So you think you can't tighten your belt?

Cutting down spending always seems impossible.
When the bills are all going up and food gets no cheaper, you wonder where you can possibly cut back.
It's something we try not to talk about in public because, sadly, the first thing people usually say is "well! if you got rid of the horses...!"

Not happening.

We don't believe animals are "things" to be discarded when the going gets tough, the only way they would go to new homes is if we genuinely could not find the money to keep the in good health.

But sometimes it feels like its getting that way.

After Xmas we sat down to take a long hard look at the facts. We needed to cut back somewhere.

So here's some things we've done to save money... (not all will be relevant as they include horses/chickens etc but they might be handy for some ;) ... as well as some general ideas.

SHOPPING

1. Make a list: Basic advice but so often not done. Once a week go through your freezer/fridge/cupboards and decide what you need. I like to make sure I have a certain amount of some products in my store at anyone time, things like plant milks/flours/pasta/baked beans etc... so replenish those.
2. Try and stick to your list...: But not blindly. If I come across fruit and vegetables that are reduced I'll buy those instead. If spaghetti is on offer I'll buy  that instead of macaroni etc.
3. Treat supermarket offers with suspicion ..: But don't rule them out. Most offers are on branded goods but sometimes... SOMETIMES its cheaper. For example we usually buy a supermarket own brand cereal, but an offer on a branded one actually works out cheaper at the moment. It doesn't happen often but its worth doing that math.
4. Talking of math..: Unless you have a keen mathematical mind, take a calculator. Work out the price per 100g/ml etc, it really can be surprising!
5. Think about your shopping experience: How stressful your trip to the shops is will determine how you spend. If possible, try and pick a time of day that is quieter (Sunday evenings are nice, and also have lots of reduced items!). If you can do it alone, then do. If you have to take children either split into two groups (with a small trolley for each group) or try and charge each child with helping out. It may take longer but will be less stressful.
6. Shop from home: If you can't shop at a quiet time or have children on your own who enjoy making shopping hell, then its worth considering home delivery. The delivery charge may work out less than you would "stress spend".
7. Don't buy self harm: Cigarettes, alcohol, junk food, fizzy drinks, anything labelled "sugar free" or "fat free"... these should not be a part of your weekly shopping. If these things are part of your grocery shopping you need a drastic rethink. Why would you spend money you don't have on things that make you ill?

FOOD.

1. Know what you have in your freezer/fridge/cupboards: Careless shopping often ends up manifesting in 3 open jars of the same product.
2. Plan your meals: Naturally you can be flexible, but having a rough idea of what you're going to eat will help you plan  your shopping.
3. Use what you have: You won't save money meal planning if you're buying all the ingredients every week. Plan cleverly around what you have already.
4. Leftovers are not your enemy. When most people talk about leftovers they mean having a Sunday roast and then using meat again on the Monday. As we eat vegan, this doesn't happen, but we are clever. Some examples (all homemade unless specified)...
   *Leftover pasta sauce mixed into extra veg and some lentils to make soup.
   *Leftover soup added to casserole.
   *Leftover casserole made into soup.
   *Leftover curry/chili made into pasties.
   *Leftover pasta made into salad.
   *Leftover mashed potato made into potato cakes/bread. ... and so on...
5. Never make soup or casserole straight from a recipe: These meals where designed to use up food. They should be made from your leftovers or from the veg you have a surplus of or that needs using NOW! The key to these dishes is in the herbs you use. Follow a recipe by all means, but be brave enough to change things. Maybe you have no sweet potato but lots of swede? Use it! It'll work, I promise!
6. If you have lots of one thing, either you bought it greatly reduced or you have excess from the garden, remember how friendly Google is! Search online for ideas on how to cook it. Sometimes  you'll find whole websites devoted to one food!! A surplus of cabbage will never scare you again ;)          
7. Make your own baked goods: The raw ingredients for bread, cake, cookies etc are very, very cheap so learn how to bake! If price alone doesn't convince you, remember just how much in the way of preservatives, colourings and other rubbish goes into shop bought baked goods, home made is healthier, you know exactly whats in it AND it tastes nicer too. Its a win, win!
8. Think about your eating habits: Its easy to get stuck in a rut with food, especially if you're a "meat and two veg" person. Some of the cheapest and nutritionally dense foods are vegan! 
9. Don't try to be TOO cheap: In my opinion there are somethings that are perfectly ok to buy in the supermarket "value" ranges.. and some that aren't. For example I'll buy value plain flour to use in sauces and things, but will buy the next level up for self raising. Value self raising flour is not man enough! Value tinned tomatoes and baked beans are perfectly acceptable, but value bread is disgusting (and full of crap!). Value "Weetabix" are gross and the kids refuse to eat them (don't blame them, I tried them too) but the supermarket own brand ones are as good as the branded. Also, just because its value doesn't make it cheaper, and its also worth remembering that you haven't saved anything if its so horrible that your family won't eat it.
10. Use loose leaf tea. Cheaper and goes further too!
11. Don't eat so much. Really. We all eat too much ;)

