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I'm not great with the crafts, but I don't let that stop me. The way I figure it is my worst effort is better than a one of a million clone from China. So I have a room I call "my sewing room" that contains a sewing machine, I have a fabric, wool and threads stash, I draw patterns for various projects I can see in my head and I am very enthusiastic. If all of those components come together as they are meant to, I produce items for my home and gifts that aren't too bad, even if I do say it myself.

The more I get into the handmade thing, the more I love it. You can make things that exactly suit the person you're giving to, you can match what's already in your home and you can weave something close to love into what you're making.

One of the things that totally amazed me when I first started reading blogs was the incredible talents of women working on crafts at home. I have been inspired (and deflated) by some of the beautiful creations I've seen in blogs. It keeps me wanting to do more sewing and knitting and to improve what I do. For instance: http://www.littlejennywren.blogspot.com/
Last week I finished this scarf I've been working on - it's for me when I'm working at my volly job. The neighbourhood centre I work at two days a week is in an old butter factory and it's mighty cold in there during winter. I've found that if I can keep my neck and hands warm, the rest of me stays warm too. Enter the scarf. I made it from some pure wool yarn that was given to me by an older lady who doesn't knit now.



My next project is to knit more dishcloths from this fabulous ball of pure cotton, hopefully I'll get two. I like to knit when I'm in the car or if I'm sitting on the front verandah. A simple dishcloth is so easy to knit, I can do it without looking. I feel like my mother when I do that. LOL
But many times when I'm in my sewing room, I look at what I have in there, I place buttons on fabric, I rearrange patches, fold strips and try to compose patterns in the hope of seeing another project come to life. I have enough fabric and wool to see me through a year or two of home productions, so if I can find real inspiration, I'll produce items for my gift cupboard and for my home, while using what I have on hand.
These are the lettuces and rocket I'm growing at the moment. Lettuce is easy to grow at this time of year. You'll be eating the freshest possible salads if you grow your own.

Changing to a simple sustainable way of living can be difficult if you’re swimming against the tide of mainstream thinking. Many of your friends, and maybe your family too, will think you’re a bit strange, but don’t let that stop you. You will be leading the way, they just don’t know it yet.

If there are many aspects of your life that need changing, how do you decide which ones to concentrate on first? I’d suggest you start with the easy ones and work your way towards the more difficult tasks.

One of the easier things you can do is to learn how to read your electricity and water meters.


WATER METERS
http://www.nt.gov.au/powerwater/factsheets/read_water_meter.html
http://www.actewagl.com.au/advice/watermeter.aspx
http://www.dubbo.nsw.gov.au/public/content/default.asp?xcid=703

ELECTRICITY METERS
http://www.actewagl.com.au/advice/elecmeter.aspx
http://www.powercor.com.au/infocentre/electricity_meters_howto_read.htm
http://www.ergon.com.au/my_account/meter_access.asp?yf=true&platform=PC

Make a page on your computer to record your readings and plan a strategy to reduce your consumption. Do it quietly, then show it to your family when you have a couple of weeks of meter readings. Make sure you record things like washing days, visitors, as well as the use of power tools, electronic toys etc

Grow some of your own food. You will notice a difference.

Another thing you could easily do in a quiet way is to change the way you shop. Start stockpiling and shopping at Aldi. Grow some of your own food, make your own bread, cook from scratch. You’ll notice a difference. Maybe you could put money you save towards your mortgage or a family holiday. Either way, your move towards a more simple life will benefit you and your family without them even being aware of the change.

A couple of weeks ago we had to drive a 300km round trip to a friend's funeral. We didn't take food or drink with us, I'm not sure why we didn't, we usually do, but maybe the thought of laying a friend to rest was the only thing on our minds as we set out that morning. On the way home we were looking for somewhere to have lunch and chose Gloria Jeans as the best of the bad bunch. I won't relate the entire experience, suffice to say when we left, to our shame, we left behind a big pile of "disposable" napkins, plates, coffee cups etc. I vowed never to return and to make sure we always travelled prepared. I've made a promise to myself since then to never buy water or food while I'm out. I've done a lot of travelling and had quite a few bad food experiences on my travels, so it's no great sacrifice.

