It generally takes a lot to change patterns of behaviour but change is happening right here in Australia, and I'm sure all around the world. I read recently that people are using their cars less, staying home more than ever and giving up extras like magazines, newspapers and their cup of coffee on the way to work. Worry is changing those behaviour patterns because many people are trying to keep up with mortgage payments, ever increasing rents and the rising cost of child care, groceries and fuel.

The prices we are paying now for groceries, fuel and our homes will remain high for a while so I believe it's wise to plan a strategy rather than just cut back randomly. Here in our neck of the woods we've cut back just like a lot of others but ours is a planned approach, rather than haphazard.

I have no doubt some readers here have their own frugal plans already in motion but I also know that others would be a bit confused about how to cut back when they've already set a budget and are living without luxuries. So what to do?

I doubt there is one answer. We are so diverse and our circumstances so different that I thought the best way to tackle this, and to try to get some answers, would be to make a list of some of the things Hanno and I are doing and to ask you to contribute to the list with your own ideas. Then people can pick and choose what might work in their own circumstances. I'll break the list into categories so if it becomes really long, you can go to the area you're interested in instead of reading through the entire list.

As with most changes in this simple life, the suggestions will be small step items. I'm guessing you've already made the major and obvious modifications you need to make and just need to see those small things that other are doing to help you along. Remember, all those small things add up - even a saving of $10 a week will add up to $500 a year. That money could buy clothes and shoes for your children, pay for Christmas and birthday gifts or help with mortgage or rent payments.

If you are doing something that works for you that isn't already on the list, please add a comment and I'll add your suggestion to the main list. I thank you in advance for your help with this and for those of you needing help, I hope you find that something that makes a difference. Where you see different coloured text in the list below, clicking on it will take you to more information.

FOOD

• Stockpile - when you have a little bit of extra cash, buy items that you use often when they're on special. Store them at home until you need them. I have written about stockpiling here and here.
• Cook from scratch - processed foods cost a lot more than basic food.
• Find and test more frugal food recipes.
• Cook a couple of meatless meals each week.
• Use a little bit less of everything. If a recipe calls for 3 eggs, use two and some milk, if you need 500grams of beef mince (1 lb) use less and add some mashed baked beans - no one will notice. Most recipes could be scaled back in some way without affecting the final product.
• Pack lunches for work and school instead of buying lunch out.
• from Eileen: People who live alone often have a harder time saving as many things are cheaper if bought in quantity. Besides the obvious ( make 4 portions and freeze 3) why not get together with others in the same position and have a day a week when you eat at each others houses. This also saves fuel both for cooking and heating on that day.
• from Eileen: Make best use of an oven and dont put it on half full. If making a casserole fill the other shelf with a fruit cake or make biscuits to last a week for example.
• from Kris: I always make casseroles and soups in double batches so I can either freeze half or share half with someone else that needs it. I also freeze leftover bread heels and such in the bottom of my freezer. I grate the frozen bread into crumbs and add to lots of dishes to make the meat go farther. Vegetables are delicious with a bread crumb coating on them as they cook.
• from Niki Ruralwritings: We have gone back to daily bread baking, only cooking from scratch, yogurt (& quark) making instead of buying. I am also keeping to a menu plan and shopping list, and stocking up on sale items, but only those items I usually use.
• from Jinger: I try to eat lower on the food chain...mostly plants and from scratch meals.
• from Hilde: Use your pressure cooker! Especially with food like beans, rice, potatoes etc. you save a lot of cooking time and electricity. You can also cook complete meals in it and save on the washing up too.
• from Konigskind: Instead of crisps I always have corn in the cupboard to make some popcorn. It is easy, it needs a small amount of storagespace and it is a great pleasure for the kids.
• from Hawthorn: Add rolled oats to minced beef to make it go further (do this when it is cooked....especially delicious in bolognaise dishes). By using this method, I can make a pound of mince serve 12 servings.
• from Young Snowbord: For people who cannot go without coffee, instead of buying the special roasted fancy brand, buy the most generic "restaurant supply type" brand that is already ground. Then take it home and send it through your own grinder 2-3 times until it is like powder. I worked for a German restaurant many years ago and the owner did just that. Everyone raved about her coffee, that it was the BEST, truely Gourmet. It's all in the grinding!

SHOPPING

• Buy generic brands. It's very hard to tell the difference between generics and well known brands and the savings are really worth while.
• Stop buying soft drinks/soda pop. If you or the children want sweet drinks, make up a batch of fruit cordial or ginger beer.
• Check unit prices and always by the best value for money. If there is no unit price available, check it yourself by comparing weights and volume instead of going by the size of the pack.
• Don't shop when you're hungry.
• Try to shop without the children.
• from Jen: I don't know what Australia has in the way of thrift shops or garage/yard sales, but shopping at those venues can save you a fortune, too...especially on clothes. (The only thing is, you never know what will be there, so you have to go with an open mind or go often to get just what was on your list.
• from Elizabeth: Here in th US places offer Senior Citzens Discounts. It starts at 50 with some places but 55 is the adv. age. It has really helped us. When Dave got his eye checked and new glasses last week it saved us over 250.00. Then we get 10% off our food at the market.We ask about a senior discount everywhere we go.
• from Kris: Most of the time I do my grocery shopping only on the outside of the store where the essential items are. I find that if I venture into the middle aisles to just look I always find something I "need." I cook exclusively from scratch, so it is rare for me to need something from the middle aisles, which are mostly convenient (expensive) non-foods.
• from Niki Ruralwritings: We STAY OUT OF STORES...the very best way to save. When you have to go, put on your "blinders" and head in with a list and really avoid browsing or looking at anything else.
• from Lis: I do the menu planning and try to "shop" from my cupboards and freezer before I leave the house.
  Buy your meat in bulk - if possible buy a 1/4 or 1/2 a cow and get the butcher to trim and package it for you. This works out heaps cheaper. If you don't have the storage space, get some friends together and split the meat between you.
  Look into food co-ops in your area.
  Find the food wholesalers that also sell to the public. This is a great way to buy flour and other dry goods. Again look at splitting it with friends if you don't have storage space.
  Find your local markets for fresh produce and buy in bulk. Menu plan your purchases and then on-sell, freeze, preserve or barter the excess. My best bargain was 3kg of swiss mushrooms for $6 - the sell in the supermarket for $10 a kg. Yes, we ate a lot of mushrooms in two weeks and I sold some to friends but it added some luxury to our menus at a bargain price.
• from Em: keep a list for shopping and groceries - and only buy what is on the list.
  I actually like to have my kids with me shopping b/c we talk to them how to work out what is the best value (comparing price per wgt), and we discuss what the advertising on packages is trying to make us do, or read the labels and discuss which foods are better for our body. I know this is a luxury of sorts b/c it takes time and energy from me, but I want them to have the tools to shop well themselves.
• from Konigskind: When I need something for my home I tell it everywhere I go Most of the time someone who heard this calls me to tell that they have the thing I need and don't use it anymore.
• from Stacy W: Don't just buy from auction sites/bootsales/yard sales etc sell at them too! Bric n Brack, old kitchen equipment, clothes and toys the kids out outgrown, old CD's and DVD's. All this can be sold and this means you get some money, the good are recycled which is greener than throwing them out and the goods are loved by someone else!
• from ITZME the Scavenger: Use Freecycle or Craigslist - especially good for swapping baby clothes (they grow so fast) and those fun toys that can cost a fortune.
• from Gwensmom: When you are doing errands that include grocery shopping, take along a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs. Grocery stores open earlier than other stores, so you can get the groceries first and put milk, frozen items, etc. in the cooler. Then do all your other errands and your food will not have spoiled or melted before you can get it home and into your fridge or freezer.
  Also, make a Word document with a list of everything you buy at the grocery least once a month. Put the items the order they appear in the store you use the most. When it's time to go shopping, get your list and check the pantry and fridge circling the items you need to restock. Write in anything you need that isn't on the list. Your shopping trip with take much less time and you won't have to run back to the store for something you forgot.

