down to earth

Lyn asked an important question yesterday: "This year I strived very much to simplify Christmas in what gifts I am giving & did fairly well, but I still didn't go as simple as I wanted to. There is still that "guilt" factor or is it compulsion that affects me when I should not let it (especially when I know a loved one is giving me generous gifts). Have you ever struggled with that?"

Lyn, thank you for your comment and for bringing up this subject, I think many people struggle with it. Australia is a very materialistic country. We are a small country of 21 million people and in the lead up to Christmas, Australians will spend $34 billion!

I did struggle with this in the past but I don’t feel any guilt now. As the years progressed and I became more confident with my lifestyle, that guilt faded away. I don’t ask that any of my friends or family live as I do, or even agree with how I live, but I require that they respect my choices. Everyone of my friends and all my family know how Hanno and I have chosen to live. This is nothing new, they’ve all had time to think about it and to accept it or not. If they don’t accept it, that’s their problem and they will deal with it as best they can. I accept the life choices of all my family and friends. I respect their wishes and admire any of them who step outside their comfort zone and do things their own way. I expect the same from them. If they don’t agree with our philosophy, that’s fine, but they need to respect our wishes not to be caught up in the commercialism of Christmas nor in the ongoing push to have more than everyone else.

Our choice is to give from the heart, we give to those we love, choosing our gifts carefully. We stopped giving because it’s the done thing or because it’s become part of an annual expensive ritual. We don’t expect anyone to give us anything. If they do, we want it to be a small gift that we can use, not the latest gadget or anything expensive. Now that everyone knows our thoughts on this, and they know how we live, I haven’t received any extravagant gifts. But if I did, and it was from someone who knew about my life choices, I would thank them for the gift but tell them I couldn’t accept it. When you make lifestyle choices that differ a lot from the mainstream you have to expect hiccoughs along the way. Some people will want to see how strong you are in your resolve, or you might have some friends or relatives who will test you, so be prepared to graciously refuse an expensive gift. Make sure you give gifts people will use or find beauty in. You’ll defeat your purpose if you make up 12 soap and luffa sets and expect everyone to like them. Be mindful when you give gifts and tailor each one to the person who will receive it.

When you make a commitment to this lifestyle, live it to the best of your ability and be content with your decision. Explain what you’re doing to your family and friends. Tell them that part of your philosophy now is to cut down on purchases and to be more environmentally aware (or whatever your particular interpretation of simple living is). Explain that at Christmas and on birthdays you’ll not be doing what you did in the past but will simplify your gift giving in line with how you live now. From now on your gifts will be more personal and less extravagant. Ask them to respect your wishes as this is important to you and you don’t want them to give you expensive gifts. You cannot give simple gifts but be okay receiving extravagant ones. Explain that well in advance and be prepare to live it. It might take them a couple of years to get used to it and they could ask you what you’d like, so have some good answers ready. You could say you would like some heirloom vegetable seeds, wax for making candles, a new broom or an invitation to their home for afternoon tea. A couple of years of these sorts of suggestions will get them on the right track.

Overall, if you know the way you’re living is right for you and your family, and you’ve explain it to your extended family and friends, then they should respect your wishes and you should remain steadfast in your convictions. I know some of this may seem a bit harsh, but you can't say one thing but do another. If you take time and care with the gifts you give and let others know you don't want to be part of the commercial excesses of Christmas and birthdays, then show them you mean what you say, you will be on the right track. Don't feel guilt for something you believe to be right. You never know, you just might set a simple example that others will follow.

While the shops get busier with the excesses of Christmas shopping, my simple life continues at a gentle pace. It was cooking and odds and ends day yesterday. I baked two fruit cakes, one for my family and one for a gift, and then made butter with local Guernsey cream for a batch of shortbread, also a gift. Hanno had a garage sale happening outside with the results of our decluttering over the past couple of months. Luckily we sold our old stove and oven and some other bits and pieces, and ended up making around $400. There was a constant stream of people and also tea being made and taken out to him, then, later, cold drinks with ice.

I wanted to get all my gifts organised yesterday. I don't give much now and I don't send cards at all, but those I do give to, are very special people. The gifts must be exactly right. I've been storing the last of the luffas from a crop earlier this year and yesterday afternoon I peeled and cleaned them. They've been soaking overnight with a little bleach added to the water as a couple of them were slightly mouldy. A luffa and homemade olive oil soap is a lovely combination and every time I give them as a gift, they're always appreciated.

