Black Gold

Today’s task was to harvest the homemade compost and to start the new compost heap with the resources available in the garden. The heap was emptied and started again with layers of leaves collected and started in a black plastic bag, rabbit poop and bedding ( available locally), earth from pots from last year, grass clippings and kitchen waste. It then was sprinkled with water and covered with a layer of the leftover wool material that had been pecked at for weeks as nesting material for the birds. The area is not wheelchair accessible but in the corner is a broken plant pot allowing me to deposit waste collected that will be added weekly. The compost available now is black, dry and liquid gold for the garden.

New home

We moved to our little cottage because I was unable to live in the previous house as my new reality means getting about in a wheelchair. I live in 3 rooms, the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom and my living space expands into the garden in summer. As a ramp has now been installed I am getting out a little in the garden and creating a growing space there.

HOW TO KEEP WARM

The cold weather spell is lasting a long time so today I want to explore how to keep warm with or without a fire.

CLOTHING

If we put on clothes that warm us and keep us toasty we are less likely to feel a bonechilling cold permeate us. A 100% wool sweater, gloves and socks are going to keep us cosy but if you still feel the cold the warmth of the fibre such as alpaca can raise the temperature. Wrapping ytourslef in a dressing gown or duvet heat the space wound you. The warmest fiber is qiviut but it is hard to get sufficient to date to increase the insulation factor. Check your clothing: a 50% wool/cotton combination is unlikely to keep you warm in winter. Most of our body temperature escapes via our heads so a hat is recommended.

HOT DRINKS

For just a few seconds. A cup of hot chocolate creates a fleeting feeling of warmth in your hands and stomach but not a change in your internal temperature—which is a good thing: Maintaining a stable body temperature is essential to having healthy organ function and a steady heartbeat. We associate it with a cosy inside feeling which is a placebo effect.

WOOD BURNERS AND OPEN FIRES

We do have a woodburner and without central heating it gives us the opportunity to warm one room in which we can all huddle together. It creates a warm feeling watching the logs burn and we can sit on the sofa, read a nice book and have a conversation.

CURTAINS

Closing the curtains or shutters enables the heat to stay in as a lot of heat escapes via windows and doors

DOORS
Seal your doors with doorstoppers ( a big long padded roll) so the heat stays in and draughtproofs the room.

ROOMS

Close off any unused rooms which will enable the warm air to stay where you are instead of circulating throughout the house.

FLOORS and ATTICS

Cover the floors in carpets or rugs which will insulate them against warm air escaping through the gaps and insulate the attic to keep warm air  escaping via the roof. You can see how well your house is insulated by seeing if there is snow ( when it snows) on your roof or whether the heat from the house is melting the sneow on your roof.

COOK

Make cookies, or a meal ( without too much steam)/ Not only will you be moving about but the kitchen will warm up as the oven works and dry the air in the kitchen.



The snow can cause power to be cut so keep candles at hand.

Hopefully these measures will make you feel a bit warmer. A brisk walk or exercise will raise the temperature a little in your boidy and if all else fails, hibernating under the duvet can keep you cosy.

I hope these measures will warm you up a little in the shortterm.

Sustainable wardrobe- Part 3- HEMP

A CASE FOR HEMP


Hemp is a fibre much like flax coming from the Cannabis family

Cannabis nowadays is mostly known for its element tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a narcotic substance found in about 10% Cannabis species .

Hemp was first cultivated around the Caspian Sea and can grow as far north as the Baltic Sea and it was used as a plant fiber for textiles and later  paper in China as early as 2700 B.C. Because of its connection to the narcotic element although not present in fiber hemp it is prohibited from cultivation in the USA and under severe restrictions in the EU.  Most hemp comes from China Fiber hemp, however, contains virtually no THC and usually comes from THC low strains of Cannabis sativa and not Cannabis indica plants. In 1883 US law banned all hemp production ostensibly because of its drug use but in truth cotton farmers lobbied against hemp farmers. Thinking of all the chemical elements present in cotton currently I see hemp as a viable alternative sustainable fabric for clothes.

Hemp is grown, harvested and processed much like flax. Hemp fabric is strong and durable though usually not as fine as linen. The word canvas derives from the Latin word cannapaceus (meaning:derived from hemp), and even in Roman times sails were made from hemp canvas.

