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INSTALATION AVAILABLE Let us start by saying we are not suggesting that you quit your job and start living of the land, telling anyone that you encounter your philosophies on life, but living the simpler life can be great. While it simply may not be possible for you to do so, that does not mean you cannot still have some fun reading about people who do, or people who have made a few changes to their life so that things are a little simpler.
Frugal In Derbyshire
Many people in the WhatShed office struggle with putting their hands in their pockets, so many of us were drawn to Gill’s fantastic blog. Gill has a great and very family oriented blog. She loves to tell stories of the things that she does with her family and we think that is great as it may inspire people to not just start living a more basic life, but doing it as a family.
Bartering is a huge part of Gill’s way of living a simpler life and it is also a very big part of her blog. Bartering is all the rage these days and here you learn about here Gill has traded things like apples for beer (a fantastic deal if we ever saw one) and even some pallets and pheasants for things like fish.
Holding On 4
Liz is one of many people in the UK who decided enough was enough and moved to a smallholding to try and live a more modest and family oriented life. What we love about her blog is the way that she documents her journey. While you get a lot of laughs and all the positives for living this kind of lifestyle, Liz also lets you know what things have been hard and challenging as well.
For those who are actually thinking about taking the plunge and living this kind of life, Holding On 4 gives you all of the highs and lows that you can expect as well as some awesome tips that will hopefully make your transition to this kind of living a bit easier.
Our Small Holding Adventure
Our Small Holding Adventure is just that. It is the adventure of the Chadfield family who decide that they had enough of takeaways and living the city life and decided to move to a smallholding in the north east of England. If you have a family and want to make lifestyle changes, then this is a blog that you will really enjoy.
We like how this blog goes above and beyond to let you know the ins and outs of making this kind of lifestyle change. The Chadfield family do not make it out like living the smallholding way of life is all rainbows and unicorns! They tell you the hardships, but they also tell you how they got through them as a family.
Small Plot, Big Ideas
With 15 acres of land, Richard, while living the more simple life, does have a lot on his plate and he started this blog as a way for him to be able to look back in a few years time and see just how far he has come. Like many of the other smallholding blogs we have looked at, Richard does not just talk about all the good times. He makes it a point to share with you the challenges and even screw ups that have happened to him.
We love Richard’s blog. It is very well written and it in many ways feels like you are reading one man’s story of trying to live a more simple kind of life off the land. If you want some good tips for getting started, then this blog will be very helpful.
Smallest Smallholding
Lucy Debenham started living the smallholding life over a decade ago when she saved four battery hens. This would change her life and set her on the path she is on now. It is a very inspiring story and we are sure many of you will find it interesting how this one act changed her whole life.
We love Lucy’s blog as it documents her and her partner, Rich’s adventures with their smallholding that is right next to their house. Lucy shows you that you can live a good life, but it does not mean you have to give up all the things you love in order to do so. Lucy has actually been featured on Country File, which we think is pretty cool.
Tales From Swallow Farm
Swallow Farm is where John and his family live and this is the story of how they love to live the smallholding style of life. We feel that this is a pretty inspirational kind of blog and that it will certainly help give some of you the courage to make some changes in your own life. With a fun writing style, John can go into pretty good detail about the way he does things.
One thing that John does very well is tell you a problem that he had on his smallholding such as dealing with spider mites (not to be confused with Spider-Man) and part of his land being taken over by nettles. He then tells you what he did in order to fix the problem. It is very interesting stuff that will teach you a thing or two.
Square Sparrow
Here we have a blogger from Scotland who has a fantastic smallholding and who really enjoys giving information and tips, and sharing stories about the things she has learned, the way she does things and what she hopes to do in the future. This is a fantastic blog, and while we have featured it here on our list of smallholding blogs, Square Sparrow is much more than just that.
Square Sparrow is a blog that really celebrates the outdoors, and you will get to read all the fun stories about how she and her husband, HunterGatherer, take full advantage of the Scottish way of life. As well as featuring posts about life in and around the Sparrowholding, the blog describes long adventurous walks on the Fife coast and the awesome Edinburgh Tattoo. We feel that Square Sparrow is the perfect blog for those who are not just interested in smallholdings, but the outdoors in general.
Part Time Smallholder
Bonnie decided that she wanted the smallholding lifestyle, but she was smart enough to know that she needed her regular job to pay the bills! Bonnie managed to make it work though and this blog documents her journey as a part time smallholder. For many of us who simply cannot afford to give up the 9 to 5 grind, we feel that this blog shows that you can still have a lot of fun living a part time smallholder life.
What we really like about the Part Time Smallholder blog is the way you can tell from her writing that making these changes, looking after her chickens, making her own bread and the other things that she grows, really has made her enjoy life a whole lot more.
Limes End Cottage
Limes End Cottage is a smallholding blog from Matt and Gillian. We really like how there is a strong focus on food here at Limes End Cottage. Matt and Gillian love to grow their own fruit and veg. As well as this though they have pigs, lambs, poultry and even do some beekeeping as well. This is a couple who are doing things right and reading their story is a lot of fun.
Speaking of stories, there is a very amusing one about when they made their own homemade bacon, which thanks to a bit of a mix up in the ingredients department had the local law think they were trying to make gunpowder!