SEWING and HOBBIES

• When sewing a pant or a dress use a wide hem (undo it when their height is gained add a trim if the hem line is faded.
• from Jinger: I make baby quilts from fabric friends and family have given me.
• from Konigskind: When you have a hobby it is worthwile to watch if you can make money with it or change services. I repair clothes for others. They pay me by cooking a meal or some tomato-plants.
• from Young Snowbird: I'm single and for years had a twin bed. I switched to a full size. Spent all my money on the new bed, no money for linens. I took two fitted twin sheets, removed one side of elastic each and sewed the two together to make a full size fitted sheet. This would work for Queen or King size too, as I had quite a bit of overlap. top sheets could be sewn together too. No wasting perfectly good sheets just because of size!

CLEANING

• Stop buying cleaners at the supermarket and make your own. There are recipes here.
• Cleaning floors and furniture.
• Cleaning the kitchen.
• Simple cleaning here.
• Cleaning with rags here.
• from Donetta - When doing the dishes fill your sink half full then wash, rinse dishes over half full sink and the rinse water becomes wash water for the deeper items.
• from Kris: I dilute shampoo. I buy several bottles when it goes on sale and as soon as I get home I pour some out into containers I have saved and add water. If you keep turning the bottles for a few days it will mix together. I then store these under the sinks in the bathrooms. The shampoo goes twice as far, cleans exactly the same and is actually easier to rinse out of your hair.
• from Niki Ruralwritings: I routinely use only half or even less of the recommended amount of laundry dtg. There is no difference in the cleanliness of the clothes.
• from Lavonne: Tear up old linens or clothes and use them for napkins, toilet wipes, feminine hygiene, diapers, baby wipes, etc.
  Wash sponges with laundry and make them last longer.Make a baking soda/water paste to wash hair and use 1/2 vinegar-1/2 water to rinse it.
  Use natural or homemade dish soap for laundry. One short squirt cleans as well as the recommended cup of detergent.
  Use a mix of half vinegar and half water with a drop or two of dish soap in spray bottles for cleaning countertops, walls, windows, appliances, etc.
  Stop buying specialized cleaning products -- make your own. Here are some good places to get started: here and here.
  
  

TRANSPORT

• Stop using the car for short trips.
• If you use the car to go out, do as many things as you can while you're out.
• Rediscover your public transport system.
• Ride a bike.
• Walk.
• Start a walking bus to school if it's close by. Arrange to pick up neighbour's children along the way. Take it in turns with other parents to supervise the walking bus.
• from Niki Ruralwritings: We are using our little Toyota Echo almost exclusively rather than our larger farm vehicle. It saves us a fortune.
• from Lis: I've started catching the bus to work on average once a week - saves wear and tear on my car and petrol.
  Make sure your tires are properly inflated and try and combine all your trips out to one day per week.
• from Jinger: I try to have one non driving day per week.

CHILDREN
Include your children in the changes. Explain why it is necessary, without worrying them, and suggest ways they could help:

• Turn off the lights, TV, radio, Xbox when not in use.
• Care for clothes and shoes.
• Stop asking for junk food in the supermarket.
• Use the library more - libraries often have DVDs, videos, computer games and board games as well as books and magazines.
• Show them how to read the water and electricity metres and have them monitor everyone's usage.
• Teach them how to make good pizza at home and replace your Friday night delivered pizza with a delicious homemade one.
• Record children's movies or documentaries during the week so they have something special to watch on the weekend.
• from Donetta: Make toys out of recycled things. My kids use cardboard and elastic to make a toy today and love it. Show them fine motor skills doing this.

BABIES

• from Hawthorn: Invest in Cloth nappies/diapers and wipes - saves a fortune on the disposable type.

PETS

• from Young Snowbird: For those with cats who feed them wet canned food. Use a half or a third of the amount they you normally feed and add water to it. Mix to create a gravy. The cat will still get its "wet", you'll stretch the food, and the cat will get additional water intake which most of them desperately need as they really are reluctant drinkers.

