I’m sorry it’s not workable for you - or maybe not sorry if you’ve found something that works well for you! I know it’s very individual and I know some neurodiverse folk find meal planning actually helps but there’s no one size fits all and we all need something different! I wonder if there’s a strategy that would work though just not like this?! There’s no one size fits all! ❤️

I think both are important - I’m all for both and we need both and I talk about both! Totally with you. I think often these small personal acts of change (a) all people feel capable of, and I want to empower that piece of the journey too. But (b) they are part of the journey in building the amount people care. It often starts with reducing our own personal waste, or choosing to reduce our consumption around the holidays, or something else, and then grows into something bigger. I also think it’s not genuine to write to MPs, campaign, vote etc, if we’re buying fast fashion gifts for people around the holidays, buying plastic decorations, and creating the statistical level of waste. So we need both together - each one is part of the puzzle!

That’s so great to hear they did that and loved it - it’s not available everywhere and up to the schools individually but it’s a great option if you have it! ❤️

I’ll come back and answer this properly from my laptop later!

Oh that’s interesting - I think you homeschool right? It’s often a one sided conversation I think, and I was so surprised that these beliefs I held about parenthood became apparent as we journeyed through a trial period!

Made it to the end of the month 😅

Do you know that Greek style yoghurt doesn't have the live cultures only the ones labelled Greek yoghurt do? I only found this out recently.

@@pauline9933not the case with Yeo valley

@@baywillow9272 handy to know, thanks.

It’s so good! Makes it custardy!

I love that you have a great bank! And yes I think they’re really important conversations to have with kids - I LOVE that they have a kids option now. 👏

I love that you had such a good experience! The decisions are so hard 🤪 It’s crazy how little time learning takes when you’re at home! We’re in a very fortunate place where no option is scary and they’re all a different kind of good I think. Which I know it isn’t for everyone!

I agree!! I think that’s what needs to happen for me to wear it - now I just need my sewing skills to line up with that 😂

Agreed - It needs to not be long! I think the length and the sleeves are going to go. But maybe I’ll wear it with king sleeves first through the fall! 🍂

I think the back cut is a need I’m with you! I don’t know why I’ve never loved a tie front. Maybe I need to get over that!

Yes on asking what you need and turning it into that!

Love love those thoughts yes. ❤️ And indeed a blast from the past, one my family loves! 😆

Thank you! I think the final one is going to be it! Or else chopping it onto something completely different! But my sewing skills are in their very early stages so I don’t want to overcommit 😆

I agree on the colours and pattern - I think it needs some redesigning help 😆

@@thewholehome just a little😂

I love that! I have calendula seeds for people I know would love them this year too :)

❤️❤️ it’s a mix of delicious and functional for some meals 😆 but all nutritious and on budget!

Such a great question and a place my husband really had to work on undoing norms in favour of something with better impact! 😜 Sometimes you can find rolls at charity shops, or even old wall paper which I've used before. But we find that we can save enough bits through the year to get us through Christmas without buying more. In the states we saved paper grocery bags that would inevitably end up in our lives and even decorated them - but in England people are just better at bringing their own bags and there are less paper ones which I love. Also in terms of wrapping, some are made of recycled materials and are recyclable which I'd opt for if buying new, whereas some are mixed materials and can't be recycled. My top choice buying new would be a craft paper that can be thrown the compost. You could also, dpending on how crafty you are - buy and old sheet and sew bags for items - you can make a drawstring bag quite easily that could be a great way to wrap!

The Japanese method of Furoshiki using fabric scraps has also been a lifesaver, though can take a bit of practice.

Ah yes I love that!!

@@thewholehome thank you for the tips!

There are some amazing DIY gift options out there! This year I saved seeds from our garden and in designing some seed packets to put them in and gift with a terracotta pot! And yes, the meat one saves a lot.

Yes! There are more grandchildren than there were last year so I have some more to do 😆 and I’m going to make a full video. But I got a silhouette photo (harder than I thought with the little ones!) then removed the background digitally. You could turn it black here and just print and go but I wanted more handmade and a piece of art. So I traced it with thin paper and manually adjusted as needed so it really looked like the person. Then cut the thin paper, stuck it onto thicker black paper backwards… and cut out the black paper which was the final one! Then I finished it by sticking it on card-stock and signing them. I need to post a photo!

It makes a massive difference yes!!

Yes we’ve done that with chickens and we need to do that with the ducks too! Technically we’re not supposed to feed them anything from our kitchen, but I think we can feed them back their own shells!

@@thewholehome I don't know what he feed to his ducks other than eggs shell but he live in the rural super green area so he literally can just give them food from nature, he have 12 ducks and always have eggs to eat and to sell everyday (even though it's not much, but income still income) Now I want ducks...

