I need your help. A lovely couple I know, good friends of mine who live in Melbourne, are about to have their first baby. They wholeheartedly share our values and are preparing for the baby's arrival and life thereafter with a frugal and eco mindset. Can you help us with the following questions?

1. Where are the best places in Melbourne for new parents to shop for environmentally-friendly baby needs that suit a low budget?
2. What are the best online eco-friendly baby shops for things like cot sheets, towels and washers? They would love organic but price is a factor.
3. And these two from Jo herself: There’s so much people say you ‘must have’ for your baby, it’s overwhelming how much stuff I’ve already acquired (almost all of it second hand, thankfully). Surely it’s not all completely necessary? So I guess I’d like to know what people were told they needed but found they didn’t actually need.
4.  I’d also like advice on the best nappies, slings, and any other hot tips that your readers want to share.

I was very pleased to be told a couple of days ago that I'm on this bestsellers' list. It's quite a surprise but I suppose all the good work put into publicity by Dianne at Penguin is paying off, and there also seems to be a strong element of 'word of mouth' advertising happening.

According to the media, it seems that young families and pensioners are the two main groups feeling the most pressure due to the current financial circumstances. Personally, I think it has hit most of us. In a HeraldSun article recently, it stated:

A St Vincent de Paul analysis of cost pressures on families, to be released at an Australian Council of Social Service conference this week, shows cash-strapped pensioners and young families are suffering. Actual costs of electricity, health and food have not only increased above inflation, but cost pressures have compounded over time. Pensioners and young families spend a higher proportion of their income on health, utilities and food.

I'm sure many of you would agree, times are tough for many people, and not only in those two categories. When I work at the neighbourhood centre, I see people coming in for food parcels. These people often fall into these two categories, and others, and although we have workshops discussing how to decrease the cost of living, very few of them come along. I think that governments need to play an active part in the re-education of the electorate so that many of the frugal things most of us here do - making cleaning products, cooking from scratch, budgeting etc, become commonplace again.


It will help not only people on low incomes, it will help the average single or family person survive the tough times much better than they do now. When you read about the Great Depression, its inspiring and amazing to read what they did to get by. My grandparents and parents lived through the Great Depression and they did it using the life skills they had that were commonplace then. Many of those skills can still save a substantial amount of money and they still have the potential to help people who take the time to learn them. Many don't know anything except what they know, they don't know there is another way or where to get help in equipping themselves for a more frugal life.

I would like to see Life Skills taught in secondary schools so young people move into their own independent lives better equipped for today's reality. I think tuition in how to write a budget and handle credit cards, compound interest, simple contracts, consumer rights, how to complain effectively, renters' rights and responsibilities, cooking from scratch and using leftovers, sewing, mending, green cleaning, how to wash and iron clothes, how to grow fruit and vegetables in a backyard and general home economics would stand our students in good stead, particularly in their teenage years and leading into young adult life. Ideally, these skills would routinely be handed down from parents to their children, but often parents now don't have these skills themselves. It would help young people to understand the legalities of life before anyone takes advantage of them and it would show them that life is tough but can be made better, and even wonderful, with work hard.

We all have to do our fair share. No one gets a free ride.

Our governments should be leading us. They should be watching duopolies and making sure grocery prices are not destabilised and remain within the reach of families, working people, retired folk and pensioners. They should be proposing innovative ways of teaching our children, not playing it safe. I wonder if we could interest the CWA or Women's Institute in teaching home economics classes. It needs real people with real skills to do the teaching. We want our young people to know how to look after themselves, not how to open a can of soup or cook a packet of cake mix. We need to get our communities involved. Hopefully, this would put us back on track and in 20 years, when parents would be well equipped again to teach their own children, we'd be able to stop the classroom teaching of life skills.

What is your government doing? Are their any bright lights where you live that can shine the way for us over here?  What can we all do to help our young people learn what we know?

When we first decided to become home bodies and to make and mend as much as we could, I thought we'd be leading a quiet life and the longer we did it, the fewer opportunities we'd have to go out and connect with others. At the very beginning it seemed like a solitary life, just Hanno and I, working away on our various projects, with visits from family and friends to add interest on occasional days. But as the years have crawled along, that is not how it panned out. We now have more friends than we ever had, we are taken up with this and that, and we fully understand now, that most important of details - we are a part of our community.

