Simplifying Life - Mark II

goobergirl

I have 3 kids, DD of 10yrs, DS1 of 11yrs and DS2 of 5yrs.

Your plans for a break sound good. It is nice just to get away somewhere different and go for walks etc.

I have just started sewing but i'm not very confident yet, I could really do with some lessons, so that is probably another thing I should try and sort out soon!

I have only used my tumble drier once this week, when I got caught out with terrible rain the other day and I just didn't have enough room to dry it all. I just did the towels though

We also have no TV in our room and haven't for years since the old one conked out. It's another thing I don't miss either. I try to keep our room as tidy as possible so there is somewhere to retreat to at the end of a day :A

u751904

I was wondering how this money saving 'process' has affected you. I has me. I doubt I could claim to be perfect before but I certainly wasn't silly. Now I spend a lot less for lots of reasons, the main one a massive drop in income due to redundancy / life change / changing priorities etc. Massive drop in child care for a start.

I don't feel sorry for myself I've got used to it. I count myself lucky in many ways. Its tough but we are happy enough.

Anyhow the whole thing has been quite humbling and as of late I have attended the quakers meeting house. Can't say I've signed on the dotted line yet not sure you need to actually but it seems to be a growing change in my 'spiritual' beliefs which I put partially down to a reassessment of life and needs and more awareness.

There a book on amazon which I haven't got myself to buy yet (budget ...lol) on living plain living & quakers which I keep wishing I'd buy.

My husband does tease me - he doesn't like anything to do with religion - though its not a 'religion for me' - complicated and I don't want to preach etc. Anyway I am ignoring him !

So has anyone else had this 'feeling'
(not necessarily joining a church or institution etc)

I sense a lot of us have had hard times recently and some of course have always had it...

I can only reflect and say if I know what I know now would I have done things differently. The redundancy forced me to do things differently I didn't have the guts / spirit to do things before.

lizzyb1812

I do know where you are coming from. There are plenty of internet resources you can access without buying any books or making any commitments. Try googling "simple life", "quakers", "downsizing", "downshifting" - and similar words. Don't be put off by the amount of american sites your searches come up with - the search for a spiritual/simple life is a universal thing and the experience/advice is usually relevant to all.

Good luck, I wish you joy

Lizzy

goobergirl

I don't think you are alone for wanting to simplify your life and find 'something more'. Not in a material way but spiritually, I get that totally.

I think one of the good things about the economic situation is that many folk have come to their senses, as it were, and want more out of life than buying stuff and trying to live some fantasy life that they can't afford. I reckon there are a lot more out there than would care to admit it too. It heartens me to see the number of people on here with the same mind set, clearly from varied walks of life, who all have something useful to share and want to support others. It's just a new kind of 'community' in many ways.

Good luck in finding what you're looking for, there are some good threads on here about 'simplifying your life' with links to good blogs etc that might help.:)

u751904

It (the crash) was one of those things that I think you could see coming in some ways. The constant stream of credit, I just had to compare my life to my parents to know how things had changed. It is funny how we are going back. Its like the 70s good life. I think you have to be positive and hopefully the skills learnt will serve us well. I don't really talk about my money saving ways at work with friends etc not because I am ashamed etc far from it more oddly because I just think they won't be interested and don't want to bore them etc. So I sometimes wonder whether I am the only one which is why boards such as this are so good for knowledge. Obviously I am not the only one. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ChocClare

My DH is putting in some electrics at a local church. The vicar said, come to this concert we're having - it's a children's choir, they're absolutely brilliant.

DH and I went along, more out of politeness than anything. It was the Watoto choir - all AIDS orphans from Uganda. The concert was absolutely fantastic. These kids had all lost parents and had pretty horrific starts in life - but they were so happy. The vicar stood up at the end and said, don't you wish you could feel just a part of the joy these kids have. I knew exactly what he meant.

Obviously, in these children's case, they had been absolutely lost and uncared for and the Christian charity which had taken them in really had transformed their lives, so you could see why they would feel that Jesus had truly "saved" them, and be full of joy as a result.

However, it did really make us think - perhaps all the "stuff" we have really does stop us from appreciating simple joy. I can easily see why downsizing/downshifting/reducing our reliance on "stuff" would end up making you feel far happier - and more in tune with things spiritual.

Gigervamp

We can be spiritual without following religion.

Spirituality, to me, is noticing nature, the cycles, being kind to people, having a child-like wonderment of things, making the most of what we have...etc.

I'm a pagan, but I don't take part in rituals. Hubby was brought up as a christian but doesn't really believe and I think I'm more spiritual than him, but we accept each others beliefs, or lack of them.

Good luck on your path.

Barneysmom

Gigervamp that's a brilliant description.

Gigervamp

Barneysmom wrote: »

Gigervamp that's a brilliant description.

Thank you Barneysmom. I tried to condense it but it still didn't seem to be quite right.

Rachel021967

I'm going to a Quaker meeting in a couple of weeks time. What are they like and do they have a Sunday school for the children?