Hemp is very environmental friendly since it requires almost no pesticides and no herbicides. It grows fast with a high yield. Hemp seed is used in food preparations, cosmetics and animal feeding. The straw is used as biodegradable animal bedding. Nowadays, hemp is mostly used for paper making and grows much faster than a tree as a sustainable resource.


A few facts about Hemp

• Used for ropes :The stalk grows over ten feet tall and has been used in the shipping industry for centuries.It provides a very strong, durable and rot resistant fiber..
• The short fibers of the stalk can be used in textiles as a replacement or blended with other fibers such as  cotton.
•  Hemp as similar fiber capacities as linen. It insulates the body against heat and keeps body
  warmth inside during colder spells. But it is more durable than linen or cotton.Hemp holds its shape and is very resistant to stretching.
• The more hemp fabric is used, worn, washed and ironed the better it wears the more
  comfortable it gets. Hemp wears in not out
•  It is resistant to mildew, mould and salt water.
•  It blocks UV-radiation effectively which means less fading of the fabric and effective protection of body in clothes against UV-radiation
•  Hemp-blends with silk, linen, wool and cotton prolong the life of the fabric while retaining its soft quality at the same time.
• The original Levi Strauss jeans were made from hemp canvas.

Hemp can be bought online in the UK here and there are a variety of products to choose from including hemp wool  and fiber to spin.( I can see I am getting carried away with possibilities).
Another source is The House of Hemp with more yarns and colours.

Making the summer top as my January project took a bit longer but time is not the issue here and it is still very cold.

How to deal with Stash

Having downsized to a 600ft square living space, my collection of yarn and fibres needs facing. I have been putting it off for years amassing 2 big boxes of sockyarn and yarns leftover from projects. Each time decluttering has happened I have bypassed these conveniently. Mea culpa.It is not until it took to filling an understairs cupboard and creating the sustainable wardrobe that I admitted that there are only so many sweaters a woman needs, so many socks we need and yes the time for facing the issue was here, procrastination over.

Why do I have so much yarn ?

• Partly because I miscalculated the amounts required for the projects
• did not follow the instructions properly
• impulse buy at yarn festivals
• just because I like that colourway
• Maybe a small fantasy of one day owning a yarn store.

Why is knitting important and valuable to me?

• I knit for relaxation, learning a new technique and gifting.

Any specific project in mind?

• About 20 which  would take me about 2 years to complete
• Some of which I do no longer want to make
• Enough for at least 10 socks

First step: What do I want to keep and why?

• Do I have a project in mind?
• Do I still need that finished object?

That leaves me with the 3 projects planned for and 6 sock yarns for a years supply.( GULP)
Plus an embargo on buying new fibers.

Second step - How do I recycle the rest?

I could put it on freecycle but I am finding it too valuable for that. (Still holding on)
Can I give it to a school where children are encouraged to learn to knit? ( sounds a better option)

Finally I have decided to :

• gift my stash to be used for charity knitting
• to seriously consider charity knitting as a way to create items that are needed for others
• to not buy yarns until I know what project is needed in my wardrobe

Do I feel a sense of loss or bereft?

Small tinge of sadness but a great relief that I will not knit items that are unwanted and made  of leftover stash.

And the bonus is I will be knitting for relaxation with a purpose. Gifting woollens is after all one of the things I cherish so why not give that gift to someone else without the burden.


For charity knitting see UK Handknitting Association

Diversifying clothing materials Part 1

I don't know about you but when comparing the quality of an item I bought 5 years ago and a similar item from the same firm this year, I have noticed that clothes are getting thinner. From the manufacturers point of view this

• reduces the amount of resources
• increases profit per item
• the cloth wears out quicker
• the customer will purchase a new one quicker

The washing powders currently used and conditioners and our habit of washing, showering etc wear clothes out , creating holes, tears and generally wearing them out as quickly as possible.

If you look at the make up of the resources used for your clothing you will find that 100% cotton garments have a reduced amount of cotton now and jumpers for sale are in fact no longer made of 100% wool in general but contain either cotton or acrylic. That explains why when the temperature dips and we reach for a sweater we can still be cold.

Looking at the resources for clothes and material we can source their origins either from :

• plants
• animals
• handmade materials

We have grown from a perspective of choosing our clothes for durability, warmth and quality to other criteria such as fashion, ease of washing, colour etc. To effect a change the first change we can make is one of attitude and being more choosy in the way we look at garments.