Like many things in this simple life, organisation is the key. To help me with that I received a great birthday gift from my friend Kathleen. It's a super duper lunch box that has several compartments and, best of all, as everything is packed firmly within the box, you don't need to prewrap anything in plastic wrap. It even has a sandwich vault. Very cool. This is it!
http://www.fit-fresh.com/lunch.html

Yesterday I worked at my voluntary job. It's only 15 minutes up the road but I took everything I needed to sustain me throughout the day. I made my backyard sandwich - mashed up boiled egg with a touch of mayo, salt and pepper, red and green lettuce, freshly picked. I roasted some cashews, put them in one of the small containers, erm, side cars and made a fresh garden salad for the other side car. I added a slice of the date and walnut loaf I made on Sunday and took a thermos of black organic tea. Today I'm making two special napkins to take to work so I won't have to use a tissue like I did yesterday. The lunch was perfect. Later in month, as it gets colder, I'll take soup and other warm leftovers.

Not only did I feel great about having a varied and fresh lunch that I knew was local, it also cost a fraction of what I would have paid for a sandwich at the local coffee shop. Add all those sandwiches up over the course of a year, and it's quite a saving.

Here are some sources of BYO lunch inspiration:

http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/features/brnbag/brnbag.html
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0996/bagtips.html


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 people but I want to cut unnecessary expense and non-productive animals from my life. I have tried to be practical about this, and examined my need to keep non-working dogs, but all I came up with is this: I love them and they make my life better. I don't think a simple life should be devoid of pleasure, quite the contrary, it is about finding joy in the everyday happenings of ordinary life. So for those of you who are mathematically minded, here is the equation: airedales x 2 + rj = happiness. Okay, now that's out of the way...
I want to keep my two Airedale Terriers in good health but also spend the least amount of money on their food, so I make their food myself. Rosie and Alice are 10 and 11 years old and still very active and healthy. They've only been to the vet a couple of times - to be treated for the paralysis tick - and both times the vet was amazed at their excellent condition and asked what we were feeding them. This is the recipe.

HOMEMADE DOG FOOD
1 kg beef mince - or pork, chicken.
1½ cups raw brown or white rice
1 cup raw barley OR lentils
1 cup raw pasta
2 cups chopped vegetables - it can be whatever you have on hand but NOT ONIONS or LEEKS.
1 spoonful of Vegemite (optional)
Water
Place all the above ingredients into a big stockpot. Cover with water and stir to break up the mince. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes. When it's finished cooking, top up the stockpot to the rim with water and leave to cool.
When it's cold, place into portion sized plastic containers and freeze until you need them.We make this once a week. It feeds our two dogs for seven days. The dogs love it and it's got no preservatives or artifical flavourings in it. It costs around $7 a week.
They also have a scoop of Omega 3 dog biscuits in the morning.
ADDITION: Alice weighs around 22 kgs and she gets two cups of this food per day.
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 "what ifs".

The most frequently asked question I get about simplifying is: "How do I start?" Of course there is no one answer to that question because the reasons for wanting to change are as different as the ways of life we all come from. However, the way I think it works is that you start by doing two things, and often many paths open up as a result.

No 1 ... START ORGANISING
I’ve thought about this a lot as I came from a background of chaos, mad creativity, no budgets and spontaneity. I thrived on pressure and loved change. But after living for a few years with lists, organised thoughts and routines that work, I’ve left the disorder behind and have embraced a more settled and mature system.

Your first organisational task will be to write down your goals. What is it you want your new life to be? This in itself might show you what your next step is.

Decide what reskilling you need. What do you want to do in your new way of living? Do you want to bake bread? Do you want to start cooking from scratch? Do you want to learn how to shop differently? Do you need to write up a budget? Whatever it is, find someone to teach you, or find the information online and start reskilling yourself.

Start making lists and get yourself a house journal. A house journal is just a ring binder (or recycled folder) where you keep all the info you find to help you use your new life. Keep all that info together so you know where it is.

Declutter. Start going through your house and give away, sell or donate everything you don’t want or need.

No 2 ... STOP SPENDING
The more spending you do everyday the faster you’ll be confronted with whether you’re strong enough to stop right now.

