ethical + sustainable - a series // the loved by community of ziraffe store.

When it comes to clothing, as a family, we are very careful of the brands we choose and what they stand for. Ethics and the environmental policies of a brand are looked at carefully before we invest. In a time when there are 52 seasons in a fashion year and a society that buys and ditches often, it is such a relief to find timeless and beautiful clothing for kids. 

One shop stocking ethical and stylish kids clothes with a minimalistic approach to consumption is Ziraffe. Their brands are simple in approach and create designs that grow with your child. Their new platform, LovedBy_Community is totally inspiring. In a nutshell:

• Builds communities around buying and selling thoughtfully designed, ethnically made goods for our children
• Supports sustainability and discourages throwaway culture when something is outgrown
• Allows sellers to select a charity to support and do social and environmental good
• Picks-up and delivers items door-to-door so busy families don't need to go to the post office

The community is easy to navigate and has some really amazing sellers. Like here and here.

The clothing the girls are wearing in these photos feature from both the shop and the LovedBy _Community. Poppy wears size 5/6 and is usually a 4, we sized up so she can get a few seasons from them. Piper wears size 7/8 but also shares the 5/6 with her sister. Being able to love ethical items and then pass them on to be used again and again, a modern take on fashion. Waste not.

All clothing for this post provided by Ziraffe Store, all thoughts and opinions my own. x

simplify me // 5 things making our home life simpler and easier.

After being in this old house for a full year now. We went all hands on deck these past few weeks and cleared out (most) of the remaining clutter. Focusing on everything finding a home and the rest earning us a bit of money to start saving for our next (and much needed) reno project.

Here are a few of the tricks we have found along the way to making space to breathe in our home.

1. Leave some shelves empty.

We tend to fill drawers and shelves with stuff. Habit, hoarding, whatever reason, if we have somewhere to hide something we will use it. We have a few unused spaces and they make my mind feel less cluttered and like I have space to move through my thoughts and to dos.
We have no built-ins so each of us has a single wardrobe. In it are clothing for both seasons, accessories and a laundry hamper.

2. Sell it.

A lot of the things we keep for memories do little to spark them. We have a tub of keepsakes each and the rest have been released. Our memories and moments are in our minds and with less upkeep and "stuff" we have the space for creating more memories. Plus we made a pretty little nest egg for our next big spend.

3. Don't organise.

I have one box for paperwork I have to keep. It's not neatly filed. It has insurance papers, vet records, birth certificates, all those things mixed in it. If I need them they are there and I am not juggling them monthly. Any other papers (bills/invites etc) are in one big magnetic clip on the fridge. Most of my documents are sent to me online and can be found again there.

4. Use plants.

Instead of fancy decor items, if a surface looks too empty we have used a plant to decorate. One simple potted plant makes the room pretty and the air clean. Feng shui at her finest.

5. Natural is always better.

We have carefully curated so we are minimal in the plastic and synthetics in our home. Natural rugs and throws of wool, hemp and cotton. Woven baskets. Wooden toys. These all make our home calmer and feel softer.

This simple old home and way is leading us to more time for getting things done, like bush walks and cookie baking and nights are less frantic packing away and juggling things. This quote is my newest and biggest influence on this part of my journey. 

“If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo. But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to be meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either” - Donald Miller: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Simplicity Parenting // A quick toy tidy + A Fair Trade & Beautiful Giveaway.

I have referred to the book Simplicity Parenting countless times in this space. I love the premise behind it. The simple guidance of less is more in parenting (as is the case of all things) and that we need to invest in our children. Less stuff, more time, less noise, more peace. The goods.

Despite my desire to just have things simple, the battle is a constant one in our tiny home with toys and "stuff." I stand on the edge of worshiping design and pretty things and knowing that space is what I and my children need to have. So I make sure to keep things simple here. If a birthday is coming we pile up bags and boxes of items to donate, sell and throw (badly broken) and make more room than what we have coming. It keeps the peace.

I have been working on finding some good solutions to the toy box explosion that occurs regardless of my clearing the clutter.

A quick way to tidy but provide order in miss. four's space.

At the moment we have a Trofast in her closet with each bucket holding a type of toy. Duplo, a wooden train set, barbies and my little ponies, kitchen toys and fake food, Schliech animals and felt playmats/baskets for homes. The top of her closet has baskets with colouring books, craft kits, play-dough, and puzzles neatly lined side-by-side. This is our rainy day collection. In her bedroom sits a Stuva Storage Bench filled with dress-ups. On top is a cosy lambswool and her Sylvanian Families treehouse and little cottage. In the corner is a tee-pee we pull out for hideaway nooks some days. Finally, a doll's bed and a beautiful hessian sack of stuffed toys and dolls.

For the most part, the girls share these toys so it is more than enough for two little souls to keep amused. We don't really need all the toys we have but they are all played with and open-ended enough to grow with the girls.

The beautiful storage sack comes from The Dharma Door. The Dharma Door has searched the world for the most highly skilled Fair Trade artisans, using raw materials, to create modern style merged with traditional making. Bringing resources to remote villages, the ethical work of The Dharma Door provides a lasting opportunity for men and women in these villages to continue working in their traditional skills.

