Simple living in the country - back to basics

Cheery_Daff

NEGATIVES

Do you know, I'm not sure there have been any! I thought it would be difficult, but actually, it hasn't been - it's been surprisingly easy, and actually the overwhelming feeling has been of relief, and of space. The first day we were away, and driving a lot, and then had friends round for a day, so that helped me ease into it. The first week or so I picked up the phone a lot, but I'd blocked MSE etc from the web browser, and removed various apps from the phone, so basically all that was on there was Duolingo (I'm on a 115 day German streak!) and the Flylady app  

INTERESTING THINGS

* I have mixed feelings about this, but I really thought I'd miss MSE and social media more than I did. I did generally miss you lot of course - but as I said above, the feeling of space in my head by not knowing lots of details about other people's lives was quite surprising. I've actually not missed writing my own diary half as much as I thought I would. I do normally love narrating every little detail of my financial life at least, and plenty of other aspects of life too - but nope, not even missed that. I've done all kinds of financial things that I normally would have wittered on about (not least 'saving' £110 on a FARCICAL breakdown cover renewal quote) but I didn't feel compelled to write about them at all. How very odd. 

* I didn't suddenly feel like I'd gained loads of time, but my default activities became different. If I was tired and sat down, I read a book, or watched a YouTube video about gardening, or an episode of Call the Midwife - deliberately chosen things, not scrolling or dipping in and out of things. Sometimes I actually just sat down, and once I got bored, I got back up and did another 15 minutes of decluttering or went for a walk

* Because of all the Flylady routines, even just for a single month, the house has been a lot calmer, and a nicer place to be. My mum came to visit today, and rather than the usual 2 or 3 hours of frantic running around before she arrived to make it even vaguely presentable, I just ran the hoover round while Mr Cheery made a batch of scones. Clearly there is still plenty to do, but even just a single month has made a huge difference. 

* Mr Cheery has started messing about on the internet less, and doing more housework, through seeing me do those things. 

* I've started spending more time in the silence. Before, even when I was gardening or going for a walk, I was listening to a podcast or audio book or something. More and more this month I've found myself wanting, and enjoying, silence. 

(hang on, going to post again before the computer freezes again...)

Cheery_Daff

THE FUTURE

I don't think I want to go back to the loop I was caught in before. I have SO much enjoyed this month. I think I'm going to set aside maybe a couple of hours one weekend morning over a nice breakfast to catch up with you all, and with social media, and then leave it aside for the rest of the week. We'll see. I'd definitely recommend it as an interesting experiment if you feel like it's taking over your life (which most of you don't, but I definitely did!)

NEWS ROUND UP

Anyway, a quick run down of what else has actually happened in May! 

* We actually had a night away in a hotel! Our first night away that wasn't staying in a friend's house for about 5 years I think. It was GREAT. 

* Poppy Chicken had a few days of malaise, but thankfully made a miraculous recovery. 

* I made £215 on the Happy Wheel! Very pleased about this - especially as I was about £80 DOWN until the second week of May. 

* Had £10 from QMee in the middle of May, but then lost my appetite for it. Not done very much on Prolific either. 

* Little car had an MOT and just needed a new hazard light switch - £196 in total, not too bad (and not as much as I'd budgeted)

* Renewed the breakdown cover. AA renewal quote was £266 (Does anyone actually pay that?? Cheeky chancing so-and-sos!) Anyway, I rang to cancel, and they were able to reduce to £189. I got a quote from the RAC for £175, rang the AA back, and miraculously they were able to reduce mine to £156 - just £10 more than the new customer price. We decided to go with that (I know there are cheaper ones - we're sticking with this one this year though). I'd put aside £160 over the year so that was nicely covered. 

* Still haven't finished the kitchen ceiling! But I have now cut all the plasterboard, and there are just five small awkward pieces to put up round the edges. They'll be done in June. 

* We still haven't moved into the new bedroom Mr Cheery has (after a LOT of swearing, and some large holes in the new plaster) managed to sort out hanging space for the clothes, so we are getting there!

* I hoovered under the bed! Does this count as news? It might, when I tell you it's the first time I've done it since we moved in 4 years ago. Grim. 

* Didn't win anything on the premium bonds today

* Done lots of staring at the budget, and with the frugal month, and the extra Happy Wheel winnings, we now have several fully funded savings pots - home maintenance, household emergency (septic tank breakdown etc), and fixing the stable roof, which will hopefully happen in the autumn/early winter. Holiday pot will be full next month (we probably won't go away for a full week, but might manage a few individual nights), and then everything will be funnelled to the new car fund (not that I'm planning a new car any time soon). 