BILLS/MONEY and BANKING

• Make sure you pay your bills on time, especially if you get a discount for early payment.
• Check EVERY bill that comes in. Make sure it is correct before you pay it.
• Check your bank statement every month. Banks often make mistakes.
• Are you on the best plan for your mobile/cell phone, home phone, internet, TV? Do some research and change to a better plan if you find one.
• Think carefully about the services you're paying for. Maybe you could give some of them up while the prices are so high.
• Make a plan to pay off your debt.
• Make a budget and stick to it. There are plenty of budgeting posts under 'budgeting' in my side bar.
• from Niki Ruralwritings: We had scaled back our TV package. Also changed our long distance plan to a less expensive one. We recently called our cell phone company to make sure our plan was the best one for our useage. It was and is quite reasonable. but worthwhile to call and check.
• from Niki Ruralwritings: We do only online banking and save postage. Also we use a chequing account that is very cheap in terms of service fees.
• from stuff: Make sure that any savings you have is doing the most it can for you. Savings accounts and cds vary greatly.
  Do an audit of your insurance policies and get new quotes. You want to be covered, but sometimes it doesn't pay to have full coverage on an older car.
  If, and only if, you are comfortable with credit card use and don't carry a revolving balance, make your credit card work for you. I am moving what bills I can to credit card for several reasons. I get cash back, most of my bills are on one statement, payments are automatic so no late fees, money can sit in an interest bearing account for longer before it goes to bills. You have to stay on top of things, but it works for me.
• from Gill: One thing I do is have a variety of different pots, which I put money into each week, for a variety of things. I explain more about it on my blog. I also have a simple way of saving money by doing a daily savings pot, which basically means putting your change into a pot.

BARTERING, SWAPPING AND CO-OPS

• If you grow vegies or have spare eggs, ask you friends if they'd like to buy some. This might be embarrassing for you but I can assure you many people out there really want to buy home grown food.
• If you have a fruit tree, barter your fruit for something you need, maybe eggs or honey. Remember, many people are in the same boat as us, they'll be looking for ways to save and will probably welcome the offer to barter.
• Do you have children constantly growing out of their clothes? Swap clothes with friends.
• You can also swap games and toys your children are tired of playing.
• Form a buying co-op with friends and neighbours. You can bulk buy things like meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. Take turns with the buying and sorting and have everyone pick up their own box.

ENTERTAINMENT

• Invite friends around for a BBQ, ask them to bring a plate or food to share.
• Rent a movie instead of going to the cinema, record a movie on TV instead of renting.
• Make a deal with a friend to watch your children while you have a morning out. Return the favour to your friend.
• Okay, this is anti-entertainment to some, but stop smoking, drinking at pubs and clubs and gambling. You'll save a fortune.
• from Stuff: Make get together with friends productive. Don't head out to eat and shop...walk, sew, can, cook, etc. Any time with a friend is good time, even if it's cheap.
• from Jinger: I take advantage of all my city's free entertainment, for example the outdoor symphony concerts every Sunday evening and free outdoor movies in the summer.
• from Judie: For those of us trying to reduce TV or cable expenses, remember the public library. There are any number of magazines to read, CD and DVD rental in addition to best sellers and how-to's. There is no fee for checking them out and if the due date sneaks up on you, renewal can be done by phone or internet. By the way, if there is a college or university nearby, check into non-student library privileges.

HOME

• from Donetta - A clothes line is a good thing.
• from CB: we walk through woods with the dog on a daily basis and in the Summertime we pick up pine cones and small twiggy branches that have fallen down.Sometimes if we walk where trees have been cleared we can pick up some nice sized wedges that the woodcutters slice out of the trees when they're being felled as they always leave them leave behind.As it's Summer and the weather is good, everything is mostly dry and so fairly light to carry home with us. We save the sacks from the dry dog food we use to keep the bits of wood and cones we've collected dry until we need it to burn on our fire in the Winter, it saves us quite a lot of money.

GIFT GIVING

• from Niki Ruralwritings: I try to give homemade gifts. I have a standard Baby Afghan I make for all new mothers and babes. I will work on these over the year, in between other projects and just put them away, for the next baby gift.
• from Niki Ruralwritings: Hostess gifts or small token gifts are usually knitted dishclothes, candles or soap.
• from Niki Ruralwritings: Bigger gifts to friend are usually knitted or crocheted afghans, or very simple sewing like table runners.

ELECRICITY, GAS and WATER

• Joanne from Dubbo: I have recently received my electricity bill and I am proud to say we have virtually halved our usage from the same time last year, We went from 38kwH per day to 20.74 kwH per day and our bill from $510 to $330. (There has been a price rise in this time) Our strategy was turn everything with a shiny standby light or display off at the wall when not in use eg TV, computer, stereo, DVD, microwave. We got rid of our bedside alarm clock and use a wrist watch or a mobile phone alarm if very important to get up on time. We also changed all lights possible to CFC variety. We have a Lopi wood heater for our heating which is cast iron?? and has a large area on top of it that you can cook on. We keep a kettle on it for hot water at any time like washing your face in the morning, doing dishes or cups of tea and the great majority of our meals have been cooked on there eg pasta, stews, steak, risotto, steamed veges etc. I am also batching what I cook in the oven, doing 3 to 4 things in a row. So for those people that think little things dont make a difference our proof is in the pudding and in being organised. If anyone is looking at getting a wood fire I would recommend looking at one you could use as a stove in winter and save on electricity. Ours is about 25years old and still going strong.
• from Konigskind: One thing we do in our familiy is putting a bucket in the shower to catch the cold water that comes before warm water arrives. This cold water we use for flushing our toilet.
• from Jess: Not sure if this would be a tip of sorts but once the mornings start getting cooler, instead of turning on the heat I just spend the morning baking. The oven warms the house until the sun comes up.
• from Elizabeth: Here in the UK most of us heat our homes with gas central heating and the gas price has just been raised by 35 per cent - scandalous!! I'm hoping to really cut down on our gas usage this coming winter by turning down the thermostat, making sure all drafts from windows and doors are blocked, fitting aluminium foil behind each radiator to reflect the heat back into the room, and putting on extra jumpers to keep warm.

And now it's over to you, my friends. What wise words can you add to this list that aren't there now?

My house is untidy. I'm at home today so I'll have plenty of time to put things back in their rightful places. I remember when I was much younger, I used to look forward to my days off and I would make sure I was out most of the time. I'd be visiting friends, going to the movies, dining out and shopping. Now is a much more gentle time, now I look forward to fluffing my nest and in the doing of it, slowing down and thinking about tasks and my place here at home.

