tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43906121211003798432024-03-20T03:13:21.493-07:00diary of a downshifterthis blog is about a journey to freedom. Financial freedom, freedom from debt and freedom to live life as we choose. It will show you how we did it, inspire you to look at your own choices in life and give you hope that there is a better way. it is not all about money. It is not a list of money saving tips, although there will be some of those. it is written from the heart and the culmination of 15 years of writing about getting ahead and living life to the fullDiary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-89161494487270068502021-08-21T08:31:00.005-07:002021-08-21T08:33:24.698-07:00Climbing out of the AbyssSo we have been through the most weird and strange global crisis, aka the Covid-19 pandemic. And those of us lucky enough to still be here and healthy are doing okay...aren't we? The truth is that it is <i>after</i> something like this that we start to struggle emotionally. At the time we are in survival mode.<div><br /></div><div>So...what should we do to recover? Move house? Get a dog? hmmm. I am thinking get some rest and reduce your cognitive load to allow the brain to recover. Too much stress eventually leads to anxiety. And if you are anxious for long enough, it leads to depression. As does being overtired.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which means: </div><div>don't try to hard. </div><div>Get to bed when you are tired.</div><div>moderate the alcohol and sugar.</div><div>Have enough fun. A <i>daily</i> fun prescription is essential to recovery.</div><div>get outside. Every day.</div><div>Move. it's the only thing that disperses stress hormones. It doesn't have to be strenuous.</div><div>Stay off the computer in leisure time as much as possible, especially if you are working remotely.</div><div>And be patient, gentle and give it time...</div><div><br /></div><div> Sounds boring right? Well it takes our mental health longer to recover than physical health and its really important to be gentle with ourselves and let that recovery happen. </div>Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-68838929080622327822021-01-03T13:00:00.007-08:002021-01-03T13:09:42.995-08:00Ever dreamed of turning your hobby into a business? Read on...<p><b>Ever dreamed of turning your hobby into a business? Read on...</b></p><p>Your money or your life, what is most important? Well I say both - because money buys freedom. The trick is to know how much money it takes for you to survive and then to spend no more time earning it than is necessary for day to day survival, savings for emergencies, a decent level of comfort and a few luxuries. And some longer term savings of course, but it's actually keeping the spending in check that will get you there, not how much you earn. <br />
</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLqZz71-hMwKYmeZiiGUdnhsKsc1T__oUjvl8A4HrJGNw6-XICp44VK26JIGC4sDKyIFJQ0ypzoFSwr6nApbrftTwNYCg1uR2z8GGFI7Zh0EZZkcgXM1_hm8v8kQ1K7yjrgxN8IvebFY/s448/stall+droving+proj+nov14+comp.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLqZz71-hMwKYmeZiiGUdnhsKsc1T__oUjvl8A4HrJGNw6-XICp44VK26JIGC4sDKyIFJQ0ypzoFSwr6nApbrftTwNYCg1uR2z8GGFI7Zh0EZZkcgXM1_hm8v8kQ1K7yjrgxN8IvebFY/s320/stall+droving+proj+nov14+comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br />
<i>I know </i>the perceived self help book wisdom is to do the work you love in order to earn a living. However, <b>reality check</b> although I know this is contraversial. That dream can disappear rapidly when it is pursued at the expense of work/life balance! Because trying to turn what you love into a business usually means working very long hours to earn enough money. This can seem okay at the start but after a year or so it becomes well, just more work. </p><p>Your dream of being an artist becomes at least 50% marketing, selling and book keeping if you really need to make a living from it. Then there is what sells. Probably producing the same thing over and over - limited edition prints and variations on a popular theme, such as painting the coastline or mountains near where you live cos it sells, fine a few times but 50? 100? 500? coasters, greetings cards... So where is the studio time for producing one-off creative pieces? There is the same challenge fitting that in as there would be in an actual job...and you are probably earning an awful lot less money. </p><p> </p><p>So go ahead if you don't mind that and if not, keep it as a hobby business for earning a bit extra and enjoy it. For your main source of income, get work with the best hourly rate you can, that you like and that is relatively easy to earn a living from. That may well be a job but going freelance or having your own business is an excellent option as your main source of income, just look carefully at the earning potential, competition and profit margins before you decide <i>what</i> to do. Have more than one business if you want to! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkC5UzLQ_2FDZEbrwh4iCZjFF9pcBwcA-14xhJiiIYHBcnsIsbY63att5-oBrMRFiADBkGccPsUYtl6GNjC3BIY4NF1FmmFxcoWn3hVrIqHJBOJlV09-esYlPLsKOCPA5an1SRWpQvmIE/s448/blackcurrants+catherine+comp.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="251" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkC5UzLQ_2FDZEbrwh4iCZjFF9pcBwcA-14xhJiiIYHBcnsIsbY63att5-oBrMRFiADBkGccPsUYtl6GNjC3BIY4NF1FmmFxcoWn3hVrIqHJBOJlV09-esYlPLsKOCPA5an1SRWpQvmIE/s320/blackcurrants+catherine+comp.jpg" /></a> If starting any business but especially a 'dream' hobby business, think about scale and that sweet spot where your business will produce the best return whilst not taking over your life. We are both self employed and have three businesses between us. That sweet spot is in constant motion and a hot topic for discussion in our house! It works and we are part time with a decent income. </div><p></p><p>It has also been very handy in these Covid times not having all our eggs in one basket. If you re not too heavily invested in your business being your 'dream' and markets dry up, you can change what you do and still have an income. So you were an artist? You are already set up as a business and art is not selling in a recession? Start doing something else, such as dog walking, cleaning or helping others with book keeping...Or all of the above.<br /></p><p>Charles Long puts it well in his book 'How to Survive Without a Salary'. He tells the story of a young man who is a baker and walks to the local town delivering cookies from his rucksac. He loves it. Loves the baking, loves the walking to town. He has a simple lifestyle with few overheads so it works.<br /></p><p> Then someone suggests his product is so good he should expand. So he gets a Unit to work from and a van to deliver cookies. Before you know it, he is working twice as hard, spending a lot of time marketing cookies, doing admin, accounting and cash flow, ordering supplies and driving the van - and of course paying someone to make the cookies and paying the bank for the loan that bought the van. But does he earn twice as much? No, because of the overheads. More worrying, he is now back in the rat race, competing for the same market as other cookie companies and doing all the things he did not want to do. No time for walking with a rucksac now!</p><p>A<b>im to maximise your hourly rate</b>, doing well-paid work full or part time. Assess all your work-related expenses to work this out, even if you are in a job rather than having a business. For example, the car needed to get to work, child care, a cleaner, lunches you buy instead of make when rushed, work clothes, extra treats and holidays to make up for working full time etc. Often, working full time is not such good value as you thought, especially for the second job in a household. This is because it often means getting child care, a cleaner, dog walker and not having time to get the best price for groceries and other items.<br /></p><p>The less you spend, the less you need to earn. When we are happy and working part time, we tend to spend less. And you can squirrel away the cash from that extra wee hobby business whilst working at the day job. You will enjoy watching it grow and it makes it a very satisfying hobby business. </p><p> <b>News flash</b> in the UK you can earn £1,000 profit from a hobby business, ebay Airbnb or other sources without having to declare it or pay tax on it. That's profit, not turnover. So a hobby business can earn you 20% more if you are a basic rate tax payer. If you live elsewhere, check if your country does the same.<br />
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<br /></p>Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-86359687954098812542019-10-27T10:13:00.001-07:002019-10-27T10:13:44.880-07:00Dandelion coffee This is the loveliest, yummiest thing, not a bit like the instant stuff you can get at the health food shop. All you need is a slightly messy garden with some dandelions in it. Eat the leaves in salad and make coffee with the roots. No need to buy special seed from the gardening catalogue, any old dandelions will do.<br />
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Leave a few to go to seed and you will have more next year. Dig up the largest plants, or save the roots of any that need to go because they are in the way.<br />
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Give them a good scrub then lay out to dry for a couple weeks. Once they feel hard, pop on a baking tray and bake in a low oven for about ten minutes or until they have gone darker and smell roasted. This is the secret, its the roasting that makes them taste so good. Do keep an eye on them because its easy to burn them and they cook fast.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dandelion roots drying</td></tr>
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Let them cool then wizz in the blender. Wait a while to let the dust settle before opening the lid of the blender. Then spoon into a jar.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dandelion coffee ready to use</td></tr>
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To use, one scant dessert spoon or to your taste in a wee coffee filter, or cafetiere and add hot water and leave to brew for 3-5 minutes. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brewing the coffee</td></tr>
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We like to add some of our homemade almond or cashew milk.<br />
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Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-67484886292498448662019-05-30T05:40:00.001-07:002019-05-30T05:40:56.011-07:00Paper napkins<br />
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How many paper napkins does<span style="text-align: center;"> it take to eat a piece of cake? Or a cafe/restaurant meal? As a bit of a cafe addict I have been counting and typically it is around five if you eat in a restaurant. Here's the thing: its been going up steadily. So now there is often a glass of water on a saucer, with a napkin under the glass. One wrapped around the knife and fork. One put down with the main course. Another under the garlic bread, one under the coffee cup on the saucer, one under the cake and another loose one to go with the cake as well. </span></div>
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Sometimes all of the above, totalling seven. So if we go out together that's FOURTEEN napkins. And we really do only need one each. So I take the surplus home if it cannot be put back. Often if you hand them back,staff throw them away. And they go in the tissue box to be used as tissue substitutes. So we seldom need to buy tissues and I am working hard to tell cafe staff in advance not to bring more napkins. Its hard to remember. And its hard for them to remember, they bring them anyway then throw them in the bin when I remind them. The rubbish surges at you and it so hard to refuse, feeling like a lone voice in the throwaway wilderness. So what I want to know is: who else out there tries to refuse and reuse napkins in coffee shops? We have just ordered a rigid tissue box to keep them in, we don't use many tissues anyway cloth handkerchiefs prevail chez nous. </div>
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Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-72835929464152719312018-08-12T05:09:00.001-07:002018-08-12T05:09:21.165-07:00what can you buy for £1/$1?<b>On the radio yesterday:</b><br />
A conversation about how someone had won £1 for their baking entry in a local show. Great hilarity about how to spend such a princely sum. But it got me thinking and asking the question what <i>can</i> you buy for £1 and how far could I make that money go? It inspired me to re-focus and look more closely at the food budget.<br />