I don't think there's anything much else to report! The cows have arrived in our fields, Mr Cheery's dad is going on a coach trip for the first time in 10 years so we have his dog for a few days - walked miles with him (the dog) and my mother today, and he's flat out on the floor. Hope he sleeps better tonight! 

Don't think I'm going to bother with tea tonight - took my mum out for a chip butty and an ice cream earlier, and along with Mr Cheery's scones, I think that's probably enough food for a few days. 

Right, I am going to stick to my word and toddle off now. It's tempting to go and try to read back over the last month on everyone's diaries... but as lovely as that would be, I think it's wise if I don't. Instead, I'll have a cup of tea, and then perhaps get out in the greenhouse to do a bit of pottering. 

So lovely to be back Hope you are all well and cheerful too xx 

SuperSecretSquirrel

Good to hear from you Cheery 🙂 The semi digital detox looks good on you, and I think it's a wise decision to carry on limiting your time on social media (including time spent on here). It certainly sounds like the right decision for you. The same could probably be said for a great many of us! 👏

Tescodealqueen

Sounds like you have found a great balance. Lovely to “catch up” with you though

Jessy103

Good to hear from you Cheery 🙂 I'm glad your internet detox has gone well and it's certainly given me food for thought. I'm very guilty of sitting and scrolling and then realising over an hour has past. 
Keep up the good work and take care ❤

rtandon27

Cheery! So lovely to hear your news and had a good laugh about hoovering under the bed!

Suffolk_lass

Good to read your update. After debating on my thread whether to stop (as not a struggler now) the consensus is that good examples and keeping going is the way to go - just a bit less often. I am rationing my time on the forums and am hundreds behind.

Lauraebrad

Welcome back @Cheery_Daff - always one of the diaries I catch up on - although I'm usually a lurker.  Your digital detox sounds great and really balanced.  I did similar for lent this year (actually just gave up 1nstagr@m!!) and was surprised how fast I forgot about the other people in my phone's lives.

Anyway ..... for what it's worth I've a friend who uses the following approach which I like as it's simple, and started to use myself to restore a little bit of balance / order.  One day a week / One week a month / One month a year ... off social media/internet/whatever ...

EssexHebridean

Well wasn't that an interesting experiment then - and thought provoking too, I found it quite fascinating reading your experiences and wondering how they might compare to mine. Glad to have you back, but on  a basis that suits your priorities and enables headspace and "real life" to flow more freely. 

Cheery_Daff

Thank you allfor your lovely welcome back. I love how the changes we all make prompt other people to think about their own lives too 😊

Lauraebrad, what a lovely idea of one month a year, one week a month, one day a week 😊

So, another week has passed. I've braved social media once, and it was nice to have a flick through, but in reality nothing had happened that I didn't already know about. Not bothered to post myself yet. We'll see. 

Things are still ticking along nicely with not much to report. YNAB and banks all checked this morning, all fine. Mr Cheery went to Scotland for a night with a friend last night, so there will be some expense attached to that, but that's fine.

I am having a sneaky cafe trip by myself, then off to meet a friend for a walk. 

What else?

The boiler was showing a fault code last night, but I seem to have got rid of it this morning - will keep an eye on that. 

Spotted four cows in one of our tree fields this morning. At first I thought our normal small herd had got through a wall - but no, they were in their usual field, these are extra. Farmer wouldn't have deliberately put cows in a field full of new trees, his are fenced out with an electric fence - so whose are they? How did they get in? How long have they been there?? You can't see most of that field from the house, I only spotted them as they were by the gate.

Anyway, a mystery to solve later - I confess I ignored them and came out for breakfast instead 😂

Still getting on nicely with house routines. We had Mr Cheery's dad's dog for a few days while he was away - bit of a nuisance as we can't just open the door to let him out for a wee. He's gone home now though, and I've washed the blankets he used and they're on the line, with another load in the machine. 

Today's plan - I've just had a nice relaxing cafe breakfast with my book, and am off to meet a friend for a walk., although it's just starting to spit slightly. Need to put diesel in the car on the way back.

The rest of the day will depend on the weather - weeding the veg patch with the chickens if it's not raining, painting the kitchen if it is.

I need to make a batch of scones for when Mr Cheery's friend drops him off later, likely early evening. And maybe batch cook a curry for the freezer - I've only got one meal in there at the minute.

Might pop back later for some plotting and scheming 😊