Ch-ch-ch-changes.
I'm really not too big on change most of the time...I get into a groove and want to just stay right where I am.
This is comfortable!
Familiar!
And all that.
But every now and then, some change is a good thing, and four years into this blogging gig, it's time for a few changes.
Four years ago, my kids were, well, a lot younger. They required more physical care then than they do now (woo for potty trained children who can walk and feed themselves!), but all of them are now requiring more mental energy, especially during the school year.
Last school year was a bit of a doozie for me, to be terribly honest. I quit teaching piano halfway through the year, actually, because I was just not managing to stay very sane.
I think this year will be a bit better because Sonia and Zoe are both such good readers now, they'll probably be able to do more work independently.
But still, I'm looking for ways to simplify my life.
Because, you know, I am not super-woman.
(spoiler: I am not quitting my blog. In case you were getting worried.)
So, here's the plan.
At the end of August, I'm going to call an end to my 365 project.
It's been a GREAT 2+ years...I've had so much fun sharing a daily peek into our lives, and posting a daily picture has caused me to be even more faithful at picking up my camera to document funny, beautiful, and ordinary bits of life.
There will still be plenty of photos here on The Frugal Girl, but they'll tend to be more focused on frugality, of course.
Joshua will still be doing his 365 project.
His 365 blog obviously requires a lot less effort from me than my 365 blog does, so keeping it up isn't going to make me crazy. Besides, I want to encourage him to keep on taking pictures as I consider this project to be an informal part of his education.
(Thank you to those of you who faithfully read his blog and encourage him...your comments really brighten his day!)
I will still be baking with Lisey.
This does take some effort from me, but doing one-on-one things with Lisey is a high priority for me, and so is helping her learn how to bake.
We seem to have settled into a fairly comfy recipe-every-other-week sort of pattern, and I expect we'll manage to maintain that during the school year. We don't seem to be able to pick a particular weekday to post, though, so if you want to make sure you don't miss a post from us, you can always subscribe for free. There's a little box on the right side of her blog for your email address.
(I would be remiss if I didn't thank you for your kind comments on Lisey's blog too...whenever she reads them, she always smiles and says to me, "Mommy, your blog readers are just so NICE!" 🙂 )
I may post here a little bit less.
I've been writing a post at least 5 days a week here for over 4 years, so I'm not even sure I know HOW to post less.
It might give me the shakes. Or something.
I think I'll try a Monday, Wednesday, Friday writing routine, though, and then post on Tuesdays and Thursdays if I happen to have an irresistible urge to blog (I might need to gradually detox!)
I'll probably do Q&A every other week to free up that slot for other topics on alternating weeks. And maybe Food Waste Friday could be an every-other-week feature as well...I think I've progressed far enough in my food waste journey to be trusted with two weeks at a time. Time will tell, I suppose!
This plan will save me time, obviously, but I've also been reading lately that often, a slightly lighter posting routine turns out to better serve the readers. Daily posts can sometimes feel overwhelming ("Aah! I can never stay caught up with this blog!" or "I never manage to keep up with applying the stream of ideas!"), and a lighter posting schedule can encourage more interesting discussions in the comments.
This also may make it possible for me to more regularly include more things like DIY posts and recipe posts, both of which tend to be a bit time-consuming.
For the record, I do still have eleventy-bazillion post ideas, so this is not about me running out of blog fodder. It's more about me running out of time to write it all down!
One more thing, and then I'll wrap this up:
I know that some of you will be disappointed about not having a daily dose of The Frugal Girl, and gosh, I do hate to disappoint people.
But, much as I love you guys and as much as I dearly love blogging (putting words and pictures together just really blows my hair back!), my husband and my children and my sanity are a slightly higher priority, and I hope that you'll understand where I'm coming from.
In other words, I want to serve you through my blog, but I also want to be able to maintain a pace that keeps me in good shape for serving my family, and this seems like the best plan for right now.
So. Here's to lots more cheerful, frugal living (with a little bit more balance thrown into the mix for me!)
______________________________________
Today's 365 post: The dye bucket is back out again.
Joshua's 365 post: Halo
I commend you for realizing when it's time to change your priorities. You do what's best for you, and the rest of us will adjust.
Kristen--Change is not a bad word. The main reason we read so fondly is your dedication to the evolving needs of your family.If the blog about family frugality took away from its very topic, there would be zero left! You have reader support in your effort towards quality time with us. Thank you for all you have given.
This is so very true-thank you for understanding that!
It's sort of like how if I said yes to a reality TV show...that would make my life pretty not-simple anymore, and I think that would make my blog lose its credibility. I want to live what I preach!
i would be lying if i said that i wouldnt miss my morning coffee with my frugal girl blog, but YOU need to make the change for the better.
your family and sanity should be number one and i for one think you deserve a high five for recognizing that! i wish you all the best with your slow "detox" from blogging. still a faithful reader and tweeter..
