the simple life

Ditching Some More Disposables

October 23, 2009

This is a bathroom-themed post, so if that’s tmi, here’s your fair warning to mosey along now.  For some time, we’ve been on a mission to reduce the amount of disposable stuff we use.  It’s cheaper and far more environmentally sound to go with reusable products, and we’ve found that it’s a lot easier than [...]

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Kitchen Decluttering

October 11, 2009

I don’t particularly like cleaning.  I love to cook, do laundry, work in the garden… but cleaning is pretty far down on my list.  But I love living in a clean house, and having lots of wide open, clean space around me.  And therein lies the conundrum.  Lately I’ve been on a mission to purge [...]

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Wrapping Up The Outdoor Chores, And A Few Good Links

October 3, 2009

I got a blog award last week, and in the process I discovered a new blog.  Kristina writes at Growing A Better Me, and has all sorts of interesting things to share.  Thanks for the award Kristina!  As far as passing it on goes, the blogs on my blogroll are my favorites, and I highly [...]

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Greenhouse Is Up And Running Again!

October 1, 2009

Remember last year, when we built a little greenhouse to go in our side yard?  When we moved, we had to cut it in half, and we just got it put back together this week.  Here it is in our new yard, protecting one of our garden beds: See why we had to move? That [...]

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Our Orchard In Its Early Days

September 28, 2009

I promised a long time ago that I’d post a picture of the orchard we planted.  Here it is, under a rainbow: It’s hard to see all of the trees, because they are still pretty small.  Check back in a few years and it should be a more impressive sight!  In all, we have 14 [...]

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Not Loving Things That Can’t Love Me Back

September 15, 2009

I have loved clothes for as long as I can remember.  I’ve always purchased them second-hand (even as a child, since my family only shopped at yard sales and thrift stores), but it always gave me a thrill to get new clothes.  Not so long ago, I would relish a quiet afternoon in one of [...]

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Keeping Track Of Our Spending

September 14, 2009

Recently I got an email from a long-time reader, asking me if we still keep track of our monthly expenses.  I guess the answer is both yes and no.  We do pay close attention to what we are spending, and I check our bank balances and credit card transactions on a daily basis.  But we [...]

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The Frugal Way To Avoid Flame Retardants In Pajamas

September 8, 2009

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I’m not fond of toxic chemicals in our house or yard.  We grow all of our veggies using organic methods, clean the house with baking soda and vinegar, and avoid food additives like preservatives and food colorings.  So it should come as no [...]

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No TV

August 17, 2009

At our old house, it was only $4/month to add basic cable TV to our internet service.  So we did.  We had a handful of channels – I have no idea how many, because the only thing I ever watched was “Ice Road Truckers” (my husband picked that one…) and “The Office” (that was my [...]

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Another Do It Yourself Project

August 13, 2009

My husband finished a window well cover earlier this week, and is nearly finished with the second one.  I’m pretty darn impressed, especially given that this is his first real welding project (he considered the umbrella stand practice, since it just involved attaching a piece of pipe to a piece of I-beam).  Here’s a picture [...]

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