the next step

January 17, 2014 ~ Gillie ~ 14 Comments

All the decluttering in the world is not going to have any effect if you don’t stop the stuff coming into your life in the first place. We’ve all been there: cleared a cupboard or a room and then six months later it has reverted back to type.

Part of the reason for this blog was to encourage transparency and to make me change my mindset. To think before I bought, to question the actual value of an item. It has worked to a certain extent, I am certainly far more thoughtful about most purchases whether expensive or from the charity shop. In fact charity shops used to be one of my downfalls. Items that I would never have bought new I would happily buy from a charity shop. I’m not saying that I haven’t had some fantastic buys but just because a dress is only £5 I should buy it. If I don’t need it I shouldn’t buy it just because it is cheap and/or good value. It is only good value if I need it. I was going to insert a picture of a dress that came to mind as I wrote that. However, said dress went back to the charity shop in the first purge 🙂

So this year I am recording all my expenditure. Every single last penny. I would like to see whether the expenditure in various areas matches up to the pleasure we got in those areas. Groceries are essential, but at the end of the month if I have spent say £200 on groceries and yet we can’t recall more than a handful of lovely meals then it was not money well spent and we need to work out why. Our time here on earth is limited as are our funds. I intend to make sure I get the best out of both of them.

financial straits

December 18, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 4 Comments

By all accounts we are not poor. I am well aware that our income puts us well in the upper percentage of the population, please do not post to say how lucky we are, I am well aware of that, but that does not mean we do not have to watch our pennies, that we do not look at our bank account and panic. We don’t party wildly, or have expensive cars (far from it, the elderly RAV has just been condemned, do hope there is no snow this year or we are stuffed) or go on glamorous holidays yet still it can be difficult.

Going down the minimalist route has been interesting, and at times bumpy. Rome was not built in a day, there have been times when I have looked at a scarf or a pair of curtains and thought they would be “just perfect”. However, I have remembered that I already have a perfectly good scarf and perfectly good curtains and even if I did want them and even if I could afford them…. there are more important things I could spend my money on.

This month I have kept a record of every single penny I have spent, and furthermore I have given that record to the Boss. The need to be completely transparent is the best way to keep a rein on spending. My particular weakness has been books, Amazon and every bookshop in County Durham has been the benefit of my obsession. You will not be surprised to know that my to be read pile is so large as to be at risk of attracting the attention of the planning department as an unauthorised structure. This month I have come across several books that I would like to read. This time I put them on my Christmas wish list.

There is a reason why Weightwatchers is so successful, it is the transparency and the sharing. If you are trying to cut back on your spending, then don’t do it alone. It is rarely the big purchases that do the damage but the little ones. “Watch the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves” is indeed true. We don’t begrudge a little treat here and there, a book for £5.99 or a lipstick for £10. If that were all and you have the disposable income then it wouldn’t matter, but it becomes an issue when those little purchases become a habit. Team up with a friend and agree to reveal all your expenditure to each other. You can set your own terms, you may decide to keep your rent or mortgage and heating bills for example to yourself. But try to be as transparent as you can. It will make you question every purchase and you will be surprised if not shocked at how many you really do not need. I certainly have.

small business saturday … do you care enough?

December 4, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 3 Comments

It’s not long until the weekend, and as I pointed out in my last post, not long until Christmas either. Even the most minimalist of families need food, and most of us like to be able to celebrate with something a little bit special at Christmas. Curried tripe is all very well (and pretty much the only way I can eat it) but it is not what I would like to see on our Christmas table. We are fortunate enough to be able to chose what we eat, to have plenty of it and to be able to enjoy a celebratory meal. This post isn’t about how much to spend but how you spend it.

This Saturday is Small Business Saturday. Where are you planning on buying your groceries? Will it be online with Tesco or with the local greengrocer? Some people are fortunate enough to have this around the corner six days a week.

Beautiful isn’t it?

Here is a bit more.

And a bit more.

