tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post2304311304389671580..comments2024-03-28T15:55:53.792+10:00Comments on down to earth: Starting your simple lifeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-7622064730360115992013-03-12T10:59:27.020+10:002013-03-12T10:59:27.020+10:00I've been searching the internet for sites tha...I've been searching the internet for sites that help simplify and allow us to still be able to eat healthy. I love this - a great springboard of knowledge to start off from.<br />My new mantra is 'Spend Less - Live More'<br />peaceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-57992919652068443712012-05-30T12:52:26.090+10:002012-05-30T12:52:26.090+10:00Thanx Rhonda :) ... you appeared at a time when my...Thanx Rhonda :) ... you appeared at a time when my hubby & I were peaking at retirement (20yrs from now) and not sure what direction to take & looking at each other for answers. <br />While I was trying on an extremely costly but pretty jacket hubby was in a book shop, he found your book and of course we bought it (i didnt get the jacket). Your book has inspired us to take a closer look at all our bits of our wonderful life with 'no cows' (as i call it) and seeing what we can change for a simple life leading into retirement ... Thank You again xoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-9192015917059455842012-05-29T10:41:18.980+10:002012-05-29T10:41:18.980+10:00Thanks you for this! It encourages me to start som...Thanks you for this! It encourages me to start something :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-17269790057415776052012-05-26T20:22:54.320+10:002012-05-26T20:22:54.320+10:00Very inspirational post! I'm still a bit overw...Very inspirational post! I'm still a bit overwhelmed with all the awesome and not sure how to start. I probably cling to my current lifestyle too much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-61771603408194387562012-05-26T02:53:06.362+10:002012-05-26T02:53:06.362+10:00glad I found you - will be visiting oftenglad I found you - will be visiting oftenLouAnnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-1969268063171527852012-05-25T07:48:05.944+10:002012-05-25T07:48:05.944+10:00I started dreaming when I was at Uni doing Environ...I started dreaming when I was at Uni doing Environmental Science and realised the gravity of what was at stake. Then after Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the food intolerances that followed I just leapt in, partly out of necessity (it's soooo expensive to be Gluten and Dairy Free). Then after my babies came, it upped the ante again, making good food, from scratch in a chemical free home and teaching them about what we value. I have to say I have no no no desire to do it differently! Simple living means I am very busy (as opposed to what som many people think). But I'm busy putting my energy into where it really matters, my family.Millienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-41966483763863533332012-05-23T15:54:52.800+10:002012-05-23T15:54:52.800+10:00I do many things as I should, trying to live a sim...I do many things as I should, trying to live a simple, non-consumer lifestyle, but I have just read about a lady in Melbourne who tried living for a year without plastic. It made me really look and realize how much of our lives are reliant on this product - especially kitchen and pantry products. <br /><br />I have now started looking at ways to replace all that plastic with stainless steel, glass, ceramic, etc. <br /><br />One thing certainly does lead to another.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-41356521727221070352012-05-23T09:53:19.722+10:002012-05-23T09:53:19.722+10:00Thanks for putting this into words. Especially ab...Thanks for putting this into words. Especially about taking small steps but to keep walking. Thankyou also to all those who have commented. I would like to add something I have learned from my father-in-law. He strongly believes we need to learn something new everyday. Be it learning to listen, doing a new job etc. I have used this 'wisdom' and every day I learn to live simplymilkmaid74noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-61994087403584497452012-05-23T07:15:17.867+10:002012-05-23T07:15:17.867+10:00My 'waste not want not' journey started wi...My 'waste not want not' journey started without any fanfare and I wasn't even aware of it at the time. I sustained a severe back injury which eventually led to me giving up work. I grieved over the loss of MY job and also the small income from it. I spent a long time in rehab then at home which can be very mind numbing when you have spent your whole adult life working. I started to think there has got to be more to my days than TV TV and more TV. There was! I started slowly relearning the handcrafts my Mum had taught me as a little girl. I found I could knit and crochet even while lying in bed recuperating from several back operations. I started reading again a pastime I love. Cooking was difficult at first but I found I could cut up veg. while seated. Eventually I returned to small cleaning jobs around the house all of which helped with my rehab. except vacuuming which took it's toll on my lower back muscles. I persevered and gradually my life took a different turn from what I had expected and planned when I started my working life. Lately I have discovered U3A (University of the Third Age) Online which has opened up a whole new world of learning for me.<br />During my life journey I discovered my Australian Aboriginal Heritage which has reconnected me to This Land...My Land...My Life Journey.