tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49650939991424346632013-05-01T18:52:00.414+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 you live well on less.rhonda jeannoreply@blogger.comBlogger989125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-82436732658321265882012-07-18T07:44:00.000+10:002012-07-18T07:44:43.044+10:002012-07-18T07:44:43.044+10:00

There comes a time when many blogs run their course and close down. Such is the case with the co-op. So after 997 posts and almost 1.7 million visitors, it's time to say goodbye and move on. I started this blog way back in 2008 when accurate information about sustainable living, written by people who were actually doing it, was not commonly available. I'm happy to say we were one of the

rhonda jeannoreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-73515099976673269592012-07-12T00:32:00.003+10:002012-07-12T00:39:34.495+10:002012-07-12T00:39:34.495+10:00

by Amanda of Live Life Simply I made a couple of grocery totes from vintage pillow slips during the week. They were quick to sew up, use an entire pillow slip (no waste), are durable being double layered and roomy enough to fit plenty of farmers market goodies inside! The pdf pattern for this tote can be found at Spiderwomanknits .It is a free tutorial and is very easy to follow. I did

Amandanoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-47313849319992151472012-07-11T02:17:00.002+10:002012-07-11T02:19:40.888+10:002012-07-11T02:19:40.888+10:00

Even though we have a large garden, we still try to apply the permaculture principle of stacking in some of our plant variety selections. Many times it is to save work, and sometimes it saves on space to choose a dual purpose type of plant.  Celeriac or celery root is one, I no longer grow celery, since the celery root is growing all summer anyway, does not require the water that celery does,

Throwback at Trapper Creeknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-6052577362395487082012-07-10T22:45:00.002+10:002012-07-10T22:45:57.512+10:002012-07-10T22:45:57.512+10:00

Posted by Bel When I feel unwell, the last thing I want to do is make my way to a chemist or health food store to find some magical cure for my ills.  I want to eat, drink, take or do something here at home.  And rest! I love hearing about other people's home remedies.  I had a cough recently and asked around about what to take to ease it.  I didn't go out for ages, so had to make do with what

Belnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-42459569139853452182012-07-08T13:05:00.002+10:002012-07-08T23:47:28.309+10:002012-07-08T23:47:28.309+10:00

By: Notes From The Frugal Trenches Every now and then I hear about a large family with the same food budget as our more avearage size family, or a family in size similar to ours, with a much more modest food budget and I question why I'm not able to be as frugal. I wonder where I am going wrong and I usually sit down committed to read their blog, or the article and learn

Notes From The Frugal Trenchesnoreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-37669265656728923892012-07-07T09:05:00.001+10:002012-07-07T20:31:29.265+10:002012-07-07T20:31:29.265+10:00

By Eilleen Consumption Rebellion Good morning winter! OMG, its so cold at the moment! Well, cold for me. I know that many readers of this blog would be used to even colder weather.  Recently, a friend of mine posted this on her Facebook status: "Expecting frost overnight? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water and spray on your car windows at night. In the

Eilleennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-8964796173907186722012-07-05T23:17:00.002+10:002012-07-05T23:31:46.327+10:002012-07-05T23:31:46.327+10:00

Aurora @ Island Dreaming Flax is a wonderful plant. It is the plant that gives us linen fibre and flax seeds, which have a multitude of uses. I saw a field of the stuff in flower last year and didn't have my camera, but it was glorious - tall willowy single stemmed plants, packed in tightly together, with beautiful bright blue flowers at the tops. The seeds are highly nutritious, a good

Auroranoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-78504644916779199232012-07-03T20:49:00.000+10:002012-07-03T20:49:07.189+10:002012-07-03T20:49:07.189+10:00

written by Gavin Webber from The Greening of Gavin and Little Green Cheese. Of late, I have been doing a lot of reflection about why I chose to live more sustainably way back in September 2006.  Not because I want to stop living this lifestyle, but because I have been writing a series of eBooks and needed to remember exactly how and why it started the way it did. As my personal blog is now

