Nevertheless, I have already adopted a simpler lifestyle despite not being able to go 'the whole hog'. My interim simpler life consists of the following:-
- I save money for our future every month, by sticking to a cash budget and buying what I need rather than what I want.
- I eat healthily, making food from scratch and adopting a predominantly vegetarian diet.
- I have reduced the quantity of chemicals I expose my family to by making my own laundry liquid, handwash, soap and cleaning products.
- I try to use less of everything - turning the tap off when I brush my teeth, turning appliances off, turning lights off and also trying to use less product and re using when I can.
- I take longer over doing jobs so I can do it better, but also be fully aware of what I'm doing.
- I go at a slower pace, allowing myself to stop and appreciate my surroundings.
- I try to spend more time outside, either working in the garden, walking or just sitting listening to the birds.
- I don't go shopping (except for the food shop). This way I avoid seeing items I might like. I haven't bought a single item of clothing for eight months now and plan on carrying this on for the whole year. It's made a huge difference to how I view shops - it wasn't as if I particularly liked shopping before, but I can now be a targeted shopper, only picking up the exact item I need.
- I'm trying to make as many gifts as possible across the year, which not only saves money, but also gives me a good reason to be creative.
- I'm attempting to grow some of our own fruit and veg to help bolster our diet and our savings.
There are probably other small ways in which I have simplified my life and I know that there are more I'd like to do in the future. Every little bit has an impact on my life and that of my family. I know I still have a lot of new skills to learn, but this is the start of the rest of my life so there's no great rush!
What aspects of a simpler life would you consider to have the most positive impact?
Loving your blog. You are an inspiration. I was on a similar path, but fell off the wagon. Time now to get back on. I have been working on the garden to supply more food and now need to work on the not shopping part and also the slowing down and appreciating life and our surroundings.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, it's not often I get called 'inspirational!' - thanks! I started the blog as a diary at the suggestion of my daughter, but I'm also finding it helps to keep me focused. I guess it's almost like going to a weekly weigh in - you are accountable for what you say and do, to someone other than just yourself?!
DeleteI can see plenty of hurdles in my path though, so my 'wagon' could be overturned at any point yet!!
We are now in our "forever" home, in Wiltshire. Already in our 60s when we bought the house we targeted it to be walking distance from shops, surgery, library, railway station and open spaces so that we rarely need to use our car except for long journeys, so it's being used much more efficiently now, and some weeks go by without us using it at all.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good point. Whilst it's wonderful to be 'out in the sticks', it's not necessarily always practical in later years - for accessibility as well as 'greeness' with using the car less often.
DeleteBefore our big switch last year, I spent years learning skills that I would come to use here, there were done on a small scale but gave me an insite on what I needed to do, curing our bacon, making butter, I had to buy in the pork to make the bacon it was the curing skill I was learning November we killed our first pigs and put that skill to use, I bought cream to make butter but would look out for it reduced I am still not producing milk or cream, making soft cheese, making cordials, pickles preserves foraging learning how to preserve through dehydrating, bottling, canning freezing there is a lot to learn and those early years gave me a good grounding and helped me decide what it was I wanted to do. and what things I didnt want to do, like tanning tried it didnt like it, the magazine turned to time and time again is Home Farmer and visiting lots of shows like the small holders show, and gardening shows you will get there you are all ready on the road :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks. I really fancy doing some more foraging and may look out for a small, pocket sized guide to take with me. Having read Hovel on the Hillside and seeing everything they added to salads, I'd like to make a start. I used to know so much more about the countryside when I was little, but i seem to have forgotten loads :(. Time to start reeducating myself!
DeleteI think the most positive part of a simple life is being more in control of your choices.
ReplyDeleteYour posts have got me thinking about what I want for the future, thanks.
That's very true. I have very much enjoyed feeling more 'at the helm' of my future and that my actions are influencing the path I take rather than it being decided for me.
DeleteGood luck with your planning :)
I've just stumbled across your blog & what I've read so far I love what you are doing. I have a small veg plot & it's amazing the amount of stuff you can grow x
ReplyDeleteWelcome! Yes, by growing the crops quite close together and in amongst the flowers I seem to have squeezed a fair amount in. Let's hope they crop well enough! Time will tell.