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02758926343154376267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-55377375861287501822012-05-23T06:48:16.312+10:002012-05-23T06:48:16.312+10:00One thing really does lead to another. That is ve...One thing really does lead to another. That is very good and practical advice you've given there, Rhonda. <br /><br />I started with where my food came from which lead to organics which lead to gardening which lead to cooking which lead to...on and on. <br /><br />Its a beautiful thing.BLD in MThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08497511995276601468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-27395581750115413562012-05-23T05:51:07.594+10:002012-05-23T05:51:07.594+10:00You say it all so well and, as usual, you are very...You say it all so well and, as usual, you are very practical. This harkens back to the once popular phrase "Bloom where you are planted." I've been discouraged with too many "simple living" sites that seem to imply it's all or nothing--you must buy a plot in the deep forest/mountains, live off the grid, haul in your water, and never, never venture out into "civilization." Right. How many of us can do that? Thank you for telling your readers we have the freedom to pick and choose what works best for us where we are now.Kathy Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15732986417273177355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-29016283781677481082012-05-23T01:43:03.909+10:002012-05-23T01:43:03.909+10:00I think things changed for me when I started makin...I think things changed for me when I started making good money, ironically enough. I enjoyed it and bought what I wanted for the first time in my life, but I realized after a few years that having extra stuff didn't make me any happier. Then I joined a CSA, which got me cooking more. And I met my boyfriend, who is pretty frugal and really, really hates debt. Now I'm baking our own bread and treats like granola bars, plus making laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent.STHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-78603331435278558812012-05-22T22:37:18.904+10:002012-05-22T22:37:18.904+10:00Rhonda, for quite some time I was popping into you...Rhonda, for quite some time I was popping into your blog whenever I could squeeze "being frugal" into our busy lives. When I read your story of how you got to the simple life...how you were previously, it is like reading my history. I have tried little by little to incorporate "simple life" into our home, but it didn't really take off until I retired 7 months ago. I was forced into retiring due to health issues and it is now a necessity to simplify. I can't list everything that I have begun that is causing our change, but I wanted to remind your readers that "free" is the ultimate cost savings. In the past months I have gotten free material to learn to quilt, free batting and now free yarn to learn to knit. Putting the word out either through Freecycle.org or through the "grapevine" has amazing results. Thank you so much for your inspiration and wisdom as I follow in your footsteps!<br />LindaLindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645619498711118692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-16927945066812125462012-05-22T21:48:32.292+10:002012-05-22T21:48:32.292+10:00My hubby and I have always wanted to live a simpli...My hubby and I have always wanted to live a simplier life. We look on ourselves as 'tight' as we don't like to waste our hard earned money or try to keep up with the Jones'.<br />We have made a more conscious decision this year to move towards simplicity. I think is due to baby #2 being on the way and me not wanting to have to return to full time work ever if I don't want to.<br />We have started by taking better care of our finances and by analysing our spending. I've started meal planning and being more careful about where and when we spend our money. I also don't spend much on cleaning products, using simple vinegar and bi-carb as much as possible and making our own laundry powder.<br />The next step for us is to get a vegetable patch going and to plant some fruit trees. <br /><br />Angela.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-6210590127178217002012-05-22T20:46:29.830+10:002012-05-22T20:46:29.830+10:00I grew up in a very frugal family, my dad was a si...I grew up in a very frugal family, my dad was a single parent but still managed to do so much! He built our house, grew a vege patch, chickens etc. all the while managing two little girls, a job and church commitments! What an inspiration :-)<br /><br />After finishing uni and earning money for the first time I left my frugal past behind. My partner and I are both engineers and the money was started rolling in. But we are also pretty conservative and our first home was modest. We started off my tracking all our expenditure and setting budgets. We also found that menu planning saved us from wasting food, and I suppose wasting money.<br /><br />Then we moved to a remote part of Australia to work in the mining industry. We paid of our house that first year and then saved on top of that! Apart from the money, the best thing that remote living taught me was how to simplify our diet - fancy ingredients were not available and sometimes basics sold out and we had to wait for the next shipment. Making do. <br /><br />Now we are in major frugal mode. Two kids, one income, new mortgage :-D I am embracing the op shop, buying in bulk, looking thru catalogs for sales, reducing our meat consumption, growing veges, knitting and sewing clothes, making bread and yoghurt ..... It is sort of fun.... Including dealing with cloth nappies!Clairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03293118986621010393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-58413607149714785622012-05-22T19:33:00.914+10:002012-05-22T19:33:00.914+10:00I've been frugal all my life mostly because we...I've been frugal all my life mostly because we had to be.<br /><br />Anyhow - just a little off topic - we have been making ginger beer for quite some time now (at least I started it and h continues to this day) and noticed that the left over sludgy stuff was rather yeasty - as it is supposed to be :) so when there was lots of extra I took a couple of cups and made it up into my normal white bread recipe using the sludge instead of the yeast. It works a treat! Ginger beer flavoured bread buns:) And they did rise almost as much as normal yeast.<br /><br />viv in nzknutty knitterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00325560883289908412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-4563874013654576162012-05-22T18:18:51.655+10:002012-05-22T18:18:51.655+10:00I like your hands: they look like the hands of my ...I like your hands: they look like the hands of my mother, hands that work and care, loving hands. <br />I hope my hands will look the same, over twenty years.