How to Live a Simple Life

[Coffin Nail]

I watching this last night, it's about a hippy vicar who decides to try self sufficiency and live with no money, trying to live for three months without the need for money and sticking to some of the rules laid down by St Francis of Assisi.

 

As a person who has always been concerned about how the need for more has a very negative effect on humanity and community, I have tried to change my approach to spending and the buying of STUFF.

I have always thought that as a society we take much much more than we need and its to our detriment.

 

I used to love a good spree but when the credit crunch came and the credit cards had to be paid off I started to question my buying habits and asking if whatever I was buying was impulse, was I being conned into spending by the supermarket or did I truly need the item I was buying.

 

Could I make do with what I had? Would it be cheaper to make it myself?

If I have too much of something, shouldn't I share it??

 

It's not always easy, but it seems to lead to a life more positive. I had some excess veggies last year and gave some to my formerly grumpy old bloke neighbour, he smiles and speaks now and same with the neighbours on the other side. I gave her some seedlings and she bought me some seeds. It's a much more satisfying feeling than shuffling from the car to the front door with bags of unnecessary stuff and grunting a begrudged and resentful greeting to the rest of humanity.

It's much easier, but does nothing for the quality of life.

 

I think what I'm asking is if you believe in any of this hippy old nonsense, and what you do to make your life more simple and to make the planet a better, smilier place??

[Katrina1968]

Coffin, It IS a struggle to live simply in such a consumer geared society. I've been trying to make changes in how my family spends and what we consume. Its not easy. Little steps help. I shop locally, hitting the farmers market on weekends (we are blessed to live in a community that has year round farmers market. I TRY to remember to use my cloth bags for shopping and combine my errands to cut back on gas consumption. My menfolk have asked what I wanted for Mother's Day and I told them that I wanted a veggie garden and my yard done all nice and pretty. Little money and a little effort will make it something we can all enjoy for years to come. As hubby has been out of work for almost two months and we had no unemployment coming in, I've learned how to stay out of stores and we dont feel deprived at all. I'm still attending university and dh will be going to school at the end of this month. We dont expect to see much of an increase in income and are still quit contented with our more simple way of living!

[Talisman]

Because of the way that my Dad was when I was growing up (he couldn't work a lot of the time due to both physical and mental illnesses, and was very careful with money even when he did have some), I have grown up living what some would call the simple life, so to me this is actually quite normal. As a result I really struggle to understand the modern consumer society and phrases such as 'must have' and 'I want it now'.

 

I might not go the farmerss markets and the like, but I am very careful with what I do buy at the supermarket and rather than getting odds and ends in town, do my best to patronise the local village shop and Post Office. I encourage others to do the same through the newsletter that i am Editor of and often write articles on how to save money and how to reduce your carbon footprint and so on, which I make room for (the Editor's decision is always final!). I have recently started a Good News column as well, which seems popular.

 

As far as shopping is concerned though in general, because I have never had that big an income myself, I have been forced to be careful, only buying when I genuinely need it. I do occasionally have a bit of a splurge, especially when it comes to books, but in most things I look for value rather than economy. I would rather for example buy a good quality technical tee shirt for

[StephenKingman]

Very interesting topic. Since this recession has bitten i am constantly trying to find ways to cut back and it has opened my eyes to just how much pointless and impulse shopping i do. Before, when money wasnt an issue, i would think nothing of throwing hundreds of euro down the drain on dvds, holidays, clothes and food etc but now i budget all my purchases and i have managed to save a lot of money.

 

We dont really need half of what we buy and being a slave to money does not lead to a very happy life. Saving money by eating fresher, local food or hunting for the best bargain can make you feel a bit better about yourself! I dont know if i could life a life where i used no money whatsoever like a wild and carefree existence but cutting back a bit i can certainly manage.

[Echo]

I've definitely been affected by the recession. Since my financial aid was cut off this semester, I've tried and tried to find a job in order to get by, but I've been unsuccessful. There are either not enough jobs, or too much competition for the few jobs there are. I've been forced to accept help from my parents and my boyfriend has had to cover the rest (I owe him over $2000 now). I've definitely been on a budget. The only things I have spent my money on since January have been food, bills, and (sometimes) rent. I very quickly understood that anything else was something I did not need.

 

I've always wanted to live a simpler life, but I hate living in poverty. I've been among the poorest of the poor, even though I grew up in an upper-middle class family. We've lived off food stamps, food banks, and my parents' generosity. What I want is a comfortable income, enough so that I don't have to worry. But I hate surrounding myself with lots of "things". My boyfriend and I are constantly going through our possessions, looking for things to give away, and we're always finding that we can do without things we once thought were necessary. We both long for a simple house (neither of us want a large house), a garden, and enough leisure time to just be ourselves. I don't want to be a part of the rat race, I don't need designer things, I'm fine with second-hand furniture. I prefer shopping at thrift stores, and my boyfriend is happiest when he finds anything at a discount.