This is Padua. Even the best British markets and Farmers’ markets cannot compete with this and while envy is not an emotion I encourage I do have some difficulty keeping the little green eyed monster at bay when I see pictures like this. I was brought up in Notting Hill Gate and my mother now lives in Notting Hill (and yes they ARE different!). She has the Portabello Road on her doostep, if anything were to persuade me to live in London again that might be it.

But I don’t live in London, nor Padua. On the other hand I can shop at

Monty the Butcher, with the loudest voice in the north east and the biggest smile.
Durham Indoor Market with a fish counter, cheese and game counter, bakers, greengrocers and old fashioned sweetie shop.
Abundant Earth, a workers’ coperative growing vegetables under the permaculture method
Robinsons the greengrocers, who have everything I could ever need and go out of their way to find even the wierdest vegetables
The Golden Pearl, the best stocked chinese and thai supermarket outside Chinatown and a lovely onsite cafe too.
Humphrey’ family run bakers, you can see them rolling and kneading through the back.
A good number of farm shops with their own butcheries

There are plenty more and as one of the founders of The Durham Local Food Network I would point you in the direction of our directory if you would like to source produce local to our county.

Yes, it IS easier to book it all online but what are you doing with the time instead? Going to the gym? Running the children to some extra curricular activity? Why not walk down your high street with them. Why not take some exercise, educate your children on where their food comes from, interest them in choosing what you buy and how you cook it, share the cooking with them. Shop local. If you don’t now you won’t have the choice tomorrow.

farthings and fancy cars

December 3, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 8 Comments

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat

Please put a penny in the old man’s hat

If you haven’t got a penny a farthing will do

If you haven’t got a farthing God bless you.

Christmas is indeed coming, but farthings (a quarter of a penny) are long gone. The man with the hat is sadly still with us. I was speechless to read the news reports about “Black Friday”. With apologies to my American readers, but this is yet another US import that we really could have done without. As I try to gradually rid our house of all the unnecessary stuff that we have accumulated without even noticing (sometimes I really do think that clutter does procreate and at the rate of rats as well) people are killing each other in order to get a discount on something they probably didn’t even know they wanted.

What is our relationship with belongings? Why do we feel the need to own things, does it validate us? We are probably quite unusual in that we have never taken out a loan to buy a car, we always buy second hand and we buy the best we can afford with the money we are prepared to send. Consequently I have never owned an Audi nor a Merc nor a Range Rover. We have to have a 4×4 because of where we live and we have a 16 year old RAV (one careful female owner whose father happened to be a car mechanic and only 80,000 on the clock – private sale for less than £2K) It does what it says on the tin. I don’t need to say who I am by the car I drive.

We do need the basics for life and most of us would like some creature comforts, I am not for a moment suggesting that asceticism is the only way to go but I am staggered by the conspicuousness of the consumption. I like to look good, I like my home to look good and feel comfortable, I like a car that starts and I enjoy my food and drink. I do not need 50 handbags and 20 black skirts. We need only one fridge and as long as it is the right size for our family and keeps the food cold does it matter how old it is?

Age and background don’t seem to make any difference. Is it our fault? Have we brought this upon ourselves? Can we stem the tide or is it too late?

It is the third day of Advent. If you would like to do it a little bit differently you could do no worse than read Stephen Cottrell’s excellent book.

Do nothing – Christmas is coming

plans

September 20, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 8 Comments

I have not fallen off the edge of the planet (despite the prayers of many no doubt) I have been preserving and catching up with all those little jobs that have the ability to turn into thwacking great monsters if I don’t keep on top of them.

I am on top of them. So life, if only momentarily, is returning to what passes for normal in our house of fun. This is the time of year that feels like new year for me. In the days when I wore knee length socks and a navy blue tunic it was the time of new pencils and a squeaky new pencil case and Helix Oxford Maths set in it’s distinctive blue and silver tin.

Form teachers handed out pristine new exercise books and we carefully copied out our timetable. Over the years this process has evolved but I still buy new pencils and it is now that I start our timetable for the next 12 months.

