down to earth

Last week, Raspberry wrote: I don't know if you previously did a post about wise economy and what that means, but I would love to see you do one. Wise economy doesn't always means buying what's cheapest, but it can sometimes be difficult to know when it's wise to buy what's cheapest and when it's wise to pay extra, especially when it comes to quality. I would love your thoughts on this issue.

Raspberry was commenting on my knitting post when I wrote: I use to think it was a wise economy to buy the cheapest wool; I no longer believe that. The cheapest wool comes with its own invisible price attached. Fibres - even natural fibres like pure cotton and wool, are often processed with harsh chemicals you don't want on your skin. Paying a few dollars more for a better quality yarn will give you a better quality garment and peace of mind, knowing it's not tainted.

As Raspberry said, the cheapest isn't always the best value for money. What good is a scarf that you buy the wool for, knit and start to use, only to find that it irritates your skin, is too scratchy or leaves a rash. You won't want to throw it away because you spent all that time and money on it. That scarf will sit in your cupboard and not be used. Saving a few dollars not buying the yarn you really wanted will turn into a total waste of money.

There is no rule that covers this. Often when it comes to making a decision on what to buy, you have to try it first. For instance, I thought buying embroidery cotton would be simple and straight forward so I bought a slightly cheaper brand. I discovered when I'd made the cover, embroidered and washed it, one of the red colours ran. Since then I always buy the more expensive cotton. I think the best advertising is word of mouth from someone you trust. If you're going to buy something, ask your friends what they know about it. If you can't find anyone who knows and it's a small item, buy the smallest amount you can to try it.

If you're learning how do various things, ask those you're learning from about how they choose their materials or ingredients. If you're starting a new craft, learn as much about the materials as you do about the techniques. Do your research, read good books on your topic and be selective about what you find on the internet. There will be differing opinions on just about everything.

I can't give you recommendations for various products but I am firmly convinced of the wise economy of:

buying good quality that lasts, can be recycled, mended, changed, painted, dyed or handled down through the family. This applies to clothes, shoes, appliances, furniture, equipment, tools and cars and much more. The longer you use anything, the more value you're getting for the dollars you put into it.
cloth nappies/diapers. Setting yourself up with cloth nappies/diapers is a good investment. Generally you'll spend about $1200 for everything you need. You have to pay for washing costs, but make your own washing liquid and that cost goes down significantly, hang them on the line to dry, it goes down again. When you have one set, you have enough for most, if not all, of the babies you'll have. The cost of disposable nappies/diapers in Australia, is said to be about $3000 for each baby. It's a big difference in financial cost and in the cost to the environment.
buying goods produced in your own country and if you can buy local produce, meat or goods, it's the best bonus.
buying organic, if you can afford it. If you can't, buy it whenever you can and be okay with that. Just do your best and rest easy.
living within your means, or below it.
teaching children the value of money when they're growing up.
cooking from scratch and developing a good selection of incredible recipes that people ask you for. When that happens you know the food you cook is healthy and thrifty without sacrificing flavour.
never walking down the cleaning aisle of a supermarket unless it is to collect borax, bicarb, vinegar and soap.
looking after what you already own.
doing your own repairs and maintenance - from darning, sewing and mending to changing the tyres around on your car, changing the oil, checking brake fluid and tyre pressure and everything else you're skilled enough to do.
growing your own vegetables and cultivating plants that will allow you to make your own fertilisers - comfrey, yarrow etc.
developing a worm farm to help you recycle household waste and to supply fertiliser and microbes to your garden.
preserving, canning or freezing excess vegetables. Whether you grow them or buy them in season at the market.
paying your mortgage off faster than you're expected to. You can do that by paying fortnightly instead of monthly or paying extra payments throughout the year. It's a sacrifice, but the payoff in savings is extraordinary.
getting rid of disposables as much as possible.

I guess my overall recommendation is to know about what you buy. Otherwise you're at the mercy of the manufacturers and we all know that's not always the best position to be in. If you go into the shop to buy something, go armed with as much knowledge as possible. When you buy something that exceeds your expectations or disappoints you, tell your friends about it. Making the decision to buy is never easy but if you're aware and have done some research, you'll be better placed. Don't be one of the uneducated sitting on the side lines thinking that everything you should know will be on the label. It won't be. I think there are many good manufacturers and ethical retailers out there. The problem is, generally, we don't know who is who.

