Simple Living and Zippered Pouches

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. ~Hans Hofmann, Introduction to the Bootstrap, 1993

Lately I have been challenged to simplify my life even further. By reading blogs such as Down to Earth and Consumption Rebellion, as well as Day to Day and Towards Sustainability, I am being confronted to think about how we live our life here and ensure that I live true to my own authenticity. I do love reading blogs. They provide raw accounts of what people are doing, how people are living, not advertisement-driven media reports which always have an underlying meaning and agenda.

So along with choices we have already made to achieve the following I wish to add to my dream list of further changes to make. Hopefully soon it will be no longer a dream!

Our current commitments include:

• Eating organic or low spray food to avoid pesticides and other chemicals but also to support farmers and other local producers with the same visions as us.
  
• Preparing food from scratch and not buying packaged products. It's so much healthier, tastes better, is better for us, avoids GST is fun. It also teaches my children the reality of what food, nourishment and sustenance is and how to get it.
  
• Cleaning our home without chemicals to avoid toxins coming into our bodies.
• Walking most of the time. I generally only drive my car 2-3 times per week.
  
• Using what I have rather than purchasing more things to clutter our home.
  
• Making what I am reasonably able to given time constraints and my abilities.
  
• Growing herbs and some greens, as well as some fruit - mainly strawberries.
• Taking shorter showers
• Reducing our use of plastic bags

The things I'd like to add to this list include:

• Growing fruit trees and vegetables.
  
• Making compost to be able to enrich soil.
  
• Enlarge and use a backyard - this would involve moving house.
  
• Use a grey water system as well as a drip water system to maintain a garden.
  
• Creatively making more things for our home including things such as clothing, time pieces, rugs, gifts etc.
  
• Buying more ethically responsible food to add to our Fairtrade Chocolate and Tea.

Oh the list could go on and on couldn't it. Are you making changes? I'd love to hear about them.

While I am eliminating some unnecessary things in our lives, some necessary ones have spoken. One is that for me to remain sane while my Generous Gentleman is away I need to be actively involved in some creative project most of the time - either in thought or in deed. Hence all the little items you have seen recently. I have always loved sewing and now my passion is being renewed. It is amazing how little children do that for you.

So below you will see my Zippered Pouches. These are wonderful storage for so many things lying around the house as well as for keeping me sane while creating them :)


We are getting ready for spring with these gorgeous little strawberry pouches.

These little strawberry buttons were my own idea and I am delighted with how they have turned out.

This different one Ess uses to store her big bucket of textas. She never could return them to the bucket successfully through the narrow opening so this solves all those problems and looks heaps better. She wants a dress out of the coloured fabric now. Food for thought...