When I was younger and out there living my life in public, I thought being at home was the dullest thing out. I neither valued nor understand the significance of a home; nor did I place much stock in a woman being there. I found my worth in external places, never realising that until I discovered a place where I could slow down, take off all masks and be my true self, whatever worth I thought I found, would be vacuous and brief.

I also needed to discover respect - for myself, other women and my home.

I guess I started that major discovery when I had my children. I saw my home then in a very different light. Before children, my home was just a place I slept and kept my belongings. After children, it became a safe haven where we nurtured our sons, where we modelled the behaviour we wanted to see in them and where those boys lead us to a better life.

And now they've gone. They grew into two fine men that I am very proud of. They're now establishing their own lives with successful careers and with girlfriends that may turn into something more special.

But after all that reminiscing, I'm still left with an untidy home. That's okay though, it's easily put right by gathering up and putting away, my broom does wonders. It's an enriching part of my life now being a homemaker; I discover myself here.

I love my home because it gives me feelings of security and of working towards sustainability. I feel safe here, the comfortable feeling of the familiar gives me more than refuge, it settles my soul. Do you have similar feelings about your home? What makes your home special and just right for you?

A special message to Kate in NY who sent me the book, Not Buying It. It arrived on Monday, I read it Monday and Tuesday nights and gave it to a friend to read on Wednesday. No doubt it will keep on being passed on. Thanks Kate!

We make compost, year round, in this corner of our garden. We also have compost in the chook pen, and we have a worm farm. We used to enclose the compost on three sides but we found it was easier for us to take away some of those sides to allow easier access when turning the heap.

Compost is the end result of organic matter that breaks down and decomposes. Organic matter, in this context, is anything that was once alive and is usually things like vegetable scraps, lawn clippings, newspaper and cardboard, outer leaves of vegetables, leaves, hair, straw etc. Just about any leafy product may go into compost, but never include diseased leaves like those from tomato bushes as that will just keep that disease in your garden and spread it around. Diseased plants are best put into a plastic bag, sealed up, left in the sun for two weeks, then put into the rubbish bin.

There are many different ways of making compost. The purists make sure their compost bin is a certain size to ensure it heats up - that encourages decomposition and kills some weed seeds. Other people use enclosed at the top, open at the bottom bins. This type of composting relies on anaerobic organisms. I have found that using one of these bins to make compost generally results in a very wet mix and it needs more brown material than green. We have one of these bins but it's rarely used here.

There are three important requirements for making compost:

It sounds complicated, doesn't it? Well, it can be, but it can also be easy if you get your mix right.

Aeration is simply moving the compost ingredients around to introduce air into the mix. You could do this by turning the compost over with a fork, by using a tumbler that spins the compost around or by building your compost heap around a wide plumbers pipe that would allow air to go deep within the heap. Generally, it's best to turn the compost with a fork about week or two. The more air you get into the mix, the fast you'll make compost.

Of course, you will make compost simply by piling a heap of organic matter in a corner and waiting for a long time - about 6 - 9 months. The heap will very slowly decompose with no outside help. But if you're wanting compost for your garden, generally you would give it a helping hand and turn it as much as you can. Depending on your climate, turning a compost heap that has been made with the right ingredients, will give you compost in about two or three months.

Nitrogen is wet green vegetable waste, scraps, lawn clippings and old vegetables. It's the stuff that's still juicy or slimy, all that waste that hasn't yet dried out. Nitrogen comes from the fresh kitchen scraps you'll have most days.

Carbon is dry waste like straw, newspaper, cardboard and dried leaves.

You compost will need about three parts carbon to one part nitrogen and all the ingredients should be as small as possible. If you have big pieces of cabbage or pumpkin, or sheets of newspaper, get your spade and cut them into smaller pieces.


These are all links to other sites. I've checked the information there and recommend it to you.

There is a very good slideshow here with a step by step guide to making compost.

Making compost in a warm climate.

Several methods of making compost.

18 day compost

Adding the manure of vegetarian animals and birds, including chickens, to your compost will help it break down much faster. So will adding comfrey or yarrow leaves. In summer, I make comfrey tea and pour it over the compost heap. It helps it along very nicely.


So let's recap here.

1. To make good compost, you'll need ¼ wet, nitrogen, green waste, like lawn clippings or vegetable scraps. Add that to ¾ dry, carbon waste like straw, dried leaves or shredded newspaper.
2. Add the ingredients in layers where you have a lot of dried carbon mixed with a smaller amount of green wet leaves.
3. Add some manure or comfrey/yarrow leaves.
4. Wet this with some water.
5. Mix.
6. Shape into a neat pile and leave it.
7. Add to the pile as often as you can, making sure you always have more dry than wet waste.
8. Keep the heap moist, not wet, and turn it as often as possible.

If you notice the compost has a terrible smell, you've got too much green wet waste in there. Add some shredded newspaper or other dry carbon waste and mix it in.

If the compost looks dry and isn't decomposing, add more wet green waste, or a sprinking of water from the hose, and mix.

If you have a lot of wet weather, it would be a good idea to cover your compost heap with a tarp or plastic to keep some of the rain out.


Your compost is ready to use when everything has lost its shape and has blended in together. It will look like dark loose soil with little bits in it. It will smell like soil. When you have this excellent additive, either add it to a new garden bed and dig it in, or use it in the planting hole in the garden bed to plant your seedlings in.


You can never have too much compost, so when you successfully make one lot of compost, make more the next time. Compost will add fertility and health to your garden but it will also help you cut down a lot on the amount of organic waste you throw out. If you're serious about your vegetable garden, this is one skill that will help you produce good healthy food for your table.

ROSIE UPDATE: We haven't taken her to the vet yet. She seemed much improved yesterday and has started eating properly and she slept through the night last night. We'll keep watching her and see if we can nurse her back to good health without going to the vet. I'll keep you all posted. Thank you all for your concern, both Hanno and I appreciate it.

