Alice with her 'baby'. I have struggled to justify the keeping of pets in a simple life. I know it's not an issue for most ...

Why is starting so difficult? Taking that first step often stops us in our tracks, it seems too difficult, it starts us thinking about the &...

We lifted the skirt of the Eureka lemon tree yesterday by pruning off all the lower branches. The tree has been growing near the chook house...

It’s a sad fact that in the last century we’ve gone from being a nation of backyard food gardeners to a society with huge debt and houses th...

Although you do the same amount of rubbing and scrubbing, cleaning the bathroom without harsh chemicals doesn't seem like the major dram...

Prize pumpkins We had a wonderful time at the show. We spent the first two hours on our stall trying to encourage people to fill in a feedba...

It's show day! Actually it's today and tomorrow but today is the day H and I go. Our local show is celebrating its 70th show year so...

There was a time when I really didn't like anything vaguely resembling housework. Not only didn't I like it, I didn't do it, I h...

I believe that simple living is about reinventing yourself and making yourself happy. Being debt-free will help with your reinvention becaus...

WRITING UP YOUR BUDGET A budget is really a spending plan. Having a budget does not restrict you but instead it gives a feeling of freedom ...

So how do we achieve this highly esteemed state of being financially sound and debt-free? Stop spending. That is the most important first st...

So this is where you actually start doing something. This is an extremely important step on your road to budgeting, don't skip it. TRACK...

GET ORGANISED Make sure you know when all your bills are due. Forgetting or spending the money on something else is not an option. Store all...

Thrift is the glue that holds simple living together. It allows you to live well on a lower income and it will help you to get out of debt a...

My sister, Tricia, made this for my birthday several years ago. The various symbols are things she and I have shared over the course of ...

This is some ginger beer I made last summer. I also put up some tomato relish on that same day. In days gone by, before Coca-Cola, Dr Pepp...

It's nothing special, just a recycled ring binder and old plastic sleeves. I've never been an organised person, and never had a good...

These are some of our girls. Generosity was one of the values I hoped to develop when I left full time work to live simply. I used to be a t...