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