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Another, very good question is what costs <i>nothing at all? </i> We inevitably begin to think of things that cost <i>nothing</i> or can be bartered, swapped, made, exchanged etc whilst considering how far £1/$1 (or one of whatever is your unit of currency is) can go. In other words, thinking this way gets us into a resourceful state of mind. That resourceful state may also lead us away from the shops and back to our own cupboards/closets/garage, to rake through what is already there that could be used, adapted or made into something else. Shopping in your own cupboards is free and can provide free entertainment too. So the real question is not 'what can I buy?' but 'what do I need?'<br />
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£1 is not of course the same value as $1 or a Euro etc but it works to think in units of 1, so work with whatever your own unit of currency is. So off I went to the shops to see. Was <i>that</i> a mistake? Possibly, there are many other places to buy or find things that are less obvious, such as batering, swapping, the person down the road who sells eggs or veg from the garden gate, jumble sales, auction sites, buy and sell Facebook groups, local summer fetes, Christmas fairs, car boot sales and so on. And my £1 would have bought more in many of them.<br />
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The trip to the shops resulted in a purchase of two bags of pears (60p) and some lemons. Total price 90p, so still 10p left to spend. <br />
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Last time it was brocccoli, which with the potatoes growing in the garden made a pot of soup for 60p. enough for three and the same again for the freezer. People used to adapt their daily diet to what was available. What if I did that based on what is best value?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">40p for 2 heads of broccoli. Potatoes from the garden & some stock saved from a chicken.</td></tr>
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That thinking just led to the discovery that roasted peppers freeze well and are great with a cooked breakfast. that lemons sliced up and put in the freezer (5p/4c for 6 lemons) are great in drinks or as a garnish and work just the same when making hummus. So breakfast is potatoes from the garden, hummus instead of eggs, bargain peppers from the freezer and some left over baked beans. Absolutely, unexpectedly delicious. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A really cheap, yummy meal with a bit of thought and using what was available</td></tr>
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<br />Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-63146306142792782018-05-02T09:02:00.002-07:002018-05-02T09:02:47.299-07:00Business, working from home and well, clutterI notice a tendency to overwork and over commit. Always to have several irons in the fire and more ideas in the background that I must try one day. Seems good, huh? Always a plan B for earning a living if things don't work out. Always the <i>stuff</i> poised ready, should that idea ever come to fruition...<br />
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A recent read was Year of No Clutter by Eve Schaub. She made one insightful comment that has truly stuck. It is the many possibilities and massive potential in our lives that prevents us from achieving what we want. AND cause a lot of clutter. Apparently people with serious hoarding issues often cite that as their reason for keeping stuff. So I have been letting go of possibilities. And their attendant stuff for the last couple of weeks. It really has freed things up and the possibilities already seem more manageable. <br />
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Having sold several large craft items that were a part of the business, less clutter, more in the bank is the new mantra. The things that have been re-homed have liberated the cupboards and shelves in my wee studio-office and things have stopped falling off the shelf when I am hunting for stuff needed for a workshop. <br />
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The best thing of all is that it has led to clearer thinking. Some actual work has been let go too, the parts that were too much work for too little money, or too far from home.<br />
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And what has filled the vacuum is a long-held ambition, I have been asked to write online courses for the Low Impact Living Initiative. One on spinning, one on weaving and one on natural dyeing. The first two will be filmed mid May. And LILI also want to publish my third book, Diary of a Downshifter, which will be the next project after the courses. <br />
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I am picturing the size of the pile of stuff that left our house over the last few months and cannot imagine how it all fitted. Now I am off to clear out some more, inspired by another great book, A Year of Less by Cait Flanders. Check out her blog too at <a href="http://caitflanders.com/">Caitflanders.com</a>Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-62328032040578038302018-02-01T10:40:00.002-08:002018-02-01T10:51:56.831-08:00How to make dandelion coffeeIts February and I just started using the dandelion coffee which is part of last year's bounty. Two of the most useful and versatile plants in the garden are dandelions and nettles. More about nettles in March when they start to grow and are one of the very first greens available. But then so are dandelions.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dandelion roots drying</td></tr>
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You don't need to go planting fancy dandelions from seed companies, any old dandelions will do and there are most likely some in the garden already. Let them grow where they will, in amongst other plants and vegetables is fine and if they take up a bit too much space, pick some leaves. The young leaves are great in salads and you can force dandelions by placing a flower pot over the leaves, weighed down with a stone. Then the leaves will be pale and even more tender.<br />
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Cook briefly (steaming works well) as a hot vegetable, or add them raw to a mixed salad. Or juice them in combination with other greens and some carrots and celery. Add apples to the juice if you like it sweeter. You can use the ordinary green leaves in salad too all year, if you don't mind a slightly bitter taste. They add a dimension to salads as do other bitter leaves like land cress, rocket or mizuna greens. They are really mineral rich and a nutrition boost, especially needed in spring.<br />
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We leave the flowers for pollinating insects and they are popular with many species of hover fly as well as nocturnal pollinators and bees. They can be picked off just before the seeds disperse but allow a few to set seed for next year's crop. Green Finches love the seed heads anyway. <br />
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Then, when they get old and in the way of the next crop, we dig some up, leaving any that can stay to sprout again. The roots are laid out to dry for a few days until hard, then roasted in a low oven. Grind them up and you have dandelion coffee. Half a dessert spoon full is enough to brew a cup of coffee, done just like you would with coffee grounds and it is surprisingly tasty.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dandelion coffee - very tasty and not bitter at all</td></tr>
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Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-22390626741880045922018-01-27T09:19:00.001-08:002018-01-27T09:25:06.875-08:00clutter challenge number 4today's sixty second de-clutter happened because I was planning a felt making workshop. The boxes of dyes and miscellaneous textile supplies.<br />
The dyes were not too bad really but time had moved on and now I use gallon containers for the dye rather than 1l bottles. A stock take of the box revealed old paper towels, some empty bottles and other bits and pieces. Now that the old bottles are gone, there is room for some of the gallon containers in the box and therefore more space in the cupboard...<br />
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Flushed with success after only 30 seconds, I spied another box in my textile workshop that continues to bug me. Miscellaneous. Having replaced a white plastic bag with a clear one, I can now see at a glance what is inside. Some bits and bobs have been re-homed or offered for sale and it all now fits in the box. A total of two minutes and I am off for a cup of tea.<br />
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A few days into this and the sixty second de-clutters have achieved more already than a day-long tidy and sort session. And the total time spent is probably no more than ten minutes. It is a powerful tool that somehow gets around resistance. Probably because your brain thinks a minute is painless and not scary...<br />
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It's a funny thing, because we have kept on top of clutter and had a 'one in one out' policy for years, but it seems to creep in during the night. having a home based business doesn't help. Nor does being too busy to focus on home stuff. So this year, the focus is changing to more home based time to garden, look after our house and just hang out. <br />
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<br />Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-4869430303070475922018-01-26T12:15:00.000-08:002018-01-27T09:24:34.870-08:00Clutter crunch day threeSo today's wee clutter jobs are... The sewing boxes. Everything came out onto the floor in the large box first. Some bits of fluff in the bottom, gone. Several reels of lurex thread will never be used so will be donated to a craft group.<br />
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And despite having a number of old zips, saved from old clothes, none are the right length for the two pairs of trousers that need zips. There is a great one for a sleeping bag and well worth keeping given the price. <br />
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So two zips are on the shopping list and the sewing project on my 'to do sometime' list. Those two pairs of trousers are really worth repairing but have not been worn for a couple of years as the zips will not stay up. I thought I needed more trousers till the sewing box reminded me about those ones that are not wearable. So a quickie, sixty second de-clutter of sewing box number one has saved money.<br />
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There is more space in the box after letting go of some stuff and I now know what is in there. And I just remembered there is a half finished skirt on top of the filing cabinet, so that is another job worth doing. Sometimes I have taken clothes to a repair shop for new zips. It only cost me £8 to get trousers repaired that cost £40 new and I don't<br />
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often find good trousers in charity shops for some reason.<br />
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Sewing box number two contains mostly reels of thread. And I got some really cheap ones in a charity shop. But how many reels of pink thread can I use in this lifetime? Have let go of a couple of them and that wee box now has a lid that shuts easily. It surprising how much difference a small thing can make.Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-60810547426712937892018-01-24T04:38:00.000-08:002018-01-24T09:35:07.101-08:00Clutter in your handbag, rucksack and carDoes it really matter if you have a load of bits and bobs in your bag or car? To get started, clear it all out of the car or bag and make a pile. Then you can sort through everything. And you will soon know! I really didn't think this needed doing, but as it was only a sixty second de-clutter, thought I might as well go through the stuff. That's the power of the sixty seconds, it unblocks because hey, it will only take a minute...<br />
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First, I discovered I had a nifty car booster for a flat battery. I knew I had the compressor but had forgotten about this wee thing, which means you can jump start without another car to help and without lifting the bonnet. Oh, and the spare coat and wellies I keep in there for winter emergencies were in the house and I had forgotten to put them back in the car!<br />
