitely lots of yarn. You might just call me a “Crazy Crafter” I guess 😉
Have you ever made a huge lifestyle change? What was the outcome? In this time of transition for my family, I am really enjoying reading about the adventures other people have taken on. Please comment on this post and share them with me!
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36 Comments On “Less Stuff, More Time”
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HOW EXCITING! I’ve got goosebumps for you! It’s this kind of radical move that makes real changes in our lives. I think you’re going to S-O-A-R! congratulations & the very best wishes for all of you. I can’t wait to hear more of your adventure!
Thank you so much Georgia! I have goosebumps too, haha. SO exciting and scary all at once.
Wow good luck in your new adventure as a whole family
tara x
Thank you Tara!
So happy for you and your family and from my heart I wish you the Best! Thank you, for sharing your adventure and hoping to hear more about it . Your designs are beautiful! I just crochet, and just looking at your knitting designs has been inspired me to learn how to knit, hoping I can buy knitting patterns from you in the near future. My Best wishes to you and your family. Patty
Thank you so much Patty! I’m sure I’ll be sharing all of the ups and downs along the way….I’m a pretty open book 🙂
What an exciting adventure. Which island?. My brother, of blessed memory, did the same thing 44 years ago, moving to Honolulu, and embarking on a successful career as a lawyer. I have visited the islands many times and I wish you much aloha.
Mahalo for your patterns and inspiration. I will continue to follow you. Remember, LIFE IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL. ENJOY THE RAINBOWS
Thank you so much Susan! We are headed to the Big Island….and yes – that is exactly our thoughts – we only have one chance at this. So let’s make our future what we want it to be.
WOW!! is right! I wish you much luck, happiness and a great life on your new adventure!!!
Sending lots of hugs and best wishes for your journey!!!!!
Thank you Carol!
I had just turned 41 yrs old when my husband and I quit our jobs, sold everything we owned and moved into a 35 ft. motor home. We weren’t sure if we would be able to make it on the road for 1 year, but we both wanted to see the country so we went for it.
We traveled around the country for 8 years before settling in Florida to help take care of my parents. It was an amazing adventure that I will never forget. We may take up traveling again after my parents are no longer here, but for now we take short trips every few months and a long trip in the summer to see our kids and grand kids.
The biggest drawback is being so far away from family most of the time.
Good luck on your new adventure.
Awesome Carolyn! Sounds so amazing. We hope to do more traveling in the future as well. And we’re very blessed that my parents plan on retiring just down the road from our new spot in Hawaii….so we’ll still have family close by!
Good for you on MANY levels. Law enforcement, like military service, is so needed, but scary in this day and age. Extremely hard to do and have a family…not good odds. And getting rid of stuff. So cool! Top that with Hawaii AND a crafty career? I am green. 😀 Will continue to do my small part to help. (Aka buying) lol
Buying is no small thing – it’s our support system! Each purchase, no matter how small, is appreciated more than you can possibly imagine 🙂 So thank you so much for sticking around!
Omgosh! I’m so excited for you & your family. Good luck on your new adventure! Aloha!
Thank you Mary!
Way to go girl! Wishing you, Nick, and Charlie a wonderful life in a beautiful place. What a great adventure. Good luck!
Hugs and stitches, Martha
Thanks Martha!
Wow, what an amazing journey that will be! My hubby and I went to Oahu (Waikiki Beach) for our honeymoon in 2006 and I fell in love with Hawaii! Everything about Hawaii and the native Hawaiians is amazing and fascinating. I joked around while there that we needed to move there one day. Cost of living is very high, but I’d take it to live there lol. You are living my dream! <3
Awesome Stephanie! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes….perhaps you’ll get the chance to do the same!
My husband and I moved to Hawaii from MN in 1999. My son was born in 2005 and he was sick so we moved back to have family help with him. It was a wonderful experience and our only regret was having to leave. Enjoy and ahui hou!
Awesome Wendy! Maybe someday you’ll make it back to the islands. I’ll keep you posted 🙂 Thanks for sharing your story!
I am so excited for you melody! You are going to live in a place that I have been dreaming about going to. I admire your leap of faith. I truly see the blessings in your life and aspire much the same for
My family as well. 🙂
You’ll make it there Holly! It’s amazing what perseverance and determination can help you achieve.
