tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post8270863878891737375..comments2024-03-29T21:11:37.724+10:00Comments on down to earth: What led you to your simple changesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-86315543439318999012011-03-02T08:18:31.906+10:002011-03-02T08:18:31.906+10:00Newbie here from a Frugal Kiwi reader. BTW congrat...Newbie here from a Frugal Kiwi reader. BTW congratulations on your blogger win!<br /><br />I have been traveling a simpler path the last few years due to some huge life changes. My parents both died of cancer in their mid - sixties, my husband died in a motorcycle accident @ 39 and my son (only child) was killed almost four years ago @ 19. I was a mess, couldn't work and had a massive heart attack that I am not fully recovered from today. My entire life changed in less than seven years. This caused me to look at things much differently.<br /><br />I decided what is really important in my life and what I want to accomplish.<br /><br />Being raised on a farm and living in my beautiful homeplace again I am afforded many luxuries city folk don't have such as space for a huge garden and a barn for livestock.<br /><br />My BF and I started a garden four years ago raising vegetables and herbs. I preserve countless items by canning or drying. (Momma would be so proud!!)Overabundance has lead to some interesting recipes to use all the produce! We also hope to do a farmer's market for produce and canned goods.<br /><br />The more I read, the more I am inspired to try new things on my own. We want to get started on some livestock this summer. And bee keeping. And soap making (helped as a child). And I need to get my sewing machine fixed. And... well you get the point.<br /><br />All that "stuff" just really isn't necessary for us. Our indulgence is our Harleys. Nothing like the wind in your hair!Handfulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-49190202288583070082010-12-12T12:51:44.423+10:002010-12-12T12:51:44.423+10:00I was a single parent in the Army. I was basically...I was a single parent in the Army. I was basically a workaholic. Something was missing in my life, I did not know what it was. I started reading about voluntary simplicity and simple living and fell in love. This is my passion now and my blog is http://www.singleparentingvoluntarysimplicty.com/. I am learning about urban farming and urban chicken raising. I love my new life:)Amoyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10164010670731637727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-10212157475124248522010-06-20T09:30:28.883+10:002010-06-20T09:30:28.883+10:00What impelled me to live simply was my husband'...What impelled me to live simply was my husband's choice of a teaching career and our choice to have six children. It was a challenge to make our one-paycheck income stretch to cover the necessities of life. I sewed pajamas and other clothing for the family, canned, and cooked from scratch. Our only new furniture were beds, kitchen appliances, washer, and dryer. Sometimes a new tv set was purchased new, but it was always a simple one and not too big; it always lasted a LONG time. All our other furniture consisted of family hand me downs and we never minded that it wasn't new. We have always managed to have what we needed, although we never had a lot extra. Now our kids are grown, and we are retired. We continue to live simply and share what we have with others because anything else wouldn't feel right to us.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734007064893931861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-53830209362843962812010-06-11T11:58:11.779+10:002010-06-11T11:58:11.779+10:00Hi Rhonda,
Really enjoying reading everyone's ...Hi Rhonda,<br />Really enjoying reading everyone's experiences, very interesting. For me, I felt like I was living on a hamster wheel and was exhausted by the pace of my life. Then I lost my job last October and I knew it was the perfect opportunity to really practice simplifying my life. I'm also very concerned with peak oil and climate change so I knew that a simple life would be a sensible thing to implement for me and my husband.<br />We have some debt so that is next on our list to tackle. So the trick will be continuing to balance our simpler life with both of us working full time (once I find a new job that is!). We also want to own a home of our own and will be starting a family. Being fully practiced in living simply now will benefit us dramatically as our lives become busier. Plus we'll have wonderful skills and knowledge to pass on to our children.<br /><br />I chronicle my life on my blog http://knittingbouvier.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Cheers Rhonda,<br /><br />Alana, Oakville, CanadaAlanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09043931270195021483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-42365198066121290342010-06-01T09:13:46.194+10:002010-06-01T09:13:46.194+10:00For us the change was and still is a matter of ret...For us the change was and still is a matter of returning to who we truly are. As we worked to find our way in the world we made great progress but now it seems that we were chasing a dream that wasn't ours. Now we're chasing ours. It's not much by most people's standards but to us it means everything.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-52291546108419790002010-05-29T20:36:13.625+10:002010-05-29T20:36:13.625+10:00I guess it was the desire to learn to do tangible ...I guess it was the desire to learn to do tangible useful things for myself rather than having to rely on being able to buy them. This is probably because my work is an office based job which often feels less than tangible!