I'm sad to hear that you're cutting down because I enjoy your posts so much (I'm a long-time reader, even though I only started commenting recently), but of course you should do what is best for your family. It will just make us look forward to your posts more 🙂
Will we still be able to link up for Food Waste Friday every week, or will you change it to Food Waste Fortnight 🙂
Maybe FG could make a "Your Turn" post on Friday for the rest of us to post in, even if she blogs about her waste every other Friday?
Yeah William! I hope this means that you weren't chased off by all of the comments a few weeks ago : )
Certainly not! Just busy with work and personal stuff.
Loved this posts title..had me humming along:)! I, too, commend you on keeping your family as your top priority...as they should be. But I will miss you...but as they say....absence makes the heart grow fonder...we won't love you any less!!!
Aww, thank you! I think the absence thing will work both ways...that I will love writing posts even more if I do it a bit less.
Hi Kristen,
I read every day and think you're great and the blog is wonderful. You'll hear no complaints from me if you take a bit of a step back- you don't owe the readers anything (but we totally appreciate your hard work) and it'll do us no harm 🙂
lots of love from London,
Madge
You have chosen better thing. thanks for setting a great example to us all!
Oh, well, sigh. I look forward to your daily photos because they're so fun and different and real. I hope you continue to take pictures for you and your family even if you don't post them here.
But I am SO GLAD you are taking care of you and yours first, AND that you are still going to be posting! We still think you're marvy-fab. 🙂
Well, YOU are marvy-fab just for using that phrase! 😉
I will miss my morning "fix" everyday of the frugal girl. But with that said, you need to do what is right for you.
Good for you, Kristen! Yours is the first blog I read each morning and you have been so faithful about posting nearly every day. Even though we readers feel as though we know you, it is easy to forget that there is an actual human being at the writing end of a blog, and composing a daily post is a huge commitment. It may take us just a few minutes to read it, but I cannot imagine how much time and thought must go into each posting. Thank you for all your hard work! I'm glad you will be able to spend more time with your family, and I wish you a smooth school year. 🙂
Isn't that the truth? Whenever I'm proof-reading my posts before I publish them, I'm always surprised at how little time it takes me to read through them as compared to the time it takes me to write them.
Thanks for understanding that. 🙂
Kristen,
I am always so inspired by how you strive to keep your priorities in line, especially taking care of yourself and your family. I will miss the daily posts but I think the semi-regular posting is a great way for us to get our fix. All the best this school year.
And me too! I need my blogging fix. 😉
Sounds like an excellent plan for this time in your life! I have found myself cutting back in many areas of volunteering during busier times when my kids, and now parents, needed me more. It's hard to do, but such a feeling of relief comes after this kind of decision that you'll know it's the right thing to do. Will continue to enjoy your posts- even though not as often 🙂
You are a wise woman. I'm sure that taking a step or two away from the edge will result in a calmer schedule.
Congratulations on being mature enough to realize that the world will not end if you step back from certain activities and congratulations on being mature enough to place your children's education and growth ahead of your own interests. ( I do realize that we must do things solely for our own interest, but there are only so many minutes in a day).
I've been noticing that there were a lot of 'jumping in the pool' pictures. I wondered if perhaps what you have indicated might be true.
Maybe your cutting back would be a good indicator to all of us of our need to cut back from so much time at the computer and get the jobs at hand done first.
Looking forward to reading whatever you send us whenever you can. I'm sure I speak for most of your readers when I say "We'll take whatever we can get from The Frugal Girl".
Oh, the jumping in the pool pictures are an indicator of my success at one of my bucket list goals, which was to be in the water several times a week this summer. My pictures files have a preponderance of pool photos this summer, so yay!
And yes, I've been thinking a lot about the computer and how much time it eats out of our lives, and whether that's a good thing. I'm tending to think it's gotten a little bit out of hand for most of us, and that we could probably all use a little more time to spend in real life.
Oh, please don't misunderstand! I would be delighted if I could look back on the lives of my now grown up children and reminisce about our summer at the pool.
On the subject of less computer time, last winter I designated a weekday to be a 'no computer day'. It worked very well for the duration of time that I actually kept it up and I got a lot of other essentials accomplished on that particular day of the week. Then that one fateful day..... I forgot! And have been at the computer every day ever since. How things creep in! lol
That sounds a good and very wise plan to me, and also inspiring at the same time. I don't blog on your scale - volume or quality-wise - but I still find it a very time-consuming business, so I really appreciate where you're coming from! Thank you for your wise words. 🙂
Good for you! You're a great example of setting priorities and sticking to them. And the fact that family, frugality, and sanity are part of your priorities is part of the reason we all enjoy reading what you have to say.
