Leaving London and downshifting to become a full-time parent and rural homemaker
Because we radically downshifted three months ago we are on a long-term aim to reduce the amount of ’stuff’ in our house, to minimise the amount we spend as a family on thngs we don’t really *need* and to make sure we home cook healthy family meals twice a day I have become a frequent [...]
Whilst on the way to taking the kids pre-school yesterday I saw a group of three people who appeared to be looking for something on the ground at the edge of the village field by the car park. ‘Oh look’ I said to the children ‘that man must have lost something very small and he [...]
A sobering story of how deadly meningitis can be
Today I was in the supermarket checkout queue with my twins after their first ever swimming lesson. We were all tired and grumpy and my daughter was pulling her brother’s hair and wouldn’t let go. The woman in front of me said to my girl ‘Oooooh [...]
I am not a big fan of spiders. In fact they paralyse me with fear or send me into a screaming loon. When the children were 18 months old I ran screaming from their room leaving them alone with a huge great big hairy one. Nice work mummy.
Since moving to the country I am less [...]
I have started following a lot of the good advice given out by the (US centric) FlyLady. A lot is extremely prescriptive but works well as tried and tested set of routines for those trying to keep a house running smoothly.
Morning Routine
1. Get up and weigh
2. Shower and get dressed up to shoes, fix [...]
‘If there’s time to lean, there’s time to clean!’
2 Minute Jobs:
Load dishwasher
Wash a sink
Sweep a floor
Tickle ceiling corners with a feather duster
Wipe a toilet
Empty wastepaper baskets
Load washing machine
Polish a mirror/picture
Find a few things to donate to the charity shop (toys, clothes, unwanted gifts)
Empty car of toys & rubbish
5 Minute Jobs:
Unload dishwasher
Organise food in fridge
Vacuum a [...]
Why has no-one ever pointed out to me the importance of stripping the bed AND IMMEDIATELY making the bed up with fresh bed linen during the same 10 minutes?!
Perhaps I’m part of a small slovenly minority who didn’t know why whisking the dirty bed linen away to the washing machine without taking the time to [...]