Gardening is one of those things that is very difficult to write a one size fits all formula for. What works for me, might not work for you because of our different climates, soil and level of experience. But what I hope to do today is to write a general guide to starting a garden and hope it encourages you enough to give it a go and in doing so develop your own skills in this important subject. I also hope to answer some of the questions asked after yesterday's post.

Hanno and I live in the sub-tropics, and although our temperatures in summer are always in the 30s C (86 - 100 F) with high humidity, we experience that only from late November till February. In winter - June - August our general temperature range is 5C (at night) to the mid 20s during the day (41 - 77F). So for six months of the year we have what I would call extreme temperatures and the remaining six months the weather is perfect - low humidity, with temperatures ranging from 15 - 25 (59 - 77F) day and night.


Those temperatures allow us to grow food all year round, although what we grow and how we grow changes according to the season. We have one acre of land and our home is about in the centre of it. There is a little one lane, dead end track leading to our place, we have an old abandoned timber mill across the road that we can't see due to a planting of pine trees, there are neighbours on both sides and a permanent creek and remnant rainforest at back. We are at the edge of a pine forest and about 15 kms from the Pacific Ocean. Our creek at the back runs into the ocean.

I have been a vegetable gardener for many years and have grown vegetables and kept chickens for the past 25 years. Over that time we have never deviated from the one true guide to what we grow. We grow what we eat. So I guess my first piece of advice to you if you're just starting out with a garden, is to make a list of the fruits and vegetables you eat regularly, then start cutting that list back. Strike out anything you know you can't grow. For instance, if you're in northern Canada or Scotland and eat pineapples and bananas, strike them off your list because I doubt you'd be able to grow them. And if you could, it would be such a trial it wouldn't be worth it. This is a guide to practical vegetable gardening, not in forcing food to grow against all odds. If you live in sunny and hot northern Australia or Hawaii, you probably won't be able to grow cabbages, cauliflowers or swedes.


Where I live we never grow onions. We have Welsh (green) onions, but never the bulbous red, brown or white onions that both Hanno and I love. We tried them for two years and the harvest of them was so poor, and they took up so much room, we decided that onions where one of the vegetables we would have to always buy. Ditto for garlic. We grew some but much of it rotted in the ground, so now we buy organic garlic from the market.

Do you see where I'm going with this? You'll finally have a list of food you like to eat that you can easily grow, once you have developed your skills and have the time it takes to do it. You will also have some things you can't grow, or will take too much room or effort to make it worthwhile. Remember, vegetable gardening is not something you'll dabble with when you feel like it. Once you've made the commitment to it, you will be working hard on producing your food and that will require time and effort. Don't go down that path unless you will give it the necessary time and effort.

Get yourself a good book on gardening in your climate and read all about the vegetables and fruit you want to grow. If you're in Australia, I recommend Lyn Bagnall's Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting. It is, by far, the best book on gardening in Australian conditions that I've read. Plant up everything you want and be guided by your book for the care of your plants. I would recommend you start with seedlings and when you have a bit more experience, start growing from seed and save your own seeds each year. This will cut down on your costs but also give you seeds ideally suited to your climate and soil conditions. Each year your seeds with get better and be more inline with your own conditions. When you have some experience, push the boundaries imposed by your climate and, if there is something you really want to grow, try it and see what happens.


It is commonly held to be true in my region that you plant one crop of potatoes in Autumn to be harvested in early Spring. We did that for a few years, then wondered if we could push our boundaries to another later crop - it worked. Then we tried for an earlier crop as well, that worked too. Now we plant potatoes all year through and generally have good crops that make it well worth our time and effort. You probably know already that home grown tomatoes taste far better than anything you'll get from a supermarket, the same applies to potatoes. They have a much better taste if you grow them in your own backyard and one taste of a new potato, cooked to perfection and dressed with butter, parsley, salt and pepper will convince you, far better than my words can, they are a valuable back yard crop.

But I digress, we are still at the planning stage. You will always have some foods you can't grow, that's just a fact of life. Don't be upset by that, just accept it and get on with what you can grow. Once you have a list of possible contenders, if you're a novice gardener work out what it is you eat the most of, or what is the most expensive to buy, and start with that. Don't take on too much in the first year. I know you'll be excited and optimistic, but this is a new skill, just like sewing and knitting. Start off with a dishcloth or apron, instead of a cable jumper or ball gown. Each year add new things or grow more but in those early stages, be prudent and concentrate on a small but well grown garden.

The best bit of advice I can give you is to improve your soil before you start gardening. Unless you live on an old volcano your soil will be like mine and will need improving. If you plant into virgin soil, your plants will grow but you'll most likely have small crops or small vegetables. Remember too, that the bugs attack stressed plants much more than healthy ones. Gardening takes a lot of time and effort so make sure you maximise the potential of your crop and give your plants every chance. Improve the soil before you start. That may mean that you work on your garden soil for a while before you start. If you have clay soil, you'll improve it by adding compost. If you have sandy soil, you'll improve it by adding compost. (I'll write about compost tomorrow.)

If you have clay soil and are prepared to add compost to it, you'll end up with the best rich soil you can imagine. Clay holds a lot of nutrients but as it's so sticky and dense, the plant roots cannot breathe and they die. Adding compost to clay lightens up the soil, providing air spaces for roots and worms, and it frees up the nutrients already there so they're available for your plants. Clay also holds the water and often plants drown if they're planted into unimproved soil.

Sandy soils are at the other end of the range. They don't hold water or nutrients and you'll have to water much too often if you don't improve the soil by adding compost. Planting in sandy soils will give you grief because your plants will fail to thrive and probably die without fruiting.

If you take the time to improve the soil you will grow plants quite easily. They'll be fed by the nutrients in the soil, they'll benefit from the moisture holding capacity of your soil and not go constantly from dry to wet, or sit with their roots in water that can't drain away. Don't be tempted to buy in garden soil either. Unless you can get a tested organic blend, you'll be importing more trouble in the form of weed seeds that might take you ten years to get rid of. And remember, garden soil and the mix you put in pots, are two different things. Garden soil is the topsoil from the earth. Potting mix is manufactured soil made by combining compost, sand, peat etc that is free draining and won't go hard in a pot when you add water.