I didn't get that part of simple life when I started on my journey. We all know that the products we choose to buy are not those that are commonly sought after and so we'll never see them advertised on TV or hear about them on the radio. No, the things we deal in, the natural products of the region, we find out about them from our community. Now I know that without my community I don't know where the heirloom chooks are being sold at auction, I have no idea where to buy heirloom seeds and seedlings, I don't have a clue where the raw milk and honey is and I have no community to fall back on when things aren't going as well as they might. Our community is the human element of the place we live; it's the knowledge bank for all things local, it's the connection to the history of here and it's part of way forward to the future.

Community is important, not only to find what we need in our homes and backyards but in the sense of belonging to a place. We're lucky here. We live in an area where people barter, there are co-ops and primary producers, and a feeling that the community exists for and because of its people, not just because a town happens to be there.

Of course, there are online communities, and I am proud to be part of our community here and at the Down to Earth Forum. My online friends are a constant reminder to me and Hanno and that we might be working here in our small patch but we're also connected to people doing a similar thing in cities and towns all over the world. Some of us are here because we haven't found a local community where we live, and there are towns that have not developed their own communities.

Communities are a bit like children, they need someone to take the lead. They need that person to step up, wave their hankie and shout: Woohoo, we're over here, we need you to be here with us!

There are some delicious looking recipes on Roostblog, start with this one for cinnamon donuts.

Likewise, on Running with Tweezers, there are many wonderful modern recipes, excellent food photos and this - The Soothing of Shelling - it's slowing down, shelling peas and a magnificent pea salad.

I love this blog - Wayward Spark and this post what what lured me into it. It's about The Grange and the importance of community.

Meet The West ladies at Homestead Blessings.

One of the good things about going out is that there is no phone to answer, no emails coming in. Switch off your smartphone picks up on that.

The UK recession may be worse than expected.

Are you getting enough sleep? Podcast (40 minutes).

FROM OUR MOB

Wendy lives in South Africa and writes a very interesting blog - Urban Homestead South Africa.

Everything is here on Evi's blog, Sister Sun - from snow on Cradle Mountain to feeding a little possum, mothering, knitting and all things in between.

I've loved reading your comments this week. I'm so proud of our little community here. We have a group of supportive and interested women and men who share knowledge and encourage others and that is something I love being a part of. I'm speaking at the Maroochydore Library today so if you're coming along it will be great to meet you. Otherwise I'll 'see' you back here next week.

I made a very simple button necklace recently. Just using bead thread and old buttons, the only other requirements were a safety pin and a needle. The buttons I used are nothing special. I think they were bought a few years ago as a bag of red, green, yellow and blue plain buttons. If you have special buttons that are just sitting in a tin, use them. Maybe you've inherited some buttons from your mother or grandmother. They would make up a very special necklace and have the added bonus of being useful again.

If you're only doing one colour, sort them out first. If you want differing sizes or a set sequence of colours,  work out your pattern on a flat surface first, then thread the buttons one at a time from the laid out pattern.

And here is the finished product. Please disregard the model who looks like a deer caught in the headlights. She is the only one I can afford. : - )

Today I'm commenting on Cat's recent comment. She asked me to talk about "green guilt". Add your thoughts on this as well. I'm sure she is not the only one feeling this way and pooling our thoughts on this will help some work their way through it. Here is Cat's comment:

I wonder if you might be able to talk about the whole idea of "green guilt".

I try very hard to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle. I garden and compost - I even compost the kitty litter, I don't use chemical fertilizers or pesticides, I drive less than 1000 miles per year, I don't use shampoo, only use TP for "number 2", keep the house cold in the winter and hot in the summer, pay extra to get all my electricity from wind power, use cloth dish towels, napkins and handkerchiefs, rarely buy things - and when I do I opt for used as much as reasonably possible, bring reusable bags to the store, run most errands on my bike or on foot, I don't travel by air (actually - I don't really travel at all), I make the vast majority of my food from scratch, and a whole host of other things.

But even with all that, there are plenty of ways that I know I could do so much more. And constantly feeling like I "should" be so much "better", sends me into a terrible cycle of guilt for not doing more, and anger at those who do nothing - neither of which is very productive.

There are many people reading here who know exactly what simple life is all about. There are those who live in a very similar way to me and Hanno and those who live their simple life in a completely different way. There is no right or wrong way to do this - you will know you've got it right if you're spending less, feeling you have control of your life, if you're less stressed than you used to be and despite what is happening in the world with the financial ups and downs, rising prices and unemployment, you know you'll be okay. Maybe you're happy too, or at least content most of the time.