Hi! Happy to inspire you back to making your own bread! And yes, all those little savings helps for things like the holidays. 👏

Normal meals are overrated 😆

I love hearing that from your childhood! It’s really important to us that they feel confident in the kitchen. ❤️

I love that!! Yes family can be an easier or a harder place to start spending on who they are 😆

We do but we tend to just put them in soups through the winter! I need to use them more!

I thought it was in my blog and it’s not anymore - I’ll try and find the recipe and post it here!

@@thewholehomethank you! They look really good😊

Yes please share when you can :) my dough from a random internet shared recipe was very sticky but it reminded me how yummy homemade are!

Oh I’m so glad! You’re so welcome!

100% it needs to be when there's time and capacity for me too! Otherwise it just works out badly for everyone 😆 It helps to find the capacity when I remember that it won't actually be help - it frames it so my expectations are correct and I can invite them in better.

Ours do too if we don’t block them Lowe down the garden! They never get food there, I think they just want to hang out 😆

Haha it really is! Honestly there’s a lot more benefit than the eggs, they eat the slugs which helps our veggies grow, and they provide fertiliser that can go straight on the garden saving us buying other things - and provide a lot of joy!

Thank you! So glad ❤️

This is so sweet! Isla keeps talking about “Poppy with curly hair like me.” They need a date 😆

We did! We got them at one week old and I highly recommend that. This breed (khaki cambells ) can be skittish but as you can see… we don’t have that problem hahaha! We adore them. They’re far more a part of our lives than chickens were! I just did a video about raising them from ducklings you can watch if you’re want the full story and process.

I just watched it. Sadly, I'm in in a suburb of LA and we can't have backyard ducks. Also, my standard poodles would kill them.

Yes we buy clothes (as minimally as we can!) but just not 'new' clothes, we've only been buying pieces that are already in circulation. There's a big difference to me between the "new" clothing's use of resources, untraceable labour, water, and energy, and the waste created from new clothes - and using a piece that's already created and now unwanted. I'm not meaning to be misleading, to a lot of people no new clothes means no NEW clothes as in only second hand - sorry to cause confusion! That said I don't take second hand shopping as a license to shop a ton. We have a low clothing budget and try to really only buy what we need. With growing kids it's hard to just alter clothes to keep fitting - although we let dresses become tops and we hand everything down. And while we mend things (including these 6 year olf shoes I'm wearing) things do still wear out beyond repair so where we need to add pieces we do, carefully. In our 20 months there have been months where we've truly bought nothing, and I could do "a month of no buying anything" but I feel like it's more helpful to show the real life where new pieces are needed, but show how we do it responsibly! I hope that helps - not trying to mislead at all! Just nuance in the meaning of the word! <3

Oh I love that! Little traditions can bring so much joy!

That made me so happy 😆 i don’t m feel like this style of Vejas is super “in” but I’m trying to counter that and wear them proudly and not go with what’s “in.” Rewearing clothes we buy is what’s in!

@@thewholehome 100%! I love my vejas, definitely the most comfortable trainers ever!!

Same same! I love them. My first pair are gold and almost 8 years old and completely fallen apart but I adore them and I’m still wearing them 😆

I love them WAY more than I anticipated 😆 same for my husband. He’s become the real unexpected duck lover!

That’s my next project - something for me but I’m not sure what to do!! What should I make?!

@@thewholehome same as for your girls ☺️

Hi! Ah a different era of life back in California pre Roey. Thanks for checking in - I know, they all just keep growing 😆

It’s a yummy one but I don’t have a recipe I’m sorry! It’s just warm lentils (I prefer French type or Beluga lentils for it) then lots of spinach and a honey balsamic vinaigrette. I just mix things in but you could google a honey balsamic dressing - this time I added tahini too but I was experimenting and using what we had!!

Thank you xx

Thanks Michelle! I love the chance to share longer form content with less of the scrolling frenzy of other platforms! Thanks for the encouragement. ❤️

I do where I need to yes, it’s definitely a way to save and food on the table is the most important thing! But there are some important pieces in organic farming (and the other values that come with certain organic brands, like less waste and better treatment of farmers and the land. Plus the human health impact of some of the non organic farming methods. But, food on the table is what’s most important yes. Where I can use my budget to do more than that though, I want to do that and it feels responsible to me.

We love our routine and feel so much better for having good phone/internet/social media boundaries. Obviously this weekend is a different one and I posted 😆 but it’s rare and we’re pretty religious about our phones down weekends!

Thank you! It takes a lot of planning to make it work 😅 but I feel like we get good meals out of it!