I hope by now I've convinced you to improve your soil before you start anything. You should start building your list of foods to grow and look around for good quality seedlings. The first step though is to build some compost, we'll start that tomorrow.

ADDITION: Rosie is unchanged. Hanno will try to get her to the vet today.

Hello friends. I hope you enjoy your weekend and find time to spend with your family or those you love.

I want to let you know about the book being passed on by Niki. If you would like to go into the draw for the book, visit Niki here.

Yesterday was the coldest day of the year here in our little home. It was raining and dark and just right for a day of reflection and knitting. Of course I made bread and did a few other chores - there was quark waiting to be made and a batch of soap to be stored away, but my focus yesterday was inside my own head. I need days like that because it gives me a chance to think about my life and what I hope for the future. The way I live my life requires quite a bit of thought. I like to plan what I do, concentrate on chores and activities as I do them, and then think about the value of what I've done.

I have always been a thinker but now I believe awareness is a big part of how I live. Simple living isn't all about the practical things we do in our day to day lives. There is a philosophy that goes with my life that requires generosity and grace to be ever present. Gone are the days I lived on auto-pilot, now I give more and expect less. Now I am mindful that my thoughts and actions are familiar bedfellows.


I have told the story of the sampler I made in an older post, but for those of you new to my blog, I'll tell it again because that sampler was a great help to me when I first embarked on this brand new life. Basically, it is that I could easily remember recipes for making soap and food and many of the practical things I needed to do, but I didn't always remember the finer things like being kind or not having more than I needed. I thought about how I could remind myself, every day, about the values I wanted to develop. I wanted a less-is-more approach to become a significant part of my life. So I drew that sampler, stitched it and put it in a frame to look at every day as I went about my life. Having that there in my kitchen reminded me of the person I wanted to become. A few years down the track, I felt confident enough in myself and how I'd changed to be able to give that stitchery away, now it lives with Peggy in the USA.

I'm a bit dense sometimes. I need visual reminders. It's easy to become caught up in the practice of day to day living, of putting food on the table and being organised enough to do everything I need to do. But now the sentiments behind that sampler, those important values, are ingrained deep within me. Now all I need are days like yesterday when I can sit and knit and think about where I am heading and what is the gentlest and most interesting way to get there.

This is Lulubelle, she is a really big girl and she looks angry, but she's the sweetest and most gentle of all our chooks. Lulubelle is a barred Plymouth Rock.

Today I was going to write about keeping chickens in the backyard but I've just read a post I did in May last year on this same topic and there is not a lot I want to change. So instead of writing the same information in a different way, I've copied that old post and I'll add a few bits and pieces.

Chickens are a chaotic jumble of gentleness, cannibalism, stupidity and raw cunning so it was not surprising that the first pet I bought for my children were chooks. My kids grew up looking after chickens. They fed and watered them, carried them around, collected their eggs, played with them and helped buried them when they died. My sons are two of the most gentle people you’d ever meet. The chooks and I made them like that.


The first thing you need to consider if you want to keep chooks is where you’d keep them. You’ll need a coop or chook dome for them to sleep in, some nesting boxes, a roost – this is where they’ll perch while they sleep and some room for them to roam during the day. It’s much easier to have a cement floor in the coop because you need to be able to collect the manure to use on your garden and to hose out the coop each week. Smelly chickens will have your neighbours complaining and after a few days of rain you’ll be pulling your hair out if you decide against putting down a cement floor. The hen house will need to be surrounded by a tallish fence with a gate that can be closed every night and whenever you need the hens out of the way, like when you mow the lawn. Many areas of Australia are infested with foxes and wild dogs or dingoes. If you buy some chickens you must care for them well and make sure they’ll be safe, even when you’re not a home.

Chook house designs here, here, here, here and here.

You’ll need shredded paper or straw for the nests, a feeder and a water container – we use a bucket. You could scatter the hen’s food each day and have them forage for it. Unlike other animals, hens don’t over eat so it’s much easier (for you) to have a feeder that you can fill up that will feed them for a week or so. A large plastic chicken feeder will cost about $35, a metal one will cost about $50, but they are a good investment.

The number of eggs a chook will lay is dependent upon what type they are and your climate. Chooks lay less in the cold weather and if you have pure breeds, they will take time off laying during the year to moult and replenish their calcium levels. Hybrid chooks don't do that, they're bred to be egg machines and will continue laying most of the year. Where I live, each chicken will lay about 300 eggs per year, or one every 25 hours. They lay best during warmer weather but will stop laying when they lose their feathers or if they are stressed. Work out how many hens you’ll need to supply your family with eggs. At their peak, each hen will lay about four to five eggs a week so if your family eat an egg each a day you’ll need one and a bit hens per family member. So, for example, if you have four people in your family, you’ll need five or six hens and from them you’ll get around between 25 to 30 eggs per week.

Before you buy your first chickens, ring your local council and find out what the regulations are for raising chickens in your backyard. For instance, my local council has banned roosters and the hen house must be a certain distance from neighbourhood fences, there are also restrictions on the number of chooks we keep (20), but apart from that anything goes. Find out what your local authority requirements are and be guided by them. If your local authority won't allow you to keep chickens. I encourage you to write a letter to them, and your local member of parliament, to protest that decision. Chooks were commonly kept in backyards by out grandparents and their grandparents and it is a fairly recent decision to keep backyards chicken-free. I believe it is everyone's right to keep chooks for eggs or for meat, and that right should not have been taken away from you simply because your neighbour doesn't want to see livestock in the neighbourhood. Surely we don't want to live in a place that has been landscaped and cemented with no natural elements in it. Chickens are an important part of a sustainable backyard and if that right has been taken away from you, you should fight to get it back.

Another decision you need to make before you buy is to decide if you want to keep hens for eggs or if you also want to raise your chickens for meat. Some hens are bred to maximize their egg laying potential, others are bred to have big breasts and legs so that they are best for meat chickens. Or you can do what ordinary folk have done for hundreds of years and kill the male birds for meat and keep the girls for eggs. Check the Henderson's chart for meat and egg layers.