What are your wise economies?

We've started planting! Our vegetable season has begun and will continue right through from now till December, when it will be too hot for us and the vegetables, and there will be too many bugs. We've start off with our cold weather only crops - red cabbage, sugarloaf cabbage, cauliflower and I still have to sow seeds for brussel sprouts. We also have seedlings for marigolds, snow peas, tomatoes and lettuce, and seeds for beans, telephone peas, radishes, Portuguese cabbage, cucumbers, turnips, squash, silverbeet and a few others I've forgotten now. We have to buy kale seedlings and potatoes and we have a sprouting sweet potato that will go in near the chook house.

This year, I have something new that I've wanted for a long time. It's a potting box (above). I lose so much potting mix when I plant, so I drew a diagram and asked Hanno to make it for me. Naturally it's made with recycled materials - this is the perfect project for using up what's in the shed - this time he used some old floor boards. Now I can fill the box with potting soil and quickly fill my seedling trays and pots with none falling to the ground. It's much faster because I just scoop the soil in to the waiting trays.

I do my seed sowing in a greenhouse Hanno built for me many, many years ago. It a simple construction of a stone floor, shade cloth and benches. In there, I do my sowing, potting on, I keep the worm farm and orchids, as well as any cuttings I have growing. It's the ideal place to keep sick plants, or those that are in need of protection from the sun, heat or wind. The stone floor helps create a cool, moist atmosphere. When I leave any of my plants in there, as long as there is ample rain, they grow like wildfire. I have bins full of potting mix and seed raising mix and it's quite close to a water tank for easy watering. It's the ideal working spot.

There is something very satisfying about sowing seeds. It's an exercise in optimism - that these little seeds will break through their case and send up shoots that will survive long enough to fulfil their purpose - the production of vegetables. And planting seedings give you an instant understanding of what the garden will look like soon and how you'll help fill your food requirements over the coming months.

We had the family over for lunch yesterday but before they arrived, Hanno started cleaning up the vegetable gardens and planted the first seedlings. The photo above shows what it looks like today. All that green in the garden beds are weeds that will have to be pulled out. There are a few things left from last year - the herbs (out of view) and a corner full of yarrow, as well as perpetual leeks and some tomatoes.

There is also a paw-paw/papaya with ripening fruit, a bay tree and a full Washington navel orange tree in the vegetable garden too. The oranges will be ready for eating around June and it looks like we'll have enough for eating and juicing this year. Freshly squeezed orange juice, particularly from freshly picked organic oranges, is my favourite drink of all time. I am looking forward to that.

We hope to pack in enough vegetables to cover all our needs, except for onions, which for some reason won't grow here. The price of vegetables is very high now, so we'll save some money if we can grow instead of buy what we need. To be truthful though, the reason we grow vegetables is to productively use the land we live on, to fill our days with meaningful work, to eat high quality, fresh, organic food, to keep heirloom vegetable seed stocks turning over and healthy, and to eat varieties of vegetables that have long disappeared from the shelves of supermarkets. Supermarkets specialise in vegetables that travel well, that are uniform in size and colour and have been grown quickly, usually with the help of chemical fertilisers. To eat a tomato that tastes like a tomato, to mash the best potato you've ever mashed, to pick a snap pea that snaps, those vegetables, my friends, must be grown in your backyard, picked at exactly the right time and brought inside to be cooked for the table that evening, or preserved or frozen for future meals.

Happy gardening everyone!

With two busy days behind me I'm happy to be back with you. I've been working at home and in the community, where I gave the speech on International Women's Day, worked on a grant submission, talked to a lot of people and farwelled a good friend who will soon be working in the city. Bye Fiona! My knitting kept me calm and centred even on the busiest day. I love taking my knitting with me and often knit up a quick few rows, then get back to work, calmer and better able to concentrate.