Most people had the skills to either make, mend or amend their clothes thus fewer clothes were necessary in their working wardrobe and every inch of painstakingly produced fabric was used, repaired and reused. What however are the real costs associated with these items.

As an example I will take socks. You can buy 5 pairs of socks for lets say £10. You will lose a few in the wash so they no longer match and as soon as a hole appears you throw them out. In comparison making woollen socks by knitting them yourself ;

• requires you to have a skill
• costs about £15 per pair
• takes many many hours knitting time
• requires special washing so as not to shrink them
• can be darned and repaired
• wool keeps your feet warm and absorbs liquid
• wool is a breathable material
• wool is a renewable material

The result is that you will only go through a certain  number of handknitted socks per year compared to cotton/acrylic ones, will have fewer going through the wash, resulting in a greater appreciation of material and skill.

For years we have avoided clothes with a 'dry cleaning only' label. Not only because of the costs associated with this item of clothing and the savings that could be made but the idea of having them washed in silicone and the impact of residual chemicals that would interact with our skins and own body chemistry was unknown. You buy a suit that you have drycleaned every month at a cost of £20 each time and the suit ends up costing an additional £240 per year to maintain.

The sustainable wardrobe therefore contains no items that require dry cleaning only.


Questions to ponder:

• How many did you find.?
• What attracted you to this item of clothing?

How to plan a sustainable wardrobe

Over the last years I have tried to plan my wardrobe requirements using different criteria than before in an effort to:

• minimize expense and impulse buys
• more sustainable fabrics( no dry cleaning only fabrics)
• make them instead of buying mass produced( clothes miles)
• better fit and less angst about body size
• any colour scheme
• locally sourced and produced( less travel miles)
• I want to know where my clothes come from
• deliberate decisions based on my needs not my wants

The starting point has to be the colours in fashion for spring/summer 2013 ( thanks to Pantone Colour reports)

The colour of the year is heralded to be emerald green. More information can be seen on Pantone's website :http://www.pantone.co.uk/pages/fcr.aspx?pg=21005&ca=4

Looking at my public wardrobe requirements I intend to have the following additions of new clothes :
1 pair of hemp trousers ( could be dyed in any of the above colours)
1 cotton summer cardigan
1 short sleeve/long sleeve colourful warmer top ( in case we have a chilly summer and for the transition to autumn)
The items in my wardrobe go along three phases in rotation :

• new clothes for outings ( in that seasons colours)
• last year's clothes for wearing casually and around the home
• gardening and work clothes( after which they get recycled, upcycled into something else, or given away)

I could see what is available in secondhand shops instead of buying new and then dye it but in pursuit of the make and mend movement and to enhance my skill levels I am considering making them myself. Over the years I have found that making your own garments creates an attachment and appreciation for the resources used in producing the item and an appreciation of the quality of materials used. Apart from that I enjoy making things that are individual and am steering away from the mass produced look.

Colours are personal and I have a black base of mix and match items to which colourful items are added as and when.

When the items are completed they will take their place in my capsule wardrobe and I will then do the same for the autumn/winter wardrobe. I can always scour the charity shops and car boot sales for accessories in other colours or support individual makers on etsy.com. A search for emerald green items threw up quite and array of possibilities:http://www.etsy.com/search?q=emerald%20green&view_type=gallery&ship_to=GB


In time I have come to appreciate that there are four seasons and that each season has its own focused activity. Winter is to hibernate and prepare for spring, spring is all about starting the garden, summer about enjoying sunshine, the garden and the long available daylight hours and autumn is about harvesting, preserving and slowing down to winter.

I have 3 months of winter left after which the gardening season will kick in so there is no time to lose.
3 months and 3 projects.

January - cotton top
February- trousers
March- transition cardigan

Let's see if I can pull this off and how I get on.
 

Woodstoves and Ecofan

Melissa from Lehmans country store explains the ins and out of a wood burning stove.