There are many different types of chickens but you should buy the type you find visually pleasing and those that will suit your purpose for size, eggs or meat. For example, I keep Rhode Island Reds, Australorps, Plymouth Rocks, Orpingtons, light Sussex and others, in the past we’ve had Pekin bantams. Light Sussex is a dual purpose bird as they are good layers, good broody hens and mothers and have a good body size for meat. If you have small children, maybe you’d like to keep silkies. They are gentle and don’t mind being handled but they don’t produce a lot of eggs, so there is a downside to them. They also have black meat which might put some people off. If you’re in a city, and don’t have much space, you might consider bantams. Three would give you enough eggs for a couple or small family. I have written about the important of pure breed chooks here. I will never buy chooks bred for the caged poultry industry again; from now on, all my chooks will be pure breeds.

If you're unsure of the various types of pure breed chickens, or what conditions they're suited to, read this wonderful chart.

You can buy day old chicks, young chickens or pullets. My recommendation for first timer chicken keepers is to buy pullets. These are chickens that are about 16-20 weeks old and will be ready to lay eggs in the next couple of weeks. Buying pullets gives you a couple of weeks to get used to looking after them and then you will have the eggs to reward you. Try to buy from a local hatchery or a local breeder. This will give valued support to your local community, it will be easier for you to travel there and back with chickens in the car and there will be less stress on the birds. They will also be acclimatised to your local area.

We feed our girls warm porridge when the weather is cold. They love it, and see it as a treat, but it also provides extra protein and will keep them warm during those cold days and nights of winter.

My local heirloom seed store, Green Harvest, recommend the following plants for chook forage: Asian greens, buckwheat, Ceylon spinach, cherry guava, clover, corn, cucumber, golden purslane, linseed, lucerne, millet, nasturtium, oats, passionfruit, New Zealand spinach, rocket, silverbeet, soybean, tamarillo and wheat. I have found my chooks also love kale, cabbage, all types of chard, capsicum (peppers), tomatoes, pigeon peas and radish tops.

We let our chickens out of their house every morning about 9am, after they're laid their eggs, and they forage around the backyard eating bugs and grass. We give them most of our food scraps. They love meat and fish, old bread, eggs, crushed up egg shells (for extra calcium), most vegetables and fruit, rice, oats, wheat and most seeds and grains. To be honest, they are will eat almost anything.

The number one consideration in keeping chickens in your backyard is to keep them safe from predators. Check out what predators live in your neighbourhood. If you’re in a suburban area it may be dogs, cats and hawks. If you’re in the country or on the edge of a township you may have foxes, wild dogs and cats, owls, hawks etc. Here at my home we have huge pythons, foxes, feral cats and dogs and dingoes. The hen house we constructed is not fancy – it’s made of recycled materials with a cement floor, but it’s strong and lockable and my girls feel safe in there. We have two large dogs, Airedale Terriers and although one of them rounds up the chickens they have never chased or hurt them. Chickens are sensitive to stress. They have been known to drop dead during thunderstorms or die a couple of days after being chased by dogs. We have wild thunderstorms here during summer and I’ve never lost any hens during one but I have had hens stop laying for weeks after they’ve been scared by visiting dogs or children.

If you have a dog and bring new chickens into the backyard, you'll have to watch your dog for a long time to make sure it accepts the chickens as part of the family. A dog's natural instinct is to see the chook as something to chase and eat. The dog should not be punished for a natural tendency, you need to train it to accept the newcomers. When we bring new chickens home for the first time, our two dogs watch them carefully for a couple of weeks. Hanno often sits with them and will encourage the chickens to come up to him for food and will have the dogs sitting with him. That teaches the chickens that the dogs are friendly and it shows the dogs that the chickens are ours and we look after them. If you have dogs and new chooks, never leave your dog alone with them until you're satisfied you can trust it. It is a good idea to keep the chickens behind a dog proof fence and only let them out together when you're there with them. The more time you can spend out there with the dog and the chickens, the faster they'll grow to accept each other.

Be aware that predators come from the sky too, they are not just lurking around corners. If you have dogs, hawks won’t be so much of a problem. Chickens have a natural tendency to sit under trees and bushes so they will be protected from sight much of the time if they free range in your backyard. After a while you’ll get used to their clucking and just like a baby you’ll learn by their various noises if something is wrong. If they are scared, they’ll let you know.

Always make sure you lock them in their hen house at night. That’s the time animals like foxes, cats and nocturnal predators will be creeping about. If they are safe and secure in their house, even if you have a silent fox in your backyard, they’ll be out of harm’s way.

Try to spend time with your chickens, especially when you first get them, so they accept you as part of their flock. You’ll need to be able to pick up your chickens and check them out occasionally and they will let you do this if you spend time with them and they know you are a friendly human.

Give them treats sometimes. I’ve made it my rule that whenever we take eggs from the nest the girls get a handful of seeds. They love seeds and grain, so a handful for the eggs makes them happy and makes the yolks in the eggs a rich yellow colour.

EGGS
When you collect the eggs each day they should be clean and well formed. When your feathered ladies first start laying they may lay a few without yolks or a couple of double yolkers. The eggs will be small and light when they first start laying. When they settle into laying, the eggs will develop a good weight, the shells will be smooth and strong and the shell colour will be consistent.

Collected eggs should be stored in the refrigerator. If you provide a clean nest the eggs should also be clean when you collect them but sometimes they might be soiled or dirty. If you find an egg like this don’t wash it. Eggs have a protective membrane on the shell that protects the contents from becoming contaminated. Take the dirty egg inside and wipe it with dry kitchen paper. If you must wash it to remove the dirt, dry it with paper and use that egg next time you need an egg.

Chickens are one of the few creatures you can easily keep in your suburban backyard that produce food. So if you’ve been thinking about getting your first chooks, my advice is to jump into it. There is nothing better than fresh golden eggs from your backyard.

I was going to write about starting off your chicken flock but there are a few loose ends from yesterday's post so I'll tidy those up and write about chooks tomorrow.

First of all, welcome to the newcomers, especially those who have taken the time to say hello. The comments here are a big part of the blog so it's nice to know who has joined the community. Also, thanks to everyone for the lovely comments, I do appreciate them and although I might not always have the time to answer, I do read everyone of them. Yesterday, for instance, they provided a welcomed respite in a busy day at work. When I was waiting on the phone, or in between other activities, I peeked in, read and moderated the comments. I often think to myself that I have to respond to a particular comment but the hours roll by and I forget, or get busy again. Rest assure though, every comment is read.