Homemade soap is a real luxury. It's creamy and leaves my skin feeling clean and cared for. Most commercial soap doesn't contain glycerin, and that is what nourishes the skin. Usually, the commercial makers extract the glycerin and sell that as a separate product because it's more valuable than the soap it comes from. That's why those soaps often make your skin dry and itchy. When you make your own soap, the glycerin stays in it and when you use the soap every day it gently cares for and nourishes your skin. Homemade soap, used with a luffa, is the perfect simple indulgence. Skin is the largest organ of the body and you should be careful with those products that touch your skin every day. Using an organically grown luffa from your garden, with homemade soap, is the most gentle and wholesome type of daily skincare.

This photo was taken in February of this year. Luffas are a hot weather crop and are harvested in this area in late February. We grew these next to our poly tank. When they're small and green you can eat luffas as a vegetable. They're pretty bland but, like eggplant, they take on the flavour of what they're cooked with.

This is what they looked like yesterday. I think I harvested about 30 luffas and these are the last of them. That hole at the end is where the seeds fall from.

Seeds and the peeled luffas. They look pretty ordinary at this stage.

They sat in a bucket of water with a small amount of bleach overnight. That was to kill the mould that was on some of them, but it also lightens the luffas.

And here they are this morning drying on the back verandah.

The addition of a good homemade olive oil soap makes this a wonderful gift for either a woman or a man.

I'll finish preparing my gifts this morning. I'm also baking bread, washing the floors and ironing. Things not sold in the garage sale will be boxed up and given to our local St Vinnies. This afternoon I'm writing letters and a couple of reports for work that have to be ready tomorrow afternoon. I doubt I'll have time to do them tomorrow.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you're enjoying the weekend and your Christmas preparations.

There are times in our lives that are natural turning points. At these times we stop, evaluate and make a deliberate choice about whether to stay on the same path or turn another way. When you simplify you are forced to make some changes, but most of your choices will be intentional. You stop blindly following what everyone else does and decide for yourself what your life will be. You live deliberately.Year's end is one of those natural turning points. It's a time for self-evaluation, for decluttering the excess collected during the year, for getting rid of bad influences and for thinking about what you want your life to be. This is a basic and fundamental part of simple living. If you do this thoroughly and well, you'll throw out what isn't working for you so you have room for progress. I'm going to tell you how I do my evaluation. I hope you will get something from what I do and modify it to how it will best work for you. In two weeks time, the new year will start. You have two weeks to prepare.

In a notebook, I mark two pages. One is 2007, the other is 2008. On those pages I write tasks for myself. Some will be to finish off things I want to be rid of - these are written on my 2007 page, the others will be on the endless possibilities of 2008 page. You won't come up with a list straight away, that's why it's important to do this over a couple of weeks. I generally think about this when I'm going to sleep at night and just as I wake up. When I get up, I write any decisions on either of my pages. You may write down something that is later crossed off. That's fine. What your lists do is give you a number of areas to think about. Right at the end of the year, you go through your list and decide what will go and stay.

Some of the things on your 2007 page might be activities you were interested in in the past but now don't suit your simple lifestyle. These could be anything - groups you belong to, hobbies, services you pay for, or acquaintances or neighbours that take up too much of your time. Think about what you did during the year. What worked for you? What didn't? What areas do you want to develop? If you identify something that doesn't fit in your life now, it's important to get rid of it. Don't take it with you into the new year. It will drag you down.

On your 2008 page - your page of new beginnings, write down a few things you'd like to modify. They could be as simple as changing your hairdo or as difficult as stopping spending on wants so you can increase your mortgage payments, plus a lot in between. If you've been thinking about cutting down on your meat consumption, now is a great time to do something about it. Want to grow your own vegetables? What's stopping you? Want to spend more time with your family? Do it! Now is the time to make those plans.

So when I have a full list and after thinking about the lists for a couple of weeks. I sit down in the new year and decide just how serious I am about what I've written down. I have to tell you that I generally do most of what is written but there are times when I'm not quite ready for something. The important thing is to start. If you want to move towards a more simple way of living, this will help you.

No one will see your lists, so be honest with yourself, both in what you want to do and what you're capable of. Often the most difficult part of anything is starting it. When you see what happens on your lists you might be surprised at how many things you want to change. Or you could be determined to change only one very important and significant thing. Whatever it is, be brave enough to start.

Leanne in New Zealand asked if I would write about how we collect water for the garden. It's an important subject this one, especially as Australia is the driest populated continent on the planet. We've been going through the longest drought in our recorded history, many local councils have restricted the amount of water to be used in each house and Australians are looking for ways to cut back on the amount of water they use.