Gavin Webberhttps://plus.google.com/102630496897676633678noreply@blogger.com7Melton West VIC 3337, Australia-37.6777778 144.5686375-37.7280473 144.48967349999998 -37.6275083 144.6476015tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-33653967884237969032012-06-30T10:32:00.000+10:002012-06-30T10:32:29.939+10:002012-06-30T10:32:29.939+10:00

by Linda from The Witches Kitchen Every year in my community, as part of our winter solstice celebrations, we have a gift giving ritual.  We draw names out of a hat six weeks earlier, and hand make a gift. This year, Garry drew me and made me these bellows for my slow combustion stove.  I can't seem to stand still for photos, but you can see my expression when I was given it.  It is

Linda Woodrownoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-46071985432702060112012-06-28T00:00:00.000+10:002012-06-28T00:00:10.531+10:002012-06-28T00:00:10.531+10:00

by Amanda of Live Life Simply Here in Australia we are in our first month of winter. For some parents it is that time of the year when you may be feeling a little reluctant to get outdoors with the kids. I personally prefer the warmer months myself and wrap myself up in the last days of summer hoping to carry some of the sunshine into winter with

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-31503369261505793402012-06-24T13:44:00.001+10:002012-06-24T13:44:20.540+10:002012-06-24T13:44:20.540+10:00

By: Notes From The Frugal Trenches It is late on a Saturday evening, the summer heat is still more than obvious as I sit here knitting and writing with frizzy hair and an overwhelming feeling of heat induced malaise! My fridge is filled with 18 pounds of blueberries and 36 cucumbers. The plan for tomorrow is blueberry jam and bread & butter pickles. I'm knitting something a

Notes From The Frugal Trenchesnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-1444005227290104132012-06-22T03:46:00.000+10:002012-06-23T05:14:19.198+10:002012-06-23T05:14:19.198+10:00

by Sadge, at Firesign Farm I have some friends that wanted to grow some corn. Now, corn is easy to grow from seed (more about that below), but they were seduced by a couple of little six-packs of plants in the garden department of a local big-box store. They brought them home and carefully set them out in a nice little line at the back of their garden. The stalks grew tall and soon the tassel on

Sadgenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-71120585680064635012012-06-21T22:47:00.001+10:002012-06-21T22:47:55.465+10:002012-06-21T22:47:55.465+10:00

By Aurora @ Island Dreaming I haven't had a cup of tea or coffee in two weeks. We ran out of both at the same time and haven't been near a shop where you can buy fairtrade loose leaf tea or ground coffee. Last year we made the move away from tea bags and instant coffees, which helped us to cut our consumption quite dramatically. We have been weaning ourselves off of coffee for a while anyway

Auroranoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-71074664868159315902012-06-19T22:29:00.000+10:002012-06-19T22:29:45.723+10:002012-06-19T22:29:45.723+10:00

by Gavin Webber from The Greening of Gavin and Little Green Cheese. I could wax lyrical about all the cheese that I have made that went according to plan, but I don't think I have ever mentioned one that has gone terribly wrong!  This is one of those times. It started out looking kind of nice and something like this.  There was enough curds for two small and one rather large cheeses.

Gavin Webberhttps://plus.google.com/102630496897676633678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-21656145691247063482012-06-16T21:14:00.000+10:002012-06-16T21:14:22.663+10:002012-06-16T21:14:22.663+10:00

by Linda from The Witches Kitchen No don't look at the Callistemons.  They are lovely, and we have them in flower now, adding a bit of colour in the kitchen.  Though I'm really a very practical gardener I'm coming more and more to appreciate growing flowers. Natives like callistemons in particular are great attractants for insect eating birds - many insect eaters are also nectar eaters (

Linda Woodrownoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-54137692043208853222012-06-14T00:00:00.000+10:002012-06-14T00:00:05.157+10:002012-06-14T00:00:05.157+10:00

by Amanda of Live Life Simply This year we added a dishwasher to our kitchen. It wasn't a decision that we made overnight. We thought long and hard about the pro's and cons of having one and in the end there was more positives than negatives. We use it every second day. I like having a dishwasher. I have been experimenting with dishwasher

Amandanoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-17657060602946455902012-06-13T05:03:00.000+10:002012-06-13T06:49:26.382+10:002012-06-13T06:49:26.382+10:00

by Throwback at Trapper Creek Often times the only thought of dairy products on people's minds is fluid milk, and with a weight conscious society, butter is frequently overlooked.  I happen to think though, that good fat is what's missing in many people's diets.  Enter the family cow, a real workhorse for the farmstead if you have adequate land and pasture to support a bovine.  Milk,