HOME

1. Draft proof your home! Do it! Curtains, blinds, shutters, draft exluders, loft insulation. A well insulated and draft free home will need the bare minimum of heating.
2. Wear more clothes inside. Its February, you shouldn't be sitting in your house in a t shirt....
3. Upcycle things! Turn past their best towels in to face cloths, old tea towels in to dish cloths, old t-shirts into dusters (or bags, or scarves, or skirts.. seriously Google it!). Jam jars into containers, empty tubs into freezer Tupperware.
4. Mend things. Pick up a needle and thread and fix the hole in that sweater instead of throwing it away.
5. Sort your laundry. Not just whites and darks, but by different wash cycles. Bath towels and lightly soiled clothes are perfectly fine on an eco wash (30 degrees or less). Heavily soiled clothes should be soaked first. For extra green points, put heavily soiled clothes in your used bath water and leave over night. Ring out the excess water and then they can be washed at a moderate temperature instead of a damaging and expensive higher one. Be sure to weigh your clothes so you don't end up putting too much weight in your washing machine. Wet clothes take up less pace in the drum than dry ones ;)
6. Don't change your clothes so much! I know people who will change their clothes 2 or even 3 times a day! If you have to change your clothes in the day, because of your job maybe, then the chances are you can wear the clothes again the next day. Ideally, put  them on a hanger next to an open window, or out on the washing line for an hour or so to "air". There's being clean and tidy and then there's being OCD!

LEISURE   

1. Eating out is expensive. If you find that eating out or getting take aways is a regular occurrence, think about why you do? A special meal can be just as special at home. Invite friends over for dinner and ask them to bring a dish, social fun and cheap while still being celebratory.
2. Movies. We love them! The actual experience of going to the movies is expensive (especially for us as our nearest cinema is 35 miles away!). We try to go 3 or 4 times a year. The kids love popcorn but its lots cheaper to buy one large bag for them to share than it is to buy 3 small bags. They also take their water bottles with them, so no sickly, over priced sodas! If you're hardcore you can smuggle in your own snacks, but some cinemas frown on this..... I wonder why? ;) To get our movie fix at other times though we have a weekly "movie night" at home. We make our own popcorn, make a dinner easily eaten off our laps and watch either something from our own library or from lovefilm.
3. Ditch the TV. The TV license is a cost I can do without. Most people have a collection of DVD's at home and internet access. Via i-player and youtube there's a wealth of viewing material. Also add a lovefilm subscription (with is VERY good value if you like renting box sets as well as single movies) and you're covered, all without the TV in the corner tempting you to turn it on to watch rubbish and advertisements.
4. Newspapers: A newspaper a day (not including sat/sun papers) adds up to a whopping £200 + a year!! Breaking news is available online and also offers you the choice of several different view points and more in depth research if you want.
5. Magazines: The average magazine now costs nearly £4. Take a close look though and, again, you'll notice that a good third will be advertisements, or features written by a company. Use the internet for impartial advice and ideas and check out books for more in depth essays..... If you buy gossip magazines that peddle judgmental opinions of people in the media glare, consider giving these up. Encouraging you to judge others by their looks or actions will only make you feel judged yourself. x
6. Walk more. Its healthy and free ;)

