down to earth

I spent a leisurely afternoon making my apron and although there are flaws - the bib is too wide, the ties too long and I had to patch fabric to make it fit, I'm quite happy with the outcome. I'll never win any prizes for sewing, that's for sure, but I do enjoy making this and that for my home. I'll wear my apron as I'm working today and when it is washed and ironed, I'll make some adjustments so it fits me better. Wearing an apron is essential when I'm doing housework. I can wipe my hands on it, carry things in the pocket and it covers my clothes so that if someone visits I can quickly take off the apron and look reasonably clean and tidy.

Aprons drew me into housework. When I was working for a living I didn't do much housework, and didn't like doing it. Then I gave up work, I bought myself an apron, then made a couple more because I felt more like doing housework when I wore an apron. It was like I was dressing for a role on stage. Now I love working in my home and cringe when I think of the lengths I used to go to avoid doing it. I'm really stupid sometimes. LOL

I know there are a lot of people who dislike housework but accepting it as part of every day is just a shift in mindset, similar to those adjustments made to stop shopping, be frugal and conserve resources.Now I see housework as simply making my home as comfortable and beautiful as I can for my family, friends and I. Making my bed each morning isn't just part of the morning routine, it's fluffy up the cosy nest so that it's inviting and comfortable for us that night. Sweeping the floor gets rid of food crumbs and the dust our dogs bring inside. It makes the house look better and that makes me feel good. Dusting gets rid of the dust that would cause my asthma to start if left sitting on furniture. I dust so I don't get sick. Washing clothes is a breeze - how could washing clothes be thought of as work when all you do is put them in a machine and take them out again? Hanging them to dry in the winter sun is a chore I like doing, and folding them when they're dry and fresh and putting them away in drawers gives me a sense of a job well done, a feeling that I've done what needed doing. Planting seeds and tending the chickens gives us good food and flowers that can be brought into the house. Simple flowers or herbs in an old preserving jar are one of the mindful joys of being at home in one's own place.

Cooking and baking have always been a joy so baking bread most days and having fresh biscuits and cakes for our morning teas gives me pleasure. I love sitting on the front verandah with H and sharing time and conversation with tea and something home baked. Since we gave up working for a living we have grown closer and part of that is due to those cosy morning chats. We have been together over 30 years and we've reconnected and reestablished our relationship on our front verandah. It's easy being there with him, we've made it a nice place to relax. It pleases me when friends drop by and I can serve them fresh chocolate chip biscuits or Anzacs, or buttermilk scones with homemade jam and local cream. Cooking from scratch after picking vegetables and herbs from the back garden, supplemented with staples from the pantry comforts me, knowing that I'm providing good wholesome food, without chemicals and preservatives, within the boundaries of my frugal budget.

Of course there are some chores I don't enjoy, but they don't bother me. Who likes cleaning a toilet for instance? I don't really enjoy ironing, but I put on the TV and watch something while I iron quickly. The payoff is fresh and tidy clothes for the following week. I like to look clean and fresh when I go to my voluntary job each week.If you are one of the many who dislike housework, try to look at it with kinder eyes. See it as something you do for yourself and your family, see it as making your home a comfortable and warm place that you're happy to spend time in and proud to invite your friends to share with you. See it as fluffing your nest.

There was a time when women used to work very hard in the home. We are lucky that we've got washing machines and vacuum cleaners now that make our tasks easier, although keeping house is still time consuming and difficult at times. When I had young children on the weekends we used to all do our chores in the mornings and we'd be rewarded by relaxing all afternoon or we'd go out or watch a movie together. They didn't mind working hard if they knew there was a payoff. That's how I see housework now - I work hard for what I get out of it. All it takes is a change in mindset to turn it around. And isn't reinvention part of our simple lives?

These are are Rhode Island Red chooks.

How could you live without chooks in the backyard? Don't answer, I wasn't really asking. ; )

I've been keeping chooks in the backyard since my kids were little. When I wanted to teach my boys about responsibility and looking after something other than themselves, chooks taught them all they needed to know. When I wanted to encourage gentleness as a contrast to the harshness of boy's games, the chooks took over and taught that it was ok to cuddle, speak softly and to defend the helpless. The chooks also showed my boys they were capable of justifiable anger and if they tried to take eggs from a broody hen, they paid for it with peck marks and a renewed respect for motherhood.

This rose comb Light Sussex hen was at the local poultry show a couple of months ago.

Chooks are excellent foragers. They can turn vegetable scraps, lawn clippings and green waste into compost faster than I can, simply by constantly turning over whatever is put in the pen. We have a compost heap and bin but when we need compost in a hurry we empty lawn clippings, vegie scraps and leaves straight into a small contained area in their pen. The chooks go in and out constantly throughout the day to scratch through it. We keep it moist with some tank water, they add their droppings to it and within two or three weeks we have lovely sweet smelling dark compost.