[Talisman]

You can't get much simpler than the type of home that we live in - a park home, or what some people call a mobile home. I don't know why they are called that, as they are not really mobile in the sense that they don't have wheels, but I guess if you really needed to you could put it on the back of a truck and move, that's how the new ones arrive.

 

A lot of people I know were quite surprised when we told them that we were buying such a property, but it was the best thing we ever did. Most have been pleasantly surprised when they actually see inside, to find that it is not a drafty old caravan but actually a luxury bungalow. A similar bricks and mortar roperty with the same features in this locality would have cost at least

[Kell]

Sounds a bit like The Good Life. I would love nothing more than to live in the country, grow my own food and become as self-sufficient as possible. I'd have solar panels on the roof, a small wind turbine in the garden, perhaps a couple of goats, ducks and chickens, a large vegetable patch and a small fruit orchard. That would be total bliss for me. I know it would be hard work, but I would just love it!

 

As a child, I was besotted with books such as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie series - I loved the idea of living that way and doing certain things on certain days (they had a luandry day and a baking day, etc, etc). It's always been a dream of mine to do the whole "back to nature" thing - a bit like tha River Cottage thing Hugh Fernly Wittington (or whatever he's called) did. Of course, I can't afford to do it - ironic, isn't it? If I won some money on the lottery, I would TOTALLY buy a little country cottage and do something like that!

[Katrina1968]

I grew up in rural Virginia on a small farm. My grandfather was a tobacco farmer and grandmom was a true farmer's wife. She made quilts, had a large vegetable garden that she would harvest and "put up" for the winter. The had pigs, chickens and a cow. We would "go to town" once every few weeks just for an outing and for grandmom to meet up with her cronies and for us to get treats. Grandmom never drove so she had to plan her trips around grandpa's tobacco market days. That was when she would get the family staples that would last for at least a month. My mom still lives there and everytime I go to visit, I cant help but think back to how simple everthing was back then. We had so much fun on the homestead and never lacked for things to do.

 

I'm almost 42 and would love to do a quarter of the stuff grandma did! Out of all her granddaughter's I was the one who gleaned the most, now I just need to tap into my memory and discipline myself into sticking to it.

 

I often wonder if there is a middle place where I can be apart of academia AND homesteading?

[madcow]

Sounds a bit like The Good Life. I would love nothing more than to live in the country, grow my own food and become as self-sufficient as possible. I'd have solar panels on the roof, a small wind turbine in the garden, perhaps a couple of goats, ducks and chickens, a large vegetable patch and a small fruit orchard. That would be total bliss for me. I know it would be hard work, but I would just love it!

 

As a child, I was besotted with books such as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie series - I loved the idea of living that way and doing certain things on certain days (they had a luandry day and a baking day, etc, etc). It's always been a dream of mine to do the whole "back to nature" thing - a bit like tha River Cottage thing Hugh Fernly Wittington (or whatever he's called) did. Of course, I can't afford to do it - ironic, isn't it? If I won some money on the lottery, I would TOTALLY buy a little country cottage and do something like that!

 

My idea of heaven too

[Coffin Nail]

Sounds a bit like The Good Life. I would love nothing more than to live in the country, grow my own food and become as self-sufficient as possible. I'd have solar panels on the roof, a small wind turbine in the garden, perhaps a couple of goats, ducks and chickens, a large vegetable patch and a small fruit orchard. That would be total bliss for me. I know it would be hard work, but I would just love it!

 

 

My family is trying to make this happen within the next five years. My folks want to semi-retire and we want a garden centre veggies business. We're just marking time until the boy flies the nest and we're off.....if it all works out as it should.

It'll be the hardest job I've ever had, but so worth it.

[Cookie]

My sister has managed to do something similar. She moved from the city to a smaller town so that she could bring her children up in a nice area. He husband loves it because he has enough room for chickens and to grow his own vegetables.

 

I'm envious, I would like to do something like that but in truth I'd probably be too lazy to keep it up!

[Katrina1968]

Well, I've been outside and started my small little garden! I feel really good because I actually accomplished it:tong:. I also weeded through my very neglected herb planters and now I can see what I need to replace them with or add to. This is exciting!