PETS

1. Dog food: If your dog food contains "Meat and other animal derivatives" bin it.... someone scrapped the slaughterhouse floor and that's your "animal derivatives". Food companies are obliged to use "meat fit for human consumption" in pet food, but this only means they have to use the animal fit for human consumption. So your pet really is being fed the dregs. Then to hide this fact and make it more palatable, they colour it, add flavourings and sugars.... super! Its vile, and even cheap dog food is expensive. Make your own! Dogs thrive on numerous foods. Its not harmful to their health to be given normal food. I often cook up veg peelings and rice, add a spoon of peanut butter and a dash of oil and you have a filling, almost free, balanced meal for a dog. Obviously what you eat  your home will determine what you feed your dog, table scraps are fine unless you eat large amounts of junk food or the scraps are full of food that is dangerous for dogs to eat (ie, onions, rasins, chocolate). Use your common sense.
2. Chickens: When we first got chickens I bought layers pellets for them... then I realised how expensive it was and did some research. Now I feed two straight feeds (mixed corn and rolled oats) which are half the price, and I grind up vegetable scraps for them. They're also very fond of left over cereals, pasta and rice. It goes without saying that you shouldn't feed them chicken right? 
3. Horses: I could write a book on this, but will stick to a few points here. 99/100 a horses is being fed WAY more hard feed and supplements than they need. Most people presume their horse is in "medium to hard" work, when in fact they are barely working hard enough to warrant a "maintenance" level of feeding. If your horse does what the majority of horses do in a week (4-5 days ridden, two schooling sessions, two hacks, one longer hack or competition) they are still in "Low" work.
   This basically means they only need a very small amount of concentrated feed, a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement and forage in the form of hay or grass. That's it. A normal, healthy horses needs no more. Feed your horses as naturally as possible, trickle fed roughage, let them stay out as much as possible. Better for them, better for your pocket. This is a VERY basic generalization but thats what it boils down to.          

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE SPENDING MONEY.                          

• Do I need it or do I want it?
• If I want it how will it improve my life?
• Can I do without it?
• Am I prepared to go without elsewhere to have this item?
• Is this something I can make myself?
• Is this something someone I know can make in exchange for something I can make/do.
• Can I borrow it? (eg Library/neighbour etc)
• Will this thing have any negative reactions in my life?
• Can I postpone buying it? If so, will I still want it next month?
• Is this something that will last well?
• Is this something I am happy to share?

I know its not a comprehensive post, just the things that came to mind immediately  I'd love you guys to leave your own money saving tips in the comments for other readers to see!  *Plot twist... she wants you to leave comments* ;)

Shop smart.

My grocery bill has been quietly creeping up.
Some of this is no doubt due to the general rise in price of fuel and the knock on effect on food costs, but I seriously wanted to knock the price down a bit.
I mean its not BAD.
It usually works out at around £20-25 per person, that's 21 meals plus snacks, plus household things like toiletries and washing liquid, but its still a lot of money for a family on a budget to fork out each week.
So this week I really tried hard to shop smart and of course I'm going to share with you!  

1. Stock take. I am terrible for just doing the shopping without checking what we already have. Its not unknown for us to have several bags of pasta and 4 jars of dried basil. So this time, before shopping, I had a good look at what we really needed, what was running low, what store cupboard essentials were still OK.
2. Make meal plans. You don't have to stick to them, but having a rough idea of what you'll eat for your main meal throughout the week really helps concentrate the mind on the food  you need. It also cuts down on those evenings stood in front of a cupboard full of food wailing "there's NOTHING to eat!".

3. Make a list. You're fooling no one with your "the lists in my head" skit. 
4. Shop online. I can't stress this enough. If  you're using a supermarket for your bulk shopping shop online! Not only are these places hell to visit but they are masters of manipulation. you WILL spend more  than  you need to if you walk through the door! Online you can take your time and take control of your shopping.
5. Check your online basket frequently. As you shop online keep an eye on the price. I often do a rough shop, like a first draft, then go back and see what I can omit or change to bring the price down.
6. Use special offers but take care. Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF), 2 for 1 etc can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Its worth noting that most offers are brand names (they work out deals with the store to prominently advertise them with offers) and often dubious brand names like Unilever and  Mars. Sometimes though there are offers on things like fruit and veg and other products you might get. Follow the rules. Is it cheaper? Sometimes it looks cheaper but isn't, check those £ per kg's! Is it something you were going to buy? Don't buy it if its not on your list. If its NOT on the list and you still want it, see if you can swap something on the list for it. I manage to save enough on offers to "pay" for my delivery. 
7. Be aware of packaging. Not only from a re-cycling aspect but from a re-usable aspect. If a brand of tea bag has a free tin with it that week maybe its worth the extra few pence? Some Coffee comes in jars with fancy lids and seals, perfect for dry goods storage later.