Throwback at Trapper Creeknoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-67088504480154657022012-06-12T22:01:00.000+10:002012-06-13T12:37:32.223+10:002012-06-13T12:37:32.223+10:00

Posted by Bel Where we live in Australia, it's citrus season.  When I drive along our country roads I see trees laden with bright orange and yellow fruit - in parks, paddocks, beside shops and in backyards.  What a bounty! Our most successful citrus trees so far, on the farm, are two different varieties of mandarins.  Our children eat lots of mandarins, especially the loose-skin variety

Belnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-15193412643142181682012-06-10T22:46:00.000+10:002012-06-10T22:49:32.346+10:002012-06-10T22:49:32.346+10:00

By: Notes From The Frugal Trenches My Children :: Couldn't tell you the last time they watched tv, but can tell you what they planted in our community garden :: Have no clue what the latest gadgets or toys are, but can list books and board games we love to read and play :: Don't know what a play station, gameboy, or Wii is, but can tell you tale after tale about

Notes From The Frugal Trenchesnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-23085984398506423012012-06-08T11:40:00.000+10:002012-06-09T11:18:33.870+10:002012-06-09T11:18:33.870+10:00

The ravening hoards are at the gate! by Sadge, at Firesign Farm They say the most beautiful garden, the most wonderous landscape, is to be seen in the dead of winter. That's the one you see in your mind's eye, sitting inside by the fire looking over the seed catalogs and other dream books. But now, here it is, late spring flowing into early summer. Most of the seeds and plants are finally in

Sadgenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-29722224639492342042012-06-07T19:11:00.000+10:002012-06-07T19:11:43.223+10:002012-06-07T19:11:43.223+10:00

Transport is a source of green guilt for me. My other half is a petrolhead and has loved cars and engines and horsepower and other dark arts that I don't fully care to understand since he first uttered the word 'car'. I do not drive as of yet and I am no fan of being a passenger. Still, I find myself being chauffeured about quite a lot. I also don't cycle. Cycling in cities is stressful; cycling

Auroranoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-78652215918116300732012-06-05T13:00:00.000+10:002012-06-05T15:48:17.454+10:002012-06-05T15:48:17.454+10:00

written by Gavin Webber from The Greening of Gavin and Little Green Cheese. In today's society of instant gratification, seldom do the people take the time to make food for themselves. Here is my argument. When I worked in South Yarra a few years ago, the first thing some of my co-workers did before they got to work was go to a local Cafe and buy a coffee (in a disposable cup) and a muffin for

Gavin Webberhttps://plus.google.com/102630496897676633678noreply@blogger.com9Melton West VIC 3337, Australia-37.6777778 144.5686375-37.7280473 144.48967349999998 -37.6275083 144.6476015tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-62576739646967601612012-06-02T17:47:00.000+10:002012-06-02T17:48:34.969+10:002012-06-02T17:48:34.969+10:00

by Linda from The Witches Kitchen There seems to be an epidemic of busy going on at the moment.  I am insanely busy. I'm not complaining - it is a huge privilege to have interesting, worthwhile work that is fairly local in my rural home.  But it has been a challenge lately keeping all the balls in the air. Thankfully I'm over the nadir and transmissions should start to return to normal

Linda Woodrownoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-38367365313650013072012-05-31T00:00:00.000+10:002012-06-02T09:09:19.561+10:002012-06-02T09:09:19.561+10:00

by Amanda  Instinctively mothers want the best for their babies. Our main concerns are for their health and well being. Before and after new babies arrive we are bombarded with information from well meaning family members, friends and books, blogs, informative websites and magazines. It can be overwhelming and often times leads to uncertainty and utter confusion. Try to pay attention to the

Amandanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965093999142434663.post-75374495281615668522012-05-29T20:57:00.000+10:002012-05-29T20:57:00.218+10:002012-05-29T20:57:00.218+10:00

Saying thank you is more than good manners.  It is good spirituality.  ~Alfred Painter~ Posted by Bel I hope I can tackle this topic without seeming all Pollyanna-ish...  I was explaining to someone the other day that my main tool for dealing with any challenging situation is gratitude.  The concept of conscious gratitude was first revealed to me in the Simple Abundance books by Sarah Ban

Belnoreply@blogger.com3