Slow Living - Doing It Old Style!

Wimbledonwomble

Can I join too?
 I used to be very mindful,frugal and old style ,until I got a very busy "well paid job" Ended up in debt,unwell,unhappy and anxious and alone. 

I intend ( no,not intend,will!) to spend more time outside ( live in a city flat) reconnect with my meditation, continue to be frugal ,reduce waste still further. Try to make more friends as I  have become very isolated after giving up work. There !I've said it so I have to do it now. I'm sure there are other things that I will think of . One thing to be added at a time until ,hopefully ,they become good habits as I know I give up if I'm overwhelmed . 

Good luck to you all with your plans and a happy Christmas and  New Year xx

boultdj

@Wimbledonwomble the experts say it takes 30 day's for a habit to form and 90 for it to become an automatic habit, I also need to get back in the habit of going outside and meditation.
And merry yule and a happy new year to all.

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Hello
I'd love to join along with this @leftatthetrafficlights .  I am going to be starting a debt free diary as that is my main focus for 2024.  However, your aims resonate with me and I think they will be important in determining my success on the debt-free journey.  We are vegetarian (myself and OH) and moving in the vegan direction and part of that for me is wanting to live more sustainably as well as wanting to be fitter and healthier - I have weight loss and health goals as well.

I am a consumer of quite a lot of high end things (beauty mostly) and want to review all that and be more consistent in what I do to reduce overall expenditure to succeed in the debt reduction.  My initial inventory says I have enough for most of 2024 anyway so a good start but I would like to have changed my approach by the time they all run out.
I have a full-on job which involves some travel most weeks and I think I have always used that as an excuse to buy impulsively and because "i deserve it" after a long week etc etc. and this has spilled over into lots of aspects of my life.

As you say, slow living means different things to different people.  For me, it will be about finally being debt-free and finishing off the mortgage (next 3-4 years) and then mentally adjusting away from over-consumption and lots of impulse shopping and to start dong things that are more beneficial in the long term (such as growing vegetables in our garden rather than just talking about growing vegetables - there's a reason for my user name!!!).

Thanks so much for starting this and I will follow on and participate through 2024.  I am in my mid-fifties and looking to retire in the next 5-7 years so all of this is part of that journey to enable us to lead a happy and healthy retirement as well as representing an approach that I feel is worthwhile and sustainable.
L

nannygladys

Hello everyone, I'll join in from now if that's ok. I'm retired and already have adopted a slower life but I would like it to be more meaningful and opt out of ordinary 'life' as much as possible by depending on myself more and not the state and consumerism .When I was much younger and married I wanted to save for a smallholding but ended up in a house with a large garden, where I learnt how to grow food, cook, bake, sew and knit and I loved it, although it was very much a 'hand to mouth' time and so life moved on, I started work after having children and somehow my dreams took a back seat out into oblivion. Anyway, I now have a smaller back garden and an allotment, no debt and own my house and I try to only visit shops when necessary, shop frugally etc etc but I feel there's still more I can do to achieve the life style I would like, I know I'm too old, poor etc to ever have a small holding ( which would be very impractical anyway) but I'm interested in looking after my own health and by eating better and avoiding drs etc unless absolutely necessary.
Thank you, Nannyg 

savingmore

I too would love to join.  I have been on the boards for a long time but never created my own diary, although I am thinking of it.  I am retiring in next six months and want to declutter well, use up all store cupboards etc as we are moving at same time as retiring, and then I will have the time to reorganise my day to day life…so your thread is resonating with me.  Here is to 2024

leftatthetrafficlights

Welcome @Wimbledonwomble, @Less_Talk_and_More_Action, @nannygladys and @savingmore 😁 it will be lovely to have company on our slow living journies!! 

Merry christmas to all who celebrate it! 🥳 

Four_Seasons

Please can I join, I don't have a diary, I have been retired a long while, mobility issues but try my best with my greenhouse.
Have a lovely Christmas 🎄.

nannygladys

I have spent today on my own instead of going to my to youngest dd as planned. I have my first cold since about 2018! And it's made me feel awful, sneezing, coughing, headache and Niagara falls🙁 I had the hint of one last week but after 24hrs it had completely disappeared! So part of my slow living will be researching natural remedies, not sure what it entails but I have always wanted to 'mess' about with herbs and spices, so in the new year I will be down the library and before then I will have a look on the net doing a bit of research.
I also need to get out in the fresh air more, making time for a walk even if it's only for 30 minutes and around the local roads, it's so easy to make some sort of excuse up too wet, too cold, housework etc so that's on my horizon as well. It will give me some 'me' time to think about the universe etc🤣
Daughter is doing a Xmas meal on Thursday so I'm not completely missing out and they ended up going to mil's at the last moment for theirs today, so all was good.
Nannyg 

twopenny

Interesting to read.

I've been trying to go low tech Ha! It's a fight as big business wants you tied in but doing my best to make use of tech and not having it use me.

I''ve long been comtemplating the loss of joy and achievement I used to get from reading (in books) for knowledge. It's all on line along with the junk but you don't remember what you've just looked up where with reading that has none of the intrusive other stuff you tend to remember and learn.

If you write a journal you are slower and have time to think about a sentance, words and conveying meaning.

Just yesterday I was walking home and remembering the pleasure and friendship before tech when we has skillful hobies shared with friends and also sharing new skills.

It was rewarding, relaxing, life affirming.

Then there's cooking. Jams, chutneys. The taste is delicious. Collecting the fruit, music while you work and delicious smells. I worked out one day that it was quicker to make biscuits than go to the supermarket.

Saving money by supermarket shopping is an illusion. You use fuel, time, and often return with more than you went for.

So I'm hoping to improve the quality of my life, slow down, read in the evenings rather then watch eternal tv streaming.

There's a place for everything (I'm eternally grateful for the help I've been given on this site by kind people and that's the best use of tech) but I want to try and return to the slower, more relaxed pace of life I knew.

It's going to be a long slog I think but hopefully there's a balance.

Maybe my next post will be in the copperplate I used to write!

I'll be reading along on here though to see how everyone's doing  

RHemmings

I'm still in the old thread, but am looking forward to following along and hopefully participating in this one too.