Stop. Start. Continue; Beginning the simple life journey

My boss is a huge fan on the "Stop. Start. Continue." method of evaluation. After 10 years working with him it sticks in my head, even though I'm on maternity leave.

I thought it would be helpful to start the blog off by evaluating where we are now, the changes we have recently made, and those things we will continue doing that fit with the simple life philosophy. Hopefully I'll be able to look back in a few years and see how far we've come (fingers crossed!).

I've been documenting the changes we've been making towards the simple life on Facebook and Instagram for a few months, so here's a summary:

Stop

These are things we have made a conscious effort to stop doing. We don't get it right 100% of the time, but by paying attention to them, we are definitely doing better:

• Relying so heavily on plastic;
• We've invested in some glass and stainless steel food containers, but we still need to build up our stash.
• Everyone now has a stainless steel water bottle except the baby. We take them everywhere instead of buying water or using plastic bottles. I even bought my mum one for Mothers' Day. I need to look into what options are available for non-plastic sippy cups.
• We use containers for leftovers and frozen food about 90% of the time instead of single use glad wrap.
• I've made small tulle bags for fruit & veg shopping instead of using the single use plastic ones from the supermarket
• Wasting food;
• Leftover are portioned up for lunch the next day, incorporated into another meal or frozen;
• Vege peelings are saved to make stock and then fed to the worms.
• Fruit peelings, egg shells and tea bags are fed to the worms

Start

These are new things we've started doing fairly recently since making a conscious effort to live more simply:

• Started a worm farm
• Using glass and stainless steel storage containers
• Switched to reusable knitted cotton dishcloths instead of disposable, plastic derived cloths
• Switched to 100% renewable energy for electricity
• Learned to make stock (learned probably isn't the right word since it's really not hard!)
• Meal planning
• Recycling soft plastic packaging; I'm embarrassed to admit that until fairly recently I didn't realise things like pasta, frozen veg and biscuit packets could be recycled via "REDcycling" at many supermarkets. Find out what can be recycled via this program and drop off locations here: http://redcycle.net.au/redcycle/redcycle-news
• Switched to online billing for our gas, electricity and phones to save paper waste
• Meat-free Monday dinners; learning new vegetarian recipes!
• Switched to more natural beauty products (loving Sukin products)
• Switched to "Who Gives a Crap" toilet paper; made from recycled paper and 50% of profits go towards building sanitation where it's needed. Check it out here: http://au.whogivesacrap.org/
• Storing water for emergencies

Continue

These are things we were already doing which are aligned to our values of living simply:

• Buying Australian made (and owned) wherever possible
• Being careful of our energy and water use
• Buying 2nd hand
• Upcycling, mending and crafting
• Bulk cooking
• Baking snacks
• Adding extra veg and lentils / beans to our meals to cut down meat consumption
• Searching out free local activities for the kids
• Using homemade "green" cleaners

So many more changes I want to make, but the simple life is a journey not a destination!

Monday Menu Plan

I was never a menu planner. I tend to cook in bulk to save time, electricity and money so when I was working I'd just pulled a meal out of the freezer the night before and cook some rice / pasta / veges to go with it.

Now I'm on maternity leave I still bulk cook but feeding a fussy 3.5 year old and baby-led weaning an 8 month old who eats like a horse I like to plan a little more to ensure we can all eat the same dinner.

I base my menu plan and grocery list around what we already have in the house that needs using up first (the remaining veges from last week for example) which reduces food waste and saves money as well.

I'm also trying to reduce our reliance on meat as the main component of our dinners because, frankly it's better for our health, wallet and the environment. I'm trialling a meat-free Monday. We aren't dedicated health nuts by any stretch of the imagination. However, wherever possible, I bulk out our meals with extra veges, lentils or beans; pureed if necessary to hide them from the kids!

So with that in mind, here's our dinner plan for the week:

Meat free Monday - Vegetarian Lasagne and salad
Tuesday - Chicken breast, sweet potato mash, broccoli, corn on the cob, carrots & gravy
Wednesday - Ham, cheese & spinach crust less quiche with salad
Thursday - Pumpkin, spinach & chicken "risotto"
Friday - Healthier "mac & cheese" with tuna, pumpkin, spinach, peas & corn
Saturday - Spaghetti bolognaise with hidden veg and lentils
Sunday - Home made pizza (bub will have something else this night)

Our breakfasts during the week are generally porridge, weet-bix or toast.

Lunches will be soup & toast, corn fritters and leftovers.

Life. In moderation

Ever felt like the life you are living isn't the one you were meant to live?

Mother. Wife. Daughter. Sister. Granddaughter. Friend. Employee. Citizen. Consumer. Mouse on a wheel? Thinker.

Since becoming a mother a little over 3 years ago, I have struggled to figure out where I fit in this equation. So many of my priorities have changed, not always by choice. There are still other things that I know I want to change but haven't yet.

I am a girl from a regional town, living in the big smoke and dreaming of a simple country life. My soul craves open spaces; rolling hills; grass! Alas, reality is a small suburban paved courtyard, a few herb plants on the back step and a park around the corner.

I am a mother who often doesn't fit in in this modern, consumer driven world and yet struggles to disengage from it.

Like any mother, I want to give my kids the world. But in doing so I wonder are we robbing them of the opportunity to inherit the earth? Don't get me wrong, I like pretty things as much as the next girl; but I am increasingly concerned about the state of the world we are leaving our kids.

Climate change. Overconsumption. Peak oil. Food security. Jobs. Crime.

What will their world look like? And why doesn't anyone warn you about the fear that comes with motherhood? The constant worry, not for yourself anymore, but for your children.

The future is scary. Uncertain. But, the way I see it, we have still have choices.

1. We can be paralysed into inaction.
2. We can put our heads in the sand and ignore what is happening.
3. We can wait for "someone else" to make the changes for us. Or,
4. We can be the change we want to see in the world.

I choose Option 4. For me, that means learning to embrace the simple life I crave, trying to minimise our environmental footprint, while saving for things that are important to us. And doing it all in the city.

Jill of many trades, master of none. Possibly born in the wrong century and learning to be frugal by choice, I'm about up-cycling; crafting; very, very basic cooking (cooking is not my strong point!), waste reduction, sustainability, time and money saving tips thrown in with the day to day challenges of family life. Meet "Mum. In moderation".

Lover of handmade and supporter of work at home families. 

We are learning as we go. This will be a journey. There will be mistakes I'm sure.

Nothing about me is "Pinterest perfect" and possibly not even very interesting; but, at the end of the day I want my boys to know I tried to do my bit to safeguard their future.