Planning is everything, if you are decluttering, downsizing and aiming towards a life of less then you need a plan. And there is little I love more than a plan. Not surprisingly you will need some basic equipment. I prefer pen and paper, but if online and digital rocks your boat then far be it from me to question your choice. Just choose something you are comfortable, you like and most importantly will use. A plan can be pretty but it can be pretty useless if you never consult it!

If you are thinking of changing you lifestyle first you need to know what you what to change, how you are going to change it and how that will impact on your day to day life. There are big plans and there are little plans. To ease you in gently we will start with a little plan.

Let’s start with the grocery shopping. This is how we did it.

What do we want to change?

Reduce or eliminate supermarket purchases
Produce as much ourselves
Purchase as much as possible from local producers
Purchase as much of what remains from local suppliers

How are we going to change it?

Increase fruit and vegetable production
Increase poultry numbers
Bake own bread etc.
Use locally grown co-operative vegetable box scheme
Use farmers’ market
Purchase direct from farm(s)
Use local greengrocer/butcher/fishmonger
Make own cleaning products
Consider alternative purchasing options for dry goods, tins and general household goods.

How will that impact on our day to day life?

Cannot do all shopping in one place
Increased work in the garden
Need to plan ahead both the shopping and the way it is purchased
Freezer must be cleared to ensure that whole butchered animals can be easily stored and accessed.
Bulk purchasing of some products (esp vinegar and bicarb for cleaning) required.

What will we do to fit the above into our day to day life?

First, in terms of food shopping PLAN AHEAD.
Usually on a Sunday I check the fridge, pantry and freezer to see what I already have in stock that I can use.
Then I check the diary and see what is going on during the week, I do not want to be cooking a complicated dish on a day when I am ought all day and we have multiple pick ups in the evening.
Then the fun starts. I choose up to three or four recipe books and start to plan menus for the week ahead. That way we don’t get stuck in a rut with the same old recipes and can experiment and try out new things.
As you chose a recipe allocate it to a day , write down the page and the recipe book and check what, if any ingredients you need to buy and write them down on your list.
When you are happy with the menu plan tackle the shopping list.
Break it down by store. I am quite lucky in that I pass the butcher every day and with a bit of a diversion and a child looking out for traffic wardens I can nip into the greengrocer too. If the greengrocer list is long then I save that for a day when I have to go into town and park the car. Bear that kind of thing in mind when you are deciding what to eat on what day. Don’t make Monday’s meal one that cannot be done without a shopping trip unless you know you can go shopping on Monday!
We also have a blackboard in the kitchen, whenever anything runs out the last person to use it is supposed to write it on the board. It’s not foolproof but it’s not bad! Add anything on the blackboard onto the appropriate shop section of your list.
Non food items and dry and tinned goods are a bit of an issue. Personally if I can’t buy local then I prefer to buy ethically. This means, that for the most part I don’t use supermarkets except Waitrose (which is a partnership) and the Co-op. The other supplier I use is Suma, a wholefood co-op and a couple of online stores. This is my choice and does mean that I tend to buy in bulk and only once every month or so.

I am not perfect, I run out just like everyone else and I have to make emergency shops. I try to make those at places like the Co-op or locally owned shops, but I have been known to go to Tesco! Don’t beat yourself up. We have to start somewhere.

I haven’t addressed packaging because for the most part if you buy local you tend not to get that much packaging. Any veg I buy I can buy loose or pack in my own bags (mushrooms, soft fruit and veg etc.). Our local veg box scheme the wonderful Abundant Earth gives each member 4 hessian bags which are used in rotation for the veg. Any soft veg are put in paper bags which are reused until they are composted. The fishmonger wraps up in paper and is just coming to terms with the fact that I don’t need a plastic bag around my fish. The baker only uses paper or my own bags. Whole animals direct from the farm do come in plastic. They are butchered and given to us in a large box. But by far the biggest problem is that which is bought mail order. Everything comes in plastic, understandably nobody wants to send 5 litres of vinegar through the mail in a glass jar but why did my soapnuts come in a plastic bag? Albeit a plastic bag inside a very nice cotton drawstring bag. Long gone are the days when you could get your jars refilled at the grocers because there are no grocers left, because everyone goes to supermarkets or Costco or WholeFoods. Which brings me back to why I don’t shop in supermarkets…..