[pickle]

I have been thinking about this thread for some time and wondering whether I can say that I live the simple life, and the answer is both yes and no, i enjoy growing my own veg but don't really have the space or time to dedicate myself to it full time, i also patronise the local market which we are very lucky to have here. I do like to shop but have cut down I have never been one for many gadgets (beyond the kitchen) I have a tv, ipod and this laptop which I only bought in january and even then it was a wrench. Most of my furniture and white goods I have inherited from members of my family. I have guilty pleasures, shoes, books and toiletries, so there is my no, not all the time.

I would also go of on a tangent slightly and answer one of the original comments made by Coffin re humanity and community and say that we should also be spending more time patronising local shops, galleries and small independent businesses as we are turning into a country where one town looks very much like another, by doing this we promote our individuality and strengthen community, and I mean beyond food, but art and literature, I quite often frequent a local gallery as they have a coffee shop attached for the price of a cup of very nice coffee I am surrounded by beautiful locally handcrafted pieces and although i can't afford to buy them by doing my bit I am keeping the place open so that artists have a place to display their work. I just think we shouldn't just stop spending but decide to spend wisely

 

wow that was a long post for me sorry of it went of on a tangent a bit

[Katrina1968]

Pickrele, I have trained myself to do the same thing. I mean, the area where I live is so rich with history, art, local shops, things to see and do (except night clubs and a mall). I have decided to become more interested in this place we call home. People spend big bucks here for "culture" and we get it free, everyday!

 

As for the mall, we can travel 40 minutes to a mall and thats fine by me. I really dont want one in our area. Building one would really cause havoc on our economy. Our local, independent stores and shops would really suffer, we'd have a madhouse of traffic and noise. Our ecology would really be put off. Nope, let the "big" cities have it!

[Nicola]

Well as I've progressed through university, it seems that each year I've become a little bit poorer. This next year could potentially be the worst yet so I've started to think of ways to cut back on my cut backs

 

I suppose my guilty pleasure is popping into town to buy new clothes and treating myself to the odd luxury every now and then, but it's something I enjoy doing. I've started to buy vintage 1950s clothes, mainly dresses, as they don't go out of fashion and are really glamorous. I've also started to plan meals for the week so we don't buy things we don't need and we get all our fruit and vegetables from Newcastle's Grainger Market at a fraction of the price charged at Tesco. It's my little effort to protect local famers and small business from the negative effects of gentrification. I've started to look at the clothes I don't wear any longer, thinking of ways I can alter anything....I also have clothes swapping parties with friends which is pretty cool.

 

So while it's not a simple life, it's a simpler life for me.

[Katrina1968]

Whatever little bit we can contribute is a step towards giving a new lease on our planet and a sigh from our wallets. I think its all a mindset. Everyone cant live on a self-sustaining farm. We cant all sew and slaugher a cow or weave from yarn sheered off our hand feed sheep! But recycling what we have and shopping wisely is also a positive way of making life simpler. The way I see it, every little bit helps!

[Denise]

For those of you whom are interested in this sort of thing may I suggest you check this place out?Its full of interesting threads etc on people who are managing to do this sort of life style..

 

Down To Earth

[poppyshake]

I do try and make an effort but am not always successful .. I think of it as little steps as opposed to giant one's, hopefully they'll become larger.

 

I bought my own 'bags for life' so that I never have to use plastic bags again but I have the shopping delivered now and I feel like I've taken a step backwards as not only is it delivered in plastic bags, it's delivered in LOTS of plastic bags, some of them only have three or four items in so that's bad ... for a couple of years now the flouresecent lighting in shops (supermarkets in particular because of the length of time you spend in them) has made me feel dizzy and headachey (hubby did enquire and the supermarkets apparently changed their lighting to be more energy efficient a couple of years ago and for some reason it doesn't agree with me). But interestingly we have spent much less on food since I've been having it delivered, we plan meals better and don't get sidetracked.

 

Where my cousin lives in Gloucestershire they have a recycling bin for food waste .. I'd love to have that. But I'm an avid bird feeder and any stale bread, crumbs, chips, bits of cheese, old apples, currants etc .. even crushed up old yorkshire pudding .. get's put out on the birdtable for them.

 

I do try and put a cardigan on now rather than just automatically put the heating on, even in the winter I try and tough it out until the afternoon/evening and I'm pretty good at not leaving lights on anymore (I used to always have lamps on all over the house).

 

My Mum grows all her own bedding plants and she keeps me supplied with those .... I must try and encourage her to grow veggies! I do grow my own herbs, only the perennial one's at the moment like Rosemary, Mint and Thyme .. I'd love to grow Coriander cos I use it a lot but I heard it was notoriously difficult and runs quickly to seed if you're not careful (and I'm not careful).