That’s awesome! My friends just sold their 3000sf home and most of their belongings and moved into a 5th wheel so they can focus more on being a blessing to others instead of using all their resources and time on “stuff”. Can’t wait to keep up with your adventure on your blog!
Thanks Amy! There’s most definitely a sort of movement going on, and I am excited to be part of it 🙂
Wow, what a scary adventure. I think sometimes I need to get rid of “stuff”. It sets in the corner or in storage and I never see it or use it. It needs to go. I seem to be clearing out some cobwebs and that is good. I tend to hang on to stuff. Good luck and prayers go with you and your family.
Thank you Kristi!
Wow, Melody that is an awesome decision. I agree, it is best to make these wonderful changes while your family is still young. If I were much younger, I would do exactly what you and your family are doing. I wish you a wonderful journey together as you start a new life in your chosen home of Hawaii. I am looking forward to seeing all the wonderful creations you will make.
Big Hug from Manitoba, Canada.
I can relate in part to what your about to go through. On the 18th the plant my husband has worked faithfully at for 18 years will close it’s doors. The next day he’ll leave for 23 days to work as a cooks helper at a church camp. After that, we have no idea. He loves to cook and would like to do something with that. He has taken culinary arts but when he tried to get a job at a restaurant, they all wanted at least 2 years of experience. That was 18 years ago. So we too are going to experienced a HUGE life change. I’m also trying to get a crochet business started since i love to crochet & would like to sell what I make. That hasn’t been to successfull. Thanks for the opportunity to share this. Sorry it’s so long! Good luck in all you do!
Prayers and thoughts to you and your family on your new adventure! I love all your patterns, They are cute and adorable. Have a great adventure and keep putting out those wonderful patterns.
About 25 years ago, my husband and I decided to leave Virgina Beach and our grown children to move to Florida with our two youngest girls. We had no idea where we were going or how things would turn out when we got there. I felt like one of the pioneer women who were on a wagon train heading to a new land. I’m happy to say that being in Florida has been a wonderful experience. I’ve found crafting friends and a club I enjoy. My husband found a great job and the girls flourished down her. Good luck with your move.
Good luck on your big adventure. It is exciting yet scary to move a long distance. Last August we decided to move from MN to WA state, my husband and I had lived in MN all our lives and most of our family is still there. My husband had been out of work for a year and unable to find work in MN, so I just said one day, lets move to WA, because he has an Uncle and extended family that live out here. It has been 10 months and we love it out here, I would never move back to MN!! They have had the worst winter and severe weather with flooding this summer. It is good you are moving while your son is young, my oldest is 10 and had some adjustment issues, now things are better though. Best of luck to you and your family!
I am so very excited for you, once my husband, son and me moved to the mountains of TN to live in a house on the top of a mountain that had no electricity. We had spring feed water source that came down the mountain to allow us to have indoor plumping…lol. We heated water with a propane gas water heater, a propane gas refrigerator, and a propane gas stove. We did have a land line phone…lol We also had a generator that was used once a week to check emails and to allow our 10 year old to watch cartoons. Our only source of heat was wood and lighting was kerosene lamps. We home schooled our son….That is just a little bit of our life and only sharing because you asked….
I really hope you and your family have an amazing life in Hawaii. I am sure things will be wonderful for all of you…you sure picked a beautiful place. My thoughts and prayers are with you all
Oh my love!!!! I envy your family for taking this journey. I wish I could do that. My hubby isn’t quite my crafty type lol.
I wish you the nest in your new journey. And what a amazing thing your doing. What a way to bring your family closer together.
So exciting, passionate, scary ride it will be. But it would be worth it.
Just an idea. I think blogging your adventure to Hawaii could be a very popular thing. After sharing your dreams with us. It would be nest for us to follow you. Especially those who wish we could do the same. 🙂
Here’s to a new beginning.
We used to go to Hawaii every winter for about 2 months at a time. What a mystical, magical, gorgeous place to raise a family and pursue creative pursuits!
You will find a lot of like-minded people there who want to live simply and sustainably in a paradise setting. Best of luck to you. Only the risk-takers reap the big rewards.