tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49650939991424346632012-01-28T04:18:03.155+10:00A co-operative of bloggers writing about how they live simple, green, frugal lives. There is a lot of helpful information here to help readers live well on less.Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03314290576757837045noreply@blogger.comBlogger892125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-62551074873534134222012-01-27T10:09:00.001+10:002012-01-27T14:37:50.006+10:002012-01-27T14:37:50.006+10:00

by Rhonda at Down to Earth When we first moved into our current home, we made quite a few changes. The house had been lived in by an older couple and some of the things that suited them didn't suit us. We pulled up the carpet and laid a wood floor, we changed the kitchen, added verandahs front and back and put in gardens and the chook house. We, although we didn't know it at the time, were

rhonda jeannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-73584170964266718542012-01-26T00:00:00.005+10:002012-01-26T00:00:02.084+10:002012-01-26T00:00:02.084+10:00

by Amanda of Amanda BrookeIn recent months our youngest son has had his wee baby teeth cleaned with a clean damp cloth. Last week he took the next step up to a junior size toothbrush and toothpaste. It is an exciting time as he explores the new sensation of flavoured paste and a brush being stuck in his mouth with bristles on it!You can start cleaning your children's teeth from the time that the

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09597947761029354250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-69994437173811313922012-01-24T09:54:00.000+10:002012-01-25T10:10:43.905+10:002012-01-25T10:10:43.905+10:00

Posted by Bel from Spiral Garden Last year, I wrote about reskilling here.  And just this week I was thinking that reskilling really is a way of life for us now.  We're actively learning to do new things all the time. image from energybulletin.net Some of the things I have learned to do in the past year or so: - different ways to grow sprouts - making toothpaste and other personal care

Belhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15269898358066713252noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-79927744690915878672012-01-23T15:52:00.001+10:002012-01-23T16:14:21.565+10:002012-01-23T16:14:21.565+10:00

by Megan @ The Byron Life One of the surprise learning curves for me since making a commitment to living more frugally has been how neatly it fits with my passion for creativity.   I am a writer, a photographer, a crafter and former art student and I truly enjoy creating things; either for functionality or simply for the pure love of the creative process. It may come as a surprise to

Megan.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03264440929071046671noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-84793550073711392452012-01-21T11:05:00.003+10:002012-01-21T11:09:51.079+10:002012-01-21T11:09:51.079+10:00

by EilleenConsumption RebellionHello everyone!I hope you are all well. A few months ago, I attended the launch of Sharing Young Women's Stories - a campaign run by Equality Rights Alliance to fight negative body image. It was a great night and I felt very privileged that I was able to talk to many inspiring people doing good work.Postcards being handed out at the launch. Photo by GR from

Eilleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10234465657790552289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-34694453706487421182012-01-20T06:36:00.000+10:002012-01-20T06:52:27.336+10:002012-01-20T06:52:27.336+10:00

by Sadge, at Firesign Farm Ah - a new year, accompanied by those ubiquitous resolutions. Now, myself, I'm at the age where strength and flexibility are at the use-it-or-lose-it stage. And since there are still a lot of items on my bucket list that require just those qualities, plus endurance, I certainly don't want to "lose it." I already try for at least 30 minutes cardio workout, five times a

Sadgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953324909028095434noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-57908762357910751352012-01-19T20:38:00.000+10:002012-01-19T20:38:10.315+10:002012-01-19T20:38:10.315+10:00

By Aurora @ Island Dreaming   Since gaining our allotment last year, our patio container garden has fallen by the wayside a little, which I have spoken about before.We have lots of large deep pots standing empty for much of the year, being dug over by cats and colonized by weeds. I have been debating how best to use the patio for some months. Patios have their advantages and disadvantages

Aurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431550733615696691noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-83360688857349831702012-01-17T09:14:00.001+10:002012-01-17T09:14:41.493+10:002012-01-17T09:14:41.493+10:00

written by Gavin from Little Green Cheese and The Greening of Gavin. When making a semi hard cheese, one is usually left with a large volume of whey (the milky leftover water).  I don't like wasting this by-product, so I usually make Whey Ricotta.  It is easy to make and a very versatile soft cheese, that can be used in may meals! Anyway, the process for this cheese is very simple, and I caught