<br />Although I have no garden, I have a little allotment and have in the last two and a half years eaten my potatos, onions, chard, beetroot, spinach and beans and I feel very lucky and blessed to be able to have a small outdoor space cycling distance from my flat in a city like london!<br />I now bake bread regularaly - ok I do use a bread maker most of the time, but I take sarnies to work most days rather than spending cash in the canteen.<br />I have taken inspiration from your blog and others who have commented here as you are all people who work to live rather than live to work which I often feel I am surrounded by in central london. I have, since last October, managed to change my contract at work and now work 4 days a week which has literally changed my life. <br />Thank you for sharing your life with the world Rhonda - you are touching other peoples' lives.Sonja, London, UKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-39157142662372641042010-05-26T01:28:21.414+10:002010-05-26T01:28:21.414+10:00Hi Rhonda, an interesting post. I'll bet it g...Hi Rhonda, an interesting post. I'll bet it got plenty of people thinking, including me!<br />Looking back, I don't think there was ever an 'eureka' moment. I've always liked baking and needlework and never been that bothered about buying lots of 'things'. As a family we save for what we want and never get into debt. Despite all this I never considered that this way of life had a name! It was just what we did. More recently, with the knowledge of what we are doing to the earth, the natural progression has been to be more aware of the impact we are having and to try to reduce it. <br />I'm grateful for this blog world that allows us to connect with like-minded people and helps us realise there are many, many others who think the same way.<br />Teresa xA Time for Stitchinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081085376540243147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-34373322435557729792010-05-26T00:27:56.123+10:002010-05-26T00:27:56.123+10:00Oh Rhonda ~ You have done it once again, touched a...Oh Rhonda ~ You have done it once again, touched and encouraged many lives, all ages.<br /><br />My husband and I started living frugally as newlyweds on military pay, and have continued to live this way for a little over 40 years now.<br /><br />This morning I made up another batch of dry laundry detergent, now I'm getting ready to go fill more capsules with powdered herbs.<br /><br />Using my bread machine is a regular occurrence.<br /><br />I've got baby tomato plants and basil growing too this year. I already grow tarragon, bay, chives, marjoram, rosemary.<br /><br />It is such a pleasure reading these posts, learning how others got started in this walk of life.<br /><br />We can be so much happier jumping out of the material world, into a land of peace and joy. Yes, we will still have times of discouragement, lots of hard work, but what a life.<br /><br />Thank you again for taking the time to share your life which is a blessing to so many.<br /><br />Below are a couple of posts written on my blog recently about our frugal life.<br /><br />http://flowerladysmusings.blogspot.com/2010/05/living-frugally.html<br /><br />http://flowerladysmusings.blogspot.com/2010/05/you-cant-always.htmlFlowerLady Lorrainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17678852154334714784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-17912967616794282592010-05-25T22:42:10.911+10:002010-05-25T22:42:10.911+10:00I am a recent subscriber and have been working on ...I am a recent subscriber and have been working on living simply since I became a mom 4 years ago. I have cloth diapered 3 kids, knit their diaper covers, and learned to sew diapers. <br />Before I became a mom I never even thought of any of these things. I am 25 years old and people look at me strangely sometimes but it doesn't bother me one bit. :) I have always been the type that loves to learn! I hope to be gardening this year for the first time and have been working on learning to cook. As a teenager I had no will to learn to cook so I am starting from scratch while raising 3 kids, always a challenge haha. <br />My husband is always worried about what the next thing is I get in to or change on him but most of the time if I can show him how it will save us money he will go for it.<br /><br />Candice<br /><br />http://candi-corner.blogspot.comCandicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00002732775005247919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-3980271096239715652010-05-25T13:10:47.099+10:002010-05-25T13:10:47.099+10:00I've always been keen on reducing my environme...I've always been keen on reducing my environmental impact due to growing up in a family that was far more aware of these things than many! But I've made more conscious choices over the last couple of years, in part due to having a baby and relearning to survive on a limited income. My husband is an Anglican minister, and our faith has lead us to trying to avoid getting sucked in to the materialism of our culture. In some ways this is really hard at the moment because we're ministering in a very affluent area, and it's easy to forget what's actually normal for Australians, let alone most of the world. But I really don't want to be dependent on stuff, and I don't want my daughter growing up to think that stuff is what makes you happy. So reading blogs like yours helps me keep some perspective!!