June 18, 2023

Simple Living

This was a beautiful book that I recently picked up at Winners. I loved the front cover and was drawn to it right away.

The author, Julia Watkins, is the creator of @simply.living.well on Instagram. Her book is jam packed with great tips and diys for living simply and sustainably. What could be better? I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it as a great read with lots of actionable ideas to implement.

In Julia’s introduction, she shares that, “this is a book your grandmother could have given you. Chock full of tips, recipes, and remedies .”

Using a reusable bag has become second nature to most of us now. Having reusable bags near the front door of your home makes it easy to grab on the way out to shopping. I also recommend keeping a stash of reusable bags in the car. This is very helpful and ensures that you have bags on hand when you need them.

Trying to use what I have on hand has been my most recent challenge. I think my former self just used to go out and get what I needed from the store. Now I try to look around the house to see what I have first. At least half the time, I end up finding the item I needed already in our home. We have a joke at our house that sometimes we need to “shop the basement “.

Using natural choices for cleaning is an important change as well. There are many earth friendly products now on the market for cleaning choices. Julia includes lots of kitchen made recipes for all natural cleaners. Lemons, salt, olive oil, white vinegar, and baking soda are just some of the kitchen items that she uses to create easy cleaning recipes.

With the price increase of groceries we all have had to make some adjustments to our weekly grocery shopping. In our home we create a meal plan that gives us some focus for the week ahead. Making a list to take to the grocery store helps me to stay focused on what I need. Shopping your home freezer and pantry is a great idea as well. We grow our own vegetables in our home garden, and have the guarantee of top freshness.

I highly recommend this book as a great read. I encourage you to try one new simple way to make your home more sustainable and environmentally friendly.