Gavin Webberhttps://profiles.google.com/102630496897676633678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-30775568045023186322012-01-16T12:28:00.005+10:002012-01-16T12:48:39.564+10:002012-01-16T12:48:39.564+10:00

by Jemma at Time for a Little SomethingHappy New Year to the Simple, Green, Frugal community! I hope you were able to spend some relaxed time with friends and family.We're now in the middle of the New Zealand summer and, apart from a few rotten days, we've been blessed with beautiful sunshiney weather here in Wellington. I've spent part of my summer potting up a new herb garden, and I have quite

Jemmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707195938471292001noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-3846742194705948532012-01-14T06:35:00.000+10:002012-01-14T06:38:10.757+10:002012-01-14T06:38:10.757+10:00

by Linda from The Witches Kitchen I read an article this week with the headline "Cosmetic Chemical Hinders Brain Development in Tadpoles". The study, by the very credible Brown University, found that a chemical called methylisothiazolinone, commonly used in shampoo, cosmetics, skin care products, cleaning products, even baby wipes, caused defects in the neurological development of tadpoles,

Linda Woodrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756953372506344907noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-25791936797667953542012-01-12T15:00:00.005+10:002012-01-25T21:22:45.963+10:002012-01-25T21:22:45.963+10:00

by Amanda of Amanda BrookeOh dear! The days are becoming a blur in the school holidays and I have lost track, so my apologies to the co-op and dear readers for not posting this earlier today. My head is a little fuzzy today too with a pinched nerve in my neck, making writing a post a little uncomfortable too, so I will keep today's post brief and reflect on something that's on my mind. In 2010 I

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09597947761029354250noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-72409033036743344052012-01-11T00:39:00.017+10:002012-01-11T04:24:48.737+10:002012-01-11T04:24:48.737+10:00

by Throwback at Trapper CreekWhile everyone is poring over their seed catalogs and dreaming of warmer weather, (at least us here in the Northern Hemisphere) planning for seed saving needs to be part of the scheme too.I always say the work of gardening and farming is half observation. And this is especially important if you're going to save seeds. Paying attention all year round from seed

Throwback at Trapper Creekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418370592659531735noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-65592698713683609962012-01-10T14:26:00.000+10:002012-01-11T12:29:16.289+10:002012-01-11T12:29:16.289+10:00

Posted by Bel From Spiral Garden I've written before about our house cow: House Cow FAQs House Cow Journey Part One House Cow Journey Part Two House Cow Journey Part Three House Cow Journey Continues It's been over two years since we first brought Lucy home and we're feeling more confident about raising our own cattle these days.  The timeline of our journey (if you don't want to read

Belhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15269898358066713252noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-18791518769783577072012-01-09T14:11:00.004+10:002012-01-09T21:20:56.646+10:002012-01-09T21:20:56.646+10:00

By: Notes From The Frugal TrenchesYesterday I posted my 1000th post on my blog. 1000 "essays" over the last 3.5 years about this journey. This downshifting, simplifying, greening, frugal journey. A journey which has seen me: Give up paper productsUse reusable toilet cloth (as opposed to toilet paper) Leave a corporate city jobLearn to cookGive up tv Begin shopping locally Really commit to

Notes From The Frugal Trencheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00047687598677272569noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-82993571160626299902012-01-09T13:00:00.000+10:002012-01-09T13:16:29.720+10:002012-01-09T13:16:29.720+10:00

by Megan @ The Byron Life We have just celebrated my middle daughter’s fifth birthday, which was a success of home-made crafty goodness, so I thought today I might share some simple children’s party ideas I’ve used over the years. Each is based on my preference for keeping it simple, handmade and frugal. Many of them are girly – as I have three girls – but could be adapted to suit boys, too.

Megan.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03264440929071046671noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-85867264669642215542012-01-06T13:30:00.000+10:002012-01-07T04:30:58.579+10:002012-01-07T04:30:58.579+10:00

by Sadge, at Firesign Farm An elderly friend, knowing I do hand-sewing and embroidery, asked me if I knew anything about Chicken Scratch embroidery. She'd inherited a half-finished set of quilt blocks, with the patterns, but couldn't figure out how to read them. I had to admit I'd never heard of Chicken Scratch, but told her I'd go online for her and see what I could find out. I was fascinated

Sadgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953324909028095434noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-90921390174084497642012-01-05T19:52:00.001+10:002012-01-05T19:52:55.025+10:002012-01-05T19:52:55.025+10:00

