I ordered this book a few weeks ago after I had seen it popping up all over the place. Tom always gives me a hard time when I buy books like this and says something like "Oh great, you spend money on a book about not spending money" and while I often laugh in agreement (there is something funny about buying things to tell you how to have less things) I don't regret the money I spent on this book for a second.
I am halfway through reading it and I don't want to put it down. It is full of ideas about how to live a more simple life and become more dependant on yourself and your own skills rather than living a life filled with more things. It's not a new concept and certainly one that I know a lot of people strive towards but what I really like about this book is how it makes the kind of life that I dream of living seem so achievable.
It's also not a preachy book, she says very honestly that if you are working full time or have young children then making your own soap, keeping chickens and growing all your own produce may not be a realistic goal.. and that's okay. You do what you can at the moment and work towards those goals in the future.
This book inspires a life where days are spent living simply.. growing veggies, sewing clothes, making delicious nourishing food from scratch, knitting and turning your home into a place that nurtures everyone in it.. whether they live there or have just popped in for a cup of tea.
I really recommend reading it if you can get your hands on a copy. Now all I need is an actual house!
(You may remember that we are staying with Tom's parents while I am on bed rest. Our whole life has been in storage since we moved to Perth last year and my gosh, I can not wait for the day that we get our own place. But.. one thing at a time I guess!)
'Down to Earth' by Rhonda Hetzel available at Booktopia.
Rhonda also has a blog by the same name.
10 comments:
It's a great book isn't it. I did laugh when you said about buying a book to save money. Originally I borrowed this book from the library but soon after I started to read it I knew it was a book I'd always want to refer to, so I went and bought one.
I find it re-affirms things and it kinda keeps me on track of what I want to achieve.
I respect and admire people who can live a self-sufficient life, but I have trouble believing it could be simple! Having to grow/sew everything from scratch would complicate my life no end!
mmmm....looking forward to getting my hands on that one....thanks for sharing :) hope the bed rest is going ok?
I've seen this book popping up everywhere too and it looks interesting...I think I need to pop it into my 'to buy' list :)
I have seen this popping up all over the place too. Seems everyone wants to get their hands on a copy as I am #8 on the waiting list at my local library! Makes me want to read it even more now ;)
Can't find it for sale in the US... can you share some tips from it periodically?
Caitlin - I just updated my post.. the author has a blog by the same name that the book is based on. I linked to it in the post!
It looks like a great book Katie - living simply is something really important to me... will have to hunt down a copy myself x
Funny, I was just looking at this book the other day and wondered if I might like it. You've convinced me. Lovely to come across your blog.
Hello Katie! One of my readers told me you'd written about my book so I just popped over for a visit. Thank you for your lovely words. I wondered why you're on bed rest, looked at your categories, saw "pregnancy" and thought I might be on the trail. Sure enough, I found your older post about bed rest along with the scan of your precious baby boy. Congratulations. I just wanted to wish you all the best for the remaining weeks you have ahead before the baby is born. Take care, love.
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Thanks for your comment.. It is nice to know that there is someone out there (other than my husband) reading my posts! Xx