Here in Durham we have The Durham Local Food Network (I am just a little bit proud because I am a founder member and I think it’s brilliant) but we are not unique. There are lots of groups like us who have directories of local producers and suppliers and information about local food news and events. Google your town and find out what’s going on.

Materials required

Eyes – to see what you already have!
Pencil
Used envelopes, backs of circulars to write out shopping lists, menus etc (we keep our on a magnetic bulldog clip on the fridge)
Cookery books or a head full of recipes
Diary
Shopping bags or trolley
Bus ticket/car/shanks pony

presents and plastic

September 2, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 7 Comments

So it is the 2nd of September. That means two things. I need to make sure I have my mother’s birthday present (tick) and we are day two into the month of no (or at least as little as possible) plastic.

Mother’s present was quite easy. As I don’t think she reads my blog I can tell you she should be enjoying a rather nice lunch with my stepfather in a rather nice restaurant in London. No plastic was involved in the purchase, preparation or sending of said present and I sincerely hope that there is no plastic involved in the serving of her present either. Though unfortunately I cannnot vouch for the kitchen in which it will be prepared.

As for the September challenge. We have hardly done any shopping and have already failed.

Sunday newspapers – the supplements come in a pre-sealed plastic bag. I imagine it makes the assembly easier, however I remember Sunday newspapers as a child and there was no plastic bag then. My father gets the LA Times which is vast and there is no plastic there either. Letter to Sunday Times on its way.

Quayside market. Wonderful produce from local producer. One beauty of a swede.

Gorgeous selection of onions.

Beautiful variety of tomatoes.

But I had failed to bring any small cloth or paper bags for the tomatoes and they were put in plastic. Have now added one cloth and three paper bags to the little parachute silk Onya bag that lives in my handbag.

Then absolute massive fail whilst my back was turned. The Boss as a bit of a sock thing. He likes them brightly coloured and not necessarily matching. He bought a set of three pairs of very attractive stripey socks and….. let the stallholder put them in a solitary plastic bag all of their own. I had THREE Onya bags they could have gone in. He has promised to be more vigilant in the future.

Today I have purchased some wine (glass bottles that will be used for homemade wine), fruit juice (cartons that will be used as firelighters) and carrots (bought loose). All brought home in one of my plastic free hessian bags.

On all occasions I refused a receipt. Nobody seemed too surprised or fussed. So I wonder, would shops which issue receipts automatically consider having a no receipt option on their till at the buyer’s risk?

Tonight I will do the menu plan for next week and write out my weekly shopping list. I will have to plan very carefully. I suspect what we eat will be dictated by where I can buy the necessary ingredients without incurring the input of plastic. Fortunately the hens are still laying so we will always have the egg option. Although as I was planning on using up the last of the asparagus with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce tonight they had better get laying!

panic

August 26, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 10 Comments

I don’t do regrets. I can’t see the point in looking back and getting upset about something that has already been and gone. Today I am going to make an exception.

Why on earth did I go public about trying to go plastic free. The more observant readers will notice the introduction of a new word. Yup “trying” because as the 1st September fast approaches I am starting to panic that it is all going to go belly up pretty fast. There is so much plastic around us.

The project is not helped by the fact that I have three teenage daughters. Three perfectly formed modern consumers who like stuff. Not masses of stuff to be fair and they are discriminating about on what they spend their money. But much of the stuff they like tends to come with plastic: toiletries, Haribou tangfastic; soft plastic bread for toast; cotton wool pads; fresh strawberries in plastic punnets.

They already think I am bonkers, the mention of the plastic free month was met with much eye rolling, sighing and pleas to be a bit more normal. They are fairly well resigned to the fact that all jams and jellies for example are homemade, but still look longingly at the jars of pap on the shop shelves. I did suggest (as a joke) that we made our own Nutella (which as a plastic lid by the way), you would have thought I was suggesting they eat raw tripe for a month!

