A Simpler Life 2018

Dizzy_Imp

Shy wave :wave:

Can I join in please? Just moved back into our farmhouse after living in a static caravan for two years after being flooded and I want to embrace a simpler, more natural way of life. I love cooking and now have three freezers and two huge fridges, plus a pantry and lots of cupboards, so am keen to make full use of it all. Fruit beds and an allotment area are in the plan for next year and we have chickens galore, so eggs a-plenty :rotfl:

I'd love to get back into my crafts - paper, sewing and painting in particular.

So, can I join...can I? Purlease.....

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

Shy wave :wave:

Can I join in please? Just moved back into our farmhouse after living in a static caravan for two years after being flooded and I want to embrace a simpler, more natural way of life. I love cooking and now have three freezers and two huge fridges, plus a pantry and lots of cupboards, so am keen to make full use of it all. Fruit beds and an allotment area are in the plan for next year and we have chickens galore, so eggs a-plenty :rotfl:

I'd love to get back into my crafts - paper, sewing and painting in particular.

So, can I join...can I? Purlease.....

Welcome Dizzy Imp - what a great name! Sorry about the long time in a static caravan but I imagine you have plenty of tips about decluttering - I hope!

What a talented person you are - cooking, sewing, paper crafts and painting. Next thing you will be telling us is that you can knit & crochet too:)

I dream of lots of cupboards, pantry etc but I live in an urban area & would probably really miss the frequent public transport.

I think you will enjoy it here - I am fairly new but everyone is so friendly and helpful.

Mrs SD:)

Dizzy_Imp

Mrs_Salad_Dodger wrote: »

What a talented person you are - cooking, sewing, paper crafts and painting. Next thing you will be telling us is that you can knit & crochet too:)

Ooh, sorry, that sounds really boastful I can't knit and my crochet is, at best, basic. I'm hoping to learn much from everyone here .

X

[Deleted User]

Cleared 7 out of 8 drawers in lounge and a walk in cupboard. Only has a rail of jackets and 3 vintage radios, plus now housing my tools, hoover, steamer. I did most of my toiletries, will tackle the last few bits tomorrow and cleared four drawers in the kitchen. Felt a bit of a 'Kondo' moment coming on. Lets just say, the drawers were suitably sectioned . I'm going to ban plastic bags from this house, they aint mine and I've dropped enough hints. I am that nerd that folds plastic bags in2 triangles - they annoy me so much. Busy for the next few day, will try n squeeze stuff in.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

Ooh, sorry, that sounds really boastful I can't knit and my crochet is, at best, basic. I'm hoping to learn much from everyone here .

X

No it doesn’t sound boastful! If you cannot sing your own praises who can? The only reason I wrote what I did was that I was a bit jealous of all your skills! And then realised nothing to be jealous about as we all have our own skills. I can knit but never mastered crochet at all - tried a dvd and u-tube.

I have joined a couple of other threads which you might like Dizzy Imp - 5 OS pleasures in your day today & Love Food, Hate Waste. Everyone is really friendly and I just wish I’d joined earlier than this month!

Don’t be shy - although I did love your shy wave!

Positive vibes to one & all

Mrs SD:)

[Deleted User]

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

Shy wave :wave:

Can I join in please? Just moved back into our farmhouse after living in a static caravan for two years after being flooded and I want to embrace a simpler, more natural way of life. I love cooking and now have three freezers and two huge fridges, plus a pantry and lots of cupboards, so am keen to make full use of it all. Fruit beds and an allotment area are in the plan for next year and we have chickens galore, so eggs a-plenty :rotfl:

I'd love to get back into my crafts - paper, sewing and painting in particular.

So, can I join...can I? Purlease.....

We lost everything in the floods of 2000 (had a bungalow and so everything went under) and so I can sympathise with all the hassle you've had.

I bet your glad to be back in the house :T

The flood was the biggest catalyst for us in getting rid of things (well not buying things again) and living a more simple life.

[Deleted User]

simplelivingislandlife wrote: »

Hello, alas no I don't I tend to make bread by hand so it's always not quite there most of the time, I really need to keep making it so I learn how to make it properly! I also think I might of talked myself into trying out Sourdough this year, mainly because you have to keep feeding it to keep it alive and as such it will hopefully make me bake once a week at least!

My tips for making bread would be start with white bread as it is easier to get right before moving on to brown, granary, and specialty breads.

Ignore the bit in cookery books where it says that the first rise will take 30 mins to 1 hour. The rise can take a longer amount of time depending on things such as the temperature in your kitchen. Go off what the dough looks like and not the amount of time.

