One of my very favourite films is Fight Club. Granted, Brad Pitt spends a considerable amount of time bare-chested, which indeed has it's own appeal. Regardless there is most definitely more depth to the story-line than superstar skin. If eye-candy were purely my motivation for watching, surely it would be more efficient to devour a True Blood box-set? I ...
Life simplification
Let Me Introduce You To The Clutterfairy
When I first started out on the road to a Family Life Simply Done over 4 years ago , the first thing I did was start to declutter. I believe this is the starting point for many life-simplifiers. What I have discovered, is that there isn't an end to decluttering. It's a routine, a habit, a work in progress. Recently, I contacted Lesley Spellman aka The ...
Taking Stock & Setting A Schedule
Leading a simple life doesn't mean your to-do list is empty. In some ways I have more to do. But the aim is, for me anyway, to have prioritized what is important and only to have such things on that list. For school holidays I now set a schedule. This has worked incredibly well. There's been less time wasted. Waste isn't good in my book. Be that food, ...
You Manage What You Measure
You manage what you measure. As boring and clichéd as it sounds, the above statement is true. I was resoundingly reminded of this just last week. My 7-year-old daughter kept a food-diary for a few days as homework. Interestingly when it was completed she changed her mind about having a school prepared lunch going forward. You may recall I'd ...
Going Back To Basics
We survived our 4-day impromptu processed food diet. Just. Time to go back to basics. This is an experiment I've had planned for a while. Looking for the ideal week to try it out, this week seemed as good as any. Better in fact, as we had just emptied a fridge of ready-meals. Having recently reduced the weekly grocery spend by 50%, I've been very ...
Some Purchases Just Make Sense
I'm an advocate of - Not Buying It - where home-made options are available (and within my skill set)... Within my home-made skill set is baking bread and pizza, composing gifts and greetings cards. And I prefer my running shoes to a gym membership. One of my newly developed skills is baking and decorating cakes. I encourage everyone to try and bake a ...
My 3rd Anniversary – Looking Back…Yet Moving Forward
27 February is my 3rd anniversary. Of what? Discovering minimalism? Life simplification? How exactly is it defined? I don't think it can be defined. (photo taken by Joanne Wright 23 February 2012) ...
Not Buying It – Birthday Gifts
The title of this post is a little misleading. I do give Birthday gifts. I also buy some of the component parts to make up the gift. Rather, what I do not buy is the added value that retailers and manufacturers build in to charge us a higher price for the gift. In fact I love giving gifts. I truly believe the cliché that 'it's the thought that counts'. This ...
Not Buying It – Bread
One of my first TV memories was a programme called "Living in the past". I was just 4 when the show aired. It was the first reality TV show of this type to be shown in the UK, 22 years before Big Brother hit our screens. 'Living in the past' focused on 15 volunteers who in 1978 sustained themselves for a full year, equipped only with tools, crops and ...
SuperScrimping – Reducing Your Grocery Budget Plus Simple Spaghetti Bolognese
Channel 4 are showing a great series at the moment called SuperScrimpers. I'm loving that being frugal is now considered 'on trend'! Yay! Finally! As one of those that has been part of this growing community for 3 years plus, it's refreshing. What it does mean, however, that as an experienced SuperScrimper the show can't teach me much I don't already ...