Are you a knitter? It's such a wonderful craft. Not only does it have that ability to calm and sooth frazzled nerves on those busy days, it helps you produce fine garments and accessories for the whole family, or for gifts. The feel of the soft cotton or wool as it slides through your fingers and the reassuring repetitive motion of the needles working the yarn, feels like, even on the worst day, a simple kind of meditation.

Recently I've been reading Elizabeth Zimmermann's wonderful book Knitting Without Tears. If you're new to knitting, or a keen knitter who wants to learn from the best, I recommend this book to you. It starts with Elizabeth explaining this and that, such as: '"Ply is a frequently misunderstood concept. It has nothing to do with the thickness of the yarn, except in a relative way, and everything to do with its construction. A ply is a strand of wool Two, three, four, or more strands are twisted together to make 2-ply, 3-ply, 4-ply, or many plied wool. Since the strands can be of any thickness, it is clear that the thickness of the wool does not depend on the number of plies but on the thickness of the individual ply." And she states something I'm just coming to understand myself: "A well-made sweater, knitted with good will and good wool, is beyond price; why try to save a dollar on the material?" I use to think it was a wise economy to buy the cheapest wool; I no longer believe that. The cheapest wool comes with its own invisible price attached. Fibres - even natural fibres like pure cotton and wool, are often processed with harsh chemicals you don't want on your skin. Paying a few dollars more for a better quality yarn will give you a better quality garment and peace of mind, knowing it's not tainted. Choosing your yarn is one of the delights of knitting. There are so many different types now, many of them are organic and they're as soft as a feather.

Elizabeth also writes about the choice of needles and stitches, the techniques of left and right handed knitting, increasing, decreasing, casting on, how to join wool, recover from mistakes and the all important topic of gauge. There are illustrations and patterns written in Elizabeth's distinctive narrative style. If you have problems reading normal knitting patterns, grab one of Elizabeth's books, because her patterns read like something is talking to you in plain English. There is even a section on how to wash your knitted garments.

I am knitting with all organic yarns for our babies, I'm using a book Sarndra gave me called "Cute and Easy Baby Knits - 25 adorable projects for 0 - 3 year olds." There are some delightful patterns in there, and true to the front cover, they're cute and easy. Both Sarndra and Sunny have picked out projects they like so my sister and I are hoping to give them what they want, plus extras. I won't be able to go ahead at full steam into my knitting yet - I still have some work to complete for the book and a few other things, but as I go along I'll take photos and show you what I'm doing.

If you've been wanting to take up some knitting needles and start clicking away but you're not sure of techniques, ply, how to choose yarn or needles or where to start, I believe there are four possible starting points, in no particular order:

Go to the Down to Earth forum, introduce yourself and ask if someone will mentor you.
Ask an elderly lady in your street if she'll show you how to knit.
Find a copy of Knitting Without Tears.
Look online at YouTube - search for "how to cast on", "how to knit" or "knitting" and you'll have a fine selection of instructions, that you can stop and start at will, that will show you the ins and outs of it.

What are you knitting right now? Do we have any male readers who are knitters?

Happy knitting everyone.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

The fabulous online knitters' magazine Knitty.

A great community of knitters with patterns and many good ideas for projects - Ravelry.

I believe the best way to clean well in the kitchen, without harsh chemicals, is to use hot water, soap and a variety of brushes. The brushes in the photo are those I use in my kitchen every day. I have a dish brush, a scrubbing brush, a small round brush to get into smallish spaces, a toothbrush for cleaning around the taps and the top of the drain and, of course, a bottle brush for cleaning out metal water bottles, preserving jars, ginger beer and cordial bottles.

Brushing will give you a deep clean without ruining the surface of any appliance, pot or plate. If you use hot water and soap with a brush to clean, then rinse that off with hot water and dry, you'll get a very clean result. The answer to whatever kitchen cleaning question you have is usually elbow grease, hot water and soap, not smearing on chemicals. Who knows what reside gets left behind with the chemicals.

You don't hear much about brushing as a way of cleaning but that's not because it doesn't work. It's because no one makes money out of it. I'm here to tell you it works well. Try it, I'm sure you'll be surprised. Don't forget to disinfect your brushes regularly and they'll last a long time.