Creating heat without central heating systems does not come naturally usually but it does provide an independent means of creating heat in our home. The wood burner does more than merely warm the room.
The kettle placed on the stove eliminates the use of an electric kettle during the winter months; there is always plenty of boiling water on hand ( without the use of electricity). Hot drinks are a must when the weather is snowy.
In general the wood burner has the ability to dry the air and warm air tends to move upwards and stagnate in the area around the stove. As our stove did not have the ability to distribute heat evenly throughout the room, a neighbour introduced me to the Ecofan. It is a sizable investment but it is a fantastic piece of kit that uses a thermoelectric module to create its own electricity and is really quiet. It always provides a discussion point when people ask what ' that thingy' is at the back of the stove.
The third item on our stove is a pan with water ( which is noisier) but it contains aromatherapy oils that change with the season. Currently I am using eucalyptus oil to help those in the house that are suffering from a chesty cold.
Lastly by using a cast iron casserole, it can be used to cook a one pot meal or reheat food that has been stored in case of power cuts.

Paying yourself first

Paying yourself first is a strategy to save money in an automatic way to make saving a simple habit. Your savings become a ‘ bill’ requiring an automated payment.

For some years now I have followed Janine Bolon’s principles of saving money this way and indeed have seen our savings grow ( despite having 3 teenage sons). As a business at the end of January we have to file our tax return which gives me a rough indication of the amount of profit the business has made and I use that as a ballpark figure to calculate the amount to automatically save into business savings account. Janine’s formula talks about 10% to charity, 10% tithe to church, 10% short term savings and 10% into long term savings. As a business we do not directly give to charity but we do use a percentage of funds to raise money for local causes and successfully held a raffle in November for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance raising a total of £ 270. I therefore set aside 5% of profit for charity and community projects, 15% into short term savings( emergency fund) and 20% into long term savings ( pension contributions).

Once decided on the amount they are set up as regular payments into the different savings vehicles and adjusted only at the end of the 12 month period.

What happens if you fall short?

If there is not sufficient money left at the end of the month then there is something wrong. To cover the shortfall it would be easy to dip into savings but that defeats the plan, so the only way to cover the shortfall is to either earn more ( i.e. work harder) and at the same time cut down expenses.

Paying yourself first is a great way to start the habit of saving and once it happens automatically, the rest will follow.

Getting stuck in dirt

The amount of food you can grow in your garden will to some extent depend on the type of soil you have. The fertility of the soil can be improved and is the key to a healthy, thriving garden.

Some soil improvers :

• Compost all the kitchen scraps and garden clippings, animal manures , ( not dog and cat),paper towels, tissues and inside of toilet rolls, then dig the compost into the soil.
• Add seaweed from seaside foraging as well as other organic material that will break down the soil.
• Collect leaves at the side of the road in autumn.
• Check the amount of earthworms you have in your soil. Worms aerate the soil and turn organic material into compost. If low consider adding some to your compost bin to improve worm population.
• Set up a worm farm and harvest their castings and worm juice to use as a soil conditioner
• Use organic mulches on the soil surface to stop weeds competing with the productive plants and to reduce the need for watering.

Resources

what I put in the compostbin

composting101

wormcafe

composting worms

Living comfortably with less heat

Our home behind the shop is north facing and every room has outside walls. It was bitter when we moved in 2 years ago and the central heating did very little to warm the place up. Our gas consumption was 3 x 47kg propane gas bottles every 10 days between September and March, so for 7 months of the year we used to get a delivery every other week. The heating was only on morning and evening and really just took the chill off the air. It was very cold but we also felt the cold as we had come from a centrally heated house.

Some improvements were made to the property when we installed loft insulation which required an investment cost of £ 900. We also had the boiler serviced last year and the engineer showed us how we could lower the control on the boiler as well as the controls on each radiator to reduce consumption.

The shop and the ground floor do have radiators but are on a second circuit which we choose not to use.Most of the year the shop door remains open. We did close the door when the temperature plummeted to minus 5 Celsius.Usually the heat given out by refrigeration units is sufficient to keep the place bearable.

The wood burner installed downstairs keeps the temperature cosy at around 21 degrees Celsius and the office is the warmest room. The heat rises to the lounge providing us with 2 rooms that are heated throughout the day. The central heating is only on to take the chill off the place early morning and late afternoon. There are plenty of afghans, duvets and blankets to cuddle under with a book and hand knitted woollen socks, sweaters and hot water bottles go a long way to warming us up when we need it.

This year, not only did the heating only go on in October but we manage 3 x 47kg propane bottles for 30 days instead of 10. Although the cost per bottle is higher this year I anticipate our costs to be less. In effect we have reduced our heating costs by 60% and have also increased our ability to withstand colder temperatures.

