Hi, welcome to The Really Good Life. I’m Louisa and I live really well – but frugally.
I’m frugal, I always have been. About 80% of the stuff I buy is either on offer/sale or is second-(or third, or fourth)-hand. My reusing & recycling obsession largely stems from this: it’s just so inefficient in every way to spend money buying something new when you can reuse something you’ve already got.
But I also like nice things – pretty things – and I like to eat well. That’s where this blog comes from: the idea of living well but living frugally and sustainably.
The name of this blog was originally going to be something highfaluting and fancy but when I thought about it, really thought about it, I realised it boils down to this: I’m living a Really Good Life.
Like Tom & Barbara, my boyfriend John & I live in a city (specifically squished between two industrial cities), we grow our own veg, we have chickens and we live cheaply & sustainable – but with tasty food & pretty things, inside of nasty homemade wine and scratchy woollen underwear.
This blog is about the journey I’m making – because it is a journey – my thoughts, my advice/recommendations, my mistakes, my questions (that hopefully other people will be able to answer!) – and I hope you enjoy it.
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Hi Louisa,
Just ‘came across’ your website by chance. We have increasingly being trying to live the good life as well and it is so reassuring to realise that what we do is ‘normal’ and others do it too! Having started Trash 2 Treasure, we now have a plethora of friends who constantly dump their junk on us to convert into useful and useable items – as well as releasing them from the guilt of throwing things away. Most of them do check our FB page first and message us, as we don’t accept everything! I wish you well on your journey :) All the best, Di
Hi Di,
You’ve made some really fun stuff – love it!
If you haven’t seen it already, you might like my other website – How can I Recycle This? – http://www.recyclethis.co.uk It’s been going about five years now and we’ve covered reusing & recycling nearly 1000 things – lots of fun creative ideas for random household rubbish.
All the best with your ventures too :)
Hi there..love your website..we too are trying to to live the good life..we have 2 allotments big garden and chickens…nearly everything we eat is homemade apart from the odd luxury..all i can say is our eating has got better and healthier since i slashed my food bill in half…my family think i have gone coo-loo..but so far i am enjoying it…i recycle as much as possible and re use just about everything…if i can buy it then i have a bash at making it…sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t..but i’m having a great time finding out things i never knew before…
Keep going with it all..best wishes
sara
Hi sara,
It really is a good life, isn’t it? I love it too.
If you ever want to write a “guest post” about what you’re up to, please let me know!
:)
Hi yes it is a good life ..i love it..the good days and bad days..but i seem to be having more good days than anything else at the moment..like today i got to move my kitchen around to accomodate a new washing machine..me and simon ( had fun) and my kitchen looks sooo big now..didn’t cost me a thing and i loved every minute of it..putting up cupboards and moving stuff..
I am not sure what i would write about to be honest..my life is a bit dull..centred around my home,my children and hubby…
sara
Hi Sara and all,
Please dont feel that you have nothing to write about – we are just starting our journey into the Good Life, and have been labelled Tom and Barbara, and need all the inspiration we can get to keep going;
Had chickens for a while; just started an allotment, although grew veg in the garden for 2 years; looking into bio-diesel; thinking of raising pigs; thinking of goats for cheese;
So I am trying to be more self sufficient, partly through cash needs and partly because I’m fed with the waste we happily produce and partly through my sheer disgust at our reliance on the supermarkets for everything and their nonchalant attitude to sustaining people and communities and what I call natural living
I sound like an eco-warrior but I’m not, I’d love to be able to grow and provide as much as possible with my hands and not rely on corporate marketing ideals
Its easy to be judgmental of others and no doubt we are awful at this now, but please dont stop yourself from blogging what you think is mundane as there are plenty of people who are trying to learn and get into this
Blimey, maybe I should start a blog with this mini-rant… Sorry!
Not sure whether I can post my email address here, but happy to receive emails if anyone wants to send me lots of advice :)
Kind regards
Kevin (Stubborn old Tom) & Ness (My cute lil Barbara)
Ps. Louisa and John, thanks for the site, its good to know others are struggling similarly to find the answers…
:)
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for saying to sara what I meant to say – you put it better than I could have done! I’m always interested to hear what is happening in people’s simple & frugal lives – every family has their own frugal/cooking/growing tips or secrets which they assume everyone knows, but quite often, they’re just family secrets!
Kevin: glad you popped by – and I do hope you share your progress with us! We can’t have any more livestock here than chickens but I’d love to have pigs or goats some day :)
-louisa :)
Just found your blog, looks like it’s full of great information. Can’t wait to read more.
HI there,we are trying to live the good life over in Ireland.What we love about it is that it makes you think and not just ‘do’.Every action has a reaction.It’s great fun trying to invent an idea out of nothing isn’t it?Love your site.
Hi there.We too are trying to eke out a living from the land.It’s not always easy but we love it just the same!I watch my neighbour drive off in her fancy car and I’m sure she thinks we are a bit mad Sloshing about in the mud feeding the chickens by torch!!
I’m having fun going back through your posts. Looks like you’re living a good life! :)
Thanks for sharing!
Hello there,
Just thought I’d let you know that I really like your website! I came across it in a Google search for ‘sausage and lentil casserole’(very tasty by the way). Love the stories the most!
Rachel x
Just found your blog while searching for things to do with TOO MANY EGGS! Unfortunately not from my own chickens, but free nonetheless. After getting what I needed I’ve just skipped back to the front page, and I can honestly say I’m going to be reading your posts all afternoon. Thankyou! :)