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I've been contacted by two respected organisations who want as many of us as possible to complete surveys for them. The first is an Australian organisation, the Simplicity Institute. Now that simple living is being seen in the mainstream as a viable alternative lifestyle, I think it wise for us to talk about how we live. I hope you have time for these surveys.

If you live a 'simple' lifestyle in one way or another, we need your help!

The Simplicity Institute is an organization dedicated to research and policy analysis around the topic of simple living, downshifting, and similar lifestyles. This research is profoundly important as it touches the core of global problems such as climate change, over-consumption, work-life balance and a host of other social and ecological issues.

The Simplicity Institute's current research project is focused on people who have chosen a 'simpler' lifestyle, including changes such as reduced or restrained income, reduced consumption or reduced working hours.

If this sounds like you, then you are part of the most promising social movement on the planet. Learning more about people like you is therefore extremely important, so if you can spare 4 minutes to answer some quick questions then please do! As an added incentive, if you participate you'll go into the draw to win an exciting book package on the topic of 'simple living'.

To learn more and help build a better future,

click: http://simplicityinstitute.org/phpQ/fillsurvey.php?sid=2

The second is:

We are a group of students from the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at Florida International University. We are currently conducting a study on social media, bloggers and participants as part of our Communication Research course. As a blog publisher, we would greatly appreciate your sharing with us your opinions on various topics related to your blogging experience by filling out a short survey. Although participation is completely voluntary and you can decline participation, we do value your perspective and knowledge and therefore hope to have your response.

As our research attempts to learn about blog readers too, we would ask you to kindly distribute the survey link to your automated mailing list or post it on your blog.

The survey will take you no longer than 10 minutes to complete and you can access it through the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/greenliving_sybil

This survey is anonymous and does not require any identifying information. We can assure you that data will be kept confidential and results will be aggregated in a way that individual responses cannot be linked to their sources.

Please pass these links along to your networks.

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Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day in Australia. I've been asked to speak at a local Women's Day function. I'm not sure how many people will turn up but I know we'll have lunch, talk and have fun. I hope you enjoy your day too. Do you celebrate International Women's Day? Are you doing something special?

We set off early, with light rain falling, for the two hour drive south to the Gold Coast. Our plan was to have a quick breakfast when we got hungry and to pick up a couple of things for the babies at Ikea, which we would pass on the way. So with my basket packed with a lemon meringue pie for dessert at lunch time, something to read on the way and Hanno driving, I was set.

We got to Ikea at 8.20am and when the doors opened to the restaurant, we went in and had their $2.95 hot breakfast and tea and coffee. I can't say I enjoyed it. It tasted like a cheap breakfast, which wasn't such a big surprise. I made a note to myself that if we did this again, to bring sandwiches and a thermos of hot tea.

Sarndra is due in mid July and Sunny in a couple of weeks.

We had a lovely time together. We met at Shane and Sarndra's flat; I hadn't been there before (Hanno helped them move in) so Sarndra gave me a quick tour of the place. It's just the right size for them, it's on the ground floor with a little garden outside and close to the beach and shops. The all important nursery is sunny, with two windows, and a comfy chair for a breastfeeding mum. Hanno helped Shane put up the cot we bought them and we all stood back admiring the scene, imagining what it would look like in July. My sister Tricia, asked me to buy some cot bedding for both sets of parents, so I bought cot sheets and little quilts from Ikea. The cots will look really cute when they're made up.

Sunny and Kerry arrived shortly after so we all sat around talking while Shane and Sarndra prepared a delicious lunch of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, chilli and garlic cauliflower and peas. We had the lemon pie afterwards. Sunny told us about her mum coming over from Korea for the birth, and how the last doctor's appointment went. I have to say both mothers-to-be look so healthy, as you can see in the photo above. They're feeling fine and optimistic and looking forward to having their babies here with us. It's a wonderful time for our family and I can't imagine two finer girls to have as daughters-in-law. I know they'll both be caring, gentle and wise mothers. As a family, we are very fortunate to have such a fine younger generation coming through. I know they all still think of themselves as crazy kids, but I see mature qualities in all of them that are evolving now into something significant and long-lasting, just in time for their new roles as parents.