The shires closest to ours are now on level 6 restrictions. That is 140 litres (37 gallons) person per day, with heavy fines for non compliance. That 140 litres includes all water used for drinking, cooking, showering, cleaning, animals and outdoor use. We've never had water restrictions where I live and our dams are usually almost full but we decided a long time ago that water was precious and we shouldn't waste it.

When we moved into our home ten years ago we installed a corrugated iron 5000 litre (1320 gallon) tank. That cost us about $650. We have always used that water on the garden, to wash the car and the dogs and for watering the animals and chooks. I felt comforted knowing that in an emergency, we could also used it as drinking water.

Two years ago, when the drought had settled in and we had emptied our existing tank a couple of times, we installed a larger 10000 litre (2641 gallon) poly tank. This tank cost $1800 but our State government gives rebates and we claimed $1000 cash back. Hanno did our installation which saved a lot of money.

We put up some trellises and we're growing grapes and passion fruit near the poly tank. The pipes on the side of the shed collect water running off the roof. The one at the side of the tank, going into the ground, is the overflow. When there is too much water, it flows through this pipe into an underground drain and into a creek that runs at the back of our property.

We use the water in both tanks to keep our vegetables and fruit going, to wash the car and the dogs and for all drinking water outside. We also use the rainwater in the tanks exclusively in the aquaponics tank, which constantly recycles 3000 litres of water. This water is topped up from the tanks.

The water that goes into the tanks is collected on the roof of our house. The rainwater runs into gutters connected to downpipes which flow into the tanks. The iron tank is at the south-westerly side of the house and collects water from the back of the house. The poly tank is on the south-easterly of the property, behind our large shed. It collects water from the front of the house and the shed roof. According to Irrigation Warehouse "1mm of rain on every square meter of surface area results in 1 litre of water into the tank. Let's say that your house roof is 12 meters long by 10 meters wide - 12 x 10 = 120 square meters. If you had a very brief storm that dropped 1mm of rain on the roof, you would receive 1mm x 120 sq m = 120 litres of rainfall into the tank. A larger storm comes through and drops 25mm of rain, 25mm (of rain) x 120 (square meters of roof area) = 3,000 litres of rainwater into your tank. This calculation works for any roof area, all you need to know is the length x the width = square meters." We are blessed with good rainfall in our area and in this past year we've been having good storms and fairly frequent showers. This has allowed our tanks to remain between half full and full most of the time, even though we're using the water every day.

Below is the best photo I could get of our back roof. This, my friends, is the roof of people who are trying to do their best to cut back to the bare essentials while living a comfortable life. On our roof at the very top there are two whirlygigs that extract hot air from the roof space simply using wind power. Those grey bumps in the roof - there are three of them, are skylights. We installed them nine years ago so we wouldn't have to turn lights on during the day in dark rooms. On the right - the black ended round tank attached to the sloping panel is our solar hot water system. That went in about five years ago. The gutters on the roof edges are used to collect rainwater. And last, but by no means least, on the left, is a satellite dish for our pay TV. We don't have that service anymore, we gave it up to save money and so we could use the time we were wasting watching TV. I don't want that dish to be removed as it reminds me every day how far we've come and that everyday we have to consciously focus on saving water and electricity.

At the moment, Hanno and I use just over 100 litres of water each a day. We have a 5 star front loading washing machine, I wash dishes by hand, using a sink full of water and a small sink to rinse. We each shower once a day, we do about 3 or 4 loads of washing a week, we drink 2 -3 litres of water each a day. We are now in the habit of only turning on the tap half way, we turn off the water when we're brushing our teeth, we have 3 minute showers and a low flush toilet. Every one of these small measures helps.

Like much in this simple life, water conservation takes a plan and a focused effort. Sure it's a pain to do it at times, but it would be much worse if we had no water.

I'd love to hear your ideas on saving water. What do you do at your place?

FURTHER READING

Making the most of used water
Saving water in the home
Level 6 water restrictions

Christmas colours. : )

I didn't get much done yesterday as a tradesman and his helper turned up at 9am to finish off the renovations. They spent most of the day laying the last bit of flooring in the hallway and attaching the skirting boards in the rest of the house. It feels great to have it all done. I feel as if our house has been given back to us. I don't like having people here who can walk in and out as they choose and go to the places that only our family would usually go to. I have to say though that he was an true tradesman and the standard of his work was excellent.

