Going Simple

We need to simplify our lives.  I've noticed that in the past several years, people have been coming back around to the simple things in life.  From growing your own garden and keeping your own chicken coop to getting rid of unneeded material possessions and trading movie night for hiking, people are simplifying.  My generation in particular seems to look back on our childhood as a golden age and I think that by simplifying our lives, we can live another golden age!  We have become so bogged down by electronics that we've forgotten the simple joys we loved about our childhoods!  Living in town and raising our boys, there is only so much we can do space and financially.  Plus weith both Jon and I working full time and keeping up with housework/kids/meals/etc our time as a fmaily is precious.  I decided that we should step away from our electronics this summer and find cheap/free ways to make lasting memories.

My first goal is to limit our tv time.  We are gulty of spending way too much time in front of the tv or playing video games.  I've started a listof things we could do that are affordable and would be fun and get us out of the house.  Some of them we've already done and some we won't get to, but here's what I came up with.
Picnics
Walks/Bike rides
Family game night
Cook and clean as a family
Eat dinner at the kitchen table (So terrible that we don't do this, I'm feeling guilty)
Use our fire pit
Build a living room tent
Go fruit picking
Go for a hike
Play with bubbles (because awesome sauce!)
Drive in theatre
Camping

I'm sure I'll find more things to add to the list and I hope we do some of them often.  Another thing I want to do is simplify our belongings.  We have way too much stuff!  I plan to clean out our closets and garage and anything that hasn't been used in the last year is going to a garage sale or Goodwill.  I also think that if Linus gets a new toy, we'll take one and put it into storage.  We can rotate toys in and out as we like but they won't clutter the house up as much.