Selfsufficientish.com

Okay, trying this reply again as the first one seems to have disappeared. I do think the ish life is a bit addictive. I'm going through a very severe bout of "I want my life to be my work!" at the moment (possibly something to do with not much liking where I'm working but needing to not ro...

The only bottling I've done so far is chutney for the first time late last summer and stewed apple. Oh, and tomato sauce (as in ketchup) the year before last. That was my very first thing to try and I used it all really quickly because I couldn't convince myself the jars were really sealed. Gave me ...

The tradition in Ireland is to plant after Patricks Day (17th March). Or at least it's supposed to be very naughty to plant before then. Or something.

I think I was supposed to take the fruit out as soon as the sugar had dissolved and I reckon I can't be more than...ummm...4 months late doing that. :) Oh no, the longer the better, 3-6 moonths has always been our minimum time for infusing! so by all means go ahead and have a looksee and a taste an...

This happened to me although it could be my jars aren't quite as airtight as I thought. I actually did this around October I think (when last of the plums were around, couldn't get my hands on any damsons so decided to try it with just plums). Put them into the cupboard and noticed a day or two late...

...and I find the more you consider this sort of thing, the more it seems to be normal... That's really true. The first time I heard about the mooncup I thought it was a joke email :oops: :lol: and then the first time I read about cloth TP I thought it was definitely just a shade too far for me. Bu...

I did this for a while but wasn't quite organised and just used ordinary scissors to cut some squares from an old towel. They did fray fairly quickly in the wash though so I want to cut a few bigger squares and hem them (the stupidly expensive pinking shears I ordered and bought couldn't cut the tow...

One thing I'm not sure has been mentioned yet and which I am now able to take for granted again is the glass bottle/deposit idea. I vaguely remember this from when I was a kid but think I was still fairly young when "No deposit, no return" was introduced. It never faded out in Germany thou...

This blog might give you some good ideas - not only directly but there are also lots of links to other websites. It's a woman who wanted to encourage her veggie phobic son to eat veg and so they embarked on an eat the vegetable alphabet project. She has since also written a book about the whole thi...

I'm a fan of the bicarb and vinegar method myself. Put half a cupful of bicarb into the toilet and then pour a cupful of vinegar in after it. Leave it to soak for a few hours then pour a little bit of vinegar onto the toilet brush and scrub with that. Repeat every week and after a couple of weeks th...

Natural dying is one of those things I have stored away in the back of my mind to learn more about when I have the time (not to mention when I might actually have something that needed dying). Using walnut skins (I think that's what you call it - the black stuff that gets all over your hands if you ...

I bought a deluxe edition for my niece a couple of years ago and got one for myself while I was at it but have to admit I haven't sat down and read it through yet. Will always remember that these books are where I first learned the word 'skein'. Funny how things like that stick with you. My niece (h...

I've been using them for three or four years now and don't think I could ever go back to conventional powders or liquids. Use them until they don't go hard anymore when they are dry, which is usually about four or five washes. Don't have many white clothes anyway but found that white sports socks we...

Persuading supermarkets to allow you to use your own containers when buying meat/fish/cheese could make a difference. Before I discovered the joys of buying directly from farmers at markets (where such things are more easily negotiated and packaging in general is far more scarce) I emailed Superquin...

I participated in this challenge for a couple of years. Missed last year's as I was moving at the time and just saw that they hosted it somewhere else last year. But you could still check there for the various things that people did. At it's basic level the aim was to eat one local meal each week. L...