I'm probably late doing this but today I'll start preparing for Christmas. Ours will be a very low key celebration. We have Shane and Kerry coming for dinner next Monday; Christmas eve we'll have dinner with my step son and DIL at their home; Christmas morning Hanno, Shane and I will be working at the breakfast in the park, after that, we'll come back here to relax. Naturally, Boxing Day will be cricket all day. For those of you not in Australia, the Boxing Day test cricket is the big sporting tradition here. It's a bit like football on Thanksgiving or the football World Cup final. I love Boxing Day, it's a day of pure indulgence for me. There is a feeling of relaxation in the air. Christmas is over, children are on summer holiday for almost two months and there are smiling faces everywhere. I settle in early with my knitting or sewing and watch the cricket or snooze in my chair almost all day. : )

So today, before I go out, I'll clean out the fridge and start making ice. I like to have plenty of ice in the freezer for all those cold drinks over the holidays and if I start making two trays each day now, I'll have enough. I intend doing a couple of small jobs like this every day so I'm not rushed at the last minute, or worse, need to go out and buy something that I could easily make now. How do you prepare for Christmas? Are you a few jobs a day person or do you have a last minute rush? I have found that listing what needs to be done, and doing two or three of those tasks each day really does make a big difference in the enjoyment of the holidays.

I had another email from Jewels yesterday. She and her family are fine. They've sold their house and are looking to buy another. She had her own tale of a fox in the backyard and five missing chooks. They'll all be together for Christmas, baby Maggie is doing well and Jewels is looking forward to moving to her new home, being settled again and resting. As usual, she sounds content and at peace with whatever comes her way.

I'm going to work for about four hours today to meet with another volunteer to finalise the organisation of our Christmas activities. When I come home this afternoon, it will be to a home that is all mine again. I still haven't organised the table I was going to do yesterday, but that can easily wait till tomorrow when my two Christmas tasks will be to make two fruit cakes and buy some German beer.

I had some good news when I came home from work yesterday. My oldest son Shane phoned to say he's not working on Christmas day and he'd like to come to the Christmas breakfast in the park with us. I'm so pleased! I'll be able to show him off and introduce him to the people I work with and some new friends I've made. LOL Being a chef, he'll be able to help us with the food too. Shane and Kerry will be here next Monday evening for our family Christmas dinner. Hanno is cooking up a German meat fest :- O and Shane is bringing some green prawns and will cook something with them that I'll eat. While all this cooking is going on, I'll be at a meeting at work and will just have to swan in and take my place at the table. Good eh? I'm a sly old dog sometimes. LOL

On my way home from work yesterday I called into IGA to pick up some local milk and also collected some heirloom seedlings to plant in the aquaponics garden. A little nursery in the heart of Maleny's main street sells heirloom seedlings they grow from Digger's seeds. I bought watermelon, silverbeet (chard), mixed lettuce and buttercrunch lettuce (pictured above). I usually plant my own seeds but I've been too busy lately and these need to go in now. I'll plant them all this morning.

I took this photo of some of our fish - clicking on the photo will enlarge it. I just fed them and in this photo you'll see one fish with its mouth wide open. There are a few fish there now that are much bigger than these but they always stay on the side and it's very difficult to photograph them.

The rest of today I'll be baking, knitting and cleaning the area here where I type. When we had our renovations done, lots of junk accumulated on my work table. I have an old table behind me where I write letters and store my household journal, handwritten recipes, my work diary and notebooks and little bits of this and that. While I'm at it, I'll also clean out a shelf and shred old computer paper for the hens' nests.

And now I'm off to comment on comments and to answer a few of the many emails that poured in over the past few days. Thank you to everyone who expressed concern over what happened here this week. I always appreciate your thoughts and comments but this week's were special, to both Hanno and I.

As if to illustrate the point I made yesterday about life not always being easy, just after I finished my post I heard a ruckus in the hen house. The dogs and I ran out there but a stray dog had somehow got into the backyard and already killed one chook and injured another, one was missing. Hanno came out soon after, caught the dog and locked it in our shed. I picked up big Martha, one of the Rhode Island red girls, and put her on a soft nest to recover. All the other chooks where terrified and up on the roost and nests. We found the other chook later, hiding in the vegetable garden. Hanno looked after the stray during the day - he feed and watered the little dog and combed the burrs out of his coat. The dog handler from the council came yesterday afternoon to collect the stray. I've just been outside to check on the Martha and take these photos and things don't look good for her. I wouldn't be surprised if she dies of delayed shock or an infection from the wounds. We've cleaned her up but dog bites are notorious for causing bad infections. I'm going to cover her with a clean cloth soon so the flies don't cause more problems for her today.