Just found this site which seems to explain things well:

http://www.homemadeloaves.co.uk/2012/08/how-to-know-if-your-dough-has-risen.html

maryb

I am hoping to simplify the amount of plastic I use next year. Those pictures of great swathes of plastic in the Pacific are horrifying and I hate the thought of wildlife suffering.

But it's so ubiquitous. When you stop to think it's almost overwhelming. But a couple of random things I'm doing

I've stopped using sea salt as it seems to be contaminated with microplastics. Gone back to ordinary rock salt for cooking and will try Himalayan pink salt for flavour. I've seen lots in T K Maxx just need to remember to pick some up when I'm in town.

When my current microfibre cloths wear out, I won't replace them as they are a big source of microplastic contamination and they have to be washed so often. I find cotton facecloths (3 for£1 from Wilko) to be just as effective. In the meantime I might hunt down one of those washing bags that traps the fibres.

Apparently washing powder causes more microfibres to be shed than laundry liquid. But liquid comes in plastic bottles whereas washing powder comes in cardboard boxes which can be recycled more easily. And my repair man says powder is better. I know some people swear by homemade 'gloop', might try that, at least for delicates

I use a lot of Ecover products because they don't set me coughing like other cleaning stuff. I used to be able to get the bottles refilled at a farmers' market but it's quite far away and not very environmentally friendly to make a special trip so will look out for more local sources of refills.

I am going back to loose tea and DH has started grinding coffee beans fresh each time he makes a cup. His coffee machine doesn't use Nespresso type pods (which seem hugely wasteful to me) rather he has a choice of pods which are like tea bags or fresh ground coffee. Apparently teabags and coffee pods like his are anything up to 25% plastic, even organic ones. I try and avoid storing food in plastic, always use glass storage jars, so a nice brew of infused plastic doesn't appeal somehow.

I'm going to try a solid shampoo bar although I'm not a great consumer of toiletries anyway - always just use plain soap and water apart from when I (rarely) use mascara, when I use eyemakeup remover on a cotton pad. I'm going to use my overlocker to finish some squares of towelling cut from Wilko facecloths so that they can go in the wash afterwards (I know cotton pads are not plastic per se but it's all about reducing waste).

Food packaging is a big one. I bought some treats recently from M&S and I was shocked at the amount of packaging. Most of the time I mainly cook from scratch, which helps, but still have quite a lot of packaging and most of it says currently not recycled though it looks like the same sort of plastic as carrier bags so I don't really see why it can't be dropped off at the supermarket bag recycling points

Does anyone have any other ideas?

lessonlearned

Plastics......:mad:

There is a scheme at the moment asking people who visit the beach to pick up three pieces of plastic debris, if we all did that it would be such a huge help.

I live a long way from the coast but I am going to make a point of doing the same whenever I visit a park or local beauty spot. I already litter pick in our street, especially on windy days after the bin have left a load of debris.

I find it absolutely sickening to see debris and litter. I just wish people would clean up their own messes.

I really would like to see a concerted effort from everyone, including government initiatives such as refundable deposit schemes on drinks cans etc . We should definitely be using less packacking, especially plastics.

I am to be a first time Grandmother this year. My son, DIL and I have all agreed we will not be buying their baby lots of plastic tat. Quality rather than quantity. In fact I shall be opening a savings account for said grandchild rather than buying loads of presents.

LameWolf

Save_Dosh wrote: »

I'm going to ban plastic bags from this house, they aint mine and I've dropped enough hints. I am that nerd that folds plastic bags in2 triangles - they annoy me so much.

I have finally got the lovely people on the fruit'n'veg stall I buy from to automatically assume I'm going to hand them cloth bags to put my purchases in.:T We do still get the occasional plastic bag incoming - usually with a doggie guest, bringing loose treats to have during their stay, or something like that. I keep them, and when we do a clear out for the charity shop, they go there, as the one we donate to doesn't have "branded" bags, they re-use any SM bags instead.

I actually get more paper bags than anything, from the pharmacy, as both Mr LW and myself are on a raft of different drugs.

maryb wrote: »

I'm not a great consumer of toiletries anyway - always just use plain soap and water apart from when I (rarely) use mascara, when I use eyemakeup remover on a cotton pad.

One unexpected side-effect of being diagnosed with blepharitis - the lotion I have to clean my eye area with daily, whether I have worn make-up or not, is a very effective eye make-up remover.