But overall we keep chooks for the delicious fresh golden eggs they give us. Nothing is better than a fresh egg, either softly boiled with toast soldiers, in a light fluffy sponge cake with homemade raspberry jam gently spilling over the side or in a quiche full of dark golden yolks, freshly picked green onions, red peppers and mushrooms.

This is a laced Wyandotte hen was also at the poultry show.

Having been explained the plight of pure bred chook by Pam, a member of ALS, I will keep only pure breeds from now on. Pure bred chooks are like open pollinated seeds. If we don't seek out pure breeds all that will be left in the future will be hybridised chooks bred for the poultry industry. Many of us who farm our backyards choose open pollinated seeds because choosing hybrid seeds is choosing corporatisation of seeds over the heirlooms that have been passed down over the generations. We do the same if we choose Isa Browns or Hyline chooks over pure breeds like Wyandottes, Plymouth Rocks or Barnevelders. Our last additions in the chook house were pure Rhode Island Reds. I'm looking to buy a couple of Welsummers next.

Hmmm, I might have scrambled eggs with parsley and chives on toast for breakfast today because even in the middle of winter we are still getting six eggs a day. I'll put the kettle on.

Being the type of person I am I always read about things before I do them, or soon after. When I had my kids, I read everything I could while I was pregnant. Like most of everything else, that reading didn't really prepare me for it - it was more difficult, more tiring, more educational, more heart warming, more inspiring and more wonderful than I ever thought possible, but it did give me a few hints and it made me realise I wasn't alone. That's always a good thing to know.

So when it came to a major life change, I was true to form and went back to the books. That was in the days when I had a credit card just for internet spending and I ran it red hot. When I went looking in Australian book shops there was very little on offer about simple living, so I found myself browsing Amazon.

Before I give you my list of books, I must recommend, again, the Australian Readers Digest book - Back to Basics - ISBN 0 86449 028 3. (I've written about it previously in this blog.) There is an edition on sale on ebay at the moment. This book has information about building, crafts, preserving, growing food, cooking and baking and a lot more. As I have a lot of American readers, here is an American edition as well which is on sale here:
http://www.bestwebbuys.com/Back_to_Basics-ISBN_9780895770868.html?isrc=b-search

Another book along the same lines and also worth buying is The Encyclopedia of Country Living: An Old Fashioned Recipe Book by Carla Emery.
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Fashioned-Recipe/dp/0912365951

Linda Woodrow's The Permaculture Home Garden ISBN: 0-670-86599-0
http://www.affordablebooks.com.au/details.php?bookid=0-670-86599-0
If you're looking to create a permaculture garden in your backyard, this is the book for you.

This is the best Australian organic gardening book I've read. This book actually taught me things I didn't know, Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting by Lyn Bagnall.
http://www.greenharvest.com.au/books/organic_gardening.html

Jackie French's Backyard Self-sufficiency, anther good book with down to earth practical advice. Also available from Green Harvest:
http://www.greenharvest.com.au/books/organic_gardening.html

The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs, is not so much a practical guide but a guide to slowing down and reinvention.
http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Living-Guide-Janet-Luhrs/dp/0553067966

Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin will transform the way you think about money. It's a must read!
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-

David Holmgren's Retrofitting the Suburbs for Sustainability, available here on pdf:
http://holmgren.eatthesuburbs.org/DLFiles/PDFs/Holmgren-Suburbs-Retrofit-Update49.pdf

Magazines: Warm Earth, Grass Roots and Earth Garden. All available at the newsagent and your local library, I hope.

Not must reads but also very good:
Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living by Robert Arbor
http://www.amazon.com/Joie-Vivre-Simple-French-Everyday/dp/0743223535/ref=sr_1_10/104-7225276-4730333?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182989803&sr=1-10

The Chemical Maze by Bill Stratham - your guide to food additives and cosmetic ingredients. ISBN 0 9578535 2 1 http://www.possibility.com.au/

The New Herb Bible by Carolyn Foley ISBN: 1 87 5169 92 x
This is a good Australian book on herbs - how to grow, making cosmetics and cooking with them. I can't find a seller in Australia but you might be able to order it at the library.

Not books but worth reading and a good reference guide:
http://www.foodscience.afisc.csiro.au/smallsca.htm
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5338.html
http://www.freshpreserving.com/

I'd probably forgotten some but at least this is a start.

Generally one loofah harvest will keep you going all year.

