It’s now over a year since I started to put much more thought into my life and how it wasn’t at all green at the time. I also started to be somewhat concerned about the lack of skills that I had when it came to doing the things that so many of my grandparents generation, living through the war years, would have taken for granted to aid their survival and help the war effort. At the time I was quite a useless cook, only really did cross-stitch as any form of sewing and was generally quite useless at many practical things.
I therefore started to teach myself (with the aid of many, many books and wonderful internet resources) some of these skills that I was lacking. I also learnt much more about how to make our life more green and since then we’ve made quite a few changes to our home life. We recycle much more now (pretty much all we can) and I’m also much more thoughtful about buying new things and turning off all electrical appliances when then are not required. I also think much more now before taking the car out anywhere and as a result have cut the amount we use it.
Through the experiences of others that have been shared by their blogs I have also learnt much more about how other people run their lives, and this has certainly made me think quite carefully about what I would like in the future, and my desire to ensure that I don’t spend the majority of my life stuck in the work “rat-race”. One thing I would love to eventually do is become as self-sufficient as we can. I realise that it’s not an easy thing to say or do, but it is something that I now feel quite passionately about and want to turn into a reality.
Mr C and I currently live in a flat with no outdoor space at all (window boxes are even banned by the council!) and hence are a bit limited in what we can do. I have made a start though, a very small one, but I want to share it with you all the same. Fanfare please…
This is our kitchen windowsill and my herb growing efforts to date. On the left is a basil plant that we’ve managed to grown on from one we bought in the supermarket about 5 months ago. The curly parsley on the right was only purchased last weekend, but I’m hoping that this is just the start. Mr C and I are currently trying to buy a house with garden which would allow us to make a start at expanding what we can grown. Fingers crossed though that we can get through the muddle that currently is the housing market to help us start to make this dream a reality.
I think if everyone in your situation did what you and OH have done we would be in a much better state!
Basil is looking good…why not try taking cuttings and planting THEM up? See my blog for details…it seems to be working very well!
Cw xx
Thanks for the tip CW – I did see that post and wonder if it was possible with what I’ve got (and was surprised at how well it had worked for you!). I’ll try and take a look this weekend and see if I can have a go.