Working Towards that Ag Exemption

I have a coworker that raises goats. Nigerian dwarf and pygmy, to be exact. She would share pictures of her daughter with these two little bottle babies every week; they were the cutest thing! A bit pricey, as they usually are, but I told her I would be reaching out at some point in the future for one - maybe two. You see, I love goats. I have always wanted a miniature goat I could have as a pet. Low maintenance, easy to handle, and the cutest little weedeater you'll probably ever see. But whenever I asked, Corey would say, “No.” Weird, right? Anyway, I had made up my mind that, at some point, I was going to get a goat. More than likely after I graduated, but it WAS going to happen. 

Well, the week before Easter, my coworker offered me a goat at a deeply discounted price. And who was I to say no to that? So, I told Corey about the discount and asked if we could get some supplies that Friday. Once we assessed the property and planned where I would put the goat, we quickly realized that round 4 of simplifying would need to be moved up to round 2. And so, on Good Friday, we made a trip to our local Tractor Supply to purchase some fencing material. We walked in with the sole purpose of getting JUST what we needed. However, an hour later, we walked out with fencing material, a chicken coop, four baby chicks, and two baby ducks - a few extra ducks for my mother-in-law too.

The next day we woke up, started hauling off the junk, and cleaned up the property. The chicken coop was put together, we set up the goat hutch and then moved the dog kennel. That afternoon we headed to my friend's house to pick out our goat. We decided it had to be a goat we all liked, and there were three to choose from. I already knew which one had my vote, but I wanted Corey and Emery to have a say as well. Thankfully, we all settled on the same one. And well, now we have a baby goat. And while I wanted a cute name like "George" or "Charlie," I was outvoted. So, “Donkey” - think Shrek, was the winner. He's a cute little thing, though. Super affectionate, which was surprising. And follows us around the yard and is already attached to Emery. She’s now asking that we go back and adopt his brother. Which may or may not be an option, I haven’t made up my mind just yet.

We spent a lot of time outdoors that weekend. And it felt so good! Between taking care of the animals, getting chores done, and hauling stuff around, we hardly had time for anything else. We all spent less time on our phones, too - Emery included. And as Easter Sunday came to a close, we sat around the patio table, making plans for more animals in the future and even a garden. Might as well work towards a future Texas Ag Exemption, right? Overall, it was a pretty great weekend, providing a small glimpse of the simpler life we’re hoping to have. And let me just say that I am so ready for it! I’ve officially entered the “farm life” phase of adulthood.

Simplifying

Lately, my home has been an enormous cause of stress. There were things everywhere. Storage containers were stacked and shoved in every little nook. Cabinets were overflowing with plastic food containers. My tiny closet was bursting at the seams. My hanging shoe rack was so heavy the door sagged. The bathroom was a mess, and everything was overflowing. On most days, I wished I could just stay in my car rather than face the anxiety-inducing chaos that my home perpetually stays in. Then there were the days when I just wanted to stay in bed and not even bother because getting everything in order was daunting.

One evening as I dumped the contents of the laundry basket on our bed - knowing dang well that I would just be stuffing it all back after a few hours, I looked over at Corey and said, “I need a housewife.” No shade to housewives out there. I know you keep households running, and what you do matters. Corey laughed and replied, “I don’t think that will work.” I glared at the clothes, but he wasn’t wrong. However, I find it hard to set aside time to maintain our home between school, work, and the slumps of depression I occasionally fall into. And this is so frustrating to me. I wish I had an extra me that could dedicate hours to staying on top of daily chores, errands, and cleaning. Hence, my wish for someone that could stay home and maintain order in my home. After our little conversation, I placed some clothes in the dresser, and the rest went back into the basket just like I knew they would.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

As I lay in bed that night, I started thinking about our stuff. Why did we have so many things? Why was our house so cluttered? Why was I holding on to things I hadn’t touched in months - years? That’s when I hit up the good ole’ YouTube. And I came across these three creators - Madisun Gray, Malama Life, and Wild We Roam - each going through some version of minimalism. Now, let me pump the breaks - I was not about to go full-on minimalist. But they all brought up really great points. They each talk about making intentional purchases and putting money aside for experiences. They made videos about reducing excesses and donating what you don’t need. And they all tend to live very simply with the idea of having a slow and joyful life. And I desperately wanted a version of that for myself. Because when I take a step back and look at the bigger picture - I want to spend more time enjoying life than being stressed out by it.

So, around the 6th video, it clicked that things were just that - things. More stuff doesn’t actually bring joy or happiness into your life. Sure, there’s excitement for something “new,” but that quickly fades away. And I felt that this could apply to all areas of life. Why was I following creators on social media that I didn’t really care about? Why was I holding onto size L and M clothes? I will never be that size again, and I know it. Why do we have paper clutter in boxes - bills and receipts from years ago? Why did we have so many pots, pans, and food containers? Why was I keeping the extra, half-empty bottle of shampoo/conditioner/hair products? It was like I had opened up Pandora’s box. I kept asking “Why?” to everything, and the answers were no longer good enough.

The next day I sent some ideas to Corey, and we decided to start decluttering as soon as possible. We would break it down into rounds/phases. We picked a Saturday that we were both free and began Round 1. We purchased bedding, curtains, and cookware set. Corey decluttered the cabinets and placed our old stuff into throw-away piles and donation boxes. I went through our bathroom and walked out with a 13-gallon trash bag full of items we no longer needed. We reviewed our cleaning supplies and eliminated many toxic solutions we weren’t using. Some stayed, but only because I hate wasting money. We cleaned the living room and got rid of extra décor and tables. When we reached the bedroom, we cleared off our dressers, swept under the bed, and decided to go through our clothes. I even threw out old makeup and makeup brushes and organized the items I had left. By the time we were finished, we had a truck bed full of trash and several boxes and trash bags full of donation items.

And that was just Round 1! Round 2 will consist of me going through my closet again and hitting my shoe rack and storage containers pretty hard. Then I want to do a thorough paper decluttering. We will go through some of the same rooms we’ve already covered to see if we can eliminate anything else. After some thought, I’ve decided to eliminate a few more things. Round 3 will have us going through all the storage containers, shelves, and boxes in the laundry room. And then, we finally start on the outside of our home for Round 4. This is probably the most daunting part of it. A lot of stuff outside needs to be dumped or moved. We also have to start building our dog kennel area since the old one is falling apart and needs to come down. It’s a big undertaking, so we’re spreading it over the next few months.

All of this is to say that even just completing Round 1 has been an enormous help. Our home feels open and stays relatively clean. My closet has more space, and it’s become easier to pick out outfits. While the content creators I found were pretty hardcore, I definitely recommend giving them a watch. Even if it’s just to get some inspiration the way I did. You don’t have to go as extreme, but they have some pretty great ideas and suggestions. Ultimately, the goal for us is to maintain our home better. It’s to look at our purchases from a different perspective and put money towards things that actually matter to us, like building a house or taking a vacation. And if less truly is more - then here’s to simplifying away.