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So a quick tidy of the car, which took two sixty second de-clutters in total (one for the boot and one for the car interior) and I was all set for the winter weather. I added some more screen wash in a bottle and a blanket too. And now I also know the spare tyre is inflated correctly and have even added a few snack bars for emergencies. Amazing what organising the car does for your bad weather driving confidence.<br />
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So inspired, I moved on to the handbag, or wee rucksack in my case. First thing was the mini torch I keep in there, which had a flat battery, so I put that right. And how exactly had so many bits and bobs accumulated, left over from previous trips? Three tubes of mints when one will do, a phone charger that I had been hunting for, which had somehow tucked itself into a corner, umpteen paper serviettes saved in restaurants. These have now been added to the tissue box. A pair of gloves too many. And there was the tiny pen knife that should have been in the bike bag, I had been looking for it everywhere.<br />
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Another sixty seconds was all it took to sort those things. Potential future hassles have been avoided and life actually feels better. Partly because I am feeling rather smug I suspect! So yes, it is well worth sorting out your bag and car and takes all of three minutes.<br />
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You will notice too, that a couple of lost things that turned up during this process. De-cluttering the car and bag sooner would have saved all that hunting time. The more you keep on top of clutter, the less time is spent looking for stuff.Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-39928226159420116532018-01-22T00:12:00.002-08:002018-01-22T00:12:32.585-08:00The Sixty Second De-clutterIts terrible isn't it, this de-cluttering thing? I once had a book by Peter Menzel called '<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Material-World-Global-Portrait-Publication/dp/0871564300/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516605775&sr=8-1&keywords=peter+menzel">Material World: A Global Family Portrait</a>'. It is a wonderful book, which does in photographs what thousands of words could not. It is about the stuff that people in different parts of the world posess. He got them to move all their stuff outside and he photographed it. Simple. The American familly's stuff went around two blocks. And there was a family in (I think) Guatamala who had two cooking pots, two pairs of wellington boots and the clothes they stood up in. That was it. When the word 'de-clutter' comes into my mind, simultaneously so do the images of those two photographs. <br />
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Why do we accumulate unnecessary stuff? It gives us a (mainly false) sense of security maybe? Insurance against the future? Makes us feel accomplished and well off? We all do it, and you can guarantee that the Guatamalan family would not be saying 'hey, we don't want any more stuff' if they had the chance to get some... <br />
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The sixty second de-clutter came from a blog called the Daily Om, which appeared in my Facebook feed. Most of what it talks about is a bit airy fairy for me to be honest, but this was great. It gets under all those barriers that prevent us from letting things go. Just de-clutter or put things away for sixty seconds and you are done. Even if you clear one tiny thing, such as a pen off your table and put it away. <br />
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I really like adding the idea of simply putting things away to the concept of de-cluttering. So many of us struggle with that. If we are overwhelmed with stuff, it is easy to start thinking it will be easier to find things if they are left out and anyway, the cupboards and drawers are full of who-knows-what. <br />
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I found I was accomplishing a staggering amount in sixty seconds and enjoying it immensely. Do as many sixty second slots as you feel like. I go into my office to start work and do sixty seconds before getting down to business. Then later on, make a cup of tea and do another sixty seconds. It is easy to think what to do and resistance disappears. <br />
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A lot of the post-Christmas has been paperwork, which can really accumulate due to having a business. For me, it is not a solution to keep everything in the computer, although we definitely have less paper than in the past. People who try to keep <i>everything </i>paperless often can't find things and get in a terrible muddle when their battery goes flat or they are in a meeting. And you need a good computer filing system and to clear out the computer files just like you do the paper ones. <br />
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The sixty second de-clutter has led to other things, such as painting the spare bedroom and selling books that I no longer needed on Amazon. The goal is to sell enough surplus stuff to pay for a forthcoming yoga course.<br />
More about clutter soon.<br />
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Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-49787549400804736002017-05-18T01:49:00.003-07:002018-01-24T04:00:31.705-08:00its all about balanceI have the career of my dreams as a textile artist. Therein lies a trap, however. Work is work, however much you love it and we all need balance. I also thrive when I am doing more than one thing. Preferably lots of bits. So this week it is back to basics.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A simple low cost cycling holiday, this is how I think and write...</td></tr>
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that means keeping simplicity principles and values at the core of what we do. Your principles and values may be different. The important thing is that you know what they are and can use them as a guiding light. <br />
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<b>Our values are: </b><br />
Mental and physical health first<b> </b><br />
People- those we care about who also care about us<br />
Start by building community in our own locality <br />
By doing the above we inevitably end up being healthier, saving the planet and saving money<br />
spend less that we earn<br />
No debt ever again <br />
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So<i> exactly </i>how does building community make us healthier, save the planet and save money?<br />
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<b>It works like this:</b><br />
When you are involved in your local community there are consequences for things. Offend someone, and the next time you want a plumber, it turns out the person offended is their second cousin once removed. So no plumber for you. In other words, being involved makes us behave better.<br />
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When you shop locally, you get to know people, chat, see posters and get to learn what is going on in the community. Then you can go to local things because you know they exist. Contrast that with someone who drives to work in another town. They will typically shop at a supermarket on the way home so may never go in a local shop and don't tend to know about local activites. They get less exercise than the person who gets the bus to work.<br />
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The person who works in another town but gets the bus on the other hand, meets others on the bus. They will buy groceries on the way home after they get off the bus and meet yet more people. And have got exercise walking to and from the bus stop.<br />
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For us, the expense of running a car averages out at £300 a month, including replacement of the car every few years, So Health, the environment and finances all benefit by the one action, getting the bus. Cycling to work or working locally have similar benefits and there is always more than one way to achieve a given outcome. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janet returning from her ten week cycling project, 'Knit 1 Bike 1' </td></tr>
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So now you may be thinking 'I can't get a bus to work'. It doesn't matter, the same logic can be applied to many different things. And the 'green triangle' as it is called, seems to work regardless.<br />
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For example, when we originally decided to spend less on food many years ago, we cut down on eating out, ate less meat and ate more pulses and vegetables. Our health benefitted and so did the Planet. We ended up with a better diet, travelled less by car and there was less packaging on the food we bought. We were healthier, saved money and reduced our environmental impact. Then we decided to grow more vegetables and the benefits multiplied!<br />
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So back to work. I simply like doing more than one thing. A couple of years ago, I cycled round Scotland. Since I was a textile artist, I decided to do workshops on the way, in exchange for a bed for the night or a hot meal. Apart from meeting some wonderful people, I camped for the first time in years, spent 10 weeks travelling alone and wrote a book about it. It also led to an exhibition. See more about <a href="http://createwithfibre.co.uk/shop.html">Knit 1 Bike 1 </a>here.<br />
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The whole thing was transformative and I came home really fit. Two years later I am still fit and the garden has benefitted from my extra fitness too. So now we are growing even more vegetables and have <a href="http://www.wwoof.org.uk/">wwoofers </a>come to stay with us. That is volunteers who help with the garden and textiles. There have been positive benefits socially, health-wise and for the environment yet again. Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-16691227130619441672017-01-23T14:18:00.000-08:002018-01-24T04:01:56.927-08:00Shopping in your own cupboards/closetsMany of us in more affluent countries speak of de-cluttering and having too much stuff. The trick of course is to not buy it in the first place and put the money in a savings account instead.<br />
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That is how you build up an emergency fund (3-12 months living expenses) then have a fund for luxuries and extras and finally a 'retire early' fund. <br />
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We have decided to trim our spending again. It crept up when we had a larger income, as it does. That is the main reason it is how much you spend/don't spend that will get you ahead of the game, not how much you earn. Once you earn £15,000 per person that is. Below that more income does tend to make a difference. <br />
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I decided that I would rather do something I loved and earn less. So now I teach spinning and weaving and write books. I have let go of my other income stream.<br />
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I looked at a recent book written by someone who spent on nothing but essentials for a year. She still paid her basic essentials which came to £1800.00 a month. That is more than we live on anyway - and I suspect more than a lot of you do too. <br />
<br />
So I have been shopping in the cupboards. In other words, when I think I need to buy something I consider what we have that might do. <br />
<br />
Our duvet was too small. I was going to buy another but remembered there was an old smaller one insulating the hot water tank. So I cut a strip off and sewed it to ours.<br />
<br />
I needed a watch but then hubby remembered he had an old one and now it is mine. <br />
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I have been using up food that has been in the cupboard for a while. The dried fava bean soup is utterly delicious and i am going to make hummus from them too.<br />
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I had been buying frozen berries to put on porridge. The home grown ones ran out months ago. Then I remembered all that rhubarb in the freezer and am eating that instead. <br />
