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A New Beginning

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It’s been a while (um years!) since A Self Sufficient Life was updated and a lot has changed for the Dirty Boots Gang. The big news (well for us at least) is that we’re no longer residing on a Spanish mountain. Instead we’re enjoying the rolling hills of the English countryside. Self sufficiency is no longer quite so obvious or indeed imperative, as life is mostly “on grid”. We are however, still very much self reliant. Working from home to pay our way and ensure we enjoy life to the fullest without relying on the whim of bosses in suits. […]

Kindle Reader – The Green Way to Read?

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green kindle

Who hasn’t heard about the Kindle Reader yet? It seems you cannot get away from talk that electronic books are the future, and indeed their sales are soaring so fast Amazon has already said that US ebook sales are doing better than sales of real paper books.  People love gadgets, and something that is even smaller, lighter and perhaps more convenient than a paperback is certainly a popular choice for fans of reading. I admit I have on occasion lusted after a Kindle myself.  The convenience of having several books (or thousands if you want) all stored in one little […]

Organic Shampoo for Better or Worse?

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This is guest post and it makes for some very interesting reading, the things you learn by having a website! A friend of mine who was very proud of his luscious head of hair used to always talk about the benefits of either not washing his hair with any shampoo and only using an organic shampoo when he did. Admittedly, his hair was very impressive but I always put this down to his genes rather than his hair care routine. However, now I am not so sure. When he went overseas, my friend gifted me his stock of organic shampoo […]

Starting the Olive Harvest

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I don’t know how many olives we will be able to harvest this year.  Time is not something we seem to have enough of at the moment and other things are just more important.  It’s a shame seeing olives going to waste but such a low price commodity often rots on the floor I guess. We will do some though not the 150+ trees that we should.  The main olive oil crop won’t even be our trees.  Instead we will pick the Mother-in-law’s who lives on flat ground with great trees that produce fine olive oil.  Most importantly they are […]

The Most Important Frugal Living Tip You’ll Ever Need

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Or why window shopping is bad for you, oh and magazines, the internet and tv! The most simple and straightforward way to save money and live frugally is just to avoid shops.  Hardly a jaw-dropping surprise that one is it?  But it is true that window shopping whilst relaxing and an excuse for a coffee with friends, is also totally detrimental to a frugal life.  If you don’t see stuff you don’t think about all the things you are missing, or would like to have. I’m pretty lucky as I am not a big shopper.  In an ideal world my […]

Frugal Living & Self Sufficiency Keep You Fit

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Last weekend I realised how much more fit we were when everything was about frugal living and self sufficiency.  You see, from part time olive farmers, part time vegetable growers, part time builders and full time “never really go anywhere as there is no money for fuel” type folks, we have moved “up” in the world, to become full time laptop typing folks making a living at home.  Yep we still do work on the land and we still do some building (the house will never be finished), but never for so long every day as we once did. It […]

Eco Homes and Not Going Green on Holiday

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We have an old home, a run of the mill rural home, not an Eco home.  But still we think we are a little bit Green.  But take me on holiday and it all comes tumbling down.  I confess my sins for a total disregard for Eco tourism or green vacations.  I just cannot be self sufficient away from home! Being Green at Home Right then, firstly I am not totally Green with a capital GRRR.   We have a car, we enjoy food that isn’t always local and we have a bunch of stinky dogs that cannot be helping […]