Margaret Arnold • June 28, 2025
Next Needed Thing: Grandpa's Summer Visits

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 ...

After completing the work, he'd leave quickly — grass clippings and dust covering his clothes, face, and sunglasses (“definitely his sunglasses,” added youngest son) — rushing to his own farm projects and leaving my mother to clean up my grass clipping mess!

 

Those summer mornings evolved over the years: young children on summer vacation waking to hear and see Grandpa mowing outside, then later, young adults heading to summer jobs greeting him on their way out.


Through his example, our father taught me to approach overwhelming projects with a "next needed thing" mindset. He didn't let big tasks overwhelm him but tackled them with vigor and purpose. He also taught me to see the benefits: "Margaret, if you keep this pasture mowed, the good clover grasses will emerge." And they did.

 

While we no longer have that large property, each spring as I prepare our home for summer enjoyment, I think of our dad and how much he loved these projects. As his abilities declined and he could no longer care for his farm or help with our pasture, he sadly told me, "Margaret, I'm sorry I won't be able to mow for you anymore." I assured him it was okay, but we miss him, those visits, and the example he set for all of us.

 

Next Needed Thing Reflection

  • Break down the spring and summer gardening chores and spread them over weeks rather than a few days and only take on what you can care for
  • Check, gather and prepare all the tools and supplies you need
  • Make lists of items to be resupplied before shopping to not over purchase (remember what you purchase or duplicate, you must store)
  • Chunk the work based on high-energy times (and the weather to determine if you are outside or inside with your projects)


Silverish Simplicity Links

  • Use a fabric wine bottle tote to hold hand gardening tools (see picture)
  • Make tools from recycled materials – I collect different size plastic containers to hold and scoop smaller and more manageable quantities of grass seed, fertilizer and mulch – from yogurt containers to five gallon buckets
  • Check first and collect and return good potting containers to your garden center for repurposing
  • Pop in a few nasturtium flower seeds mid-summer in your container pots for new growth and color
  • Next year adopt a “No Mow May” to support pollinators (a recent early June trip to Germany showed that the “No Mow” is very serious and went well into June)


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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 ...
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.

An Earth Day Project to Last a Decade

By Margaret Arnold • April 26, 2025
Earth Day has significant meaning for me. Beyond falling during my wedding anniversary week (4.23), this global day has involved cleaning ditches with my children and outdoor spring projects. It's ideal for honoring Earth's wonders as nature awakens in Minnesota. For a third year, my gift to Earth is a forest management project first shared last year on LinkedIn . My husband and I have tackled buckthorn eradication , transforming our woods to reveal 300-year-old oaks, black cherry, cedar trees and the land's natural contour. While I attempt to embrace simplicity, this conservation project isn't simple! Eradicating this invasive shrub (and larger old trees) from our forest will take a decade or more. It demands physical work and resources, but the rewards extend beyond restoring native habitats in my corner of the world. my gift to the earth is a forest management project ...