It’s that time of year again already! As 2024 draws to a close, we are making plans for the year ahead and setting goals to help us get the very most out of the coming 12 months. Join me as I set out my new year’s resolutions and my intentions for 2025! I explored my…
Christmas has become synonymous with excess and materialism in today’s society. And that sadly generates huge amounts of waste and a significant impact on the environment. Are you keen to strip consumerism out of the festive period? Would you like to shift the focus to quality time rather than meaningless gifts this Christmas? Here are…
Are you looking for simple, protein-packed, nourishing vegetarian dinner ideas? These fish-less cakes are delicious and full of goodness. They are sure to go down well with the entire family! These fish-less cakes are loaded with plant-based protein, iodine and other essential micronutrients. They are full of flavour with a wonderful contrast between the creamy…
Are you trying to make more of your meals from scratch? Maybe you’re interested in producing your own food and eating more seasonally? Here on the smallholding, eating freshly prepared food, made with seasonal home-grown ingredients is the main objective! Home-grown, freshly cooked food tastes so much better, it creates very little waste and there…
Are you struggling to stick to your budget? Do you find yourself overspending each month? Here are the tactics I use to live on a fairly restricted budget. My decision to take an extended career break, to spend a little more time at home prioritising my family, has obviously impacted our household income. Even though…
Are you keen to swap shop-bought compost for your own home-made blend? Here’s how to turn your kitchen and garden waste into black gold, and bring new life to your flowers and vegetables! Introduction Maybe you have lofty ambitions for your garden, such as self-sufficiency or prize-winning roses. Or perhaps you are just starting out…
Are you concerned about your carbon footprint and keen to move away from using fossil fuels to heat and run your home? Have you considered using wood for heating and cooking? Are you interested in the practicalities of relying on solid fuels such as wood? Here’s how we make wood burning work for us. Introduction…
How much can a smallholder accomplish in five years? We have recently celebrated our five-year anniversary on the smallholding. So here’s a review of all we have done in that time! Chickens Once we had moved in, the first big objective was to get ready for chickens. We had previously kept back-garden chickens some years…
Are you thinking of moving to a smallholding? Would you like to know why established smallholders took the plunge? Read on to find out all about our journey from city dwellers to running a smallholding in rural Scotland. Let’s Start at the Very Beginning George and I met through a mutual friend when we were…
Are you working towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle? Are you wondering how to approach life with a zero-waste mindset? In this post, I outline the key tenets of the zero-waste movement. And I’ll explore the swaps you can make to minimise waste in every area of your life. What does “Zero-Waste” actually mean? The zero…