 

We did have a look at our finances a while back and decided that we eat out too much so we've cut back drastically on that (including takeaways) and I try not to buy as many books (which is a BIG sacrifice). I joined two more libraries last month making three in total and that's made a big difference to my book spending habits.

 

We used to buy lot's of DVD's but after having a huge clearout, we decided not to do that anymore and I rent them from lovefilm, I get two rentals a month now for

[pickle]

Poppy, coriander is very easy to grow and you can grow it in pots, you only need a few seeds and eventually they will flower and go to seed simply harvest the seeds and grow again, I managed loads of crops last year for very little effort.

[poppyshake]

Poppy, coriander is very easy to grow and you can grow it in pots, you only need a few seeds and eventually they will flower and go to seed simply harvest the seeds and grow again, I managed loads of crops last year for very little effort.

 

Thanks for the tips Pickle, I shall definitely have a go, coriander is probably my favourite herb so it seems silly not to try and grow it.

[Virginia]

Felt a little nostalgic thinking about the forum from days gone by and so I started looking further back and found this gem!

 

It's been over 13 years (I was Katrinia1968) since we first started this topic. Has anyone found their way to self-sufficiency? I'm still striving and feel more compelled now more than ever. 

 

We've been paying down debt and I've been purchasing kitchen gadgets to make the switch easier. I know but it is what it is! I'm looking at my backyard with a more critical eye for growing veggies and fruit trees. Right now we have pear, fig, peach, lemon, and grapefruit trees planted. I also have raised beds for herbs. One section of my kitchen cabinet is what I call my apothecary cabinet because it's filled with herbs, teas, and medicines. 

 

We're interested in the solar panels but this calls for a huge outlay of funds and no return for years out. 

 

What are you all doing to become more self-sufficient?

[Madeleine]

I did try to grow some more flowers from seed this year, due to our erratic weather ie lovely warm June, then generally wet and not very warm July and August, not much grew, about 1/2 a dozen cosmos, and a few sunflowers and cornflowers, 2 zinnias, and one very slow tomato plant, which has produced around 20 tomatoes so far.  Ah well, I don't have a proper greenhouse which probably would have helped a bit.  The soil here is very claggy so not very good for growing things.

[Hayley]

Oh wow, this is a good one and I don’t remember it! I think it must have been just before I joined the forum. (Although I do remember Katrina1968! I always loved your avatar). 
 

I love the idea of the simple life. Everything just tastes better when you’ve grown it yourself and there’s definitely huge satisfaction in making or mending something, rather than throwing away and replacing it. There are a lot of factors that make it very difficult though. As you said with the solar panels @Virginia, a lot of things require an initial outlay to even become an option. Time is also an issue! 
 

I have some herbs growing in my garden and there were three apple trees growing here when I moved in. They’re small and quite wonky, but we had a fair few apples from them last year - this year there’s hardly any. I’d imagine the weather hasn’t helped but I need to do some research to see if I can help them do better next year. I’d also like to try growing chillies next year . 
 

1 hour ago, Madeleine said:

about 1/2 a dozen cosmos,

When I tried growing cosmos, 1 grew insanely tall, 2 just grew leaves with no flower and the others did nothing. So I’d call that a win 😂

 

 

[France]

I had my best tomatoes ever this year which was a plus but I seem to be the only person around who can't grow courgettes - my three plants produced two edible courgettes between them.

 

On the other hand I am quite good at herbs, two large pots of thyme, two different mints (chocolate mint is wonderful on fruit) which keep going all winter, rosemary, oregano, sage (so easy and pretty), tarragon and the parsley isn't too bad. I'm not quick enough to stop the coriander going to seed though and the dill is never very successful.

 

We've got two heat pumps, one for the underfloor heating in the part of the house we basically rebuilt from a ruin and one to heat the radiators in the other part. I have to be honest and say that though the underfloor works really well the radiators aren't a huge success and the heat pumps themselves are a nightmare. They don't operate well when the temperature drops below 2°C and start drawing on raw electricity - the bills after a cold snap are horrendous. They break down a lot, there aren't enough really properly qualified technicians (I don't imagine it's any different in other countries) so it takes ages to get repairs done  and they cost a fortune to replace. They're quite noisy too.

 

That said I'd rather have the heat pumps with all their problems than a wood pellet boiler which was our other practical option for heating.

[Madeleine]

15 hours ago, Hayley said:

 

When I tried growing cosmos, 1 grew insanely tall, 2 just grew leaves with no flower and the others did nothing. So I’d call that a win 😂

 

 

Yes I do too,  I have tried to grow them before and have also had leaves but no flowers, or they grow a tiny bit and then either get eaten or give up.  These are very tall and a bit straggly, but loads of flowers so I'll take that. Still growing strong too.