However, I still get a lot of emails from readers asking about "how to start living simply". There would probably be thousands of answers to that question and I know the people who ask it want specifics - they want a starting point. So let's say: start with what you're doing now or what troubles you most. For instance, if living within your means has given you a few problems, start with that. Or if you're currently looking for new recipes, start cooking from scratch and ensure that all your new recipes are from scratch. You'll find that once you've started on one project, that will lead to another. If you start on budgeting, that will probably lead you on to stockpiling, menu planning, recycling, mending, mindful shopping or anything that will help you save money and still live well. If you start with scratch cooking and you gather a lot of recipes, that will lead you to organising yourself, possible with a home management journal, and maybe stockpiling. Take your lead from what you're already doing. Trust yourself. There are no simple living police who will tap you on the shoulder and tell you you've got it all wrong.

The truth is that anything you do to simplify your life is a start. That could be gathering the family at the kitchen table for dinner each night, it could be walking to work, it could be reducing the amount of rubbish you put in your bins each week. When you make a start, follow on with whatever comes up next. For instance, if you start with the family at the dinner table at night, that might lead on to washing up by hand and them drying up. My sister and I grew up doing that - although she tells me now that I made excuses to get out of it. Funny, I don't remember that.   ;- ). If you start walking to work, that might lead you on to taking a water bottle from home instead of buying it; or walking the kids to school too. If you start with the rubbish bins, that might lead you to composting or worm farming. Whatever you are lead to, continue on.


There are no grand gestures in this way of life. All of it - every single part of it - is made up of small steps. Starting with one step, will lead to the next, it is up to you to keep walking. Think about your life and what direction you want to go in and be consistent. Own your life, be a good example to your children and talk about what you're doing. This may be different to what your friends or neighbours are doing but it is nothing to be ashamed of, it's just different. Who knows, you explaining what you're doing to someone else, may well be the encouragement they need to join you. We all start with ourselves and those ripples slowly move outwards. It all starts with a single action.

I guess I started as I was growing up with an intelligent and resourceful mother who had very little money, yet she always managed to give us what we needed. I didn't know it then but I was watching her and remembering. I forgot her lessons for a while, but when I needed them again, it all came flooding back. When I gave up work we were already growing vegetables and keeping chooks, so I started organising myself properly and shopping for groceries with intention. For me, that lead on to stockpiling, menu planning, learning about food storage and many more things, all focused on our home. But I guess the thing that gave me the biggest incentive to keep going was to see how I could support my family while we spent considerably less than we did before, and then the contentment that turned into happiness that flowed from it.

How did you start your simple living journey?

There have been many claims about how our future will be shaped by the end of cheap fuel and increasing prices that will result from that. Of course, no one knows for sure what will happen in the future but anyone who takes any notice will know that for the past few years, fuel prices have been increasing and along with it the cost of living.This is bad news for those who rely on their cars to get around but as prices rise, fewer kilometres will be driven and it will help reduce the amount of pollutants coming from these emissions. Increasing fuel prices also impacts substantially on the price of food and clothing and almost everything we buy. All those products are delivered via a system that runs on fuel and often use fuel and/or electricity at some point during manufacture as well. 

I'm very sad to report that Australia is the seventh-worst polluter on Earth

We often focus on ways to reduce the cost of our grocery bills but what else can we do to help reduce greenhouse gasses.

I am firmly convinced that we do make a difference by changing our own behaviour. That ripple effect can be quite powerful. Don't take the easy way out and think it's not worth doing anything because you're only one person. Every "one person" got us to this point, it will take an equal effort from every one person to turn the tide again.

And don't forget, be satisfied with what you can do. If you can't do some of the things on the list above, or your own list, be grateful for the things you can do. Everything you do makes a contribution to the problem. Of course the good news is that if we carry out a focused and prolonged personal campaign in our own homes to do our bit towards reducing green house gasses, we'll also be living a healthier and thriftier life - these things go hand in hand.

The schools in Australia seem to have a good understanding on how to teach children the ins and outs of a healthier planet. The young children I talk to certainly know a lot more about these problems than their parents do, and they know the simple ways we can all work towards a solution. Is that the same in your country as well? If you work for a living, does your workplace have some sort of sustainability policy? What are you doing in your home and backyard?

Just popping in for two reminders.