Aurora @ Island Dreaming   I have to admit, I am at a bit of a loss as to what to write about this week. It isn't that we haven't been doing anything. I have baked bread, I have started two batches of wine, a batch of from-grain beer. We have further  decluttered and redecorated the house, celebrated Halloween and Christmas, cooked almost every day from scratch. Nappies have been washed,

Aurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431550733615696691noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-5914192205764606572012-01-03T17:42:00.000+10:002012-01-03T17:42:06.471+10:002012-01-03T17:42:06.471+10:00

Written by Gavin from The Greening of Gavin and Little Green Cheese. Any Cheese maker worth his salt should be able to whip up a few accompaniments for their cheese, so I gave it a go.  I stumbled upon a quince tree on a nature strip when walking around a country Victorian town called Talbot.  I asked the owner if I could take some, and he said "Take as many as you like mate".  Nice man. I

Gavin Webberhttps://profiles.google.com/102630496897676633678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-42840710080366578332011-12-31T08:56:00.000+10:002011-12-31T08:56:53.557+10:002011-12-31T08:56:53.557+10:00

by Linda from The Witches Kitchen I have the luckiest life. In lots of ways, but one of them is that we have a creek running through our place, one that starts from a spring up in the forest with nothing but forest upstream. When we first moved here, nearly 30 years ago, we used to dip in the creek pretty much every day in summer.  In the heat of the day several mums would take the babies and

Linda Woodrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756953372506344907noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-79641575114589278492011-12-29T11:56:00.007+10:002011-12-29T12:22:30.953+10:002011-12-29T12:22:30.953+10:00

by Amanda of Amanda BrookeI receive Christmas cards, as do my children from their friends, despite the fact that we rarely send cards ourselves. There are many ways to recycle your received cards and I started up-cycling mine yesterday into decorations for the tree next year.Start by cutting 8 circles from your card fronts. They can be any size (larger circles are easier to handle for small

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09597947761029354250noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-87496609501068388962011-12-28T03:10:00.004+10:002011-12-28T03:55:58.719+10:002011-12-28T03:55:58.719+10:00

by Throwback at Trapper CreekBeing almost done with the holiday eating season, I figured an article about broth would timely. We can all use a few health giving and cleansing eating habits, not just to deal with holiday food overload, but everyday.I've found in my kitchen that upping the nutrition level in foods can achieved easily by using more broth in place of water during the cooking process

Throwback at Trapper Creekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418370592659531735noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-79365945931883658932011-12-27T19:31:00.002+10:002011-12-27T19:31:46.944+10:002011-12-27T19:31:46.944+10:00

Posted by Bel from Spiral Garden Summer and Autumn for us bring abundance from the garden that Spring and Winter don't offer.  Sometimes, we have TOO much.  And we can't give produce away because everyone else has TOO much! One of my favourite fruits are in in abundance right now - passionfruit.  I love to eat them straight from the shell, in smoothies and iceblocks, as cordial or jam, in

Belhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15269898358066713252noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-25974260056222374352011-12-26T09:28:00.000+10:002011-12-26T09:28:25.102+10:002011-12-26T09:28:25.102+10:00

by Megan @ The Byron Life Here we are approaching the end of the year already.  I hope you had (and are sill having) a wonderful Christmas holiday. When I was invited to write for the co-op, back in September, I began with a post about setting up my very first straw bale veggie garden. You can read that post here. It was an experiment, an adventure, and I had no idea what I was doing! Luckily

Megan.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03264440929071046671noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-90156247405497348662011-12-24T06:00:00.002+10:002011-12-24T16:43:28.467+10:002011-12-24T16:43:28.467+10:00

by EilleenConsumption RebellionHello everyone!Oooh one more sleep before Christmas! How are you all going? Are you feeling excited? Or stressed? This time of the year always brings such a mixed bag of feelings for me, but overall, I'm feeling quite excited over Christmas.So here's the recipe for my favourite stocking filler - Sugar Cookies...or what I like to call my kick arse sugar cookies.I

Eilleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10234465657790552289noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-33050213015061168122011-12-23T16:19:00.000+10:002011-12-23T17:14:03.098+10:002011-12-23T17:14:03.098+10:00

by Sadge, at Firesign Farm Writing my own blog has often caused me to ponder the concept of intellectual property, and who profits from it. I don't really have any answers. I'm just using this co-operative blog post to ruminate on some of the questions, and hoping to hear what some of you have to say. My most recent preoccupation with the concept has come about because of a hot sauce recipe. I

Sadgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953324909028095434noreply@blogger.com8