Check out my budget posts in May. Do up a budget for yourself. There are budget forms to help you here in the download section.

Don’t be scared of budgeting, it is NOT a restriction, it frees up your money so that you know exactly what it is you can spend and what you need to pay on your regular bills. I have reduced the amount I spend each month dramatically. We spend about $75 a week for two of us for all our food and groceries. My next step is to cut that to $60 a week.

Budgeting gets easier the more you do it. You make a bit of a game out of it and try to beat the advertisers and supermarkets at their own game. But the main decision you have to make at this time is to stop spending, all you should be spending money on now is your rent/mortgage, food, transport and education. It’s a decision that could change your life, and who knows where that will lead. Good luck.

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 for about ten years now and has always either had fruit on it or been developing flowers. Consequently, as more and more lemons grew on the lower branches, the fruit grew closer and closer to the ground. This year they reached the ground and started to rot.
We knew there would never be a time when this tree would be holding no fruit or flowers so we bit the bullet and pruned off the lower branches - or, as old time organic gardeners would say, we lifted the skirt.

Now we have about 120 lemons sitting on the back verandah. All they need is a week or do in the sun and they'll give us quite a few litres of juice. I plan on making lemon cordial and frozen juice.

LEMON CORDIAL RECIPE
Equal amounts of lemon juice to sugar syrup. Juice your lemons first, if you have 3 litres of juice, make 3 litres of sugar syrup.

Sugar syrup is equal quantities of water and white sugar mixed together and boiled till the sugar is dissolved.

When the sugar syrup is cool, mix with the juice. For every litre of cordial, add one teaspoon of citric acid. This is a natural preserving acid that helps the cordial keep well if you're not drinking it fresh. If you have no citric acid, leave it out, but make sure you store the cordial in the fridge.

You can freeze this drink but use plastic bottles if you're freezing it.
Serve the drink by adding lemon cordial to ice water, according to your taste. Add ice and mint leaves.
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 that run almost to the boundary fence to maximise indoor space, at the expense of outdoor gardens. When I was a child, the kids in our neighbourhood played together, formed cricket and netball teams, climbed mulberry trees to get leaves for our silk worms and watched as heads were chopped in the chook house to provide a special lunch. Now the streets are empty, no one is forming teams and computer games are controlling the head chopping.

We are separated from our food now. Many people are happier to eat a burger of unidentifiable meat, soggy lettuce and “dressing” than they are eating a fresh backyard tomato that’s had a bug on it. People like their food to be sealed up and sterile.

In many respects we are separating ourselves and our kids from nature. Things common in the past are no longer taught – constructing and flying kites, knitting, camping out, flower and leaf pressing, collecting eggs, bird watching, growing sprouts, looking at the stars at night, spotlighting possums and a hundred other things are rare rather than common now.

I wish it hadn’t changed.

In my endeavour to change what I can change, I tell everyone who stands still long enough in my real life about how to make their own laundry detergent. If they ask, I’ll tell then how to make lemon cordial, jam and soap. When I knit in public, I’m amazed at how many people watch me. Sometimes a quick demonstration is carried out. We need to teach each other whatever we can so these skills aren’t lost.

Is anyone else doing this? Are you trying to teach what you know?

Although you do the same amount of rubbing and scrubbing, cleaning the bathroom without harsh chemicals doesn't seem like the major drama associated with supermarket cleaners. When I use my homemade cleansers, there is no strong smell, I don't have itchy hands when I'm finished and I think the result is better. Supermarket cleansers seem to leave a waxy film on everything. Why do they do that? Ack!
As you can see by the photo above, I've just cleaned our main bathroom with my homemade cleaner. This entire job was complete in less than five minutes. Even our other bathroom comes up well with this treatment and it's a much older bathroom.