I harvested most of the loofahs this morning. I have about 18 of them, both dry and green. I clipped off some of the green ones because we've had a lot of rain lately and some were starting to look like they'd go mouldy. They will dry out under the shelter of the back verandah. There are nine green loofahs still on the vine.

If you don't know about loofahs, they're used for washing yourself in the shower, or cut up smaller and used for washing dishes. They have excellent exfoliating properties, so they keep your skin looking and feeling good, they're 100% natural, biodegradable and renewable.

I'll keep a few of these I picked today for using through the year. Some of them I'll cut into small pieces and pour hot homemade soap into them. When they dry and harden, they make an excellent gift. The smaller ones will be used in the kitchen.

This is a loofah with the skin partially pealed off.

Loofahs are a distant cousin of the cucumber and although they like warm weather, they will grow in cooler weather. Two vines will cover quite a large area and would be enough to produce about 40 or 50 loofahs. They like to climb, so you'd need a trellis or fence to grow them well.

You can pick loofahs when they are green or brown. If they're still green they'll feel heavy and full, as they dry they lose their bulkiness and will weigh only a gram or two. They'll be ready to peel when they turn brown, are light in weight and you can peel the crisp skin off. When you have all your loofahs peeled and all the seeds out, soak all of them in a bucket of water with a tablespoon of liquid bleach added. This will kill off any mould spores that might be lurking. When they've soaked for a couple of hours, rinse them all, and dry in the sun. When they're dry they're ready to use or store.

These are the seeds from one loofah.

As you can see by this last photo, each loofah produces quite a few seeds. I'm happy to send out seeds to anyone who wants them, but I can't afford the postage. If you'd like some seeds, send me a stamped self-addressed envelope, I'll send some loofah seeds and maybe some madagascar bean seeds or rosella seeds. It's all free, you just have to pay your own postage. Send me an email and I'll send you my postal address. PLEASE NOTE, I have no seeds left.

These are madagascar bean seeds. They're a traditional permaculture plant. Two seeds will grow a wall of beans that can be shelled and stored in the cupboard as dried beans.

I have few regrets when I look back on my old life but one thing I do regret is all the food and money I wasted. I’m very careful now to make sure that I buy only what I’ll use and when the food is in the house, I make sure I use it. “Forgetting” about it in the back of the fridge or the cupboard is no longer an option for me. I refuse to waste anything. Sadly, it’s not only the financial aspect of all that waste that is disturbing, it’s also that fact that most of it goes to our landfill sites and gives off greenhouse gases, including methane.

According to Wasteful Consumption in Australia: “Overall Australians threw away $2.9 billion of fresh food, $630 million of uneaten take-away food, $876 million of leftovers, $596 million of unfinished drinks and $241 million of frozen food, a total of $5.3 billion on all forms of food in 2004. This represents more than 13 times the $386 million donated by Australian households to overseas aid agencies in 2003.” 1

I wonder if others are shocked by those figures. I am.

The waste outlined in the report is broken down into the following demographic characteristics: Younger people waste more than older people. In the 18 – 24 year old age bracket, there was an amazing 38 percent who said they wasted $30 worth of fresh food per fortnight. This sharply reduces in the 70-plus age bracket where only seven percent of householders admitted similar waste. 1

The key to stopping food waste is good organisation. When you shop, do it with a shopping list after you’ve planned your menus, or at least have a good idea of what you need to buy for meals. Don't impulse shop, thinking you'll buy something "just in case", or because it looks good. When you buy meat, fish and poultry, get it home quickly, divide it into meal-sized portions and label it clearly, with the date, and put it in the fridge or freezer as soon as you can. Keep all the different kinds of meat together in their own sections. This will help you know when you need to buy fresh supplies of that particular product. If you have a freezer with drawers, keep all your beef in one draw, the chicken in another, or divide the drawer in two and have beef one side and lamb in the other. If you have a box-type freezer, put your meats in baskets, plastic containers or old plastic shopping bags that are labeled with the contents.

Organising your freezer, and making a commitment to keeping it organised, will help because you’ll know what you have on hand, what you need to buy and what needs to be used before it is too old. Most freezers have a frozen food guide printed on the inside of the door, be guided by it and don’t store food longer than the suggested time period. Keeping a freezer log is also a good idea. Just get a small notebook and divide it up into sections. When putting new food in the freezer, enter it in the log, complete with portion size, food type, date. When you use something in the freezer, cross it off your log book. You’ll know at a glance exactly how much frozen food you have. Keep the log close to your freezer so you don’t waste time looking for it when storing new food or taking it out.