8. Take a close look at what you buy usually. where can  you cut costs? If you buy heaps of individual yogurts (soya for me of course ;) a switch to large pots of plain with jam mixed in can cut a good couple of £ off your weekly bill. Do you buy heaps of cookies or muffins? Its cheaper, healthier AND often tastier to bake yourself. 
9. Buy food in season. Don't stick to the same foods all year. Fruit and veg (and sometimes fish and meat) come in seasons and are often cheaper when plentiful in this country. So save the strawberries till summer, the pumpkins till October and the apple until September.
10. Saving money isn't about buying crap. Don't go so far the other way that no one wants to eat at your house! A couple of years ago I tried buying all the cheap value ranges, spread that was foul, cereal like cardboard, bread as thin as paper. Ugh! Buy quality food and eat less of it.

So how did I do this week?   
Well I got the supermarket shop down to @ £15 per person for this week :)

What tips do you have to add to clever shopping?

Xmas money savers part 3.

MUM AND LEESA!!! TURN BACK NOW!!! DO NOT READ THIS POST!!!!!

Presents often make up the bulk of what we spend over the Xmas season,and while I wouldn't suggest that the kids should make do with a bit of string, a stick and a satsuma on the big day, there ARE a lot of ways you can cut down the cost.

*When you HAVE to buy new.
Lets face it, that Buzz lightyear or must have Barbie is unlikely to turn up for free. Be prepared and shop for special items early in the season and shop around to find the best deals. If shopping online, go for a site that has all the items you want. Its worth paying a little extra for your item if you can save on not shelling out postage costs to three or four separate sites!

*Charity shops.
Don't be alarmed! Charity shops are full of hidden gems! Books, DVD's and CD's are often found in as new condition in charity shops. Snap up bags full of toy staples like Lego or train track to re-package yourself.
Charity shops often also have unwanted Xmas decorations as well!

One of my boys is going to be pleased with this charity shop haul!!!

*Organise a swapping party. (Great tip Sandie!)
Get together with friends and swap your kids unwanted or outgrown toys/ books/movies for new-to-them ones!

*Make your own!
Nothing says love like homemade <3
Chocolates, toys, jars of preserves, toiletries, clothes, the list is as long as your talents!

Here are some things we have made ....

Kim made this farm set for Owen a coupld of years ago. Super sturdy and much played with for only a few pounds and some time!

Oliver went through a real knights phase for a coupld of years and Kim made the big castle first and then the smaller "baddie" castle the following year. Much of the wood was from scrap we had in the shed, as was the paint. Again, very sturdy, surviving being stood on, dropped and left outside. Compare that with an expensive plastic one he had that was broken with a couple of months.   

This year I turned this......

......Into THIS!!

Home made cosmetics for my mum and sister!

Inspired by my sisters bathbombs last year, I wanted to make some nice pampering treats for Xmas day. So much nicer than an expensive set from superdrug or tesco... Vegan, cruelty free and (mosty) organic! And for PENCE each!

  

Left to right I made, Lip scrub, lip balm, body scrub and moustiriser.

Want to know how?

Lip scrub- For kissable lips *Mwah*. Simply mix sugar and olive oil for a mild and sweet exfoliant!

Lip Balm- Melt shea butter, add a little plantine oil (or olive oil) and a dash of peppermint essence. Tip into contaner and it cools hard.

Bodyscrub- FINE sea salt ( I learnt the painful way that coarse is no good for this!) and olive oil, mix to sedired consistancy and pot.