When we visit people with full central heating we usually boil very slowly and cannot bear the heat and upon investigation,their heating is on mostly during the day and night to maintain a steady temperature.

This is our way and may not be your way but from experience I know that by increasing personal and building insulation, reducing the overall temperatures required gradually can lead to an adaptation by our bodies and minds and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. And when power cuts happen, we still have the wood burner to keep us warm.

Boom and bust

Perseverance: Cliffhanger

As I get older I begin to gain an understanding that patterns are an intrinsic part of life. There is the circle of life, with life and death, seasons, days and nights. There is famine and feast in harvesting times as well as in economic times.

Right now we are stranded in a new reality, where the patterns of feast, harvesting plenty and joy of life are not always that apparent. Rudyard Kiplings poem , 'if' has some excellent words to ponder over.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
but make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired of waiting
or be lied about, don’t deal in lies;
or ,being hated, don’t give way to hating,
and yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can keep your head now, when the economy, job prospects and life seems topsy turvy, then you will make it through to the next cycle. What you will gain is an insight into the downs and use them next time before an up. There is still a certainty that night will follow day, day will follow night, winter will follow autumn, spring follow winter. There is however uncertainty as to how long it takes to change from one to the other. For that reason, people prepared for winter, saved for a rainy day. In a world where everything is to be had at the touch of a button, produce can be bought out of season, there is a danger that skills, and the way things are are brought out of balance.

I am not advocating going back entirely to uncomfortable times, but when there is plenty, we could maybe save a surplus for when we do not have enough. ( And I have to remind myself of that constantly).

The industrial revolution brought a complete change to our fortunes in the West, and I sense that we are tipping into a new era. There are always two options to a challenge; accept it or change it. The difficulty is that we sometimes take a long time to accept before we have the courage to change because we value what we have lost and cannot see beyond that point.

Ah the wisdom of hindsight……. guess I am going around the cycle for the umptied time. Will I get it this time?

We all have cycles of some kind. Mine relates to available energy, and I liken it to the global energy availability. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is manageable only by pacing one’s activities. Without this, the body continues to malfunction in a variety of ways. I often lose sight of that when things go better of how bad it can be and then, the energy supply is stopped and I end up flat on my face. Ah the wisdom of hindsight. The choice is not whether to accept this challenge or how to change it, but how to look beyond it, ride the wave and make the best out of the situation. It is therefore so important to keep pointing North on your compass and take each day as it comes.

the sweet spot

Confidence


‘A sweet spot is a place, often numerical as opposed to physical, where a combination of factors suggest a particularly suitable solution.’

Max Lucado’s book ‘ The Cure for the Common Life’ reminded me how by chance ( or not )we have arrived in what can be described as our sweet spot. Max describes how we need to look at our life story and in particular at what our interests are between the ages of 8 and 12, what was our passion and just look how that has played itself out in our life story. Personally, I used to make paper flowers and cakes to sell on a makeshift shop counter during the summer beach holiday as well as winning a writing competition at the age of 12 on the subject of sport. I can see that all of these contribute to who I am today. It certainly has made me watch the emerging talents in our village and the passion and interests of the children.

The shop window is available to residents in the village to come and show us what they can do and how their talents contribute to the whole of the village. A club, a creative individual, a small business, an event can use the shop window to share their passion.All we ask in return is the use of some products we sell in the shop within the display. The aim is to encourage each other to come and share what we are passionate about and help us to see talents more clearly and encourage our young people towards their sweet spot.

Marmalade

Orange Marmalade

If faced with lemons, make lemonade. If faced with seville oranges, make marmelade.

The first preserve of the year has to be marmalade.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "marmalade" appeared in the English language in 1480, borrowed from French marmelade which, in turn, came from the Portuguese marmelada.
In Portuguese, according to the root of the word, which is marmelo, "quince", marmelada is a preserve made from quinces, quince cheese. Marmelo in turn derives from Latin melimelum, “honey apple” which in turn derives from Greek μελίμηλον (melimelon).

Marmalade has been a regular best seller in our village according to the shop ledger of 1963 and currently there is an influx of people, marinating, cutting peel and boiling up vast quantities of marmalade to add to their pantry.