I think the key to successful no hassle cleaning is to NOT have it as part of a strict routine. Yes, I know all you fly ladies are pulling your hair out right now, but having a strict cleaning routine in not simple enough. I do my cleaning when it needs doing. That could be any day of the week. If I clean it today and it needs cleaning again tomorrow, I clean it. However, if it doesn't need cleaning for a week, that's when I do it. It's much easier. I don't have regular cleaning days, if it needs cleaning I clean it. When cleaning a bathroom takes five minutes, it's not a problem to clean it before you hop in the shower, or after you make the bed. It's no big deal.
Another trick I use is to dry everything after I clean. I have a stash of small terry cloths - they're just cut up old towels, and they make cleaning really easy, and effective. After I clean anything, I wipe it over with the terry cloth. It dries off the water, removes the possibility of water marks and polishes the surface as you go. Whether it be a laminex bench, chrome taps, glass shower screen or a sink, they are all cleaned better when you dry after you clean. Give it a go, I bet you love the result. Come back and tell me too - if it works or if it doesn't.
Recipe for creamy soft scrubber - suitable for bathroom and sink cleaning
Simply pour about ½ cup of bicarb into a bowl, and add enough liquid soap to make a texture like very thick cream. Scoop the mixture onto a moist cotton cloth, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bath and shower because it rinses easily and doesn’t leave grit.
Note: Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerine to the mixture and store in a sealed glass jar, to keep the product moist. Otherwise just make as much as you need at a time.
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 feedback form for the Council and explaining when our new building will be built. When we left there, we went to the craft hall where we found jumpers, rugs, hats, tapestry, cakes, slices, relish, jam, lemon and passionfruit butters and many, many flowers.


These are the prize winning eggs - brown white and blue.



Some of the many jams.

In many respects going to the local show was a bit like going back in time. There were all the displays of home cooking, knitting and crochet; there were families sitting on rugs watching whip cracking and show horses and people everywhere were smiling. You don't see that much nowadays.




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 everything is set for two days of dairy cows, chooks, show jumping, wood cutting and country cooking, right in the heart of Maleny.

It's just after 5am but I've already got bread on the rise, I've showered and washed my hair, I'm charging the camera battery and I have my show program and water bottle ready to pack into my basket. I am excited. : ))


The main reason we're going this year is to man the Neighbourhood Centre stall. It's really the community bus but we'll have a table, chairs, laptop with Powerpoint presentation and flyers ready to give to anyone who wanders within earshot of us. We want to promote our wonderful organisation so that all the newer residents and the more established ones, will know we offer support, cups of tea, food and a willingness to listen without judging when times get tough. We've been given $1.5 million for a new building so we'll also have a display of the plans and answer any questions people might have. H and I will do that for two hours and then someone else will step in. Over the course of the two show days, all the centre volunteers will be there so it's a wonderful opportunity to show our town what it is we do at the Neighbourhood Centre.


When our shift at the bus is finished, H and I will wander over to look at the chook judging, then we'll go to see the rows of jams and preserves and the cakes and scones. They should have all been judged by then so we'll also see who won the coveted first place blue ribbons. Hopefully we'll be able to see the wood chopping too.


It's going to be a good day. Come back again later as I'll take a lot of photos and post them for all to see later this afternoon.
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I'm Rhonda Hetzel and I've been writing my Down to Earth blog since 2007. Although I write the occasional philosophical post, my main topics include home cooking, happiness and gardening as well as budgeting, baking, ageing, generosity, mending and handmade crafts. I hope you enjoy your time here.

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You’ll save money by going back to basics

When I was doing the workshops and solo sessions, I had a couple of people whose main focus was on creating the fastest way to set up a simple life. You can't create a simple life fast, it's the opposite of that It's not one single thing either - it's a number of smaller, simpler activities that combine to create a life that reflects your values; and that takes a long to come together. When I first started living simply I took an entire year to work out our food - buying it, storing it, cooking it, preserving, baking, freezing, and growing it in the backyard. This is change that will transform how you live and it can't be rushed.  
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NOT the last post

This will be my last post here.  I've been writing my blog for 18 years and now is the time to step back. I’ve stopped writing the blog and come back a couple of times because so many people wanted it, but that won’t happen again, I won’t be back.  I’ll continue on instagram to remain connected but I don’t know how frequent that will be. I know some of you will be interested to know the blog's statistics. 
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Every morning at home

Every morning when I walk into my kitchen it looks tidy and ready for a day's work. Not so on this morning (above), I saw this when I walked in. Late the previous afternoon when I was looking for something, I came across my rolled up Zwilling vacuum bags and decided they had to be washed and dried. So I did that and although I usually put them outside on the verandah to dry it was dark by then. I turned the just-washed bags inside out and left them like this on a towel. It worked well and now the bags are ready to use when I bring home root vegetables, cabbages or whatever I buy that I want to last four or five weeks.
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You’ll save money by going back to basics

