If I could, I would send all of you the magic words that would change your life to what you wish it to be.  I don't have those magic powers, all I can do is write what I know and hope that the way you understand those words helps you towards a better life.  The best I can do today is to say: slow down.   I received an email from a reader saying that she wanted the kind of life I'm living but doesn't know how to go about it. I wrote back to ask if she'd read the 2007 parts of the blog where I write about budgeting, paying down debt, housework, gardening, slowing down and being at home.  That explains how I came to this life and the closest thing I've written to the kind of guide she was looking for.  She wrote back asking if I could condense it for her.

No, I can't.

Everyone who reads here can take what they need from what I write, but what I hope everyone gets is that we all have to take the time to slow down and at every opportunity, add value to our day.  I add value to my hours by knitting, gardening, reading, sitting, talking, listening, watching and being still.  We can all carry out the tasks of a simple home and live a more simple life by cooking from scratch, sewing and mending, making green cleaners, baking and gardening.  That's the easy bit, although it takes persistence and the energy to do it every day.  The more difficult bit is to connect the dots and to make those simple tasks mean something to you so you enjoy doing those tasks on a daily basis.  The way I do that is to slow down, think about why I'm working in a particular way and to consciously enjoy what I'm doing.  Sewing isn't just sewing, cooking isn't just combining ingredients in a pan, I think about why I'm sewing, who I'm sewing for and how I can make it special, not just for them but for me too.  I feel the fabric, admire the colour combinations and take my time.  I don't want to rush anything.  I want the act of sewing to add value to my day.

There are no condensed versions of a slower and simpler life.  You have to live the full measure of it.  It is a life long process  - a journey with no end.  If you look for short cuts you will short change yourself because the point is not to get to the end fast or with more chickens or loaves of bread baked, it's to enjoy the journey.

Hello everyone!  Today's kitchen belongs to Jen who lives in Michigan.  She has added a nice touch that I've never seen in any other kitchen.  Well done, Jen!

She writes:

"I'm really excited to share my photos as we recently did a little fixing up of our kitchen. Ours is a small space, about 9'x11', so it is difficult to get good pictures of it, but I hope these will work for you.

The first picture shows the kitchen sink, and the main part of the kitchen. The cabinets in this area are original to the house (1950's) and are metal. I love them. With so little storage space, many of my cooking utensils are out in the open and easy to grab. The red skillet hanging above the stove is cast iron. I am just learning to cook with cast iron.

The cabinets and countertop next to the refrigerator are new; we installed them ourselves. Unfortunately, it was impossible to find metal cabinets to match the originals. These were stock, unfinished cabinets from Home Depot and I painted them the same color as the old ones and hope they blend OK. We used to have open shelving in this area and it was difficult to keep things looking neat. I am happy that things are contained now and that I have a bit more counterspace.  We were unable to match the cabinet hardware on our old cabinets, so we decided to upgrade all the cabinet hardware so it would match. I love the new knobs and pulls - it is surprising how it modernized and pulled the space together.

The magnetic spice containers on the fridge were a Christmas gift and allowed me to free up a lot of space in one of my cabinets - important in such a small kitchen. You can see my apron hanging on the side of the fridge. You can also see from the picture that yes,  I have a chandelier in my kitchen. :) I think it is a fun and unexpected addition to a hard-working space."

I think most of us become more selective as we age.  When I was younger I wanted to experience everything I could so I would know rather than surmise. I'm happy enough now to leave things I'm not interested in.  The ability and the sense to do that came to me with age, although I think many people are like that all through life.  Now, at this point in life I know that it would have been prudent to choose a husband who possessed skills that would compliment, and not duplicate, mine.  If I were looking for a husband now, the colour of his eyes wouldn't matter, I would want to know if he could successfully raise an organic vegetable garden.  Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the truth is I was rarely prudent in my younger years and when Hanno wandered into my life I never once thought of any of those practical considerations, I just loved him.  I was more concerned with what was in his heart rather than in his bank account.

When I hang clothes or towels, the frame sits on its own legs.  When I have sheets on the line, we use a little steel support to hold the line up a bit.

Now it's a bonus to me that he is multiskilled.  Not only does he possess the skills of his former trade - mechanics, he can turn his hand to most things in the home.  He can make furniture, repair the roof, rewire a lamp, unblock the plumbing, fix the car and cook delicious potato pancakes.  I think I hit the jackpot.

It just pulls down from the roof where it sits when not in use.

A while ago, I asked Hanno to make me an all weather washing line.  I wanted something better than the rope line we had strung up on the back verandah.  I wanted a line that I could use when it was raining, that was ready to go all the time but would be out of the way.  I needed a line that I could reach without stretching and one that would hold a full load of washing.  That was the brief - it's been delivered.