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We will have different snacks instead of crisps etc. Rhubarb and custard. Fried potatoes or home made oven chips. Crackers and cheese. Soup. All far more nutritious of course...<br />
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The goal is to spend no more than £10 a week on groceries. We can feed ourselves very well on very little money and have lots in the cupboards. Below is the fava bean soup.<br />
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<br />Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-16443457128938735942017-01-20T13:24:00.001-08:002018-01-24T04:03:42.010-08:00Leftover tub pasties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are focusing on the food bill and on all bills really. The concept I love this month is shopping in your own cupboards. Leftover tub pasties are always a favourite meal and work as follows:<br />
If there are little bits of savoury food leftover, instead of putting them in the fridge to go off, you keep a tub in the freezer and put them in there. This is not food off people's plates but that left in the pot. <br />
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Once the freezer tub is full, make a batch of shortcrust pastry. Or buy frozen pastry if you prefer, or if the hassle of making pastry is going to mean it never happens. It is still a very cheap meal. <br />
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Empty the tub into a bowl and add seasoning. We add curry powder, herbs and/or tamari.<br />
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Roll out the pastry and cut into oblongs. Put a spoonful of mixture in each one. Add a couple of slices of onion and/or some cheese to each one if you want. Dampen edges of pastry, fold over and press them down. Bake in the oven on baking trays for about 15 minutes until golden.<br />
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The miracle is, whatever you put in them, it always seems to work.<br />
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Home made pastry freezes well too so why not make an extra large batch for next time? <br />
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Voila - several almost free meals.<br />
And the pasties freeze well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contents of the leftover tub</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">adding a small amount of cheese and onion</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for the oven</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the finished pasties</td></tr>
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<br />Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-90023832188706207862017-01-11T09:35:00.001-08:002018-01-24T04:04:50.862-08:00all change - libraries updated and Radio 4 ExtraOur local library was a great resource, particularly for talking books, which I use in the car and whilst knitting. However despite being well used, it was shut down by the Council as a cost saving measure. Do they realise what a huge hole something like that leaves in village life?!<br />
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<b>Online library books</b><br />
However, many libraries now have a free on line resource. They use different packages to provide this, but a common one is <a href="https://www.overdrive.com/">Overdrive.</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a> My own local authority does not have an online resource as yet but the Cargegie library of a neighbouring authority does. I was able to join their main library years ago becuase I worked in the area. Most main libraries in the UK will let you do that and it allows me to access their overdrive resource. You often cannot join a branch library in this way, but there is no need,
because once you have a main library ticket, it works for all the libraries in that
local authority area. <br />
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Older syle Kindles will not work with Overdrive but the website pointed me to a free <a href="http://app.overdrive.com/">Overdrive app,</a> This allows me to access both audio and e books on my phone and it could not be easier. There are thousands of books. So I sit the phone beside me in the car and can hear it pretty well except in windy weather. Putting inside a hard plastic box of some kind really boosts the volume, so I am on the lookout for a suitable receptacle. If you want to access the books on your phone, get the app on your phone, although there is also one for laptops.<br />
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For actual books, you can look up the catalogue for most local authorities online, and get books sent from another library to yours. Then just return them to your own library. So here is what I do:<br />
1. Identify a series of books I want to read.<br />
2. visit <a href="https://www.fantasticfiction.com/">Fantastic Fiction</a> and check what order to read the books in. This is an amazing resource.<br />
3. Write a list and put it in my 'reading' folder.<br />
4. find out which ones the online library has<br />
5. find out which ones all the other libraries in the area have and add all this info to the reading list ready to order them in turn.<br />
6. check on Amazon for any that remain and order those at the cheapest price possible. this is often not a Knidle copy, but a second hand paper back. actual books also have the advantage that we can both read them more easily.<br />
7. Start reading!<br />
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It takes a bit or organising to get started but all the organising takes less time than one on line or physical shopping trip. About one to one and a half hours. I got a bit stuck with the Overdrive account to start with but phoned the main library. They re-activated my library card as I had not used the one there for some time and gave me the default passcode start me off and to access the site. Then it was easy.<br />
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<b>Other libraries</b><br />
I am a sucker for buying books on holiday. We had a timeshare in Aviemore for some time and I joined the library there. I merely had to show the documents proving we had a temporary address there. It saved me about £30 per holiday in book buying. Now I can access Overdrive from anywhere so it is far less of an issue.<br />
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And if you can't sleep, you can get a book right then. When I was away on a ten week bike trip and had a rough night in the tent, I was able to download a library book and read it in the dark on my phone. <br />
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Many out of copyright books are available free online and the one below is a particularly good list. <br />
<a href="https://archive.org/details/west_virginia_university">https://archive.org/details/west_virginia_university</a><br />
<br />
<b>Radio 4 Extra</b><br />
this is an <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4extra">Internet radio station </a>so can be accessed from anywhere. There are lots of archived items such as plays, detective programmes, books read outloud and other things. You can also access it live via digital radio. <span id="goog_1267413804"></span><span id="goog_1267413805"></span>Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-64317087853260649142017-01-10T11:24:00.000-08:002018-01-24T04:06:50.303-08:00Here's what we are eatingThere is kale, parsley and garlic in the garden and some winter salad leaves and spinach in the polytunnel. Lee's new Facebook group, Practical Simple Living is helping us to re-focus. It was easy to stay focused whilst paying off the mortgage but has been way harder since then. Tomorrow we will review our bills and see what we can save. This is always worth doing, especially if you have not done it for a while.<br />
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And we will re-focus on the food bill, too. That means I need to actually pick the garlic, salad, spinach and kale for starters. Tonight it is quorn meatballs and spaghetti on the menu and Lee made potato soup with the wonderful box of veggies a friend gave us at New Year. Total money spent zero and we will give them a 'swap' of something<br />
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Yesterday we ate trout caught by a neighbour with the potatoes and carrots from said veg box. So that was another frugal and tasty meal as the only financial cost was the broccoli (48p/50c).<br />
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<br />Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-51274509008929560082016-09-19T08:42:00.000-07:002018-01-24T04:09:25.497-08:00life moves on...So Knit 1 Bike 1 is a success! The book has been published (get your copy at www.createwithfibre.co.uk ) the exhibition opens 14th oct 2016 at the borders textile tower house in hawick, Scottish borders. Being away for ten weeks alone and by cycle changed so much and things have been changing ever since.<br />
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We have been de-cluttering and i realised how important it is that i grow food. So this summer we grew lots of it and had many WWOOFers (volunteers with worldwide opportunites on organic farms). Not that we have a farm, but seriously growing veg in a suburban, vertically challenged garden qualified us as wwoof hosts.<br />
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I am focusing on what is important. It can be hard to figure out what that is and has taken a year to re-focus and figure it out. Change is hard. Turns out i want to live on a lot less again and to work part time so that i can get out on the bike more. We did that when getting out of debt but our motivation was less thereafter. Now it is more again and it feels good.<br />
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So here is our progress to date:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Hubby has sold a lot of tools etc from the garage. Loads more space</li>
<li>We have had gardening volunteers and grown lots of food.</li>
<li>We have sold the caravan and a vehicle and vehicle a campervan</li>
<li>My tiny studio space now has amazing shelving and space to actually work in</li>
<li>I have been steadily assessing my clothes and have even less than before</li>
<li>I bought some additional, very lightweight camping gear including a stove </li>
<li>Create With Fibre has grown and i have help with admin etc</li>
<li>Our daughter is assistant weaver</li>
<li>Hubby re-designed the website and has helped with the business too</li>
<li>we decided to stay put after years of wondering whether to move house</li>
<li>This has led us to become more engaged with the area where we live</li>
<li>And the ongoing project is to simplify still further</li>
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And here's the big news - </div>
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We have decided to offer simplicity and downsizing mentoring and to have people stay at our home for workshops and retreats. They will be bespoke and we hope it will often be just a couple of people coming to see what we do. So if that is you and you want some help to re-design your life, get out debt, and look at work- life balance, get in touch mail@createwithfibre.co.uk </div>
Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-36068897496003882762016-03-21T23:36:00.002-07:002018-01-24T04:12:21.974-08:00gardening and foragingWe have a shiny new gardeners n foragers group. Right here in our village and folks ha e travelled from elsewhwere. So i got to go on my first coastal forage in the dead of winter. It was so cold i ended up wearing two coats. And who knew all coastal seaweed was edible? Pick it with scissors to leave the 'roots' and pick a little of each not all of it of course. And sea buckthorn has squishy orange berries full of vitamin C. Scoop them off the branches n they implode. Suck up resultant yummy mess. So at home i soaked the seaweed and cooked some of it briefly. Some was left raw. All was then dehydrated. I made seaweed powder and also left some whole. Great in stews etc. And the sandhoppers ard edible too...<br />
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Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-25994218826225092602015-04-28T05:26:00.003-07:002018-01-24T04:14:35.398-08:00Knit 1 Bike 1 updateI set off on the Knit 1 Bike 1 project on 29th June 2015. The recent Kickstarter campaign was not successful but I want to make sure everyone knows that this project will go ahead regardless. I am looking at other funding options meanwhile and here is a Paypal button if anyone would like to support the project. I would be most grateful.