Sara, wise move to use your stock of plastics, disposals and chemicals, then start afresh. We had a swap here about a year ago for cloth napkins and many of the ladies here didn't go back to the disposals after that.

Coleen, it's going well although we did run out of a few things - loose tea, brown sugar, brown rice and apples - so I bought them at the local IGA on my way home from work. All our other supplies are healthy and will go the distance.

Hello Stuff, you are the same age as my sons :- ) If you have the will to do it, there will be many things you could start with in your home - your cleaning, trash, knitting dishcloths, cooking from scratch, decluttering. Many things only need a solo effort, and the first step - that one is the most difficult. Let me know when you post and I'll make sure I come over to visit you.

Kristi, I don't know where Mt Clare is but I'm about 2000 kms north of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. If you have a look at a map of Australia, find Brisbane, which is north of Sydney, and I'm 100 kms north of Brisbane, in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast.

Sophie, how wonderful to be working alongside your daughter making soft nappies for Ava. Sharing those gentle tasks really strengthens relationships while making memories for the future. I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit.

Hello Mandy and girls. Yes, Caloundra isn't the little fishing village is once was, still, it's good to see those things to understand the value of what you have at home.

Anonymous, here is my soap making tutorial, with recipe. It seems like quite a daunting task when you first start on soap making but after your first batch you'll know it's a simple process that needs to be done with care. You will use caustic soda (lye) and that will burn anything that it touches, so make sure the kids and pets are out of the room and go steadily and you'll be fine. BTW, the lye in the soap neutralises during and after the soap making process and there is no way of making soap from scratch without it. Overall, it's a great skill to have because you will be able to make good soap, using only vegetable oils, and you can add scents and herbs of your choice. Start off with the simple recipe in the tutorial, or the one that follows and I'm sure you'll make a good basic soap.

BTW, Copha in the following recipe is solidified coconut oil. You could also use Frymaster, which is solidified palm oil. If you decide to change the recipe, make sure you run your recipe through the soap calculator - the link is in the tutorial.

OLIVE OIL AND COPHA SOAP Olive Oil - 500 grams
Copha - 4 blocks or 1 kg (2.2 lbs) - melted slowly

There is a season for all things. I know the way Hanno and I live now will change in the future. At some point, we will grow too tired to garden as much as we do now, and there will be a time we don't have chickens. We will always live simply, there will be no change in our philosophy of living, but the way we go about our day to day lives will change according to our circumstances. That is a healthy thing, all natural systems change.

That applies to everyone - simple living is a changeable feast.

It's quite clear from the comments made here that we are not all the same. Although most of us aspire to live our lives in a simpler, more gentle fashion, that is being done in many different ways. My blog shows just one way to live simply and I write sharing what we do in the hope that when others see how we live, it will show that change is possible. We have gone from being consumers to conservers and have made ourselves content in the process of doing it.

You will read here about what Hanno and I do and you will also read in the comments how others live their lives. If you are new to this way of living you may want to copy our lives, or wonder if you are doing the right thing because your circumstances don't allow you to. One of the ladies commented the other day that she couldn't have a vegetable garden yet because she had small children, others have commented that they can't keep chooks because they're in the city or their local authority won't allow it. Others are younger and still at university with no time to tend vegetables, some live in climates that are too harsh for livestock or gardens. Many don't have land they can cultivate, they either live in homes with very little surrounding yards, or they rent and aren't allowed to use their outdoor spaces.

That is okay, we all must live according to our own circumstances. My life is not THE model for simple living, it's just one way it can be done. There a many ways. So if you can't garden or keep chooks, or sew or knit, there will be many other things you can do. You have to look at your own life and examine carefully what you can simplify in your own life. I would imagine that most people could change how they clean themselves and their home, so maybe your cleaning routines could be simplified. There are posts here about green cleaning, how to make soap, laundry powder, how to clean teeth and hair with bicarb, and there are many sites of the web that share similar information. May be your first simple process will be to reduce the amount of chemicals you bring into your home for cleaning. Or is it cooking that you might tackle first? Simplifying your diet will flow over into how you cook and shop, and they are two important areas that contribute to a simple life.

I hope I can encourage you to start working towards a more simple and sustainable way of living. You don't have to do what I'm doing, you should be guided by your own circumstances. Your life might be screaming out to be changed in some way, that is where you should start. You might be already doing something I've never written about, or even thought about, and if so, I'd love you to tell me about what you're doing.

If you're on the edge of change, I encourage to dive in. Take small steps, be mindful of what you're doing each day, live generously and with grace. If you've made your start, keep at it. Don't give up. There will be difficult times and sometimes the work is hard, but moving closer to goals you have set for yourself and living according to your values will be very satisfying. Slowly you'll build the life you wish for yourself and looking back on your achievements will give you the provocation and energy to continue.

So be guided by my life but build your own into a one of a kind life that is true to the person you are. Remember there is a season for everything and we will all move from stage to stage as our circumstances change. There are many things we can aspire to, but living an ethical life that reflects your authentic self, and living that life out loud and as a model for your children, is, I believe, one of the finest things anyone could hope to do.

We had a lovely weekend. Hanno worked at the food and coffee stall at our local organic farmers markets on Saturday morning. Our Centre runs the stall and we make quite a pretty penny from it. Hanno gets to socialise and I get some alone time - win/win. He was home just after lunch so we sat on the front verandah with a cup of tea while he told me all the news from the markets and relaxed. Then we closed the front gates and spent the rest of the weekend together, alone, in our little semi-rural homestead.

Most of my weekend was spent gardening, knitting and cooking. The garden of tomatoes and cucumbers was pulled out, raked over, had worm castings and compost added and will be planted up again this week with more vegetables. A basket of cucumbers was harvested and although there were a few good ones the majority of them had marks on the skin. I sorted out the good ones for salads and put them in the fridge, the others were made into bread and butter pickles. I had to peel the skin off two of them, some where given to the chooks because the damage was internal, the rest were fine for pickling.