When the washing is dry, the frame is lifted up to the roof again, out of the way.

Even though it was some time ago that I asked for this washing line, Hanno did start working on it almost immediately.  We settled on a steel frame that would be able to hold a full wash and last a long time but we had no way of welding the pieces together.  Luckily for us, our neighbour John just bought a new welder. Hanno and John put the line together on the weekend and the ideal testing weather promptly arrived soon after.  Five inches of rain fell yesterday, much less that what was predicted - 12 inches, but a real soaking nonetheless.  I pulled the line down from where it is safely tucked away, pegged on the laundry and stood back to admire the scene.  There are a few things that really improve with age, a capable husband is one of them.  Thank you Hanno (and John).

The weather at the moment is wet and grey and even though I have knitted my way through spring and summer, the cooler weather, with rain falling constantly, is made for knitting.  I was at work yesterday and each time I looked out the window at the sodden gardens and water running down pathways, I wished I had brought my knitting with me.  I think it's something like the instinct to nest - when the weather is cooler, knitters knit.

The last thing off my needles was a pair of fingerless gloves for my sister Tricia. I'm lining them with a flannel fabric for extra warmth because Tricia lives in the Blue Mountains, not quite on the snow line, but where the winters are frosty and hands get cold.  I love the idea of fingerless gloves/mittens because they allow you to work while covering your hands.  Quite a number of times during winter, I can be seen here, at my computer, typing away with my fingerless gloves on.  The pair I made for Tricia are longer than usual so she will be assured of complete coverage between hand and arm. They are just a long tube, knitted in rib - K2, P2, top and bottom.  The bulk of the knitting is stocking stitch, which is knit one row and purl one row, then keep repeating those rows.  Honestly, this is very basic knitting and even if you're a new knitter, you'll get good results if you watch your tension and take it slow.  These basic projects are great after you've mastered the dishcloth, you've supplied yourself and almost everyone you know with dishcloths and you want to move on to something else. ; - )   For Tricia's mittens I used a machine washable 8 ply pure wool on US size 6 needles.

There is a lovely fingerless glove pattern for experienced knitters here.  I also like these arm warmers.  A simple pattern for self striping mittens here.  A pattern for beginners is here, but I would recommend you make them much longer than these.  The ones I made have 7½ inches/19 cm of stocking stitch between both ends of rib stitch.

I'm now going to concentrate on getting Hanno's jumper/sweater ready for winter.  Again I'm using an 8ply Superwash pure wool that will make the jumper warm and cosy but also easy to keep clean.  I've only done about one third of the back so far but as that's the largest part of the jumper, I feel I'm making progress.  I have my knitting set up in a 1940s vintage knitting basket Tricia gave me for my 60th birthday.  It's full of various knitting projects, there is always a dishcloth on needles in there somewhere, as well as tiny scissors, darning and wool needles, needle gauges and little bits of paper that I've written certain patterns on.  

I have fond memories of my mother knitting by the fire in my childhood home and maybe that is where my feelings of being nurtured come from when I'm knitting. On those nights when mum would check our spelling for school the next day, dad made up a tray full of bread to be toasted by the fire, tomatoes and roast lamb leftover from that day's Sunday lunch, with black coffee for mum, tea for himself and milky tea for Tricia and I.  We would have had an early bath and be firmly wrapped up in our flannel PJs and woollen dressing gowns, sitting by the fire on the floor while mum clicked away with her needles, our spelling books on her lap, asking us to spell this word and that.  We would hear dad preparing the tray in the kitchen, then the door would open and in he walked, proudly, with that tray laden with good simple food.  I don't want to mythologise my childhood, the truth is times were tough, but those nights with food on a tray, a fire crackling in the open fireplace and mum clicking away with her knitting needles prepared me in many ways for this life I live now, and I am sure ignited the knitting flame within me.

What or who brought knitting into your life?

I have a wonderful life.  I work in my community and am praised by one and all for doing it.  The truth is I get a lot more out of it than I give.  I am suited to the welfare sector.  These are my people, this is familiar territory. I grew up working class and I have gone back to being working class after living my middle years cashed up and spending. Now I'm back where I belong and I'm loving it.  But if my truth is fairly told, despite the fact that I love my voluntary work, I prefer being at home.  I might work harder and smarter at work and meet some very interesting people, but home is where my heart is.

