How to be prepared for tough times April 11, 2009

After my post about voluntary simplicity yesterday, I was feeling inspired, especially by the comments and mails I received, so I wrote this post. I hope you will like it!

Yep, you know that, tough times are coming, and some people think it could be very bad very soon.

How do you think your life would be affected? What could you do to minimize this effect?

Do you believe in a “back to basics” living?

Are you prepared for it?!

Well, today I will give you some advice about how to prepare yourself and your family to keep or even improve your quality of life through tough times!

1. Be as self sufficient as you can.
2. This can be achieved by building a full pantry, especially basics like flour, oil, cereals, water, sugar, honey, and lots of canned vegetables and fruits. Dry milk can be useful too.
3. You can also fill up your freezer with some basics like butter, meat, and homemade prepared meals, etc…
4. If you have a garden, plant food! Fruit trees, veggies, etc…
5. If you have some place and are allowed to do it, take some chickens, you will have fresh eggs each morning and maybe some day you could even sell them to those neighbors who didn’t read this post!
6. Find a farm near by (if possible) to buy your milk, it can always be useful to know people who grows cows.
7. Begin right now to live without the comfort. For example, avoid the dryer when you can use the sun and wind to do the job; knead your dough by hand vs processor/mixer; broom when you can vs always use the vacuum; wash the dishes by hand half of the time vs always use the dishwasher; and so on…
8. Learn some homemaking basics like canning, bread making, cooking, organizing etc…
9. Learn to entertain yourself and your family for free. It is very important! If you can’t get rid of your TV, then try to leave it off at least one day a week, and plan a “family night” with games, conversation, music, whatever you are up to!
10. Try to exercise,  maybe some day you will not be able to get your car to go somewhere, you will need to walk; or maybe you will have to do the laundry by hand,etc… So, better get prepared by doing some exercising, walking, and other outdoors activities.
11. I can’t sew nor knit, but that’s something I definitely have to learn! And buy some fabric and materials to do whatever I may need some day.
12. There is a huge amount of resources and info on the web, but maybe you will not be able to consult them when you will need them the most. My advice is to print all the interesting stuff and build a nice notebook that may be lifesaving some day!
13. Build a nice, complete first aid kit, and some basic medicine/remedies. You never know!
14. Limit the products you need for your personal and house hygiene/beauty. Prefer one soap/shower gel that fits all the family needs better than one specific for each person, the same with shampoo, moisturizer, etc… In your home, buy or do yourself one multipurpose cleaner, that could be used to clean floors, counter tops, kitchen, bathroom, and even laundry! Replace your softener by white vinegar and essential oil, and, of course, avoid disposable wipes and other “swiffer” stuff; prefer the old fashioned way: soap, warm water, and some exercise!
15. Enjoy the simple treasures of life! Be happy and positive with all what you already have, smile, and transmit your joy to your family.
16. Trust the Lord to provide for your needs.

Don’t panic! As always, you can do it little by little, with baby steps, and soon you will be able to survive this nasty economy, and even kinda like it!!

For more info, I encourage you to “google” simple living, homesteading, homemaking, and voluntary simplicity. You will be blessed by all the interesting stuff around there to learn from!

If you have more tips to prepare for the worst scenario, or simply become frugal, leave your comment!

Voluntary simplicity April 10, 2009

Hey, here we are, for another hooked on fridays, and what I am hooked on today is voluntary simplicity!!

Have you ever heard about it? Maybe you do practice it already, or you would like some more info about it.

Well, I hope this post will be helpful anyway, and will help you understand and know better this movement.

‘Normal’ is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car, and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it. Ellen Goodman.

What is voluntary simplicity?

Simple living (voluntary simplicity) is a lifestyle characterized by minimizing the ‘more-is-better’ pursuit of wealth and consumption. Adherents may choose simple living for a variety of personal reasons, such as spirituality, health, increase in ‘quality time’ for family and friends, stress reduction, personal taste or frugality.

Others cite socio-political goals aligned with the anti-consumerist movement, including conservation, social justice and sustainable development.

According to Duane Elgin, “we can describe voluntary simplicity as a manner of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich, a way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought into direct and conscious contact with living.“

Simple living as a concept is distinguished from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice.