Good for you for prioritizing. I love this blog and have been reading faithfully for over 2 years now (wow, where does the time go!), so I'm glad you plan to continue with the Frugal Girl. With less posts, I'll just have to appreciate each post a little more.
Hi Kristen,
Your need to refocus some of your energy is certainly understandable. I believe God calls us to do different things at different times of our lives. And from what I can tell, from reading your blog, you listen to His calls for you.
Plu, as you pointed out, blogging less does not mean not blogging at all. We'll look forward to hearing from you when you do post.
God be with you.
I do try to listen to what God is telling me to do, and honestly, I've been feeling this nudge for some months now.
I guess God just has to nudge me for a while before I perk up and listen!
Do what pleases you...we will change with you!
I commend you for realizing that you need to cut back. Been wondering if I need to cut back somewhere myself, but haven't figured out where. But no weekly food waste post? But where will I be accountable to fess up to my food waste?
Well, I was thinking of doing an every-other-week food waste post, where we can all report on two week's worth of waste. What do you think about that?
Sounds fair, but I might have to take notes as I even have a hard time remembering what all is discarded during the week. Okay, may have way too much coming up too, as we may be moving from Wisconsin to Tennessee and I have no idea how one transports any food that needs refrigeration or freezing and I am a couponer and tend to have a bit much food in the house.
I'm a little sad that I won't get something new every morning, but that's just because you're so great! I fully support your decision. Good on ya!
I commend you for this, Kristen. I've felt overwhelmed by blogging lately, and it makes me feel like a bad/lazy blogger. But honestly it's hard to choose what to write about, and I used to post 5 days a week...that's a lot for someone with two very small kids. I'm trying to dial back my own blogging. I know that some of my very favorite bloggers (Jamie Martin, Rachel Meeks) don't post constantly, and I don't love them any less for it.
Yes! I adore Rachel, and she blogs very sporadically. That was one of the thoughts that helped me decide that this was an ok thing to do.
Also, Kelle Hampton posts only a few times a week, and you know, that sort of makes me appreciate her posts more, which is interesting to think about.
The Frugal Girl is the only blog I read every day...and I applaud you for managing to post as regularly as you have. In fact there's been many a time when I've struggled to post (which can be as little as twice a week some weeks - maximum three as a rule) due to daily commitments that the exact question 'How does Kristen do it?' has run through my mind! Writing posts generally is very time-consuming and (no insincerity here at all!) the quality of yours are so good (so good!) that it's evident they aren't by any means 'thrown together' so I dare guess how many hours you put in each week.
I'll read whether you post daily, weekly or monthly...
p.s - very relieved this wasn't a 'Sayanara' post!
p.p.s - please tell Lisey 'Thank you' from one of her readers! I'm enjoying the posts!
Add me to the list of those who will miss her morning dose of FG with my cup of tea, but understands the need for change. Time to explore the archives again! I am hoping the frugal Christmas series is still in the plan--I could very much use help in that arena!
Yes, ma'am! I'm still planning to blog about that...don't worry.
I've always wondered how you manage to do it all. I'm sad your cutting back because I have really learned a lot from you but I'm glad you'll be able to focuse on your family the way you need to.
Hey, I'm all for simplifying! I actually fall into the category of "Hey, maybe now I can keep up better!" So, thanks! I have a lot of changes going on right now, too, so I really relate to this. 🙂
Ooh! I'm helping YOU simplify now. 🙂
You can't imagine how much better this post makes me feel.
I've been thinking that you must be superwoman and wondering
why I can't seem to get as much done. I homeschool a teenager and
a preschooler, run my household, cook, try to sell what I can on Ebay
and Craigslist, etc. etc. etc. But...I've been trying to start a blog on my
own for 6 months! I haven't managed to do it yet. Thank you for being
honest because I feel so much better about my own limitations. Thank you for sharing so much with your readers. We all wish you the best and
understand where you are coming from. We will look forward to each
an every post no matter how much time is between each. I will still be
a faithful reader and hopefully start my own blog with more realistic expectations of what I can do. Thanks Kristen!
Aww, I'm so glad you feel better now. 🙂
My situation is different from Kim C's and from yours, but her comment runs along the lines of what I'd write. I can't figure out how to be superwoman! Thank you, and three cheers to you and your family.
We Understand 🙂
Family is Very Important,
& your Children need You
they are growing up. & that
requires more of Your Time 🙂
& Family Time.
I do Thank you for sharing Your
Time w- Us. I wont lie I will miss
the Daily Blog 🙁 But I totally
understand that it takes Up alot of time.
& I don't wanna take your time w- ur kids
away. Time is Presious !!!
So U cutting back the Daily Blogs
Is good 🙂 for All.
Enjoy ur Family Time !
I'm glad that you're first priority is your family & yourself. We all make changes in our lives, depending on circumstances. I love your blog and if you decided to only post once a week, I'd be happy with that.