<br />
<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" target="_top">
<input name="cmd" type="hidden" value="_s-xclick" />
<input name="hosted_button_id" type="hidden" value="XEPCKSCWKXJBJ" />
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<table>
<tbody>
<tr><td><input name="on0" type="hidden" value="Knit 1 Bike 1 options" />Knit 1 Bike 1 options</td></tr>
<tr><td><select name="os0">
<option value="Option 1">Option 1 £5.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 2">Option 2 £10.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 3">Option 3 £20.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 4">Option 4 £25.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 5">Option 5 £27.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 6">Option 6 £37.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 7">Option 7 £50.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 8">Option 8 £53.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 9">Option 9 £78.00 GBP</option>
<option value="Option 10">Option 10 £100.00 GBP</option>
</select> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<input name="currency_code" type="hidden" value="GBP" />
<input alt="PayPal – The safer, easier way to pay online." border="0" name="submit" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/GB/i/btn/btn_buynowCC_LG.gif" type="image" />
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Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-15390981310876465632015-03-29T12:39:00.000-07:002018-01-24T04:16:04.752-08:00A new adventure - Knit 1 Bike 1As some of you will know, I am setting off to cycle round Scotland on 29th June this year. I will be knitting and crocheting what I see on the way and the whole thing will result not only in a book but an exhibition of the work I produce.<br />
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On the way, I will be meeting lots of people and delivering wee talks about the trip and FREE mini workshops on knitting and crochet. I hope to include details of other textile artists around Scotland in the book. <br />
<br />
The itinerary is coming along nicely and can be seen on my <a href="http://www.createwithfibre.blogspot.co.uk/">Create With Fibre blog</a>. Do follow my progress on the Create With Fibre blog if you can...<br />
I have started a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/knit-one-bike-one/knit-1-bike-1">Kickstarter funding campaign </a>and have a month to raise the funds to enable me to write the book and carry out the necessary work for the project. Here's hoping! Meanwhile here are a few photos. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlTYORIQgjrbzE-9zqNsdiaYCBn80VJ5xm_VX7pFGuMzMo7KGZXdtS-wqYt54_2WqIoz0gGFjSag9j6GPEuOVsq-bxHh5cZNRa0eEJcH0y7UDu8Zx__56WYucXMG2US3KVVH-Wc8Nhmc/s1600/brompton+in+rain+loch+doon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlTYORIQgjrbzE-9zqNsdiaYCBn80VJ5xm_VX7pFGuMzMo7KGZXdtS-wqYt54_2WqIoz0gGFjSag9j6GPEuOVsq-bxHh5cZNRa0eEJcH0y7UDu8Zx__56WYucXMG2US3KVVH-Wc8Nhmc/s1600/brompton+in+rain+loch+doon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 12 year old Brompton folding bicycle - i am cycling round Scotland on it. Brompton have re-furbished it and it will go on a bus if i get stuck.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQGN718ehO3mfM7IVSpt2UeohsCEIH-K3hOga5ozT-bCIqMjoU-RY93W1V55zRtcShXu6fGZVDQdNf5iSpO85NI0-vILsf8mgCuR_xMaEXd3wlkWR1Mw4GAJlQJqHjgPUa8UpTH5R3Gk/s1600/me+on+bike+knitting+8mar+15+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQGN718ehO3mfM7IVSpt2UeohsCEIH-K3hOga5ozT-bCIqMjoU-RY93W1V55zRtcShXu6fGZVDQdNf5iSpO85NI0-vILsf8mgCuR_xMaEXd3wlkWR1Mw4GAJlQJqHjgPUa8UpTH5R3Gk/s1600/me+on+bike+knitting+8mar+15+comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on the bike, taking a break to do some knitting.</td></tr>
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<br />Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-35847056867945876002014-12-13T08:40:00.000-08:002018-01-24T04:18:50.780-08:00<b>BEING BROKE AT CHRISTMAS</b><br />
I decided to write this after struggling to get into the Christmas spirit as usual. We are blessed with being financially solvent thanks to having followed the<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_11?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=your%20money%20or%20your%20life%20by%20vicki%20robin%20and%20joe%20dominguez&sprefix=your+money+%2Cstripbooks%2C263"> Your Money Or Your Life </a>programme in the book by Jo Dominguez and Vikki Robbin, but it was not always so easy.<br />
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This post is for you, if you are struggling with debt and lack of money this Christmas. I would rather give the money to charity than buy things no one really wants and this year have made a donation to the local food bank in lieu of Christmas cards and some gifts. So ask for the Your Money or Your Life book for Christmas, or my other bible, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+tightwad+gazette&sprefix=the+tightwad%2Cstripbooks%2C157&rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3Athe+tightwad+gazette">The Tightwad Gazette </a><br />
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I get cross that people feel pressure to spend money they don't have just because it's Christmas. Have a look at the blog entries for previous Christmases about the ways we have found to get around that over the years.<br />
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For this year though, I want to focus on money and what to do if you are broke this Christmas.<br />
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<b>So here is a question:</b><br />
What could you do to earn £10 <i>right now? </i> One of the things about being broke is the blind panic. If you need a lot of money in order to be solvent, earning £10 can seem like a drop in the ocean. But break the problem down into managable chunks and you begin to feel resourceful again. If you can find one way to earn £10 you can find several ways. Do it ten times and you have £100. <i>Then</i> think what you could do to earn or save £50...there always seems to be something.<br />
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Think about your hourly rate when deciding which things to do first. Some things will net you £50 an hour and some 5p! So this morning I have been experimenting and here is what I did:<br />
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<b>Put some books up for re-sale on Amazon. </b><br />
<b> </b>Non fiction is best. I went through the book shelves and pulled out anything that had not been read for a while, or was available from the Council library service (check their website).<br />
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As is often the way, I found that one of the books will sell for about £13 although the others will only net me £1 or so each. A good result, assuming they sell but it didn't take long to do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7SjFLWzfbf6d7b2Gdxap5hXkc4OLDB7eB2-88OzY1GuIzhnCPf9qruuelM1fNsO18eFbpokzOIagN3QE5lOzPygk_GRwcSsOIAH2pFupiNY_2Jmt4MGH-bBeGB1BTi1sdXi4nDcsrkM/s1600/books+for+sale+blogcomp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7SjFLWzfbf6d7b2Gdxap5hXkc4OLDB7eB2-88OzY1GuIzhnCPf9qruuelM1fNsO18eFbpokzOIagN3QE5lOzPygk_GRwcSsOIAH2pFupiNY_2Jmt4MGH-bBeGB1BTi1sdXi4nDcsrkM/s1600/books+for+sale+blogcomp.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">books put up for sale on Amazon today</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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NB It is easy to sell things on Amazon and does not involve Paypal. There are many things <i>other</i> than books that can be listed and I once sold a tent on Amazon! You don't need a photo if the item is already listed on Amazon which is a big advantage. <br />
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<b>Switched to a Nationwide Flexdirect account</b><br />
Look at <a href="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/">moneysavingexpert.com </a>for up to date information about bank accounts and choose one that suits your needs. I got an interest free overdraft for a year and a £50 referral fee split with a friend because she recommended me. I will also get 5% interest for a year so long as I pay £1,000 a month in. What prompted the change is that Smile started charging a £25 a year just for having an overdraft facility even if it is not used. Some accounts will pay you £150 just to switch to them but might charge more for an overdraft, so do the sums.<br />
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<b>Made a large pot of soup</b><br />
This has gone in the freezer so that when we think 'what can we eat' there is something there and we will not end up with a takeaway. A packet of broth mix cost £1 in the Pound Shop and will do two pots of soup. I added carrots, onion and potatoes and some vegetable stock. (buy Marigold tubs of veggie stock for a lot less than veggie stock cubes.) I know this isn't big news but every so often I remind myself to do it, as bad habits creep back.<br />
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<b>Here are some other things we have been doing, just not today... </b><br />
<b>Repaired some hiking boot laces</b><br />
Yes really! the ones on my hiking boots had got all frayed and I had problems finding new ones that would fit through the holes. Getting new ones would mean braving the shops and I would undoubtedly come home with lots of things I didn't know I needed until I saw them. So I got a reel of sewing thread and bound the ends -they look fine and you cannot tell the difference. Actual saving about £2 but take the inevitable impulse shopping into account AND the fuel to get there and it is a lot more than that.<br />
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<b>My daughter made some Christmas decorations</b><br />
the felt and sequins cost £1 for a large quantity of each and she used the stuffing from an old pillow to pad them with. Great for giving as a little 'thoughtfulness' if you go to visit someone. It may not have actually saved much money but is a real morale boost and a handmade gift is so special. We love the ones she gave us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgq5DhJhtsa9_JxKqTNAuM7yBno8Yu-KHsmU9Aq1xX5EP-FV8xKsi0G470-Pr44H8qLvTFbx2FP01ItTS3ELGrt5j4ixU1WHXGWn5AuMtWEFquv435SvRZaehneyL_yMcFfq-KcyWZ0w/s1600/heart+christmas+decorations+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgq5DhJhtsa9_JxKqTNAuM7yBno8Yu-KHsmU9Aq1xX5EP-FV8xKsi0G470-Pr44H8qLvTFbx2FP01ItTS3ELGrt5j4ixU1WHXGWn5AuMtWEFquv435SvRZaehneyL_yMcFfq-KcyWZ0w/s1600/heart+christmas+decorations+comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">felt hearts cost pennies to make</td></tr>
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<b>Had a £1 gift challenge with friends</b><br />
This always seems to result in more fun than 'normal' gift giving and you get extra Brownie points for a second hand or hand made gift, or even a book that you have read yourself and want to pass on. We have had some hilarious times as a result of it - remember the pink and orange psychedelic long johns Andrew... We also keep a gift box throughout the year and if we see a likely present for anyone, it goes in the box. <br />
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<b>Bought this year's turkey on Boxing Day last year </b><br />
A huge turkey cost only £10 and is lurking in the bottom of the freezer. Our lovely neighbour also presented us with a huge trout after a fishing trip and we are saving it for New Year. So plan ahead for next year and look out for bargains on boxing day and New Year's day. We found that 9pm on New Year's Eve is a great time to go to the supermarket. We bought things for 5p that would usually be £5. Yeah I know some of you would rather be at a party but call in on the way like we did!<br />
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<b>remember - do review your bills...</b><br />
Over the holidays if you are at a loose end, check your house insurance fuel, phone and car insurance bills. If you have never done this before you will probably save a lot of money by reviewing them. Look at <a href="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/">www.moneysavingexpert.com </a>for the latest information.<br />
<br />Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-37097823186486973162013-09-26T11:30:00.003-07:002018-01-24T04:20:15.374-08:00How to make vinegar and mustard<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">How
to make vinegar and mustard</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am someone who needs to get my feet in
grass once a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not, life
begins to go wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get outside and my mind switches off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cut wood, garden and generally potter about
without a care in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A big sign
I am working too hard is when things feel ‘wrong’ and there doesn't seem to be time
to get outside, or to make good food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So instead of merely doing sums about