The Sari Hessian Sack is 44cm x 38cm and handcrafted in Bangladesh. It holds more than enough stuffed toys (never an easy feat!) and would be equally beautiful as a laundry basket or near the door to catch shoes and other such objects. There are a beautiful selection of other beautiful Hessian Sacks on sale at half price right now too.

The Dharma Door has generously offered one lucky winner 1 x Sari Hessian Sack {rrp. $79}

To win just leave a comment below that includes which item at The Dharma Door you most adore. For an additional entry follow @piperandpoppies + @thedharmadoor on Instagram. Just leave a separate comment with your insta name below. You can also enter via Facebook, just leave a comment on either. The winner will be drawn on Wednesday July 23rd and be notified via email. Open to Australian residents only.

♡ ashley

clearing the clutter // finding your style // back to basics.

this photo is totally not related to the post but man alive, this kid! so much goodness!

Me and an old girlfriend used to get such a giggle out of folks saying they needed to "find themselves." I used to think, you are you, it's pretty simple really. Then I had my girls and both times it changed me. As I try to redefine who I am I realise that I have lost myself. There is so much beauty out there and I have been endlessly inspired. Instagram and other bloggers have style galore. Rather than choosing a direction, the past few years I have been exploring, dabbling, searching. Until now. I have had a bit of an epiphany. An aha as to who I am now, again. 

Guiding this personal discovery is the combined force of drowning in crap alongside my go to guide for parenting, Simplicity Parenting. Each and every time I read it, it resonates with me. I believe in what is described yet somehow constantly deviate from the path of less. It is a human condition. The gathering of things. Which is wonderful if they bring happiness. All too often I have let myself be influenced by the {amazing} style of others. I am swayed from what I adore through the images and aesthetics of others. Like a teenage girl, not so much to fit in, but seeing something again and again until you want it. Need it. 

I worry about what this means for my children. The ever changing environment. Too much. This worry has led to some major soul shifting decisions.

I am taking a step back from the stuff. We as a family are clearing the clutter. Room by room. Keeping those things that we love. I am using my pinterest as a mood board. The inspirations I have pinned all have a lot in common. Beautiful artwork, wood, plants, recycled items, natural materials, space. 

The hardest part? Giving the rest of my stuff up. Letting go of stuff is a challenge all of it's own. We are entering a new level of it. I am calling it the gypsy decor. Not as in boho style. As in, if we were to pack up and return to living in a remote desert community or teaching in Spain for a year, what could we not live without? What things do we tremendously adore? What brings us joy and peace? 

I want a home filled with natural things, beautiful things, to make ethical choices, to create eco spaces. It is all possible.

I have a feeling my ways are somewhat aligned with a crazy person. A cat lady hoarder. But the bottom line is we choose our world. How we want to live. It is all a choice. There are times that we are backed into a corner {with money, jobs, etc.} but in the end we decide what we want from life.

This year and the next will be huge for my family. We are goal setting like never before. Prioritising. Focused for change and the space we crave to breathe.

Our journey begins today. With my admitting to being a wannabe. To embracing less. To clearing the clutter. Indeed less is always so much more.

♡ ashley

ps. This is not a judgement about you and your family. It is about me and my family. What we need and what works for us. Judgements don't exist in this space. I am sharing my choices. 

if you want something beautiful, useful and eco friendly enter to win some my gypsy child love here. 

conquering mount life // a glimpse at a messy home & striving to find order.

I am a tidy person by nature. Or I was. Until my kids came along.

With Piper, I was always following along behind her, putting things back in their place. Wiping down. There was order maintained. Mostly.

With Piper and Poppy, I catch up to them a few times a day and throw the things in baskets/drawers/piles to deal with later. Sometimes we pack away together. This means I pack away while Poppy undoes my work and Piper discovers new found toys and books to devour. Good times.

Along the way I seem to have adopted some childlike organisation skills. I have a kitchen table half covered in wipes, books, paperwork, ballet gear, and the like. Folded washing that we have been choosing our outfits from in the middle of the living room. Books, letters, invoices, programs for teaching in a mammoth and very unsteady pile at my elbow next to the computer.

Out front I have managed to create the ambiance of a crazy cat lady hoarding found objects. Op shop finds I need to repair, wood and branches for a piece of art yet to be created teeter precariously on a wooden table near the front door. With an added sprinkling of unranked leaves (everywhere.) Piper adds occasional flowers and found objects to our impromptu artinstalment.

It's a fine balance. Finding the time to spend playing with the people most important but not ending up overwhelmed in clutter and 'to-dos.' In the next few days I am determined to rein supreme in simplifying. Creating order. Space. Peace within my home.

I used to have a single notebook for recording shopping lists, to do lists, writing ideas and inspirations. Then I started scribbling them on any paper I could find. Arranged on countertops and fridge doors. The first step today is collecting the bits and writing them into one place. Contained, neat, orderly.

Sometimes it feels good to find your feet beneath the chaos. To take the time to arrange and cleanse to bring order to a space and order to your mind.

Do you find you have mountains to climb at times or are you an order as the day ends type of soul? I could use some advice for how to keep on top of things. Perhaps a recommendation for a book/ website on simplifying? Off to conquer Mt. Life.

♡ ashley

ps. last chance to win some ecostore goodies. click here.