Simplifying Life - Mark II

Penelope_Penguin

Lavender_Cottage wrote: »

Just wanted to say I feel dishearted with life today....watched Wartime kitchen and garden on Yesterday (Freeview) and life (despite the war) seemed so much simpler then...I hate consumerism and all the waste that happens today (I'm 38 by the way!)

There's nothing to stop you living a simpler life for yourself You don;t have to keep up with the Joneses (as someone's sig says, drag them down to your level; so much easier ).

I'll add this to the exisitng thread on simplifying life.

Penny. x

artichoke

Originally Posted by Lavender Cottage
Just wanted to say I feel dishearted with life today....watched Wartime kitchen and garden on Yesterday (Freeview) and life (despite the war) seemed so much simpler then...I hate consumerism and all the waste that happens today (I'm 38 by the way!)

Lavender Cottage

I have read this thread with interest and just as i was about to post a reply the thread moved to the 'simplifying life thread." Many on this older thread will know about the Transition Movement, but i was going to post and say if you want to meet people who live near to you and think similar things about hating the consumerism and waste that of our times, and who understand that a return to a "simpler life" is not just desirable but also inevitable - then why not find out where your nearest Transition Group meets?

Transiition Groups set up practical projects helping people to relearn old skills that will be needed in the future as we have to learn how to live a life less dependent on fossil fuels.

I was worried when reading some of the replies to your post to see how many people are so dependent on modern technologies such as cars, TV, computers, endless running water and the modern luxury of gas central heating and can not imagine a life without them. The Transition Movement believe that oil supplies are dwindling and wen combined with climate change this means that we need to start preparing within our communities now for a lower energy future.

I dont think this is depressing - but can bring people together, in my town we are working together to harvest and store wood and encourage people to install logburners to reduce the need to central heating. We are forming solar panel buyers clubs to bring down the cost of solar energy. We want to set up car sharing clubs, and have set up a Community Supported Agriculture Scheme to give people the opportunity to learn and get involved in a local farm and share the resulting supply of organic meat and veg at lower than supermarket organic prices.

I am not saying that i want a return to the war days - but i do think we need to start reducing our dependance on supermarkets, on global food systems and on fossil fuels - and return to simpler more localised lifestyles. The war meant that people all over the country began to "Grow their own" and make do and mend clothes, furniture etc and all these skills will need to be relearnt as i believe we can not presume that we can carry on burning fossil fuels at the rate we do at the moment.

I am glad this thread has been moved as i would not have written all this on a 'general thread" and hope that i have not offended anyone...

and i agree with those who posted to say they are dependent on their computers / the web - in my family don't watch TV but we have become used to internet for our leisure persuit - i do hope we can keep some form of the internet in the powerdowned future! We are saving up for solar panels to generate our own electricity for our essential internet connection! but i am sure we can learn to live without it if we have to.... i am sure life would carry on..

art

ceridwen

Couldnt agree more artichoke - obviously:D:T

pumpkinlife

This is such an interesting thread, thank you. I have been lurking for ages and have picked up so much useful information from this forum, and discussions like this are so useful in that they motivate me to do better.

I have been trying to simplify for a while now - I used to live a very frugal and simple life out of necessity, but somehow modern life caught up with me. Now I am trying to bring myself back down to earth; hopefully before a crash of any description does it for me .

Aurora

mary-op

Hello all :j
Nice to see so many people here.
As for wartime community spirit and all that.........well I grew up just after the war and remember staying at grans for school holidays while mum worked - the potty under the bed, the loo down the yard, one coal fire, ice on the inside of the windows...........but on the plus side the village had a real friendly community spirit -always someone to help out if needed .............gran was home all day and made cakes, jams, wine -you name it she made it. Never liked going back home knowing mum would be working so the fire was never lit till she came home at the same time I got back from school..........it was cold...........oh so cold and mum was always busy in the evenings sorting out socks to be darned, jumpers to knit, dresses to make and so on -very make do and mend. On the plus side neighbours were friendly but not nosey, we could play outside all day and evening in safety. It was years before we got a proper bathroom and indoor loo and even when I got married mod cons such as washing machines weren't cheap to buy. I had a boiler and a mangle, one coal fire that I lit when I got home from work so my OH at the time had a warm house to come home to. No tele, just the radio and record player. But we didn't feel we were missing out on anything -lots of people were the same as us.
Must admit now though I do love heating at the touch of a switch, washing done by pushing a button, no ice on the windows and oh the bliss of soft toilet paper
Colour tele and video, phone -where would I be without it and of course my laptop through which I've learned so much and met some wonderful people.
But these days we do have choices as someone mentioned in a previous post. We can have the 'neighbourliness' if we want to -sometimes its down to us to make the first move there. We can have the mod cons if we chose to - or not. Post war - 1950's -the choice wasn't there ..............I'm thankful for what we have but we only have it if we choose to and choice is a very big thing.

