time to tighten up, lighten up and enjoy our earth

Now is the time to tread a little more lightly on our earth so that it all lasts a little longer.

I have always thought that "thrifty living" went hand in hand with sustainability. I was brought up with washing plastic bags to reuse, cleaning foil to give it another go, mending clothes so that they can last another season and living in hand-me-downs. This is now the new green. To those who have not been brought up with these valuable life lessons, welcome and we hope that you will enjoy the journey to a greener and thriftier life.

We are a family of five and we live a simple, but normal life. We have 3 boys in primary school and are currently part of the "great economic downturn". We are trying to see the lighter side of it. More time to spend with the kids, time for Matt to hang out in the shed & make stuff, time to get through all the stuff that we have always been wanting to get to.

That being said, thrift is important to us - as it always has been. We don't like to waste money on "stuff", so we thought it may be good to share some of our thoughts, tips on thrift and sustainability with the wider community.

We live in the inner city of Melbourne, Australia and have a vegetable garden to help supplement our food intake. We cook most of our food from basics and I will share some of my favourite recipes that work on a tight budget and taste great. I will also share tips on cleaning, health, children, toys, clothing, patterns, budgeting and anything else that pops into my head.

We are on a journey to a more sustainable life and there is so much more that we can learn about and implement. At the same time, I always believe that there are more layers that can be stripped away to enable us to become more thrifty. We are never at the end. Welcome to our blog.