Voluntary simplicity means doing/having/living more with less–more time, meaning, joy, satisfaction, relationships, community; less money, material possessions, stress, competition, isolation. It doesn’t mean depriving yourself; it doesn’t mean buying “cheap” and always pinching pennies; it doesn’t mean poverty. It does mean wanting what you have, and finding joy in having less; and recovering the connection with other people and with the Earth that alone makes life really worthwhile.

Voluntary simplicity is a growing movement of people who have realized that happiness and fulfillment do not lie in having more money, or new and bigger things, but rather in the time with loved ones and connection with community. They are questioning the consumer society’s insistence that possessions, especially of the newest design and color, are the means of fulfillment, or that any material possession can possibly be “to die for.”

How to apply this to your life?

Yeah, you might think that all this sounds very nice but how could you apply it in your daily stressed/busy life? Well, there are a lot of things that you can do to go forward simplicity, you know, baby steps, that everybody can do.

Here are some advices of what you can do to improve your quality of life right now:

• each time you are about to buy something, ask yourself:

- Could I do this item myself cheaper/healthier/greener ?
- Do I really need this item? Will my life be affected if I don’t buy it?
- Could I find this item second hand/used/cheaper, or without packaging?

• try to buy food and groceries locally, at your farmers market for example.

• do not buy more decor items for holidays, try to decorate with the stuff you already have or some items you can do yourself frugally.

• do not feel obliged to buy presents for Valentine’s day/Christmas/Easter etc… You can do crafts/cards/homemade goodies, that will be even more appreciated than an impersonal store bought present.

• Avoid all kind of prepared meals, if you are not a great cook, learn! Good food is about experience, you have to try, and fail, until you can do it right.

• If you have a garden, try to plant some veggies.

• Are you an expecting mom?

- Don’t buy anything!! I know it is so tempting to go shopping for the new baby but you will receive lots of gifts, and you really do not need as much stuff as you think. Babies need their mom, almost nothing else.
- Inform yourself about the wonderful benefits of breastfeeding your child, you will be blessed!
- Consider using cloth diapers, you can find them by internet, in some stores, or even do them yourself!
- Teach your child to entertain himself! A baby does not need tons of colorful plastic toys to be happy and stimulated; in fact, I strongly encourage you to limit the collection of toys to a small amount and ban all battery-operated/plastic toys.
- Prefer neutral clothes for your baby, better than all pink or all blue, so you can keep them and reuse them for another baby.

• If you are like me a book lover, then you may prefer to go to your local library to borrow books better than buying pricey books.
• With your kids, prefer activities that are not related to a shopping/buying activity. For example, you may prefer going to visit a farm or to a natural park (almost free), better than to the theater which usually includes buying candies, popcorn, etc…  Teach your child that fun is not related to money.
• In general, always try to buy second hand/used items. Think about garage sales, thrift stores, craig’s lists etc. although the best to do is to limit your shopping. Simplicity is not only think “Can I have this cheaper?”, it is more a “Can I live without it?” kind of thinking!

Well, I hope you liked this entry and maybe you are feeling like applying some of my advices!

If you are looking for some more info about choosing voluntary simplicity, you would like to have a look at those websites I found for you:

- THE SIMPLE LIVING NETWORK

- GREAT RIVER EARTH INSTITUTE

- THE SIMPLICITY RESOURCE GUIDE

You can find also some great blogs in my blogroll, on the right side of this site.

In this week before Easter, this is my contribution to stay focused on the important things, and free ourselves from the secular consumerist way of life…

I wish you all a great, happy, and cross-centered Easter!

And if you want to see what people are hooked on this week, check it out on HOOKED ON HOUSES

Cardboard furniture, an ecofriendly, frugal solution! April 7, 2009

Hey, I have been busy those last days taking care of my daughter, homeschooling etc…

I just have 2 weeks left here in the states til I fly home to see my dear hubby!! I am getting excited!

How are you? What have you been up to this week end? Well, today I want to share with you a great stuff I discovered when I was in France. It is very popular there, cardboard furniture!

Have you ever heard about it?  It is great, love it! You can reuse old boxes from groceries (especially those big ones like from Costco) to make furniture with them!

How cool is that?!

This kind of furniture is very solid, easy to do, frugal, ecologic, and I love it especially for kids! You know how expensive kids furniture are, with this method you can make some fun, kids friendly light furniture for about pennies. It is also a great homeschool project for older kids, it is a great way to teach them geometry and maths, as well as art and crafts!