Here at home I can potter around and work to my own rhythm.  What I do here is not decided by who walks through the door, or by a committee, a deadline or what day it is.  Here my work plans are my own invention; here I do what I want to do and juggle the tasks of my day to suit myself.  There is a lot to be said for carrying out daily tasks according to a rhythm rather than working to a strict plan.  While I've been at home since Friday, I've had a loose idea of what needed doing in my head and have accomplished it all with time left over to watch a movie I recorded (How to Make an American Quilt) and several much needed sleeps in "my" chair in the loungeroom.  

So what did I do?  I got through all my household chores like baking bread, making the bed, cleaning, cooking and washing the floor.  I forgot the bread once or twice and we ended up having poor man's bread (scones) for lunch.  When I'm properly in my rhythm, the bread making just follows what comes before it and leads on to what comes after it but I've been so haphazard with the bread lately, not being here on my regular days, that it is forgotten about until it's too late.  That is why a regular rhythm works so well, it doesn't have to be thought about, it just happens.

In addition to the normal daily tasks, I made more liquid soap and I have to tell you it was much easier the second time around.  I used this recipe from here and it made about two litres/quarts of soap.  I use this for shampoo, hand wash, stain remover and washing dishes. It does an excellent job without making my hands feel dry and itchy.  When I made the soap this time I experimented on which container was the best - a saucepan, and a different oil.  I used mainly rice bran oil with a cup of coconut oil.  Next time I make it, I'll look for different recipes and start modifying so I get a soap that suits us well and uses the oils I usually have here at home.   And next time I'll take photos so I can write a tutorial on liquid soap making.
But I do not work alone, this is a two person operation.  Looking out into the backyard while I wash the dishes I see a vegetable garden starting again almost from scratch.  That is Hanno's pride and joy and one of the important home-based projects that sustain us in a very thrifty manner.  Working on those tasks that support and feed us is a great way to spend our time.  We feel capable and independent looking after ourselves, our days are spent in a productive and enriching way and we know that what we do with our time results in us eating organic food that we probably wouldn't be able to afford otherwise.

When family and friends phone us and ask about what we've been doing, I usually say: "oh, we're just pottering around the place." And that is exactly what we're doing but it means so much more than that.  It means we decide what we'll do each day, no other person tells us how to spend out time, and that we work here together for the benefit of us both, which forges stronger bonds that are now impossible to break.
As I work in my home I often think about all of us working towards the common goal  of simplifying our lives.  Being part of this large group makes me feel connected, even though we're all vast distances apart.  We probably won't ever sit down and have morning tea together, but I know I can come in here and tell you about my day, and learn about yours.  Clicking on links takes me to far off places, shows me how similar and different we all are and make me feel exactly how I want to feel - independent and connected.

We have an Australian kitchen with a twist today, it's in Japan.  Adele has sent her photos in and she writes:
"I am an Aussie trying to live a simpler life amongst the hustle and bustle of Japan. I am also a stay at home mum to three children under the age of five. While the Japanese are over consumers there is also a new shift towards thriftiness and frugal living.

 

In all honesty my kitchen sink is never empty like this but I wanted to show you how big the kitchen sinks are in Japan. My five year old daughter could actually take a bath in it it's that big!! I still haven't figured out why they are so big when the rest of the house is so compact!

 

The other photo shows as much of my kitchen that I could get into the frame. I am lucky to have a system kitchen, while it is a bit dull it is just the right size and very functional. My rice cooker and bread-maker sit side by side and they both get a daily workout, sort of east meets west. Like the majority of Japanese homes there is no oven but I have learned to cook in a microwave convection, I've been promised a real oven one day. There is also no pantry/large cupboard in Japanese kitchens but to offset this there is storage under the kitchen floor, you can see a square on the floor in front of my stove. We put things there that we don't use so often and it is a great place to leave the pickles when they are maturing.

Thankyou for letting all of us partake in this series, it really is a look in to the heart of peoples homes."

Today's kitchen sink is from Lisa in Germany.  It's very familiar to me as I lived in Hamburg for two years when Hanno and I first married.

Lisa writes:

"I discovered your blog a few weeks ago, and I really love it! I check it almost every day :) what I found really interesting are the kitchensink-photos you post on tuesdays.
I study anthropology and what really catches my interest is everydays ordinary culture. what I noticed in the pictures you already posted, is that the sink is always in front of a window, 

so while washing the dishes you can look outside - I like that! in germany where I live, the sink is usually facing a wall. I also noticed, that most of the pictures were from america, so now, here are some from europe :)

In the pictures you can see the sink and part of the kitchen. I'm a university student and I live in a really big and old apartment with seven other people. You can see our cruchet-washingcloth hanging over the sink and next to the sink our red water carbonator that we use to turn our tapwater into sparkling water."