Vivian at EcoYarns is having a Camelid Yarn sale from the 21st to 27th May. There will be alpaca, llama, pacovicuna and bison yarns on sale. Vivian's blog is here, there is a lot of information and knitting tips there and at the moment, she's just started a sock knitting tutorial. Well worth a visit.

My next talk will be at the Maroochydore Library next Friday, 25 May from 10 - 11.30am. Its free but you have to book. More details are here on the Sunshine Coast Council's website.

There is some beautiful writing at Mount Custard, particularly Steven Again. Do yourself a favour, visit and read.

50 ways to get dinner on the table.

I made David Leboitz's Blue Cheese Dressing for a roasted root vegetable salad. It's divine.

I have a few vegetarian cook books but the one I'd like to have is the River Cottage Veg Everyday. It's listed here with several other recommended vegetarian food books.

FROM OUR MOB

Homespun Fields is a lovely blog full of baking days, recipes, projects, chooks and wondering about life. But it's had no comments! Let's all go over there and say hello to Mrs Homespun. :- )

There are lots of chooks here on Life At Arbordale Farm and you can also see inside a fairy egg.

Thank you for visiting me this week and for leaving comments here for all of us to read. I'm looking forward to the weekend - my plan is for a gentle mix of rest and work. Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy it.

As you can see, I've changed the template again. My apologies to those of you who visited yesterday while I was working on it. There were all sorts of strange things on the blog while I sampled different templates. I wanted one with a post date and a footer and while the one I eventually chose doesn't have everything I want, it's close enough for the time being. I still have some work to do on it - such as removing that grey band, working out how to swap the time for the date, moving the navigation bar and a few other tweaks, but at the moment I've given as much time to it as I have and now it has to wait for a day or so until I have the time to finish it.  I'm sorry for the inconvenience it causes but I love change and do change the look of my blog every few months. It's slow because I have to teach myself the coding as I go. Still, I look on it as a learning exercise and I am grateful for everyone of those.

Hanno asked me to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and messages. We will go back to the doctor and physiotherapist today and see what progress has been made. He is still in a lot of pain but he said yesterday that he thinks it is easing slightly. When I get Hanno back home again and settled, I have a couple of meetings to attend this afternoon, then I'll go into Brisbane for the talk and book signing at Avid Reader. I'm really looking forward to it because I've been told so many good things about that wonderful book shop.

~~~~~~~~~~

The bunnies are warming themselves on the flannel sheets.

Today I want to talk about the seasonal work we all do. We live in the sub-tropics so we don't experience the full wonder of four seasons. I would say we get a very brief autumn and spring and a long winter and summer. Nevertheless, as soon as the cool weather arrives, I feel like I'm deep in the heart of  New England or Manitoba, and I start my autumn tasks. We have no fire wood to gather here but I have on my lambswool slippers and extra layers of clothing but my most important ritual is to take the flannel sheets from the linen cupboard and make the bed warm and cosy.

Just doing that one thing takes me instantly from thoughts of a cool salad for dinner with ice cubes in water to going into the kitchen to get out the slow cooker. When those flannel sheets are on the bed and wool slippers are on my feet, everything changes.

When you do most of your own cooking at home, you notice how much the weather effects what you do. Bread takes longer to rise, yoghurt needs an extra covering overnight and you need to find a warmer spot for your sourdough starter and fermenting. But here it is also a good time for cheesemaking. We're about to eat two very good looking camembert cheese I made a while back, soon I'll have a hard cheese on the go too, with the option to leave it to ripen on a cool shelf instead of in the fridge.

So while a beef casserole and herb dumplings bubbles away slowly in the kitchen, we also have our garden to look after and that takes on a different feel in the cooler months. In summer it's all heat, humidity and bugs here. In autumn and winter it's perfect growing weather and there's a slight feel of urgency in March as we sow seeds and Hanno prepares the soil for yet another year's planting. Watering the garden takes on a different feel too. Instead of the playful and cooling exercise it becomes later in the year, in winter, I rug up and wear gloves when I water the garden.

I love working to the seasons. It gives a new feel to the work we do. In the cooler months I feel I'm providing protection from the cold and warming food to those I love and in the hotter months, it's all shade trees, ice cubes and salads. One day I would love to build a fire in the fading light of day and sit near a wood stove to warm up and knit at night but in the meantime, tell me how you stay warm in winter and how you go about your seasonal work.