2013 - My Simple Living Journey

Approximately six months ago, before I started my blog, I made the decision to start living more simply. It was a foreign concept, one that I researched (as I do, and overdo), and adopted in more ways than I ever would have thought possible. I have read a lot of posts this past week with people reflecting on the year just past by recapping their most popular posts and memories. I think it's a great way to summarise your life into something tangible that will always be there to look back on in years to come. I have my family journals and albums separate to my blog, so this post is about me and how far I have come since I wrote that first post on How to Start Living Simply, my most popular post to date.

I needed this journey to save myself from the bad feelings I had towards my home and circumstances. I needed to fall in love with my farm again, to accept it for what it is (a flooder) and get on with living my life the way it was supposed to be lived...simply, with a sense of pride and purpose, and acceptance of what the universe had in store for me. It is working...

This year I made my first ever chutney from beetroot I had grown.

I made all of my own cleaning products.

I made soap.

I made shower gel.

And organic pesticide.

I made compost for my gardens.

Harvested seeds.

Planted new vegetable gardens.

Grew amazing produce...

...enough to feed my family most weeks.

I experimented with different methods and ways of recycling.

I made healthy green smoothies from kale I had grown.

I became the best squash grower you have ever seen...haha.

I started growing exotic and medicinal herbs, like this brahmi.

I have just started preserving...as my last few posts attest.

I have recycled jars for further produce.

I have made my first very own Christmas cake....

And amazing fresh bread.

(Soundtrack going through my head right now)...I am strong...I am invincible...I am woman.

There are many more achievements I could put on this list (and failures like my ginger beer starter) but I think this sums up my journey last year so well. The beauty is that it is still evolving, there are still so many things I have not tried yet...and my love and appreciation for my home has been revived. I would not want to live anywhere else in the world. This is home, for better or for worse.