My Blog - My Philosophies, How To's, Tips and Recipes

It is summed up in the following tenants:
- We wanted to change from being strictly consumers to producers.
- To change from wanting every new thing that society said that we needed, to being happy with what we have.
- To get rid of unneeded things and to live more simply and more in tune with the land, and nature around us.
- To find contentment within, through things that are really important to us, like our relationship, family and friends and things that we do that give our life meaning and value.
That's quite a hunk of change, I know, and it is more than a little scary. I started out on the road to these changes about six months ago. It has been slow going because it is not easy to change a lifetime of habits. It is amazing how we are conditioned by the media to think that we need this or that, in order to be happy. I have had to learn to just turn it off, and to ask myself questions like "will buying that bring us closer to our goals? Will it improve my life by more than just convenience?"
I am also trying to learn to live more frugally. To me, being frugal is not the same as being cheap. Frugality is simply doing the most with what you have. Right now, I live in the suburbs, in a subdivision. There are a few things that I do to make the most of what I have on my suburban lot. I have been improving it little by little to do more towards being more self sufficient, because that is one of my main goals. Even living in the city, there is lots you can do to become more self reliant and less dependent on society for everything in your life.
What I am doing is called "urban homesteading," which about being more productive and resourceful and making the most of what I have. Living a simpler lifestyle and learning the skills of self reliance, and striving to be as self sufficient as I can in an urban environment.
I think that pretty much covers what Homemade by Jade is about; changing your focus from loving and wanting what you don't have to loving, and improving what you do have. How to do that is the journey that I am on. If you are interested in these things too, then I hope you will come along with me. Let's learn together.
Jade
PS I will be sharing tons of recipes and DIY stuff in this blog, if you want to re-share it, feel free to do so, but don't forget to provide a link back to Homemade by Jade. :)