Truthfully, I'm just glad you're not stopping entirely.
I will look forward to reading your blog whenever it appears:) Our children are only with us a short time, enjoy the journey!
Totally get this. My kids range from a mature-for-his age 11 year old down to a 2.5 year old who's still having tantrums and I'm honestly completely exhausted from dealing with a pre-teen all the way down to a little one. I am with you in re-examining priorities, trying to figure out how to simplify. I think it's all good and we will learn many lessons through continuing to exame our lifestyles.
I agree that family and sanity need to come first. We'll still be here whenever you find time to write.
Kristen - I'm struck by how you have been learning to say "no" or "not right now." Last year with the Christmas e-book and then again this summer with the same book. Now dialing back on blogging.
It is very empowering to examine your priorities and make changes. Once again you lead by example!
Thank you for all of the time, energy, and love you have put into this blog. I join the others and saying that I will miss starting my mornings with you.
I think you've made the right decision for your life at this time. I will always follow your blog .......
Family is SO important! In just the blink of an eye, our children grow up and we only have THAT time with them at THAT moment - you can never get it back.
You are living up to your blogs name and purpose!
Hi Kristen! I love your blog and hope you'll find the balance you need 🙂 You're right to choose the best for you and your family.
Good for you. Your have your priorities in the right place for you. Enjoy your children, time flies whether you're having fun or not...
Do what ya gotta do. We're here whenever you are. No worries. 🙂
Good for you! I'm thinking through some priorities now as well deciding what's worth it for my sanity and the happiness of our family. Some things are not easy to give up! 🙂
I'm glad you feel free enough to lighten your blogging schedule. If you felt you *had* to blog as if it's a chore, then it wouldn't be fun for anyone! I enjoy reading your blog, because it's clear that you enjoy writing it. Keep it up. 🙂
I was REALLy beginning to feel like you're superman! Seriously! :O I am so glad you are REAL! I knew you always were but I was feeling like, wow "how does she do all this and post!" If you have to step back a little I totaly understand you, and respect you even more :). I really learned alot and enjoyed every bit here. Even if I didn't look in everyday... I so feel blessed with what you did here and with your children and EVEN if you have to say goodbye one day...I will NEVER forget your wonderful character and beliefs! 🙂 God Bless You and Love your family and ENJOY them all!
I've responded here and there, but I just want to throw out a general "Thank you!" to you all for your kind comments. I just really, really appreciate how understanding you are. Mwah!
Oh Kristen...
Kudos to you for knowing when to say "when". I started a blog and almost immediately had to stop posting because I had my fourth babe. She was premature and I was running to the NICU back and forth for almost a month. Even after she came home and we got into a groove, I had very little time to devote to blogging.
I still enjoy it very much, but my posts are few and far between. I keep thinking that maybe when the littlest is older I'll get back into it, but I'm also homeschooling so I don't know...
I love your blog - it's one of my favorites. So glad you aren't leaving it entirely, but I certainly understand the demands of life being the priority.
Thank you for all you do for your audience! I agree with previous comments - take care of you and yours first...
Julie
When you do what's best for you and your family, you are doIng the right thing! Enjoy your time with your family those kids are only young for such a short time and it goes by in a flash!
I think you've made the right choice for you. We'll miss the daily posts - and please consider posting a place for us to fess up on Fridays - but this will make the posts you do make, fit better in your life.
I think this is very wise and am grateful you shared your process and plan.
Kristen, you are awesome; we're here waiting for your posts even if they are 3 times a week. You definately have the correct perspective as to what is most important!
Kim from Philadelphia
Thank you so much. 🙂
Just an idea from a long time homeschooler who does not blog (or write, really)-along with his photos, teach your son blog-write. Voila! writing! at least one style of it. I'm always looking for ways to combine school/work/life, since they are all really the same! Good choices!
Change can be a good thing, especially if it means more family time. Believe me that soon enough your kids will all be leaving and you will miss this time together!
I am thrilled to hear that you are listening to the primary calling in your life which is your family. I know making those decisions are tough but it really is the best decision you can make. Blessings to you and your family as you keep priorities in order. 🙂
Don't get me wrong, I love your site and your words of encouragement and wisdom. I always come away inspired and blessed! It is just good to hear that you don't feel pressured to keep going in the same direction. 🙂
I only recently discovered your blog and to be honest, I spent a few weeks going back and tried to read every one of your blog posts so far. I know how real life can become full and the blog take a back seat (mine is sadly out of date), but family and kids are more important.
Hope you keep blogging every now and then. I find your posts extremely encouraging (as a very bad housewife!) and inspiring in trying to save more and do more effective things around the house
With having 4 kids myself, I understand why you are blogging less! Will you occasionally do some grocery reports? I love those!