whether it is worth growing a bit of veg, add this into the equation:</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "calibri";">money saved on
counselling (!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "calibri";">arguments avoided
with one’s spouse or significant others</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "calibri";">money saved on
going to the gym</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "calibri";">eating one’s own
home grown spuds can replace going out for dinner - because they feel really special you therefore don’t feel the
need to go out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not the equivalent of simply
buying spuds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Similarly, bought mustard will sit in
the cupboard for many a year and not get eaten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But if a friend gives me their home made mustard, it is
yummy and special.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A friend <em>did</em> give me
home made mustard and it got eaten in a couple of weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also inspired me to make my own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> W</span>hen I found out that you can make mustard
from kale seeds, the abandoned kale plants in the garden got a new lease of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had gone to seed because I left the flowers
for pollinating insects and now there was a use for all the seeds too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Kale flowers</span> are
excellent for insects as are all brassicas <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(cabbage
family), onions and leeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> T</span></o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";">he kale seeds are now harvested
and drying out for mustard making.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About half of
the seeds used to make the mustard can be kale, the rest need to be
regular mustard seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am stripping
the kale seed pods from the stems and storing them in paper bags made from newspaper,
until the pods ripen and the seeds pop out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a bit of a fiddle but doing some every time I pass the kitchen
table means they soon get done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gtbvt4oRfbDxOctWU9kY60QpPcCgOz006w-SU6e63gZgXLQB6EWfpyZR3p2PDg1FkMoKeGiLcQiAL8EhdYzlzcmKMGi6q8bAbjiYjw0QjNyMG3uTkp-dxJeMxyzbo9ZKnqbi8ttbArE/s1600/kale+seeeds+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gtbvt4oRfbDxOctWU9kY60QpPcCgOz006w-SU6e63gZgXLQB6EWfpyZR3p2PDg1FkMoKeGiLcQiAL8EhdYzlzcmKMGi6q8bAbjiYjw0QjNyMG3uTkp-dxJeMxyzbo9ZKnqbi8ttbArE/s320/kale+seeeds+comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kale seeds drying</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here is the mustard recipe – with thanks
to my friends Gail and Gil and to </span><a href="http://www.downsizer.net/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "calibri";">www.downsizer.net</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Kale
mustard</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is mild but tasty and the mustard
seeds break down whereas the kale seeds stay whole, giving a nice texture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">2 tablespoons of yellow mustard seeds</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">2 tablespoons of kale seeds (or use
black mustard seeds)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">100ml white wine, cider or other vinegar</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Half teaspoon of salt</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">1 teaspoon any kind of sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Put the mustard & kale seeds and liquids
in a jar to soak for 3 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put in a
cupboard not the fridge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">After the three days put it in a blender
and add the sugar and salt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then blend
until it has the desired texture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">NB the vinegar is important as it is a preservative so do not be tempted to skimp on the quantity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Vinegar is another satisfying thing to
make.</span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Vinegar</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">There are several ways to make
vinegar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The simplest is to use water in
a jug, add a tablespoon of vinegar as a starter, a tablespoon of sugar or honey
and some chopped up fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leave in an
open jug for about 3 weeks and stir every couple of days and it will turn into vinegar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> it will have a white film on it which is the vinegar 'must' and nothing to worry about. </span>Strain and bottle. If you grow your own fruit this is great.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Another way is to use the ends of
bottles of wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put some vinegar in an
open jar or jug and leave it until it develops a white film on the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the vinegar starter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the wine and leave to ferment for three weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Jamie Oliver suggests making vinegar
from just wine as follows:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Wrap a half full bottle of wine (with
the lid on) in a towel, enclose it in a plastic bag and tie securely with string.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leave it in the boot of the car so it can
roll about for three weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rolling
about will aerate the wine and help it to turn into vinegar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";">By the way, we were given a huge marrow –
people often have trouble giving these away, and they are great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are grateful for them as they do not grow outside where we live so we usually have only one plant in the polytunnel. We often freeze them and use the pulp later –
and get lots of free meals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one was
stuffed with leftover rice and beans with some seasoning and tamari (wheat free
soy sauce) and baked in the oven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got
a dinner and two lunches out of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today
I had the remains of <em>another</em> free marrow as soup. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soup is a great way to use them up and
the soup freezes well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add some curry
powder for a great flavour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that’s a
free dinner for two and several free lunches this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-69567768227641239172013-09-06T15:59:00.002-07:002018-01-27T05:14:53.775-08:00The Food Challenge<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Feed-Your-Family-Day/dp/0007485654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378502995&sr=8-1&keywords=bernadine+lawrence" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The
food challenge – how it’s going</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That wonderful book,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>your Money
or Your Life has a quote;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘the real inflation is inflation of our needs, wants and desires.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It goes like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something starts
out as a luxury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it becomes a
comfort and then it becomes a need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think
of almost anything and you can follow its track along this path.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Eg the phone</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To start with they were a luxury item and
then more people got one and it became something every reasonably well off
person had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it became essential
because of safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trouble is that
before phones, people just popped round to a neighbour’s house for help but now
it is not seen as ‘proper’ to do that, so are we really safer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mobile</i> phones</b> went the same way – started out as a luxury and
now they are essential and we don’t feel safe without one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But before we all had mobiles there were
phone boxes all over the place, and you told someone where you were going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay maybe the odd person is saved from a
charging bull by phoning a friend but then again how many people are lulled
into a false sense of security because they have a mobile in the first place
and take risks they would not otherwise consider.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So what has this to do with food?</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bernadine Lawrence</b> wrote an
amazing book about food in the 1980s called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘How to Feed Your Family for £5 ($7.50) a day’.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was re-printed once in the 1990s and when I
last looked it was out of print.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However
one very beneficial effect of the recession is that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it has now been re-printed</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she first wrote it she and her husband
were totally broke, on benefits with four children and living in a high rise
flat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was her powerful statement
about how to survive and thrive when times are hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every item was costed out carefully and
thoroughly researched.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "calibri";">in
the 1980s it was called ‘how to feed your family for £4 a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the 1990s it was called ‘how to feed your family for £5 a day.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In 2012 it was STILL called ‘how to feed your family for £5 a day.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=bernadine%20lawrence&sprefix=bernadine+law%2Caps%2C307">Bernadine's book</a></span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In other words, the essential cost of feeding your family of six has
gone up by a grand total of £7 a week since the mid 1980s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bernadine’s book outlines a tasty, home
cooked and sensible diet, with meat on some days of the week but not every
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is lots of food for everyone
and no one would be left hungry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I bet
most people’s food budget has gone up a lot since the 1980s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you think about what has changed about
the food we buy though, even if you cook everything from scratch our needs
wants and desires have increased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I went through the book there were only a
few items that have gone up in price and many have gone down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watercress was more expensive because you now
buy it in fancy packets rather than simple bunches from the greengrocer.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But now we want blueberries rather than picking blackberries, pineapple
instead of rhubarb and lots of fancy sweets, puddings and instant meals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An instant meal used to be a boiled egg and brown
bread <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or beans on toast didn’t it?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The humble potato is a good example of how marketing gets us to spend
more money for the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
buy a 25kg sack of potatoes for £5/$7.50 if you shop around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or a smaller bag of potatoes for much more
money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or chill cabinet mashed potato
for £1.50/$2.25 for 100g.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or a bag of
chips for £2/£3.00 or a packet of crisps at 50p/75c for 20g.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Our
food budget</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For the last few weeks I have been keeping watch on what proportion of