But I cannot put all the blame on them. I have spent this month looking at everything I buy and how much plastic is involved. Oh boy, there is so much and some is going to be very hard to avoid.

One area that I am really struggling with is cleaners and toiletries. Not buying them, I can do that quite easily and make my own instead. But the ingredients I need to make them come in plastic bottles! Vinegar, surgical spirit, rosewater, witch hazel, beeswax, glycerine, oils. They all come in plastic bottles. I have to buy in bulk because I use so much so I have to buy over the internet and nobody is going to send glass bottles through the post if they can avoid it. I’m wondering if I can send them back but I suspect the answer will be “no it’s too much fuss”. Grrr

first steps

August 16, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 22 Comments

I’ve had a tremendous response to my announcement about going plastic free. Thank you very much. However, it is rather daunting, perhaps I should have kept quiet and then my failures (I am not so naïve as to think there will be none) will not be so public. So striking whilst the iron is hot, here is update number one.

Plastic chopping boards have been put away. We still have two wooden ones so they were surplus to requirements anyway.
I cannot find any dog, cat, poultry, parrot or fish food that doesn’t come packaged in plastic. I will have a word with our feed supplier. We are good customers so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Toiletry containers. I make my own toner with rosewater and witch hazel and store that in metal bottles, but the bulk rosewater and witch hazel comes in plastic ……. I’ve got quite enough moisturiser and oil for the moment and will use them up but can see this might be problematic.
cleaning products. I tend to use bicarb, vinegar and essential oils for most house cleaning and have bought metal trigger spray cannisters for the bathrooms. I am experimenting with soapnuts. I have plenty of washing up liquid and dishwasher powder for the moment. When it needs replacing I can get loose dishwasher powder in cardboard. Washing up liquid will be more of a challenge. Back to bicarb?
Food. A whole post on its own I think!
Cd and dvd. I got rid of the cases years ago and store them in specialist folders to reduce space. New music and films can be downloaded.
I rarely take a plastic bag as I have always had my own and have two onya bags that live in my handbag for emergencies. However, the rest of the family is not so observant.
Freezer bags and Tupperware. I know that you can freeze in glass but it will take time to build up a suitable collection of containers. We use our freezer a lot. We buy whole sheep, we have a large orchard and fruit garden I freeze tons of fruit. I often bulk cook and place additional meals in the freezer. I make stock with every carcass …..
Medicine bottles. I noted that Bea Johnson conceded that their medicine cupboard was the one area where she had not managed to avoid all packaging so I don’t feel quite so bad.
Diary cartons. The milkman won’t deliver to us as we are too far out but he will deliver to the castle and I can pick up from there. I can easily go back to making my own yoghurt and soft cheese. That leaves cream/crème fraiche.
My pencil case is leather but the girls have to have clear pencil cases for their exams. Short of having a glass box I am not sure how to avoid plastic here.
Junk mail. I admire anyone who has managed to get their junk mail reduced, I am fighting an endless battle, one step forward two steps back.
I have been wanting a new watering can for the garden and the house for a long time so now I can get one! Garden hose is more of a problem and essential for our garden especially the vegetable beds.
Clothes pegs. Easily replaced.
Washing machine balls. Hmm, they are supposed to be ecologically sound in that they help the washing with less powder so a conundrum. Have switched to soapnuts and think they could probably do with the help.
Tumble drier balls. With a family of five living in the back of beyond with 3 dogs, 5 cats, chickens, geese and a small lake we have a lot of dirty clothes. In the winter even with the Aga and the overhead airer I need to tumble dry to keep up. The balls are supposed to reduce the amount of drying required. Second conundrum
Kitchen sink plug – simple buy a metal washing up bowl – if I can find one….
Fermenting bin. This isn’t my area of expertise, can you use metal bins?
packaging. A parcel came today wrapped in bubble wrap. Normally I would keep it to reuse, it seems pointless to throw it away and I will need to wrap parcels at Christmas?
Packing tape. Apparently non plastic does exist, I just have to find it.
Folders. Plastic does last longer than cardboard. Research required.
Meat baster. I did have a glass one once.
Shower cap? Help here please.
Husband has metal razor, I see no reason why I can’t.

|I’m exhausted already!

plastic free

August 15, 2013July 1, 2019 ~ Gillie ~ 13 Comments

2017-07-03 10.34.45 Inspired by nzecochick, who along with thousands of people in New Zealand, Australia and an increasing number of other countries, went plastic free in July. I decided I would attempt to do the same in September.