Gracious - never meant to go on as long as that :eek:
Apologies as I'm sure lots of what I said has been said earlier.

Quick update on my situation - OH has been to see the 'boffin' again about his lung problem.......'boffin' scratches head and decides OH should have yet another CT scan and see him again in 6 weeks. The fact its 6 and not 2 weeks is reassuring as if the fact OH seems so much better apart from still needing painkillers from time to time.
I'm trying to stick to new year resolutions -so far I've stuck to
Writing more letters
Having hair done -decided on that once a month =two many bad hair days
de-cluttering - well just a bit
being more organised ? - well maybe just a tiny bit.......lol

Sorry for going on and on and on......................;)

zarazara

ok then folks, lets keep what we like and dump what er dont like. I dont have a mobile phone ,for example,but do have internet connection.I do use freecycle. I do recycle . I have a car. I have decided to not buy any clothes for a year or presents for others, i have informed them of this in advance.I dont have a tv but do have a washing machine. I have planted fruit trees but dont keep chickens.

ginnyknit

I agree with Zarazara, pick the bits out you can do and aspire to the ones you would love to do and leave the rest. I would love a log burner but couldn't afford it. So far I have resisted gas central heating though the council keep trying to install it, and manage with storage heaters (used as minimally as poss). I have really struggled this winter with our old windows but relish the new double glazed ones the council are fitting next month.

I have few fond memories of 'the good old days' outside loo, one room heated by coal and having to go and do the families wash at the wash house (from the age of 13) as Mum worked. However some things were better then and I would love to live somewhere that the neighbours understood me - Manchester council estates aren't full of MSE'ers.

One good thing though my two grown up kids have learned from me and both are excellent pennypinchers, especially Dd whose pregnancy has turned her into a real MSE stalwart as she has started a baby goods swap system with our large extended family.


I am now almost living the life I want but it is blooming hard work, its taken 30 years to get here the only problem is Im not in the rural idyll I always wanted but am making the best of it!

mary-op

Thats it ! We have choices - have if we want or not.

Must admit growing up in the 50's taught me a lot about being frugal...........Mum always had to be and it rubbed off on me in many ways, particularly the 'make do and mend' side of things. Clothes weren't thrown out they were recycled into something else if they were past the odd patch or two. I've always done much the same......charity shops do well out of me as I normally by whatever clothes I need from there (apart from underwear!)....furniture is from local second hand shops.....as for christmas and birthdays.........pressies are somethings I've 'concocted' (can hardly call it 'created'........lol) or bargains from charity shop unwanted gifts or local boot fair.
So what I spend on some things I save on others.
Luckily my sons have picked up some of my 'habits'.........helps them make the money go round. Much needed nowadays I think

pagangirl

Afternoon all - just poppin in to see how mary-op OH got on at doc's - glad he's feeling bit better - good luck with next CT scan.

Still doing bits of simplifying - another bag for charity shop, all shredding done & out, thanks to this thread not as much needs to be done now - if you'd have seen the place last year that would be a different story :rotfl:

I picked up on the make do and mend from my mum (I was born in the 50's), have lapsed a bit at times but getting back into it again. Have realised most of my needs have turned out to be wants iyswim

ALIBOBSY

Just recently been dipping in and out of this thread (and mark one) as we aim to simplify our lives over the next few years. Already started getting into foraging and growing our own.
Just wanted to say OH was telling me about some interesting research he read about. This was the development of very fast charging batteries. They were talking a laptop battery being charged in just a few mins and obviously the aim is to make bigger versions for cars.
Now if the battery charged very quickly the electrical item could then be unplugged from the mains and run internally from the battery for the normal length of time. This sort of technology could help reduce the amount of electricity people, require. For us to be able to reduce are consumption to the levels that can be produced without the use of fossil fuels, we need to start thinking outside the box like this.

I do not believe we will be able to produce the level of power we currently use from alternative power (unless we up nuclear production- and most people don't won't to go down this route) so I believe a move to a much more individual based society is required. Hence my growing interest in becoming more self sufficent, now if I only had the cash to get us a little small holding ........:j.
Still little by little

ali x