our diet <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we have grown, swapped or otherwise procured
free or very cheaply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Today’s dinner was a vegetable and puy lentil curry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The giant courgette was part of one of U Boat
proportions that was given to us by a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No one wanted it because of its extravagant size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A tiny slice of it went into the pot. We added
potatoes, shallots and cabbage from the garden plus some frozen cauliflower and
a tin of those puy lentils that someone gave me because they had had it in the
cupboard for ages and would never use it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pudding was some apples that I swapped at a coffee morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ours are not quite ready yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the only things we bought were the rice
and the frozen cauliflower - £1 a bag and I used about a sixth of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKlrMVcrioR2U1dIBqAbDOGFXyVNFWCk2Z-vAhC8-1z8oMLPd5q7jY72XktcVhdnbIu20-N46Q-NF5Ek_bhLyRYBDPxzaEK-6PGw6FGydLvh3IlN42MFjtNCzGr5x_ok9H76tUXB3L6A/s1600/almost+free+curry.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKlrMVcrioR2U1dIBqAbDOGFXyVNFWCk2Z-vAhC8-1z8oMLPd5q7jY72XktcVhdnbIu20-N46Q-NF5Ek_bhLyRYBDPxzaEK-6PGw6FGydLvh3IlN42MFjtNCzGr5x_ok9H76tUXB3L6A/s320/almost+free+curry.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is where we don’t buy organic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We buy those organic things which are nearly as cheap as the non organic
ones, such as brown rice or couscous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
grow organic veg at home and use non organic stuff the rest of the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the logic is that I will get ill quicker by
having to work long hours to pay for all that extra organic stuff instead of
working out in the garden in my free time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>total cost of the meal then was about £1 and there is enough left for a
family of five.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What pushes the food bill up is when I go to the supermarket or worse
to a wholefood shop and Get Tempted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I come
home with lots of fancy fruit I didn’t want until I saw it, olives, special
rice instead of ordinary rice, special pasta instead of ordinary pasta and so
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And every time I take my eye off the
food bill it goes up again, so vigilance is the secret weapon. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This week has been a good one for the food bill though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>salads from the garden, eggs which we gained
by swapping, a totally yummy fish curry with fish that was a gift from a non
fish eating fisherman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are trying to
be good and eat what we have growing here and to have a good, plain diet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was stunned when watching the series
Edwardian Farm, about farming in the pre- world war two era to learn that
people hardly every went to shops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They thought
about what they had and used or ate that swapped with neighbours or bought from
the farm gate and presumably market stalls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There used to be farms in towns as well as in the country don’t forget –
that rural/urban separation of agriculture and growing is a more recent development.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Christmas
dinner...Oh no!</span></span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Finally - it’s time to be planning and buying that Christmas dinner and
other paraphernalia again if you haven’t already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got two packets of Christmas cards for 50p
in a charity shop the other day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will
probably have fish for new year as there is a giant trout lurking in the
freezer and I am saving it specially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
still have some frozen marzipan from the year before last, plus the home made
icing sugar and the final few crackers from two years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-6825393497395691482013-01-18T00:03:00.000-08:002013-01-18T00:03:43.266-08:00clutter, clutter, clutter<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<h1 style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 36.0pt;">
CLUTTER, CLUTTER, CLUTTER </h1>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Our clutter awakening</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Why extra possessions take up valuable time</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">The clutter journey continues</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
I want to tell the story of our
original de-cluttering experience, now a number of years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason I am revisiting history is that Life
has moved on and we are again ‘cluttered up’, despite a ‘one in, one out’
policy for all our possessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
In other words, for every thing
that enters our lives, something was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">supposed</i>
to go out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A cunning plan to ensure the
clutter does not build up and the cupboard doors still close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well it would have been if it had worked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
So, by writing the story of our
original de-clutter, I am reminding myself why I need to do it again and why we
moved to this lovely, simple, energy efficient house in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Life changes but belongings, habits
and routines do not always change with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So getting rid of clutter is one way to move into the present.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Once upon a time, 12 years ago, our
previous house got too small for the five of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were going to have to move...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Then, a book called ‘Freedom From
Clutter’ by Don Aslett changed all that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
When I first read that book (given
to me by my sister, who ironically still has two of everything), I laughed
until I cried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has a real knack of using
humour to make a point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(See fun quiz on
clutter).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
I loaned the book to a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually I left it in her front porch and
wondered if she would guess who it was from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She did of course and phoned a couple of days later to say she and her
husband had sat reading it to each other in bed and giggled throughout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both households then rolled up their sleeves
and began to clear out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was fun doing
it at the same time, as we could share our clutter horror stories.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Clutter is anything you no longer
need, have not used for a long time, do not have room for (yes even if it could
be useful!) or anything that is broken and is waiting to be fixed (but never
will be).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can be clothes that are out
of date or do not fit, unfinished craft projects, empty containers that may
come in handy (if you can find them), extra dishes that don’t match and
anything else that is surplus to requirements.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
And before you get holier than thou
and think <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> do not have clutter, let
me ask whether you have any empty margarine tubs, old flower pots in the
garage, enough used Jiffy bags to last you till the next millennium, spare
parts for a car you no longer own, some of those nifty carpet sample squares, or
paint to touch up the bedroom from before you changed the colour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh and yes <i>– what exactly is in your loft?</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Many of us end up buying bigger houses
or garages to put it all in, or even pay for storage facilities. So the extra
belongings actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cost</i> money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet we convince ourselves we are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">saving</i> money and being frugal by hanging
onto things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the money has
gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You already spent it on the stuff.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Getting rid of the excess makes
cleaning easier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is more space in the
cupboards so they stay tidy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
easier to find things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stuff does not
get broken or crushed and you do not end up buying another one by mistake because
you forgot you had it (heaven forbid).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Only <i>you</i> can say what you
want to get rid of but there are usually hidden benefits that only become
obvious once some clutter has gone as you will see…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
In the beginning, we threw away
some things that just needed throwing away, such as old paperwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With rare exceptions, like a passport or
birth certificate, there is little paperwork that needs to be kept for longer than
seven years. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Having saved every bank statement and
pay slip for our entire adult lives just in case, plus lots of old
correspondence, catalogues and other things that might come in handy, the
filing cabinets were filled to bursting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything was filed neatly, there was just too much of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With business as well as personal paperwork
to look after, we had three bulging cabinets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
After burning several bin bags full
of papers (great fun outside on a winter’s day) we got rid of a whole filing cabinet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was now plenty of space in the
remaining cabinets, so it was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">easier to
find things</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">no
longer damaging my cuticles</b> on the hanging file pockets.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Without the third cabinet, there
was more room in the office, so we added an easy chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The office looked much better and was nicer
to work in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the addition of the
comfy chair, we began to use it as a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">quiet
retreat</b> as well as an office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the
unexpected bonus was being able to use the room more flexibly, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">effectively expanding our living space</b>.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
So that was three results that
improved our lifestyle, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just from
cleaning out the filing cabinets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;">It was
easier to find things</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;">No more
damaged cuticles</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;">Having a
quiet retreat and more living space</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Now I try and throw something out
every time I open the cabinet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
paperwork still builds up, so in addition I have a New Year purge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
The garage was next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was much more room in the garage
without the tins of old paint, car spares, and extra plant pots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hubby bought metal shelving and re-organised
the remaining stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Wonder of wonders, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THE CAR FITTED IN THE GARAGE</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So on frosty mornings, life just got easier.