When I was doing the workshops and solo sessions, I had a couple of people whose main focus was on creating the fastest way to set up a simple life. You can't create a simple life fast, it's the opposite of that It's not one single thing either - it's a number of smaller, simpler activities that combine to create a life that reflects your values; and that takes a long to come together. When I first started living simply I took an entire year to work out our food - buying it, storing it, cooking it, preserving, baking, freezing, and growing it in the backyard. This is change that will transform how you live and it can't be rushed.  
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Creating a home you'll love forever

Living simply is the answer to just about everything. It reduces the cost of living; it keeps you focused on being careful with resources such as water and electricity; it reminds you to not waste food; it encourages you to store food so you don't waste it and doing all those things brings routine and rhythm to your daily life. Consciously connecting every day with the activities and tasks that create simple life reminds you to look for the meaning and beauty that normal daily life holds.  It's all there in your home if you look for it. Seemingly mundane tasks like cleaning and cooking help you with that connection for without those tasks, the home you want to live in won't exist in the way you want it to.  Creating a home you love will make you happy and satisfied.
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Time changes everything

I've been spending time in the backyard lately creating a contained herb and vegetable garden. My aim is to develop a comfortable place to spend time, relax, increase biodiversity and encourage more animals, birds and insects to live here or visit. Of course I'd prefer my old garden which was put together by Hanno with ease and German precision. Together, we created a space bursting at the seams with herbs, vegetables and fruity goodness ready to eat and share throughout the year. But time changes everything. What I'm planning on doing now, is a brilliant opportunity for an almost 80 year old with balance issues. In my new garden I'll be able to do a wide range of challenging or easy work, depending on how I feel each day. It’s a daily opportunity to push myself or sit back, watch what's happening around me and be captivated by memories or the scope of what's yet to come.
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It's the old ways I love the most

I'm a practical woman who lives in a 1980’s brick slab house. There are verandahs front and back so I have places to sit outside when it's hot or cold. Those verandahs tend to make the house darker than it would be but they're been a great investment over time because they made the house more liveable. My home is not a romantic cottage, nor a minimalist modern home, it's a 1980’s brick slab house. And yet when people visit me here they tell me how warm and cosy my home is and that they feel comforted by being here. I've thought about that over the years and I'm convinced now that the style of a home isn't what appeals to people. What they love is the feeling within that home and whether it's nurturing the people who live there.
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Making ginger beer from scratch

We had a nice supply of ginger beer going over Christmas. It's a delicious soft drink for young and old, although there is an alcoholic version that can be made with a slight variation on the recipe. Ginger beer is a naturally fermented drink that is easy to make - with ginger beer you make a starter called a ginger beer plant and after it has fermented, you add that to sweet water and lemon juice. Like sourdough, it must ferment to give it that sharp fizz. To make a ginger beer plant you'll need ginger - either the powdered dry variety or fresh ginger, sugar, rainwater or tap water that has stood for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate off. You'll also need clean plastic bottles that have been scrubbed with soap, hot water and a bottle brush and then rinsed with hot water. I never sterilise my bottles and I haven't had any problems. If you intend to keep the ginger beer for a long time, I'd suggest you sterilise your bottles. MAKING THE STARTER In a...
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Back where we belong

Surprise! I'm back ... for good this time. Instagram became an impossible place for me. They kept sending me messages asking if I'd make my page available for advertisers! Of course, I said no but that didn't stop them. It's such a change from what Instagram started as. But enough of that, the important part of this post is to explain why I returned here instead of taking my writing offline for good. For a few years Grandma Donna and I have talked online face-to-face and it's been such a pleasure for me to get to know her. We have a lot in common. We both feel a responsibility to share what we know with others. With the cost of living crisis, learning how to cook from scratch, appreciate the work we do in our homes, shop to a budget and pay off debt will help people grow stronger. The best place to do that is our blogs because we have no advertising police harassing us, the space is unlimited, we can put up tons of photos when we want to and, well, it just feels li...
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