<br />God bless you,<br />greetings from HollandIrmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-53126698511718282222012-05-22T18:17:39.245+10:002012-05-22T18:17:39.245+10:00For me, it began in a very clear moment when I fin...For me, it began in a very clear moment when I finally admitted to myself that the career that I had worked so long and hard towards was making me miserable, sick and destroying my relationship. So I walked away and began establishing an organic market garden with my partner. I taught myself to knit and crochet from YouTube and now I sell my scarves and cowls locally and through a dear friend in the UK. We sell my preserves and jams at our stall at the farmers market and I am beyond happy. <br /><br />I think it's a very important point that you make to just start somewhere. It's great to read about commenters who just started with home made laundry detergent and from there began exploring a million other ways to live an authentic life. It is summed up for me in the saying "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Just start somewhere, just take that first little step and don't worry for one second about how it will look to everyone else or whether you're doing it right. If it feels good, you're on the right track!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-5591798854590119752012-05-22T16:40:16.633+10:002012-05-22T16:40:16.633+10:00I've had various attempts at something like th...I've had various attempts at something like this, so I think some things stuck around and some never did. This real, long-lasting attempt, though, started with knitted dishcloths. That led to homemade cleaning products, and to mending clothes, and then to making clothes. Still a long way to go, though...Nickiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15821748425176220106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-75245249575505538332012-05-22T15:14:49.641+10:002012-05-22T15:14:49.641+10:00Hi Rhonda, things at our home must be settling dow...Hi Rhonda, things at our home must be settling down as I now have found some time again to comment and do a little blogging. <br />My journey to a simple life started when I had a fascination with the Amish and their way of living. I felt very drawn to see if I could live as simply as they seem to live. That was many years ago and I have continued in my own way to live a life that isn't dominated by consumerism. Bread baking and meals from scratch still are the norm for me. I would love to have the time to sew and knit all our clothes but that has not been possible yet as we have a very large family and my time does not stretch that far. Simple living just seems to evolve once you start and one thing leads to another and then to another.<br />My dream would be to move onto property and really become more self sufficient but I have to be content with where I am and live the simple life I enjoy where I am right now!Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08295890728434904710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-14093927416943888302012-05-22T13:25:42.394+10:002012-05-22T13:25:42.394+10:00Thank you for asking this question, Rhonda - I hav...Thank you for asking this question, Rhonda - I have really enjoyed reading all the amazing and thoughtful comments on this post! I identify very much with "just joyful" in that living this way has helped me become more patient and process-oriented. For me, it started with learning how to cook for myself. It wasn't from scratch for years later, but cooking also led me to growing a few herbs and vegetables and the rest came (is still coming!) step by step.<br />-JaimeNgo Family Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15484243776589015749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-21641773475779824702012-05-22T12:49:14.374+10:002012-05-22T12:49:14.374+10:00What a wonderful post! I'd have to say that my...What a wonderful post! I'd have to say that my simple living journey started when I graduated from college back in 1990 and refused to join the rat race. I ended up working part time for a music school and had to figure out how to get by on a salary of $100 per week. I call it the sink or swim method!EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-88782550336095079582012-05-22T11:47:35.676+10:002012-05-22T11:47:35.676+10:00Hi Rhonda. Another thought provoking post....than...Hi Rhonda. Another thought provoking post....thank you. My simple living journey began when my first born started eating solids. I was determined to make all of his food from scratch because I felt so strongly about not loading up his little body with preservatives and artificial everything. I then moved on to green cleaners as I started to think about all of the surfaces around the house he touched as he crawled around and the thought of chemical residues really concerned me. As well as cooking from scratch and making green cleaners we also make soap, laundry liquid, have solar panels and solar hot water, compost, recycle and are now focusing on increasing what we grow in our vegie garden. I love this journey that I am on with my family and am always looking forward to where it will take us next. One of the greatest benefits, though, is seeing how much my two boys are getting from this. They really are like sponges and to give you an example, the other day I offered to buy my 8 year old a new pair of shoes for a very special occasion. He replied "Mum, that would be a waste. My old ones still fit me, maybe you could just give them a clean and polish". Out of the mouths of babes.......<br />KarynAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-20579936564184992052012-05-22T11:22:56.242+10:002012-05-22T11:22:56.242+10:00This year I had been trying to not spend so much t...This year I had been trying to not spend so much to hopefully put extra on my mortgage. I have bought a small house for my daughter and I which I love. It is strange how huge some peoples houses are. (mind you I couldn't afford a huge house anyway!) Suddenly I saw your lovely book and it was so interesting and changed my way of thinking. So I am quite new to this but I am cooking all meals, starting a garden, have started a stockpile cupboard, repairing things instead of throwing away, recycling, not shopping as an activity(!), going to make gifts, making dog food; thanks for this great blog and it's great to join in.francesmoniquenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-45796973159658314172012-05-22T11:13:03.468+10:002012-05-22T11:13:03.468+10:00Hi Rhonda,
I see in the picture that you have the...Hi Rhonda,<br /><br />I see in the picture that you have the book "Simple Knits for Cherished Babies" and was wondering what you thought of it? I'm expecting my first bub in November and have been looking at the reviews on Amazon and it says the book has some errors? <br /><br />Would you recommend it though? I'm a fairly new sewer!<br /><br />Thanks in advance.Kayenoreply@blogger.com