Moustireser- Melt shea butter, soild coconut oil, olive oil and lavender essential oil, mix and pot. Adding more oil gives a runnier consitancy, or you can add less and have a harder cream (it softens readily in yo hands).     

I used plastic pots for these, although glass would look nicer I had to take the weight into account because of postage issues!!

So there you go.

Feel free to share your own frugle gift tips!   

Everything evolves.

When I started this blog (91 posts ago!!!) the main topic was our foray into car-less living, all be it almost car-less living.
Well we have certainly learnt a lot in the last ten months!
The main thing being that no, we can't live without a car, not in a permanent capacity.

A lot of things have changed since August 2009.

For one thing Kim now has work. Having gone self-employed he finds himself having to ditch the bike more and more in favour of the car as his work takes him further afield. For example we have to take a clients horse to be x-rayed on Friday. The vets don't have a mobile x-ray and so he will have to box the mare ten miles down the road and back.
Another blow was that one of his clients is now very ill and he has taken over a lot more work that he was originally going to do and they insisted he have the use of one of their cars so he can be up to their yard quickly in all weathers and also take over jobs such as collecting feed from the feed merchants.

Winter 2009 also conspired against our eager plans. The worst winter in thirty years hit Aberdeenshire and for the best part of four months it was impossible to cycle anywhere, with sporadically gritted and ploughed roads and grocery deliveries often not arriving or refusing to come down our lane, we were forced to drive into town to collect our shopping.

Then, after getting ourselves geared up to do nearly all our shopping within cycling distance, the local veggie cabin closed, meaning it was no long financially viable to do more than a fraction of our shopping locally.

All in all, despite our best efforts we now acknowledge that our rural location makes it incredibly hard (because nothing is IMPOSSIBLE!) to be 100% car-less.
With bad weather, no reliable and regular public transport, young children and animals (who always seem to need the vet when you are least able to get them there!) the whole thing was getting more than a little stressful!

Are we giving up?

Hell no!

Just being realistic.

I can still cycle to the little town and Kim still cycles to work when he is able, we still try and get the kids on the bikes to visit local areas. 

After a recent trip to the city of Edinburgh (FANTASTIC by the way!) I suddenly realised just how infrastructure poor we are here.
In a large town or city the majority of things you need are THERE, within walking distance or at a push easily reached by bus or train.  
I've been using the Tuesday bus into town for a while, but the two hours you get before having to catch the bus back home are woefully inadequate, you can do your shopping OR you can do jobs in town, but not both, so you spend the best part of £6 travelling and the whole morning away from home and will probably have to go back into town in a car as well at some stage in the week.

I don't feel we have failed so much as I feel let down by a country that takes relish in closing small local shops and businesses, cutting public transport and making life so hard for those not in te city to live car-less that you end up with country people migrating to the towns and richer town people taking over the country and villages.

So we have a newer outlook.
A do-what-we-can outlook that tries not too feel too bad when a car is a necessary evil.
Go through the options first and use the car last, but don't beat yourself up for having to use it outlook.

I think we can live with it.

HOWEVER......

This puts us in somewhat of a quandary.
How can we continue to call this blog "The (Almost) Car-Less Family" when we are now more the "Definitely Car Owning Family"?

So I feel a re-jig coming on.

A new name to go with the evolution of the blog.
I'm thinking about it at the moment and when I have half a dozen options we'll put it on a poll!!!

Feel free to throw any suggestions in there!      

Winter riding..thank you Mr Gritter man :)

My new cycle hat!

Got out on the bike today for the first time since ..wow..well before Xmas really. If you remember back a long I was hit bad with some nice funky asthma and as soon as I recovered from that the snow and ice came, so we're probably talking nearly 6 weeks!!!

Anyway, checked out the roads on Tuesday as we had to go into town to pick up some upholstery webbing for the sofa talented husband is building (you will see ALL soon!) and figured the roads were nearly ready to go on again with two wheels.

Apart from having to go up the main village road, rather than cut through the housing estate we usually do, and having to walk gingerly up our new ice rink (or lane as we used to call it) the rest of the ride was fine.
The gritters had done their job and the temp had stayed just above freezing last night so there was no sneaky ice patches waiting to get me.

The COLD lonely road home.

