The Art of Living Well on Less for a Greener Life

- less is more - and greener too!

There are many ways to downshift a bit without it hurting.

Living well on less can also be part of a greener lifestyle. This section ofGreenfootsteps is all about ways to simplify life and to live more cheaply - and greenly - but not more poorly!

It is certainly possible to become thrifty but it does take practice. Below are pages about energy saving, finding inexpensive organic food, cheap healthy recipes and other cost cutting ideas.

- or just scroll down the page.

Most of this website is devoted to frugal living and thrifty ideas (as well as some cost-effective purchases) but this section focuses on these issues. After all most of us spend seven or eight hours a day chasing after our financial security - and perhaps a good few more hours spending what we have earned.

There is also a page of book reviews to give you more fuel for thought.

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Speed, speed, speed...

Have you noticed how every year the world seems to get faster?

Everyone is scurrying around playing catch-up. Catch-up with the shopping, catch-up with the news, catch-up with the kids, work, the neighbours... Meanwhile, we seem to spend more and more hours stuck in traffic.

And everyone is having to achieve ever more too.

At work there are more targets, more deadlines, more initiatives, more standards to implement. The competitive edge has to be maintained, the newest technology has to be assimilated...

Very often it seems like we work really hard to stand still and the harder we work the harder it is to keep up. It seems to be difficult to down shift to a cheaper, less stressful lifestyle. There are bills to pay, cars to maintain, must-have gadgets to buy - and holidays to take to get away from all the stress.

Cars and many consumer durables are expensive, to buy and to run. Weddings can cost an absolute fortune and some families practically bankrupt themselves to put on a good show. Running a home is a constant financial burden. And as for the kids - they get more expensive with every passing year!

But there are strategies for sanity and financial security, from saving money on cooking and laundry to growing some of your own food; there are also lots of modern ways to share resources - sharing and co-operating to lower costs and work loads.

Maybe its time to take stock ......and see what we can do to downshift a little

This part of the site is for strategies, possibilities, methods and suggestions for slowing things down a little and making living a little cheaper - frugal living, if you like.

Perhaps we can gain a little more time - for living, sleeping, eating, enjoying, being with friends or family and contemplating - all the important things in life!

So here I have brought together some strategies and tips for anyone who really wants to work a little less hard and so have more time and energy for enjoying life. I hope that the other pages on this site will be helping towards living well on less, too. After all, green living is often about living in a way that is less stressful for people as well as the planet. Sometimes this might mean frugal living - but not always. There are plenty of ways to live well on less without feeling that you are being unduly penny-pinching.

In this section I want to focus on ways to keep down costs and so help you jump off the merry-go-round more often for a breather!

Most of these articles relate to thrifty living but also there are also articles with commonsense ways to keep the bills down while not compromising your lifestyle.

Articles on living well on less at home

See also both the sections on Energy and on Homes for more articles on insulation, carbon reduction and ways to invest in your home that will save money in the long run. Most other sections of this site also contain articles which relate to frugal living and living well on less overall consumption of consumer goods and services.

Home Energy Saving Devices for A Greener Home

Reduce Your Fuel Bills and Live in an Energy Efficient Home

Energy Saving Tips to Help Keep the Bills Down

More Home Energy Saving Tips and Tricks

Green Tips for Saving Money

Home Steam Cleaners for Greener Cleaning

Best Laundry Detergent for an Economical Wash

Home Decorating with Natural Materials

Green Wood Burning Tips

Best Green Mattress Choices

Greener Technology - an example of how to cut your tech gadget use.

Moving To a New house - Some Green Moving House Tips Reduce stress and cut the carbon cost of your house move.

Eco Storage Solutions for Packing Your Goods Effectively

Food Ideas

Here are some ways to source and prepare the best foods without feeling that you are going overboard on frugal living.

Cheap Healthy Recipes Page - some quick ideas for simple, inexpensive but healthy recipes.

Organic Foods for Less how to find cheap sources of organic food.

(Also see many of the articles in the gardening sections on how to grow your own organic foods.)

Edible Weeds Provide a Free Garden Bonus Quite a few edible weeds are actually rather tasty and useful.

More Edible Wild Plants - including some you may not want in your garden

Battery Farming v Happy Hens Some reasons why it is worth avoiding battery farming and instead seeking out free-range and woodland eggs.

Easy Dutch Oven Recipes for Delicious, Inexpensive Meals

Buy a Slow Cooker for Cheap, Easy Dinners

Magnetic Refrigeration - the New, Eco-friendly Way to Keep Things Cool

Drying Fresh Herbs From Your Garden

Urban Foraging - A Family-Friendly Experience

See also the Recipe Book section for more ideas.

Books, bags and bikes

Bicycle Book Review Page - books on cycling and greener transport options

Online Book Reviews of books about green living topics.

Tips for Remembering Your Reusable Shopping Bags

You can also read about how I've downshifted (very much work in progress...) - look for "About Me" on the Nav bar.

Living Well on Less at Festive Times

Here are frugal living ideas for festivals, weddings, special events and, of course, Christmas!

Fairtrade Products and Fairtrade Fortnight - Join the Big Swap!

A Living Christmas Tree is For Life

Eco Christmas Trees and Good Green Festive Food

The Best Artificial Christmas Trees and the Green Christmas Tree Debate

Green Christmas Ideas for Frugal Festive Fun

Easy Homemade Christmas Presents - for a Greener Yuletide

Green Christmas Present Ideas

All About Green Weddings

More living well on less...

This section on living well on less and frugal living is just a small part of the site. Please explore more ideas for keeping down costs and living a greener, healthier and more eco-friendly lifestyle in other sections of the site. You can also add your own tips - see the nav bar.

Check out the Green Links section for lots of brilliant sites that could help, too.

Green living does not have to be grim!

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The Art of Living Well on Less for a Greener Life

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