Category Archives: Blogging

My Own Advice

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Today I am swallowing some of my own advice.

In my last blog post I talked about not trying to meet prescriptive minimalist goals.  I eschewed the extreme attitude of Bea Johnson at Zero Waste Home as being not for me quite early in my minimalism journey.  There are numerous other extreme ideas such as wearing the same dress every day for a year.  I applaud the people that choose to push the boundaries and carry out these ideas but it is not for me.

However, I have been somewhat seduced by things such as Project 333 and Plastic-Free July.  I have discovered that the life I live does not necessarily meet the lofty ideals of these and similar sites.

I think that part of my ‘problem’ which is not really a problem at all is the fact that I am a well-rounded person (not necessarily in the physical sense).  I dabble in range of strategies to live simply, reduce consumption as well as saving money and resources and have done for quite some time.

It is those ideas and strategies that I try to share with you here on the blog.  The little day to day things that may not look like much but add up over time.

There are many others out there who are doing the same stuff every single day and I want to encourage you to do the same.

There are no numbers that you have to achieve, it is not a race but simply an invitation to live the best life you can.

That is enough talk from me – from tomorrow I will be back to sharing some of the practical things that are part of my routine.

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Other Places

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I have not had a chance to update you recently but the lack of posts is due to the fact that we are on holidays.

We have left Psycho Dog, Mr K and the chickens in the capable hands of the housesitters and headed off on an adventure to the other side of the world.

If you would like to join in the fun please come over to my travel blog.  Lots of commentary and photos on where we are and what we see and do.

Posts here will resume when we arrive home – but that is not for several weeks yet!

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A Frugal Mindset – 5

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This post has been half written for a few days as life has a tendency to get in the way.

Here is the next instalment.

5. Frugal people use items until they break, and then fix them. Marketers are always coming out with the biggest and the best thing, and urging you to upgrade now. But frugal people don’t worry about that. Instead, they’ll continue to use the perfectly good, whatever (you fill in the blank) until they just can’t get it to work anymore. No need to buy something new when what they have works perfectly well!

Question to ask yourself: Do I really need a new ________ (fill in the blank)? Or does what I have already do what I really need it to already?

This just commonsense as far as I am concerned.  Whilst it may be tempting to buy something in the latest colour/style or bigger and better there really is no need.

We are all seduced from time to time by shiny new things but if you can limit your purchases of things that will replace ones you already have you will be well on the way to making some substantial savings.

Try thinking of the oldest item you have in regular use and share it in the comments.

Mine would be the mixing bowl that belonged to my grandmother followed by the woollen blankets on the single beds – they are almost as old as me.  The blankets on the guest bed were a wedding gift as were much of the crockery, glassware and kitchen paraphenalia that I use regularly.

Busy Being Frugal

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Pardon my absence but I have been busy doing the everyday things at home as well as my paid employment.

Tonight I want to share a link that one of my Facebook friends posted a couple of days ago.

7 Mindsets of Frugal People

I am usually very sceptical of this type of post on Facebook but I was pleasantly surprised when I clicked on this one.  In my opinion these 7 messages make good sense and mirror much of what we do every day.

I hope you will take the time to click on the link, have a read and leave a comment.

I plan to write a blog post on each of the 7 points and how it aligns (or otherwise) with what we do here at ‘The Castle’.

I look forward to your comments and discussing in more detail in the coming week.

 

Dragged Down

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As much as possible I try to keep my blog posts positive.  Now I know why.

During the last few days I have stumbled on some really negative and downright depressing discussions on the internet.  I have realised how much I have been dragged down by it all.  This combined with being tired from a busy work schedule has drained my creative juices and made writing a blog post almost impossible.

One of the discussions was related to this article which is well-written and contains some really useful information in the article and also within the links.  However, many of the responses were negative and ranged through bitterness, envy and disbelief.

The other was about global warming, although I prefer the term ‘climate change’ as a more accurate descriptor.  I was astounded and dismayed at the number of people who seemed unable to accept the premise of human-induced climate change which is accelerating at an ever increasing rate.  Even more worrying were the links being shared which referenced articles from such ‘luminaries’ as Ted Cruz, Andrew Bolt and Lord Monckton.

However, my faith was somewhat restored when I read this comment in the discussion.

Quote:

I thought I would add what I have been doing personally as I am very concerned about this issue myself.
I have read Naomi Klein book This changes everything. It was very hard to read for me as I need things set out more clearly in non fiction but she raised some good points. I also read Vandana Shiva Soil not oil which was much easier to read and something I felt I could do more about.
Switched to power shop for my electricity. Compost all food stuffs though council. Reduce car usage etc. Trying to cut down meat consumption. I know a lot of people think we should all just go vegan and angrily support that but I think think that would be like a badly failed diet for everyone. I think think you’re better off encouraging a slow change to encourage permanence.
I have joined one million women, 350. Org , green peace and a heap of others to support their works sign petitions etc.

Need to work on my plastic bag use and buying unnecessary packaging, although I am doing better than most I know.

It is lovely to hear of others who are prepared to do their bit and I applaud every small step that each and every one of us can take.

It is only 2 weeks until July – and that means 2 weeks until ‘Plastic-Free July’ so please take a look here and consider what you can do to make a difference.

Weekend Plans

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My apologies for disappearing for nearly a week.  This week has been a bit of a blur.  On Monday GMan and I made a flying visit to Melbourne to attend the memorial service for a dear friend who died unexpectedly a couple of weeks earlier.  It was an emotional day but I am so glad that we were able to attend.  RIP, Carol.

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The rest of the week has simply been going to work and doing my best to keep my head above water.  A menu plan and meals in the freezer have been most welcome.  Honey soy chicken was on the menu last night.

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Now it is the weekend and this looks like being a full one.  Tomorrow we are going to see Miss O play netball.  It only seems like the other day that she was born and now she is 8 and playing her first season of Saturday morning sport fixtures.

After the netball match, GMan and I are heading off to a computer shop to look for a tablet computer to buy then out to lunch with my mother.

To round off the day we are going to see “The Lady in the Van” starring Maggie Smith.  I am looking forward to this film as she is an excellent actress and I have enjoyed several of her other films.

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What are your plans for the weekend?  I hope it is great.

Luxury of a Long Weekend

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Thank you for your kind words after my last post and patience while I collect my thoughts.

This morning I woke and lay in bed contemplating the unusual situation of 3 days at home (it is a long weekend here in Queensland) and no commitments.  That is right – nothing, nobody, nowhere.  We had no plans.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love catching up with family and friends, entertaining and going places but it is such a novelty not to have anything planned.

The weather is cool and humid with showers of rain threatening.

GMan and I began by taking the outdoor table downstairs to clean it in preparation for painting.  Next, we have cleaned all of the concreted area under the house – swept, vacuumed and cleaned with the high-pressure water spray.

After using the outdoor vacuum cleaner GMan discovered that the filter bag was falling to bits.

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I decided that I could make a new one which appears to have been a success.

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Here it is attached to the lid of the vacuum cleaner.

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There are lots of other things we can work on and there will be more about those in upcoming posts.

I hope you are having a safe and relaxing weekend wherever you are.

On Hold

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I had several ideas for blog posts to write this evening but all of that has been put on hold.

Just a couple of hours ago I learned of the sudden and unexpected death of a friend.  I first met Carol through an internet forum 9 years ago.  I then met her in real life on a couple of occasions and we have continued our contact through various channels.  She was an avid reader of this blog and her comments were always considered and thoughtful.

To a kind and gracious lady.  Farewell, Carol and rest in peace.

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