I have given myself August to start planning and preparing. This is an arbitrary and incomplete list of the plastic already in our house.

pet food sacks
toiletry containers
cleaning product containers
food wrapping
toothbrushes
hairbrushes
food storage containers
cd cases
dvd cases
bags
freezer bags
bin bags
medicine bottles
dairy cartons
pencil cases
junk mail/catalogue covers
watering cans
clothes pegs
washing maching balls
tumble drier balls
chopping board
kitchen sink plug
fermenting bin
parcel packaging
wrapping tape
folders
meat baster
shower cap
razor
clothes packaging (multibuy underwear, shirts etc)

I could go on and on, but I think you get the gist. Suddenly it didn’t seem so easy after all. Also with three teenage daughters and a husband who thinks that one can go too far and I am approaching that point, I am going to be flying solo.

Fortunately the plastic free movement is live and kicking. There is a vast array of blogs and information sites on the internet:

Yesterday I walked around the house and looked at what I could change immediately.

2017-07-03 10.36.01

stainless steel water bottles
enamel picnic ware
stainless steel straws
replace travel mugs (ours are falling apart)
bamboo picnic cutlery
stainless steel lunchboxes
wooden chopping boards
clothes pegs
make own yoghurt
make own toiletries and cleaning products
use stainless steel containers for toiletries and cleaning products
download music
use DVD library and Netflix
cut up a loofah for a pan scrubber

2017-07-03 10.26.15

Also I have discovered that there is a Food Weigh House in Gateshead and in Newcastle so I may just be able to buy bulk without packaging after all. My wonderful butcher thinks I am bonkers but is happy to let me use my own containers and now I just have to have the same conversation with my very friendly fishmonger. Fortunately the greengrocers are already quite happy for me to tip everything willy nilly into my bags.

Plastic free kitchen storage is going to be a problem. I need big storage containers for flours, nuts, rice, etc. I have found some good deals for 2 and 3 litre kilner jars but they are just too (1cm to be precise) tall for my pantry shelves. I may be able to move some stuff around but this is going to be a more complex issue than just buying new jars. If anyone knows of any wide & flatter glass storage containers, at least 2l in size please let me know.

So that’s the tip of the iceberg sorted. Now for the rest. What plastic can you exclude in September?

travelling light

August 7, 2013August 7, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 8 Comments

Thank you for your patience whilst I was away. I hope I haven’t lost too many of you in my absence. Turkey was beautiful. Very hot but the exceptionally clear sea more than made up for that.

However, the thing I am most proud about is that I went away for two weeks with a small suitcase. Not quite small enough for hand luggage unless travelling first class with someone like BA, but pretty darn compact. Not only that but I could easily have done with less. By the time I dumped the empty suncream/shampoo bottles and my very elderly beach towel that had clearly seen better days I had quite a light suitcase for the return journey. Oh go me. That was a first!

Holiday purchases? A few. The practical were the Turkish beach towels.

Pure cotton, delicious colours, compact and double up as kikois or shawls. I challenge you to get five traditional beach towels into hand luggage!

Less practical but beautiful. This ring. I tend to wear chunky silver jewellery. Only a few pieces but this fits perfectly (and takes me to 34 items ….)

Now it’s back to work on the clear out. Unpacking is a great time to clear out because you have to find space for the things you are putting back. I did the shoe cupboard and my handbags yesterday afternoon. As I am on Project 333 I’m not using any of them at the moment but they are still there and will need a clear out. There are still more than I need but they have been pared down by about 40%. Bags and shoes were my downfall, much more than clothes. But more about that tomorrow.

It’s good to be back 🙂