Margaret Arnold • March 8, 2025
Baggies to Batch Cooking: One Mom's Simple Living Secrets

While texting back and forth about The Silver Thread, I invited my friend Rita Meyer to write a guest post. Rita and I met when our children were classmates at Saint John's Preparatory School, but I knew of her life before then through her monthly column in our Catholic newspaper. Her approachable writing about home life, daily running routine, and adventurous spirit had always resonated with me. Before we met, I also learned about Rita and her husband Marv's impressive feat of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail.


After we became friends, I watched in admiration as their family of six embarked on a summer adventure, living in a motorhome in Alaska from the end of one school year to the start of the next. Leaving behind her home, gardens, and routine to capture precious time with her family exemplified living intentionally and simply.


Rita is a baker and cook extraordinaire for family, fundraisers, and events, a dedicated volunteer, and a kindred spirit. I'm delighted to share her perspective with you today.

 

Dear Silver Thread Readers,

 

I can so relate to trying to live a simpler life. A more sustainable life. A life of less stuff and more peace. Margaret has come to embrace what her mother taught by both word and action. I think our moms could have been besties, such similar values. 

 

The more I read Margaret’s posts, the more I realize that I too have adopted a lot of my Mom’s ways and I am proud of this simpler lifestyle. Oh sure, my kids sometimes get on my case for reusing Baggies (for lunch pail packing, they definitely can be used more than once depending on the contents) or Ziplocks (didn’t know about the cool-looking wooden stand Margaret featured last week; I just put mine over water bottles sitting on the countertop) or even perfectly good containers (I buy the Quaker Oats at Sam’s Club and then pour it from the bags into the saved round containers from earlier days). Know what though? I think my kids get it and are replicating what they have seen and heard as they start flying out of the coop.


Our moms could have been besties ...


A few of the things that I do to save time and money when cooking for my family of six include:

 

  • Batch cooking. When I brown ground beef, I don’t just do one pound but rather 4-5 pounds at a time in my Dutch Oven…that way it’s ready to go for taco meat, spaghetti sauce, hot dishes, chili, whatever the week’s menu includes.

 

  • Stocking up when items are on sale. Ok, 15 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats (they were only .99 cents a box…the “Family Size” box!) might have been a bit much but cold cereal is a staple in this house; the ultimate comfort food and nighttime snack.

 

  • Which brings me to my next point - proper storage is critical. A very large pantry, two chest freezers and two refrigerators are all put to good use in our house.

 

  • Parchment paper…another staple for me as I bake a lot (having people enjoy my bread brings me a ton of joy). I use it on my cookie sheets for all my yeast breads, buns, scones, cookies, you name it! But I don’t just use it once, I reuse it…again and again…and then if baked goods start to stick, I use it as the liner for my sweet potato “fries” (cut up fresh sweet potatoes sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, cumin and Spanish Paprika…try it, you’ll like ‘em!).

 

  • Again, that leads me to another point - maximize your oven usage. I never bake just one thing. If my oven is going, both racks are being used. Roast some vegetables on a cookie sheet (the sweet potato fries are my go to) if you only need the top rack for baking bread, bars, lasagna, etc.

 

I’ve got other thoughts, tips, tricks but until Margaret asks me again, here’s to a simpler life!

Silverish Simplicity Links


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Past Blogs

Saying Goodbye to Boxes, Keeping the Memories

By Margaret Arnold • July 26, 2025
Thirteen years, seven rental properties, and countless storage boxes later, my oldest daughter finally has a home of her own. Through college, medical school, and residency, we continued to store belongings that didn't fit or belong in the cramped spaces of her temporary living situations. Passing along her belongings felt like closing one chapter and opening another—most of all, it represented the end of her grueling training years and the beginning of truly settling down in a lovely home and neighborhood. Her move got me reflecting on my own relationship with storage and my journey toward "Silverish Simplicity." In our former family home, we had one large storage area and two guest bedroom closets filled with plastic totes and banker boxes (see picture below). I even stored empty totes—a sure indication I was planning to accumulate more rather than less. With our move nearly four years ago and the natural process of downsizing while launching our children into their first homes, the number of boxes and totes has dramatically decreased. More importantly, I have no reason to purchase new totes, and I celebrate each time I empty a box or bin and it moves on to family members who need them. ... THE NUMBER OF BOXES AND TOTES HAS DRAMATICALLY DECREASED ...
Flower container pot with a bag of tools

Next Needed Thing: Grandpa's Summer Visits

By Margaret Arnold • June 28, 2025
My spring and summer to-do lists fondly remind me of my father. When my husband and I started caring for our long-time family home and 30 acres, spring's excitement came with overwhelming feelings. Early there with four young children ages six months to five years, I found myself in tears facing all that needed to be done, including a large pasture that needed mowing. My dad — a master gardener and hobby farmer — saw my tears and what was needed and stepped in. This began a 15-year summer routine to help with pasture mowing. Our family fondly remembers those early summer mornings when Grandpa arrived in his little tan truck, sometimes before 7 a.m. We'd chat over coffee at my kitchen table (youngest daughter remembering him sitting in "my chair"), then off he'd go to mow his adopted pasture. He loved to mow and, like everything our energetic father did, approached it as if he were running out of time. Oldest son recalls: "I'd bring him lemonade, and he'd drink most of it quickly. Then, without stopping, he'd throw the almost empty cup back at me and keep mowing." Oldest daughter added: "He was so focused that when we delivered lemonade, I was scared he might run me over." ... SPRING'S EXCITEMENT CAME WITH AN OVERWHELMING FEELING ...
A tote bag is sitting on a counter next to bottles of cleaning supplies.

A Happy Cleaner: Four Decades of Family Moves & Experiences

By Margaret Arnold • May 17, 2025
When my four children were in elementary and middle school, an annual Christmas card and letter that arrived each year gave me a glimpse of the life stage that awaited our family. I recall the usual family news but what struck me about this particular holiday update was the amount of moves her four children made in those college and post-college years and the loving assistance she provided. Little did she know she was modeling how I wanted to be, and have been, for my children these past 13 years and 18+ moves (counting three for my husband and me). From college dorm room to first apartments and now to first homes, I have had the joy of helping my kids settle into their spaces. What an exciting time it is for them! A key role I’ve played during these move-ins and occasional move-outs has been that of a cleaner. I like to clean – I mean I really like it. Not only do I enjoy the physical work I especially like the mental and organizational challenge and doing this domestic task better, deeper and, in the last three years, more sustainable. A KEY ROLE I'VE PLAYED DURING THESE MOVE-INS ... HAS BEEN THAT OF CLEANER.