This is Martha on the right, you can see the missing feathers on her back, Cocobelle is the black girl standing guard and Mary is sitting on her eggs on the left.

I candled the eggs under Mary yesterday and I don't think any of them are developing. I'm no expert at candling, in fact this is the first time I've done it, so I haven't given up hope. Mary is still happily sitting on her little treasures so I hope all is well.

The tomatoes in the soil garden are growing incredibly well this year. We have tomatoes everywhere. If they all produce to their promise, I'll have a stockpile cupboard bursting at the seams with sauce, relish and diced tomatoes in February.

We've been very busy at work these past few weeks. Our town is incredibly supportive of the work we do and at the moment we're collecting toys, books, fairy dresses, CDs, sports equipment and lots of other gifts for our disadvantaged kids. We're also organising food hampers full of ham and Christmas food for their parents, and while all this food comes pouring in, and we do it up in festive hampers, we're flat out every day at work. I've also been ringing our local businesses asking for donations for our free Christmas breakfast. It does me good to experience the generosity and kindness of the people here. Almost every time I make a phone call, the response is: "sure, how much do you need!" Of course, it's all put together by the volunteers at the Centre and presented with personalised cards for all the girls and boys, and their parents. I am thankful that I share my days with these people.

I'll be at work again today and in the midst of this busy day to come my visitor counter will probably tick over to the 100,000 mark. I am really pleased with the little community we've all built here. It's not just me, it's also all the people who comment who make this blog what it is. The comments add so much that is thoughtful, friendly and caring, and also lets me know that I'm not just whistling in the wind when I type everyday. Thank you all for visiting and for adding your mark to this little space on the www. I'm looking forward to your next 100,000 visits.

8.05am update: Martha is dead. : (

I get the impression sometimes that some readers think I’m a perfect angel who works away without a word of complaint, making no mistakes and with everything going perfectly to plan. I doubt anyone can claim perfection every day. I am as flawed as the next person. I have things I don’t like doing, I make mistakes – yesterday I forgot to put the yeast in the bread. Please don’t think that my life is perfect and the ideal life that all people living simply should aspire to. This is just my version of simple living. I’ve custom made my life to suit how I want to live, you should do the same. Even if our goals and values are similar, our circumstances, our capabilities, the way we work, the time we have to give to our work at home, all these factors make the outcomes of simple living different. And that is the way it should be.

There are days when I don't feel like baking bread or sweeping the floor and only do it because I push myself. I could easily buy bread, already sliced and presented in a plastic bag for "freshness", I could vacuum the floor, or simply leave the mess for another day. I am not perfect, I have those days too.

I also make mistakes and forget or refuse to do things. When I first started to knit again, I undid my first item about 10 times before I got it right. Some things are difficult for me to do. I do most of my work in the morning because in the afternoon I feel tired and work then on gentle tasks like mending and sewing. Last month I couldn't be bothered feeding the worms for a week. They survived, and so did I. Yesterday I was supposed to do all the ironing, but it was hot and I didn't feel like doing it. Did I soldier on and complete it all? Nope! I did about half and left the rest. I did that because I have the same weaknesses as everyone else and sometimes I'm lazy ... and hot.

I suppose that other retired women who live simply would have similar days to mine, but all you younger girls, those with babies and toddlers to care for and love, and all those who work outside the home, your days would be different. That is okay – I am not the ideal. I’m just here writing about what I do. And while I hope that some of what I write is used to modify fragmented and stress-filled lives, if you’ve got your own version of a simple life or are working towards it, own it, respect it and be proud that you’ve made a custom built life and haven't fallen for the one-size-fits-all consumers' special.

We all need role models. I think a lot of the problems we now live with are because we model our behaviour on people who live celebrity lifestyles, and not real people who live as we do. One of the reasons I write here every day is that I hope I am a positive role model and that what I do will show others the varied possibilities of a simple life. A lot of my life is wonderful and even on the bad days I wouldn't change one second of it for any other kind of life, but I do make mistakes; I am not perfect, nor do I try to be.

I am just one ordinary woman who is making it up as I go. I make my own rules, and break them too, but I always try to live according to my values. I am honest with myself, I try to make what I do as easy as I can and while I thoroughly enjoy all the positive outcomes of my work, I gladly accept the negatives too. Life's like that - for every ounce of gold, you have at least an ounce of soil you have to sift through to find it. So if you're struggling with your life and if it's not the way you want it to be every day, accept that as part of living. Always try to be your best, but don't expect perfection.