It would have been a lovely ride into town had it not been for some IDIOT in a silver Astra complete with *cough*penisextension*cough* spoiler on the back who very nearly wiped both me AND Kim out. He passed so fast and so close that he nearly pulled me into the road.
Kim kept a beady eye out for his car in town but didn't find him.

We seriously have no trouble on the roads. We know a lot of the people using them, at least to raise a hand to, and 99% of people pass us at a sensible speed and give us space, even without the kids with us. But there is always the idiot. As I said to Kim though, you get the idiot factor when you are in a car as well.

Kim waiting for me to take pics, what a trooper :)

Ce la vie.
What you gonna do? Turn for home and never set foot out your house again? Probably more chance of getting killed in a car crash than getting killed on a bike.

Anyway, idiot aside, we got to town in one piece and I set to my mission.

My plan today was to note down prices for fruit and veg in the local shop and the little farmers cabin and compare them with the supermarket prices.
I'm hoping there will be little to no difference as once I get the trailer up together I want to do as much of our shopping in the little town rather than drive all the way to Big town or have to get it delivered.
The cabin especially uses a lot of local produce so is doubly green!

The basket, part of my arsnel for leg powerd shopping!

So after spending a few minutes scribbling down prices like some demented vegetable spotter, we cycled home again.

Dunnydeer Hill Fort, as seen from the Insch/ Auchleven road.

I was really pleased to feel not that unfit considering.
I didn't need to stop, could still talk while cycling up hill and felt good when I came home.
I do need to get fitter I know I've put on weight, even though me and the scales have not been on speaking terms since before Xmas (my jeans declining to do up though said more than any words could). So back to cycling :)

Can't give up the car? Green your outlook anyway :D

Regular readers will know that although we here at the (almost) car-less family, strive for a life without the car,we also accept that in some instances people (us included) are not fully able to give their car up completely.

For example, we live in a rural area with inconsistent and highly variable public transport. We have children and animals and also like to use Freegle (ex freecycle) a lot.
Do we beat ourselves up about occasional car use?
Hell no!
We're only human, and we have lives to lead, but we do try to stick to a few golden rules that I thought I'd share with you today....

• Do you REALLY need to take the car out today?Learn to analyse your proposed trip out in the car. Is it really necessary? Can you wait until a day you can use public transport? Can you even do without making the trip at all? The majority of car trips in the UK are UNDER 5 miles!! Easy cycling distance, moderate walking distance.
• Plan ahead.It sounds so simple doesn't it. But think about how many times a week you run out of bread, cat food, loo roll etc. Work out how much you need of something for a week and then buy one extra.
• Use your car trip in an industrial way.So you really REALLY need to go out in the car, ok, its life or death right? Well make sure you have other things to do while your out. Before you go out make sure you have all the shopping you need. Is there some DIYing you were going to do? Maybe this is the time to nip to the hardware store to pick up those washers or screws or whatevers. Fill the back of your car with the re-cycling you haven't got round to taking out yet. Better yet, ask a neighbour if they need anything while you are out. That way you are potentially saving TWO car trips, and maybe next time they will ask YOU if you need anything from town.
• Make your own rules and stick to them.We never..I mean NEVER drive to the local shop. It is 3 miles away. I can cycle to the shop and back within 40 minutes. The only time the car goes near the shop is if we are on the way back from somewhere further afield. If the weather is too bad for me to think about cycling there, I can't have needed the item that badly can I.
• Re-priorities "emergencies"We tend to treat running out of olives or icing sugar as a family disaster in this current car loving society. So you didn't plan ahead? You will next time right? But in the meantime, change your dinner plan and have pasta WITHOUT olives, leave the icing off the cupcakes. Learn to adapt, learn to be flexible, learn what is really important and stop worrying about the small stuff.
• Explore other avenues of transport.You need to get some where. If you can't walk you can see if its practical to cycle. If not check out the public transport in your area. If that's no good see if you can get a lift with a friend going in the right direction (com'mon, EVERYONE is in their cars, you must know SOMEONE who is driving your way that day?). If all else fails take your car and re-read point no. 3.
• DON'T PANIC!! There are ways around everything if you use a little thought. Try and make appointments around your public transport timetables. Get as much delivered as possible. Talk to your friends and neighbours, try and organise lift shares.
• Don't beat yourself up because you can't afford the new "eco" cars. Its better for an old car to only be driven twice a week than to use an "eco" car so indiscriminately that wheels never stop turning.