DeleteI think going your own way and trying not to get swept along with what other people are doing, spending etc has made the biggest difference to us living life more simply. It is difficult when you have children, I admit, but pulling back from consumerism has made a huge difference to our lives. Who said they had it right anyway? x
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly more my dream, with Mr D coming along for the ride. I haven't asked the children to buy in as they are leaving home soon anyway. Fortunately they're not designer/label orientated anyway!
DeleteI am loving my new life in Wales, it took me a long time to get here but that makes it all the more enjoyable. I am spending much less and living a much more simple life, very much like mt childhood.
ReplyDeleteI had a childhood without too much stuff, home cooked food and home grown fruit and veg too. I have very fond memories of it too x
DeleteAnother lovely post.
ReplyDeleteWe did our move to the smallholding when our children were 4, 10 and 11 after doing up several houses to work our way up. Col carried on working for the County Council right up unto 3 years ago, but we kept goats, pigs, sheep, ran the campsite, kept up to 200 chickens and always grew our own stuff and lived as simply as possible - it was a case of having to live cheap to pay the mortgage! Our plan was for Col to pack up work and potter on here for many years but health things happened and now we have to decide what next.
Sounds like you've got some tough decisions ahead. No doubt you have gained many skills which will stand you in good stead whatever you decide to do! I have been thinking that in order to fund our new life, it will require multiple earning opportunities!
DeleteNow having turned 70 (last autumn) what you say about using less of everything - turning off lights when leaving a room, turning off the tap when brushing teeth - is second nature to those of us who were brought up at the end of WW2 when everything was on ration, short supply or expensive (or all three!) This is just the way our generation (or most of us, there are always exceptions) tend to live, but sadly it's a habit that has been sadly neglected. We can all save resources and money with just a little bit of extra thought, it's not brain surgery is it?
ReplyDeleteAs for making my own cleaning products, that would be a step to far for me, I think, for I do love triple-milled fine quality soap, so that's something I'd not want to give up without a fight. But saving on other things allows for occasional weaknesses such as good soap, flowers, books, breakfast out ... We do go shopping but with A LIST which we STICK TO unless we see something that should've been on THE LIST but we have simply omitted to put it there. I make all my own soup and always sufficient for three meals (i.e. 6 portions) and all my own cakes. No frivolous purchases and if we do buy a bar of good quality dark chocolate, it lasts the two of us a week, having just a couple of pieces each with a cup of coffee after our evening meal.
At one stage a year or two ago, after a particularly steep water bill (South West Water have the highest charges in the country) we saved the run-off water (when waiting for the hot water to come through) into 4 litre empty plastic milk bottles and then used this water to fill the downstair's lavatory cistern, but quite frankly, it didn't save all that much money, if any, and wasn't really worth the effort. Some savings are more, I think, for our own feel-good factor in trying to save the planet rather than being truly cost- and effort-effective. But it doesn't hurt to try.
Margaret P
Trying is all we can do I guess! I now have a smart meter installed which tells me how much I'm paying for gas and. Electric every day, although I don't seem to be able to work out how much my little efforts are altering the meter reading!! I suppose, as you say, it's as much about me feeling I'm doing my bit!
DeleteYou may not be able to go the whole hog now, but you're certainly moving in the right direction and already doing lots of good things to prepare for when it finally happens. We didn't do that - we just more or less jumped into a totally different lifestyle in one big fell swoop, with very little (with hindsight) preparation. We found it very hard adjusting to a slower, simpler life at first, it was a good year or more before we began to get into the swing of it. Love it now though and have no regrets.
ReplyDeleteThat's really good to hear that you have no regrets. I'm really impatient to move into our next stage of life, but I guess I have to wait!! I'll do what I can meanwhile :)
DeleteSmall steps. You seem to be doing brilliantly. I am just starting out on my journey to changing my life and it's amazing to be able to learn from people like yourself. Thank you. X
ReplyDeleteMy absolute pleasure although I'm a beginner too!
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