<br /><br />My blog is http://dillpickleunfinished.blogspot.com<br /><br />It's mostly craft & food, but I've (very) recently decided I need to be better at menu planning, so that's a current focus!! <br /><br />Thanks for your gentle, non-judgmental encouragement to live a simpler life.dillpicklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10167045189440606367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-75015449580276453112010-05-25T12:40:09.774+10:002010-05-25T12:40:09.774+10:00Books are what led me down this path. I've al...Books are what led me down this path. I've always loved reading books about people who were living "the good life" - books like Simple Abundance by Sarah ban Breathnach, The Good Live by Scott and Helen Nearing, A Year in Provence, A Reasonable Life by Ferenc Mate, anything about Tasha Tudor, even the Little House on the Prairie series. I finally realized that there were some common threads running through them all, and I began trying to incorporate these things into our life. For the last couple of years I've been writing about our transition on my blog Seasonality. (http://hillcountryliving.blogspot.com)Hill Country Hippiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08723660054417859671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-32230001351549967592010-05-25T07:23:35.836+10:002010-05-25T07:23:35.836+10:00Thank you, Rhonda, for your blog. I love your simp...Thank you, Rhonda, for your blog. I love your simple and beautiful life!<br /><br />You are welcome to visit me and my daughters: <br /><br />Like Mother, Like Daughter<br /><br />www.ourmothersdaughters.com<br /><br />My husband and I chose living on one income (a journalist's!) to raise our seven children. <br /><br />My husband always says, "I'm rich -- I have everything I always wanted."Leilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03432158981260636910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-6495834171836601062010-05-25T06:30:30.417+10:002010-05-25T06:30:30.417+10:00Rhonda, your words are always such an inspiration ...Rhonda, your words are always such an inspiration and helpful for us in all stages of our journeys. I don't call mine "simple living" but "conscious and conscience living" since environment/sustainability/fair trade/etc is huge to me (and since I have no interest in homesteading).<br /><br />I started blogging to help me along my journey, and share my triumphs/stumbles/and knowledge gleaned along the way:<br /><br />http://loveknowledgezeal.wordpress.com/Mayahttp://loveknowledgezeal.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-48416529151975054142010-05-25T04:38:45.596+10:002010-05-25T04:38:45.596+10:00I find this question endlessly fascinating and hav...I find this question endlessly fascinating and have enjoyed reading the responses. For myself, I graduated from high school in the early ‘90s in the midst of a serious recession. Demographics were against me, and there were few decent jobs for anyone my age. I ended up working in a bookstore and postponing going on to University because I was the only one working at that shop that didn’t have huge debt in the form of student loans to pay off. I felt I was better off learning to live with very little money than to be in debt. <br /><br />I could afford no extras in my life, no TV, no movies, no meals out. I didn’t even think of owning a car or even buying a bus pass – I cycled and walked everywhere. I didn’t even have a phone! I discovered that small, inexpensive treats like long walks and weekend camping trips, bike rides, a pile of great library books enjoyed on long winter evenings, or a cup of tea and conversation with a friend were far more satisfying than any of the things money could buy. Learning how to have fun without spending money became a passion.<br /><br />Even at that age, I took my father’s advice - It’s not how much you earn that matters, it’s how much you save – seriously, and I refused to go into debt, even for education, especially in an economy where I’d end up back at a minimum wage job until the baby boomers started retiring and positions opened up - something that has happened en masse in Canada in recent years, resulting in a major skilled labour shortage! How different than 20 years ago.<br /><br />With things dire on the job front and further education on hold, I decided to lose the shared, high-rent apartment in the expensive city and get a job at a national park in the Rocky Mountains where at least my room and board would be free. After that taste of wild beauty and wilderness, I couldn’t go back to the getting and spending hustle and bustle of city life and it was my desire to live in a wild place that made the simple living decision for me. <br /><br />My dream was to live in a remote, off-the-grid log cabin in ultimate simplicity, but I married a man who was a bit less rugged than that, so we ended up in a modern home on a forested acreage, not far outside a small mountain town, where we grow our own food and continue to keep it simple, sharing a vehicle, working from home, and trying not to drive into town more than once a week. We build and fix everything ourselves, finding it much more rewarding to learn new skills than to work more at our paying jobs to pay someone else to do it for us. I love the simplicity, the solitude, and the freedom to live each day on my own terms, allowing time to unfold as it will. It is the feeling of not being on the dreadful treadmill of earning and spending and struggling to keep it all together that is most precious of all.<br /><br />http://fireweedmeadow.wordpress.com/fireweedmeadowhttp://fireweedmeadow.