So, if you are intrigued and want to know more, here are a few links I found to help you make your first cardboard furniture!!

The best site I found has a great step-by-step how-to, to help you understand how it works and guide you through your first project. This great website is INSTRUCTABLES: How to design your own cardboard furniture.

In this website, you will find free downloadable patterns to make some kids furniture, great for a simple homeschooling project : FOLDSCHOOL. I love the rocker!

To show you a more modern, design, aspect of the cardboard furniture, check out this website: LEO KEMPF. He uses the technique of laminated to do very modern furniture.

You can find a pattern to do an easy chair HERE.

If you are a little bit overwhelmed but still would like to try this out, then you have to visit CARDBOARDESIGN, they are amazing! You can buy the design you want, they will send you all the materials necessary and the instructions to assembly. Not very frugal, but it is worth have a look at their design just for inspiration!

I hope you liked this post and maybe will give it a try! Have a great day!

Saving money on fresh items! February 5, 2009

Hi there!

Here I am for a post about how to save money on fresh items and grocery!

Yesterday night we went to our neighborhood “fresh and easy” store and we found chicken for 2, 19 $ each!

If you go shopping from 8 pm til 9 pm, you can save a lot on fresh items! In “fresh and easy”, they put half price the stuff that is going to be out of date the next day. For example my chicken was 4,98 $ piece, and at 8 pm it was down 2,19 $ !!

If you have a freezer, buy these items and freeze them! I bought 4 of those chicken and put them in the freezer, that is a big saving!

I saw the same kind of sale on Fry’s, they have the “manager’s special” but I am not sure about when it is.

For fresh fruit and vegetables, think about farmer’s markets in your area, they often offer very competitive price for really beautiful products.

For the stuff that is not fresh, like frozen, cans, etc… I think Costco is a great place!

They have a lot of organic products for a nice price, well you have to buy bulk so that is the deal!

Before you go shopping, make a list of what you really need and don’t buy anything that is not in the list.

Menu planning is great, you can do yours and then do your shopping list, so you really will eat what you buy and will not buy unnecessary items.

When you want to buy something always ask yourself :

- Could I do that myself at home for a lower price and a healthier way?

- How much time will this last?

- How many persons will it profit?

- Could I replace it by something more frugal?

That will help !

Another tip: don’t go shopping when you are hungry!

It really is important, if you are hungry or stressed, you will not shop the intelligent way!!

If you have some tips on how to save money and stay on a budget, please leave a comment!

Gentle facial cleaning product January 12, 2009

Today I will share with you a recipe to make your own facial cleaning product. It is very gentle for the skin, but efficient and very easy to do.

OAT FACIAL CLEANING PRODUCT

You will need:

- 1 cup oat flakes (natural not flavored)

- 1/2 cup hot water (but not boiling)

- 1 tbsp liquid glycerin (or honey)

How to:

You have to mix all the ingredients together and process them until you obtain a creamy texture.

You pour the mix in a clean, sterilized container of your choice and keep it up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

To use it, you just have to take a bit of the “cream” in your hand and gently clean your face with it, then rinse well with clear water and that’s it!

For additional anti-aging properties you can add 1 capsule of E Vitamin or wheat germ.

Use it twice a week for a nice result and post your comments here!

Natural home made cleaning product! January 8, 2009

Hey, I wanted to share with you my recipe for making my multipurpose cleaning product!

It is very easy, inexpensive, effective and healthy. What else could I ask?

So, here is the recipe:

MULTIPURPOSE CLEANING PRODUCT:

You will need:

- 1/2 cup baking soda

- 1 cup white vinegar

- 1 gallon hot water

- essential oil of tea tree, lemon, eucalyptus.

How to:

You have to mix the baking soda with the hot water (almost boiling), you can just pour it carefully (it’s hot) in a 1 gallon container.

Then in another recipient mix the vinegar and the essential oils. I use 5 drops of each oil. You mix it and then pour it also in the container. Don’t breath this mix while it is hot because of the essential oil, it will be very strong.

I use these particular oils because of their disinfectant, antibacterial, and cleaning properties.

This cleaning product is very effective, I use it with a spray to clean bathroom, kitchen, etc… and diluted in water to clean the trash, toilets, etc…

Tell me more about your frugal, green, cleaning tips!

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