Try to look at the thing as a whole.

Use your car as little as possible and its better than using it without thought or care. Before you know it you will have turned around and realised that the car you "couldn't live without" hasn't left your drive for a week.

Good luck and have fun!

Sometimes the money Gods smile on us....

Well, some weekend!
We managed to sell the broken car (£450) which was fantastic and means we can pay the garage bill with some left over. They guy who had bought it wanted it for spares for HIS Frontera but declared ours so tidy that he is going to do it the other way round, so he went away a happy camper.

THEN.....

I get a phone call from my Mum telling me that she and Dad have decide to give us £1000 towards a car!!!

WOW!

This means that husband will be able to not only buy the old Landrover he has his eye on BUT that the money we would have had to pay for one can now go towards all our bike stuff!!

What?...Do I hear grumbles of "humf....thought they where going car less?" at the back there?
Well I never said we would never get another car (hence the "almost" in the title).
The aim is to still get mobile under our own steam, but life where we live without a car at all....not impossible but very very hard.

I talk to people who have no car at all and they all have the same thing in common, the live in the city, they live in a part of the world that doesn't take glee in dumping feet of snow on you for 2 months of the year.

The plan is still to kit us out with the equipment to cycle as a family safely and in most weathers, the plan is still to use the public transport that is available to us.

The check list should run...
1) if I can walk I'll walk.
2) if I can't walk I'll cycle.
3) if I can't cycle I'll take the bus/ train.
4) if I can't take public transport I will see if it can be delivered.
5) Only if I have exhausted ALL of the above options will I use a car.

I am not anti-car per say, but I AM anti-wasteful journeys. The village school here is 5 minutes walk from my house and I live the furthest away. However on several occasions I have seen ALL the other village children driven to school, or driven BACK to school for after school clubs! Not one child in the village lives more than 4or 5 minutes walk away...so WHAT if it rains! Carry an umbrella, wear a rain coat and wellies!!

I think you can't be anti-car if you then expect things to be delivered to your door (groceries etc) but you CAN accept that it is more Eco friendly for one small van to bring groceries to 8 or 9 houses than for 8 or 9 cars to drive to town.

If it wasn't for the fact that we have the horses I would seriously consider a move to a more urban area, so long as I could still grow all my veggies!!
I read with envy the people who talk of cycle lanes and bike racks and no car zones and eye up our fast car designed roads and shudder.

BUT!!

But we will solider on....I can't get fit in a car!
Although when there is 3 foot of snow in February I suspect that I may slink into the passenger seat of our landrover pretty quickly :P

The veggie garden, an essential!!

I had a separate garden blog (see blogs I follow) but I have decided to consolidate the two.
After all what can be more "food miles" friendly than walking out the door and picking food from the garden.
Our garden has been a working progress for the last 3 or 4 years and every year we seem to grow a little more.
We have planted apple trees and berry bushes, potato's and courgettes, onions and garlic, peas and beans, and every year I see a gap where I should have planted more. Next year the emphasis will be onb lots and lots of peas and beans to dry and eat over the winter, an essential part of the vegan diet!!
I got my groceries delivered yesterday and for the first time really noticed how much money I had spent on what seemed like a very little amount of food...and we are lucky! We are eating around 80% of our veggies and soft fruit from home for free!

Anyway, we are working hard converting the garden to be as none dig as possible. This is where we can justify keeping the horses! Every bed that is picked clean of produce is now used as a muck heap until winter, this way when I want to dig beds over in early spring there is already a good layer of natural and organic fertiliser waiting on top, nicely rotted down.

I also think I would like to invest in some temporary chicken fencing so that over the winter I can let the chickens run out on the spent beds, digging up larvae and complementing their food with other bugs and weed shoots.

Growing a proportion of your own food is an option even for the family that lives in a 10th floor apartment, there is always a windowsill for herbs or a dark cupboard for seed sprouts.
Take a look at your living space with new eyes and see what you can grow today :)