After moving to my fathers 10 acre land, I slowly started to make that dream a reality. Emphasis on slowly!

Here are a few things we’re doing and stopped doing to simplify life, be more healthy, and more self-sustainable…

WE STOPPED USING SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER

(yes, really)

Well there was a day when I realized we were out of shampoo and conditioner and since I would have to order it, it wouldnt arrive for a few days and I found myself literally panicing in my head…

“What are we going to do!?” I was thinking, literally worried…

Then when i realized how nI was behaving, I didnt like it! It might seem ridiculous, but I didnt like the fact that I was so dependent on a stupid topical product that makes our hair smell good…

So what did I do as The Modern Hippie Mom? Decided to completely take those staple products out of our lives.

1. Save money, 2. A good addition to our self sustaining life.

So what do we do to wash our hair?

We just use the water when we shower and our fingers, and massage our heads as if we were washing out shampoo.

We also do an apple cider vinegar rinse once a week.

WE GOT CHICKENS!

Eggs are absolutely a staple in our house.

We have eggs very single morning. No exaggeration. Eggs are our go-to breakfast.

So when we moved to my fathers 10 acre “farm”, I knew the first thing i wanted to do was get chickens, and one day my dad came home and  surprised us with 5 baby chicks! LOL.

You dont need to live on a large land to raise chickens though, they’re extremely easy to take care of, and would still thrive in a backyard.

If you look up backyard chickens on YouTube, you’ll find sooooooo much information and find that there is a whole community dedicated to raising, and teaching people how to raise backyard chickens. It’s amazing and so cute.

Two of my favorite YouTube chicken channels: Welcome to Chickenlandia & Oak Abode

But they dont only supply eggs, they actually become one of the family with their cute little personalities and you quickly come to love them.

NO MORE ELABORATE SKIN CARE ROUTINE

It also got PRICEYYYYY!

But that actually isn’t the reason I stopped…

One day I woke up and my eyes were soooooo dry and tender painful.. I was sure it was some reaction I got to one of my skincare products, but I wasnt sure which one. So I completely stopped everything. No moisturizer, no cleanser, no nothing! I only washed my face with water at night and in the morning until it went away.

I was nervous because I thought my skin was going to be so dry and flaky and gross, but what I noticed over that time was that I saw no negative effect on my skin at all.

It was a little tight for maybe a day or so from being so dependent on moisturizer, but that was it. After that little while my face wasnt dry or tight at all.

That’s when I started thinking “is this really necessary?” And decided it wasnt, and that I wasnt going back. And I haven’t since!

Dont get me wrong, I still love researching and learning about natural topical products and how it effects our bodies and such, and I still love oils and own a bunch!

My favorite facial oil: Radha Beauty Organic Rosehip Oil (can also buy on Amazon)

But when it comes to a whole elaborate 6 step routine every night- double cleans, mask, acids, serums, moisturizer…- that’s completely over and done with.

NO MAKEUP/MINIMAL MAKEUP

And then if I was GOING going somewhere, I would do the whole shabang… concealer, eyeliner, mascara, eyebrows, contour, highlighter… I would literally be late for an event just to do my makeup.

Thankfully, one day I just decided to stop.

I can’t remember any particular reason why, but I just stopped.

Now, the most I do is curl my eyelashes and fill in my brows. Maybe some concealer if I feel like it. But for the most part, I splash my face with water, and head out.

This doesnt mean I NEVER wear makeup. I do own makeup and will wear it if I feel like it. But I don’t allow it to control my life to the point where I’d rather be late and have my makeup done.

But 99% of the time I’m bare faced and it feels so good.

WHAT ELSE?

If you have been wanting to simplify life and be more self sustainable, start small. Ease your way through it one step at a time.

You dont have to do it all at one and in a bam!