If you have time, its a worthwhile experience and when you are done, you can make marmalade bread and butter pudding.
Elise's recipe for marmalade
Delia's marmalade bread and butter pudding

A single action

Action: Drop of Water

It only takes a single thought to move the world.

Ever decreasing consumerism sounds a scary place to be if you look at it from an economic point of view and yes, it is likely that temporarily many people will lose their jobs and find themselves in a very different environment from what they were used to. First financial institutions, then service providers, retailers, wholesalers, transport companies, manufacturers etc.
Life from now on will not be as we have known it, it is about to change drastically and yet,as I have mentioned before I see it as an alignment from a virtual world to a more realistic real viewpoint. This is also a moment of opportunities.

In our lifetime, many of us get that moment where it seems as if the whole of the world as we know it has collapsed and from somewhere we have to find the courage and the energy to get up, look ahead and rebuild with what is available to us at that moment in time. I am certain that we will do the best we can with the resources we have. The pattern in nature that I compare this situation to is the one of a stone being thrown into a pond, the impact is great, the stone heavy and the circles go outwards. The stone falls way down but it does not drag the whole pond with it downwards.

The change of direction and the next step has to start from our center, and work outwards. This is the opposite way it has worked so far, everything came to us and we received, then took some more. I am wondering whether to change this energy pattern we need to change our way of thinking and start giving instead of receiving. Instead of sinking deeper we need to find the energy to raise ourselves.

While the economy is on an ever decreasing circle, I am working on a global economy that starts locally. It requires a series of personal actions. How?

In permaculture, the first zone is zone zero : This is usually the house, the home zone. This is where you would start reducing your energy needs, save water, harnessing natural resources and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in which to rebuild. My zone minus 1 goes a step back and looks at me as the starting point. What can I do today to manage my energy, to create a harmonious, sustainable balanced body, mind and spirit from which I can go forward to work and relax.

As human beings we function on a variety of levels and to create a harmonious way of living we need to find ways of engaging with all these levels.

When was the last time you listened to your body? What is needed to enable you to be healthy? What addictions stop you from fulfilling your potential? What or who drives you?

This is a time to find out who you really are, what your talents and gifts are and start radiating them out. This is probably very difficult to visualise but not impossible.

Which gift do you possess that you can radiate outwards.......

Tucking the roof in

A Whooper Swan Resting with Bill Tucked under Wings

The last few days have shown us the benefits of having your loft insulated. It simply feels like sleeping under a duvet instead of the stars and the change in temperature is considerable. The work was done by a local man who even decided he would paint the hatches for us. The property is unusual and the hatches initially built for much smaller people. Estimates from larger companies were more expensive and some even flatly refused to do the work on the grounds that it was too claustrophobic up in the loft space. It will take a few weeks for the air currents to adjust.

Approximately one third of the heat within your property escapes through the roof if not correctly insulated. Significant savings on heating bills can be enjoyed whilst also increasing home comfort.

Where we felt ourselves lapsing in having the heating on during the recent cold spell, the roof insulation has made it three degrees warmer and the immediate want has disappeared.

Heating your house

Two Children Bring Home a Barrow-Load of Firewood for the Christmas Fire


As far as the heating challenge is concerned, we are in month 2 without central heating. The children have their incentive payments to consider and have adapted well to the new setup.

What follows is a practical list of short and long term solutions to cutting the need and the cost for heating :

The emphasis is on conserving energy ( reducing consumption) and maximising savings on the cost of energy.

Ensure that the house is insulated and that windows and doors are draught proof.
Place a thermometer in your main room and try and keep the temperature at between 65 and 70f or 18 and 21 Celsius.

I am not sure on the science behind this but heating for short periods all winter through makes the boilers work very hard and you just about heat the air and take the chill off.If you put your central heating on, put it on constant for 12 hours ( not at night) and then switch to timed in short bursts throughout the day ,the temperature will remain at a constant level and the boiler does not have to work hard to maintain the temperature. It requires experimenting with in your home with your particular heating system.

Dress adequately. Our teenage son often complains that it is cold but turns up in his shirt and flip flops. It is of course not cool to wear anything else...... Heat yourself first and then the room.

Woodburners are an effective method of heating large open spaces. Make sure the wood is dry and stockpiled over the summer months. The woodburner also heats the kettle on top so we no longer need to boil a kettle for that very important cup of tea. The air dries out quite a bit with the woodburner but drying clothes in the same room overnight tends to counteract that quite effectively. To heat several rooms with the woodburner we apply the principle that when you create an air current, the hot air goes up and cold air rushes in to replace it. We can heat the downstairs of the house quite effectively with the woodburner and the upstairs lounge by keeping the door at the top of the stairs open.