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-22210675047990214272010-05-25T03:50:09.088+10:002010-05-25T03:50:09.088+10:00A 4 am PBS half-hour special on Tasha Tudor brough...A 4 am PBS half-hour special on Tasha Tudor brought me to where I am today. Tasha Tudor wrote and illustrated children's books, but more interestingly, fancied herself the widow of a captain from the 1870s. She dressed period, maintained a period home and garden, and lived very simply. From there, I found the blog www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com. It lead me to question my wants and needs. Now, though I'm not quite where I wish to be, I'm living a more fulfilling life than I have in the past.StrivingSimplyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08171172049027223389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-4839264906158086712010-05-25T03:35:16.310+10:002010-05-25T03:35:16.310+10:00Great post, thank you for sharing! It's inter...Great post, thank you for sharing! It's interesting to hear how each decision you made snowballed into a bigger one until you gradually made a greater lifestyle switch. <br /><br />If you're interested in blogs about simple living, check out Maria Rodale's at www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com. Join the Facebook group too if you'd like, there's a good community of simple living women there already!Dana @ MFCKhttp://www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-2519925313447550972010-05-25T03:17:40.480+10:002010-05-25T03:17:40.480+10:00I am a 28-year-old newlywed woman, a professional ...I am a 28-year-old newlywed woman, a professional - and a soon-to-be PhD student - looking for enlightenment. Truly, the steps that I've taken toward simplification have not been catalyzed by a monetary need for it, but by a desperate search for something more, something beautiful, something beyond the hollow shell of Western consumerism. I seek God/Goddess, self-reliance, creativity, and to be more in tune with the spirals and cycles of life again.<br /><br />I haven't made many mistakes yet. Two of my three degrees were funded, and my husband and I have small, reliable, high-quality cars. I hope to avoid, in my quest, the million pitfalls just waiting to entrap the unwary consumer.<br /><br />There is something so much more reverent about living simply. We should revere our lives.<br /><br />La Fille Aux Cheveux de LinShinseikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04101142358390466191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-67600225142514959032010-05-25T01:34:23.660+10:002010-05-25T01:34:23.660+10:00a postscript to my last post!
I think the fact th...a postscript to my last post!<br /><br />I think the fact that my late husband grew up in dire straits in Hungary after WWII had a lot to do with the fact that we always saved and budgeted. This was a huge dose of reality for him, growing up, and my own parents lived through the depression and were always aware of not wasting anything.Thickethouse.wordpresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17187303460677067276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-2807576742336224322010-05-25T01:32:08.856+10:002010-05-25T01:32:08.856+10:00I think in one way I've always been a little t...I think in one way I've always been a little this way. I was always a SAHM and my husband was a professor. I came of age in the 60s and was fascinated by the "back to the earth" ideas. Had no desire to move to a commune, but wanted to know how to do things myself. Even for decorating my home, I grew the plants I needed for dried flower arrangements and wreath making and Christmas decorations since I didn't want to have to buy these things all the time. I've always cooked from scratch, more or less, but only in more recent years realized enough about why I want to eat organic food as much as possible. I'm lucky enough to belong to a CSA farms and have a family down the road who sell their organic eggs. I'm sure I have more to learn, but am happy taking baby steps in the right directions......<br /><br />Knitting seems to be something I can't do in a peaceful way! I always feel as if someone is holding a gun to my head, and I've never been able to figure out why! But I sew and quilt and enjoy these things a lot! I'm a widow and retired and lucky enough to have no debt and no financial problems.....But no one knows what the future holds for any of us, and it's important to do the best we can each day and also to find the joy and goodness in each day....<br /><br />At the moment I'm trying to wrap my head around an article in this month's Scientific American about how the concept of time may have no real basis to support it!Thickethouse.wordpresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17187303460677067276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-28473531971856572252010-05-25T01:01:46.166+10:002010-05-25T01:01:46.166+10:00The last several years my family (small little one...The last several years my family (small little ones who are homeschooled) have been traveling with my Husband on most of his business trips. We have lived simply in hotels and camping during those trips. Every time we we came home to a huge FARMHOUSE we felt like the home was just storing our belongings. We downsized twice into a smaller home and although we still travel a good bit we actually enjoy coming home to something so cozy. We have been amazed at how freeing it has been. There is less to clean, less debt, more togetherness and more adventures. <br /><br />We are still learning though... Last year we went camping across the US in an RV for a business trip and we found that even though we thought we were bring the basics we didn't use half of it. ;)Beloved's Redheaded Bridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04580495512002708464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-85757306539554689272010-05-25T00:04:25.795+10:002010-05-25T00:04:25.795+10:00Hi Rhonda