Be mindful of what is in the fridge that needs to be used. You might have vegetables that are a bit old - make vegetable soup and freeze it. There will be a night when you are grateful to have a pre-made homecooked meal ready to go. The apples going soft in the fridge? Stew them and have them that night with a little cinnamon sugar and warm custard.

I challenge all of you to go to your fridges now and see if there is anything that is on the verge of being wasted. If so, do something with it before it's too late.

1 Wasteful Consumption in Australia
Clive Hamilton, Richard Denniss, David Baker
Discussion Paper Number 77
March 2005
ISSN 1322-5421

We’ve had a vegetable garden for much of the past 25 years. Gardening is one of those things that I miss when I don’t do it for a few days. I can't see myself without some form of garden in the future, even if it’s just a few herbs and some tomatoes in pots.

But now I have five garden beds surrounded by a picket fence to keep dogs and chooks out. On the other side of the garden we grow fruit. Currently we have grapes, bananas, passionfruit, pink grapefruit, mandarins, loquat, raspberries, loofahs, blueberries and lemons. Contained within the vegetable garden there are oranges, peaches and nectarines.

We grow vegetables all year but now is our best growing season. During summer it’s very hot here and there are so many bugs around it doesn’t seem worth it to grow anything. But generally we soldier on with tomatoes, cucumber, eggplant, chilli, capsicums, potatoes, silverbeet and herbs.

We are now growing potatoes, cucumbers, cabbages, bok choy, radishes, lettuce, rocket, English spinach, silverbeet, turnips, carrots, capsicums, beans, peas, red and green onions, pumpkins, herbs, kale, mixed lettuces, loofahs. In the aquaponics garden we have celery, asparagus, silverbeet and lots of tomatoes.

Our garden has been organic since the start. We’ve lived here for 10 years and have tried to operate a closed system over that time, but invariably we’ve had to import straw for mulch and a bit of organic fertilizer, seaweed extract and potash. The soil has been built up of the years from red clay to the friable dark soil we now enjoy. There was a lot of hard work at first, mountains of compost, dolomite limestone and worm castings from our worm farm, but we’ve now got very good soil.

My garden is maintained so it will produce food all year, we eat from it almost every day. I also like to freeze and preserve excess for use later. Often we give eggs and vegetables to our son and occasionally to friends and neighbours. I grow loofahs to use in the shower, in the kitchen and to give as gifts with some of my home made soap.

There is nothing better than your own fresh organic food ready for picking in the backyard. When you team that up with a stockpile cupboard of dried goods and staples, you can live like a queen without the huge expense normally associated with organic food.

When I decided that I would stop spending, along with that decision came the imperative of looking after what I own. We have always bought the best quality we could afford at the time and when you live simply that is a necessity. You aim to have good quality that will last a long time, and to look after everything you buy so you don't have to keep replacing it. In the coming weeks I'll write about looking after various items in your home, today it's the linen cupboard.

One of the things I do every six months or so is to clean out my linen cupboard. It gives me the opportunity to clean down the shelves and get rid of what I'm not using. I cleaned my cupboard out this morning and now have a small bag of sheets and duvet covers that I'll take to work with me next week to give to families who come in. I also have a nice bag of flannel rags that I cut up from old sheets.

sheets. sheetsW

When When you clean out your linen cupboard, remove everything to give yourself a clean slate to start with. Your shelves should be painted or covered with plastic sheeting. Wooden shelves tend to stain linens over time. Fill a small bucket with soapy water and wipe down the shelves, dry each shelf well with an old towel. You can add essential oil to your soapy water to give the cupboard sweet smell. Look for any signs of cockroaches, silverfish or other pests. If you find any such signs, place some borax traps at the back of the linens to kill whatever has made their home in your cupboard.

Go through all your linens and refold all of them. Hopefully you won't have too much folding to do but it is worth it to make sure they're not harbouring pests or mould. Put back only those linens that you use. Don't be fooled into thinking the rose and primrose comforter your granny gave you will be used in the future. If you haven't use it in the past year, give it to someone who will use it. What use is a comforter, even if it is a cherish one, that is not used? When you've made the decisions on what will go back, place it all on your shelves in a way that makes sense to you.

We have a queen size bed so all my queen fitted and flat sheets are together on my main shelf. Under that shelf, I keep duvet covers and pillow slips. Over them I have sheets, duvet covers and odd sided pillow slips to other beds in the house that are only used when guests are here. Below the sheets are guest towels. The towels we use regularly are in our bathroom. Organising my cupboard like that makes sense to me so when I need new sheets, I don't have to sort through the lot of them to find what I need.

This is an easy task that should take you about 30 minutes to complete. I tell you, you'll feel wonderful when it's finished. So if you've yet to start organising your home, start with this small thing and we'll take it from there.