Heat the rooms you use. Our bedrooms are not heated, nor are the corridors. The bathroom is currently unheated apart from a towel rail as I dislike damp towels and that is probably the only room we really feel the chill. It also cuts down on the time spent in the shower.

Purchase your heating oil or gas in the summer if you are on liquid gas and oil. Shop around for the best price of gas and electric. We purchase a load of logs at the end of August and at the beginning of January which carries us through the winter. Our lean to conservatory in winter doubles up as the log store. We also are not too proud to use any cuttings from shrubs saved over the summer( they need to dry out) branches found on walks, fallen down trees and old kitchen cabinets that are going free on free cycle. ( You need a jigsaw saw or other type of saw to cut these up into smaller pieces).

No need to use a shredder for personal information. All such items can be scrunched up into small balls and make effective firelighters. Shop paper towels and toilet rolls are used in the compost bin but we also have a paper bin next to the fire for anything that is paper related.

The savings we are making are being used to improve insulation of both the house and ourselves, give a proportion to the children and save the rest. This year we will effectively insulate the roof based on the savings made of not using central heating throughout the winter. The only exception we will make will be the 14 days around the holiday season when we have guests.

When you visit other people's homes you need to dress down again. We went for supper at a friend's house and literally got too red for comfort. From this we noticed that we had acclimatised to a lower temperature and were finding a centrally heated home with open fire just too much.

If you cannot afford to heat your home, spend time in the library and other free public places as they get heated. The library is a good place to sit and read in comfort. Be warned that spending time in heated places will make you feel the cold when you get back home.

Take a walk each day to boost your circulation. When you come back from a walk in the cold air, you immediately feel warm coming home.


The important thing is not about depravation of heat but about finding what level of heat is sensible and healthy for you. If you are active and young you are less likely to feel as cold as a housebound elderly person who moves slowly and whose metabolism is slower. In essence it is about balancing your needs with the resources available. Many older people worry about the cost of heating their homes. The smaller the home, the more your money will stretch.

In the blank space

It is known in nature that some seeds need to be burnt by forest fires before they can germinate to grow into new lush growth replacing a devastated forest. The landscape may look very bleak and yet the very devastating conditions provide just the right medium for new growth to take place.

May now be the time for seeds to provide new growth. Let us find the courage to start afresh. I will be looking at the resources around me in the next few days and reflect how they can be used in a positive way to move forward.

It is said that love changes everything......

The clip is of an Irish blessing sung by the wonderfully soothing voice of Snatam Kaur.

Cost of living

Autumn Grazing


How did you get to live in the house you are now?

Housing costs depend on what choices have been important to you and are currently important to you.

Some questions to explore :


How much space do we need?
How can we maximise the space versus costs of property?
What are our housing needs?
How much are we prepared to pay for our housing costs?
Do we need to own a property?

If you did not reassess your housing costs before here are some ways of saving money or making your house help make ends meet.

Check that your house meets your needs ( i.e. could you manage with a smaller house, smaller garden different location etc). If it feels too small ask yourself how you can make it appear to be bigger? What is the core issue that makes you feel you need a larger house?
If you have a mortgage on your property check that you have the best possible rates and that you can manage the payments. How much are you prepared to pay for the way you live?
If you have a spare room, would you consider taking in a lodger. There is an issue with lack of privacy but if extra income is necessary could it be an option. Aim for maximum occupancy for your home which will also reduce your ecological footprint. Ensure that you have lodgers on a contract basis to protect yourself and your home.
Have you insulated your home as much as is possible both in terms of investment and possibilities in your home?
How much stuff do you need? Can you continue to declutter?
Is working from home a possibility cutting out commuting?
How much vegetables and fruit can your garden provide?
What temperature are you comfortable with?

With hindsight anything is possible; as I see people move into their new home I recall the many many boxes of stuff I packed, paid to be moved and then never needed. It is not a quick process but part of the downshifting journey.

My definition of success is total self acceptance. We can obtain all of the material possessions we desire quite easily, however, attempting to change our deepest thoughts and learning to love ourselves is a monumental challenge.