Thanks for todays post, it was good. i...Hi Rhonda <br />Thanks for todays post, it was good. in fact I enjoy almost everyone. (Some of the gardening stuff I can´t really relate to). Every time I comment I say thanks. That because I am truly grateful for your blog and I benefit from it. Simplicity and self-sufficiency is the way of the past. We have temporarily been off that path for some time(i.e. the western world. Simplicity, knitting, cooking, baking and sowing comes naturally to me. My husband jokes about that all I need to make me content is running water and electricity. I´ts true. I don´t need a lot of stuff. However my life at the moment is not that simple. I´m forced to work. Belive me Rhonda it´s not about any luxury or vacations. It´s about 5 people living in 80m2, paying off mortgagae, raising kids and putting food on the table. Sometimes i´ts like that. But that´s okay. Simplicity lives within you. I do what I can towards that lifestyle when I can. I bake bread, knit and walk to work when I can. Now i´m going to take my knitting out in the sun.<br />Have a nice day down under.<br />Best regards<br />KristinUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17234907386632215469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-72730011218052180122010-05-24T22:44:46.917+10:002010-05-24T22:44:46.917+10:00We started our journey last year. My husband,Rick,...We started our journey last year. My husband,Rick,is a disabled Iraq War Vet who suffers from chronic PTSD and a moderate traumatic brain injury from a rocket propelled grenade attack in<br />2005.<br />Our income is very limited,because he is on military/Veterans Administration/Social Security disablity. He cannot work. I don't work because even though he can take of himself physically,he can get confused easily, forgets things,etc.<br /> Last year we decided to to more for ourselves,so we started a garden.That led to reading blogs and talking with good friends who were on the Journey already,which gave me inspiration. I had already been making soap for gifts,so why not for the family? I started making laundry soap,my own cleaners,composting kitchen waste,and making candles.I also made my first attempt at canning. We have chickens,and are waiting for our turkeys to arrive. It's very rewarding to work on one's land and reap the benefits.<br /><br />I started my blog mainly as an outlet for what we(Rick,our son Zachary,and myself) as a family have been and are going through with Rick's disability,but it has also become about our journey towards a more simple life. Please check it out at www.littlecottageinthecountry.blogspot.com<br /><br />Rhonda, I looove your blog.I find great inspiration from it. Thank you!Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18146666825333788187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-65416267590919587582010-05-24T22:29:45.181+10:002010-05-24T22:29:45.181+10:00I grew up in as a Mennonite, where life was simple...I grew up in as a Mennonite, where life was simple in material things but work was hard. I married a "worldly" man, whom was given everything as a child, and has a high education. The two worlds blended together nicely, but I have to say he did more changing then I did. We farm and he works, part time now, as we wind down to retirement sometime in the next 15 years.We don't have much in the way of extreme value, but our families the farm and each other. As you have pointed out so many times, things happen is small batches and that is how our world has revolved. Each decision is thought out and worked out. Nothing is wasted, things not purchased because we can, many things homemade. I love where I live and how we live. Worries are few.<br /><br />Marlyn<br /><br />http://sweetlocuslane.blogspot.comLokshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17744393319879735773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-7360718549079736402010-05-24T22:27:50.442+10:002010-05-24T22:27:50.442+10:00Looking back, the drive to live a simpler, more su...Looking back, the drive to live a simpler, more sustainable life stemmed from our desire to find enough money to take our kids on a journey around australia - so in the beginning it was simply about living cheaper. As I began to take baby steps into this simpler life, by making my own cleaning products, meal planning, buying in bulk - I began to see the other benefits - THEN i discovered this blog, which has given me an insight into a world of amazing possabilities and a new way of approaching life. As pointed out by many of those commenting today, it is sometimes a hard journey, but I have realised that making mistakes is all part of this journey and you just have to have the courage to give things a go and let yourself learn these new skills. Thanks Rhonda - you have inspired and continue to inspire me to give things a go and live each day with purpose and intention. There are lots of things I can't do right now that i want to do - it is sometimes very frustrating - but i know that I will get there, I will add these new skills to by tool belt with time, patience and courage!<br />Chele:)Chelenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-57261097046924925122010-05-24T21:45:41.277+10:002010-05-24T21:45:41.277+10:00My starting point was when my daughter was born. ...My starting point was when my daughter was born. That was "it". I knew that all I wanted to do was stay home with her. That naturally led to a decrease in our household income, which in turn led to budgeting and how we can live on less. Budgeting, living frugally, having a simpler life, being environmentally conscience, whatever you want to call it, continues to this day, even though my daughter is now 21 :)Janellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10273620869329664287noreply@blogger.com