I suppose it didn't take long to write my book but it seemed to drag on at times and certainly gave me cause to think about how I usually spend my days. I still do a bit of freelance writing when it comes my way but the majority of my time is spent as a homemaker. When I first gave up paid work, I wanted to close the world out, spend time in the garden collecting eggs, vegetables and flowers and along with that, I hoped to renew my spirit. I needed to do it; I was on the verge of being burnt out.

I thought the garden and the chooks would help me recover from spending years in the workforce and shopping malls, and of course they did. What I didn't expect was the charm and pleasure I found in ordinary domestic work. Sweeping the floor, making beds, baking bread, making soap, mending and knitting slowed me down and revealed to me that being the kind housewife I became was exactly what I needed to strengthen and save me.

I guess I am what most people would call an old fashioned housewife, but what I'm doing, the way I do my day to day tasks, isn't old fashioned to me, it's how I was taught and what I saw everyday as I was growing up. I was born in 1948 so I was a child during the 50s and a teenager and a young 20-something in the 1960s. All through those formative years I saw the women around me washing up at the sink, hanging clothes in the sun to dry, mending clothes, walking to the shops to collect fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and milk each day. What I am doing was imprinted on me all those years ago, every day I am thankful for the knowledge it gave me and I see no need to modernise.

I've grown used to the workings of a simple home - the baking, cooking, sewing, gardening and mending. When I didn't have the time to do it all while I was writing, I felt deprived and a bit empty. I don't think anyone should be defined by their job, but I know I am what I do. I am a housewife. I keep house, I volunteer, with Hanno's help, we make as much as we can to support this life we live, and we are not deminshed by that, we are enriched and energised by it.

I worked in the community yesterday but today I'll be working here, along side Hanno, doing the things I missed during the past few months. I can't tell you exactly what it is I missed - what part of it or what particular task - I missed IT, the entire thing, doing my house work, which usually started by writing a blog post and sending it out to you. So here I am, back, ready to continue on, open to everything that comes our way and very grateful that soon our family will grow and, once again, the cycle will continue.

Addition: The book is called Down to Earth and will be published by Penguin early 2012.

Hello again! I've been beavering away in my little office for a few months now, with the door closed from eight till five. I have to work like that because I am so easily lured away by any flimsy excuse or thoughts of knitting and cricket. But it paid off, I met my deadline and had the manuscript in on time yesterday. I feel a huge sense of relief and freedom. I'm going to enjoy getting back to all my regular chores and having the time to do whatever I want each day.

The idea of being able to create a Down to Earth book really appealed to me and being able to do it all from my home was the icing on the (whole orange) cake. I have no doubt there will be suggestions to rework and restructure bits of it, but I'm happy with that and I'll learn from my mistakes. There is still a lot of work ahead with editing and promoting the book, so I'm fortunate to still feel immense enthusiasm for the project. I hope, like this blog, the book provides information about the practical day to day activities of a simple life and helps many people clarify and work through life changing decisions. And of course, I want it to be a good read. I have my fingers crossed on that one.

What else has been happening in our neck of the woods? Today I'm back working at the Neighbourhood Centre and really looking forward to being there again. This Sunday, Hanno and I will drive down to the Gold Coast to have lunch with Shane, Sarndra, Kerry and Sunny. Sunny's baby will be born very soon (in March) so I'm sure the lunch will be full of catching up and talking about the future. Oh! another update - both babies are boys. : - ) Sarndra had a scan last week and was told she is having a boy (in July). We're all very happy and looking forward to holding both babies and getting to know them. I have to find some time now for more knitting.

Thank you for the love and support you've been sending me these past couple of weeks. I've had emails from many of you saying hello and sending kind words. Thank you also for voting for the blog in the Bloggies. I am amazed and delighted that we've been able to build up such a strong and genuine community around the blog and forum. Even though we are far apart, the friendships formed are real and very special to me.

The green bottle above is my latest batch of ginger beer. I've been experimenting with glass bottles and it's worked well. If the gas builds up too much in the drink, it pops the cork.