Again, a massive result from a relatively small action. There was no need to
spend money on a shed, which had been the original plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">So we
just saved the price of a shed – our first financial result from de-cluttering.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
So that’s two improvements in our
lifestyle just from cleaning out the garage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 38.5pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>The car fitted in the garage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 38.5pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>We did not need a shed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 38.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
The kids, enthused by our efforts, relegated
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">three bin bags</i> full of cuddly toys to
the loft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea was to bring a few
out at a time on rotation but once they realised how much easier it was to find
their toys and how much more space there was to play, they were happy to leave
them there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoever invented the giant
teddy bear should be locked away…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
After that first de-clutter, we went
through the whole process again a few months later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turned out to be a three stage
process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(And we have been re-visiting
it ever since!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stage one</b> involved getting rid of rubbish such as old paperwork,
cuddly toys, old jam jars and garage junk.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stage two</b> was getting rid of stuff that still had some life in it
but was not worth much, such as clothes that did not fit, surplus plastic food containers
and mis-matched crockery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This all went
to charity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stage
three</b> was awesome! This was good stuff but we no longer needed it due to
lifestyle changes and kids growing up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
It had stayed before because,
although it was never used, it had cost quite a bit of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, whilst at a car boot sale with my
sister, I realised that almost everything we had ever bought new was at the
boot sale for a fraction of the cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
sobering thought. </div>
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<br /></div>
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That meant that we could earn money
for our unwanted stuff <i>but it also meant that if ever we regretted getting
rid of something, it could be bought again for the same price we would get by
selling it! </i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that safety net, on we went with the
de-cluttering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact there are only
two things we have ever bought again and both cost LESS than we had sold the
original one for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words we made
a profit.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Selling the stuff raised over
£1,000 and that money paid off some of the mortgage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also bought a few new things that we
really wanted, for instance we got African drums and went off to drumming camp
– a really cheap and totally excellent holiday.</div>
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Now, if we buy something then find
it is not useful after all, out it goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember the mantra – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the money’s
gone</b>. It really helps if you bought it second hand to start with of course.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After a whole year of organising
and getting rid of stuff, the truth was revealed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<i>We did not need a bigger house
at all</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the STUFF that had
been taking up all the space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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In fact, a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">smaller</span></i>
house would do just fine and we moved to a house that cost us a lot less money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The remaining money went to pay off some of the
mortgage.</div>
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The de-cluttering has therefore saved
us many thousands of pounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a
major factor in enabling us to pay off the mortgage early.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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It is now 12 years since we paid
that mortgage off. In fact, it would have finally been paid off in December 2012 if we had
allowed it to go full term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Paying it off early meant we have never had
to work full time again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>That is a
big financial result, and a lot of it was due to de-cluttering.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After we moved, guess what? There was
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Why did we take <i>that</i> with
us’ we wondered and sighed at the thought of all those boxes we had carried. </div>
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The table was just a little too big
for the kitchen, so we sold it and bought a new (second hand) one that cost
less money than we got for the old one. </div>
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The bookcases Hubby had made for
the old house looked too big in the new, light and airy sitting room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we did not want our living room to be
dominated by stuff and we liked that airy spacious feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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So I went to the library armed with
a list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a book was in the library, we
sold our copy or sent it to charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Out
went all those ‘high brow’ ones I meant to read one day, such as James Joyce
(never got past chapter one), and Dickens (gave up when I was 12).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The library has them all, if ever I do want
to read them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I never have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly I then felt freed up to get
some nice new books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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And yes, you COULD get in the front
door of our house before all this began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is amazing just how much stuff a house will hold before it begins to
groan at the seams.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Pre de-clutter our home was
reasonably tidy and actually looked quite normal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
In part two of this article there
will be more information on how to go about de-cluttering. For the time being,
try making a small pile of things to get rid of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Start with one drawer or cupboard.</div>
Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4390612121100379843.post-5819934008128179452012-10-04T14:24:00.002-07:002013-01-18T00:30:48.608-08:00Tesco syndrome<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Tesco Syndrome</b></div>
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6 weeks ago I went into Tesco to return a dented tin of tomatoes which
cost me 29p (45c) and also to buy 3 things – decaffeinated coffee, a stain
removal bar and some wheat free rolls, for which I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thought</i> I had a money off voucher.</div>
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I got my 29p/45cents back but managed to spend £40.50/$60 while I was
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It went as follows:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Half a salmon that was on offer at half price</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>A dress that was in the sale for £7/$10.50</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>2 heads of broccoli – because they were on a buy
one get one half price offer </div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Peaches – they were a bargain at 5 for 59p/90c but
this was more than neutralised by the other impulse buys, and actually Lidl had
9 for £1/$1.50</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>I cannot remember what else I bought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I go into Tesco and I get hypnotised, rarely
getting out without spending £40/$60.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try
to avoid going there but every so often there is something I need that the
other supermarkets don’t stock</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>We
have a freezer full of lovely, delicious trout.</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>I
have enough dresses and don’t really wear them. This one looked like a corporate
bank or shop uniform and was uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why didn’t I try it on?</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>I
have unpicked Kale and spinach in the garden and 2 packets of broccoli in the
freezer.</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>It
turns out my voucher for wheat free rolls was for a different brand and I
narrowly escaped without buying another wheat free product that I did not need.</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Then
I went to the café and spent another £3.50/$4.75.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>if I hadn’t gone to Tesco I would have cooked my own baked potato with
baked beans, using the potatoes from the garden and bargain baked beans with
home grown salad for a total of 50p/75c.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>what’s
more the Tesco one was not very nice and the salad was tasteless.</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>I could have spent the time out in the garden
instead of in Tesco. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Inflation of our needs, wants
and desires</b></div>
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Our food bill had crept to £200/$300 per month for two of us when this
happened.</div>
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Probably not excessive to a lot of people but I know I can feed us for
a lot less – a maximum £100/$150 a month even taking inflationary food prices
into account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Not all food has gone up actually, though some has, and bananas have
gone down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It depends what you want to
buy and I suspect much though not all of the food price inflation is really
inflation of our needs, wants and desires as the good old book <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Your Money or Your life</b> calls it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">So how do you reduce the food
bill?</b></div>
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many (all?) of us buy bagged salad and rocket (arugula) instead of a
loose lettuce, vine tomatoes instead of ordinary tomatoes and fancy mash from
the chill cabinet <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or ‘specially selected’
baking potatoes instead of an ordinary bag of spuds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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You can still get a sack of spuds for £5-7/$7.50-10.50 and it makes an
awful lot of mashed potato, chips or baked potatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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You can make a lot of soup with a humble £1/$1.50 bag of lentils, a few
spuds, stock cube and an onion. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or you
can buy a 1 litre carton of ready-made lentil soup – no doubt special, luxury
soup in some way – for £2.50/$3.75.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And rocket is just about the easiest
thing to grow.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Marrows Free to Good Home please
help yourself.</b></div>
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The other day on the way home, I passed this sign at the side of the
road. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next to it was a veritable
mountain of marrows.</div>
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I gratefully gave two of them a good home but once I got them home,
they were getting ignored and I couldn’t quite bear to cut into them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact they were in danger of never being
used.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">After the Tesco debacle that had
to change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
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The left over curry and pasta sauce in the fridge were duly transformed
into stuffed marrow, marrow soup and marrow and potato curry and we had several
effectively free and very tasty meals as a result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was inspired and back on track!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The leftover tub</b></div>
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This is a plastic tub that you keep in the freezer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All those little bits of things that go off
in the fridge get put into the tub and frozen instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not stuff off people’s plates, just the bits
left in the saucepan etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This idea came
from the Tightwad Gazette many years ago and we have used it ever since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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When the tub is full, I make a curry or stuff pasties with whatever is
in it, plus a few herbs and spices.</div>
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No matter what goes in there it is always delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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However, the recent tub had been full for ages and because it was full,
little bits of leftovers were going off in the fridge again.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So Hubby made leftover curry which was yummy and I made leftover
pasties, with the remaining curry, adding some grated cheese and a slice of
tomato to each pasty.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">And Tesco?</b></div>
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Well to be fair I was impulse buying in other supermarkets too, Tesco
just tempted me more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the last 6
weeks I have had a rule of one impulse buy of up to 50p/75c per shopping trip,
and stuck to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What fun I have had
spending that 50p/75c.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And the dress went back and was exchanged for 2 large packs of nappies (2
for 1 offer) as a gift for a new baby.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Diary of a downshifterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15506709068677218920noreply@blogger.com0